43 o AVOYAGETO 



>779- would occur in my bufinefs, the difficulty of gaining admit- 

 tance to the Viceroy, the jealoufies and fufpicions of the 

 Mandarines, refpecting our real defigns, which had rifen, he 

 faid, to an extraordinary height, from the ftrange account 

 we had given of ourfelves. 



After waiting feveral days, with great impatience, for the 

 event of our application, without underftanding that the 

 matter was at all advanced toward a conclufion, I applied to 

 the Commander of an Englifh country fhip, who was to fail 

 on the 25th, and who offered to take the men and flores on 

 board, and to lie to, if the weather mould permit, off Ma- 

 cao, till we could fend boats to take them out of his fhip. 

 At the fame time he apprized me of the danger there might 

 be of his being driven with them out to fea. Whilft I was 

 doubting what meafures to purfue, the Commander of ano- 

 ther country fhip brought me a letter from Captain Gore, in 

 which he acquainted me, that he had engaged him to bring 

 us down from Canton, and to deliver the flores we had pro- 

 cured, at his own rifk, in the Typa. All our difficulties 

 being thus removed, I had leifure to attend to the pur- 

 chafe of our provifions and flores, which was completed 

 on the 26th ; and the day following, the whole flock was fent 

 on board. 



As Canton was likely to be the mod advantageous market 

 for furs, I was defired by Captain Gore to carry with me 

 about twenty fea-otters fkins, chiefly the property of our 

 deceafed Commanders, and to difpole of them at the bed 

 price 1 could procure; a commiffion, which gave me an op- 

 portunity of becoming a little acquainted with the genius of 

 the Chinefe for trade. Having acquainted fome of the 

 Jinglifh fupercargocs with thefc circumflanccs, I defired 

 2 them 



