270 COCHINCHINA. 
sistancc to the fleet, which was now almost completely de- 
stroyed. -The King, therefore, made the signal to retreat 
the moment that d'Ayot's ship, on the rising of the tide, was 
again afloat. Tlie grand yacht of the usurper, with a few 
others that were lying at the upper corner of the harbour, had 
not been brought into action. They were pointed out to the 
King who, however, objected to their being destroyed, ob- 
serving, " that when Yin-yac was tired of hunting he might 
" wish to amuse himself with fishing, and that it would be 
" cruel to deprive him of the means of pursuing so innocent 
" an occupation.'" 
It was in the spring of the following year, 1793, when the 
British squadron, in its way to China, came to anchor in 
Turon bay. At that time the whole of Don-nai was in the 
possession of the lawful sovereign. Chang, the middle part 
of the country, was held by the usurper Yin-yac ; and HuS, 
including the country and islands adjacent to Turon bay, 
was governed by the son of Quang-tung, the youth above- 
mentioned, who then held his court at Hne. It was not, 
therefore, in the least surprizing that our ships should have 
created an alarm and a degree of distrust which, I have ob- 
served, our Portugueze friend Manuel Duome had endea- 
voured to improve to his own advantage, in order that he 
might not be interrupted in the exclusive and lucrative trade 
which he hsd for some time been carrying on with the natives. 
These, as it afterwards appeared, had immediately concluded 
us to be in the service of the legitimate monarch, and that 
we had come from Sai-gong with the intention of getting pos- 
session of Turon ; and, under this idea, they had actually 
