taken its rise from the bricks, which, being over-heated, had begun to communicate the fire to the adjacent wood-work.  In the evening we were surprised with a view of what we at first sight conceived to have been breakers, but, on a stricter examination, we found them to be only a great number of fires on the island of Formosa.  These, we imagined, were, intended by the inhabitants of that island as signals for us to touch there, but that suited not our views, we being impatient to reach the port of Macao as soon as possible.  From Formosa we steered W.N.W. and sometimes still more northerly, proposing to fall in with, the coast of China, to the eastward of Pedro Blanco; for the rock so called is usually esteemed an excellent direction for ships bound to Macao.  We continued this course till the following night, and then frequently brought to, to try if we were in soundings:  But it was the 5th of November, at nine in the morning, before we struck ground, and then, we had forty-two fathom, and a bottom of grey sand mixed with shells.  When we had got about twenty miles farther W.N.W. we had thirty-five fathom; and the same bottom, from whence our sounding gradually decreased from thirty-five to twenty-five fathom; but soon after, to our great surprise, they jumped back again to thirty fathom:  This was an alteration we could not very well account for,[4] since all the charts laid down regular soundings every-where to the northward of Pedro Blanco; and for this reason we kept a very careful look-out, and altered our course to N.N.W. and having run thirty-five miles in this direction, our soundings again gradually diminished to twenty-two fathom, and we at last, about mid-night, got sight of the main land of China, bearing N. by W. four leagues distant:  We then brought the ship to, with her head to the sea, proposing to wait for the morning; and before sun-rise we were surprised to find ourselves in the midst of an incredible number of fishing-boats, which seemed to cover the surface of the sea as far as the eye could reach.  I may well style their number incredible, since I cannot believe, upon the lowest estimate, that there were fewer than six thousand, most of them manned with five hands, and none with less than three.  Nor was this swarm of fishing-vessels peculiar to this spot; for, as we ran on to the westward, we found them as abundant on every part of the coast.  We at first doubted not but we should procure a pilot from them to carry us to Macao; but though many of them came close to the ship, and we endeavoured to tempt them by showing them a number of dollars, a most alluring bait for Chinese of all ranks and professions, yet we could not entice them on board us, nor procure any directions from them; though, I presume, the only difficulty was their not comprehending what we wanted them to do, for we could have no communication with them, but by signs:  Indeed we often pronounced the word Macao; but this we had reason to suppose they understood in a different sense; for in return