Though the ships, in consequence of the viceroy’s permit, found no difficulty in purchasing provisions for their daily consumption, yet it was impossible for the commodore to proceed to England; without laying in a large quantity both of provisions and stores for his use, during the voyage:  The procuring this supply was attended with much embarrassment; for there were people at Canton who had undertaken to furnish him with biscuit, and whatever else he wanted; and his linguist, towards the middle of September, had assured him, from day to day, that all was ready, and would be sent on board him immediately.  But a fortnight being elapsed, and nothing being brought, the commodore sent to Canton to enquire more particularly into the reasons of this disappointment:  And he had soon the vexation to be informed, that the whole was an illusion:  that no order had been procured from the viceroy to furnish him with sea-stores, as had been pretended; that there was no biscuit baked, nor any one of the articles in readiness which had been promised him; nor did it appear, that the contractors had taken the least step to comply with their agreement.  This was most disagreeable news, and made it suspected, that the furnishing the Centurion for her return to Great Britain might prove a more troublesome matter than had been hitherto imagined; especially too, as the month of September was nearly elapsed, without Mr Anson’s having received any message from the viceroy of Canton.

And here perhaps it might be expected that some satisfactory account should be given of the motives of the Chinese for this faithless procedure.  But as I have already, in a former chapter, made some kind of conjectures about a similar event, I shall not repeat them again in this place, but shall observe, that after all, it may perhaps be impossible for an European, ignorant of the customs and manners of that nation, to be fully apprised of the real incitements to this behaviour.  Indeed, thus much may undoubtedly be asserted, that in artifice, falsehood, and an attachment to all kinds of lucre, many of the Chinese are difficult to be paralleled by any other people; but then the combination of these talents, and the manner in which they are applied in particular emergencies, are often beyond the reach of a foreigner’s penetration:  So that though it may be safely concluded, that the Chinese had some interest in thus amusing the commodore, yet it may not be easy to assign the individual views by which they were influenced.  And that I may not be thought too severe in ascribing to this nation a fraudulent and selfish turn of temper, so contradictory to the character given of them in the legendary accounts of the Roman missionaries, I shall here mention an extraordinary transaction or two, which I hope will be some kind of confirmation of what I have advanced.