were selling provisions to the Centurion, the person who had wrested the sword from the Chinese came with great eagerness to the commodore, to assure him that one of the principal thieves was then in a provision-boat alongside the ship; and the officer, who had been robbed, viewing the fellow on this report, and well remembering his face, orders were immediately given to seize him; and he was accordingly secured on board the ship, where strange discoveries were now made.

This thief, on his being apprehended, expressed so much fright in his countenance, that it was feared he would have died upon the spot; the mandarine too, who attended the ship, had visibly no small share of concern on the occasion.  Indeed he had reason enough to be alarmed, since it was soon evinced that he had been privy to the whole robbery, for the commodore, declaring that he would not deliver up the thief, but would himself order him to be shot, the mandarine immediately put off the magisterial air with which be had at first pretended to demand him, and begged his release in the most abject manner; and the commodore appearing inflexible, there came on board, in less than two hours time, five or six of the neighbouring mandarines, who all joined in the same entreaty, and, with a view of facilitating their suit, offered a large sum of money for the fellow’s liberty.  Whilst they were thus soliciting, it was discovered that the mandarine, who was the most active amongst them, and who seemed to be most interested in the event, was the very gentleman who came to the officer just after the robbery, and who pretended to be so much displeased with the villainy of his countrymen.  And, on further enquiry, it was found that he was the mandarine of the island; and that he had, by the authority of his office, ordered the peasants to commit that infamous action:  And it seemed, as far as could be collected from the broken hints which were casually thrown out, that he and his brethren, who were all privy to the transaction, were terrified with the fear of being called before the tribunal at Canton, where the first article of their punishment would be the stripping them of all they were worth; though their judges (however fond of inflicting a chastisement so lucrative to themselves) were perhaps of as tainted a complexion as the delinquents.  Mr Anson was not displeased to have caught the Chinese in this dilemma; and he entertained himself for some time with their perplexity, rejecting their money with scorn, appearing inexorable to their prayers, and giving out that the thief should certainly be shot; but as he then foresaw that he should be forced to take shelter in their ports a second time, when the influence he might hereby acquire over the magistrates would be of great service to him, he at length permitted himself to be persuaded, and, as a favour, released his prisoner, but not till the mandarine had collected and returned all that had been stolen from the officer, even to the minutest trifle.