fashioned than by barking them, and lopping off their branches.  Each mast has only two shrouds made of twisted rattan, which are often both shifted to the weather-side; and the halyard, when the yard is up, serves instead of a third shroud.  The sails are made of mat, strengthened every thee feet by an horizontal rib of bamboo; they run upon the mast with hoops, and when they are lowered down, they fold upon the deck.  These merchantmen carry no cannon; and it appears, from this whole description, that they are utterly incapable of resisting any European armed, vessel.  Nor is the state provided with ships of considerable force, or of a better fabric, to protect them:  For at Canton, where doubtless their principal naval power is stationed, we saw no more than four men of war junks, of about three hundred tons burden, being of the make already described, and mounted only with eight or ten guns, the largest of which does not exceed a four-pounder.  This may suffice to give an idea of the defenceless state of the Chinese empire.  But it is time to return to the commodore, whom I left with his two ships without the Bocca Tigris; and who, on the 12th of December, anchored before the town of Macao.

[Footnote 2:  The plate is necessarily omitted.]

Whilst the ships lay here, the merchants of Macao finished their agreement for the galleon, for which they had offered 6000 dollars; this was much short of her value, but the impatience of the commodore to get to sea, to which the merchants were no strangers, prompted them to insist on so unequal a bargain.  Mr Anson had learnt enough from the English at Canton, to conjecture that the war betwixt Great Britain and Spain was still continued; and that probably the French might engage in the assistance of Spain, before he could arrive in Great Britain; and therefore knowing, that no intelligence could get to Europe of the prize he had taken, and the treasure he had on board, till the return of the merchantmen from Canton, he was resolved to make all possible expedition in getting back, that he might be himself the first messenger of his own good fortune, and might thereby prevent the enemy from forming any projects to intercept him:  For these reasons, he, to avoid all delay, accepted of the sum offered for the galleon; and she being delivered to the merchants the 15th of December, 1743, the Centurion the same day got under sail, on her return to England.  And on the 3d of January, she came to an anchor at Prince’s Island, in the straits of Sunda, and continued there wooding and watering till the 8th, when, she weighed and stood for the Cape of Good Hope, where, on the eleventh of March she anchored in Table-Bay.