of dollars--a most alluring bait for Chinese of all
ranks and professions--yet we could not entice them on board us; 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 they
sometimes held up fish to us, and we afterwards learned that the Chinese
name for fish is of a somewhat similar sound. But what surprised us most
was the inattention and want of curiosity which we observed in this herd
of fishermen. A ship like ours had doubtless never been in those seas
before; perhaps there might not be one amongst all the Chinese employed
in this fishery who had ever seen any European vessel; so that we might
reasonably have expected to have been considered by them as a very
uncommon and extraordinary object.

CHINESE INDIFFERENCE.

But though many of their vessels came close to the ship, yet they did not
appear to be at all interested about us. Nor did they deviate in the
least from their course to regard us; which insensibility, especially of
maritime persons about a matter in their own profession, is scarcely to
be credited, did not the general behaviour of the Chinese in other
instances furnish us with continual proof of a similar turn of mind.

The next day, about two o'clock, as we were standing to the westward
within two leagues of the coast, and still surrounded by fishing vessels
in as great numbers as at first, we perceived that a boat ahead of us
waved a red flag and blew a horn. This we considered as a signal made to
us either to warn us of some shoal or to inform us that they would supply
us with a pilot, and in this belief we immediately sent our cutter to the
boat to know their intentions; but we were soon made sensible of our
mistake, and found that this boat was the Commodore of the whole fishery,
and that the signal she had made was to order them all to leave off
fishing and to return in shore, which we saw them instantly obey. On this
disappointment we kept on our course to the westward, and the next day
being the 7th, we were abreast of a chain of islands which stretched from
east to west. These, as we afterwards found, were called the islands of
Lema. These islands we left on the starboard side, passing within four
miles of them, where we had twenty-four fathoms water. We were still