bject of surprise and speculation. It was
extremely ill written with respect to the style and manner, yet it did
not therefore the less deserve notice. How far the intelligence which it
contained was true or false, I was utterly unable to determine: It was
possible that the writer might be deceived himself; it was also possible
that he might have some view in wilfully deceiving me: The falsehood
might procure some little reward for the kindness and zeal which it
placed to his account, or it might give him an importance which would at
least be a gratification to his vanity. It behoved me, however, to take
the same measures as if I had known it to be true; and I must confess,
that I was not perfectly at ease when I recollected the recal of the
Secretary and Le Cerf, with the large sloop, and part of the soldiers,
who were said to have been sent hither for no other reason than to guard
us against the insults of the country people; the assembling an armed
force at Macassar, as it was said, for an expedition to Bally; and the
little canoe that we had seen rowing round us in the night, not to
mention the governor's enquiry by letter, when we intended to leave the
island. However, whether either our intelligence or conjectures were
true or false, we immediately went to work: We rigged the ship, bent the
sails, unmoored, got springs upon our cables, loaded all our guns, and
barricadoed the deck. At night every body slept under arms, and the next
day we warped the vessel farther off from the bottom of the bay, towards
the eastern shore, that we might have more room, fixed four swivel guns
on the forepart of the quarter-deck, and took every other measure that
appeared to be necessary for our defence.

The resident, Mr Swellingrabel, was at this time absent twenty miles up
the country upon the Company's business, but had told me, that he should
certainly return on the 1st of April, a day which I now expected with
great impatience, especially as an old drunken serjeant was the most
respectable person at the fort. In the evening of the 31st, a packet of
letters for him arrived here from Macassar, which I considered as a
good omen, and a pledge of his return at the time appointed; but I
conceived very different sentiments when I learnt that they were sent to
him. I did not suspect that he was privy to any such design as had been
intimated to me by the letter; but I could not help doubting, whether he
was not kept in the country that h