The captain ordered everything to be made ready to give them a warm reception. The two guns on our starboard side were loaded with canister shot, and made ready for business. The long gun amidships was loaded in the same way; and it was the captain's intention to give the fellows all three of those guns in succession, as soon as they got within easy range. The small arms were brought up and distributed, and the men who held them were stationed near the ship's bow to resist the Malays in case they came near enough to board the Aurora. These Malay pirates always board a ship over the bows. They're as active as monkeys, and go nearly naked; and sometimes they grease their bodies all over, so that it's difficult to hold them if you attempt to capture them. I felt my heart beat fast as I saw these scoundrels coming towards us, as the word had been passed around that all our lives would be taken in case of the capture of the ship. I think the boats were about half way from the land to the ship when I noticed a ripple on the water astern of us, and at the same instant heard the captain give an order to brace around the yards. The breeze came on very quickly; it filled our sails; we heard the rippling of the water under our bows; and as our motion through the water became perceptible we saw that our unwelcome visitors had stopped rowing. They saw that we were in motion, and pursuit was of no further use. When we were within about two hundred miles of Canton we were caught in the outer edge of a hurricane; but so completely were we on the edge of it that it neither alarmed nor damaged us. We reached Whampoa Anchorage, at the mouth of Pearl River, the stream on which Canton stands, without accident of any sort. Here we discharged our cargo, and took in one for home. It consisted principally of tea and silks; a great deal of the former, and not much of the latter. I wanted very much to go up the river and see Canton, but all requests for liberty on shore were denied, at least, so far as Canton was concerned. The larboard watch had half a day in the foreign quarter of Whampoa, and the starboard watch had the same allowance, but, of course, not at the same time. From what I saw of the Chinese during my single visit to land I did not think they would be an agreeable people to live among. Perhaps they are better at Canton; but of course I cannot say anything upon this point from actual knowledge. In due time our cargo was completed, and the hatches were closed and battened down; then we laid in our supply of water and such provisions as we needed, and the very day that all was ready we had a fine wind down the bay and out into the China Sea. Everything favored us on the way home, and in due time we sailed into Boston Harbor; and my voyage to China came to an end.