They seemed to live ftrictly under the obedience of a King, whofe place of refidence was fome miles up in the country; his leave by meffengers they firft craved, before they would fell to us any of their best provifions. Their King hearing of our arrival, bad us welcome by a prefent of beeves, goats, and poultry, and the chief and choice fruits of his country; and was highly recompenced, as he thought, again, by a quire or two of white paper, a pair of low-pric'd looking-glaffes, some strings of glafs beads, fome cheap knives, with fome other English toys. We faw fome Spanish money amongst them, of which they feemed to make fo little reckoning, that fome of our men had from them many royals of eight in exchange for a little of thofe very low and very cheap commodities which before I named. The cocoa-nut-tree (of which this ifland hath abundance) of all other trees may challenge the pre-eminence; for merely with these trees, without the leaft help of any other timber, or any other thing, (unless a little iron work) a man may build and furnish, and fit and victual a fmall fhip to fea. For the heart of this tree (being very tough, firm, and faft wood) growing up ftrait and high, will make timber, planks, pins, masts, and yards; a ftrong gum that iffues out of it, with the rind that grows about it, will serve to caulk the ship; and that spungy rind, which looks like our hemp when it is a little bruised, will make cordage and fails; and the very large. nuts that grow upon it, (of which are many excellent drinking cups) when it is newly gathered, hath amilk-white fubftance that is tender, (tafting like an almond) round about of a good fubftance within it; and within that, a very pleasant liquor, that is wholsome as well as favoury, which may for need serve those that fail in this ship for meat and drink. Now, well-ftored with these nuts and other good provifions, after five days abode there, the breaches our fhip had lately received in fight being repaired, and our men well refreshed, we put again to fea the 16th day, and a profperous gale following us, were carried happily a fecond time under the Æquinoctial, without the leaft heat to offend us, the 24th day of the same month. Our courfe was for the island of Zocotora, near the mouth of the Red Sea, from whence come our aloes Zocotrina; but an adverse gale from the Arabian shore kept us fo off, that we could by no means recover it. We paffed by it the 1ft of September. Miffing that port, we proceeded on our voyage, and the 4th of September made a folemn funeral in memory of our late flain commander, when after fermon the fmall fhot and great ordnance made a large peal to his remembrance. On the 6th of September, at night, to our admiration and fear, the water of the fea feemed E 3 feemed to us as white as milk; which did not appear only fo in the body of the fea, but it looked fo likewife in buckets of water which we did then draw out of the fea. Others of our nation paffing on that course have obferved the like; but I am yet to learn what should be the true reason thereof, it being there very far from any fhore, and the fea fo deep that we could fearch no ground. The 21ft we discovered the main continent of Afia the Great, in which Eaft-India takes up a large part. The 22d we had fight of Deu and Damon, places that lie in the fkirts. of India, principally inhabited and well fortified by Portuguese: And the 25th of September we came happily to an anchor in Swally Road, within the Bay of Cambaya, the harbour for our fleet while they make their stay in these remote parts. Then after a long, troublesome, and dangerous paffage, we came at laft to our defired port. And immediately after my arrival there, I was fent for by Sir Thomas Row, Lord Ambaffador, then refiding at the Mogul's court, (which was many miles up in the country) to fupply the room of Mr. John Hall, his chaplain, (Fellow of Corpus Chrifti college in Oxford) whom he had not long before buried; and I lived with that most noble gentleman at that court more than two years; after which I returned home to England with him. During which space of my abode there I had very good advantage to take notice of very many places, places, perfons, and things, travelling with the Ambaffador much in progress with that King up and down his very large territories. On And now, reader, I would have thee to fuppofe me setting my foot upon the Eaft-Indian fhore, at Swally before hamed. the banks whereof, amongst many more English that lie there interred, is laid up the body of Mr. Thomas Coryate, a man in his time Notus nimis omnibus, very fufficiently known. He lived there, and there died while I was in those parts, and was for fome months then with my Lord Embaffador, during which time he was either my chamber-fellow or tent-mate, which gave me a full acquaintance of him. That Greek-travelling-Thomas (they which know his ftory, know why I call him fo) formerly wrote a book, entitled, Coryate's Crudities, printed in the beginning of the year 1611, and then ushered into the world by very many copies of excellent verses made by the wits of those times, which did very much advantage and improve, if not enforce the fale thereof (doing themselves much more honour than him whom they undertook to commend in their feveral encomiafticks) and if he had lived, he would have written his laft travels to, and in, and out of. Eaft-India; for he refolved (if God had spared him life) to have rambled up and down the world, as fometime Ulyffes did, and though not fo long as he, yet ten full years at least before his re E 3 turn turn home, in which time he purposed to see Tartaria in the vast parts thereof, with as much as he could of China, and those other large places and provinces interpofed betwixt Eaft-India and China, whofe true names we might have had from him, but yet have not. He had a purpose after this to have visited the Court of Prefter John in Ethiopia, who is there called by his own people, Ho Biot, the King, and after this it was in his thoughts to have caft his eyes upon many other places; which if he had done, and lived to write those relations, seeing as he did, or should, fuch variety of Countries, Cities, Nations, Things, and been as particular in them, as he was in his Venetian Journal, they must needs have swoln into fo many huge volumes, as would have prevented the perishing of paper. But undoubtedly if he had been continued in life to have written them, there might have been made very good ufe of his obfervations; for as he was a very particular, fo was he a very faithful relato of things he faw; he ever disclaiming that bold liberty which divers travellers have, and do take, by fpeaking and writing any thing they pleafe of remote parts, when they cannot easily be contradicted, taking a pride in their feigned relations, to overspeak things; being refolved in this cafe Not only things to do, but o'er do; |