The 31st December, our general came on shore, and being accompanied by all the merchants who were in sufficient health, and by several others, he went to court with the king's letter, which he delivered along with the following present: A fair basin and ewer, with two handsome standing cups, and a spoon, all of silver parell gilt, and six muskets with their furniture. The general employed two or three days following in visiting our chiefest friends, as the sabander, the admiral, and the rich Chinese merchant, making them presents, which they thankfully received. We then fell to work to pack up goods for the Moluccas; but as our men recovered from the scurvy they fell ill of the flux, so that it seemed quite impossible for us to accomplish our business.
The 7th January, 1605, the Dutch fleet, being nine tall ships,[126] besides pinnaces and sloops, set sail for Amboyna and the Moluccas, so that we were long in doubt of getting any loading in those parts this year for our ships, so many having gone before us; nor was it possible for ours to go earlier, owing to their weakness. The 10th January, our two ships that were to go home began taking in pepper, but were so oppressed with sickness that they could make no dispatch. The other two having taken in all the goods we thought meet for those parts, set sail on the 18th of January for the islands of Banda, their men being still weak and sickly; but how they spent their time till their return to Bantam, I must refer to their own reports. Immediately after the departure of these ships under the general, the protector sent to us for the custom, which we thought had been quite well understood, by what was paid when the ships were here before; but he demanded many duties of which we had never heard formerly, and because I refused payment, he ordered the porters not to carry any more pepper for us. To prevent, therefore, this hindrance in loading our ships, I was forced to pay him in hand, as had been done on the former occasion, and to let the full agreement remain open till the return of our general.
[Footnote 126: This expression, tall ships, so often used in these early voyages, evidently means square-rigged vessels having top-masts; as contradistinguished from low-masted vessels, such as sloops and pinnaces.--E.]
It pleased God to take away the two masters of the two ships which were now loading, Samuel Spencer, master of the Hector, and Habakkuk Pery, of the Susan; as also William Smith, master's mate of the Hector, and soon afterwards Captain Styles, with several other principal men, and many of their sailors, so that we were forced to hire men to ease them of their work in loading, and also to engage as many as we could get of Guzerat and Chinese mariners, to help to navigate the ships home, at a great expence. With much ado we got them laden by the 16th February; but it was the 4th of March before we could get ready for sea. They then sailed, the Hector having on board 63 persons of all sorts, English and others, but many of their own men were sick. The Susan had 47 of all sorts, but likewise had many English sick: I pray God to send us good news of them.
The 6th May a Holland ship came in, which came from the coast of Goa, [Malabar,] where, along with two other Dutch ships bound for Cambay,[127] they took four very rich Portuguese ships, one of which, laden with great horses, they set on fire. This ship had left Holland in June, 1604, but could give us no farther news than we had already got from our own ships. The captain of this ship was Cornelius Syverson, a proud boor, having neither wit, manners, honesty, nor humanity; and presently after his arrival the Hollanders withdrew their familiarity from us. I shall now, however, leave this despiser of courtesy and hater of our nation, with his rascally crew, and give some account of the ceremonial of the young king's circumcision, and the triumphs held daily in consequence for more than a month before he went to church, [mosque] in preparations for which all the better sort had been busied since February or March, till the 24th of June.
[Footnote 127: Cambay, in this place, probably means Camboja, or Cambodia, in Eastern India, not Cambay in Guzerat.--E.]
For this ceremonial a great pageant was prepared, the fore part of which was made in the resemblance of a great devil, on which were placed three chairs of state; that in the middle for the king, being elevated about two feet above those on either side, which were for the two sons of Pangran Goban, heir to the crown if the king should die without issue. This pageant was placed on a green or open space, in front of the palace gate, and railed in all round. The custom of the country is, when the king comes to the throne, or at his circumcision, all that are able must make the king presents publicly, and with as much shew as possible; such as cannot do so of themselves, whether natives or strangers, join in companies to make their compliments. About the 25th June these shews began, and continued all that month and the next, every day except some few when it rained. The protector or regent of the kingdom began on the first day, and was succeeded daily by the nobles and others, each having their day, not as they were in rank or birth, but as each happened to be in readiness, sometimes two or three companies in one day.
As the Javans are not expert in the use of fire-arms, the protector borrowed some shot both of us and the Hollanders. When these went forth, there was great strife which should go foremost, whether our men or the Hollanders, they despising our small number, and ours their sordid appearance. Our men were in neat apparel, with coloured scarfs and hat-bands; they in greasy thrum caps, tarred coats, and their shirts, or at least such as had any, hanging between their legs. Our men, therefore, chose to take the rearward, refusing to go next after the Hollanders.
Every morning the king's guard, consisting both of shot and pikes, was placed round the inclosure without the rails, being usually three hundred men; but on some principal days there were upwards of six hundred, in files according to our martial discipline. In our marching, we differ much from them, as we usually go in column of three, five, seven, or nine abreast; while they always march in single file, following as close as they can, and carrying their pikes upright. As for their fire-arms, not being used to them, they are very unhandy. Their drums are huge pans, [gongs,] made of tomback, which make a most hellish sound. They have also colours to their companies; but their standards and ensigns are not like ours. Their ensign staff is very long and high, being bent at top like a bow; but the colours, hardly a yard in breadth, hang down from the top like a long pendant. The first day, being the greatest shew, there were certain forts made of canes and other trash, set up in front of the king's pageant, in which some Javans were placed to defend, and other companies to assault them, many times the assailants firing upon the defenders. All this was only in jest among the Javans with their pikes; but our men and the Hollanders were in earnest with their shot, and were therefore forced to be kept asunder.
Meeting the Dutch merchants in the evening, I asked one of them if he thought that Holland were able to wage war with England, that they should make such contention with our men, striving who should go foremost? I likewise told them all, that if the English had not once gone before, they might have gone behind all the other nations of Europe long ago. But they answered, that times and seasons change: And doubtless, owing to their great numbers here in India, they hold themselves able to withstand any other nation in the world. I cannot, however, say what may be the opinion of their states at home, and of the wiser of their nation.[128]