In the morning of the 23d, we had a letter from our captain; then at Assab, informing of his safe arrival there, and the good health of the people, and that he had procured ballast and provisions to his satisfaction. On the 26th, the governor sent me a horse by one of his servants, inviting me to accompany him to his banqueting house, about half a mile out of town, there to spend the day in mirth along with other merchants. About half an hour after, the chief scrivano came to accompany me, with whom I went, joining the governor by the way, and rode with him to the place. It was a fair house, in the middle of a grove of date trees, beside a large tank or pond, having several rooms handsomely fitted; up for sitting. After a little while, the governor and several others went into the tank to bathe, where they sported themselves for half an hour. Coffee was then handed round to the company, after which grapes, peaches, and both musk and water; melons, were brought in, together with blanched almonds and great quantities of raisins, as there were between fifty and sixty guests, besides, attendants; and always between whiles coffee, sherbet, and tobacco were handed round. Thus, and with indifferent music, we spent the forenoon. After prayers, the governor, went again into the tank, where he spent an hour sporting with his company. In the sequel, the time was spent in cards and chess, and in looking at various; jiggling tricks, till four in the evening. At this time above an hundred dishes were served up, all of good meat, but; cold, and ill dressed, each dish being sufficient to have satisfied four hungry men. He treated me with much kindness, and was earnest to have me go with him into the tank, but I excused myself; on account of my late indisposition. He then said, if at any time I was inclined to bathe, I might come to this place when I pleased, and he would give orders to the keeper to admit me and use me well.
The 12th July, the Surat captain made a fine display of many artificial fire-works before the governor, it being then new moon. The governor sent for me to see them, and placed me in a chair beside himself, telling me he had letters that day from Sinan, informing him that the Pacha had granted a phirmaun for us before the arrival of Mr Salbank, but hearing of his coming, had delayed sending it, and had since granted another, according to his instructions, and had delivered it to Mr Salbank with his own hand.
On the 13th there passed by the roads a junk of four or five hundred tons from Jiddah, bound for Kitchine, a day's sail within the entrance of the Red Sea, which I suppose is not far from Cape Guardafui, on the coast of Africa.[292] She is said to contain great sums in gold and silver, with much valuable merchandize. This ship comes yearly to Mokha at the beginning of the western monsoon, bringing myrrh, and boxes for coho seeds, [coffee] and goes from hence to Jiddah or Aliambo, [Al Yambo] where she sells her coffee and the India goods procured at Kitchine; which last are brought thither by Portuguese barks from Diu and other places. Her outward lading consists of indigo, all manner of India cotton goods, gum-lac; and myrrh.[293] She is freighted by the Portuguese, and the governor of Mokha wished much we had met with her, which we had probably done, had not our ship been absent, which returned into the road of Mokha on the 21st. I went aboard, and was told that the king of Assab and his brother had been aboard, and were kindly entertained, in return for which he promised to supply them with abundance of beeves and goats; but that same evening, in consequence of a signal of fire, he and all his people fled into the mountains, pretending they were threatened by an attack from their enemies, and never even gave thanks for their entertainment.
[Footnote 292: The only place resembling this name is Kissem, on the oceanic coast of Yemen, or Arabia Felix, nearly due N. from Cape Guardafui.--E.]
[Footnote 293: This must refer to her homeward lading, called outward in the text in respect to India.--E.]
Before day of the 27th July, Mr Salbank returned from Sinan in perfect health, and much satisfied with his phirmauns. He gave me an account of his whole journey, having been respectfully treated every where; always before entering any town, being met both by horse and foot to conduct him to the different governors, by whom he was kindly received. All his provisions were provided by their officers, but at his own expence; and the servant of the governor of Mokha caused him every where to be well used. He was met a mile from Sinan by forty or fifty Turks, well mounted, sent by the Pacha to escort him to a well-furnished house prepared for his reception. He was there kindly received and entertained by the xeriffe and the pacha's chief treasurer, who were both deputed to give him welcome in the name of the pacha. Two days afterwards, he had audience of the pacha, from whom he received courteous entertainment, receiving two phirmauns of the same tenor, one of which was much more ornamentally written than the other, and intended for being shown to the Grand Signior, if necessary.
According to his report, the city of Sinan and its neighbourhood will give vent yearly for a good quantity of English cloth, as the weather there is cold for three quarters of the year; and even while he was there, though the height of summer, a person might well endure a furred gown. Besides, there is a court at that place to which belongs forty or fifty thousand gallant Turks,[294] most of whom wore garments of high-priced Venetian cloth. Not far from thence there is a leskar, or camp, of 30,000 soldiers,[295] continually in the field against an Arab king in the adjoining mountains, not yet conquered; all of which soldiers are said to wear coats of quilted India chintzes, which are dear, and of little service to defend them from the cold of that region, which is there excessive. To this I may add the city or Teyes, near which there is a leskar of thirty or forty thousand soldiers, commanded by a German renegado under the pacha of Sinan. That place, though only about five days journey from Mokha, is very cold, and much cloth is worn by the people about that place.
[Footnote 294: This is probably a vast exaggeration, though in words at length in the Pilgrims; and we ought more likely to read four or five thousand Turks.--E.]
[Footnote 295: A similar reduction to 3000 is probably needful for this army.--E.]
On the 2d of August the governor sent a rich vest to our captain by the chief shabander, attended by drums and trumpets, his boat being decked out with flags and streamers. This was delivered with great ceremony, and reverently received. The Dabul nokhada, Melic Marvet, and Roswan, the nokhada of the Chaul ship, sent us letters of recommendation to their kings, on the 11th August, according to our desire, certifying the friendly usage they had experienced from us at Mokha, and our kind offer to protect them on the homeward voyage, from pirates, and entreating therefore for us freedom of trade and friendly usage in their dominions. The 14th, as we had formerly done to others, we gave our passes to two Malabar captains, Amet ben Mahomet of Cananore, under Sultan Ala Rajah, and Aba Beker of Calicut, under the Zamorin.