Were It Not For The Sabander And Admiral, And One Or Two More, Who Are Natives Of Clyn, There Would Be No Living For Christians Among Them, Without A Fort, Or A Strong House All Of Brick Or Stone.

We did not torture Boyhoy, because he had confessed, but crissed him.

Among the other instruments of the devil on earth in Bantam, there was a kinsman of the king, named Pangram Mandelicko, who kept one of the incendiaries of our house under his protection. He came one day to our house to buy cloth, when I desired him to deliver up this fellow into our hands, telling him how good it would be for the country to root out all such villains. "Tell them so," said he, "who have the government in their hands, or care for the good of the country, for I do not." On another time, wanting me to give him credit for cloth to the value of six or seven hundred pieces of eight, because I refused to trust him, he went away very angry, saying at the gate, it was a pity our house was not again set on fire.

The regent or protector gave us all the houses and ground that joined our inclosure, and had belonged to the incendiaries that undermined our house, but made us pay enormously dear for the property. We bought also from a Pangram, or gentleman, a house which came so near the door of our pepper warehouse as to be very troublesome to us, so that now we had a spacious yard.

The 9th September, the regent made proclamation, that no Chinese should weigh pepper to the English and Hollanders; which proclamation was procured by the Hollanders, for they told us themselves that day at dinner, that the protector owed them 10,000 sacks of pepper; but I said to them that it was not so, as they would not be such fools as to trust them so largely. I went next morning to an old woman, who was called queen of the land by the sabander and others, and commands the protector, though not even of the royal blood, but is held in such estimation among them for her wisdom, that she rules as though she were queen of the country. Having made known our griefs, she sent for the protector that I might talk with him in her presence. I asked the reason why he had prohibited our trade, on which he said that he must buy 10,000 sacks of pepper for the king; but I then said that I was informed by the Hollanders he owed them 10,000 sacks, and that he was working underhand for them against us. He used many shifts; but the old queen, who was our fast friend, said he should not hurt us. Finding they could have no trade with the people for pepper, the Hollanders had bribed the protector into this plan. But if we had possessed 10,000 pieces of eight more than we had, the Hollanders would have got little pepper that year in Bantam, for they are much disliked, and what trade they have is through fear of their ships, which they have in great numbers in those seas.

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