Therefore, Take Care You Carry Yourselves Conformably
To This Our Imperial Command, And Give Entire Credit To This Our
Imperial Ensign.
Given at our mansion in Constantinople, this 15th of
Zulhajjeh, in the year of the Hejirah, 1019."[413]
[Footnote 413: The abbreviated passages, marked in the text by inverted
commas, were too long for insertion in a note; and the circumstances
they detail appeared too long and uninteresting in the original for
being given at full length. - E.]
The 20th of March, according to agreement made the day before, the
governor sent aboard Mahomet aga, admiral of the shore and commander of
the roads, for receiving the Turkish customs and anchorage,[414]
together with a grave old man, named Nasuf and two attendants, to
remain as pledges of my safety. I went accordingly on shore, with all
the merchants, in three skiffs, or boats, well fitted, and had a salute
of fifty-one pieces of cannon fired off at our departure. We were
received at the landing-place by the captain of the gallies and other
principal persons, with music, drums, and trumpets, which played before
us, while the inhabitants followed in such crowds that we could hardly
pass; at the same time several cannon were fired as a salute from the
castle. After passing two guards of very proper men, well clothed, we
were conducted into the governor's house, all built of freestone, having
large handsome stairs, by which we were led to a room spread with rich
carpets, having a bow-window at the upper end, where a silken quilt was
laid on the floor, with two cushions of cloth of silver, on which I was
desired to sit down. Presently the governor entered from another
chamber, himself dressed in a gown of cloth of silver, faced with rich
fur, and accompanied by five or six persons richly apparelled. After
taking me by the hand, he kissed his own hand, and put it to his head,
in token of respect. He then led me to the bow-window, where we sat
down, and, after some compliments, I delivered to him our king's letter,
which was read by Mr Cockes, and interpreted by our linguist, Mr Bolton,
to the captain of the gallies; who repeated it to the aga, such being
their custom by way of state or ceremony. I then gave him the pass, or
licence of the Grand Signior, which was read aloud by the secretary,
after which he kissed it, and laid it on his head, giving it to his
secretary to take a copy of it, after which, it was returned.
[Footnote 414: Probably the person called formerly Mahomet bey, captain
of the town-E. This person seems to have been the person styled Lord of
the Sea, or Amir al Bahr, in the voyage of Sir Henry Middleton, a
different officer from the Shah bandar. - Astl. 1.460. a.]
The governor now bid us heartily welcome, desiring that what had
formerly taken place with Sir Henry Middleton might be forgotten for
that quarrel had originated between two drunken men, and had been
improperly followed up by the former aga, for which he had now been five
months displaced. In regard to trade, he could not permit any great
matter till he received directions from his master, Jaffar Pacha, to
whom he had written, and expected an answer in ten or twelve days;
desiring me to allow my people in the meantime to come ashore freely, to
buy what they wanted, and to sell small matters, that the inhabitants
might see we were in peace and amity, and that the past was forgotten.
These speeches made good what I had formerly suspected, concerning the
doubts the India ships might entertain of our being here, unless they
understood we were friends; and their staying away would prove a great
injury to every officer of the port. Besides, we were purposely so
placed at anchor, that no laden ship could come into the port but must
ride under our guns; by which I reckoned we were sure of trade, either
ashore or aboard, and by thus holding the town in awe, I might venture
our boats and people the more freely on shore, to procure any thing our
ships might need.
We were royally feasted by the governor, the dinner consisting of all
sorts of wild fowl, poultry, goat's-flesh, mutton, cream, custards,
various made dishes, and sundry confections, all served in vessels of
tin, different from our pewter, made goblet-fashion, with feet, and so
placed in piles, one above the other, that they reached a yard high, yet
each dish could be served from without removing the others. All these
meats were served up at once, before we sat down. Our drink was simple
water, or boiled with an herb called Cauhaw,[415] giving it a somewhat
bitter taste. Dinner being over, the governor led me into an inner room,
where he was attended by four little boys, who were his catamites. Being
here seated on a crimson velvet carpet, all the rest of the room covered
with rich carpets, one of these boys, having in his hand a linen napkin,
ushered in two other boys, one of whom carried a silver chaffing-dish,
with burning coals, and the other a dish with sundry rich perfumes, as
ambergris, lignum aloes, and others. The governor desired me to permit
the boy to cover my head close with the napkin, after which the other
boy held the chaffing-dish with perfumes under my head, that I might
receive the perfume, which was very pleasant. The governor, and two
principal persons who were with him, then did the like, which seemed a
ceremony much used among them.
[Footnote 415: It ought to be called Kahwah, that is, coffee, which
every one knows is a berry; but perhaps it was made of the husk, which
the French say is most delicious, and never exported. See Voy. de
l'Arabie Heureuse, p. 243, et seq.
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