I Sent Mr Femell
Ashore Well Accompanied, With A Present To The King Of A Cloth Vest, A
Piece Of Plate, And A Sword-Blade, When He Promised All Possible
Kindness.
The 26th, I went ashore, accompanied by the chief merchants
and a strong guard, and being conducted to the king's house, he
entertained me courteously.
I enquired of him concerning the trade of
the Red Sea, which he highly commended, saying, the people of Aden and
Mokha were good, and would be glad to trade with us. He said farther,
that the Ascension had sold all her goods there at high prices, and came
so light to Tamarin as to require much ballast. This news gave me good
content. I asked leave to set up my pinnace on his island, but he would
not allow it in this road, as if I staid long at Tamarin it might deter
all others from coming there; but if I chose to return to the former
port, I might set up the pinnace at that place. On enquiring for aloes,
he said he had sent away all his aloes to his father, who resides at
Kushem, near Cape Fartak, being king of that part of Arabia Felix. I
asked leave to wood and water. He gave me free leave to take water, but
said, if I would have any wood, I must pay very dear for it. He
confirmed the loss of the Ascension and her pinnace, which was no small
grief to me. He urged me much to go to the Red Sea, but advised me not
to attempt trade at Fartak, as he thought his father would not allow me.
I and all my people dined with the king, and then went aboard.
[Footnote 321: The latitude in the text is very erroneous; the most
southerly part of Socotora being in 13 deg. 6' N.]
The 7th November, while steering along the coast of Arabia, we saw a
high land about ten o'clock, rising like Abba-del-curia, and capable
of being seen a great way off, which we imagined to be the high land of
Aden. In the evening, we came to anchor before the town in twenty
fathoms on sandy ground. Aden stands in a vale at the foot of a
mountain, and makes a fair appearance. It is surrounded by a stone wall,
and has forts and bulwarks in many places; but how these are furnished I
know not. The 8th, there came off a small boat in which were three
Arabs, who said they were sent by the lieutenant of the town to enquire
of what nation we were; sending us word we were welcome if English, and
that Captain Sharpey had been there the year before, and had gone thence
to Mokha, where he sold all his goods. I asked the name of the pacha,
and whether he was a good man. They answered his name was Jaffer Pacha;
that the former pacha was a very bad man, this rather better, but all
the Turks were bad.
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