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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 72 of 218
Words from 72500 to 73510
of 221842
