On The 9th, Our Landlord And The Scrivano Told Us That Three Junks From Diu, And Four Malabar Vessels, Were At Aden, Whence They Were Afraid To Proceed Without Our Pass Or Licence.

Accordingly we sent them a free pass, signed by our captain and three merchants.

In this, after reciting that we had found good usage from the governor and merchants at Mokha, we engaged to give them all freedom to pass quietly, assuring them of kind usage, provided they were not enemies to our sovereign or his subjects. A more general pass was afterwards granted by us for the quiet and free departure of all junks and other vessels, with their cargoes, mariners, and passengers.

On the 10th, the captain of the Dabul junk invited us to a banquet at his house, where we found the governor with about fifty principal persons, besides attendants, all of whom rose up to bid us welcome. Coffee, sherbet, and tobacco, were served round, with various fruits, as plums, apricots, and mangoes, and thinking these had been the feast, we were about to depart; but the governor and the Dabul captain desired us to remain, that we might eat bread and salt with them, which we did. The feast at last made its appearance, though late, being about sixty dishes of meats, baked, roasted, broiled, stewed, and boiled, but all mingled with rice and various kinds of sallads, in the fashion of India.

Our cargo consisted mostly of bad wares, which had lain in India till they were nearly spoiled, and so hung long upon our hands; wherefore we importuned the governor to dispeed our sales, which he charged the broker to do with all expedition. We also had leave granted to come and go between the ship and the shore at our pleasure, without demanding leave, contrary to the usual custom of the port, the water bailiff being ordered to give us no molestation. On the 20th, it was noticed that the monsoon had changed. The 24th, the scrivano observed to us that our sailors, on coming ashore, were in the custom of selling baftas and sword-blades in the bazar. He said the governor had promised liberty for the goods of these poor fellows to pass free of custom, and therefore they might freely bring them ashore for sale, but must sell them at our house, and not in the public bazar, which was a disgrace to us and our nation.

On the 31st, our ship was in great danger of being burnt. Some one happened to be smoking on the spritsail yardarm, when the burning tobacco fell out unobserved into a fold of the sail, where it burnt through two or three breadths, and was long smelt before it could be found. After this, smoking was strictly prohibited, except in the cook-room or the captain's cabin. At this time, for the recovery of our sick men, the exploration of the coast, and procuring ballast instead of lead taken out of the ship for sale, it was concluded to send the ship over to Assab; on the African coast, on which occasion Mr Baffen, the master's mate, was sent before to sound and discover the passage.

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