[Footnote 433: Most likely turmeric, anciently called turbith vegetable,
in contradistinction to turbith mineral, so named from its yellow colour
resembling turbith or turmeric. - E.]
No. 4. - _Letter from, John Newbery to Messrs John Eldred and William
Scales at Basora_.
Time will not permit to give you an account of my voyage after my
departure from you. But on the 4th day of this present September, we
arrived here at Ormus; and the 10th day I and the rest were committed to
prison. The middle of next month, or thereabout, the captain proposes
sending us all in his ship to Goa. The cause for which we have been
imprisoned is said to be, because we brought letters from Don Antonio:
But the truth is, Michael Stropene is the only cause, through letters
written to him by his brother from Aleppo. God knows how we may be dealt
with at Goa; and therefore, if you our masters can procure that the king
of Spain may send his letters for our release, you would do us great
good, for they cannot with any justice put us to death, though it may be
that they will cut our throats, or keep us long in prison. Gods will be
done.
All the commodities I brought to this place had been well sold, if this
trouble had not come upon us.
