It Is Reckoned
So Great A Shame To The _Tareghe_ Or Jewel-Broker To Have His Jewels
Returned, That He
Would rather have a blow on the face than have it
believed that he had sold his jewels too dear
And have them returned on
his hands; for which reason they are sure to give good bargains,
especially to those who have no experience, that they may not lose their
credit. When such merchants as are experienced in jewels purchase too
dear it is their own fault, and is not laid to the charge of the
brokers; yet it is good to have knowledge in jewels, as it may sometimes
enable one to procure them at a lower price. On the occasions of making
these bargains, as there are generally many other merchants present at
the bargain, the broker and the purchaser have their hands under a
cloth, and by certain signals, made by touching the fingers and nipping
the different joints, they know what is bidden, what is asked, and what
is settled, without the lookers-on knowing any thing of the matter,
although the bargain may be for a thousand or ten thousand ducats. This
is an admirable institution, as, if the lookers-on should understand
what is going on, it might occasion contention.
SECTION XIX.
_Voyages of the Author to different parts of India._
When I was at Pegu in August 1569, having got a considerable profit by
my endeavours, I was desirous to return to my own country by way of St
Thome, but in that case I should have been obliged to wait till next
March; I was therefore advised to go by way of Bengal, for which country
there was a ship ready to sail to the great harbour of Chittagong,
whence there go small ships to Cochin in sufficient time to arrive there
before the departure of the Portuguese ships for Lisbon, in which I was
determined to return to Europe. I went accordingly on board the Bengal
ship; but this happened to be the year of the _Tyffon_, which will
require some explanation. It is therefore to be understood that in India
they have, once every ten or twelve years, such prodigious storms and
tempests as are almost incredible, except to such as have seen them,
neither do they know with any certainty on what years they may be
expected, but unfortunate are they who happen to be at sea when this
tempest or _tyffon_ takes place, as few escape the dreadful danger. In
this year it was our evil fortune to be at sea in one of these terrible
storms; and well it was for us that our ship was newly _over-planked_,
and had no loading save victuals and ballast, with some gold and silver
for Bengal, as no other merchandise is carried to Bengal from Pegu. The
tyffon accordingly assailed us and lasted three days, carrying away our
sails, yards, and rudder; and as the ship laboured excessively, we
cut away our mast, yet she continued to labour more heavily than before,
so that the sea broke over her every moment, and almost filled her with
water. For the space of three days and three nights, sixty men who were
on board did nothing else than bale out the water continually, twenty at
one place, twenty in another, and twenty at a third place; yet during
all this storm so good was the hull of our ship that she took not in a
single drop of water at her sides or bottom, all coming in at the
hatches. Thus driving about at the mercy of the winds and waves, we were
during the darkness of the third night at about four o'clock after
sunset cast upon a shoal. When day appeared next morning we could see no
land on any side of us, so that we knew not where we were. It pleased
the divine goodness that a great wave of the sea came and floated us off
from the shoal into deep water, upon which we all felt as men reprieved
from immediate death, as the sea was calm and the water smooth. Casting
the lead we found twelve fathoms water, and bye and bye we had only six
fathoms, when we let go a small anchor which still hung at the stern,
all the others having been lost during the storm. Our anchor parted next
night, and our ship again grounded, when we shored her up the best we
could, to prevent her from over-setting at the side of ebb.
When it was day, we found our ship high and dry on a sand-bank, a full
mile from the sea. When the _tyffon_ entirely ceased, we discovered an
island not far from us, to which we walked on the sand, that we might
learn where we were. We found it inhabited, and in my opinion the most
fertile island I had ever seen. It is divided into two parts by a
channel or water-course, which is full at high tides. With much ado we
brought our ship into that channel; and when the people of the island
saw our ship, and that we were coming to land, they immediately erected
a bazar or market-place with shops right over-against the ship, to which
they brought every kind of provisions for our supply, and sold them at
wonderfully reasonable rates. I bought many salted kine as provision for
the ship at half a _larine_ each, being all excellent meat and very fat,
and four wild hogs ready dressed for a larine. The larine is worth about
twelve shillings and sixpence. Good fat hens were bought for a _byza_
each, which does not exceed a penny; and yet some of our people said
that we were imposed upon, as we ought to have got every thing for half
the money. We got excellent rice at an excessively low price, and indeed
every article of food was at this place in the most wonderful abundance.
The name of this island is _Sondiva_ or Sundeep, and belongs to the
kingdom of Bengal, being 120 miles from Chittagong, to which place we
were bound.
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