heads, whereof some of them are of pure golde, and ringes of golde, and some of siluer about their armes, euery one according to their abilitie.  They are very curious about their bodyes, for they washe themselues at the least fiue or sixe times euery day:  they neuer ease themselues nor haue the company of their husbandes, but they presently leape into the water and wash their bodies, and therefore the water that runneth through Bantam is very vnwholesome; for euery one washeth themselues in it, as well pockie as other people, whereby wee lost some of our men that drunke of the water:  The women are verie idle, for they do nothing all the day but lie downe; the poore slaues must doe all the drudgerie, and the men sit all day vpon a mat, and chaw Betele, hauing ten or twentie women about them, and when they make water, presenly one of the women washeth their member, and so they sit playing all the day with their women:  Many of them haue slaues that play vppon instrumentes much like our Shakebois, [Footnote:  Musical instruments mentioned in Nichol’s Coronation of Anne Boleyn, p. 2.  Probably Sackbuts.] they haue likewise great basons whereon they strike, and therewith know how to make good musicke, whereat the women daunce, not leaping much, but winding and drawing their bodies, armes and shoulders, which they vse all night long, so that in the night time they make a great noyse with basons and other instruments, and the man he sitteth and looketh vpon them, euerie one of the women striuing to doe her best that she may get her husbands fauour and her secreat pleasure. [Sidenote:  How pepper groweth in that countrey.] The Gentlemen, Citizens, and marchantes haue their Gardens, and fieldes without the towne, and slaues for the purpose to labour in them, and bring their maisters all kindes of fruit, Rice and Hennes in the towne, also the Pepper that groweth there, which runneth vp by another tree, as Hoppes with vs, and groweth in long bunches like Grapes, so that there is at the least 200. graines in one bunch:  it is first greene, and after it becommeth blacke, and is there in great aboundance, so that it is the right Pepper countrey; for when we came thither they said vnto vs, Aqui ai tanta Pimienta, como terra, that is, here is as much Pepper as earth, and so we found it, and yet we departed from thence by our owne follies, without our lading of Pepper:  Wee staide for new Pepper, meane time the Portingalles sent their letters into euery place seeking to hinder our trade:  At the first we might haue sufficient, for there we founde enough both to buy for money or to barter.  We likewise had money and wares sufficient:  we might easily have had sixe or eight hundred tunnes, as we were aduertised by some of the countrey, that we should presently buy, for that the Portingalles sought by all the meanes they could to hinder vs, as after it appeared; and therefore he that thinketh to come soone enough, commeth oftentimes too late, and we vsed not our time so well as it fell out.