as was expected, we must have been famished, as the country boats durst not have ventured to us from the main.  The rain water in the open cisterns was daily wasted, and became brackish, no care being taken to fill the jars and private cisterns in almost every house, while it remained good.  The Persians are quite ignorant in the art of war, for they entered the breach without fear, precaution, or means of establishing themselves; and they lost with shame what they might have defended with honour.  I observed other defects in their management, even of the very sinews of war; and I am astonished that Shah Abbas, the wonder of our age, should have sent his army on this expedition so weakly provided with money, arms, ammunition, ships, and all other necessaries.  I am even satisfied that all the money belonging to the khan was consumed in one month’s pay to our ships, and I fear we shall have to wait for the rest till the plunder is converted into money.  In regard to arms and ammunition, they have only small pieces, with bows and arrows, and swords, some of their chiefs having coats of mail.  They were so scarce of powder, that after blowing their mine, they had hardly enough to supply the small arms for entering the breach, though furnished with twenty or twenty-five barrels from our ships.  They had not a single scaling-ladder to assist their entry.  Were we to forsake them, they would soon be completely at a stand, yet they have already broken conditions with us in several things, and I much fear, when all is done, we shall be paid with reversions, and what else they themselves please.

Our ordnance so galled the Portuguese ships from the shore, that a galleon was sunk on the 19th of March, and two more on the 20th and 23d.  The last come ship from Goa, which was their admiral, and one of the others, were, I think, sacrificed by the policy of the governor, that the garrison might have no means of escape, and might therefore defend themselves manfully to the last, in hopes of relief from Goa, though some thought they went down in consequence of injuries from sunken rocks, in hauling them so near the castle to get them out of the range of our battery.

On the 27th, news was brought me that some of the Portuguese were come from the castle to treat of peace, upon which I repaired to the general’s tent, where I could well perceive, by the countenances of our two English commanders, that I was by no means welcome:  But, to requite them in their own coin, both they and I soon saw that none of us were acceptable to the Persians, for they long delayed bringing in the Portuguese messenger, in hopes we would have gone away, but at length, seeing we remained, he was brought in.  The drift of his speech was to the following effect:—­“His captain had sent him to kiss the hands of the general, and to ask the reason of making war upon the Portuguese, who were friends to the Persians, and thought it strange, considering their ancient league and friendship, that so great