[Footnote 166:  From subsequent circumstances the text is obviously here incorrect, and ought to have been translated, that the flood tides run six hours; as it will be afterwards seen that the voyage to a place 12 miles short of Pegu requires eight days of these tide trips of six]

In Pegu there are eight brokers licenced by the king, named tareghe, who are bound to sell all the merchandise which comes there at the current prices; and if the merchants are willing to sell their goods at these rates they sell them out of hand, the brokers having two per centum for their trouble, and for which they are bound to make good all debts incurred for the goods sold by them, and often the merchant does not know to whom his goods are sold.  The merchants may indeed sell their own goods if they will; but in that case the broker is equally intitled to his two per centum, and the merchant must run his own risk of recovering his money.  This however seldom happens, as the wife, children, and slaves of the debtor are all liable in payment.  When the agreed time of payment arrives, if the debt is not cleared, the creditor may seize the person of the debtor and carry him home to his house, and if not immediately satisfied, he may take the wife, children, and slaves of the debtor and sell them.  The current money through all Pegu is made of ganza, which is a composition of copper and lead, and which every one may stamp at his pleasure, as they pass by weight; yet are they sometimes falsified by putting in too much lead, on which occasions no one will receive them in payment.  As there is no other money current, you may purchase gold, silver, rubies, musk, and all other things with this money.  Gold and silver, like other commodities, vary in their price, being sometimes cheaper and sometimes dearer.  This ganza money is reckoned by byzas, each byza being 100 ganzas, and is worth about half a ducat of our money, more or less according as gold is cheap or dear.

When any one goes to Pegu to buy jewels, he will do well to remain there a whole year; for if he would return by the same ship, he can do very little to purpose in so short a time.  Those who come from San Thome usually have their goods customed about Christmas, after which they must sell their goods, giving credit for a month or two, and the ships depart about the beginning of March.  The merchants of San Thome generally take payment for their goods in gold and silver, which are always plentiful in Pegu.  Eight or ten days before their departure they are satisfied for their goods.  They may indeed have rubies in payment, but they make no account of them.  Such as propose to winter in the country ought to stipulate in selling their goods for payment in two or three months, and that they are to be paid in so many ganzas, not in gold or silver, as every thing is most advantageously bought and sold by means of this ganza money.  It is needful to