When in Aleppo, I bought a fountain of silver gilt, six knives, six spoons, and one fork, all trimmed with coral, for 25 chekins, which the captain of Ormus took to himself and only paid 20 pardaos, or 100 larines, though they were worth there or here at Goa 100 chekins.  Also he had five emeralds set in gold, worth five or six hundred crowns, for which he only paid 100 pardaos.  He likewise took 19-1/2 pikes of cloth, which cost 20 shillings the pike at London, and was worth 9 or 10 crowns the pike at Ormus, for which he only paid 12 larines.  He also had two pieces of green kersie, worth 24 pardaos each; besides divers other more trifling articles which he and the officers took at similar inferior prices, and some for nothing at all.  But the real cause of all was Michal Stropene, who came to Ormus without a penny, and is now worth thirty or forty thousand crowns, and is grieved that any stranger should trade there but himself.  But that shall not avail him; for I trust yet to go both hither and thither, and to buy and sell as freely as he or any other.

There is a great deal of good to be done here in divers of our commodities; and likewise there is much profit to be made with the commodities of this country, when carried to Aleppo.  It were long for me to write, and tedious for you to read, all the incidents which have occurred to me since we parted; but the bearer is able to inform you of every thing that has befallen me since my arrival in Ormus.  It is my intention to remain here in Goa; wherefore, if you write me, you may send your letters to some friend in Lisbon, to be forwarded from thence by the India ships.  Let your direction, therefore be in Portuguese or Spanish, by which they will the more readily reach me.—­From Goa, this 20th of January 1584.

No, 7.—­Letter from Mr Ralph Fitch to Mr Leonard Poore.

Loving friend, &c.  Since my departure from Aleppo, I have not written you, because at Bagdat I was ill of flux, and continued in all the way thence to Basora, which was twelve days journey down the Tigris, when we had extremely hot weather, bad fare, and worse lodging, all of which increased my disease; besides which our boat was pestered with people.  During eight entire days I hardly eat any thing, so that if we had been two days longer on the water, I verily believe I had died.  But, thanks be to God, I presently mended after coming to Basora.  We remained there fourteen days, when we embarked for Ormus, where we arrived on the 5th of September, and were put in prison on the 9th of the same month, where we continued till the 11th of October, and were then shipt for this city of Goa, in the ship belonging to the captain of Ormus, with 114 horses[438], and about 200 men.  Passing by Diu and Chaul, at which place we landed on the 20th November, we arrived at Goa on the 29th of that month, where, for our better entertainment, we were committed to a fair strong prison, in which we continued till the 22d of December.  It pleased God, that there were two padres there who befriended us, the one an Englishman named Thomas Stevens, the other a Fleming named Marco, both Jesuits of the college of St Paul.  These good men sued for us to the viceroy and other officers, and stood us in such good stead as our lives and goods were worth:  But for them, even if we had escaped with our lives, we must have suffered a long imprisonment.