The Chinese are apparelled in long gowns, wearing kirtles, or shorter garments, under these; and are assuredly the most effeminate and cowardly nation in the world.  On their heads they wear a caul or close bonnet, some of silk and some of hair, having the hair of their heads very long, and bound up in a knot on their crowns.  Their nobles and governors wear hoods of sundry fashions, some being one half like a hat and the other half like a French hood, others of net-work with a high crown and no brims.  They are tall and strong built, having all very small black eyes, and very few of them have any beards.  They will steal and commit all manner of villainy to procure wealth.  At Bantam they purchase female slaves, as they cannot bring any women out of China.  By these slaves they have many children; and when they go back to China, without intending to return to Bantam, they carry all their children along with them, but sell their women.  They send always some of their goods to China by every fleet of junks; for if they die at Bantam, all the goods they have there fall to the king.  If they cut their hair, they must never return to China; but their children may, providing their hair has never been cut.

Sec. 2._A brief Discourse of many Dangers by Fire, and other Treacheries of the Javanese_.

After our two ships, the Dragon and Hector, were laden, and all things set in order, our general, Sir James Lancaster, departed from Bantam on the 21st February, 1603, leaving nine persons resident in that city, over whom he appointed Mr William Starkie to be chief commander.  He likewise left thirteen others, who were appointed to go in our pinnace for Banda, over whom Thomas Tudd, merchant, was constituted chief commander, and Thomas Keith master of the pinnace.  At his departure, the general left orders that the pinnace should be sent away with all speed; wherefore, having taken on board fifty-six chests and bales of goods, she set sail at night on the 6th March; but meeting with contrary winds, was forced to return to Bantam after having been two months at sea, beating up to no purpose.  Also, at our general’s departure, he left us two houses full of goods, besides some being at the Dutchman’s house; but we were too few in number to have kept one house well, had not God of his great mercy preserved us.

Before the departure of our ships, a quarrel had taken place between our people and the Javanese, who sought by all manner of ways to be revenged; so that presently after the departure of our pinnace, they began to attempt setting fire to our principal house, by means of fire-arrows and fire-darts in the night; and when we brought out any quantity of our goods to air, they were sure to set some part of the town on fire to windward not far from us.  If these fire-arrows had not, by God’s good providence, been seen by some of our people, that house and all its goods had surely been consumed, as plainly appeared when we came afterwards to repair the roof.  But, as the malice of the rascal sort began now plainly to appear, and continued for two years against us, so did the merciful protection of God begin to shew itself, and continued to the last day, as will manifestly be seen in the sequel of this discourse:  For which blessed be his holy name.