A Chinaman turned Javan was our next neighbour, who kept a victualling-house or tavern, and brewed arack, a hot drink used in these parts instead of wine.  He had two outhouses, in one of which his guests were in use to sit, and the other was his brewhouse, which joined the pales on the south side of our house.  He now commenced a new trade, and became an engineer, having leagued with eight other villains to set our house on fire and plunder our goods.  These nine ruffians dug a well in the brewhouse, from the bottom of which they wrought a mine quite under the foundation of our house, and then upwards to our warehouse; but on coming to the planked floor of the warehouse, they were at a stand how to get through, being afraid to cut them, as they always heard some of us walking over them night and day.  They had gone wrong to work; for if they had continued their mine only to our next adjoining wareroom, they would have found 30,000 pieces of eight buried in jars for fear of fire; beside that room was not boarded.  After waiting two months in vain for an opportunity to cut the boards, one of them, who was a smith, proposed to work through our planks by means of fire.  Accordingly, about ten at night of the 28th May, 1604, they put a candle to the planks, through which they presently burnt a round hole.  When the fire got through, it immediately communicated to the mats of our bales, which began to burn and spread.  All the while we knew nothing of the matter, by reason of the closeness of the warehouse, all the windows being plastered up for fear of fire over-head.

After the first watch was out, one of which I had been, the second watch smelt a strong funk of fire, as it was by that time much increased, but they could not find out where it was after searching every corner.  One of them remembered a rat-hole behind his trunk, whence he could plainly perceive the smoke steaming out, on which he came immediately to me, and told me our cloth warehouse was on fire.  Going down immediately, and opening the doors of the warehouse, we were almost suffocated by the smoke, which was so thick we could not perceive whence it came.  We had at this time two jars of gunpowder in this warehouse, which made us greatly fear being blown up:  But, laying aside fear, we pulled every thing away that lay upon these jars, and got them out to our back-yard, the jars being already very hot.  We now searched boldly for the fire, and at last found it.  At length, by the aid of some Chinese merchants and others, we cleared the room of above fifty packs of goods, sixteen of which were on fire.