[Footnote 126:  This expression, tall ships, so often used in these early voyages, evidently means square-rigged vessels having top-masts; as contradistinguished from low-masted vessels, such as sloops and pinnaces.—­E.]

It pleased God to take away the two masters of the two ships which were now loading, Samuel Spencer, master of the Hector, and Habakkuk Pery, of the Susan; as also William Smith, master’s mate of the Hector, and soon afterwards Captain Styles, with several other principal men, and many of their sailors, so that we were forced to hire men to ease them of their work in loading, and also to engage as many as we could get of Guzerat and Chinese mariners, to help to navigate the ships home, at a great expence.  With much ado we got them laden by the 16th February; but it was the 4th of March before we could get ready for sea.  They then sailed, the Hector having on board 63 persons of all sorts, English and others, but many of their own men were sick.  The Susan had 47 of all sorts, but likewise had many English sick:  I pray God to send us good news of them.

The 6th May a Holland ship came in, which came from the coast of Goa, [Malabar,] where, along with two other Dutch ships bound for Cambay,[127] they took four very rich Portuguese ships, one of which, laden with great horses, they set on fire.  This ship had left Holland in June, 1604, but could give us no farther news than we had already got from our own ships.  The captain of this ship was Cornelius Syverson, a proud boor, having neither wit, manners, honesty, nor humanity; and presently after his arrival the Hollanders withdrew their familiarity from us.  I shall now, however, leave this despiser of courtesy and hater of our nation, with his rascally crew, and give some account of the ceremonial of the young king’s circumcision, and the triumphs held daily in consequence for more than a month before he went to church, [mosque] in preparations for which all the better sort had been busied since February or March, till the 24th of June.

[Footnote 127:  Cambay, in this place, probably means Camboja, or Cambodia, in Eastern India, not Cambay in Guzerat.—­E.]

For this ceremonial a great pageant was prepared, the fore part of which was made in the resemblance of a great devil, on which were placed three chairs of state; that in the middle for the king, being elevated about two feet above those on either side, which were for the two sons of Pangran Goban, heir to the crown if the king should die without issue.  This pageant was placed on a green or open space, in front of the palace gate, and railed in all round.  The custom of the country is, when the king comes to the throne, or at his circumcision, all that are able must make the king presents publicly, and with as much shew as possible; such as cannot do so of themselves, whether natives or strangers, join in companies to make their compliments.  About the 25th June these shews began, and continued all that month and the next, every day except some few when it rained.  The protector or regent of the kingdom began on the first day, and was succeeded daily by the nobles and others, each having their day, not as they were in rank or birth, but as each happened to be in readiness, sometimes two or three companies in one day.