this village on the left hand is a small aldea, pleasantly situated on the bank of the river, where is a great pagoda much resorted to by the Indians.  A second gate leads to Boorbanpoor; and a third to Nonsary,[232] a town ten coss from Surat, where much calico is manufactured, standing near a fine stream or small river.  About ten coss farther in the same direction is Gondoree, [Gundavee,] and a little further Belsaca, [Bulsaur,] the frontier town towards Damaun.  Just without Nunsary gate is a handsome tank of sixteen sides, surrounded on all sides by stone steps, three quarters of an English mile in circuit, and having a small house in the middle.  On the farther side of this tank are several fine tombs with a handsome paved court, behind which is a small grove of Mango trees, to which the citizens resort to banquet.  About half a coss beyond this, is a great tree much venerated by the Banians, who alledge that it is under the protection of a dew, or guardian spirit, and that although often cut down and grubbed up from the roots by order of the Moors, it has yet constantly sprung up again.

[Footnote 230:  This depth probably refers to the anchorage below the bar.—­E.]

[Footnote 231:  Masulipatam, or, more correctly, Mutshelipatnam, is at the mouth of the Kistna, on the opposite coast of India.—­E.]

[Footnote 232:  Nunsary is a small river, with a town of the same name, 16 or 18 miles south of the Taptee.—­E.]

Near the castle of Surat is the Alphandica, where are stairs down to the river for landing and shipping goods, and within the alphandica are store-rooms for keeping goods till they are cleared; the customs being two and a half per centum for goods, three for provisions, and two for money.  Without the gate of the alphandica is the great Gondoree or Bazar, being the market-place for all kinds of merchandize.  Right before this gate is a tree with an arbour, where the fokeers, [faquiers,] or Indian holy men, sit in state.  Between this and the castle, at the entrance of the green, or atmeidan, is the market for horses and cattle.  A little lower, and on the opposite side of the river, is a pleasant small town named Ranele, inhabited by a people called Naites, who speak a different language, and are mostly seamen.  The streets of this town are narrow, with good houses, each of which has a high flight of steps to its door.  The people are very friendly to the English, and have many pleasant gardens, which attract many to pass much of their time there.  On the trees round this village there are an infinite number of those great bats we saw at St Augustine in Madagascar, which hang by their claws from the boughs, and make a shrill noise.  This bird is said by the people to engender by the ear, and to give suck to their young.