at which time we met the galeon of the captain of Malacca, a ship of 700 tons, coming from Goa.  After shooting at her many times, we at length shot through her main-yard, on which she came to anchor and surrendered.  We then commanded the captain, master, pilot, and purser to come on board our ship; but only the captain came, accompanied by one soldier, saying that the others would not come, unless sent for; but having got to some distance from us in the evening, all the people of the ship, to the number of about 300, men, women, and children, got on shore in two great boats, and we saw no more of them.

When we came on board, we found she was armed with sixteen brass cannon.  She had 300 butts of wine, Canary, Nipar wine, which is made of the palm-trees, and raisin-wine, which is very strong.  She had likewise an assortment of all kind of haberdashery wares; as hats, red caps, knit of Spanish wool, knit worsted stockings, shoes, velvets, camblets, and silks; abundance of surkets, (sweet-meats,) rice, Venice glasses, papers full of false and counterfeit stones, brought from Venice by an Italian, wherewith to deceive the rude Indians, abundance of playing cards, two or three bales of French paper, and sundry other things.  What became of the treasure usually brought in this vessel, in ryals of plate, we could not learn.  After the mariners had pillaged this rich ship in a disorderly manner, as they refused to unlade the excellent wines into the Edward, Captain Lancaster abandoned the prize, letting her drive at sea, after taking out of her the choicest of her goods.

Being afraid that we might be attacked by a greatly superior force from Malacca, we now departed from the neighbourhood of the Sambilam islands, and went to a bay in the kingdom of Junkseylon, between Malacca and Pegu, in the lat. of 8 deg.  N. We here sent on shore the soldier who had been left on board our ship by the captain of the galeon, because he could speak the Malay language, to deal with the people for pitch, of which we were in much need, which he did very faithfully, procuring two or three quintals, with promise of more, and several of the natives came off along with him to our ship.  We sent commodities to their king, to barter for ambergris and the horns of the abath, the trade in both of which articles is monopolized by the king of this country.  This abath is a beast having only one horn in her forehead, thought to be the female unicorn, and the horn is highly prized by all the Moors in those parts, as a most sovereign remedy against poison.[20] We got two or three of these horns, and a reasonable quantity of ambergris.  At length the king was disposed to detain the Portuguese soldier and our merchandise treacherously; but he told the king that we had gilt armour, shirts of mail, and halberts, which things they prize greatly, and in hope of procuring some of these he was allowed to return on board.[21]

[Footnote 20:  This Abath, or Abadia, is the Rhinoceros Monoceros, or One-horned Rhinoceros.  The virtue of the horn, mentioned in the text, is altogether imaginary.—­E.]