he now wished to restore, and hoped we would make a beginning.  He added, that if our ships all departed without trade, he would be blamed by the pacha, his superior officer, who would impute our departure to his ill usage.  The 12th the general sent John Williams again ashore for the promised pilot; when the governor said the pilot’s wife would not allow him to go, unless we left four of our principal persons behind as pledges for his safe return, which bred in us a general suspicion of their evil intentions:  yet the general, in performance of his promise, determined to leave me behind in the Pepper-corn, but directed me not to carry any goods on shore, as they would not trust us with one of their rascal people except on such disgraceful terms, he thought fit not to trust them with any of our goods.  Wherefore, if they wanted any, as they pretended, they were to purchase and pay for them on board; and in case of suspecting any unfair dealings, we were to exchange pledges.  If they refused to deal on these principles, I was to follow the general to Mokha.  That same afternoon, the general departed with his own ship and the Darling towards Mokha.

[Footnote 356:  Probably Turks, distinguished from the half-naked Arabs by their dress.—­E.]

We laboured hard on the 13th November, by means of long warps, to get up to Aden against wind and current, and actually got abreast the fishing-cove.  This day the mir or governor of Aden sent a message on board, desiring to speak with our merchants, to know if we meant to trade.  Accordingly Mr Fowler and John Williams, together with the purser, who had other business, went ashore; and having informed the mir in what manner they were directed to trade, he detained all three, pretending he did so that he might procure payment for anchorage and other duties, for which he demanded 1500 gold Venetianoes, each worth a dollar and half, or 6_s_. 9_d_.  I continued unprofitably before Aden till the 16th December, in continual danger of shipwreck if any storm had happened, and always fed with promises of trade, but no performance, and our three officers continuing in confinement.

Being informed by my boatswain that he was much in want of small cordage for many purposes, and that he wished he and others might go ashore to lay some on the strand by the town wall, I sent to ask permission from the governor, with assurance of their safely.  This was immediately granted with the utmost readiness and complacency, desiring that they might use the most convenient place for their purpose, and offering the use of a house in which to secure their things during the night Yet after all these fair promises, every man who went ashore was seized, stript of their money and every thing they had, and put in irons.  My pinnace was lost, all the ropes taken away, together with the implements for laying it over again.  Thus there were now prisoners, two merchants, the purser, a man to wait upon them, a prating apothecary, my surgeon, master-caulker, boatswain, one of his mates, two quarter-masters, the cooper, carpenter, gunner’s mate, cockswain, and five of his crew, in all twenty persons.