who was left sick at Tayes.  This letter, having being kept till the 17th, mentioned the safe arrival of Mr Fowler and the rest of my company at Zenan.  The general likewise informed me, that God had raised him a friend in the midst of his enemies, being the Raha,[358] who is next in dignity to the pacha.  This letter made me alter my purpose of stopping the India ships, lest it might prove injurious to the general and his companions in captivity, as also to our countrymen trading in the Mediterranean.

[Footnote 358:  Probably a typographical error for Kaha, called Cahya in the narrative of Sir Henry Middleton, and meaning the Kiahya.—­E.]

The 7th February, the Trades-increase returned to me in the road of Assab, Mr Thornton bringing me another letter from the general, desiring me yet to forbear revenging our manifold wrongs, as he and his company expected to begin their journey back to Mokha in five days.  The 2d March, a boat from Mokha brought me a letter from the general, stating that his journey was delayed, and desiring me to forbear taking revenge.  The 5th, I sent the Darling over to Mokha, on which day our general and his company arrived there.  Mr Pemberton found in the road of Mokha a great ship belonging to Dabul, called the Mahomet.  The 11th, fearing some accident had befallen the Darling, owing to her long absence, I set sail with the other two ships, meaning to have gone over to Mokha; but before I reached Crab island, we saw the Darling coming over, on which we stood back to Assab.  In the evening, Mr Pemberton came to me with twenty-two of the betrayed people of the Trades-increase, and fourteen of my people belonging to the Pepper-corn.  He likewise brought me a letter from the general, giving me assurance of his enlargement as soon as the India ships were all arrived, and the wind came round to the westwards.

The 18th, I stood over to Mokha in the Pepper-corn, and arrived there on the 19th.  Before I had anchored, I had a letter from the general, giving me to understand that the presence of my ship alarmed the Dabullians and displeased the aga, wherefore he wished me to go back to Assab.  I immediately sent George Jeff ashore with two letters, by one of which I gave a brief account of our wants, and my opinion that the Turks only fed him with false hopes to serve their own purposes.  In the other, written purposely that he might shew it to the aga, I stated, that so long as he was detained a prisoner, he had no power to command us who were free, and could not therefore keep us from the road of Mokha, or from doing whatever we saw meet for ourselves.  To these the general wrote me the following answer: