The 12th July, the Surat captain made a fine display of many artificial fire-works before the governor, it being then new moon.  The governor sent for me to see them, and placed me in a chair beside himself, telling me he had letters that day from Sinan, informing him that the Pacha had granted a phirmaun for us before the arrival of Mr Salbank, but hearing of his coming, had delayed sending it, and had since granted another, according to his instructions, and had delivered it to Mr Salbank with his own hand.

On the 13th there passed by the roads a junk of four or five hundred tons from Jiddah, bound for Kitchine, a day’s sail within the entrance of the Red Sea, which I suppose is not far from Cape Guardafui, on the coast of Africa.[292] She is said to contain great sums in gold and silver, with much valuable merchandize.  This ship comes yearly to Mokha at the beginning of the western monsoon, bringing myrrh, and boxes for coho seeds, [coffee] and goes from hence to Jiddah or Aliambo, [Al Yambo] where she sells her coffee and the India goods procured at Kitchine; which last are brought thither by Portuguese barks from Diu and other places.  Her outward lading consists of indigo, all manner of India cotton goods, gum-lac; and myrrh.[293] She is freighted by the Portuguese, and the governor of Mokha wished much we had met with her, which we had probably done, had not our ship been absent, which returned into the road of Mokha on the 21st.  I went aboard, and was told that the king of Assab and his brother had been aboard, and were kindly entertained, in return for which he promised to supply them with abundance of beeves and goats; but that same evening, in consequence of a signal of fire, he and all his people fled into the mountains, pretending they were threatened by an attack from their enemies, and never even gave thanks for their entertainment.

[Footnote 292:  The only place resembling this name is Kissem, on the oceanic coast of Yemen, or Arabia Felix, nearly due N. from Cape Guardafui.—­E.]

[Footnote 293:  This must refer to her homeward lading, called outward in the text in respect to India.—­E.]

Before day of the 27th July, Mr Salbank returned from Sinan in perfect health, and much satisfied with his phirmauns.  He gave me an account of his whole journey, having been respectfully treated every where; always before entering any town, being met both by horse and foot to conduct him to the different governors, by whom he was kindly received.  All his provisions were provided by their officers, but at his own expence; and the servant of the governor of Mokha caused him every where to be well used.  He was met a mile from Sinan by forty or fifty Turks, well mounted, sent by the Pacha to escort him to a well-furnished house prepared for his reception.  He was there kindly received and entertained by the xeriffe and the pacha’s chief treasurer, who were both deputed to give him welcome in the name of the pacha.  Two days afterwards, he had audience of the pacha, from whom he received courteous entertainment, receiving two phirmauns of the same tenor, one of which was much more ornamentally written than the other, and intended for being shown to the Grand Signior, if necessary.