at Lambeth, and in some places narrower, in some broader:  it runneth very swiftly, almost as fast as the riuer of Trent:  it hath diuers sorts of fish in it, but all are scaled, some as bigge as salmons, like barbils.  We landed at Felugia the eight and twentieth of Iune, where we made our abode seuen dayes, for lacke of camels to cary our goods to Babylon:  the heat at that time of the yere is such in those parts, that men are loth to let out their camels to trauell.  This Felugia is a village of some hundred houses, and a place appointed for discharging of such goods as come downe the riuer:  the inhabitants are Arabians.  Not finding camels here, we were constrained to vnlade our goods, and hired an hundred asses to cary our marchandises onely to New Babylon ouera short desert, in crossing whereof we spent eighteene houres trauelling by night, and part of the morning, to auoid the great heat.

[Sidenote:  The ruines of olde Babylon.] In this place which we crossed ouer, stood the olde mighty city of Babylon, many olde ruines whereof are easily to be seene by day-light, which I Iohn Eldred haue often beheld at my good leasure, hauing made three voyages betweene the new city of Babylon and Aleppo ouer this desert.  Here also are yet standing the ruines of the olde tower of Babel, which being vpon a plaine ground seemeth a farre off very great, but the nerer you come to it, the lesser and lesser it appeareth; sundry times I haue gone thither to see it, and found the remnants yet standing aboue a quarter of a mile in compasse, and almost as high as the stone worke of Pauls steeple in London, but it sheweth much bigger.  The bricks remaining in this most ancient monument be halfe a yard thicke, and three quarters of a yard long, being dried in the Sunne onely, and betweene euery course of bricks there lieth a course of mattes made of canes, which remaine sound and not perished, as though they had bene layed within one yeere.  The city of New Babylon ioineth vpon the aforesayd small desert where the Olde city was, and the riuer of Tigris runneth close vnder the wall, and they may if they will open a sluce, and let the water of the same runne round about the towne.  It is aboue two English miles in compasse, and the inhabitants generally speake three languages, to wit, the Persian, Arabian and Turkish Tongues:  the people are of the Spaniards complexion:  and the women generally weare in one of the gristles of their noses a ring like a wedding ring, but somewhat greater, with a pearle and a Turkish stone set therein:  and this they do be they neuer so poore.

[Sidenote:  Rafts borne vpon bladders of goat skins.] This is a place of very great traffique, and a very great thorowfare from the East Indies to Aleppo.  The towne is very well furnished with victuals which come downe the riuer of Tigris from Mosul which was called Niniuie in olde time.  They bring these victuals and diuers sorts of marchandises vpon rafts, borne vpon goats skins blowenvp full of wind in maner