From Surat To
Burhanpoor Is A Pleasant Champain Country, Well Watered With Rivers,
Brooks, And Springs.
Between Burhanpoor and Agra the country is very
mountainous, not passable with a coach, and scarcely to be travelled on
camels.
The nearest way is by Mando, passing many towns and cities on
every day's journey, with many high hills and strong castles, the whole
country being well inhabited, very peaceable, and clear of thieves.
Agra is a very large town, its wall being two coss in circuit, the
fairest and highest I ever saw, and well replenished with ordnance; the
rest of the city being ruinous, except the houses of the nobles, which
are pleasantly situated on the river. The ancient royal seat was
Fatipoor, twelve coss from Agra, but is now fallen into decay. Between
these two is the sepulchre of the king's father, to which nothing I ever
saw is comparable: yet the church or mosque of Fatipoor comes near it,
both being built according to the rules of architecture. In Agra the
Jesuits have a house and a handsome church, built by the Great Mogul,
who allows their chief seven rupees a-day, and all the rest three, with
licence to convert as many as they can: But alas! these converts were
only for the sake of money; for when, by order of the Portuguese, the
new converts were deprived of their pay, they brought back their beads
again, saying they had been long without pay, and would be Christians no
longer. In consequence of the Portuguese refusing to deliver back the
goods taken at Surat, the king ordered the church doors to be locked up
and they have so continued ever since; so the padres make a church of
one of their chambers, where they celebrate mass twice a day, and preach
every Sunday, first in Persian to the Armenians and Moors, and
afterwards in Portuguese for themselves, the Italians, and Greeks.
By them I was informed of the particulars of Mildenhall's goods, who had
given them all to a French protestant, though himself a papist, that he
might marry a bastard daughter he had left in Persia, and bring up
another. The Frenchman refusing to make restitution, was thrown into
prison and after four months all was delivered up.
Between Agumere and Agra, at every ten coss, being an ordinary day's
journey, there is a Serai or lodging house for men and horses, with
hostesses to dress your victuals if you please, paying a matter of
three-pence for dressing provisions both for man and horse. And between
these two places, which are 120 coss distant, there is a pillar erected
at every coss, and a fair house every ten coss, built by Akbar, on
occasion of making a pilgrimage on foot from Agra to Agimere, saying his
prayers at the end of every coss. These houses serve for accommodating
the king and his women, no one else being allowed to use them. The king
resides at Agimere on occasion of wars with Rabna, a rajput chief, who
has now done homage, so that there is peace between them. I made an
excursion to the Ganges, which is two days journey from Agra. The
Banians carry the water of the Ganges to the distance of many hundred
miles, affirming that it never corrupts, though kept for any length of
time. A large river, called the Geminie [Jumna], passes by Agra.
On the 24th of May, 1616, while on our voyage home to England, we went
into Suldunha bay, where were several English ships outwards bound,
namely, the Charles, Unicorn, Janus, Globe, and Swan, the general being
Mr Benjamin Joseph. We arrived safe at Dover on the 15th September,
1616.
* * * * *
John Mildenhall, mentioned in the foregoing article, left England on the
12th February, 1600, and went by Constantinople, Scanderoon, Aleppo,
Bir, Caracmit, Bitelis, Cashbin, Ispahan, Yezd, Kerman, and Sigistan, to
Candhar; and thence to Lahore, where he arrived in 1603. He appears to
have carried letters from Queen Elizabeth to the Great Mogul, by whom he
was well received, and procured from him letters of privilege for trade
in the Mogul dominions. He thence returned into Persia, whence he wrote
to one Mr Richard Staper from Cashbin, on the 3d October, 1606, giving
some account of his travels, and of his negociations at the court of the
Mogul. This letter, and a short recital of the first two years of his
peregrinations, are published in the Pilgrims, vol. I. pp. 114 - 116, but
have not been deemed of sufficient importance for insertion in this
collection. - E.
SECTION XIX.
Eleventh Voyage of the East India Company, in 1612, in the
Salomon.[103]
We sailed from Gravesend on the 1st February, 1611, according to the
computation of the church of England, or 1612 as reckoned by others. We
were four ships in company, which were counted as three separate
voyages, because directed to several parts of India: The James, which
was reckoned the ninth voyage, the Dragon and Hosiander the tenth,
and our ship, the Salomon, as the eleventh.
[Footnote 103: Purch. Pilgr. I. 486. This unimportant voyage is only
preserved, for the sake of continuing the regular series of voyages
which contributed to the establishment of the East India Company. We
learn from Purchas that it was written by Ralph Wilson, one of the mates
in the Salomon, who never mentions the name of his captain. This voyage,
as given by Purchas, contains very little information, and is therefore
here abridged, though not extending to two folio pages in the
Pilgrims. - E.]
I would advise such as go from Saldanha bay with the wind at E. or S.E.
to get to a considerable distance from the land before standing
southwards, as otherwise the high lands at the Cape will take the wind
from them; and if becalmed, one may be much troubled, as there is
commonly in these parts a heavy sea coming from the west. Likewise, the
current sets in for the shore, if the wind has been at N.N.W. or W. or
S.S.W. And also the shore is so bold that no anchorage can be had.
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