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a river commodious enough to admitt vessells of donable sin to throw watter upon it, soe that if a 1000 tun, seven milles up, at wich distance from house bee fired or their clothes upon their backs the sea, there stands a reasonable strong castle well burning thay will if thay can hinder any man from manned, and hausing great store of good guns quenching it. The Moores ar troubled with none mounted for the securing of the river at a con- of these superstitions but yet through the unuenient distance, on the north east and south sides worthy couetuousness of the gouernour of the of this castle is the citty of Surrat built of a large towne thay had noe body to head them, nor none extent and very popelus. Rich in marchandise, as vnto whome to joyne themselves, and soe fled being the mart for the great empire of the Mogol, away for company, whereas if there had beene 500 but ill contriued into narrow lanes and without men trayned, and in a readyness, as by order from any forme. And for buildings consists partly of the king there ever should, whose pay the gouer. brick, soe the houses of the richer sort partly of nour puts into his own pocket, the number to wood, the maine posts of wich sort only are timber, defend the citty would haue amounted to some the rest is built of bambooes (as they call them) thousands. This was the condition of the citty or caines, such as those youe make your angles at at the tyme of its inuasion. Norwich, but very large, and these being tyed The inuader Seva Gee is as I haue said by together with the cords made of coconutt rinde, extraction a Rayar or a gouernour of a small and being dawbed ouer with dirt, are the walls of country on the coast southward of Basiue, and the whole house and floors of the upper story of was formerly a tributary to the King of Vijapore, their houses. Now the number of the poore but being of an aspiring and ambitious minde, exceedingly surmounting the number of those of subtile and withall a soldier, hee rebells against some quality, these bamboo houses are increased the king, and partly by fraude, partly by force. vnmeasurably, soe that in the greater part of the partly by corruption of the kings gouernours of towne scarce tow or three brick houses are to bee the kings castles, seaseth many of them into his seen in a street, and in some part of the towne not hands. And withall parte of a country for wich one for many streets togather; those houses wichthe King of Vijapore paid tribute to the Mogul. are built of bricke are vsually built strong, their His insolencys were soe many, and his success soe walls of tow or tow and a half feet thicke, and the great, that the King of Vijapore thought it high roofes of them flat and couered with a plaster like tyme to endeavor his suppression, or els all would plaster of Paris, wich makes most comodous places be lost. Hee raises his armies, but is worsted to take the euening aire in the hotter seasons; the soe ouery where by the rebbell, that he is forced whole town is unfortified ether by art or nature, to conditions to release homage to Sevagee of its situation is upon a larg plaine of many miles those lands which hee held of him, and for the extent and their care hath been so little to secure rest Sevagee was to make good his possession it by art, that they have only made against the against the Mogol as well as he could, after some cheefe auenues of the towne, some weake and illtymeof forbearance. The Mogol demands his tribute built gntts and for the rest in some parts a dry from him of Vijapore, whoe returns answer that ditch, easely passable by a footman, wanting & wall hee had not possession of the tributary lands, or other defence on the innerside, the rest is left but that they were detayned from him by his soe open that scarce any signe of a ditch is rebbell who was grown too strong for him. Upon perceivable; the people of the towne are either the this the Mogol makes warr both vpon the marchants, and those of all nations almost, as King of Vijapore and Seuagee, but as yet without English, Dutch, Portugalls, Turkes, Arabs, Arme- any considerable success: many attempts have nians, Persians, Jews, Indiang, of seueral sorts, been made, but still frusterated either by the but principally Banians, or els Moores the con- cuning, or vallor, or money of Seuagee: but now querors of the country Hindues, or the ancient of late Kuttup Chawn, an Umbraw,' who passed by inhabitants or Persees, whoe are people fled out of Surrat since I arriued with 5000 men, and 14 Persia ages agoe, and here and some miles up the elephants, and had 9000 men more marched another country settled in great numbers. The Banian is way towards their randevouz, as wee hear hath one who thinks it the greatest wickedness to kill taken from him a strong castle, and some impres. any creature whatsoever that hath lifo, least sion into his country, to deuest wich, ware it is possibly they might bee the death of their father probable he took this resoluetion for inuation of or relation, and the Persee doth supperstitiously this country of Guzarat. His person is described adore the fire as his God, and thinks it an vnpor- by them whoe have seen him to bee of meane
* The walls of Surat up to this period were of mud; they were now ordered to be built of brick. Thevenot. who was at Surat in the early part of 1666, mentions that they were then in Pro Zress-Grant Duff's History of the
Mahrattas, chap vi. vol. I. p. 199n; conf. Elliot and Dow. son's Hist. of India, vol. VII. p. 287.
• ShQyista Khan, Amiru'l-umari-See Elliot and Dowson's Hist. vol. VII. pp. 269, 270.
