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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ DECEMBER, 1921
posts of wich sort only are timber, the rest is built of bambooes (as they call them) or caines, such as those youe make your angles [i.e., fishing rods] (of) at Norwich, but very large, and these being tyed togather with the cords made of coconutt rinde, and being dawbed over with dirt, are the walls of the whole house and floors of the upper story of their houses. Now the nomber of the poore exceedingly surmounting the nomber of those of some quality, there bamboo houses are increassed unmeasurably; soe that in the greatter part of the towne scarc tow or three brick houses are to bee seen in a street, and in some part of the towne not one for many streets togather. Those houses wich are built of bricke are usually built strong, their walls of 2 or 2 feete thicke and the roofes of them flat and covered with a plaster like plaster of Paris, wich makes most comodous places to take the evening aire in the hotter seasons.
The whole towne is unfortefied, either by art or nature. Its situation is upon a large plaine of many miles extent and their care hath beene soe little to secure it by art that thay have only made against the cheefe avenues of the towne some weake and ill built gates, and for the rest in some parts a dry ditch easiely pasable by a footman, wanting a wall or other defence on the innerside; the rest is left soe open that scarce any signe of a dich is perceiveable.
The people of the towne are either the marchants and those of all nations almost, as Einglish, Dutch, Portugalls, Turkes, Arabs, Armenians, Persians, Jewes, Indians of severall sorts, but principally Banians), or els Moores, the conquerers of the country, Hindues or the ancient inhabetants, or Persees, whoe are people fled out of Persia ages agoe and heere, and some miles up the country, settled in great numbers. The Banian is one whoe thinks it the greatest wickedness to kill any creature whatsoever that hath life, least posibly they night bee the death of their father or relation; and the Persee doth supperstitiously adore the fire as his god, and thinks it an unpardonable sin to throw watter upon it ; soe that if a house bee fired, or their clothes upon their backs burning, thay will, if thay can, hinder any man from quenching it. The Moores ar troubled with none of these superstitions, but yet through the unworthy covetuousness of the Governour of the towne thay had noe body to head them nor none unto whome to joyne themselves, and soe fled away for company; whereas, if there had beene 500 men trayned and in a readyness, as by order from the King there ever should (whose pay the Governour puts into his owne poket), the number to defend the citty would have amounted to some thousands. This was the condittion of the citty at the tyme of its invasion,
The invader Seva Gee is (as I have said) by extraction a Rayar or a Governour. of a small counttry on the coast southwards of Basine, and was formerly a tributary to the King of Vijapore, but being of an asspiring and ambitious minde, subtile, and withall a soldier, hee rebells against the King, and partly by fraude, partly by force, partly by corruption of the Kings governours of the Kings castles, Beageth many of them into his hands, and withall parte of a country for wich the King of Vijapore paid tribute to the Mogol. His insolencys were boe many, and his success soe great, that the King of Vijapore thought it high tyme to indevoer his supression, or els all would be lost. Hee raises his armies, but is worated Boe every where by the rebell that hee is
