tones. He said, moreover, that his king would esteem it a great
happiness to have commerce with the King of England, with whom, as he
understood, the _King of Holland_ was not to be compared.

The 28th November, I took leave of the king, the governor, the admiral,
the old sabander, Jura Bassa, Tanyong, and of the Hollanders, and went
on board for altogether next day. The 2d December, at night, our
merchants came aboard, bringing a letter from the King of Bantam to the
King of England, with a present of two _picols of Canton._ Before we got
out of the straits we espied a sail on the 12th December, which proved
to be the Hector from Surat, where her captain, William Hawkins,
remained. I understood that the Portuguese had taken eighteen of our
men, several of whom were factors, and goods to the value of 9000
dollars. The 14th we came back to Bantam roads, forced either to
lengthen our voyage, or to go home with lost reputation. The 16th there
came a small vessel from Amsterdam, giving notice of peace between
France, Spain, and the Dutch. I appointed Messrs Molineux and Pockham
for England in the Dragon, taking the rest with me in the Hector for the
Moluccas, into which other ship I removed on the 17th, the masters
shifting ships. The 21st I forwarded Mr Towerson in all diligence,
wishing him to depart in all speed; and on the 23d the Dragon made sail
from Bantam, God prosper her voyage.[174]

[Footnote 174: Mr Tewerson seems from this time to have commanded the
Dragon on the voyage home; but this whole narrative is so ill expressed
and incoherent, that its meaning has often to be guessed at.--ASTL. I.
321.a.]

Sec. 4. _Voyage of the Hector to Banda, with Occurrences there._

About one in the morning of the 1st January, 1609, we weighed anchor,
and with an off-shore wind got round the east point, three leagues
E.N.E. from our former anchorage. Thence easterly to another point other
three leagues, a very long shoal with very little water extending
between the two, to avoid which it is good to steer halfway between Java
and the isles of _Tonda_, which are five leagues distant. East from the
second point is the isle of _Tanara_, so close to the shore that it
cannot be distinguished from any distance. From the second to the third
point, are four leagues E.S.E. and one and a half mile off that point N.
by W. is the isle of Lackee, between which and the point is only one and
a half fathoms water, according to report. We rode a