yond gold or silver.

Early on the 20th September,[275] we came out of the bay and set sail;
and that night, being very dark and windy, we lost sight of the Union
and our pinnace, called the _Good Hope_. The Union put out her ensign
about five o'clock p.m. for what reason we never knew, and lay too all
that night. We proceeded next day, and having various changes of wind,
with frequent calms, we came on the 27th October to the latitude of 26 deg.
S. nearly in the parallel of St Lawrence. Continuing our course with
similar weather, we descried two or three small islands on the 22d
November in the morning, and that afternoon came to another off a very
high land, called Comoro.[276] Sending our boat ashore on the 24th, the
people met five or six of the natives, from whom they bought plantains.
The 25th, by the aid of our boat towing the ship between two islands, as
the wind would not serve, we came to anchor in the evening near the
shore of Comoro, in between 17 and 20 fathoms water.

[Footnote 275: Jones says the 25th, and that the subsequent storm, on
the 26th, in which they lost sight of the Union and the pinnace, was so
violent as to split their fore-course.--E.]

[Footnote 276: According to Jones, they wished to have passed to the
south of Madagascar, making what is now called the outer and usual
passage, but could not, and were forced to take the channel of
Mozambique.--E.]

The boat was sent ashore on the 26th with a present for the king, in
charge of our factor, Mr Jordan, consisting of two knives, a sash or
turban, a looking-glass and a comb, the whole about 15s. value. The king
received these things very scornfully, and gave them to one of his
attendants, hardly deigning them a look: Yet he told Mr Jordan, that if
our general would come ashore, he might have any thing the country
afforded, and he bowed to him very courteously on taking leave. It
appears the king had examined the present afterwards, and been better
pleased with it, for he sent off a bullock to our general in the
afternoon, when the messenger seemed highly gratified by receiving two
penny knives. Next day, the general went ashore with twelve attendants,
carrying a small banquet as a present to the king, consisting of a box
of marmalade, a barrel of suckets, and some wine. These were all tasted
by the English in the king's presence, who touched nothing, but his
nobles both eat and drank. The general had some discourse with the king,
by means of