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From Babylon I embarked in one of those small vessels which ply upon the Tigris between Babylon and Basora, which are built after the manner of foists or galliots, having a speron and a covered poop. They use no pumps, being so well daubed with pitch as effectually to exclude the water. This pitch they have from a great plain near the city of Heit on the Euphrates, two days journey from Babylon.

Only a few days before, these men had difficultly escaped from the hands of the Portuguese by swimming, with the loss of their foists and barks, and therefore greatly desired to be revenged of the Christians, outrageously affirming that I was a Portuguese and a spy. But God assisted me, for the master of the prison made fast its gates, that these outrageous men might not offer me violence.

This city contains about 500 houses. After sojourning here for fifteen days, I at length agreed for a certain sum with a pilot or ship-master, who engaged to convey me to Persia. At this time there lay at anchor in the haven of Mecca near an hundred brigantines and foists, with many barks and boats of various kinds, some with oars and some with sails.

This river ebbs and flows as it does in the Thames, and when the ebb begins, although their barks are light and propelled with oars like foists, they cannot row against the ebb tide, but must make fast to one of the banks of the river and wait for next flood. These boats are called bazaras and patuas, and row as well as a galliot or any vessel I have ever seen.

The kingdom of Aracan is in the mid-way between Bengal and Pegu, and the king of Pegu is continually devising means of reducing the king of Aracan under subjection, which hitherto he has not been able to effect, as he has no maritime force, whereas the king of Aracan can arm two hundred galleys or foists; besides which he has the command of certain sluices or flood-gates in his country, by which he can drown a great part of his country when he thinks proper, when at any time the king of Pegu endeavours to invade his dominions, by which be cuts off the way by which alone the king of Pegu can have access.

Their vessels are a kind of shallow brigantines or barks with flat bottoms, which draw very little water. Some also use foists having double foreparts , and two masts, but these have no decks. They have also some vessels of large burden, even carrying a thousand tons, in which they have several boats, and these are used when they go to Malacca for spices.

These observations, together with the fact that the egg of the cuckoo is occasionally found in the nests of other birds, raise the inquiry whether our bird is slowly relapsing into the habit of the European species, which always foists its egg upon other birds; or whether, on the other hand, it is not mending its manners in this respect.

Malm. 18 Foists or plates saie the Scotish writers, and 5000 men in the same. Alex. The foresaid Woden was father to Vecta, the father of Wergistus that was father to the foresaid Hengistus and Horsus. But now to rehearse further touching those thrée people which at this time came ouer into Britaine out of Germanie. Of the Saxons came the east, the south, & the west Saxons.

They range all along the coast from Ceylon to Goa, and go in parties of four or five paraos or boats together, in each of which are fifty or sixty men, who immediately board every vessel they come up with, doing much harm on that coast, and every year take many foists and barks belonging to the Portuguese. Besides the nairs, many of the people in these paraos are Moors.

Our admiral continued to pursue the enemy, and gave them another great overthrow, taking seven of their foists laden with various kinds of merchandise, and sank ten others by the shot of his artillery, one of which was laden with elephants.