ad been the occasion of the loss of Ormus, which being by
the miscarriage of that fleet deprived of the succours necessary for its
defence, was taken by the Persians and English. The beginning of this
voyage was very prosperous: we were neither annoyed with the diseases of
the climate nor distressed with bad weather, till we doubled the Cape of
Good Hope, which was about the end of May. Here began our misfortunes;
these coasts are remarkable for the many shipwrecks the Portuguese have
suffered. The sea is for the most part rough, and the winds tempestuous;
we had here our rigging somewhat damaged by a storm of lightning, which
when we had repaired, we sailed forward to Mosambique, where we were to
stay some time. When we came near that coast, and began to rejoice at
the prospect of ease and refreshment, we were on the sudden alarmed with
the sight of a squadron of ships, of what nation we could not at first
distinguish, but soon discovered that they were three English and three
Dutch, and were preparing to attack us. I shall not trouble the reader
with the particulars of this fight, in which, though the English
commander ran himself aground, we lost three of our ships, and with great
difficulty escaped with the rest into the port of Mosambique.

This place was able to afford us little consolation in our uneasy
circumstances; the arrival of our company almost caused a scarcity of
provisions. The heat in the day is intolerable, and the dews in the
night so unwholesome that it is almost certain death to go out with one's
head uncovered. Nothing can be a stronger proof of the malignant quality
of the air than that the rust will immediately corrode both the iron and
brass if they are not carefully covered with straw. We stayed, however,
in this place from the latter end of July to the beginning of September,
when having provided ourselves with other vessels, we set out for Cochim,
and landed there after a very hazardous and difficult passage, made so
partly by the currents and storms which separated us from each other, and
partly by continual apprehensions of the English and Dutch, who were
cruising for us in the Indian seas. Here the viceroy and his company
were received with so much ceremony, as was rather troublesome than
pleasing to us who were fatigued with the labours of the passage; and
having stayed here some time, that the gentlemen who attended the viceroy
to Goa might fit out their vessels, we set sail, and