'A voyage from England to India, in the year 1754, and an historical narrative of the operations of the squadron and army in India, under the command of Vice-Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive, in the years 1755, 1756, 1757 ... Also a journey from Persia to England by an unusual route. With an appendix, containing an account of the diseases prevalent in Admiral Watson's squadron, etc.' [‎261] (302/562)

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before we left the veflcl: we were dreffed as Europeans, and on approaching
him, we uncovered our heads, and bent our bodies, after our own manner^
he returned our compliments fitting, but gracefully bending his body for
wards, putting his right hand upon his breaflr, and then immediately point-
ihg to our feats, we fat down, and covered our heads. We fat frontino-
him ; on each hand he had an ancient venerable perfon j farther to his right,
were in four ranks other officers all fitting, fix or feven in each rank, and
to his left were ftill more. Many fervants flood behind us, amoncr them
my man Alexander had intruded himfelf, our Chocarda too was obferved
to be at this entertainment.
Aly Aga addrefled himfelf to us, by the mouth of Cojee Pago ofe and Mr.
Hemet •, Pagoofe fpeaking to the latter in Per/tan, and he to us in French,
and fometimes in broken EngHJh. Common compliments took place firft,
refpecting our health, that of Mr. Skaw, &c. then he afked us of the par
ticular incidents of our voyage hitherto, of our intended route, and of our
motives for undertaking fo fatiguing and perilous a journey ; he was greatly
amazed to find they were not pecuniary ones, but proceeded chiefly from
curiofity. He then changed his difcourfe to our company's affairs at Bengal,
and the revolutions which had lately happened there; talked of our fleet in
India, of the feveral powers at war in Europe, and of the face of affairs there
at prefent •, and at laft, of the navigation up the river Euphrates, of the
latitude of Bajfora, Dewana, &c. During this converfation we were enter
tained, firft, with a faucer of fweetmeats, of which fome of us eat four or
five very fmall fpoonfuls, and intended to have finifhed the whole, but
Monfieur whifpered to leave off, " for dat one fpoonful only, was de
more polite j" then a fmall cup of coffee was brought, and after a fhort in
terval a fmall bafon of warm fweet water fcented with rofes ; laftly, our
handkerchiefs were wetted with rofe-water, and our noftrils fumigated with
the fmoke of Amhergreafe and Agala wood. We had been given to under-
Hand, that foon after the ferving of the fweet water and odours, we fhould
be at liberty to take our leave on our making a motion to do this, Aly Aga
repeated to us, how forry he was the folemnity of the Ramazan deprived
him of the pleafure of our company by day; but that, if convenient to us,
he fhould be happy, would we continue here for a few days to recover from
our fatigue, and he would endeavour to make us pafs the time as
agreeably as was in his power. We excufed ourfelves from accepting his
kind invitation, by informing him of the neceflity we were under to
reach Baghdad as foon as poflible and that we had an additional mo
tive to haften our journey, which was the earneft defire of feeing our
native country, and our families, from whom we had fuffered a long
and painful feparation. His anfwer implied, that he fincerely wifhed us a
happy fight of both, hoped our journey and voyage would be as pleafant
and fpeedy as poffible, and that the Great God would condudl us fafe. We
expreffed in the befl terms we were able, our fenfe of his favors ; to which
he replied very fenfibly and politely.. As foon as we got from our feats^
Mr,