286 Hamilton's account op the east indies,

There are neither trees, ftirubs nor grafs to be feen on the fea-ccaft from Curiat. toMufkat, and but a few date trees in a valley at the back of the town, and yet there isnot the lead: want of them felt in the city; and it has as good markets for wheat, bar-ley and legumen, and for excellent fruits, roots and herbage, and good cattle, bothgreat and final 1 , as any where in India , where the foil is moll luxurious. And the feafurnilhes them with plenty and variety of excellent fifh. Their cattle look to be verylean, but when killed, they are very fat and good, affording a great deal of tallow.They are not well flocked with fowl, but thofe they have, are very good.

From May to September the heats are exceffive in the town, fo that none appear onthe ftreets, from i o in the morning till 3 or 4 afternoon. Their bazaars or marketsare all covered with date tree leaves, fpread on beams of the fame tree, that reach fromhoufe to houfe-top; and the houfes being all flat on their tops, terraffed with clay andftraw mixed: in the aforefaid months every body lodges on them in the night; for be-low flairs they cannot fleep for heat, and the nights afford plentiful dews, that feme-times wet them through their thick cotton quilts; and thefe dews are reckoned veryfalubrious.

The reafon of fo intenfe heats proceeds from the nearnefs of the fun in thofe months,who fends his beams almofl perpendicularly down on the fides of the mountains, w'hichbeing all naked, and nothing but an hard black rock appearing, the fun heats them tofuch a degree, that between 10 and 11 in the forenoon, I have feen the flaves roaflfifh on them. And the horfes and cattle, who are accuflomed to that food, comedaily, of their own accord, to be ferved their allowance, and when they have break-failed, retire again to fhades built for them; and yet their beef and mutton, that arepartly nourifhed by that fort of food, have not the leafl favour of fifh. And the reafonwhy fillies are fo plentiful and cheap in the markets, is by the eafy and odd way theyhave in catching them, or rather conjuring of them; for I have feen a man and twoboys catch a ton weight in an hour or two. The man Hands on a rock, where thefea is pretty deep near it, and calls tall , tall, for a minute or two, and the filh comefwarming about the rock. The two boys, in a little boat, Ihut them in with a netabout 20 or 30 yards long, and 3 or 4 deep, and, drawing the net near the rock,keep all in; and, when people come for fifh, he aflces them what forts they want, andputs an hoop-net, fixed to the end of a pole, into the water, and ferves every bodywith what kind they alk for; and when he has done, he hauls out his net, and givesthe reft their liberty.

Their eftablilhed religion is Mahometan, of the feci of Alii. They hinder nobody,of what perfuafion foever, to go into their mofques, even in time of divine fervice.And their molahs or priefts often preach themfelves into violent paffions, efpecially ifthe fubject of their fermon be about the verity of their religion; and then they willchallenge the priefts of any other religion whatever, to confirm theirs with as good evi-dences as they can; for, being well verfed in legerdemain tricks, (which all we chrif-tians, except one fet of our priefts, are ignorant of) they will take live coals out ofthe fire, and feem to eat them, with as good an appetite as a fchool-boy can eat a ber-gamy pear; which trick the poor deluded auditory takes for a miracle, to confirm thelanclity of their religion.

The King keeps his court generally at Nazawa or Reyftock, two towns four or fivedays journey from Mufkat within land. He has no fplendid equipage, and his garbvery plain, and no finer than an ordinary foldier’s is. lie has about 100 of his ownilaves armed with matchlocks and fhort broad fwords, for his guard, who always at-tend on him. He nor his fubje&s ufe no tables, but plain mats fpread on the ground

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