ad. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1557- 



they digged forth before, and then they set the pot upon 

 the same, then they take a litle thing made of a goord, 

 and with that they take out of the same drinke, and put 

 it upon the ground in three places, and in divers places 

 they have certaine bunches of the pils of Palme trees set 

 in the ground before them, and there they put in some 

 drinke, doing great reverence in all places to the same 

 Palme trees. 



All these ceremonies first done, the king tooke a cup 

 of gold, and they put him in wine, and hee dranke of it, 

 and when he dranke, the people cried all with one voice, 

 Abaan, Abaan, with certaine other words, like as they cry 

 commonly in Flanders, upon the Twelfe night, The 

 kinning drinks : and when he had drunke, then they 

 gave drinke to every one, and that done, the king licensed 

 them to depart, and every one that departeth from him 

 boweth 3 times towards him, and waveth with both hands 

 together, as they bow, and then do depart. The king 

 hath commonly sitting by him 8 or io ancient men with 

 gray beards. 



This day we tooke one pound and io ounces of gold. 



The 24 day we tooke 3 pound and 7 ounces. 



The 25 we tooke 3 ounces and 3 quarters. 



The 26 we tooke 2 pound and 10 ounces. 



The 27 two pound and five ounces. 



The 28 foure pound, and then seeing that there was 

 no more gold to be had, we weighed and went foorth. 



The first day of March we came to a towne called 



Mown. Mowre, but we found no boats nor people there: but 



being ready to depart, there came two Almades to us 



[II. ii. 43.] from another towne, of whom we tooke two ounces 



and a halfe of golde : and they tolde us that the 



Negroes that dwelled at Mowre were gone to dwell 



Lagova. at Lagova. 



They retume. The second day we came thwart of the castle, and 

 about two leagues off, and there saw all the five Portugall 

 ships at anker, and this day by night we fetched 

 Shamma. 



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