The general gave immediate orders to remove all the principal men of the prize on board our ships, and only placed four of our men in the prize, for fear of rifling and pillaging the valuable commodities she contained, and gave these men strict warning, if any thing were amissing, that they should answer for the value out of their wages and shares, ordering them on no account to allow any one to come on board the prize, unless with his permission. When the prize was unloaded, her own boatswain and mariners did the whole work, none of our men being allowed to go on board even to assist. They only received the goods into our boats, carrying them to such ships as they were directed by the general; by which orderly proceeding there was neither rifling, pillaging, nor spoil, which could hardly have been otherwise avoided in such a business. Within five or six days we had unladen her of 950 packs of calicoes and pintados, or chintzes, besides many packages of other merchandise. She had likewise much rice and other goods, of which we made small account: And as a storm now began to blow, all their men were put on board, and we left her riding at anchor. She came from San Thome, [or Meliapour near Madras,] in the bay of Bengal, and was going to Malacca, being of the burden of about 900 tons. When we intercepted her, there were on board 600 persons, including men, women, and children. The general would never go on board to see her, that there might be no suspicion, either among our mariners, or the merchants in London, of any dishonest dealing on his part, by helping himself to any part of her goods. He was exceeding glad and thankful to God for this good fortune, which had eased him of a heavy care, as it not only supplied his necessities, to enable him to load his ships, but gave him sufficient funds for loading as many more; so that now his care was not about money, but how he should leave these goods, having so much more than enough, till the arrival of other ships from England. The 21st October, we began our voyage from the straits of Malacca to return to Acheen; and by the way there came a great spout of water, pouring from the heavens, and fell not far from our ship, to our extreme terror. These spouts come pouring down like a river of water; so that, if they were to fall upon a ship, she would be in imminent danger of sinking downright; as the water falls all at once like one vast drop, or as a prodigious stream poured from a vessel, and with extreme violence, sometimes enduring for an hour together, so that the sea boils and foams to a great height. § 5. _Presents to and from the King of Acheen, and his Letters to Queen Elizabeth. Their Departure to Priaman and Bantam, and Settlement of Trade at these Places._