me, I might soon make my escape over the river without any opposition or hindrance. At length, when they expected my answer, and the money, I told them my intention plainly and clearly, which put them into greater fright and fear than they had put me in before. Wherefore they gave over their unjust demands, and desired of the 500 ducats no more but a single one, which they were forced to give to the servant of the Sub-Bashaw for the pains he had taken. CHAP. VI. _Which way we travelled from ~Ana~ farther to old ~Babylon~, by some ancient towns called ~Hadidt~, ~Juppe~, ~Idt~, and saw more pleasant, fruitful and well cultivated fields on each side than before._ After the designed storm that should have befallen me was over, and I by the power of the almighty God delivered, as it hath pleased him to do with a great many more, which would be too long to relate all here, we immediately departed from thence on the 15th of _October_. A little below it we found a fruitful and well cultivated country, and some fine houses standing here and there so near together, that before we passed one we could see another, which had also their orchards and kitchen gardens, and round about them fine woods of date trees and many others, which I could not discern because it was too far off; so that we found a great alteration, and our wilderness, wherein chiefly at a distance from the river, we hardly saw a tree in a whole day, changed at the lower end of the town into a fertile soil: Wherefore our voyage was very pleasant to us, for we had also less danger to fear from the _Arabians_. But our master was very much troubled, because the river was often stopp’d up at the sides with great stones that made the river swell, for there was a great number of large and high water engines or wheels, therefore these stones were laid to lead the stream to them to make them work, for it often happened that two of them stood close together, which took up so much of the river, that we had hardly room to pass by them in the middle of the stream, wherefore he was forced to have great care, to find the right way where he might pass without danger. The reason why these water-wheels are so much in use is, because this river doth not over flow (as the river _Nilus_) to water the grounds, neither doth it rain enough here sufficiently to moisten the seeds and garden-plants, that they be not burnt by the great heat of the sun, wherefore they must look out for such means, as will supply this want. To do this they erect water-wheels (whereof three or four stand behind one another) in the river, which go night and day, and dip up water out of the river, which is emptied into peculiar canals, that are prepared on purpose, to water all the ground. But if the places lie not conveniently, or the shore be too high to erect such wheels, they make instead of them bridges and peculiar engines, that are turned by a couple of bullocks, to bring the water up, with great