Page 112 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

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112 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST
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commanders in a paper which Downton has left on record, l
in which the position is discussed with a gloomy determina­
tion to face the facts, however unpalatable they might be.
He descanted upon the lamentable outcome thus far of this ;
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voyage “ begun with glory (which drew great expectations
in all estates) and set out with great charges,” showing how
after two years’ travel they found themselves with “ our
victuals spent, our ship’s cables and furniture far worn,
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i men’s wages for twenty-four months already past, ourselves
deluded and abused in most places we have come to.”
The real question they had to face, he said, was “ whether
better we wish a languishing end or a shameful return.” i
After many dark communings Downton came to the con­
clusion that the best hope of retrieving the well-nigh des­
perate situation was to repair to the Red Sea and attempt I
j to obtain satisfaction there for the injuries done at Aden.
This was the decision ultimately arrived at by the com­
manders, and it was promptly acted upon, much to the
relief of the Portuguese, who had been thrown into a state
of great consternation by the presence of the English ships
at Dabul.
Arriving with his ships before Aden early in April, 1611,
Middleton at once instituted a blockade. The operations
were extended eventually to the Red Sea and were partici­ :
pated in to a certain extent by Captain John Saris with
two ships of the fleet of the seventh voyage, which had been
intercepted in the vicinity of the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. :
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But Saris’s heart was not in the work and serious disagree­
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ments arose between the two commanders on questions
of policy as well as with regard to the apportionment of the
compensation as soon as it should be obtained. At last,
i when the dispute had become an open rupture, Saris went