Page:The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema (1863).djvu/84

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introduction.

funds, sufficed to take him to Aden. From thence, he was sent into the interior, as the saying is, at Government expense, and the liberality of the Arabian sultâna furnished his viaticum as far as Shirâz; for, it may be remarked, that there is not the slightest evi-
dence to prove his having engaged in any commercial transactions up to that period, and, if he did so sub-
sequently, it was merely as sleeping partner to his Persian benefactor. Be that as it may, his encounter with the latter was a piece of good fortune, without which it may fairly be questioned whether he would have been able to extend his travels as far as he did. On the other hand, the Persian merchant, who ap-
pears to have been a wealthy trader in jewels, was evidently glad to secure an intelligent companion in the projected journey, and his oriental hospitality looked for no other recompense. Instances of such generosity are not as uncommon in the East as in the West, and the experience of Varthema in this respect forms a striking contrast to that of Don Alonzo Enriquez de Guzman in the course of his European travels during the same century.[1]

The first place for which our travellers started in company was Samarcand, whether with the intention of limiting the trip to that city, or of making their way from thence to India, does not appear. How-
ever, they had not proceeded far when they were obliged to return, because "the Soffi was going through this country putting every thing to fire and

  1. ↑ Hakluyt Society's Publications, The Life and Acts of Don Alonzo de Guzman, translated and edited by C. R. Markham.
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