Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/98

 in Abyssinia, was stationed at Mocha as Agent to the East India Company.

October 4.—The Banians in the morning sent down a mule, a camel, and several asses to convey us to Aden; and with this ill-assorted train the captain, the surgeon and myself, proceeded to the town. The road to it leads over a low ridge of the mountain, and for some distance is cut through the solid rock, in the narrowest part of which a strong gate protects the passage.

On our arrival at Aden we were received with great attention by the Banians, who had fitted up a house belonging to Mr. Benzoni for our reception. This gentleman had resided here in a commercial capacity from the time of my quitting the Red Sea in 1806; till 1808, when he went over to Bombay, where, on account of the information he possessed respecting the trade, and from the estimation he was held in by the Banians, whom he had much conciliated by his judicious conduct, he was appointed by the Governor, assistant to Captain Rudland at Mocha.

Aden, as a place of trade, is still of some consequence. It is the chief mart for the gums brought over by the Somauli traders from the north-eastern districts of Africa; and coffee of the best quality may be procured in considerable quantities, though not so expeditiously as at Mocha, owing to the want of a regular demand. The price of the principal articles at this time was as follows:

The town itself is a wretched heap of ruins and miserable huts, and none but Arabs of the lowest description would think of inhabiting it, owing to the scorching heat of the climate and the total want of every convenience of life, excepting water, under which it labours. The natives themselves are squalid and unhealthy in their appearance, and the lower classes are equally depraved in their habits with those inhabiting most Arabian towns.

Among the ruins some fine remains of ancient splendour are to be met with; but these only serve to cast a