_ 412 _ Alexandria to Messina, which delayed him until now, and I believe him because he evidently wishes to be of service. The news he brought about the fleet is similar to that which I sent Your Highness on the sixth of the present month by a special courier sent for this purpose. The information differs from that sent from Cairo only in the number of galleys and the time of their departure from Cairo. It appears that they cannot leave before next March. According to the other information, I have from Venice and Messina, the intention is to go this year, and if I am not mistaken and forget the season when the sea is navigable, I think that they will be able to leave in June or July, so that there are six months or more, from December until then, in which the fleet can be prepared for departure. The fact that Cairo is full of soldiers, as Mathias says, and the streets of Cairo as far as Damietta and Rosetta full of caulkers and carpenters and tradesmen drafted for Suez, does not suggest that the departure will be put off for a year. This is confirmed by what Mathias writes about ambassadors from the Lord of Surat being here, and a message from the Caliph of Mecca earnestly encouraging the fleet. The needs of Surat give more support to the opinion that it will be this year, because they are
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