By The Same Messenger I Sent A
Letter To William Finch, Desiring Him To Go With This Command To Mucrob
Khan, at the receipt of which he wondered that I had got safe to Agra,
and had not been murdered
Or poisoned by the way; of which speech Finch
informed me afterwards.
After some farther conference with the king, as it grew late, he
commanded that I should be brought daily into his presence, and gave me
in charge to one of his captains, named Houshaber Khan, ordering that I
should lodge at his house till a convenient residence could be procured
for my use; and that when I was in want of any thing from the king, he
was to act as my solicitor. According to his command, I resorted daily
to court, having frequent conference with the king, both by day and by
night; as he delighted much to talk with me, both of the affairs of
England and other countries; and also made many enquiries respecting the
West Indies, of which he had heard long before, yet doubted there being
any such place, till I assured him I had been in the country.
Many days and weeks passed thus, and I became in high favour with the
king, to the great grief of all mine enemies; when, chusing a favourable
time, I solicited his order or commission for the establishment of our
factory. He asked me, if I meant to remain at his court? to which I
answered, that I should do so till our ships came to Surat, when I
proposed to go home with his majesty's answer to the letter from my
king. He then said, that he expected I should stay much longer, as he
intended by our next ships to send an ambassador to the King of England,
and he wished me to remain with him till a successor was sent to me from
my sovereign: That my remaining would be of material benefit to my
nation, as I should be in the way to put all wrongs to right, if any
were offered to the English, as whatever I might see beneficial for them
would be granted to my petitions; swearing by his father's soul, that
if I remained with him, he would grant me articles for our factory to my
full contentment, and would never go back from his word; and that
besides he would give me ample maintenance. I answered, that I would
consider of his proposal: And, as he was daily inciting me to stay, I at
last consented; considering that I should be able to do good service
both to my own sovereign and him, especially as he offered me an
allowance of L4200 sterling for the first year, promising yearly to
augment my salary till I came to the rank of 1000 horse; my first year
being the allowance of commander of 400. The nobility of India have
their titles and emoluments designated by the number of horse they
command, from 40 up to 12,000, which last pay belongs only to princes
and their sons.
Trusting, therefore, to his promises, and believing that it might be
beneficial both to my nation and myself, I did not think it amiss to
yield to his request; considering that I was deprived of the advantages
I might have reaped by going to Bantam; and that your worships would
send another in my place after half a dozen years, while in the mean
time I might do you service and feather my own nest. Then, because my
name was somewhat harsh for his pronunciation, he gave me the name of
Ingles Khan, which is to say English lord: though in Persia khan is
equivalent to duke. Being now in the height of favour, the Jesuits and
Portuguese did every thing they could for my overthrow; and indeed the
principal Mahometans about the king envied much to see a Christian in
such favour.
Father Peneiro, who was with Mucrob Khan, and the Jesuits here at Agra,
in my opinion did little regard their masses and other church matters,
in studying how to overthrow my affairs. Advice being sent to Goa and
Padre Peneiro at Surat or Cambaya, by the Jesuits here at Agra, of my
favour with the king, they did all in their power to gain Mucrob Khan to
aid the Portuguese; for which purpose the viceroy at Goa wrote to him,
sending rich presents, together with many toys for the king. These
presents, and many fair promises, so wrought with Mucrob Khan, that he
sent a memorial to the king, accompanied by the present from the
viceroy, stating, that permitting the English to trade in the land would
occasion the loss of the maritime country about Surat, Cambaya, and
other places; and that his ancient friends the Portuguese were much
offended by his entertaining me, as a rumour went among them that I was
now general of 10,000 horse, and was ready to assault Diu on the arrival
of the next English ships. The letter of the Portuguese viceroy was much
to the same effect. To all which the king answered, that he had but one
Englishman at his court, whom they had no reason to fear, as he
pretended to none of those things they alleged, and had refused an
establishment near the sea, preferring to live at court.
The Portuguese were quite enraged with this answer, and laboured
incessantly to get me out of the world. I then represented to the king
the dangerous predicament in which I was, and the uncomfortable
situation I was reduced to: My boy Stephen Grosvenor just dead, and my
man Nicholas Ufflet extremely sick, who was the only English person with
me, while I was myself beginning to fall much off. The king immediately
called for the Jesuits, and assured them, if I died by any extraordinary
casualty, that they should all feel it to their cost. The king was then
very earnest with me to take a white maiden from his palace to be my
wife, offering to give her slaves and all other things necessary, and
promising that she would turn Christian; by which means, he said, my
meat and drink would be properly looked after by her and her women, and
I might live without fear.
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