40

SIR. THOMAS ROE’S VOYAGE TO INDIA.

power ; but that they wondered our King could not command his fubjects, and thatany fliould prefume to take (hips out of the kingdom without his leave. Afaph Chanand I withdrew to tranflate the inventory into Perfian for the King: I fomewhat in-creafed the article of the money, that he might have the better opinion of our trade.I concluded, defiring His Majefty to allow us the liberty of felling the reft. Thatdone, Afaph Chan put me in mind I had fomething to fay to him in private. I toldhim it was true, I had fome rarities come, but 1 had fared fo ill the laft year by havingmy fecret divulged, that now I durft trull none but him ; and therefore on his word offecrecy and advice, 1 declared I had a pearl of a great value, and fome other rarities,and knew not whether I fhould tell the king, left the Prince fhould become our utterenemy. I gave him an account of what happened going to vifit him in the morning,that I was ftili fenftble we flood in need of his favour, and had therefore kept thatpearl to make him our friend, to which I defired his advice. He embraced me, andlaid I had done wifely, but mull keep the fecret, or it would breed me trouble ; thatthe Prince was a tyrant, and mifufed all ftrangers. All this I faw tended to get thepearl out of my hands, advifmg me to fend for it and trull no man, telling me in-itances of the ill-ufage of the Portuguefes upon the like occafions ; that if I would fellhim the pearl, he would depofit the money I fliould value it at in the hands of a thirdperfon ; and in return for the confidence I repofed in him, he would folicit our bufmefswhich could never be done without him. I faid I would ferve him, but feared hewould reveal the fecret: he fwore he would keep it, and to make the oath the morefolemn, we fqueezed one another’s thumbs, as is the cuftotn of the country. I pro-miled on my part to rely wholly on him, and do all things according to his direction.He faid he would get me orders that our goods fhould not be touched, but left whollyat my difpofal; that he would reconcile the Prince and me, and I fhould be better ufedthan I had been; have a particular judge afligned that; fhould take care of our bufmefs,and all the fatisfaclion we could wifh. lie faid it would be proper to make his filterQueen Normahall a prefent, and fhe would prevail with the King to give me money.To this I replied, I had rather His Majefty fhould bellow his favours on our nation ingeneral. Then he carried me to the King, to whom I prefented the inventory tranf-lated : I had a favourable reception. He afked me whether there was any tapeftry ?I faid fome was fent me, if it were not feized by the way by the Prince’s order. Hefaid he would take a good quantity of our cloths, and other commodities, direeling meto have them brought, and Afaph Chan to draw up the order for their free paffage.I was well pleafed with this day’s’ fuccefs ; for though experience had taught me thatthere was no faith among thofe barbarians, yet I had no caufe to miftruft Afaph Chan,vvhen.it was his interefl to be faithful to me, till he had got the pearl, which he mightotherwife have miffed of; nor could I fufpetl him afterwards, becaufe he could notibetray my fecret without difcovering his own falfehood to the Prince.

The 1 . 2 th Afaph Chan according to promife went with me to the Prince, who re-ceived me in his chamber, where I prefented him a fmall gold chain made in China ,on a falver of that country. Afaph Chan perfuaded him to deal more kindly with usthan he had done, reprefenting the profit our trade would yield him, and the lofs itwould be if we went away. The Prince immediately directed his fecretary to drawthe order to our mind, and write a letter to the governor to fee it executed; addingI fhould have any other letter I defired. This made me fenfible of the poor fpirits ofthofe people. Afaph Chan was become fo much our friend in hopes to buy fometrifles, that he would have betrayed bis own fon to ferve us, and was my humble fer-vant. He would needs fend one of his fervants aboard our fhips to this purpol'e,

which