302 Hamilton’s account of the east ineies,.

■wards it, "which feared the governor fo much, that though there was an high mudwall between him and them, he got on horfeback, and fled to a fort on the fea-fhore,leaving a few guns, loaded as they were, to the enemy.

The Ballowches came firft to the weft quarter of the town, where our factory ftands,and foon made paffages through the mud walls. They hewed down all that came intheir way, particularly old people and children, and came in a confufed hafte to attackour factory, down fome lanes; but we gave them a warm welcome with our greatguns and fmall fhot. They foon found their miftake, and retired in as great hafte asthey came. Some of their mufketeers got into fome ruined houfes, and fired on us;but we being barricadoed, they did us little damage, and had our men obferved theirorders better, we had come off with lefs. Our firing lafted about three hours, inwhich time we loft three or four, killed by their own rafhnefs in {landing open to theenemy, when they might have done better fervice under cover of our barricadoes.Wehadalfo feven wounded, but none mortally, but one who was a factor, who re-ceived a fhot in his right hand, which threw him into a fever, of which he died in fevenor eight days. The agent being gone to Ifpahan fome weeks before we had any ad-vice of the Ballowches coming, had carried twenty foldiers along with him for a guard,and left but fix in the factory, befides cooks, and a few fervants. I faw the factory indanger if they fhould be attacked, fo I reinforced it with thirty-fix of my beft men,and another fmall Englifh fliip from Bombay, affifted with eight or nine of his, fo thatwhen the enemy came, we were about fifty flrong. The feafon being very cold, madeOur duty hard, for we lay in our arms every night, for io or 12 nights that the enemylay in the town. They had a confultation next day after their repulfe, how they mightmake another attack; but none would undertake to lead their men on, and fo the dayafter confultation, they went to attack the Dutch , who were three times ftronger thanwe, and they met with the fame kind reception we gave them ; but they had a ware-house within piftol-fhot of their factory, with goods to the value of 20,000!. fterling init, which the Ballowches broke into, and plundered. The Dutch loft twelve men, andhad eight or ten wounded : fo finding our factories were not to be taken without thedanger of much blood-fhed, they went plundering the town for eight or nine days, andcarried away, in money and goods, above 2oo,oool. befides 14,000 captives, and asmany beafts of carriage, and fo went off about five or fix miles from the town, whichthey laid in afhes before they left it. They continued in our neighbourhood, withtheir plunder, about a month, I fuppofe till they received new orders how to difpofeof themfelves.

Notwithftanding fuch numerous rebellious armies were on foot, threatening deftruc-tion to the ftate, the indolent King being lulled afleep in fecurity, did not offer to raifeany forces for the defence of himfelf and country, but faid to his cabinet counfellers,that he was fure his enemies would leave him Ifpahan, and that one city would be•enough to maintain him and them his counfellors: but when Meriweys came withinthree days journey of the city, he raifed about 50,000 of the citizens, and fent to theEnglifh and Dutch agents, to join their little forces to his, to manage the artillery, andto lend him fome money to fupport and pay his new raifed army. The latter defiredto be excufed in both ; but the Englifh complied, and were very aftive in defendingthe city, when Meriweys came to befiege it: and when he approached within a mileor two of the city, the King fent his raw army out to fight Meri weys j but in theirmarch, Meriweys’ men having made a long trench a pretty way from their front, and hida large quantity of gun-powder in it, and then filled it up again, which ambufeadetheKing’s army fell into, and after a good number of them had paffed it, fire was fet to it, and

blew