All my going and sending to Mucrob Khan for my money and cloth were in vain, and seeing myself so grossly abused by him, I was forced to demand justice of the king, who commanded that the money should be brought before him; yet for all the king’s commands, Mucrob did as he liked, and in spite of every thing I could do or say, he finally cheated me of 12,500 mahmudies which he owed me, besides interest.[193] The greatest man in the whole country was his friend, who with many others took his part, and were continually murmuring to the king about suffering the English to come into the country, saying, that if our nation once got footing in the country we would dispossess him of it.[194] The king, upon this, called me before him to make answer to these charges.  I said, if any such matters were done or attempted, I was ready to answer with my life, for the English were in no respect that base nation that our enemies represented; and that all these things were laid to our charge merely because I demanded my due and could not get it.  At this time I used to visit daily the king’s chief favourites and nearest relatives, who spoke to him in my favour, so that he commanded no more such injuries to be offered me.  So, thinking to use my best endeavour to recover my loss, I spoke to the chief vizier, that he might aid me; but he answered me in a threatening manner, that if I opened my mouth again on this subject, he would oblige me to pay 100,000 mahmudies, which the king had lost in his customs at Surat, to which no persons durst now trade for fear of the Portuguese, who were displeased because the king entertained me, and granted licence for the English to trade.  Owing to this I was constrained to be silent, for I knew that my money had been swallowed up by these dogs.

[Footnote 193:  On some other occasions in these voyages, the mahmudy is said to be worth about a shilling.—­E.]

[Footnote 194:  This may appear somewhat in the spirit of prophecy, as the English are now masters of a very large portion of the Mogul empire in Hindostan.  This unwieldy empire broke in pieces by its own weight, and the original vices of its constitution; after which its fragments have gradually been conquered by the India Company, whose dominions now include Delhi and Agra, two of its great capitals, and many of its finest provinces—­E.]

Mucrob Khan was now ordered in public to make ready to depart upon an appointed day for Guzerat, whence he was to proceed to Goa, and was on that day to come to court to take leave, as is the custom.  At this time three principal merchants of Surat came to court about affairs in which they had been employed by the king or the chief vizier.  Likewise, some six days before this, a letter came to the king from the Portuguese viceroy, accompanied by a present of many rarities; in which letter the viceroy represented how highly the King of Portugal was dissatisfied at the English being admitted into the king’s dominions,