The 30th I Visited Abdalla Hassan, Having Need Of His Friendship; And,
What Is Rare In This Country, He Refused To Accept Of Any Present.
Abdalla Is Captain Over All The Soldiers Maintained At Court, And
Treasurer Of All The Armies.
He entertained me with great civility, and
few compliments, and made me sit beside him to see the soldiers shoot at
marks with their bows and firelocks.
Most of them hit the mark with a
single bullet, being about the size of a hand, affixed to a butt. We had
some discourse together about the manner of using weapons in Europe,
after which I took my leave and departed.
Most of July passed in soliciting the prince to sign the articles I had
presented to the king, as mentioned before. On the 13th I sent him three
bottles of Alicant, and a letter concerning the difference between us
and the Portuguese about trade, offering to take all the customs to
farm, both inwards and outwards, for the use of the company. The prince,
according to his usual barbarous custom of transacting all business in
public, caused my letter to be twice read over to him by his secretary,
often interrupting him with discourse, and sent word that he would read
it again at night and consider its contents, and that I should have his
answer through Mirza Sorocalla.
That night I went to the durbar to visit the king, who, as soon as I
came in, sent Asaph Khan to say that he heard I had an excellent painter
in my house, and that he wished to see some of his work. I replied,
there was only a young man, a merchant, who drew some figures for his
amusement, in a very ordinary manner, with a pen, but which were far
from having any claim as paintings. The king said I need not fear his
taking any man from me by force, as he would neither do me any injury
himself, nor suffer any to be done me by others, and desired he might
see the young man and his work. I answered, I had no fears of injury
from his majesty, and, for his satisfaction, should bring the young man
to the Guzalcan with such drawings as he might have, which were probably
figures of elephants, deer, or the like. On this the king bowed his
head, saying, if I desired to have an elephant, or any other thing in
his country, I had only to let him know freely what I wished, and he
would give it me, for he was my friend. I made a low reverence, humbly
thanking his majesty, and said that elephants were of no use to me,
neither was it the custom of any person of our nation, especially of my
rank, to ask any thing: Yet, if his majesty were pleased to give me even
the value of a rupee, I should thankfully accept it as a mark of his
favour.
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