to the EAST-INDIES, 
Chap. II. 
25. As foon as I was aftiore, I cleaned and prepared the 
Prefent I'defigned for the King of Achen , and withal, 
meaning to oblige him as much as poffible, took a blank 
Letter which I had by me, with the King’s Seal affixed to 
it, and haying addreffed it, To our dearefi Brother the King 
of Achen, fealed it with red Wax, bearing the Impreffion 
of the Arms of France . That my Prefent might not be 
unworthy of my Prince, in whofe Name I defigned to pre- 
fent it, I fet apart the following things for that Ufe ; the 
compleat Armour of a Horfeman carved and gilded, a Ger- 
man Hanger, with a carved and gilt Hilt ; upon which 
hung a Piftol, fix Mulkets, the Barrels of which were partly 
carved, and partly gilt, the But-ends enriched with Mother 
of Pearl, two Heads of Pikes enamelled and gilded, a very 
large Looking-Glafs, which was broken •, but I pretended I 
had received it entire, and that I durft not but deliver it at 
any rate, having received the King’s Orders to that Ef- 
fedlj two large Flafks full of excellent Rofe-Water, and 
two Pieces of watered Camblet of a Crimfon Colour. 
The Captain of the Surat Veffel came to fee it, and told 
me it was fo magnificent a Prefent, that it was more fit for 
the Great Mogul his Mailer, than for the King of Achen. 
The King’s Officers came alfo to our Houfe to take an In- 
ventory of what I defigned to prefent to their Mailer, and 
gave me to underftand, that they feared the Prefent I de- 
figned was not confiderable enough for their Prince, who 
was a great Sovereign, and had but few Equals in the In- 
dies. I replied, that I was not unacquainted with the Gran- 
deur of the King of Achen, and at the fame time I knew 
the Value of the Prefent, which did not come from a pri- 
vate Man, but from a puiffant Prince, and merited a Recep- 
tion from any Potentate whatever •, and withal, that my 
Mailer had given me nothing elfe to prefent. The 8th I 
was conducted to an Audience to the King by the Saban- 
dar, and four of the principal Orankays, with two Ele- 
phants, and that with the following Ceremonies : Upon a 
great Elephant fat one of the principal Orankays in a cover- 
ed Pulpit, who fent me a great Silver Dilh covered with a 
Cloth, embroidered with Gold and Silk of divers Colours, 
in which I put the Letter, and then gave it to him. By 
his Command one of the Orankays mounted the other Ele- 
phant, and after him the Sabandar, then I, and after me 
another, fo that four of us rode upon one Elephant, and I 
fat between two Perfons. 
The other two Orankays rode upon Arabian Horfes be- 
fore the Elephant that carried the Letter. Before them 
were fourteen or fifteen Men, each of them carrying a Piece 
of the Prefent covered with yellow Cloth, without which 
nothing could be prefented to the King; fix Trumpets, 
fix Drums, and fix Hautboys led the Van, which founded 
till we arrived at the Callle, about a League off. In the 
Rear followed three Sebandars, and all the Officers of the 
Albandeque on Foot ; when we arrived at the Callle, we 
alighted at a great Palace before it, and when we entered 
the outer Gate, all the Men were obliged to retire : Then 
we paffed two other Gates ; I was ordered to put off my 
Shoes, without which Ceremony I could not have Audi- 
ence of the King ; fome time after the Royal Chappe was 
brought, and being firlt put into my Hands, then raffed 
above my Head, and re-delivered to him that brought it, 
I was ordered to follow it, being accompanied by a Saban- 
dar and an Orankaye. 
We waited fome time at the King’s Chamber- Door, 
which was covered with Silver Plate: At laft an Eunuch 
came out, who gave the Sabandar to underftand, that tho’ 
the King was more indifpofed that Day than ufually, yet, 
as I was lb near, he fhould bring me in ; upon which I was 
led into the Chamber by two Men, one holding me by each 
Hand, and fet upon a Turky Carpet with my Legs acrofs, 
according to the Cuftom of that Country. Then the two 
Men retired, and I faluted the King in the ufual Form, 
viz. by joining my Elands, and lifting them up to my 
Forehead, bowing my Head a little. The Cuftom does 
not oblige one to take off ones Hat, but I being unac- 
cuftomed to appear before People of that Quality with 
ray Elat on my Head, chofe to put it off. The King fat 
upon a Place about two Foot higher, and informed me by 
the Sabandar, that he was infinitely obliged to the King of 
France for the Prefent he had fent him, which he efteemed 
73 r 
more than ten Bahars of Gold. Then he opened the Let- 
ter, and gave it to me to interpret to the Sabandar, who 
underftood a little Portugueze : But his Knowledge of that 
Language was fo very imperfect, and the Stile of the Let- 
ter fo uncommon among them, that I could not make him 
underftand it ; for the very firft Word, viz. Moft Illuftri- 
ous put him to a ftand ; upon which I turned it to dearefi 
Broth'er , which the King liked mightily, faying, that he 
knew very well Chriftian Princes ufed to ufher in their Let- 
ters by fuch Expreffions. 
At laft, fince I could not make the Sabandar underftand 
every Word of the Letter, I repeated the Subftance of it 
in ftiorf, viz. That his moft Chriftian Majefty defired his 
Mightinefs to grant me a free and undifturbed Traffick in 
his Territories, and promifed, in like manner, to prated: 
his High Mightinefs’s Subjedts, if any of them fhould hap- 
pen to come into his Kingdom : That he defired nothing 
more than that a Commerce between his Subjects and thofe 
of Achen fhould bring him to the Knowledge of fo great a 
Prince, and that he had fent him a Prefent of Arms, a 
Pattern of the Manufadture in which his Subjeds excelled. 
This done, the King acquainted me by the Sabandar, 
that I was both welcome and fafe in his Territories ; that 
as to the Bufinefs of Trade, the Dutch and Englijh ufed 
heretofore to have Pepper in his Country at an ealy rate 5 
but now that they had (hewn fuch flaming Ingratitude, in 
making War upon the King of Bantam , who had formerly 
vouchsafed them a kind Reception, he had thereupon 
caufed all the Pepper Plants to be cut down, for fear here- 
after they fhould prove the Occafion of Trouble ; that by 
this means the Price of Pepper was raifed to fixty- four Rials 
theBahar, and that even at that Price he did not much care 
to let them have it, knowing them to be an ill fort of 
People, that would rob and pillage, and do any thing in 
order to engrofs the Trade of the Indies to themfelves. 
I replied, that the Infolence of that Nation, in offering 
to dethrone Kings that have fhewn them Civilities, would 
be a furprizing Piece of News in France ; that for my part 
I was ftruck with Amazement to find that a People, who 
pretended to nothing but fair Merchandize, and whom the 
King of France had long protedled againft the Spaniards , 
fhould on this Side of the World flight us, and ufe all 
means to do us Injuries ; and that in regard I had no 
Commiffion to ufe any manner of Violence, or to fortify 
any Place, but only to fell and buy in a fair Way, I ought 
not to be ranked with a Nation whofe very Converlation 
I avoided. Upon this the King ordered fome Sallad to be 
given me in a large Gold Veffel, and a Suit of his Cloaths 
laid upon a Silver Platter, which he ordered me to put on. 
Having retired to the next Chamber, and put on his Cloaths 
above my own, I returned to his Majefty, who told me, 
the Arms my Matter had fent him would be very fervice- 
able to him in the Siege of Malacca , which he had in his 
View, and afked me, if I would accompany him thither ? 
I replied, I fhould place my fupream Happinefs in doing 
him any manner of Service : Then he put feveral Queftions 
to me about the Age, Puiffance, &c. of my Matter, and 
when I told him that my Matter was in Peace with all the 
World, particularly with the Grand Seignior, he faid he 
would enter into a ftridl Alliance with the King of France : 
This done, I was mounted upon an Elephant, and con- 
ducted home. 
One thing happened upon my firft fetting out, in order 
to an Audience of the King, that I muft not omit; juft as 
I was mounted upon the Elephant, the Dutch and Englijh 
Commiffaries, with twenty or thirty of their Dependants, 
having hid themfelves in a Porch of th z Englijh Houfe that 
was juft oppofite to mine, feized upon the Dutchman I 
mentioned above, whom I defigned to make ufe of as an 
Interpreter to the King. Being then upon the Elephant, I 
could not conveniently get down, but I reprefented to the 
Sabandar the Impudence of thofe Men, in offering to lay 
Hands upon one that was carrying Prefents from his Ma- 
jefty of France to the King of Achen, and preffed him to 
order the Dutchman to be releafed. The Sabandar replied, 
he would take care of if, but could not flop at that Time! 
When I had Audience of the King, I importuned the Sa- 
bandar to let the King know my Refentment of that Ac- 
tion, but he told me it was not a proper Time, and the 
