In this I proceed cautiously, as all men ought on such occasions, not with too eager apparent desire, nor swallowing hungrily any offered conditions, without due assurances.  Strict care in the first settling is of the utmost importance, as you can never mend your first establishment, and may often impair it.  Every man succeeds best at first, when new and a stranger; for, by the natural levity of these barbarians, they are fond of changes, and grow weary of things in their usual train.  I have committed this dispatch to the care of Mr Bangham, whom I have directed to make diligent enquiry into the commodities, advantages, and inconveniences attendant on our projected trade, and to make himself acquainted with the humours and affections of the Deccaners towards us.

On the 30th of April the Persian ambassador sent to excuse himself for going away without paying his respects to me, alleging illness, but his messenger said he was not so sick as he pretended; but, finding no success in his negociations with the king, he had taken his leave, and made a present of thirty-five horses at his departure.  In return, the king gave him 3000 rupees, which he took in great scorn.  Upon which, to justify himself, the king caused two lists to be drawn up, in one of which all the presents made by the ambassador were enumerated, with their values, meanly rated, much lower than their real worth; and, in the other, all the gifts the king had presented to him since his arrival,—­as slaves, melons, pine-apples, plantains, hawks, plumes of feathers, the elephant, and not even forgetting the drink he had received, all charged at extremely high prices, much above their value.  These two lists were laid before the ambassador, with their amounts summed up, offering him the rest of the money to make up the balance.  Owing to this bad usage, the Persian feigned himself sick of a fever, as an excuse for not waiting upon Asaph Khan and Etemon Dowlet, for which reason he could not come through the town to visit me, without discovering the counterfeit, but desired his messenger to acquaint me with the truth, which Aganor as freely delivered, and with no small bitterness against the king, and to which I seemed unwilling to listen.  The ambassador also desired him to assure me that he was ready to serve my nation in his country, to the utmost of his power.  I presented him with some Alicant wine, and a few knives, to be taken to his master, and so we parted.  The 12th May I received news of a great blow given by the Turkish army to the Persians, the former having taken and utterly destroyed Tauris; and that Shah Abbas was unable to keep the field.

On the night of the 25th, a lion and a wolf[211] broke into my quarters, and gave us great alarm, carrying off some sheep and goats that were in my court-yard, and leaping with them over a high wall.  I sent to ask leave to kill them, as in that country no person may meddle with lions except the king.  Receiving permission, and the animals returning next night, I ran out into the court upon the alarm, and the beast missing his prey, seized upon a little dog before me, and escaped; but my servants killed the wolf, which I sent to the king.