the two gallies. One of their great ships, being too
forward, came too near the sands and grounded, but was soon got off
again.

On this occasion, Mucrob Khan, the nabob of Surat, sent the sabandar and
several others of the principal men of Surat, with a great present of
provisions to the Portuguese, and to endeavour to enter into terms of
peace; but though great policy was used on both sides, they broke off
without coming to any terms. This was done by the nabob to my great
mortification, for he and all the country despaired of my being able to
resist such disproportionate force, and he was therefore willing before
hand to conciliate the viceroy by presents; considering, if I were once
overthrown, his own turn would come next, either to endure a severe
assault, or to make such a peace as the enemy chose to dictate. Peace
was certainly most desirable for the viceroy, that he might restore
trade with the Moguls. Yet, seeing the tractableness of the nabob, and
his apparent earnestness for peace, the viceroy made light of it for the
present, expecting to bring it to bear with great advantage after he had
overthrown us, which he made no doubt easily to accomplish. When this
was performed, he expected to receive great presents, and great
submission from the Moguls to the dictates of the conqueror. But it
pleased God, who beheld the injustice of his attempt, to turn the event
contrary to the expectations both of the viceroy and the nabob. After
failing in all his attempts against me, and finding he could not even
gain a _boats thole_ from me in all the time he spent here, with loss
and disgrace, the viceroy was fain to revive the former despised proffer
of peace with the nabob: While the nabob on the other hand, confirmed by
the experience of a month, and seeing that the viceroy, after all his
boastful threatenings, and with so vast an armament, was unable to
prevail against our four merchant ships, or even to remove our small
force one foot from their place, gave for answer, that he would not make
peace with the viceroy. Thus was the viceroy frustrated in both his
hopes, of an easy victory over us, and an advantageous peace with the
Moguls. After this digression, I now return to our proceedings.

When we formerly heard of the force which the viceroy was fitting out
against us; we had no conception it would be so formidable as it now
appeared, and therefore deemed it expedient to consult how, by God's
help, we might best res