Page:Early English adventurers in the East (1917).djvu/85

Rh arrival in his capital. Before Hawkins could even select a place of residence the imperial messengers were scouring the capital with orders to bring him to the palace for an immediate audience. When, owing to the rapidity of the Englishman's movements, they failed to discover his whereabouts, detachments of horse and foot were sent into every quarter of the city with imperative instructions to find the stranger. By this means Hawkins was ultimately run to earth. He was perplexed rather than flattered by the eagerness of the Emperor to see him. He wanted to make his appearance at the Mogul Court with fitting dignity, and the imperial marshal was so exigent that he would scarcely allow him time to don his best attire. He was mollified, however, by the elaborate preparations for his reception which, as he proudly comments in his diary, were all that a king's ambassador was entitled to expect.

With some trepidation Hawkins appeared in the imperial presence. He had got to know that presents were an indispensable adjunct of an ambassador's outfit and that the cloth, which was all that he had to offer, was not at all likely to be to Jehangir's taste. All passed off well, however. The Emperor smiled benignantly on him as he made his obeisance, and when he had listened to the translated version of James' letter read by a Portuguese priest at his Court, he graciously intimated that he would with all his heart grant everything that his Majesty requested. Some chance remarks made by Hawkins led to the discovery that Jehangir and he had a common medium of conversation in Arabic, which the latter had acquired in his earlier career. A lively interchange of sentiments took place, with the result that the Emperor became so