84
NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. m. FEB. 3, 1917.
Treichery a[nd] wish it had been otherwise ;
as to Mr. Blake* ([let] him work what Plotts
he will) doe believe the bu[r]d[en] will fall
soe heavy upon him that I would be loath
to Lend him my shoulders, and it is to be
fear'd the Company will bee sufferrers by
his unworthy deaiing[s] and doe believe
Mr March and not excl[udi]ng my selfe
must [? both] share [? in] the [? troubles],
[wi]sh they were at an end, that businesse
might goe on Cherefully ; the Cosset is now
in hast, therefore shall Conclu'd with the
Subscription of
Sir
Your Obleidged freind to serve you
I JOHN SMITH
Pray present my humble Servis to Mr Powell J. S.
[Endorsed] To Mr Richard Edwards Merchant
Present In Cossumbuzar.
LETTER Vin, John Vickers to Richard Edwards.
(O.C. 3331.)
Bafllasore] the 31st August 1669 [Dear] Friend
Yofurs of] the 26th past month and 27 ru :t and 6th present I have received and shoufld] have answered them Per the last Cossitt but was very ill of A fever and Ague which I Praise God hath now left me. I have to the utmost of my power Indevored to procure those things you writt for, but cannot out of the shipps gett any of them ; for the hat[t] I think I have m[et]t with [a good o]ne that Mr [ ? ] brought out for
li s
his owne waring that cost 1 : 18 : in England,
r
but he will not take under 20 : for itt ; the length of A string that comes about itt I have enclosed sent you ; for the paper I have gott a Rheam of Mr Broadnax, two quire of which I now send you, and shall the First opertunity send you the Rest. Mr Jones writt to me for some, who I suppose will take 5 or 6 quire of itt ; if it be to much,
- William Blake was head of the Company's
affairs in Bengal from 1663 to 1669. He was accused of tampering with some goods consigned to the Nawab, but managed to escape from Bengal before an inquiry could be held into this business as well as into other malpractices with which he was charged. On his return to England an action was brought against him by the Company.
t These two letters are quite plain, but I can suggest no meaning for them. The sense seems to require " do. (ditto)."
Mr Broadnax saith he will take itt againe
when he comes to Cassumbazar for he
w[ou]ld not break A Rheam, and there is
none elce to bee gott. For the Penknives
and quills there is none to be bought. I
have in the paper sent A Penknife which
Pray accept of. For the Ribon, there is
none come, neither scarlett nor any other
Colour (I think there was never such a Crew
of sad Rogues gott together as there is in
these shipps, for they have brought little
or nothing with them). I question not
butt the hatt may Please you very well for
itt is very fasshionable and A bever, and
if any thing to bigg in the head itt may
easyly be [? drawn up] with A straift] band.
I think the best Conveighance will be to
putt it in A box with the paper and what
else you may want, and send itt to
Hugly to be sent by the first opertunity
with the Companies goods. Pray lett me
hear per the first whether the string
fitt you or noe. We hear nothing of the
morning starre* yett ; if shee arrives shall
take care of your letters. Itt is re[port]ed
by A Portugeese that Mr Niclaesf is dead
att [Met]chlepat[a]m,J h[ow tru]e tis I know
not.
[ Comm]on prayer book[e ther]e is
none to [be had]. I returne you many thanks f[or you]r Kindness i[n] offering to supply me with Mone[y] ; be assured [if I] have occasion I shall send to you ha[v]ing no other ffriend] in these parts. Here is great Inquiry for those st[rings] that tie brooches, made with you, the longer and
- The Morning Starr, commanded by Capt.
John Godolphin, had received her dispatches for Fort St. George in November, 1668, and was therefore considerably overdue at Madras. She had, however, " unhappily met with several! Disasters." When some distance off Land's End she was overtaken by a " violent storme " and had to return to Plvmouth to rent. She set sail once more, and again " spent her Maine Mast." This time she was " forced to goe into Cadiz " for repairs. After a fortnight, she resumed her voyage, only to be set upon by a " Turke man of warr " and plundered of her treasure. In consequence, she returned to Falmouth in March, 1669, and her proposed voyage appears to have been subsequently abandoned. See ' Letter Book,' vol. iv. pp. 194, 243-50, 256.
t John Niclaes, who had held the post of " Second " at Masulipatain since 1664, had incurred the Court's displeasure, and orders for his discharge were sent out in December, 1669. He had, however, died at Masulipatam in the previous July.
% Metchlepatam is the seventeenth - century spelling of Masulipatam, the Company's first settlement on the Coromandel coast. At this period the factory of Masulipatam was subor- dinate to that of Fort St. George.
