chap, xxii M. CONSTANT'S PROCEEDINGS 263
that,
for the future, no Commander should use one of gold on his horse, but
must content himself with one of silver. As I saw that this annoyed M.
Constant, I told him privately that it would be easy for him to have, a
golden bridle on his horse without the Company being able to reproach
him. That he had only to send to the Khan the present which he had to
make him on behalf of the Company on a little more liberal scale than
the other Commanders, his predecessors, had done, and he should see
that he would soon have a golden bridle. M. Constant believed me, and
made a very handsome present to the Khan.
'These
presents consist generally of all kinds of spices, porcelain, Japanese
cabinets, Dutch cloths, and other things of that kind. But the best
part of the present was a ring of diamonds for which he had paid me
1,500 ecus l; and 1,000 gold ducats of which the
King caused a golden bridle to be made, which he sent as a present to
the Commander ; it weighed but 643 ducats of gold, and the balance
remained in the Khan's purse. It is the custom in Persia, when a
stranger makes a present to a great person, that he gives another in
return, but certainly when one makes one to a King he never receives in
return nearly the value of that which he has given.2 The
Khan was altogether amazed at so magnificent a present, and although,
according to custom, he should have sent his gift, which is usually a
valuable horse, and sometimes two, on the following day, he waited for
five or six days, because it required that time to make the bridle. As
soon as it was finished the Khan sent two fine horses to the Commander,
one with the bridle of gold, and the other with a bridle of silver, the
saddles of the Turkish pattern with brocdde of gold and silver. Out of
politeness it was necessary that the Commander when mounting his horse,
should have the golden bridle put on ; and thus the Company was not
able to say anything.'
This
was the account I gave to the Council of Batavia of what I had seen at
Gombroon in reference to M. Constant, and it should be remarked, before
going further, that all
1 £337 : 10s.
2 See under Peshkush in Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 701.
