of
the officers, where the majority of the respectable people of the town
came to visit me, and sent me presents of the best wines. On the
following day two Councillors came to see me, and told me that they
knew not what objection I had to place in their hands that which they
asked for, especially as they, with good grace, offered me an order for
payment on the Company in Holland. I replied that it was not with a
sufficiently good grace, and that when I saw the order I should make it
my business to get back the rekenings. Two or three days more passed,
during which the vessels comÂmenced to set sail. This caused these
gentlemen, both those of the Council of India and those of the town to
the number of eight or ten, to come to see me. The Major, a very
respectÂable man, was in their company, and he promised me that as soon
as 1 had got the papers and handed them to the members of the Council
to calculate the amount, he would so arrange it that the General would
give me the order to be paid in Holland on my arrival there. Seeing
that the vessels were about to leave and that I could not do otherwise,
I told them that they must allow me to go to Bantam ; this they were
unwilling to agree to, preferring to send someone on my behalf to bring
them. Having given my word, they told me that I might go out on parole,
and that they were much distressed at what had happened. I replied that
they had reason to be distressed, because I had the honour to belong to
a great Prince, who was the late M. le Due d'Orleans, who did me the
honour to love me, and he would be able to fully resent the injustice
which they had done me, and complain of it to the States. At length,
forced by their unjust pressure, and by the necessity of leaving with
the fleet, of which I did not wish to lose the opportunity, I gave them
my rekenings, and from day to day I went to see if they had counted
them, so as to give me the order they had promised. For the
Vice-Admiral on which I was to embark remained more than fifteen days
after the other vessels, because it was desired to send news by it to
Holland, of what had been accomplished by a fleet which the General had
sent to take possession of the Philippines by capturing them from the
Spanish. On the voyage they met with bad weather so that three or four
