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104
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[APRIL, 1907.
But from Commoroon I tooke in the way to Spawhawne [PLar] webis 70 Leagues from Commeroon, haueing a note from Mr JnO flowers & y Commendore of y. Dutch, we English haueinge noe howse theire but the Dutch had, yI might have entetain theire; 3 days I lodged theire woh was in the tyme of Gouerners fast, 800 could not speake wth him. But at night, After I had spooke wth him, that night caime a letter from Mr flower to me,20 Telling me of Monsier Demingoes invitation of all yo English, ffrench & Dutch, wth servants, to a ffeast he had made, being yo ffrench Agent at Commoroon,
The french Agent at Dinner Dranke to ye Dutch Commendore ; ye Dutch Commendore had noe sooner pledged, but gd to Monseiur Demingo, I am poysoned. 8T, Monsier Demingo, theirs noe poyson in my howse, & tooke vp the same Glass & drank of it. He had noe sooner dranke but he fell alsoe to vomitt, & $4, I think its poyson indeede. This broke vp y• Mirth, they both sick. Thanks be to god, noe other tasted of it, But bad it beene given when we had after Dinner begun to drinke as vsuall, all y Company had beene lost.?!
We Exammoned yo Attendants & found it to be Contrived by yo great Banion [Banyan] who ought [owed] y Company of yo Datch 30000 Tomaine [tomān], every tomai € 30 Ropees, weh is Engl money 3! 7: 64. And Thretinge y: Boy who fild ye wyne, He Confest ye Bannyon did hyer him for 20 Tomaine, & gave him the poyson to poyxon his Maister & all the Company. This Loy or slaue went away puently wth yo Banyan & his sonn. They herd they went towards Larr. Mr flower writt to me at Larr & desired me for his honom sake to lay hold on them, for we have laid hold of all yo rest heere, telling me y Cause as aboue. They comeing to Larr, herd of a strainger there, tooke me for Dutchman Soe tooke ye Goaerners howse Vockeele (vakil] I had my spies abrode, weh told me they had giveu & pmist [the] Vockeell money & pmist to turne Moores (Muhammadans). On woh I tooke horsse & went to y"Gouerner howse, A mile from my Lodgeinge. When I caime, I sent word into y Gogerner I desired to speak wth him. He gaue mo leave to com in to him; his naime is Augugee (Agháji].
When I caime in & wth my armes, not vsuall for a Strange [1] to doe in yt Contrey, One of his men tooke my Armes, y Goat bidinge me sitt downe. I showed my letter. Sd he, I cannot vnderstand it. I told him my grevance. Is theire, 8d he, such persons heere. I told him, yes, in [the] Vockeels howse. He sent for [the] Vockeel & the $ persons wth a gard to bring them Before he questioned them, he s4, poyntinge to me, Doo yu know this man. They said noe. But theire songe was they would be mad. Moores, The Gon" askt theire reason, saying, we never knew a Gentue or Banyan tarne Moore, but for some great falt. The Casa (qārt] being by, 84, can ya deny to make a heathen a trew Beleiver. I, hearing this, gd to ye Gouerner, shomma me danney che gusta [skumā mi dani chah guta), doe ya know what yu say. Sa he, be'ne'she'en [ba ntshin), sit downe, be not soe ferce. I gd these are yo men, & I charged him with Shaw Sollyman
* From Flower's own Acoount, given in the next rote, the 'feast' seems to have taken place at Gombroon and not at Lapsban.
" In a letter to Surat, dated at Gombroon, 10th Apell 1660, Stephen Flower gives the following account of the poisoning affair :-"The heats being ontred many begin daily to fall sioke of Poavours & others dead, among whom yo Kinga Vizeere Sonne to his Exceeding graifo, bat dayes sinoe & it were well if this were the onely bacard yt. poore Europeans are subject to in these parts, where many come to untimely enda by poison, both of English & Datoh, by theire owne Servants and yo brokers ne too apparent appeares and hath bin proved by a late accident and Example of that natan, hepned in y house of Deputy Marriage, where himselfe and y Commadore by drinking and tasting soupp of beuro had all most lost their lives as might the rest of y Company (among whom I was present) had itt not plowed God by a timely discovery to prevent so greate an ovill, for wh and all his mergie and deliverance this or at any other time I hope I shall remaine truely thankfull, for a particular relation and more satisfactory 1000 of this sad story I donire you will be referred to the vorball repetition of 8 Nicolo Vidall and others." - Factory Records, Surat, Vol. 106.
11.6., took refuge in the vaki'r house .
