Chapter 44

_A literal Translation of Muley Ismael, Emperor of Marocco's Letter to Queen Anne, in the year of our Lord 1710, extracted from the Harl. MSS. 7525_.

L.S.

In the name of the most merciful God.

He that depends upon God goeth straight to the right way. From the servant of God, the Emperor of the believers, who maketh war for the cause of the Lord of both worlds, Ismael ben Assherif Al Hassanee to the Queen of the English, nay of England, and the mistress of the great parliament thereof, happiness to every one that followeth the right way, and believes in God, and is so directed.

This premised, we have heard from more than one of the comers and goers from thy country, that thou hast seized our Armenian servant, a person of great esteem. We sent him to thee, to compose a difference between us and thee, and we wrote to thee concerning him, that thou shouldst use him well. Then, after this, we heard that thou didst set him at liberty: And wherefore didst thou seize him? Hath he exceeded any covenant, or hath he made any covenant with thee and broke it? We should not have sent him to thee, but on 393 account of our knowledge and assurance of his understanding and integrity; and when he resolved upon his journey into your country, we gave him directions to dispatch some of our affairs. Wherefore we wrote unto thee concerning him, and said, If thou hast any necessity or business with us, he will convey it to us from thee. And we said unto thee, Speak with him, and whatsoever thou sayest unto him, he will communicate unto us, without addition or diminution.

As for what our servant Alkaid Ali ben Abdallah did to ----, the Christian, thy servant, by God we know nothing of it, nor gave him any permission as to any thing that passed between them; and, at the instant that we heard that he had taken thy man, we commanded him to set him at liberty forthwith; and since then we have never manifested any favour to Alkaid Ali, nor was our mind ever right towards him afterwards till he died.

Our Christian servant, the merchant, Bayly, told us, that thou hadst a mind to an ostrich, and we gave him two, a male and a female, which shall come to you, if God will. And, lo! a secretary, our servant, (who is much esteemed by us,) when he cometh he shall bring what goods he hath collected with him, if it please God. And we are in expectation of thy messenger the ambassador; and if he comes, he shall see nothing from us but what is fair; and we will deliver to him the Christians, and do what he pleases, if God will. Wherefore be kind to our servant, with respect. 394 Written the first of the Glorious Ramadan, in the year of the Hejra 1125 (corresponding with A.D. 1710).