Page 124 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

124 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST

awaited English fleet arrived off Surat. It consisted of
four vessels—-New Year's Gifl, Hector, Merchants' Hope
and Salmon—under the command of Nicholas Downton.
Their arrival worked a fresh change in the situation. From
being a negligible quantity the English became a factor
of the utmost importance. Makarrab Khan promptly
sought to enlist the aid of the ships in his operations against
the Portuguese, assuming that as the quarrel had been
forced upon the Mogul by his bestowal of favours upon the
English, the latter would help him out of the difficulty.
Downton, however, was not in the mood to take risks.
His naturally cautious disposition had been strengthened
by the misfortunes which had overtaken Middleton’s
H voyage through an undue resort to belligerency. He
hoped to be able to trade without entering into the quarrel
on either side, and in any event he did not wish to risk
his ships for the advantage of “ the Moors,” who had
hitherto not shown an abounding affection for the English.
His benevolent neutrality was at first construed by the
Moguls into an intention to side with the Portuguese, and
they resented it accordingly. But any obscurity that
there might have been about the position of affairs was
soon dissipated by the Portuguese, who plainly indicated
that they regarded Downton’s fleet as not less enemy’s
ships than Best’s two vessels. In the last days of the
year they sent to him an insolent demand to retire from
Indian waters. Downton treated the suggestion with
proper contempt, but he could not fail to recognize that
whether he desired it or not he had got to take a hand—
and an important one—in this dispute.
Downton was a brave and capable commander and as a
man possessed many estimable qualities, but he was some-

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