prosecution of his mission. He seemed further than ever from success. The negotiations which had once offered so fair a prospect had come to nothing, and there was no immediate likelihood of their being resumed. The good will of the Emperor was, it is true, an asset, but the problem of how to turn it to account was as baffling as ever it had been.
At this juncture the weary current of Roe's life was sharply broken in up)n by an incident which caused him momentarily great mortification. In the closing months of 1616 a fleet arrived at Surat from England bearing with it a batch of new presents for the Emperor. After some delay they were despatched to Mandu in the charge of the Rev. Edward Terry, who had been sent out to act as chaplain to Roe. Jehangir, who was always well posted as to the movements of foreign ships, caused the presents to be intercepted before they reached the ambassador, and coolly annexed them. Roe was fired with indignation at so gross an insult, as he conceived it. His anger was the deeper because in order to avoid oppressive dues there had been sent up with the presents sundry silks and velvets which were designed for sale in the ordinary way by the Company's representatives. It would now be necessary for him to explain the ruse in order to obtain possession of the goods.
Roe appears to have lost no time in submitting a protest against the interception of the presents. The account of his audience with Jehangir on the subject is most amusing reading.
Jehangir, in reply to the remonstrance, told Roe that he "should not be sad or grieved that he had his choice, for that he had no patience to forbear seeing the presents." He did Roe no wrong and as for the King of England he
