The king was but just up when I came in; and seeing me, embraced me, saying: "Dear father, I am glad to meet you again alive; your stay has given me the utmost perplexity; and could I have prevailed with any of my servants to have followed you, I had sent before this time to have known what was become of you."
I told his majesty, the greatest pleasure of my life consisted in the knowledge of his majesty's esteem for me; and he might depend upon it, I would take care of myself from a double motive whilst I was in his dominions; the one, from the natural obligation of my own preservation, and the other, equally compulsive, of continuing serviceable to his majesty, till I had made him more famous than his ancestor, the great Begsurbeck.
I told his majesty, as a small token of my duty and affection to him, I was come to make him a tender of the additional title of King of Mount Alkoe.—"Father," says he, "we shall never be able to get a sufficient number of my subjects to go thither; for though your safe return may be some encouragement, yet whilst their old apprehensions subsist (and I know not what will alter them) we can do no good; and indeed were they free to go, and under no suspicion of danger, it would cost abundance of men to conquer Mount Alkoe."
"Great sir," said I, "you mistake me: I told you I came to make you a tender of it; I have proclaimed you king there, and freedom to the people; I have held an assembly of the kingdom, placed a governor, taken the engagement of himself and subjects to you, settled laws amongst them for your benefit, the full third part of all their labour; have brought ten deputies, two from each denomination of people among them; and they only wait your command to be admitted, to beg your acceptance of their submission, and pray your royal protection."
"Father," says the king, "you amaze me! but as it is your doing, let them come in."
The deputies being received, and heard by Maleck, their interpreter, very graciously, the king told them, in a very favourable speech, that whatever his father had done, or should do, they might accept as done by himself; and commanded them to remind the governor, for whom he had the highest esteem, to observe the laws, without the least deviation, till his father should make such further additions as were consistent with his own honour and their future freedom; and having feasted them in a most magnificent manner, they returned, highly satisfied with the honours they had received.
This transaction being immediately noised abroad, all the colambs came themselves; and the great cities, by their deputies, sent his majesty their compliments upon the occasion; and there was nothing but mirth and rejoicing throughout the whole kingdom. And those who had refused going with me, as Maleck told me, hung their heads for shame and sorrow that they had missed the opportunity of bearing a part in the expedition.
I demonstrated to the king that the only way to preserve that kingdom was to settle a large colony on the plains, between the mountain and the sea, to intercept clandestine trade, and make a stand against any force that might be sent from the Little Lands to recover the mines. And I promised to be present at the settlement, and an assistant in it.
Most of the colambs, as I said, being at court upon this complimentary affair, the king summoned them for their advice on my proposals, and told them he had ordered me to lay before them my thoughts on the affairs of that kingdom; and after many compliments and encomiums had passed on me, I told them the necessity of the colony, the commodity that would arise from it, how I intended to manage it, and what prospect I had of introducing amongst them several extraordinary conveniences they had never before had.
The colambs, who, for want of practice this way, knew but little of the matter, thinking, nevertheless, that in the general turn of things they must somehow come in for a share, approved of all I said. I desired them then to settle out of what part of the people, and how to be nominated, such choice of the colony as should be made for the new settlement; but found them much at a loss to fix on any method of doing it. So I told them I believed it would be the best way to issue an order for such as would willingly go, to repair to a particular rendezvous; and in case sufficient should not appear voluntarily, to issue another order that the colambs, out of their several districts, should complete the number, so as to make a body of 12,000 men of arms, besides women and children; and that such a territory should be allotted to each, with so much wood-grounds, in common to all, as would suffice for their subsistence; all which passed the vote.