Travels in India (Tavernier) 61

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Terms of the passport which the Nawab Shaista Khan sent to the Author, with some letters which he wrote to him, and the replies to them, in which the style of these countries manifests itself.
I come now to the passport which the Nawab Shaista Khan gave me, and the letters which I wrote to him in reference to my affairs, and it is as much by these letters as by the replies which he made to me that the reader will be enabled to comprehend the style and manner of writing among the Indians. I also received a passport from the King himself, which his Majesty had already given me through Zafar Khan, his uncle, to whom I returned it after having read it, because it was not couched in the language which I wished. I desired it to be without restriction, equally full and in the same style as that which I had received from the King of Persia, in virtue of which I had been exempt from all dues both in going and coming, whether I sold or did not sell; because the passport offered me on the part of the Great Mogul was limited, and in the event of sale it required that I should pay custom dues on whatever I had sold. Although Zafar Khán assured me that it was the most favourable passport of this kind which the King had ever given, and that according to custom it could not be otherwise, nevertheless I was unwilling to accept it, and contented myself with that which I had held for some years from Sháistá Khán, which sufficed for me, and was as much esteemed as that of the King, or more so. It is true that the King did not require that I should pay any duty on account of what I had sold to him, and that the matter was done graciously.
Copy of the letter which the Author wrote to Sháistá Khán, uncle of the Great Mogul, on the 29th of May 1659.
The least of the servants of your Highness, who prays to God for the prosperity of your Greatness, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a Frenchman, presents a request to your liberal bounty. You who are the Lieutenant of the King, who govern as his relative all the Kingdoms which are subject to the rule of his Majesty, who has placed under your direction the most important affairs of his Crown, the Prince invincible, Sháistá Khán, whom may God keep in his care.
It is now some years since I had the honour of presenting to your Highness, then Governor of the Kingdom of Gujarát, and residing in Ahmadábád, some large pearls and other rarities, which were deemed worthy of your treasury, for which I received a just payment and magnificent liberality. At the same time I received your instructions to return to Europe, to search for other rarities and bring them to you: this I have done during the five or six years which I have spent traversing many European countries, where I have met with many beautiful objects and rare curiosities, which are worthy of being presented to your Highness. And as I heard, when at the Court of the King of Persia, that there were wars going on in India, I sent by one of my servants the aforesaid effects and rarities by way of Masulipatam; and when I reached Surat some days ago, I received intelligence of the safe arrival of all. If his Highness is willing to buy the aforesaid rarities, and desires that I should bring them into his presence, I beg to be given an order by which I shall be able to travel to him without any one causing me trouble en route. But if your Highness does not wish me to go to you I shall go to some other place. However, I await your orders at Surat, praying God that He will keep you always in all kinds of prosperity.