Chap. II.] 



CONST.\NTINE DE S.VA. 



41 



slaujxhtered, and the head of their commander carried on 

 a drmn, and presented to Raja Singha, the son of the 

 emperor, who was bathing in a neiglibouring brook. ^ The 

 Kandyans, flushed by their signal victory, followed it up 

 by an immediate march on Colombo, which was only saved 

 from their hands by the timely arrival of assistance from 

 Goa.2 



" There was no native of Portugal in the island," 

 says EiBEYRO, " who Avas unmoved to tears on hearing 

 of the fate of the general ; and the memory af Don 

 Constantine de Saa will be venerated by posterity so 

 long as men shall honour valour and worth, and the day 

 of his death was the beginning of sorrows to my fellow- 

 countrymen in Ceylon." ^ Both nations were, however, 

 temporarily exhausted by the effort of the war, and 

 a truce was agreed to, at the sohcitation of the em- 

 peror^, who even agreed to pay a tribute of two 

 elephants yearly, conformably to the former treaty with 

 the Kings of Cotta. 



Senerat died shortly after^, leaving his son, Eaja Singha 

 IL, heir to his Kandyan dominions ; the young king's 

 brothers being at the same time invested with the princi- 

 pahties of Matelle and Govah. 



A.D. 



1G30. 



A.D. 



1G32. 



' Valentyn, ell. xi. p. 116, ch. xii. 

 p. 142. The ItaJavaU says this mas- 

 sacre took place at the foot of the 

 mountain of Welle-wawey, in the field 

 called Kat-daneyia-wello, p. 32.3. 

 Knox says that Constantine de Saa, 

 rather than fall by the enemy, "called 

 his black boy to give him water to 

 drink, and snatching the knife from 

 his side, stabbed himself." — Relation, 

 hfc, pt. iv. ch. xiii. p. 177. 



* Fakia t Soijza, pt. ii. ch. Aiii. p. 

 377. The Portuguese were so unpre- 

 pared for this assault, that during the 

 siege Faria y Sotjza says that they 

 ate the dead, and mothers their own 

 children. — Ch. ii. p. .390. Bald.tsu.s, 

 ch. vii. p. 631, mentions that amongst 

 the forces sent at this time to the 

 relief of Colombo were a company of 



Caflres. This is probably their first 

 appearance in Ceylon. 



^ RiBEYEo, lib. ii. ch. ii. p. 207. 

 The filial affection of Don Kodrigues 

 de Saa, son to the ill-fated Don Con- 

 stantine, hiis left a touching vindica- 

 tion of his memory in a narrative of 

 the expedition entitled " Rebelion de 

 Ceijhm y los Pro(/)-essos dc su con- 

 quista en el gohierno de Condanfino 

 de Saa y Koroha. Escrihela sii Ili/o 

 JiHin Itodrif/ues de Saa y Menezes 

 y dedicala a la Viryen Xuestra Scnora 

 Madre de 3Iisercco)-dias." Lisbon, 

 1681. 



* Faria r Souza, pt. xiv. ch. ii. 

 p. 401. 



^ TuRXOUR, Upitotne, ^-c, p. 52, 

 says that Senerat died in 10.35 ; but 

 Bakheus and Valentyn fix the date 

 in 1032. 



