CEYLON BRANCH— ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. T1 



Sous a was then residing, and endeavoured to engage him to 

 exert himself for the relief of the Christians at Manaar by 

 espousing the cause of the fugitive prince ; but he found the 

 Viceroy very little disposed to take any vigorous measures,, 

 and therefore addressed himself direct to King John III of 

 Portugal, who, thereupon, sent Don John De Castro as 

 Viceroy, with positive orders to co-operate with Xavier in des- 

 troying the power of the tyrant of Jaffna and affording relief 

 to the Christians of Manaar. No sooner had De Castro arrived 

 at Goa than he ordered all the forces which the Captains of 

 Comarin and of the Pearl Fishery had under their command 

 to assemble at Negapatam, and make a sudden irruption into 

 Jaffna without giving the tyrant time to provide for his de- 

 fence ; but while they were equipping the fleet, it happened 

 that a Portuguese vessel laden with rich merchandize was driven 

 by tempest on the Coast of Jaffna, the King made seizure of 

 it,, and the Captain and the ship's company foreseeing that if 

 in this conjuncture war should be made against the King, they 

 should never be able te recover their wealth out of his hands, 

 brought the officers of the fleet so far over by large bribes, 

 that they gave up the undertaking upon some frivolous pre- 

 tence. Though the King was thus delivered from the medi- 

 tated invasion of his Kingdom, he seems to have enjoyed af- 

 terwards no tranquility, as his tyrannical conduct towards his 

 own subjects naturally produced frequent revolts which he often 

 found it difficult to crush and became anxious to come to some 

 accommodation with the Portuguese, who were about this time 

 in possession of nearly the whole west coast of Ceylon. Ac- 

 cordingly in A. D. 1548, when Xavier visited his Court, he 

 not only received him with all possible marks of honor, but 

 likewise offered himself to embrace the Christian faith, and when 

 Xavier returned to Goa, dispatched with him an Ambassador 

 to the Portuguese Viceroy there, entreating the latter to rank 



