No. 36.— 1888.] 



CAPTAIN JOAO R1BEIRO. 



30ft 



against the Sinhalese, is, I am glad to say, now being trans- 

 lated for our Society by one of its Members, two copies of 

 the curious volume, published at Lisbon in 1681, and 

 dedicated to the Virgin Mary, having lately been added to the 

 Society's library. The references to Ceylon in the work of 

 Gaspar Correa, which I have mentioned above, are not very 

 numerous, but are interesting and valuable, especially so 

 being his account of the building of the first Portuguese 

 fort at Colombo, of which place he gives a curious but 

 faithful drawing. These passages should also be translated 

 into English.* The Portuguese and Dutch writers on Ceylon 

 have been far too much neglected hitherto, but I am glad to< 

 find that in the case of the latter at least one gentleman is 

 displaying the most praiseworthy activity in the matter of 

 translation. I hope that others will follow his example, and 

 that ere many years are past all the most valuable of the 

 Portuguese and Dutch, as well as French and German, 

 narratives of the past history of our Island will be available 

 in an English form. 



Postscript. — While this Paper is passing through the press 

 I learn that the following MSS. of Ribeiro's work are in the 

 Eibliotheca Nacional at Lisbon : — 



" Ribeiro (Capittao Joao) — Fatalidade historica da illia de 

 Ceilao. Dedicated to D. Pedro II. Original, dated 1685. 

 B-8-31. 



" The same work, with the title Historia de Ceilam. Slight 

 variations. B-8-13. 



" By the same author — Proseguimento da historia de 

 Ceilao. R-8-44." 



The custodian of the Library, Sr. D. Jose Pessanha, who 

 furnishes this list, adds a note as follows : — " These works of 

 Joao Ribeiro were published in 1836 by the Royal Academy 

 of Sciences of Lisbon." This, however, is not quite correct, 

 as only the first-mentioned MS. seems to have been printed. 



* Since the above was written the writer has himself supplied this 

 want in the pages of the Ceylon Literary Register, vol. III. 



