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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI. 



I had to undergo unbearable pain, I was nearly restored to 

 health in about a month. A countryman of mine, Martin 

 Sothauer,* an apothecary, helped me very much in my 

 misfortune, and always assisted in dressing my wounds. I 

 hope soon to see him again in good health, for when I left 

 him in Columbo he had only one year more to serve under 

 the Company.! 



On the 8th of May the besieged attacked the bastion fiercely 

 to dislodge our men, but as during the night the latter had 

 well fortified themselves, and were well provided with 

 ammunition and hand grenades, and well returned the fire, 

 the enemy had to withdraw with great loss, crying all the 

 time "0 Mother of God, remember us," and others said "This 

 is a punishment for our sins." 



* Marten Sothauwei (Dutch ed.). 



f Towards the end of his book the author happens to refer to Scotch- 

 men in the Dutch service ; and this reminds him of an incident that took 

 place during the siege of Colombo, when he nearly came to a tragic end at 

 the hands of an irate Scot. The story is given in the appendix to the first 

 edition ; but in the second is incorporated in the general narrative. It 

 runs as follows : — 41 As I have mentioned Scotchmen, I shall here add, in 

 what a plight, and how near to losing my life, I came through a Scotchman 

 of this sort. When we were lying before Columbo, on one occasion I had the 

 watch in the trenches, beside the mortars, with twenty-four men. Now there 

 was also a Scotchman ordered there with his Company, of the name of 

 Robert Kohl, a man of great strength, who could seize four men at once and 

 carry them off. Now, at that time the Scotchmen used to be terribly 

 badgered, because they had sold their King ; and I also happened to say 

 that he would make a good bargain, for he would get double wages, one 

 from our people, the Hollanders, and the other from his fellow-country- 

 men at home, who would already have reserved for him his share of 

 the blood-money for their King, until he came home ; upon which he flew 

 into such a violent passion, that he seized me with one hand by the waist, 

 put me upon a mortar loaded with stones, and with the other felt for the 

 lunt, and wanted to fire me by means of it into the air, which indeed 

 would have happened, had not G-od so ordained that another man had 

 just then taken away the lunt to light tobacco therewith : otherwise I 

 should have had to go into the air or into Columbo. However, he got a 

 well-deserved reward for his wickedness, for two days afterwards he was 

 shot dead from the city, while he was out of bravado exposing himself 

 rather too much, and wanting to mock at the garrison." The Dutch 

 ■edition has an illustration (fanciful, of course) of this incident. 



