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



trained to clean and polish the pearls, but our men find it 

 difficult to make them do it. The Hollanders can hardly 

 rule twenty slaves where a Portuguese can rule a thousand, 

 for the natives would rather stay with them than with the 

 Hollanders, of whom they do not like to receive orders. 



On the 15th of May we marched in full force towards the 

 castle of Jaffanapatan, which lies beyond Manara. It is a 

 beautiful even country which the Portuguese have held in 

 possession over two hundred years. When they come to a 

 place they mean to stay there all their lives, and are not 

 anxious to return to Portugal. A Hollander, however, when 

 he comes to India thinks, " As soon as my six years are over 

 I shall return to my country." They therefore do not culti- 

 vate the land nor build towns ; on the contrary, when they 

 conquer a fortress or town, they, as a rule, cut off a part 

 towards the land, and the other part near the sea they fortify 

 very strongly, so that few men may be required to garrison 

 it. In 1656 we cut off the beautiful large town of Columbo : 

 the finest houses of the town were entirely demolished, only 

 one-third^of the town near the sea was fortified, whilst on 

 the land side the town was surrounded by water ; and when 

 these works will be finished, which was estimated to take 

 ten years, the place will be twice as strong as it was before.* 



When the Portuguese learnt that we were marching towards 

 the castle, they all fled thither from the country with their 

 most valuable possessions ; we found nothing but rich, 

 beautiful clothes, fine covers artistically sewn with silk ; and 

 there was no lack of victuals, cows, oxen, and chickens. We 

 found good sugar-candy, which we were forbidden to eat, 

 and we were also not allowed to drink any water out of wells 

 or standing pools, but only the water that comes from the 

 river and flows out. 



After we had marched three days and had found many 

 beautiful monasteries, we halted for a day in a monastery 

 with a beautiful garden and pretty surroundings, so that I 



* Compare the two plans of Colombo given by Baldgeus. 



