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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol. XI. 



protection, which should be extended to him as long as we 

 were in possession to do so. 



If a Hollander once takes a place from the Portuguese it 

 is not likely to come back to him, although the country is 

 large and they always try to settle in another place. 



When we had marched another two days, and were a few 

 hours from the castle, and rested, the Prince, upon the letter 

 of our Commander, came to us in person and was received 

 by our Commander in his quarters in a most friendly way. 

 He gave information how things were in the country and in 

 the castle, and how strong the garrison was. He did not know 

 the number of the citizens, but said they were very rich, 

 and that many of them possessed six tons of gold, for they 

 had been in peace and quiet for a long time, and the Hol- 

 landers were their first enemies. Their monasteries and 

 priests were also very rich ; for when they wanted to convert 

 the natives, they forced them to come to church every day, 

 or be fined a larin, that is, a quarter of a dollar ; a monastery 

 had the command over thirty to forty thousand natives ; 

 some of the monasteries had three and four churches ; and 

 the priests had greater power than the civil authorities. 



The custom is said to prevail that when a Portuguese has 

 a pretty daughter, and the Pater Grande, the highest priest, 

 wishes to have her, the parents have no objection, but con- 

 sider it a high honour that the holy man should be the first 

 to sleep with her ; and they do not consider this a sin. One 

 of our Lieutenants wanted at one time to marry such a 

 Portuguese girl of twelve years, and came with her parents to 

 ask the consent of our Commander ; for this is the custom 

 in India, that if a man wants to marry, he must first ask the 

 permission of the master of the land. When our Commander 

 asked the parents whether she was a legitimate child, what 

 kind of people they were, whether she was still a virgin, — 

 the mother replied, with apparent satisfaction, that nobody 

 had had any connection with her but the Pater Grande. 

 Thereupon our Commander would not give his consent, nor 



