NO. 40—1890.] EMBASSY TO KANDY, 1671. 



357 



in the Cingalese manner ; with which the king said he was 

 well pleased, and none of the Hollanders and Portuguese 

 Ambassadors had spent such little time on the way, and come 

 up so soon to at once present the letters as I had done. 



The evening drawing nigh, His Majesty requested me to 

 go to my lodgings, which were close to His Majesty's court ; 

 for the Emperor would have the letters read to him the 

 same night, and in the morning I had to be ready to appear 

 before His Majesty. But that day was postponed, on account 

 of their pagan superstitions about evil days, for three clear 

 weeks. 



And when I then appeared before His Majesty, he apolo- 

 gised and showed great satisfaction and pleasure at the 

 contents of the letters. At the same time His Majesty 

 ordered that as Your Excellency had not received through 

 the late Ambassador Hendrick Draack, of blessed memory, 

 any Imperial letter and seal, that I should be sent by the 

 first opportunity, with the greatest honour and respect, with 

 his royal order and all the prisoners, who before this were 

 kept at Arandore, the more so as they had been so long 

 detained without his order. The king would also hand over 

 to the Honourable Company the deserters who from time to 

 time had run away. And there was also a thief who had 

 not long made off with two horses. This thief and the 

 horses would also go with me, and soon afterwards the 

 people of Mature, as they were many, and the Emperor was 

 armed for inland tumults or waking sleeping dogs. He 

 would first give them new clothes and arms and order each 

 to go to his former place and station. 



But His Majesty said, at the same time, in my presence, 

 that his trusty Hollanders were faithful servants, and that he 

 still esteemed them as such, and that his courtiers all stood 

 there, but that they were unreasonable men, and His Majesty 

 showed ten times more love for his trusty Hollanders than 

 for his own nation. 



The Emperor also said that he was alone and already 

 advanced in years, but he called God as his witness that no one 



