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



361 



Whereupon His Majesty said that no one in the world had 

 given such an honest report to His Majesty as myself, yea, 

 one which agreed so well in every respect with the contents 

 of the letters, and it was as if I had read the same to his 

 Majesty. 



After which conversation I returned to my quarters 

 with pleasure ; but his courtiers have always plied me with 

 women and wine, and day by day sought to set me these two 

 traps. Nevertheless I have, for fear of my freedom and life, 

 always refused and repelled them ; but notwithstanding this 

 the same courtiers have brought wine whether I will or no, 

 praying that I should drink the health of the Emperor and 

 Your Excellency. I ordered my lascoreens to pour the 

 wine out of the bottle into a goblet and fill it again with 

 water ; but to preserve the bad smell of the wine I rubbed 

 and sprinkled my hands and the bottle with the wine, so 

 that they should not find out my trick. Lastly, having 

 informed my lascoreens, I proceeded to drink the health of 

 the Emperor and Your Excellency, and that not a little, with 

 water, sufficient to break through dykes, and wash away 

 houses. The courtiers tried in vain to make me take to 

 the drink and women, as I pretended to be so drunk as not 

 to be able to stand ; but God the Lord so directed my tongue 

 with respect to the Emperor and the Honourable Company, 

 that some of them said ir> Smgalese, that I was a horra, that 

 is "a traitor," on which I drew my cutlass and wanted to cut 

 them down, when they all fled and no one remained with me. 

 After this the courtiers did not come with their wine for 

 some days, but afterwards offered me it again. I said 

 I was not used to it, but that if they had any French wine 

 they might bring it ; if not, I thanked them all the same ; 

 and thus I saw no more of the wine. 



About six or seven days afterwards, I again appeared before 

 His Majesty, and was a little surprised when I had understood 

 the contents of the various olas which had been sent to His 

 Majesty, from which it appeared that the Hollanders had 

 gone so far out of their fort to commit some wrongs upon the 



