NO. 41. — 1890.] REBBLION DB CEYLAN. 



587 



;seen them gloriously upheld, yet, with it all, he did not 

 wish to stake his fortune, because of the limited power he 

 had ; so well might the prosperity of past victories have 

 blunted him and lessened his modesty and moderation. For 

 there is no doubt that blindness more than adversity had 

 made the Captains hasty and sometimes venturesome, trust- 

 ing more to fortune than to their power. But who is so mad as 

 to hope to find in the fortune of war either safety or constancy, 

 when the smallest accident might put an end to everything ; 

 for nothing is more subject to time and its vicissitudes. 



Considering all these things, he proposed the expedition to 

 the Captains who served with him ; but there was great 

 diversity of opinion amongst them. 



Some of them said it was not right to put faith in the 

 information the Zingalas gave, for it might be full of deceit 

 and lies ; because they were traitors by nature, and were 

 now more than ever disloyal and inimical to the Portu- 

 guese, who had the souls of idolatrous infidels caged up in 

 Christian bodies ; and to be sincere, considering our small 

 numbers, it would be more prudent to tolerate an insult we 

 could not punish, since forbearance in times of danger and 

 difficulty worked out what valour could not do. 



Other Commanders were for taking up arms, for which 

 they gave many reasons, saying that success was happiness 

 but defeat was misery ; that the good star of the Portu- 

 guese, together with their valour, were enough to supply 

 all deficiencies they had in numbers ; that what so many 

 affirmed must be true, and that they would have to wait 

 until the enemy came and insulted them at their own door. 

 There was never more righteous cause for war : it was there- 

 fore only fair to hasten up to the relief of their faithful allies 

 and subjects ; but if they left them to their fate, what an ex- 

 ample it would be : it would put an end to all the hopes that 

 were set forth in our correspondence, and the Prince of Uva 

 being a man of ambitious ideas and the greatest enemy the 

 Portuguese had, his audacity and presumption would be 



97—93 M 



