NO. 59. — 1907.] PORTUGUESE IN CEYLON. 



357 



with big mouth and teeth, and a black body, like large shells 18 ; 

 which in process of time had grown to a great size , and the people 

 of the country said that is was more than two hundred years that 

 it had lived there ; and that it came out of its den to seek for food, 

 and did much harm, insomuch that the king obliged the people to 

 bring food to it to the entrance of the cave, so that it might not 

 come out ; wherefore they fed it with fish from the sea, which 

 they went to catch for that purpose. This having been related to 

 Dom Lourenco , he conceived a great desire to go and kill this rep- 

 tile with his halberd, 19 and sent and begged the king earnestly 

 to give him leave to do this. To this the king would not consent, 

 saying that he did not wish him to venture his life over this, but 

 that he would be very glad if he would send and have it killed. 

 Wherefore Dom Lourenco thereupon ordered two falcons on 

 carriages to be taken thither, and ordered a powder mine to be 

 made at the place where it came to eat the fish, which was in the 

 evening, and the falcons were pointed at the same place, and a 

 very long train of powder was laid. Then he ordered a good 

 watch to be kept, and on the reptile s coming out to eat they fired 

 the falcons, which lit the mine, whereby the reptile was blown to 

 pieces : to which the people could not come near, because of the 

 great stench. I saw with my own eyes some bones of this reptile, 

 which were shown to me in the year that the Rooms besieged the 

 fortress of Dio. 20 



Dom Lourenco having completed all his preparations and taken 

 leave of the king set sail and arrived at Cochym, when the ships 

 were already loaded to sail, namely, the four that I have already 

 mentioned, 21 and was received by his father with much 

 pleasure, on learning the good news that he brought, giving many 

 praises to Our Lord for directing him so as to discover so great 

 a prize for our lord the king, without cost of money or trouble, 

 as was the cinnamon for the kingdom, which was immediately 

 loaded in the ships ; and he ordered Diogo d' Almeida to go and 

 tell the king of Cochym all about the Ceylao affair, because Dom 

 Lourenco had been to see the king, and had told him nothing. 

 And because the viceroy highly esteemed the speaking of the 

 truth he did not care to write to the king anything that anyone had 

 told him, when he did not know if they were telling him the truth, 

 since, if he were told a lie, he did not wish to repeat a lie to the 

 king ; so, when any man came from another country he sent him 

 to the king, that he might give him an account of what he had 

 seen and learnt. For this cause he sent to the kingdom Diogo 

 d' Almeida, that he might relate to the king the affairs of Ceylao, 

 because, while Dom Lourenco was in Ceylao, he was the whole 

 time on shore, and saw all that took place in Ceylao. And he 

 gave these men whom he thus sent a letter of credit, which said, 

 45 Sire, this man went to such a country, and he will give your 

 highness an account of what he saw and heard." The which he 

 also gave to Diogo d' Almeida because he had to relate the deed 

 of his son, which had happened in Ceylao ; which he did not 

 wish to write of to the king, it being a personal matter, and he 

 considering it a breach of his honour if he should seem to glorify 



