NO. 50. — J 899.] VAN ECK'S KANDYAN EXPEDITION. 53 



His Excellency the Governor not to advance further till he should 

 send ambassadors to treat of peace. This was agreed to, and on the 

 following day several magnates of the court, and among others the 

 royal Adigaar, presented themselves rather as suppliants than as 

 ambassadors. They begged for the Three and Four Corles, the Seve?i 

 Corles, Saffragam, and the sovereignty of all the coasts of the whole 

 Island, requesting at the same time that by God's will something more 

 may be left to their king. His Excellency the Governor would 

 certainly have accepted this proposition very readily, had not a certain 

 Member of the Council* persuaded him to make the still further demand 

 that the king must submit himself to be a vassal to the Company. 

 This was the reason why the conference for peace was broken up, 

 and the king (who would rather sacrifice some provinces than have the 

 shame that his capital had fallen into the power of his enemies) left 

 it as a prey and retired to the land of Oeva. Mr. Rein finds himself 

 still at Candia, and will be compelled, owing to the hard monsoon being 

 at hand, on account of which he will not be able to come away without 

 great danger, to remain there till the month of August. 



[Postscript to the above, written in French,f as follows : — ] 

 I have received confirmation, regarding that which I have the 

 honour to inform you in my letter, from the Colonel and the principal 

 officers (who have come) down from Candia. I have nothing to 

 put forward from my Head. But I will add that Mr. Van Eck 

 returned from his expedition more moody and depressed than ill, 

 although he apparently had every reason for being cheerful and satis- 

 fied. I think that the disappointment had more to do with his death 

 than had his illness, which at the outset was of no accouDt. 



Eight days after his return he shrank from seeing any one ; and 

 towards the end the sentries had even orders to allow no one to enter 

 the courtyard. This order was enforced till the last day, when we 

 were astounded to learn that he was in extremis. I was the first to 

 hasten (to him) ; but it was too late : he had already lost the power 

 of speech, and was unconscious. 



Letter F. 



Extract from a letter dated April 9, 1766, written from Colombo 



oy to % 



The arrival of His Excellency Van Ech would have indeed reached 

 your ears, as well as His Excellency's unexpected death on April 1 

 at 3 A.M. It was considered and reasoned to be a strange thing 



* This Councillor is Angelbeek, who is appointed Acting* Chief Merchant 

 by that precious Council, and is proposed as Director till he obtains the 

 permanent appointment ; but it is to be hoped that the Company will 

 reward the ill services which he has done with no further promotions. — 

 Marginal note. 



t Translated for Mr. Buultjens. — B., Hon. See. 



X Lacuna in manuscript. — A. E. B. 



