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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVXI. 



the said Sarmento for the said Van der Oudermeulen ; 

 for we are convinced that the said Sarmento pretends to be 

 of high rank only because he does not know how to get 

 together his promised ransom money being 500 pieces of 

 eight, let alone 1,000 ditto, as we have gathered from several 

 letters from Dom Philip to us, that money is very scarce at 

 Col umbo ; 



All which having been fully considered by the Council, 

 and it having been considered that the said Oudermeulen 

 during his captivity has always shown himself not by any 

 means inconstant (as the rogue St. Amand had told us), but 

 contrarywise such as becomes an honest and faithful heart ; 

 although he had been daily pestered by the said rogue St. 

 Amand to follow his example, the said St. Amand promis- 

 ing him great things if he would do so, yet trusting that 

 the Lord Governor-General and the Council of India 



MS. page 15. 



(considering the dangers hanging over the said Van der 

 Oudermeulen's head) will noways hesitate — the more so as 

 from innate kindness and liberality their Worships had set 

 free sundry Portuguese prisoners without any ransom — to 

 deliver one of their own subjects from the hands of the 

 enemy ; they have unanimously determined to let the ex- 

 change of the said Ignatio against Van der Oudermeulen, as 

 proposed by the Lord President, take place ; but (if this 

 were possible) on condition that a certain Englishman, being 

 one of our soldiers, whom they have also captured in the 

 latest combat, and who (as they write) has remained with 

 them of his own free will, might be given up to us, and that 

 we should not be bound to send them the three Portuguese 

 prisoners mentioned in an earlier part of the present 

 resolution. 



Actum Galle, datum ut supra. Jan Thysen, Marten Vinck, 

 Cornelis Claix, Gerrit Moutmaker, Jan van der Laen, Frans 

 Maetsuycker, Jan Teevesz, Harmen Frensen, Adryaan 

 Louwerensz Bolle [ J, Lambert Camholt. 



