4 



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



for Portugal, meeting at Mocambique his friend the poet 

 Camoens, and arriving at Lisbon in April 1570, to find the 

 city just recovering from another epidemic of plague. 



Couto's stay in his native land was but a brief one, for he 

 again left for India in March 1571, never (as it fell out) to 

 return. He settled down as a citizen in Goa, where he married 

 Luiza de Mello, whose brother, Frei Adeodato da Trinidade, a 

 Franciscan, afterwards assisted in the publication of Couto's 

 Decades 1 . Coutowas versed in mathematics and geography, 

 and knew Latin and Italian well, writing poetry in both these 

 languages. He also took much interest in the history of India 

 and other countries of Asia, as well as in the manners and 

 customs and religious beliefs of the peoples of those lands. 

 When he first entertained the idea of continuing the work left 

 unfinished by Barros, I do not know ; but he appears to have 

 been (consciously or unconsciously) fitting himself for it for 

 many years. It was not, however, until some years after the 

 accession to the throne of Portugal of Philip II. of Spain in 

 1581 that Couto took any action in this matter. Noticing the 

 great interest taken by this king in all the affairs of the 

 Portuguese oversea dominions, Couto seems to have conceived 

 the idea of writing a volume after the style of one of Barros' s 

 Decades, commencing however, not where Barros left off (at 

 February 1526), but with the year of Philip's proclamation as 

 king of Portugal, 1581. His object in so doing was doubtless 

 to flatter Philip's vanity, and thus insure the royal patronage 

 for the work he proposed ; and in this he was successful. 



By 1593 Couto had finished the book that forms Decade X. ; 

 and on 15 November of that year he wrote to the king 

 informing him of this fact, and begging Philip to pass a provi- 

 sion enabling him to have access to all state documents 

 necessary for his carrying out his project. To this letter the 

 king replied on 28 February 1595, expressing his approval 

 of Couto's intention, asking him to send him the volume he had 

 written 2 , and requesting him to commence his work where 

 Barros had left off ; adding, that in order that Couto might the 



1 See below, p. 10, note 2 . 



2 It was not, however, sent to the king until 1601. 



