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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol. XX. 



he had passed Cape Comori 1 ; and as it was the conjunction 

 of the moon, on going towards the shoals, the vara of Choro- 

 mandel 2 swept down with such fury, that it scattered the 

 whole fleet, which was quite disorganized, each one running 

 whither he best could. The governor with the greater part of 

 the galleys almost sinking and water-logged cast anchor at the 

 Ilha das Vacas 3 . There he remained many days until the 

 monsoon had passed 4 ; and seeing that there was now no time 

 to go forward, he became sad and melancholy on account of 

 the ill success that a fleet that he had prepared at such ex- 

 pense had had. And summoning to his galley the captains, he 

 revealed to them whither he had been going, and showed them 

 the king's letters, and those that they had written to him from 

 India, in which they had made light of that expedition, saying 

 to them, that by that they would see the reason why he had 

 prepared that fleet, and that they might now judge what he 

 should do ; because he was ready to fulfil what the king had 

 commanded him ; that if there was still time to pass the shoals 

 he would do it, as the expense had already been incurred 5 . 

 And all the pilots having been summoned, on discussing if they 

 could still pass, they all agreed that the monsoon was already 

 over, and that nothing could now be done. On this it was 

 resolved to return, whereupon the governor turned about and 



1 Regarding this shameful expedition, which left Goa on 12 August 

 1543, see Whiteway 283-4. 



2 See supra, p. 31, note 3 



3 " The Isle of Cows " : the name given by the Portuguese to Nedun- 

 tivu (or Delft, as the Dutch subsequently named it). 



4 The most interesting fact about this expedition is, that the famous 

 Dr. Garcia da Orta, who was a friend of the governor's, accompanied it ; 

 and he tells us in his Coloquios (Col. 45) that while in the Ilha das Vacas 

 he saw many goats slaughtered for the armada, the largest of which 

 had bezoar stones in their stomachs. He adds, that it afterwards 

 became a custom for the Bengal ships to call at this island for these 

 concretions (see Garcia da Orta ii. 232, 235-6). 



5 Correa states that from the Isle of Cows the governor sent a black- 

 mailing message to the king of Jaffna (see C. Lit. Reg. iii. 237). Xavier, 

 writing to the directors of the college of Santa Fe in Goa, from Cochin, 

 27 January 1545, says : — " Jafanapatan was not taken, nor was the 

 possession of the kingdom given to that king who was to become a 

 Christian : this was not done, because there ran ashore a ship of the 

 king's that came from Pegu, and the king of Jafanapatan seized the 

 goods, and until what he seized is recovered that which the governor 

 ordered is not to be done ; please God that it be done if it shall be to 



his service. I was in Jafanapatan some days, " (see Miss, dos 



Jes. 37-8). On this subject see C. Lit. Reg. iii. 327. 



