198 



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



[Vol. XX. 



who was in the city, miraculously escaped falling into their 

 hands, and with great trouble and risk to his person escaped 

 to the vessels, several of our people however being killed there, 

 and in the neighbouring villages all that they found (being for 

 the most part Christians of the country, servants of Portuguese 

 and comprador es 1 ). Those that attacked the fortress and the 

 villages thereabouts found the deputy provincial of St. Francis 

 and some of his fellow friars, who were engaged in making 

 Christians, and all were put to the sword, suffering a glorious 

 martyrdom for the faith of Christ our Lord : for so zealous 

 was the bishop in this work of conversion, that he would 

 not allow his catechumens to be meddled with ; and if anyone 

 caused them any annoyance or injury, he flew into a great rage 

 and fulminated, saying that they were not to meddle with his 

 angelets : the which they took in such ill part, that they strove 

 hard to get him into their power 2 . 



After these conspirators had attacked every place and done 

 the evils that we have mentioned, they all united, and pro- 

 ceeded to lay siege to the fortress, where Fernao de Sousa de 

 Castellobranco already was, whom the viceroy Dom Con- 

 stantino had sent as captain of it, but who was ill, and began 

 to make many assaults on it. Those that remained to attack 

 the place where the viceroy Dom Constantino was 3 were so cun- 

 ning as to send into his camp some blacks who a few days before 

 had taken on the guise of domestics ; and as they knew that 

 the viceroy Dom Constantino was devoted to the chase, 

 through his having on several days gone on it around there, 

 on the day of the general conspiracy they led him to believe 

 that in a jungle near there were some deer, in order to bring 

 him to that place, where they intended to fall upon him from 

 an ambush ; and as the viceroy was much interested in this, 

 he went with a few persons to look for the deer, in which he 

 occupied the greater part of the day, and returned towards 

 evening, without any disaster's happening to him ; and after 

 the general conspiracy was known of, it was surmised that the 

 viceroy escaped in that expedition that he made, either 

 because of their not daring to set upon him through fear, or 

 because the spies had mistaken the day. But the most 

 probable is, that our Lord God blinded them, and delivered 

 the viceroy : for if they had attacked him, all would have 

 been lost, and not one of our people would have escaped, of 

 as many as were in that kingdom, just as the three inhabitants 

 of Sao Thome did not escape, of whom we have related above 



1 Buyers or brokers (see Hob. -Job. s.v.). 



a One of the causes of the insurrection is thus easily seen. 



3 At Elephant Pass (see previous chapter, p. 196). 



