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



[Vol. XX. 



he wrought, which were such that he was sufficient, with the 

 musketry, to make the enemy retire with great loss , so that the 

 river in that and other parts was full of dead bodies and dyed 

 with the blood of the enemies. The captain of the inhames, 

 seeing the Moors retired, came up on land transformed into a 

 rustic by being coated with mud, and covered with blood ; 

 and the king, seeing him ran to him, and embraced him many 

 times, exaggerating with hyperbolic encomiums the lofty 

 prowesses that he had seen him perform ; and divesting 

 himself of a crimson robe that he wore all fastened with gold 

 buttons, clothed him with it. This pass is called that of the 

 pachas, in which were some twenty men, and we may say that 

 four soldiers alone defended it against three thousand Moors 

 who attacked it : these were, the captain of the inhames, who 

 surpassed all, Ignacio de Gamboa Falcao, Pedro Pirez the 

 Room, and another whose name they could not tell me, but who 

 did not deserve , for his valorous courage, to remain in oblivion ; 

 and each of them performed such prowesses in defence of the 

 pass, that Manlius did not perform greater in defence of the 

 Capitol, which was a different kind of fortress. 



In all the passes there was hard work ; and although in all 

 resounded clamours and cries, and shouts for help were heard, 

 no one moved from his place, which iie kept, because the 

 captain had so ordered them. 



Whilst this conflict was in progress the two captains Dom 

 Diogo de Atayde and Jorge de Mello with all the troops from 

 Columbo reached Cotta at the place where Raju's arrayal 

 was ; and rinding it deserted, they set fire to it, and halted 

 there, because they did not know where the enemy was, it 

 being very dark. Our men in Prea Cotta were in great stress, 

 because at the time that the captain came to the help of the 

 pass that had been forced, Rajii was attacking with his whole 

 force, striving all he could to gain an entrance ; but it was very 

 well defended against him by fifty soldiers who were in that 

 part, who besides the defence performed the loftiest prowesses 

 and wrought such havoc among the enemy, that had they not 

 been aided by the divine arm, they could not by human 

 agency have escaped that fury and unequal strength : and the 

 enemies themselves said afterwards, that they saw a most 

 beautiful woman, who, arriving at that moment with a blue 

 mantle , extended it over our men , and sheltered them from those 

 clouds of arrows and bullets that rained upon them : and that 

 the same woman caught in the air the enemies' darts and hurled 

 them, back upon themselves : and that they likewise saw an 

 old man clad in red, who with a staff that he bore caused great 

 havoc among the Chingalas ; and they affirmed that the sight 

 oi that lady and of the venerable old man caused them all 



