No. 60. — 1908.] couTO : history of ceylon. 



249 



large revenues for the expenses of her household. These first 

 days he spent with her, commanding to bring her to his house, 

 and had her sworn as queen with great ceremonial ; but as he 

 had in his household many princesses, daughters of kings his 

 vassals, as concubines, and other very beautiful ladies all 

 within doors, interred more than in a convent, and she came 

 to know that he consorted with them, she began to be filled 

 with jealousy and to display anger and bitterness towards 

 him, a thing that no one had ever shown towards him, nor did 

 he understand what it was, and he greatly enjoyed it, and 

 had hearty laughs and jests. Of all these things the eunuchs 

 that waited on the queen informed Antonio Toscano, with 

 whom they were on terms of friendship, who told me all this 

 and other things, which I omit so as not to appear prolix. 



But as in those parts there is nothing that is not known, the 

 Brama king came to learn that that maiden was not the 

 daughter of the king of Ceilao, but of his chamberlain, because 

 it seems that Andre Bayao, who had gone thither with her 

 as ambassador, came to let his tongue run too fast (as they say) 

 when conversing with some ximes 1 of Pegu, who told it to the 

 king, who made little of this matter, because of his now being 

 fond of her, and also because the talupoes and ambassadors who 

 went to ask for the queen had given him an account of the 

 ape's tooth and of the veneration in which that king held it, 

 and of how it had been agreed with him that he should give it 

 up : which the Brama highly esteemed, because that tooth, 

 which they considered as that of their idol Quiay, he esteems 

 above everything in life : and it has pleased God that thus we 

 have set in esteem a tooth of Saint Apollonia's ; but I shall not 

 say much as to its being this saint's, but a nail with which 

 Christ was nailed, or a thorn that pierced his sacred head, or 

 the iron of the lance that rent his sacred breast, all of which 

 were captive in the power of the Turks for many years, without 

 the Christian kings' sending to redeem them, as this Brama 

 king did to the feigned tooth of the devil . or of the stag : 

 because he forthwith dispatched the same ambassadors and 

 talupoes back again to ask for that tooth, and for it sent that 

 king the greatest riches, with promises of others still greater. 

 These ambassadors arrived at Columbo 2 , and treated of the 

 business in secret with that king, who delivered to them 

 the tooth in its charola with great ceremonies and precautions, 

 and with it they embarked in great haste in the same ship that 

 they had brought for that purpose. 



The printed edition has " Chinas " (Chinese). 

 In the early part of 1566. probably. 



