No. 60. — 1908.] couto : history of oeylon. 



415 



heir, there being no other who of right may have and can 

 inherit his crown and realms. Wherefore we swear once more 

 on the holy gospels, on which we have our hands, and promise 

 to keep faith and loyalty towards him, and to obey him, and 

 yield vassalage both to him and to his successors who shall 

 in the future succeed him, or to his viceroys, governors, or 

 captains, who in his stead shall hold office in these realms 

 of Ceilao, as until now we have done to the king Dom Joao 

 Perea Pandar, whom God has in glory, our lawful king that 

 was : and thus we promise to keep and fulfil it, as in any other 

 part of his realms and dominions : which we swear today the 

 things above, so and in such manner as they are set forth : 

 which we again swear once more and many more times on the 

 holy gospels, and promise to keep them entirely, both for 

 ourselves and in the name of this people." 



This swearing being ended, the captain-general took in his 

 hands the royal banner of the arms of Portugal, and delivered 

 it to Dom Antao ; and forthwith the captain-general and the 

 captain of the city and all the rest of the people proceeded 

 through all the principal streets with the banner raised ; and 

 in the appointed places Dom Antao lifted up his voice, saying : 

 "Real, real, real 1 , for the most mighty lord the king of 

 Portugal" ; to which all responded: "Real, real, real." And 

 this ceremony being finished, a deed was drawn up of this swear- 

 ing by Manoel Correa da Costa, notary public of notes, in the 

 book of these, to which all the persons named affixed their sig- 

 natures ; and the copy of the deed I have in the Torre do Tombo , 

 in the book of contracts and treaties of peace, at page 143, 

 whence I have copied it here 2 . And immediately from thence- 

 forward the king of Portugal was obeyed and acknowledged 

 as king of the realms that Dom J oao Perea Pandar possessed 3 . 



1 Lit " royal." The word of acclamation used by the Portuguese 

 at a coronation 



2 The original appears to be no longer in existence. 



3 In a letter of 21 November 1598, printed in Arch. Port.-Or. Hi. 

 (918), the king of Spain acknowledges the receipt of the news of Dharma- 

 pala's death, and commends the action of Dom Jeronimo de Azevedo 

 in taking possession of the kingdom in his name. He requests that 

 formal deeds be drawn up in connection with this inheritance, and 

 orders that " in the place where the said king died certain exequies be 

 performed with all the solemnity that may be." From a royal letter 

 of 27 December 1598 (A. P.-O. hi. 938) we learn that the chamber of the 

 city of Columbo had written to the king respecting Dona Isabel, Dharma- 

 pala's widow, who had also sent the king a letter about her affairs, 

 which seem to have been in a very poor condition, to judge by references 

 in subsequent royal letters of 25 January 1601 and 15 February 1603. 



