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



435 



excused himself. And there being some disputes between him 

 and the captain, there offered himself one Alvaro de Barros, 

 an old soldier, a worthy knight, who had the reversion of 

 the captaincy of the port of Caleture 1 , and said to Dom 

 Francisco de Noronha that he would go in the boat to make 

 that investigation, and that he hoped in God that he would 

 do it very well, which the captain accepted of him, and ordered 

 to embark with him some companions, giving him orders to 

 land at that beach ; and that if he found there any village 

 he was to endeavour to arrange for a pilot, or two, for which 

 purpose he gave him money ; and as the Chingalas would for 

 it sell wife and children 2 , if there were any there they would 

 not fail to come. 



After this boat had left, there appeared an almadia 3 , which 

 had put out from Gale, and on signalling to it it came to the 

 ship, and from those that came in it they learnt the position 

 in which they were, which was between Gale and Beligao. 

 And as there was no one in it who knew how to guide them 

 and show them the way, they dispatched the almadia with a 

 letter to the captain of Gale 4 , in which the captain of the ship 

 gave him an account of the state in which he was, and begged 

 him to send and help him with pilots who should take them 

 into some safe port. 



Such promptness did Alvaro de Barros put into this business 

 that they intrusted to him, that he reached the land, and 

 there engaged two pilots, whom he sent in the boat, and whom 

 Dom Francisco de Noronha heartily welcomed, and asked them 

 where it would be better to put in, at Gale, or at Beligao, 

 and if they would venture to take that ship into either of those 

 ports ? and both said that Beligao was better, because its 

 bar had at high tide from four to five fathoms of water, and 

 that they would endeavour to take her in ; but that they 

 would not bind themselves to anything. 



Having made his calculations, Dom Francisco de Noronha 

 resolved to attempt the bar of Beligao, even though the ship 

 should be imperilled ; because, if the men, money, and 

 munitions were saved, of all the rest he recked little. And 

 having decided on this, he ordered the pilots to go to Beligao, 

 that God in whom he confided would help them. And so they 

 set sail, and arrived in front of the bar at the time when it was 

 half tide, with which they attempted the bar, and came into 



1 Gf. supra, p. 404, note 7 . I think that "port" here must be an 

 error for " fort." 



2 Of. Couto's opinion of the Sinhalese in V. i. v. (p. 66). 



3 See supra, p. 286, note *. 



4 Perhaps D. Francisco da Gama (see note 4 on p. 433 supra). 



2f2 



