NO. 4:2. — 1891.] SIEGE OF COLOMBO. 



85 



for them, and as it was situated overlooking the sea on a reef, 

 appeared to them to be without a garrison. He also caused 

 to be placed on the lake inside a number of small boats, ;) 

 with which he had come provided for this purpose. That 

 night 10 he gave orders for a thousand foot soldiers to cross 

 the bridge which spans an arm of the same lake, which 

 forms the entrance to the road that leads to the Porta da 

 Rainha ; and he placed two thousand near his batteries, in 

 order that a thousand of them might go along the seashore 

 and get across the stockade, of whom fifty were to go to the 

 casemate gate of S. Joao and platform ; the other fifty to go 

 to a couraga 11 on the seashore, in front of the College of the 

 Company ; and the other thousand to attack the bastion 

 of S. Joao and the stretch of wall which runs thence to that 

 of S. Estevao. These men were not got ready so secretly 

 that it was not notorious to the whole city that they intended 

 to make an assault, from the positions in which we discovered 

 these bodies of men ranged in the morning, and thus we 

 had the opportunity of preparing to receive them.] 



It chanced that at 8 in the morning of the 13th 12 of Nov- 

 ember, 1655, the tide afforded them the opportunity of passing 

 the stockade by the seashore. From one battery they gave 

 a signal with three shots, and all at once they swarmed 

 out all in order and very quietly, affording us the chance 

 before they arrived of giving them two volleys. 13 £The 

 ships had already set sail wffch a fresh breeze, making short 

 tacks ; and as soon as they saw the signal they turned their 

 prows to the bay. One of them entered it, and cast anchor 

 alongside of the Couraga of Santa Cruz ; the other remained 

 outside at a good distance in order to escape the danger. 

 Each of the squadrons reached the position that had been 

 assigned to it, and the only ones who did not succeed were 

 the thousand who were coming to the bastion of S. Joao and 

 the wall, as they came upon the ditch ; however, having 

 divided, the one part went to the bastion of S. Estevao, and 

 the others going by the seashore lent a hand to the five 

 hundred who had reached the platform and casemate which 



G 2 



