180 JOURNAL, R,.A.s. (ceylon;. [Vol. XVIII. 
land within a cannon-ball's range belonging to a fort. Both 
before and after the interchange of these letters Coster's sus- 
picions as to Raja Siigiha's good faith had been strengthened^ 
and the treatment that he received at the hands of the chiefs 
aroused his anger, so he finally informed the King of his inten- 
tion to depart. On August 17 Coster set out for Batticaloa ; 
and, after having had a further insult offered him by the 
King's minions, on the 20th reached BaduUagammana, 
where he was overtaken by a mudaliyar with 400 or 500 
armed lascoreens, who alleged that he had been sent to escort 
Coster. Next day, however, on reaching Nilgala, Coster was 
set upon by the Sinhalese, and he and the barber surgeon, 
three Dutch soldiers, and four native servants were murdered, 
the rest of his company being stripped, bound, and beaten. 
They were, however, subsequently released, and arrived in 
Batticaloa on September 3 with Coster's baggage.^^ On 
the 8th a letter reached Jan Thyssen from the King ex- 
pressing regret at the death of Coster, and desiring that 
there should be no rupture of the treaty on account of this 
occurrence. Thyssen, apprehensive of evil results at Galle, 
set out thither with the Undermerchant Maarten Vinck, and 
arriving there on the 29th found that Captain St. Amand 
with two Dutch soldiers and some blacks had deserted to the 
Portuguese in Colombo, this having caused a good deal of 
alarm in Galle, which however had been allayed by the good 
sense of Lieutenant Swart.^^ 
The condition of the Dutch garrisons in Galle and Negombo 
at this time seems to have been anything but satisfactory 
and reinforcements being sent from Goa by the new 
Portuguese Viceroy under the command of Dom Filippe 
Mascarenhas, after a short siege Negombo capitulated on 
November 9, the garrison being despatched to Palikat, but 
landing at Galle instead.^^ very acrimonious correspon- 
dence thereupon ensued between Thyssen and the Portuguese 
Governor, in which mutual recriminations and charges of 
bad faith were indulged in.^^ To add to the vexation of the 
Hollanders, Raja Sinha showed little inclination to supply 
