No. 55.-^1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 183 
clothed by the said Portuguese, and some women, casting honour and 
shame on one side, intermarried with them ; but now since by God's 
grace I am lawful and natural King, who intend to increase and pre- 
serve my law and customs, putting away the evil past customs of the 
Portuguese, Your Honour must not allow such marriages to take 
place. Nothing further suggests itself. Grod preserve Your Honour, 
&c. From this camp of Bilacam,!^^ March 23, 1644. 
(Signed) Rajja Singa. 
Addressed : — To Jan Mathyssen, captain nioor^^^ of my fortress of, 
Gale. 
Before the above reached him Thyssen had written a 
letter^i2 Raja Sinha, who replied as follows : — 
The letter written by Your Honour on March 21 reached this my 
court and city of Candia on April 3, seven days after my arrival from 
the low-country. From it I learnt that Your Honour was in good 
health, at which I was greatly rejoiced, owing to the love and good- 
will that I bear you, and, God willing, I shall also presently be of 
service to you. Beside the letter of Your Honour, I have seen 
another"^ from the admiral Francisco Caron, which he had left with 
Your Honour to send to me. I was glad that he departed from this 
port in good health,"^ and that Your Honour tells me that in the 
coming year we shall have a large reinforcement wherewith we should 
drive the enemy entirely out of this island of Cheylon ; I have greatly 
valued that, and I pray God that he bring the said admiral in salvo 
and fulfil for us our desires. Your Honour says in his letter that the 
admiral will leave a ship to go to Batticaloa, to take in the supply of 
eight elephants which remain of the 20, and any other goods ; it 
has not been possible for me to collect the goods this year, but I 
have the eight elephants and one that I promised to the said admiral 
Francisco Caron of 8 covados and 50 maons of wax. I do not 
doubt that all the things are now in Batticaloa ; but it has not yet 
been possible to have the letter to the Governor-General at Batavia^^^ 
written, as I have been busy with the disturbances in the low-country 
which the Portuguese enemy instigated, but in three days from to-day 
I shall without fail dispatch it to Batticaloa. 
I do not know what quantity of cinnamon there is at Mature, and only 
because Your Honour asks in his letter that I should send orders to 
my officers to deliver what has been gathered, I am ordering my disava 
and other officers of the districts of Mature to deliver it to Your Honour, 
for having last year ordered my disava of Batticaloar (s2c) to deliver 
to the commandeur Pieter Boreel the goods that were collected 
there, I not knowing the amount thereof, the Governor-General of 
Jacatra writes that the quantity was so small, that (in respect to the 
gastos that the Company had incurred in my service) it was not worth 
