:No. 56.— 1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 359 
of Christ, who was Captain-Governor for six years of the 
Fortress of Mannar and owner of the pass of Agacaim ; and 
of Francisco Serrao, Page, His Majesty's Councillor ; and of 
Dona Maria Brandoa ; and of their heirs." " Serrao " is prob- 
ably the modern Saram " found among Ceylon names. 
As I am on this subject I may as well complete my paper 
by including in it all that there is to be said about Portuguese 
inscriptions in Ceylon. I have described seven, all found 
in or re-discovered in 1902. There are besides five in the 
Colombo Museum, the inscriptions on three of which have 
been published, though never in the pages of this Journal, 
where they should appropriately be found, 
Plate No* 8. 
No. 8 (see Plate) was disinterred some fifteen years ago 
from an old well near the Gordon Gardens in Colombo Fort, 
which was formerly a burial ground. It bears the following 
inscription under a coat of arms consisting of a shield charged 
with five stars arranged 2, 1, 2, and underneath the shield the 
date 1646. The translation is according to Professor Gracias : 
" This tomb is of Joana Godinho and of her heirs, which was 
made by one named Jaao da Fonseca." The contraction 
Foca " evidently represents " Fonseca," and Mr. F, H. de 
Vos has identified the arms as those of Joan de Fonseca.* 
Godinha " is a mistake of the engraver for " Godinho,"t and 
" o qual " for " a qual." 
The reading suggested by Professor Gracias for the last 
four lines is, " a qual f ecem por nome Joao da Foca."$ 
The meaning appears to be that the tomb was erected by 
one of the heirs of Joan de Fonseca. 
Plate No, 9. 
" Aqui jaz Helena Roiz molher que foy de Fernao Roiz que 
* Ceylo7i Literary Register^ vol. II., p. 358 ; vol. III., pp. 15 and 278. 
•f- But Sr. Viterbo says " The surname Grodinha is correct — it is not an 
error. Formerly, and still sometimes nowadays, the surnames of women 
were indicated by the feminine form. 
X Mr. Ferguson says : " I think lines 7 and 8 should be 0 QVAL FES 
HVM (p qual fez hum filho)^ 'which was made by a son j' or the last 
word may represent erdeiro'' 
