A Defcripion of CEYLON. 
767 
chado^ and Don Franctfco Rolim^ all Inhabi- 
tants of the City, did great Service with 
their Slaves, in the Mancfjous or Boats, 
in protecting our Workmen on that fide, 
as well as the Dijfaves ^ and to be fhort, 
there was no body fo young, no body fo 
old, that was exempted trom continual 
Labour or Watching. 
T\[Q Dutch on the other hand carried 
on the Trenches from the Redoubt with 
lix Guns, to the Hill of yiqua de Lupe^ 
and made another Trench from the Re- 
doubt in the Plain, which was to meeta- 
nother Redoubt thrown upon the Front 
of the Baftion of St. Stephenj beyond the 
Lake or Fens. They alfo raifed another 
Battery in the Garden of Antonio de 
Adfota, againft the Baftion of St. Stephen^ 
and another near the before- mention'd 
Redoubt of fix Guus, in a parallel with 
that in the Plain, and another juft at the 
Foot of the Baftion of St. Crus^ which be- 
ing fo near the Ditch, was likely to be a 
Thorn in our Eye, there being nothing 
but the Ditch betwixt us and the Enemy, 
fo that we could throw Stones at them, 
and often talk'd with one another. 
Fioueira About the fame time Cafpar Figueira de 
lays down Serpe defir'd leave to lay down his Com- 
hff Com- milfion, not to fliun the Danger or Trou- 
ntiffion.-^ bleof his Station, but becaufe many of 
the Gentlemen and Subaltern Officers re- 
fufedtoobey his Command i fo he was 
difcharg'd, and Antonio de Melo de Cafiro, 
Nephew to the late Governor Francifco 
de Melo deCajlro^ who had behavM him- 
felf with more than ordinary Bravery in 
his Poft during the Siege, put in his place. 
As we fhrewdly fufpe&ed the Enemy 
to have a Defign of undermining the 
Baftion of St. Stephen^ a Cavalier was 
order'd to be rais'd near it, in cafe the 
fame fhould fucceed. This was done by 
the contrivance of a certain Indian Mer- 
chant of the Coaft of Coromandel^ who 
alfo orderM the Redoubt, demolilh'd 
fince the laft general Aflault, to be repai- 
red : By the diredion alio of another 
certain Merchant (who was Surveyor of 
our Magazine) a Countermine was con- 
triv'd, which did us great Service. It 
Was a moft deplorable thing to have in 
fuch a Fortrefs as this, not fo much as 
Cwetouf- one Portuguefe Engineer, nay not fo much 
TAhe'^"'"^ as a good Carpenter of our Nation, the 
officers. Defed whereof can be attributed to no- 
thing elfe but to the Covetoufnefs of 
fome of the King's Officers, who put the 
Mony defign'd for that ufe into their 
Pockets, and at the fame time put it to 
the King's Account. Neither were our 
Fortifications in fuch a Condition as they 
ought to have been j for whereas we had '^^-^^-^^ 
had fufficienttimeto enclofc that part of f~^, 
the City near the Sea-fide, call'd Galvoca 
(comprehending a third part of the 
wholej with ftrong Walls, and to ren- 
der it impregnable, by reafon of the 
natural Situation thereof, being acceffi- 
ble only in certain Places in fmall Boats, 
they had planted only fome Coco and 
Palm-Trees there, which perifli and arc 
walh'd away by the Waves in a (hort time. 
Thus the Baftions, which ought to have 
been fac'd with Stone, were only made 
of Earth, which are not durable,and eafily 
fpoil'd by the Water- Floods ; the effefts 
whereof were then obvious enough, from 
the Hofpital to the Gate of the Jefuits 
College, which comprehends a very 
large Trad of Ground. Befides this, 
the Carriages of our great Guns were fo 
rotten, that moft of them after the firft 
Difcharge broke to pieces ^ fo that we 
were forc'd to take the Wood from the 
Houfes, nay even out of the Churches (as 
we did in that of St. Domingo ) to make 
new Ones. 
My Pen wants Words to exprefj the 
Affronts put upon the Holy Images by 
the Hereticks, whereof I will give you 
only one Inftance. They took the Image 
of the Holy Apoftle St. Thomas, and af= 
ter they had cut off the Nofe, Ears and 
Arms, fet it up for a Mark to flioot at \ 
afterwards they knock'd it full of great 
Nails, and fo (hot it out of a Mortar 
Nov. 16. into our Ditch, whence it was 
taken up and carried to the Jefuits Col- 
lege, by Father Damian Fieira^ and two 
ReformM Officers, Mamel de Seixcus^ and 
A^anoel de S, Jago Garcia. But the Fran^ 
a/c^jwi laying Claim to it, they carried it 
in Publick Proceffion to their Church, and 
placed it upon the High Altar. Father 
Francffco S. Mattheus folemniz'd the Day 
with a learned Speech, 
The 20tb of Novemh. the holy Thomas 
bleffed us with the Arrival of a certain 
PoYtuguefe^ a Native of Aveiros, named 
Simon Lopes de Bafto, who for certain 
Reafons being retir'd from Goa to IVm- 
gurla^ had ferved among the Dutch in a 
very good Station in the Camp^ hue 
finding his Countrymen in Diftrefs, left 
all and came over to us, and did us moft 
fignal Service in the Siege. 
The Enemy carried on their Trenches 
from the Foot of the Baftion of St. Cms, 
to the Edg of the Ditch, with an Inten- 
tion to fix their Miners under the Baftion 
of St. John \ but we made a Countermine, 
and defended the Ditch on the other fide 
with a good Breaft-work, tofecure our 
Fco- 
