1874 .] Sir Arthur P. Phayre —On the History of Pegu. 15 
The king of Arakan wishing to temporize, sent to compliment him, 
and he returned a rich present to his former master. But this false 
courtesy on both sides was soon changed to open war. Joined with the 
king of Taungu, the king of Arakan sent a force under his son Meng 
Khamaung, with whom were two chiefs, called by the Portuguese Ximicolia 
and Marquetam. They advanced to the Portuguese town with a fleet of 
seven hundred small vessels. These were met and defeated by a small 
fleet under the command of Paul del Itego Pinnero. The Prince Meng 
Khamaung fled, but was followed by Nicote himself in some fast galleys 
and was taken prisoner. Nicote, to his credit be it said, treated the prince, 
to whom he had formerly been servant, with deep respect. “ He watched 
him sleeping,” says the Portuguese historian, “ holding his buskins in his 
“ hands with arms across, a ceremony used by the meanest with their kings, 
tl in those parts, and himself attended him on all occasions.” The king 
of Arakan entered into communication with Nicote for the release of his 
son, and appears to have come himself to Pegu for that purpose. From 
Goa the Governor received orders to surrender the prince without ransom. 
But with strange inconsistency, after his generous treatment of the young 
Prince, he demanded a ransom of fifty thousand crowns, on the ground 
that it was for the expense of the fleet he had fitted out. This led to fur¬ 
ther hostilities, which are thus related by the Portuguese historian. “ The 
“ king of Arakan, justly offended thereat, set out a small fleet against him and 
which was easily defeated, but gave him occasion to enslave 100,000 Chris- 
“ tians and treat them with great rigour ; which nevertheless moved not many 
“ of them, though but new converts. Afterwards he combines with the 
“ king of Tangu, who besieges the town with a great army by land, while 
“ he shuts it up by sea, with 800 sail in which he had 10,000 men. Paul 
“ del Rego met him with 80 ships, and failing of the success he had for- 
“ merly, setting fire to the powder, blew up himself and all that were with 
“ him, rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. The siege continued 
“ so long, till the besieged were ready to surrender, when on a sudden upon 
“ some suspicion, the king of Tangu quits the field by night, and he of 
“ Arracam found it to no purpose to be longer upon the sea.” This was 
the state of affairs in the year A. D. 1603. 
Nicote now seemed secure in his high position. The Talaing chiefs 
sought his friendship and protection, and the king of Taungu entered into 
a treaty, or at least a verbal arrangement, with him. His son Simon married 
a daughter of the king of Martaban, Binya Dala. But the native histories 
record with bitterness that all the pagodas round the city of Pegu were 
dug into, and plundered of their gold and silver images and other treasures. 
The Shwe Dagun, out of respect, it is to be hoped, to the national feeling, 
was spared. But the Talaing historian remarks that the foreigners wor- 
