seized upon all beholders; for within the memory of man there was no record of any Christians ever having been at that place, and they believed that our Lord had sent down that sign from Heaven, in order to shew that it was his will that the kingdom should belong to the King of Portugal and not to the Hidalcão, and that their mosques should become houses of prayer,1 wherein his name should be worshipped. For whereas the city was very strongly garrisoned and provided with artillery and arms, and all other things necessary for its defence, our people had not been sufficient. -being so few in number-to take it, had there not been within it this signal of the Cross whereon our Lord suffered, which called upon them as it were, and gave them the power to attack the city; had it not been also for the Apostle Sanctiago, who helped them, whereof the very Moors bore good testimony, to the effect that after the fall of the city they inquired of our men what manner of man was that captain with shining armour and a red cross, who marched with the Christians, striking and killing the Moors, for it was he alone that had taken their city from them.

And Afonso Dalboquerque, not only from the great devotion which he had for this saint, but because he was a knight of the order of the saint, did not forget this favour which he had received from him; and he sent to the convent of Palmela a staff of the length of six palms and of the thickness of a lance,3 all overlaid with gold, with inlaid work, and the hand of the staff covered with pearls and

1 Isaiah lvi, 7; Math. xxi, 13; Mark xi, 17; Luke xix, 46.

2 Palmela, a town in Portugal, south of Lisbon, 38 deg. 34 min. N. ; 8 deg. 57 min. W. Bluteau gives an interesting account of its history. The convent is the head of the Military Order of Santiago, and is kept by Brethren of the Rule of St. Augustine.

3 Arremeção.

4 Lavrado de Tauxia; Tauxía or atuxía, damaskeening or inlaying of one metal upon another; from the Arabic at tauchiya, to colour, to render

rubies, and a penitential scourge of very large beads of gold, and a shell1 of gold of good size, with many precious stones in it, placed upon a hat of crimson satin; and at his death he bequeathed to the Apostle Sanctiago of Galiza2 a very large lampstand of silver, and a hundred thousand reiss in cash for oil.

When this news of the taking of Goa reached Cambaya, and it became known that Afonso Dalboquerque was fortifying himself therein, with intent to maintain his position, the king perceived that his own league was destroyed, and therefore ordered the liberation of the prisoners whom he had captured when D. Afonso Noronha, the nephew of Afonso Dalboquerque, had been taken prisoner, and also offered to give up Diu for the site of a Portuguese fortress; and from that time forward the king continually sent ambassadors to treat for peace. And Mirocem, captain of the fleet of the Grand Sultan, who was in Cambaya (with some of the forces that had escaped from the rout inflicted upon them by the Viceroy"), where he was awaiting the relief for which he had sent to Cairo, in order to refit his forces at Goa, no sooner learned that Goa was taken (and that, too, with great havoc among the Turks), than he gave up all hopes of bringing his mission to a fortunate termination, and obtained permission from the King of Cambaya to go to Juda, where he remained for some days, and from that port set out for Suez by sea in a shallop, where he found beautiful; in Portuguese the word has the more limited meaning given above.

1 Vieira. This word gives the name to a large number of Portuguese families. Among others who have borne it, is the author of the wellknown Portuguese Grammar and Portuguese-English Dictionaries. 2 Gallicia.

6

3 About £20 16s. 8d. of English money,—a large sum in those days. See vol. i, p. 222; vol. ii, p. 112.

5 At Diu. See vol. ii, pp. 112, 113, note. —Lusiada, x, 34-36.

Djeddah. See vol. i, p. 234.

7 Gelua. See jelua, vol. i, p. 226, note.

the fleet in progress of preparation. And when Mirocem. thus arrived at Cairo to impart this news of the taking of Goa to the Sultan, orders were given to stop the building of the fleet, and no more trouble was taken about it. The ambassador of the King of Cambaya was thereupon despatched with orders to report that on the completion of the fortress, Afonso Dalboquerque would come and visit the king and arrange the terms of peace. And because Afonso Dalboquerque was desirous of sounding the wishes of the Hidalcão relative to an alliance, he wrote the following letter to him, with certain grandiloquent ideas1 involved in it; for, as long as he governed India, he always availed himself, first of one thing, then of another, in his intercourse with the kings.

LETTER WHICH THE GREAT AFONSO DALBOQUERQUE WROTE TO THE HIDALCAO AS SOON AS GOA HAD BEEN TAKEN.

"Very honourable and good Cavalier Milohau! the great Afonso Dalboquerque, Captain-General of India and of the Kingdom and Lordship of Ormuz and of the Kingdom and Lordship of Goa, for the very high and very powerful D. Manuel, King of Portugal and of the Algarves, on this side and on that of the sea, in Africa Lord of Guiné, and of the Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and of India, I send you my greeting. You must well know how the Çabayo, your father, used to take the ships of Malabar out of the ports and harbours of the King my Lord; wherefore it was that I was constrained to go against Goa, and take the city, and there it is that I am occupied in building a very strong fortress. I wish most sincerely that your father had been living, that he might know me to be a man of my word: out of regard for him, I shall be ever your friend, and I will assist you

1 Rebolarias, an uncommon word, probably derived from rebolar, to roll about.

against the King of Decan, and against your enemies; and I will cause all the horses1 that arrive here to be carried to your stations and your marts, in order that you may have possession of them. Fain would I that the Merchants of your land would come with white stuffs and all manner of merchandize to this port, and take to yours in exchange merchandize of the sea and of the land, and horses, and I will give them a safe conduct. If you wish for my friendship, let your messengers come to me with your communications, and I will send you others on my part, who shall convey to you my communications: if you will perform this which I write unto you, by my aid shall you be able to gain possession of much land, and become a great Lord among the Moors. Be desirous of performing this, for thus it shall be well with you, and you shall have great power; and for all that the Çabayo, your father, be dead, I will be your father, and bring you up like a son. Let your messenger bring back immediately to me a reply, and let the merchants of the land come under safe-conduct to Goa; and as for the Merchants who bring merchandize and come under your letters of safe conduct, signed by your hand, I will be responsible for their safety."

CHAPTER V.

How the Nequibares sent to request a safe conduct from Afonso Dalboquerque, in order that they might come and live at Goa; and how our forces put to rout Meliqueaye, the captain of the Hidalcão. When the Nequibares, who were stationed on the mainland, perceived that the great Afonso Dalboquerque was establishing himself firmly in Goa, they sent to desire a safe

The horse trade was a great source of employment and revenue on the Indian coast.-See vol. ii, pp. 76, 77, 107, 111; see also Col. Yule, Marco Polo, vol. i, pp. 84, 88, 324, 333, etc., and Index; 2nd edition.

conduct from him in order that they might come over with all their people and live in the city. These Nequibares were the principal men and captains of the people. Now, whereas Afonso Dalboquerque was anxious of gathering together into the city all the native Hindoos of the land, he was very glad of the offers of these Nequibares, for he was in hopes that they would help him in the construction of the fortress, so he sent them the safe conduct which they had desired him to give; and when they arrived in Goa he gave them houses and possessions according to each one's station of life on the mainland. And after he had sent messengers to this effect to the Nequibares, news reached him that Meliqueaye,1 captain of the Hidalcão, had arrived with a large body of men at Condal, and at Banda, with the intention of forcing an entrance into the island of Goa. And although Afonso Dalboquerque was fully occupied in the work upon the fortress, because he felt so strongly the necessity of finishing it as quickly as he could, nevertheless he could not endure that a captain of the Hidalcão should come and besiege the lands of Goa while he was in the island; he therefore lost no time in despatching Diogo Fernandez de Béja to sail into the River of Bandá, and dispute the passage with Meliqueaye in the lands of Antuge and Saste. And with him he sent also, as captains of the vessels, Aires Pereira, Antonio Dabrea, Gaspar Cão, and Antonio de Matos, with two hundred men.

Diogo Fernandez, as soon as he was ready, set out with his people, and reached Bandá, and went up the river, and without any further consideration disembarked immediately. When Meliqueaye perceived that our men had disembarked, he proceeded to attack them, relying upon the numerous bodies of Turks who were under his command, and Diogo Fernandez waited for them with great bravery, and plied

The first part of this name is Melek, Lord. See vol. ii, pp. 85, 86, for names similarly formed,