given him a rebuke on some occasion, he left his
palace abruptly and fled to the king of Pidir, who received him with
affection, and refused to send him back at the desire of the elder
brother, or to offer any violence to a young prince whom their father
loved. This was the occasion of an inveterate war which cost the lives of
many thousand people. The nephew commanded the forces of Pidir, and for
some time maintained the advantage, but these, at length seeing
themselves much inferior in numbers to the army of Ali-Maghayat, refused
to march, and the king was obliged to give him up, when he was conveyed
to Achin and put in close confinement.

1606.

Not long afterwards a Portuguese squadron under Martin Alfonso, going to
the relief of Malacca, then besieged by the Dutch, anchored in Achin road
with the resolution of taking revenge on the king for receiving these
their rivals into his ports, contrary to the stipulations of a treaty
that had been entered into between them. The viceroy landed his men, who
were opposed by a strong force on the part of the Achinese; but after a
stout resistance they gained the first turf fort with two pieces of
cannon, and commenced an attack upon the second, of masonry. In this
critical juncture the young prince sent a message to his uncle requesting
he might be permitted to join the army and expose himself in the ranks,
declaring himself more willing to die in battle against the Kafers (so
they always affected to call the Portuguese) than to languish like a
slave in chains. The fears which operated upon the king's mind induced
him to consent to his release. The prince showed so much bravery on this
occasion, and conducted two or three attacks with such success that
Alfonso was obliged to order a retreat, after wasting two days and losing
three hundred men in this fruitless attempt. The reputation of the prince
was raised by this affair to a high pitch amongst the people of Achin.
His mother, who was an active, ambitious woman, formed the design of
placing him on the throne, and furnished him with large sums of money, to
be distributed in gratuities amongst the principal orang cayas. At the
same time he endeavoured to ingratiate himself by his manners with all
classes of people. To the rich he was courteous; to the poor he was
affable; and he was the constant companion of those who were in the
profession of arms. When the king had reigned between three and four
years he died suddenly, and a