one would suffice to repay a great part of these expenses to
which we are put, and if they say that the reason why I desire to
keep possession of Goa is because it was I who took it, Your
Lordship may rest assured that if I were a Portuguese of such a
character as they are, I would be the first, if you ordered me to
destroy it, to put the pick axe into the walls, and to fire the
barrel of gunpowder under the Castle, if only for the pleasure of
seeing the cards of the game of India shuffled for a new deal; but
as long as I live, and while it remains my duty to send an account
to Your Highness of Indian affairs, Goa must not be dismantled, for
I would not that my enemies should exult in the contemplation of
any serious disaster to this estate; and I must sustain it at my
own cost, until they get their wishes, and another governor be sent
to rule over it.

'If this that I say does not agree with the ideas of some of those
who are half-hearted about this matter of Goa, Your Highness may
know for certain that as yet there is a man who is governing it;
and old and weak as I am, I will accept the government of this
conquered territory at Your Highness's hands, if it may be
permitted me to confer the lands of the Moors upon the cavaliers
and fidalgos who have assisted me to gain them. But do not require
of me every year an account of what I am doing as if I were a
tax-gatherer, because four ill-mannered fellows, who sit at home
like idols in their pagodas, have borne false witness against me;
but honour me, and thank me, for I shall be happy to complete this
enterprise, and spend what little I have upon it; and, {124} in
conclusion, all that I have to say is, that, if Your Highness
either now or at any other time surrenders Goa to the Turks, then
plainly Our Lord desires that the Portuguese dominion in India
should come to an end; and, as for me, Your Highness may be sure
that, so long as I am Governor, although I be put to much trouble,
I shall not at any rate send you painted pictures of fictitious
places, but rather kingdoms taken by force of arms from their
masters and fortified by me in such a manner that they may give a
good account of themselves to all time.

'This is my opinion concerning this question of Goa which Your
Highness commanded me to discuss with my captains and officers.'[2]

[Footnote 2: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. iii. pp. 25