formed that the place at which they dwelt was only six days sail
from that place. In September they got sight of Cape _Romain_ or St
_Mary_ the most southern point of Madagascar, where they spent 40 days
in stormy weather, and on St Lukes day, 18th October, they entered the
port of that name in the kingdom of Enseroe. The natives said that there
were white people who wore crosses, only at the distance of half a days
journey, who had a large town, and _Randumana_ the king came on board
the caravel, and sent one of his subjects with a Portuguese to shew him
where these white people dwelt, but the black ran away when only half
way.

[Footnote 13: In lat. 23 deg. 30' or directly under the tropic of Capricorn,
is a bay now called St Augustine. If that in the text, the latitude 1s
erroneous a degree and a half.--E.]

Among others of the natives who came to this place to trade with the
Portuguese, was a king named _Bruto Chembanga_ with above 500 fighting
men. His sons were almost white, with long hair, wearing gowns and
breeches of cotton of several colours with silver buttons and bracelets
and several ornaments of gold, set with pearls and coral. The territory
of this king was named _Matacassi_, bordering on _Enseroe_ to the west.
He said that the Portuguese were all dead, who not far from that place
had built a town of stone houses, where they worshipped the cross, on
the foot or pedestal of which were unknown characters. He drew
representations of all these things on the sand, and demanded a high
reward for his intelligence. Some of his people wore crosses, and
informed the Portuguese that there were two ships belonging to the
Hollanders in port _St Lucia_ or _Mangascafe_. In a small island at this
place there was found a _square stone fort_[14], and at the foot of it
the arms of Portugal were carved on a piece of marble, with this
inscription

REX PORTUGALENSIS O S.

[Footnote 14: This is unintelligible as it stands in the text. It may
possibly have been a square stone pedestal for one of the crosses of
discovery, that used to be set up by the Portuguese navigators as marks
of possession.--E.]

Many conjectures were formed to account for the signification of the
circle between the two last letters of this inscription, but nothing
satisfactory could be discovered. King _Chembanga_ requested that a
Portuguese might be sent along with him to his residence, to treat upon
some important affairs, and left his nephew as an