instruments after their fashion, which fill the ears
of their soldiers and encourage them to fight; while in the mean time a
great number of men run before with artificial fireworks[114]. At last
they give the onset with such fury and outcry, that two or three
thousand of them are often able to put to flight 10,000 men who are
unused to this mode of warfare. But God in his merciful providence never
forsakes those who believe in his holy religion, as was now exemplified
in our distress. For, while the Portuguese were in a manner overwhelmed
with the multitude of their enemies, the joyful news arrived that a new
fleet had come from Portugal to Cananore, under the valiant knight Don
Tristan de Cunna, who was immediately informed of the straits to which
we were reduced. He immediately sent us a reinforcement of 300 valiant
soldiers, well provided with defensive armour, and weapons of offence,
after the manner of the Christians. On the arrival of these succours, we
were so encouraged that we would have burnt the city of Cananore, if our
admiral had permitted us. But on learning the arrival of this
reinforcement, the enemy were so cast down that they sought to make
peace with us by every means they could think of, and appointed one
_Mamalmaricar_, a man of great riches and wisdom, to be their
ambassador, with full powers to conclude peace. This man accordingly
waited on our admiral, who told him that he could not make peace without
the authority of the viceroy, who was then at Cochin: Yet it was thought
best not to reject the proffered peace, as, during war, the Portuguese
could not send home their ships with the commodities of India, and for
this reason the viceroy agreed to the conclusion of peace.

[Footnote 114: Probably alluding to a kind of javelins armed with a
species of rockets, which have long been used in the wars of India, and
often produce great disorder among the crowded masses of their
ill-disciplined troops.--E.]

To mingle some pleasure with these tragedies, I shall now rehearse a
pleasant story, worthy of being remembered. One day after the peace was
settled, I happened to walk in the city of Cananore with some merchant
idolaters, with whom I was acquainted before the war. They asked me to
show them a certain Christian, much taller and stronger than any of the
others, who used every day to slay about twenty of the Mahometans, and
who at one time, when assailed by fifty of the nairs, escaped unhurt. At
firs