zalez de Camara, and brought away one piece of
cannon with some ammunition, arms, and other booty. This action was seen
by the Nizam in person, who mounted his horse and threatened to join in
it in person, for which purpose he seized a lance, which he soon changed
for a whip, with which he threatened to chastise his men, and upbraided
them as cowards. The Portuguese were now so inured to danger that
nothing could terrify them, and they seemed to court death instead of
shunning it on all occasions. Some of them being employed to level some
works from which the enemy had been driven near the monastery of St
Francis, and being more handy at the sword than the spade, drew upon
themselves a large party of the enemy of whom they slew above 200, yet
not without some loss on their side. About this time Farete Khan, one of
the Nizams generals, made some overtures towards peace, but without any
apparent authority from his sovereign, who caused him to be arrested on
suspicion of being corrupted by the Portuguese, though assuredly he had
secret orders for what he had done. Indeed it was not wonderful that the
Nizam should be desirous of peace, as he had now lain seven months
before Chaul to no purpose, and had lost many thousand men; neither was
it strange in the Portuguese to have the same wish, as they had lost 400
men besides Indians.

When the siege had continued to the beginning of June the attacks and
batteries were carried on by both sides with as much obstinacy and
vigour as if then only begun. The house of Nunno Alvarez was at this
time taken by the enemy through the carelessness of the defenders, and
on an attempt to recover it 20 of the Portuguese lost their lives
without doing much injury to the enemy. The Moors in the next place got
possession of the monastery of St Dominic, but not without a heavy loss;
and then gained the house of Gonzalo de Menezes, in which the Portuguese
suffered severely. The hostile batteries kept up a constant fire from
the end of May to the end of June, as the Nizam had resolved to make a
breach fit for the whole army to try its fortune in a general assault.
On the 28th of June, every thing being in readiness, the Nizams whole
army was drawn out for the assault, all his elephants appearing in the
front with castles on their backs full of armed men. While the whole
army stood in expectation of the signal of assault, an officer of note
belonging to the enemy was slain by a random shot from one of