his return to Portugal; and therefore, if his highness meant to
send an ambassador to the king of Portugal, he had better give orders
that he might soon be ready to embark. Presuming upon what his highness
had already agreed to, and on the kindness hitherto shewn to him and his
people by his highness, he requested permission to leave a factor and
clerk in Calicut along with his merchandize, as a memorial of peace and
amity between his highness and the king of Portugal, as a testimony of
the truth of the embassy with which he had been entrusted, and in pledge
of farther embassy from the king his master as soon as the discovery was
made known. He likewise prayed his highness to send on board as a full
confirmation of his having actually made the voyage to India, a _bahar_
of cinnamon, another of cloves, and a third of some other spices, which
should be paid for by the factor out of the first sales of the goods in
his possession. It was four days after Diaz received this order before he
could get access to the zamorin, though he went every day to the palace
for this purpose. At length he was admitted to audience; and on seeing
Diaz with his present, the king asked him what he wanted in so stern a
manner that he was afraid of being killed. After delivering the message
from the general and wishing to deliver the present, the king refused to
see it, and commanded that it should be delivered to his factor. The
answer he gave to the message was, that since the general wished to
depart he might do so, but must first pay him 600 _serasynes_[63],
according to the custom of the country.

Diaz, on his return to the factory with the present intended for the king,
was accompanied by many of the nayres, which he thought was from respect:
but immediately on entering the house, the nayres remained at the door,
forbidding him or any other person to go out. After this, a proclamation
was made through the city, forbidding any boat or almadia to go on board
our fleet on pain of death. Yet Bontaybo went off secretly, and gave
warning to the general not to venture on shore or to permit any of the
people to land; as he had learned from the Moors, that any who might do
so would surely lose their lives. Bontaybo said farther, that all the
fair words of the king proceeded from dissimulation, that he might entice
the general and his people on shore to kill them all; all which evil
intentions were occasioned by the Moors, who made the king believe tha