dvised King _Perimal_ of Ceylon to meet other two Indian kings at
Muscat, who were going to Bethlem to adore the newly born Saviour; and
that King Perimal, at her entreaty, brought her a picture of the Blessed
Virgin, which was kept in the same tomb. Thus was the _invention_ of the
holy relics of the apostle of India; which gave occasion to the
Portuguese to build the city of St Thomas, in the port of Palicat, seven
leagues from the ruins of the ancient Christian city of Meliapour.

[Footnote 171: Coulam is on the coast of Travancore; in which country a
remnant of the ancient Indian Christians has been recently visited by Dr
Buchannan, which will fall to be particularly noticed in a future
division of this collection--E.]

In the year 1522, Antonio Miranda de Azevedo was commander of the fort
at Pisang in the island of Sumatra. On the west coast of that island
there are six Moorish kingdoms of which Pedier was the chief, and to
which those of Achem and Daga were subordinate. But in consequence of
war among themselves, Achem gained the superiority, and the king of
Pedier retired to the fort for the protection of the Portuguese[172]. On
coming to the city of Pedier with a great force, the king of Achem
endeavoured to inveigle the king of that place into his hands, and
prevailed on some of the leading men of the city to write their king
that he might come there in safety as his enemies were expelled, and he
might easily destroy them by the assistance of the Portuguese. He
accordingly went to the city, aided by eighty Portuguese soldiers and
two hundred Moors, which went by sea in small row boats, while the king
himself went along the shore with above a thousand armed elephants[173].
He was received at Pedier with feigned joy, but with a determination to
make him prisoner, which was only deferred till the arrival of the
Portuguese, that they likewise might be secured; but being apprized of
his danger, the king fled next day to the mountains with two elephants
and a few faithful followers. The Portuguese thus left on the shore
unsupported were attacked by the enemy with showers of darts and arrows,
when their commander Don Emanuel Enriquez and thirty-five soldiers were
slain, and the rest fled. Don Andres Enriquez, after this loss, found
himself unequal to defend the fort, and sent for relief to Raphael
Perestello who was at _Chittigon_ the chief port of Bengal. Perestello
immediately sent a ship for this purpose under the c