poor fishermen, who had been out all night about their
employment, and were now returning to the town, fell into an ambuscade of
the Infidels, were taken, and brought before the general. After he had
cut off their ears and noses, he sent them back with a letter, directed
to Don Francisco de Melo, governor of Malacca, of which these were the
contents:

"I Bajaja Soora, who have the honour to carry in vessels of gold the rice
of the Great Souldan, Alaradin, king of Achen, and the territories washed
by the one and the other sea, advertise thee to write word to thy king,
that, in despite of him, I am casting terror into his fortress by my
fierce roaring, and that I shall here abide as long as I shall please. I
call to witness of what I declare, not only the earth, and all nations
which inhabit it, but all the elements, even to the heaven of the moon;
and pronounce with these words of my mouth, that thy king is a man of no
reputation nor courage; that his standards, now trampled under foot,
shall never be lifted up again without his permission who has conquered
him; that, by the victory already by us obtained, my king has under his
royal foot the head of thine; that from this day forward he is his
subject and his slave; and, to the end, that thou thyself mayest confess
this truth, I defy thee to mortal battle, here on the place of my abode,
if thou feelest in thyself sufficient courage to oppose me."

Though the letter of Soora was in itself ridiculous, and full of fustian
bravadoes, according to the style of the barbarians, yet it put the
governor and officers of the fortress to a shrewd demur; for how should
they accept the challenge without ships to fight him, and how could they
refuse it with their honour? A council of war was summoned to deliberate
on this weighty and nice affair, when Father Xavier came amongst them. He
had been saying mass at the church of our Lady Del Monte; so called, from
its being built on a mountain near the city, and dedicated to the blessed
Virgin. Don Francisco, who had sent for him to consult him in this
troublesome business, gave him the general of Achen's letter to peruse,
and demanded his advice what was to be done on this occasion.

The saint, who knew the king of Achen's business was not only to drive
the Portuguese out of Malacca, but also, and that principally, to
extirpate Christianity out of all the East; having read the letter,
lifted up his eyes to heaven, and answered without t