ABSTRACT
When Simão de Mello saw that the Persians were masters of the City, he resolved to inform the Governor of India of all that had happened and of the condition that the fortress was in; and on his sending to tell the King of his decision, the latter sent a reply that he took no more notice thereof than a dead man, and that he only wanted to remind his Honour that he had once said that he wished to have his enemies at close quarters, and now he had them so near that within 2 month’s time they would eat with him on his verandah. He likewise urged the Captain to bestir himself and clear that portion of the moat, wherein lay their only hope as he had already warned him several times, and he concluded by saying that the best favour that he could do him, and one which he solicited most earnestly, was that he should not count upon him to do anything else other than shoulder an arquebus and do his duty with it like any common soldier.
