Chap. VITI.] DEATH OF DE CASTliU. 193
sions, by indulging in horrid atrocities. " Tlie women e.scaped not the fate of ad 1570. the men, and children were slain at their mothers' breasts."
The victory which De Castro had gained was not very remarkable. His troops bore a considerable proportion to those of the enemy, and with the supe- riority of discipline which they possessed, it would have been disgraceful to him not to have succeeded. But the Portuguese, in consequence of the decline of De c-wtro-s their power, had for several years before enjoyed few opportunities of celebrating ceiei.rati...,
- i victory, and therefore entered readily into the feelings of the governor, "l^y""^"'
who thought himself entitled to be received at Goa with all the magnilicence of a Roman triumph. The gates and streets were hung with silk, all places resounded with music and salvos of cannon, and vessels gaily adorned covered the harbour. The governor on arriving at the gate, under a rich canopy, was presented with a crown of laurel, with which he encircled his head, and a branch of it which he carried in his hand ; in front walked one Friar Anthony, with a crucifix, as he had borne it in the fiofht, and besi(ie him an officer bearing the royal standard ; behind was Jazar Khan, a Moorish chief, followed by 600 captives in chains. The governor walked on leaves of gold and silver, and rich silks, the ladies from the windows throwing flowers upon him, and sprinkling him with sweet water. On reading the account of this pompous procession, Catherine, Queen of Portugal, shrewdly remarked, that "De Castro had overcome like a Christian and triumphed like a heathen." He did not long .survive his His death
and charac-
trunnph ; and was on his death-bed when the honours sent out from Portugal to t«r. reward his victory were announced to him at Goa. He must have been a vain man, but this failing was compensated by many good qualities. He was so zealous for the public service, that gi-ief for the miserable condition into which it had fallen is said to have broken his heart ; and he gave the best proof of his honesty by dj-ing in extreme poverty. One of his last acts was to make a formal protest, which he desired to be recorded, to the effect that "he had never made u.se of the king's nor any other man's money, nor driven any trade t<» increase his own stock." The practices of which he thus solemnly declared his innocence, undoubtedly prevailed to a great extent among the Portuguese officials, and go far to account for the rapidity with which Portugal fell from the high place which she once held in the East. From time to time, however, .she seemed to resume her ancient spirit, and showed how much she might .still have been able to accomplish, had men of spirit and integi'ity. instead of mere court intriguers, been placed at the helm of affairs.
In 1570, when Luis de Ataida was 'iceroy, one of the most fomiidable ^'"m'"" combmations into which the native princes had ever entered, was triumphant!}- tivepmices. defeated. It was headed by the Deccan Kings of Ahmednuggm* and Bejapoor, and a new zamorin, who, undeterred by the fate of his predecessor, was bent on recovering all that had been wi-ested from him. Their common object was to expel the Portuguese from the country, but each had his own separate griev- VoL. I. 25
