on the journey, Simon de Andrada behaved himself so improperly in the island of Tamou that an account of his proceedings was sent to court, and Thomas Perez and his companions were condemned to death as spies.  The rigour of this sentence was mitigated, but the embassy was not received, and Perez was sent back as a prisoner to Canton, with orders that the Portuguese should restore Malacca to its native king, who was a vassal to China, in which case the embassy would be received; but otherwise the ambassador and his suite were to be put to death, and the Portuguese for ever excluded from China as enemies.  Simon de Andrada conducted himself with a high hand, as if he had been king of Tamou, where he raised a fort, and set up a gallows to intimidate the people.  He committed violence against the merchants who resorted to the port, and bought young people of both sexes, giving occasion to thieves to steal them from their parents.  These extravagant proceedings lost nothing in their transmission to court, and were the cause of the severe orders respecting Perez and his followers.

[Footnote 160:  The text seems irreconcileably contradictory, perhaps from mistranslation; but the circumstance is not important.—­E.]

[Footnote 161:  This account of the ridge of Malexam is considerably erroneous.  The ridge of mountains in the text begins in the west of China on the borders off the province of Yunnan, between Koeitchoo and Quansee, and ends in the east at the province of Foo-tchien.—­E.]

At this time Diego Calva arrived with one ship from Lisbon, and several others from Malacca, and in consequence of this addition to their strength, the Portuguese acted still more insolently than before, and so exasperated the governors of the province that they apprehended several of them, and even contrived to take the last arrived ship.  At the commencement of hostilities Duarte Coello arrived from Malacca with two ships well manned and armed.  The Itao, or Chinese admiral in these seas, attacked the Portuguese with fifty ships, and though he did them some damage, he was so severely handled by the artillery that he was forced to retire and to remain at some distance, keeping up a strict blockade.  After matters had remained in this state for forty days, Ambrose del Rego arrived with two additional ships from Malacca, and the Portuguese determined upon forcing their way through the Chinese fleet.  The battle on this occasion was very bloody; but in consequence of a gale of wind dispersing the Chinese fleet, the Portuguese were enabled to get away from the island of Tamou.  The Itao revenged himself upon such of the Portuguese as had fallen into his hands, and particularly upon Thomas Perez and his companions, who were all slain, and their baggage robbed of the present intended for the emperor, and of all the commodities which Perez had purchased during his residence in China.  Such was the profitableness of the China trade at this time, that Perez though only an apothecary of mean parentage, had by this time acquired 2000 weight of rhubarb, 1600 pieces of damask, 400 pieces of other silks, above 100 ounces of gold, 2000 ounces of silver, 84 pounds of loose musk, above 3000 purses or cods of that perfume, called Papos, and a great deal of other commodities.