_ 370 _ hope than that promised by his illness. So, he continued in this agony of spirit, and with the prospect of death, which was already beginning to overtake him. Diogo Fernandes and Pero de Alpoem perceiving that much of the suffering he was undergoing was because he could not see any prospect of a reward for his services, in order to relieve his pain, persuaded him to write a letter to the King, almost as if, by so doing, he would be able to find ease. They persuaded Afonso de Albuquerque to write these lines, which he had difficulty in signing: “Lord, this is the last letter I write to Your Highness, as I am at my last breath. I have written many letters to you in the fulness of life, when I was free of the confusion of these last hours and at a time when I was very content to be busy of your service. In this kingdom I have left my son, by name Braz Albuquerque, whom I beg Your Highness to make great as my services to you deserve. As for the affairs of India, she will speak for me and for herself.” When they arrived at the bar of Goa, the goal of all his desires, it seemed that God would not permit him to go ashore for his salvation. There remained no more time than it took to send the brigantine ahead to seek out Padre Brother Domingos, the Vicar General, who attended to the
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