_ 392 _ al honours. He had come to expect this from letters the king had written to him, expressing his satisfaction at the victories God had given him. Although the intelligence he had received about Lopo Soares removed such hopes, he still believed that his services to the King were valued, and he was extremely desirous of receiving letters from the King, because he might find in them some matter that could give him more 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 end Pero d' 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 with your
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