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enemies fell upon her, the men of the brown races, her power over whom she had abused, watched her defeat. with jubilant satisfaction, and raised none save reluctant hands in her defence.

But in another direction Dalboquerque showed a sounder and more far-seeing policy. Before the second assault had been delivered, he had allowed the Chinese junks, of which mention has already been made, to start for Canton, only exacting from them a promise that they would put in on their way at the port of Siam. With these traders he despatched one Duarte Fernandez, who had escaped from the cap- tivity which he had shared with Ruy de Araujo and his fellows in Malacca, to act as his ambassa- dor at the Siamese Court. This man was the first European of whom we have any record to visit the ancient capital of Ayutha, some miles further up the Menam River than the modern city of Bangkok, and thus from the fall of Malacca begins also the earliest exploration of Siam by men of the white races.

The rumour of the daring deeds wraught by the Portuguese in Asia had already spread far and wide, travelling with that marvellous speed which is one of the stock wonders of the East, and the King of Siam, be- tween whose subjects and the Malays no love was ever yet lost, hastened to send a return embassy to Dalbo- querque, to wish him all success in his adventures in Malacca, and to cement a friendship between the white men and the Court of Ayutha. Dalboquerque in reply despatched a second mission to Siam under one Antonio