Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 01).djvu/149



The King: Juan de Zúñiga, knight of the order of Santiago, my servant. I have not hitherto written you of transactions in the negotiations respecting Maluco, to which the most serene and illustrious King of Portugal, my very dear and beloved cousin, sent his ambassadors, as I believed that, our right being so apparent, the treaty would be kept with us, or at least some good method of settlement would be adopted. This the ambassadors have not cared to do, although on our part we have done everything absolutely possible—much more than is usual between princes or relatives. I speak of this because my steadfast wish to preserve forever the kinship and love existing in the past and present between the most serene King and myself has been made manifest by my deeds. I am exceedingly sorry to find that this has been not only of no advantage, but rather, because of the meager results obtained, a disadvantage. And on this account the said ambassadors are returning without having come to any