... On the voyage out from Lisbon the vessels came to some distant islands where they [the Portuguese] had been before.[383] Beyond these islands they came to a gulf, or arm of the sea, which they crossed, having the land always to the left and the broad sea to the right.... Various kinds of spices are brought from distant islands to Colokutt. Pepper, brazil-wood, _grao_,[384] cinnamon, frankincense, lac, are to be found there. These things abound and are worth next to nothing. Of brazil-wood there is plenty. There are likewise many ivory tusks and various other kinds of merchandise, such as variously-coloured silk-stuffs, costly cloth worked in gold, fine white linen, and woollen-stuffs, such as bocassins of various colours, and also much cotton. It is thought that the silver stuffs and cloths, as also the linens, come from Alkeiro (Cairo). ... Most of the spices brought to Kalikut are said to come from the island of Zelong (Ceylon). Only heathen live in that island, and the king is a heathen [Moor]. It is at a distance of 160 leagues from Kalekutt, and only one league from the mainland. By land it is a journey of twenty days. In the island are forests of brazil-wood and roseberries,[385] and other spices, including cloves and rhubarb, are found. Some minor spices come from more distant islands. Cinnamon is imported from Ceylon ... APPENDIX C. [Illustration: VASCO DA GAMA. (_From a Paris MS. of Barretto de Rezende._)] THREE PORTUGUESE ACCOUNTS OF VASCO DA GAMA’S FIRST VOYAGE (1608-1646). I.—JORNAL DAS VIAGENS DOS PORTUGUEZES AS INDIAS, 1608. The late Visconde de Santarem, in his _Noticia dos Manuscriptos_, 2nd edition, Lisbon, 1863, p. 93, draws attention to the existence of a MS. in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, which in his opinion furnishes most valuable chronological information on the Portuguese voyages to India, from 1497 to 1632. We have translated from this codex all that refers to the first voyage of Vasco da Gama; and a perusal of the translation will, we think, convince the reader that he has before him, not a document based upon authentic sources, but a compilation of very doubtful value. We have examined three copies, or rather editions, of this _Jornal das Viagens dos Portuguezes ás Indias_, viz.:— 1. _Bibl. Nat. Port. 8, No. 85._ This is the earliest of the three MSS., for it only extends to the year 1608. On folio 206b is a statement to the effect that it was copied in 1618 from a MS. in the possession of the Conde de Vidigueira. 2. _Bibl. Nat. Port. 46._ This, formerly, bore the number 10023, and is the MS. described by Santarem. It is identical with Port. 8, except that its information is extended to the year 1632.