and men to aid and serve the king, in conformity to what he himself had requested in his letter to Manila, several months before. The king seemed pleased at this, and so did some of his mandarins who liked the Spaniards, and recognized what benefits they had derived from them hitherto. These believed that the matter would turn out as it was represented to them. But the king's stepmother, and other mandarins of her party, especially the Moro Malay Ocuña Lacasamana, were vexed at the arrival of the Spaniards, for they thought that the latter, being valiant men, numerous, and so courageous, as they already knew, would dominate everything, or at least would take the best; moreover they alone wished to deal with King Prauncar. Thus their aversion for Spanish affairs became known to be as great as the favor with which Prauncar, on the contrary, regarded them. The latter immediately assigned the Spaniards a position with their ship near the city, at the place which Blas Ruiz and Diego Belloso occupied. Before Don Luis Dasmariñas left Manila with his fleet, Captain Joan de Mendoça Gamboa requested Governor Don Francisco Tello to allow him to go to the kingdom of Sian with a moderate-sized ship, in order to trade. For the greater security of his voyage and business, he asked the governor to give him letters to the king of Sian, in which the latter should be informed that he was sent as the governor's ambassador and messenger to continue the peace, friendship, and commerce which Joan Tello de Aguirre had contracted with Sian the year before. Seeing that Don Luis Dasmariñas, who was on the way to Camboja, had left in Manila for another occasion some ammunition and other things of use to his fleet, Don Joan, in order better to facilitate the granting of his request, offered to take these stores on board his ship and sail round by way of Camboja, where he supposed that he would find Don Luis Dasmariñas, and deliver them to him. The governor thought the two proposals timely, and having furnished him with the necessary despatches, Don Joan de Mendoça left Manila with his ship, taking as pilot Joan Martinez de Chave, who had been Joan Tello's pilot when the latter went to Sian. He took as companions some sailors and Indian natives. He had a quantity of siguei [117] and other goods to barter, and the ammunition and provisions which he was to convey to Don Luis. With him embarked Fray Joan Maldonado [118] and an associate, both religious of the Order of St. Dominic. The former was a grave and learned man and a very intimate friend of Don Luis Dasmariñas, to whom his order took great pleasure in sending him as a companion. They left Manila, without knowing of Don Luis's shipwreck two months after the latter had set sail. Crossing over the shoals they shortly reached the bar of Camboja and ascended to the capital, where they found the galliot of the fleet and learned that its other ships had not arrived. The king received them cordially and lodged them with Diego