fights, were chosen out for this glorious expedition; and five hundred of
them, called Orabalons, were the flower of the whole nobility, and
accordingly wore bracelets of gold, as a distinguishing mark of their
high extraction. There was besides a great number of Janisaries newly
arrived at the court of Achen, who served as volunteers, and were eager
of shewing their courage against the Christians. The fleet consisted of
sixty great ships, all well equipped and manned, without reckoning the
barks, the frigates, and the fire-ships. It was commanded by the Saracen,
Bajaja Soora, a great man of war, and so famous for his exploits in arms,
that his prince had honoured him with the title of King of Pedir, in
reward for his taking Malacca even before he had besieged the town.

There was no other intelligence of this at Malacca, but what the army of
Achen brought itself. They came before the place, and entered the port
on the 9th of October, in the year 1547, about two o'clock in the
morning, resolved to assault it while they were favoured by the darkness.
They began by a discharge of their artillery, and sending in their
fire-ships against the Portuguese vessels. After which the most daring of
them landed, ran without any order against that part of the wall which
they believed weakest, filled up part of the ditch, and mounted the
ladders with a furious assault. They found more resistance than they
expected: the garrison, and the inhabitants, whom the shouts and
artillery of the barbarians had at first affrighted, recovering courage
through the imminence of danger, and the necessity of conquering or
dying, ran upon the rampart, and vigorously repulsed the assailants;
overthrowing their ladders, or tumbling their enemies headlong from them,
insomuch that not a man of them entered the town, and great numbers of
them lay dead or dying in the ditch.

Soora comforted himself for the ill success of his assault, by the