OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. 441 • into the sea and drowned, by beating them with bludgeons. A Mahomedan priest leaped from a redoubt and fractured a limb. The brutal gover- nor ordered him to repeat the leap, which cost him his life! * On his return to Amboyna, Vlaming ordei^d a new execution, as well of those who had surren- « dered at discretion, or promise of pardon, as of those taken prisoners. Fifteen chiefs were executed on this occasion, among whom were two petty kings. The most distinguished of the sufferers was the heroic Terhile^ who, appearing on the scaffold with an undaunted countenance, which* astonished his persecutors, hastened to present his bare neck to the axe. Even the natives converted to Christianity rose against their oppressors. The most remarkable of these was John Pays, a native of Amboyna, distin- guished for his eloquence as a teacher of Christi- anity, and adding to the effects of that eloquence, the authority of birth, office, and fine qualities. This nobleman, with many others, was executed at nighty for fear the spectacle might occasion a tumult among the inhabitants. Next day the governor, having assembled the native troops, suddenly pro- duced the bloody heads of the sufferers by way of striking terror into the survivors. The Prince Saydi, the chief of the patriot insur- gents, was at length taken by the treachery of one
