[1773.—"Conucopola (see [CONICOPOLY]).... At Bombay he is stiled Purvo, and is of the Gentoo religion."—Ives, 49 seq.]
1809.—"The Bramins of this village speak and write English; the young men are mostly parvoes, or writers."—Maria Graham, 11.
1813.—"These writers at Bombay are generally called Purvoes; a faithful diligent class."—Forbes, Or. Mem. i. 156-157; [2nd ed. i. 100].
1833.—"Every native of India on the Bombay Establishment, who can write English, and is employed in any office, whether he be a Brahman, Goldsmith, Parwary, Portuguese, or of English descent, is styled a Purvoe, from several persons of a caste of Hindoos termed Prubhoe having been among the first employed as English writers at Bombay."—Mackintosh on the Tribe of Ramoosies, p. 77.
PASADOR, s. A marlin-spike. Sea-Hind., from Port. passador.—Roebuck.
PASEI, PACEM, n.p. The name of a Malay State near the N.E. point of Sumatra, at one time predominant in those regions, and reckoned, with Malacca and Majapahit (the capital of the Empire of Java), the three greatest cities of the Archipelago. It is apparently the Basma of Marco Polo, who visited the coast before Islam had gained a footing.
c. 1292.—"When you quit the kingdom of Ferlec you enter upon that of Basma. This also is an independent kingdom, and the people have a language of their own; but they are just like beasts, without laws or religion."—Marco Polo, Bk. iii. ch. 9.
1511.—"Next day we departed with the plunder of the captured vessel, which also we had with us; we took our course forward until we reached another port in the same island Trapobana (Sumatra), which was called Pazze; and anchoring in the said port we found at anchor there several junks and ships from divers parts."—Empoli, p. 53.
1553.—"In the same manner he (Diogo Lopes) was received in the kingdom of Pacem ... and as the King of Pedir had given him a cargo of pepper ... he did not think well to go further ... in case ... they should give news of his coming at Malaca, those two ports of Pedir and Pacem being much frequented by a multitude of ships that go there for cargoes."—Barros, II. iv. 31.
1726.—"Next to this and close to the East-point of Sumatra is the once especially famous city Pasi (or Pacem), which in old times, next to Magapahit and Malakka, was one of the three greatest cities of the East ... but now is only a poor open village with not more than 4 or 500 families, dwelling in poor bamboo cottages."—Valentijn, (v.) Sumatra, 10.