,this etext was prepared from the #ahhg 
,cassell and ,company edition by ,les   
,bowler1 ,st4 ,ives1 ,dorset4           
,a ,,voyage ,,to ,,abyssinia4      ,,by 
,,father ,,jerome ,,lobo4    ,translated
 from the ,french  by  ,,samuel         
,,johnson4    ,,cassell  ,,company1     
,,limited3  ,,london1 ,,paris1 ,,new    
,,york  ,,melbourne4  #ahhg4            
,,introduction4      ,jeronimo ,lobo was
 born in ,lisbon in the year #aeic4  ,he
 entered the ,order  of the ,jesuits at 
the age of sixteen4  ,after passing     
through the studies  by which ,jesuits  
were trained for missionary work1 which 
included special  attention to the arts 
of speaking and writing1 ,father ,lobo  
was sent as a  missionary to ,india at  
the age of twenty-eight1 in the year    
#afba4  ,he  reached ,goa1 as his book  
tells1 in #afbb1 and was in #afbd1 at   
the age of  thirty-one1 told off as one 
of the missionaries to be employed in   
the  conversion of the ,abyssinians4    
,they were to be converted1 from a form 

of  ,christianity peculiar to           
themselves1 to orthodox ,catholicism4   
,the  ,abyssinian ,emperor ,segued was  
protector of the enterprise1 of which we
  have here the story told4    ,father  
,lobo was nine years in ,abyssinia1 from
 the age of thirty-one to  the age of   
forty1 and this was the adventurous time
 of his life4  ,the  death of the       
,emperor ,segued put an end to the      
protection that had given  the devoted  
missionaries1 in the midst of dangers1 a
 precarious hold upon  their work4      
,when he and his comrades fell into the 
hands of the ,turks at  ,massowah1 his  
vigour of body and mind1 his readiness  
of resource1 and his  fidelity1 marked  
him out as the one to be sent to the    
headquarters in  ,india to secure the   
payment of a ransom for his companions4 
,he obtained  the ransom1 and desired   
also to obtain from the ,portuguese     
,viceroy in  ,india armed force to      
maintain the missionaries in the        
position they had  so far won4  ,but the

 ,civil power was deaf to his pleading4 
,he removed  the appeal to ,lisbon1 and 
after narrowly escaping on the way from 
a  shipwreck1 and after having been     
captured by pirates1 he reached ,lisbon1
  and sought still to obtain means of   
overawing the force hostile to the  work
 of the ,jesuits in ,abyssinia4  ,the   
,princess ,margaret gave friendly       
hearing1 but sent him on to persuade1 if
 he could1 the ,king of ,spain2 and     
failing at ,madrid1 he went to ,rome and
 tried the ,pope4  ,he was chosen to  go
 to the ,pope1 said the ,patriarch      
,alfonso ,mendez1 because1 of all the   
brethren at ,goa1 the ',pater           
,hieronymus ,lupus' 7,lobo translated   
into ,wolf7  was the most ingenious and 
learned in all sciences1 with a mind    
most  generous in its desire to conquer 
difficulties1 dexterous in management   
of business1 and found most able to make
 himself agreeable to those with  whom  
there was business to be done4  ,the    
vigour with which he held by his        

purpose of endeavouring in every        
possible way to bring the ,christianity 
of ,abyssinia within the pale of the    
,catholic ,church is in accordance with 
the character that makes the centre of  
the story of this book4  ,whimsical     
touches arise out of this strength of   
character and readiness of  resource1 as
 when he tells of the taste of the      
,abyssinians for raw cow's  flesh1 with 
a sauce high in royal ,abyssinian       
favour1 made of the cow's  gall and     
contents of its entrails1 of which1 when
 he was pressed to  partake1 he could   
only excuse himself and his brethren by 
suggesting that  it was too good for    
such humble missionaries4  ,out of      
distinguished  respect for it1 they     
refrained from putting it into their    
mouths4    ,good ,father ,lobo gave up  
the desire of his heart1 when it was    
proved  unattainable1 and returned to   
,india six years after the breaking up  
of  his work in ,abyssinia1 at the age  
of forty-seven4  ,he came to be head of 

the ,provincials of the ,jesuit         
settlement at ,goa1 and after about ten 
more  years of active duty in the ,east 
returned in #afeh to ,lisbon1 when he   
died  in the religious house of ,st4    
,roque in #afgh1 at the age of          
eighty-five4  ,a  comrade of ,father    
,lobo's1 ,baltazar ,tellez1 said that   
,lobo had travelled  thirty-eight       
thousand leagues with no other object   
before him but the  winning of more     
souls to ,god4  ,his years in ,abyssinia
 stood out  prominently to his mind     
among all the years of his long life1   
and he  wrote an account of them in     
,portuguese1 of which the manuscript is 
at  ,lisbon in the monastery of ,st4    
,roque1 where he closed his life4    ,of
 that manuscript1 then and still        
unprinted 7though use was made of it  by
 ,baltazar ,tellez in his ,history of   
',ethiopia-,coimbra1' #affj71 the ,abbe 
,legrand1 ,prior of                     
,neuville-les-,dames1 and of ,prevessin1
 published a  translation into ,french4 

,the ,abbe ,legrand had been to ,lisbon 
as  ,secretary to the ,abbe d',estrees1 
,ambassador from ,france to ,portugal4  
,the  negotiations were so long         
continued that ,m4 ,legrand was detained
 five  years in ,lisbon1 and employed   
the time in researches among documents  
illustrating the ,portuguese possessions
 in ,india and the ,east4  ,he  obtained
 many memoirs of great interest1 and    
published from one of them  an account  
of ,ceylon2 but of all the manuscripts  
he found none interested  him so much as
 that of ,father ,lobo4  ,his           
translation was augmented with          
illustrative dissertations1 letters1 and
 a memoir on the circumstances of  the  
death of ,m4 du ,roule4  ,it filled two 
volumes1 or #fcf pages of forty  lines4 
,this was published in #agbh4  ,it was  
on the #cast of ,october1 #agbh1  that  
,samuel ,johnson1 aged nineteen1 went to
 ,pembroke ,college1 ,oxford1 and       
,legrand's ',voyage ,historique         
d',abissinie du ,r4 ,p4 ,jerome ,lobo1  

de la  ,compagnie de ,jesus1 ,traduit du
 ,portugais1 continue et augmente de    
plusieurs ,dissertations1 ,lettres et   
,memoires1' was one of the new books    
read by ,johnson during his short period
 of college life4  ,in #agce1 when      
,johnson's age was twenty-six1 and the  
world seemed to have shut against  him  
every door of hope1 ,johnson stayed for 
six months at ,birmingham with  his old 
schoolfellow ,hector1 who was aiming at 
medical practice1 and who  lodged at the
 house of a bookseller4  ,johnson spoke 
with interest of  ,father ,lobo1 whose  
book he had read at ,pembroke ,college4 
,mr4 ,warren1 the  bookseller1 thought  
it would be worth while to print a      
translation4  ,hector joined in urging  
,johnson to undertake it1 for a payment 
of five  guineas4  ,although nearly     
brought to a stop midway by             
hypochondriac  despondency1 a little    
suggestion that the printers also were  
stopped1 and  if they had not their work
 had not their pay1 caused ,johnson to  

go on to  the end4  ,legrand's book was 
reduced to a fifth of its size by the   
omission of all that overlaid ,father   
,lobo's personal account of his         
adventures2 and ,johnson began work as a
 writer with this translation1  first   
published at ,birmingham in #agce4      
,h4,m4          ,,the ,,preface         
,the following relation is so curious   
and entertaining1 and the  dissertations
 that accompany it so judicious and     
instructive1 that the  translator is    
confident his attempt stands in need of 
no apology1  whatever censures may fall 
on the performance4    ,the ,portuguese 
traveller1 contrary to the general vein 
of his countrymen1  has amused his      
reader with no romantic absurdities or  
incredible  fictions2 whatever he       
relates1 whether true or not1 is at     
least probable2  and he who tells       
nothing exceeding the bounds of         
probability has a right  to demand that 
they should believe him who cannot      
contradict him4    ,he appears by his   

modest and unaffected narration to have 
described  things as he saw them1 to    
have copied nature from the life1 and to
 have  consulted his senses1 not his    
imagination2 he meets with no basilisks 
that destroy with their eyes1 his       
crocodiles devour their prey without    
tears1 and his cataracts fall from the  
rock without deafening the  neighbouring
 inhabitants4    ,the reader will here  
find no regions cursed with irremediable
 barrenness1  or blessed with           
spontaneous fecundity1 no perpetual     
gloom or unceasing  sunshine2 nor are   
the nations here described either devoid
 of all sense  of humanity1 or          
consummate in all private and social    
virtues2 here are no  ,hottentots       
without religion1 polity1 or articulate 
language1 no ,chinese  perfectly polite1
 and completely skilled in all sciences3
 he will  discover1 what will always be 
discovered by a diligent and impartial  
inquirer1 that wherever human nature is 
to be found there is a mixture of  vice 

and virtue1 a contest of passion and    
reason1 and that the ,creator  doth not 
appear partial in his distributions1 but
 has balanced in most  countries their  
particular inconveniences by particular 
favours4    ,in his account of the      
mission1 where his veracity is most to  
be  suspected1 he neither exaggerates   
overmuch the merits of the ,jesuits1 if 
we consider the partial regard paid by  
the ,portuguese to their  countrymen1 by
 the ,jesuits to their society1 and by  
the ,papists to their  church1 nor      
aggravates the vices of the ,abyssins2  
but if the reader will  not be satisfied
 with a ,popish account of a ,popish    
mission1 he may have  recourse to the   
history of the church of ,abyssinia1    
written by ,dr4  ,geddes1 in which he   
will find the actions and sufferings of 
the  missionaries placed in a different 
light1 though the same in which ,mr4 ,le
  ,grand1 with all his zeal for the     
,roman church1 appears to have seen     
them4    ,this learned dissertator1     

however valuable for his industry and   
erudition1 is yet more to be esteemed   
for having dared so freely in the  midst
 of ,france to declare his              
disapprobation of the ,patriarch        
,oviedo's  sanguinary zeal1 who was     
continually importuning the ,portuguese 
to beat  up their drums for             
missionaries1 who might preach the      
gospel with swords  in their hands1 and 
propagate by desolation and slaughter   
the true  worship of the ,god of ,peace4
    ,it is not easy to forbear          
reflecting with how little reason these 
men  profess themselves the followers of
 ,jesus1 who left this great            
characteristic to ,his disciples1 that  
they should be known by loving one      
another1 by universal and unbounded     
charity and benevolence4    ,let us     
suppose an inhabitant of some remote and
 superior region1 yet  unskilled in the 
ways of men1 having read and considered 
the precepts of  the gospel1 and the    
example of our ,saviour1 to come down in

 search of the  true church3 if he would
 not inquire after it among the cruel1  
the  insolent1 and the oppressive2 among
 those who are continually grasping at  
dominion over souls as well as bodies2  
among those who are employed in         
procuring to themselves impunity for the
 most enormous villainies1 and  studying
 methods of destroying their            
fellow-creatures1 not for their  crimes 
but their errors2 if he would not expect
 to meet benevolence1  engaged in       
massacres1 or to find mercy in a court  
of inquisition1 he would  not look for  
the true church in the ,church of ,rome4
    ,mr4 ,le ,grand has given in one    
dissertation an example of great        
moderation1 in deviating from the temper
 of his religion1 but in the  others has
 left proofs that learning and honesty  
are often too weak to  oppose prejudice4
  ,he has made no scruple of preferring 
the testimony of  ,father du ,bernat to 
the writings of all the ,portuguese     
,jesuits1 to whom  he allows great zeal1

 but little learning1 without giving any
 other  reason than that his favourite  
was a ,frenchman4  ,this is writing only
 to  ,frenchmen and to ,papists3 a      
,protestant would be desirous to know   
why he  must imagine that ,father du    
,bernat had a cooler head or more       
knowledge2  and why one man whose       
account is singular is not more likely  
to be  mistaken than many agreeing in   
the same account4    ,if the ,portuguese
 were biassed by any particular views1  
another bias  equally powerful may have 
deflected the ,frenchman from the truth1
 for  they evidently write with contrary
 designs3 the ,portuguese1 to make their
  mission seem more necessary1          
endeavoured to place in the strongest   
light  the differences between the      
,abyssinian and ,roman ,church2 but the 
great  ,ludolfus1 laying hold on the    
advantage1 reduced these later writers  
to  prove their conformity4    ,upon the
 whole1 the controversy seems of no     
great importance to those who  believe  

the ,holy ,scriptures sufficient to     
teach the way of salvation1 but  of     
whatever moment it may be thought1 there
 are not proofs sufficient to  decide   
it4    ,his discourses on indifferent   
subjects will divert as well as         
instruct1  and if either in these1 or in
 the relation of ,father ,lobo1 any     
argument  shall appear unconvincing1 or 
description obscure1 they are defects   
incident to all mankind1 which1 however1
 are not too rashly to be imputed  to   
the authors1 being sometimes1 perhaps1  
more justly chargeable on the           
translator4    ,in this translation1 if 
it may be so called1 great liberties    
have been  taken1 which1 whether        
justifiable or not1 shall be fairly     
confessed2 and  let the judicious part  
of mankind pardon or condemn them4      
,in the first part the greatest freedom 
has been used in reducing the  narration
 into a narrow compass1 so that it is by
 no means a translation  but an epitome1
 in which1 whether everything either    

useful or  entertaining be comprised1   
the compiler is least qualified to      
determine4    ,in the account of        
,abyssinia1 and the continuation1 the   
authors have been  followed with more   
exactness1 and as few passages appeared 
either  insignificant or tedious1 few   
have been either shortened or omitted4  
,the dissertations are the only part in 
which an exact translation has  been    
attempted1 and even in those abstracts  
are sometimes given instead  of literal 
quotations1 particularly in the first2  
and sometimes other  parts have been    
contracted4    ,several memorials and   
letters1 which are printed at the end of
 the  dissertations to secure the credit
 of the foregoing narrative1 are        
entirely left out4    ,it is hoped that1
 after this confession1 whoever shall   
compare this  attempt with the original1
 if he shall find no proofs of fraud or 
partiality1 will candidly overlook any  
failure of judgment4          ,,part    
,i--,,the ,,voyage ,,to ,,abyssinia     

,,chapter ,i      ,the author arrives   
after some difficulties at ,goa4  ,is   
chosen for the  ,mission of ,a,ethiopia4
  ,the fate of those ,jesuits who went  
by ,zeila4  ,the  author arrives at the 
coast of ,melinda4    ,i embarked in    
,march1 #afbb1 in the same fleet with   
the ,count ,vidigueira1  on whom the    
king had conferred the viceroyship of   
the ,indies1 then vacant  by the        
resignation of ,alfonso ,noronha1 whose 
unsuccessful voyage in the  foregoing   
year had been the occasion of the loss  
of ,ormus1 which being by  the          
miscarriage of that fleet deprived of   
the succours necessary for its  defence1
 was taken by the ,persians and         
,english4  ,the beginning of this       
voyage was very prosperous3 we were     
neither annoyed with the diseases of    
the climate nor distressed with bad     
weather1 till we doubled the ,cape of   
,good ,hope1 which was about the end of 
,may4  ,here began our misfortunes2     
these coasts are remarkable for the many

 shipwrecks the ,portuguese have        
suffered4  ,the sea is for the most part
 rough1 and the winds tempestuous2  we  
had here our rigging somewhat damaged by
 a storm of lightning1 which  when we   
had repaired1 we sailed forward to      
,mosambique1 where we were to  stay some
 time4  ,when we came near that coast1  
and began to rejoice at  the prospect of
 ease and refreshment1 we were on the   
sudden alarmed with  the sight of a     
squadron of ships1 of what nation we    
could not at first  distinguish1 but    
soon discovered that they were three    
,english and three  ,dutch1 and were    
preparing to attack us4  ,i shall not   
trouble the reader  with the particulars
 of this fight1 in which1 though the    
,english  commander ran himself aground1
 we lost three of our ships1 and with   
great  difficulty escaped with the rest 
into the port of ,mosambique4    ,this  
place was able to afford us little      
consolation in our uneasy               
circumstances2 the arrival of our       

company almost caused a scarcity of     
provisions4  ,the heat in the day is    
intolerable1 and the dews in the  night 
so unwholesome that it is almost certain
 death to go out with one's  head       
uncovered4  ,nothing can be a stronger  
proof of the malignant quality  of the  
air than that the rust will immediately 
corrode both the iron and  brass if they
 are not carefully covered with straw4  
,we stayed1 however1  in this place from
 the latter end of ,july to the         
beginning of ,september1  when having   
provided ourselves with other vessels1  
we set out for ,cochin1  and landed     
there after a very hazardous and        
difficult passage1 made so  partly by   
the currents and storms which separated 
us from each other1 and  partly by      
continual apprehensions of the ,english 
and ,dutch1 who were  cruising for us in
 the ,indian seas4  ,here the viceroy   
and his company  were received with so  
much ceremony1 as was rather troublesome
 than  pleasing to us who were fatigued 

with the labours of the passage2 and    
having stayed here some time1 that the  
gentlemen who attended the viceroy  to  
,goa might fit out their vessels1 we set
 sail1 and after having been  detained  
some time at sea1 by calms and contrary 
winds1 and somewhat  harassed by the    
,english and ,dutch1 who were now       
increased to eleven ships  of war1      
arrived at ,goa1 on ,saturday1 the #afth
 of ,december1 and the  viceroy made his
 entry with great magnificence4    ,i   
lived here about a year1 and completed  
my studies in divinity2 in which  time  
some letters were received from the     
fathers in ,a,ethiopia1 with an  account
 that ,sultan ,segued1 ,emperor of      
,abyssinia1 was converted to the        
,church of ,rome1 that many of his      
subjects had followed his example1 and  
that there was a great want of          
missionaries to improve these prosperous
  beginnings4  ,everybody was very      
desirous of seconding the zeal of our   
fathers1 and of sending them the        

assistance they requested2 to which we  
were the more encouraged1 because the   
emperor's letters informed our          
provincial that we might easily enter   
his dominions by the way of  ,dancala1  
but unhappily1 the secretary wrote      
,zeila for ,dancala1 which cost  two of 
our fathers their lives4    ,we were1   
however1 notwithstanding the assurances 
given us by the emperor1  sufficiently  
apprised of the danger which we were    
exposed to in this  expedition1 whether 
we went by sea or land4  ,by sea1 we    
foresaw the  hazard we run of falling   
into the hands of the ,turks1 amongst   
whom we  should lose1 if not our lives1 
at least our liberty1 and be for ever   
prevented from reaching the court of    
,a,ethiopia4  ,upon this consideration  
our superiors divided the eight ,jesuits
 chosen for this mission into two       
companies4  ,four they sent by sea and  
four by land2 ,i was of the latter      
number4  ,the four first were the more  
fortunate1 who though they were         

detained some time by the ,turkish      
bassa1 were dismissed at the request of 
the emperor1 who sent him a zebra1 or   
wild ass1 a creature of large size  and 
admirable beauty4    ,as for us1 who    
were to go by ,zeila1 we had still      
greater difficulties to  struggle with3 
we were entirely strangers to the ways  
we were to take1 to  the manners1 and   
even to the names of the nations through
 which we were  to pass4  ,our chief    
desire was to discover some new road by 
which we  might avoid having anything to
 do with the ,turks4  ,among great      
numbers  whom we consulted on this      
occasion1 we were informed by some that 
we  might go through ,melinda4  ,these  
men painted that hideous wilderness in  
charming colours1 told us that we should
 find a country watered with  navigable 
rivers1 and inhabited by a people that  
would either inform us  of the way1 or  
accompany us in it4  ,these reports     
charmed us1 because  they flattered our 
desires2 but our superiors finding      

nothing in all this  talk that could be 
depended on1 were in suspense what      
directions to give  us1 till my         
companion and ,i upon this reflection1  
that since all the ways  were equally   
new to us1 we had nothing to do but to  
resign ourselves to  the ,providence of 
,god1 asked and obtained the permission 
of our superiors  to attempt the road   
through ,melinda4  ,so of we who went by
 land1 two took  the way of ,zeila1 and 
my companion and ,i that of ,melinda4   
,those who were appointed for ,zeila    
embarked in a vessel that was going to  
,caxume1 where they were well received  
by the king1 and accommodated with  a   
ship to carry them to ,zeila2 they were 
there treated by the ,check with  the   
same civility which they had met with at
 ,caxume4  ,but the king being  informed
 of their arrival1 ordered them to be   
conveyed to his court at  ,auxa1 to     
which place they were scarce come before
 they were thrown by the  king's command
 into a dark and dismal dungeon1 where  

there is hardly any  sort of cruelty    
that was not exercised upon them4  ,the 
,emperor of  ,abyssinia endeavoured by  
large offers to obtain their liberty1   
but his  kind offices had no other      
effect than to heighten the rage of the 
king of  ,zeila4  ,this prince1 besides 
his ill will to ,sultan ,segued1 which  
was  kept up by some malcontents among  
the ,abyssin nobility1 who1 provoked at 
the conversion of their master1 were    
plotting a revolt1 entertained an       
inveterate hatred against the           
,portuguese for the death of his        
grandfather1 who had been killed many   
years before1 which he swore the  blood 
of the ,jesuits should repay4  ,so after
 they had languished for some  time in  
prison their heads were struck off4  ,a 
fate which had been  likewise our own1  
had not ,god reserved us for longer     
labours6    ,having provided everything 
necessary for our journey1 such as      
,arabian  habits1 and red caps1         
calicoes1 and other trifles to make     

presents of to  the inhabitants1 and    
taking leave of our friends1 as men     
going to a  speedy death1 for we were   
not insensible of the dangers we were   
likely to  encounter1 amongst horrid    
deserts1 impassable mountains1 and      
barbarous  nations1 we left ,goa on the 
#bfth day of ,january in the year #afbd1
 in a  ,portuguese galliot that was     
ordered to set us ashore at ,pate1 where
 we  landed without any disaster in     
eleven days1 together with a young      
,abyssin1 whom we made use of as our    
interpreter4  ,while we stayed here we  
were given to understand that those who 
had been pleased at ,goa to give  us    
directions in relation to our journey   
had done nothing but tell us  lies4     
,that the people were savage1 that they 
had indeed begun to treat  with the     
,portuguese1 but it was only from fear1 
that otherwise they were  a barbarous   
nation1 who finding themselves too much 
crowded in their own  country1 had      
extended themselves to the sea-shore2   

that they ravished the  country and laid
 everything waste where they came1 that 
they were man-  eaters1 and were on that
 account dreadful in all those parts4   
,my  companion and ,i being undeceived  
by this terrible relation1 thought it   
would be the highest imprudence to      
expose ourselves both together to a     
death almost certain and unprofitable1  
and agreed that ,i should go with  our  
,abyssin and a ,portuguese to observe   
the country2 that if ,i should  prove so
 happy as to escape being killed by the 
inhabitants1 and to  discover a way1 ,i 
should either return1 or send back the  
,abyssin or  ,portuguese4  ,having fixed
 upon this1 ,i hired a little bark to   
,jubo1 a  place about forty leagues     
distant from ,pate1 on board which ,i   
put some  provisions1 together with my  
sacerdotal vestments1 and all that was  
necessary for saying mass3 in this      
vessel we reached the coast1 which we   
found inhabited by several nations3 each
 nation is subject to its own  king2    

these petty monarchies are so numerous1 
that ,i counted at least ten  in less   
than four leagues4        ,,chapter ,,ii
      ,the author lands3 ,the difficulty
 of his journey4  ,an account of the    
,galles1 and of the author's reception  
at the king's tent2 ,their manner of    
swearing1 and of letting blood4  ,the   
author returns to the ,indies1 and      
finds the patriarch of ,a,ethiopia4     
,on this coast we landed1 with an       
intention of travelling on foot to      
,jubo1  a journey of much greater length
 and difficulty than we imagined4  ,we  
durst not go far from our bark1 and     
therefore were obliged to a toilsome    
march along the windings of the shore1  
sometimes clambering up rocks1 and      
sometimes wading through the sands1 so  
that we were every moment in the  utmost
 danger of falling from the one1 or     
sinking in the other4  ,our  lodging was
 either in the rocks or on the sands1   
and even that incommoded  by continual  
apprehensions of being devoured by lions

 and tigers4  ,amidst  all these        
calamities our provisions failed us2 we 
had little hopes of a  supply1 for we   
found neither villages1 houses1 nor any 
trace of a human  creature2 and had     
miserably perished by thirst and hunger 
had we not met  with some fishermen's   
boats1 who exchanged their fish for     
tobacco4    ,through all these fatigues 
we at length came to ,jubo1 a kingdom of
  considerable extent1 situated almost  
under the line1 and tributary to the    
,portuguese1 who carry on a trade here  
for ivory and other commodities4  ,this 
region so abounds with elephants1 that  
though the teeth of the male  only are  
valuable1 they load several ships with  
ivory every year4  ,all  this coast is  
much infested with ravenous beasts1     
monkeys1 and serpents1  of which last   
here are some seven feet in length1 and 
thicker than an  ordinary man2 in the   
head of this serpent is found a stone   
about the  bigness of an egg1 resembling
 bezoar1 and of great efficacy1 as it is

  said1 against all kinds of poison4  ,i
 stayed here some time to inform  myself
 whether ,i might1 by pursuing this     
road1 reach ,abyssinia2 and could  get  
no other intelligence but that two      
thousand ,galles 7the same people  who  
inhabited ,melinda7 had encamped about  
three leagues from ,jubo2 that  they had
 been induced to fix in that place by   
the plenty of provisions  they found    
there4  ,these ,galles lay everything   
where they come in ruin1  putting all to
 the sword without distinction of age or
 sex2 which  barbarities1 though their  
numbers are not great1 have spread the  
terror  of them over all the country4   
,they choose a king1 whom they call     
,lubo3  every eighth year4 ,they carry  
their wives with them1 and expose their 
children without any tenderness in the  
woods1 it being prohibited1 on  pain of 
death1 to take any care of those which  
are born in the camp4  ,this  is their  
way of living when they are in arms1 but
 afterwards when they  settle at home   

they breed up their children4  ,they    
feed upon raw cow's  flesh2 when they   
kill a cow1 they keep the blood to rub  
their bodies  with1 and wear the guts   
about their necks for ornaments1 which  
they  afterwards give to their wives4   
,several of these ,galles came to see   
me1 and as it seemed they had never     
beheld a white man before1 they gazed on
 me with amazement2 so strong was  their
 curiosity that they even pulled off my 
shoes and stockings1 that  they might be
 satisfied whether all my body was of   
the same colour with  my face4  ,i could
 remark1 that after they had observed me
 some time1 they  discovered some       
aversion from a white2 however1 seeing  
me pull out my  handkerchief1 they asked
 me for it with a great deal of         
eagerness2 ,i cut  it into several      
pieces that ,i might satisfy them all1  
and distributed it  amongst them2 they  
bound them about their heads1 but gave  
me to  understand that they should have 
liked them better if they had been red3 

after this we were seldom without their 
company1 which gave occasion to  an     
accident1 which though it seemed to     
threaten some danger at first1  turned  
afterwards to our advantage4    ,as     
these people were continually teasing   
us1 our ,portuguese one day  threatened 
in jest to kill one of them4  ,the black
 ran in the utmost  dread to seek his   
comrades1 and we were in one moment     
almost covered with  ,galles2 we thought
 it the most proper course to decline   
the first impulse  of their fury1 and   
retired into our house4  ,our retreat   
inspired them  with courage2 they       
redoubled their cries1 and posted       
themselves on an  eminence near at hand 
that overlooked us2 there they insulted 
us by  brandishing their lances and     
daggers4  ,we were fortunately not above
 a  stone's cast from the sea1 and could
 therefore have retreated to our bark   
had we found ourselves reduced to       
extremities4  ,this made us not very    
solicitous about their menaces2 but     

finding that they continued to hover    
about our habitation1 and being wearied 
with their clamours1 we thought  it     
might be a good expedient to fright them
 away by firing four muskets  towards   
them1 in such a manner that they might  
hear the bullets hiss  about two feet   
over their heads4  ,this had the effect 
we wished2 the  noise and fire of our   
arms struck them with so much terror    
that they fell  upon the ground1 and    
durst not for some time so much as lift 
up their  heads4  ,they forgot          
immediately their natural temper1 their 
ferocity and  haughtiness were softened 
into mildness and submission2 they asked
 pardon  for their insolence1 and we    
were ever after good friends4    ,after 
our reconciliation we visited each other
 frequently1 and had some  conversation 
about the journey ,i had undertaken1 and
 the desire ,i had of  finding a new    
passage into ,a,ethiopia4  ,it was      
necessary on this account  to consult   
their lubo or king3 ,i found him in a   

straw hut something  larger than those  
of his subjects1 surrounded by his      
courtiers1 who had  each a stick in his 
hand1 which is longer or shorter        
according to the  quality of the person 
admitted into the king's presence4  ,the
 ceremony  made use of at the reception 
of a stranger is somewhat unusual2 as   
soon  as he enters1 all the courtiers   
strike him with their cudgels till he   
goes back to the door2 the amity then   
subsisting between us did not  secure me
 from this uncouth reception1 which they
 told me1 upon my  demanding the reason 
of it1 was to show those whom they      
treated with that  they were the bravest
 people in the world1 and that all other
 nations  ought to bow down before them4
  ,i could not help reflecting on this  
occasion how imprudently ,i had trusted 
my life in the hands of men             
unacquainted with compassion or         
civility1 but recollecting at the same  
time that the intent of my journey was  
such as might give me hopes of the      

divine protection1 ,i banished all      
thoughts but those of finding a way     
into ,a,ethiopia4  ,in this strait it   
occurred to me that these people1       
however barbarous1 have some oath which 
they keep with an inviolable            
strictness2 the best precaution1        
therefore1 that ,i could use would be to
  bind them by this oath to be true to  
their engagements4  ,the manner of      
their swearing is this3 they set a sheep
 in the midst of them1 and rub it  over 
with butter1 the heads of families who  
are the chief in the nation  lay their  
hands upon the head of the sheep1 and   
swear to observe their  promise4  ,this 
oath 7which they never violate7 they    
explain thus3 the  sheep is the mother  
of them who swear2 the butter betokens  
the love  between the mother and the    
children1 and an oath taken on a        
mother's head  is sacred4  ,upon the    
security of this oath1 ,i made them     
acquainted with  my intention1 an       
intention1 they told me1 it was         

impossible to put in  execution4  ,from 
the moment ,i left them they said they  
could give me no  assurance of either   
life or liberty1 that they were         
perfectly informed  both of the roads   
and inhabitants1 that there were no     
fewer than nine  nations between us and 
,abyssinia1 who were always embroiled   
amongst  themselves1 or at war with the 
,abyssins1 and enjoyed no security even 
in  their own territories4  ,we were now
 convinced that our enterprise was      
impracticable1 and that to hazard       
ourselves amidst so many insurmountable 
difficulties would be to tempt          
,providence2 despairing1 therefore1 that
 ,i  should ever come this way to       
,abyssinia1 ,i resolved to return back  
with my  intelligence to my companion1  
whom ,i had left at ,pate4    ,i cannot1
 however1 leave this country without    
giving an account of their  manner of   
blood-letting1 which ,i was led to the  
knowledge of by a violent  fever1 which 
threatened to put an end to my life and 

travels together4  ,the distress ,i was 
in may easily be imagined1 being        
entirely destitute of  everything       
necessary4  ,i had resolved to let      
myself blood1 though ,i was  altogether 
a stranger to the manner of doing it1   
and had no lancet1 but  my companions   
hearing of a surgeon of reputation in   
the place1 went and  brought him4  ,i   
saw1 with the utmost surprise1 an old   
,moor enter my  chamber1 with a kind of 
small dagger1 all over rusty1 and a     
mallet in his  hand1 and three cups of  
horn about half a foot long4  ,i        
started1 and  asked what he wanted4  ,he
 told me to bleed me2 and when ,i had   
given him  leave1 uncovering my side1   
applied one of his horn cups1 which he  
stopped  with chewed paper1 and by that 
means made it stick fast2 in the same   
manner he fixed on the other two1 and   
fell to sharpening his instrument1      
assuring me that he would give me no    
pain4  ,he then took off his cups1  and 
gave in each place a stroke with his    

poignard1 which was followed by  a      
stream of blood4  ,he applied his cups  
several times1 and every time  struck   
his lancet into the same place2 having  
drawn away a large quantity  of blood1  
he healed the orifices with three lumps 
of tallow4  ,i know not  whether to     
attribute my cure to bleeding or my     
fear1 but ,i had from that  time no     
return of my fever4    ,when ,i came to 
,pate1 in hopes of meeting with my      
associate1 ,i found that  he was gone to
 ,mombaza1 in hopes of receiving        
information4  ,he was sooner  undeceived
 than ,i1 and we met at the place where 
we parted in a few days2  and soon      
afterwards left ,pate to return to the  
,indies1 and in nine-and-  twenty days  
arrived at the famous fortress of ,diou4
  ,we were told at this  place that     
,alfonso ,mendes1 patriarch of          
,a,ethiopia1 was arrived at ,goa  from  
,lisbon4  ,he wrote to us to desire that
 we would wait for him at  ,diou1 in    
order to embark there for the ,red ,sea2

 but being informed by us  that no      
opportunities of going thither were to  
be expected at ,diou1 it  was at length 
determined that we should meet at       
,bazaim2 it was no easy  matter for me  
to find means of going to ,bazaim4      
,however1 after a very  uneasy voyage1  
in which we were often in danger of     
being dashed against  the rocks1 or     
thrown upon the sands by the rapidity of
 the current1 and  suffered the utmost  
distress for want of water1 ,i landed at
 ,daman1 a  place about twenty leagues  
distant from ,bazaim4  ,here ,i hire a  
catre and  four boys to carry me to     
,bazaim3 these catres are a kind of     
travelling  couches1 in which you may   
either lie or sit1 which the boys1 whose
  business is the same with that of     
chairmen in our country1 support upon   
their shoulders by two poles1 and carry 
a passenger at the rate of  eighteen or 
twenty miles a day4  ,here we at length 
found the patriarch1  with three more   
priests1 like us1 designed for the      

mission of ,a,ethiopia4  ,we went back  
to ,daman1 and from thence to ,diou1    
where we arrived in a  short time4      
,,chapter ,,iii      ,the author embarks
 with the patriarch1 narrowly escapes   
shipwreck near  the isle of ,socotora2  
enters the ,arabian ,gulf1 and the ,red 
,sea4  ,some  account of the coast of   
the ,red ,sea4    ,the patriarch having 
met with many obstacles and             
disappointments in his  return to       
,abyssinia1 grew impatient of being so  
long absent from his  church4  ,lopo    
,gomez d',abreu had made him an offer at
 ,bazaim of fitting  out three ships at 
his own expense1 provided a commission  
could be  procured him to cruise in the 
,red ,sea4  ,this proposal was accepted 
by the  patriarch1 and a commission     
granted by the viceroy4  ,while we were 
at  ,diou1 waiting for these vessels1 we
 received advice from ,a,ethiopia that  
the emperor1 unwilling to expose the    
patriarch to any hazard1 thought        
,dagher1 a port in the mouth of the ,red

 ,sea1 belonging to a prince  dependent 
on the ,abyssins1 a place of the        
greatest security to land at1  having   
already written to that prince to give  
him safe passage through  his dominions4
  ,we met here with new delays2 the     
fleet that was to  transport us did not 
appear1 the patriarch lost all patience1
 and his  zeal so much affected the     
commander at ,diou1 that he undertook to
 equip a  vessel for us1 and pushed the 
work forward with the utmost diligence4 
,at  length1 the long-expected ships    
entered the port2 we were overjoyed1 we 
were transported1 and prepared to go on 
board4  ,many persons at ,diou1  seeing 
the vessels so well fitted out1 desired 
leave to go this voyage  along with us1 
imagining they had an excellent         
opportunity of acquiring  both wealth   
and honour4  ,we committed1 however1 one
 great error in  setting out1 for having
 equipped our ships for privateering1   
and taken no  merchandise on board1 we  
could not touch at any of the ports of  

the ,red  ,sea4  ,the patriarch1        
impatient to be gone1 took leave in the 
most tender  manner of the governor and 
his other friends1 recommended our      
voyage to  the ,blessed ,virgin1 and in 
the field1 before we went on shipboard1 
made a  short exhortation1 so moving and
 pathetic1 that it touched the hearts of
  all who heard it4  ,in the evening we 
went on board1 and early the next       
morning being the #crd of ,april1 #afbe1
 we set sail4    ,after some days we    
discovered about noon the island        
,socotora1 where we  proposed to touch4 
,the sky was bright and the wind fair1  
nor had we the  least apprehension of   
the danger into which we were falling1  
but with the  utmost carelessness and   
jollity held on our course4  ,at night1 
when our  sailors1 especially the       
,moors1 were in a profound sleep 7for   
the  ,mohammedans1 believing everything 
forewritten in the decrees of ,god1 and 
not alterable by any human means1 resign
 themselves entirely to  ,providence71  

our vessel ran aground upon a sand bank 
at the entrance of  the harbour4  ,we   
got her off with the utmost difficulty1 
and nothing but  a miracle could have   
preserved us4  ,we ran along afterwards 
by the side  of the island1 but were    
entertained with no other prospect than 
of a  mountainous country1 and of rocks 
that jutted out over the sea1 and       
seemed ready to fall into it4  ,in the  
afternoon1 putting into the most        
convenient ports of the island1 we came 
to anchor2 very much to the  amazement  
and terror of the inhabitants1 who were 
not used to see any  ,portuguese ships  
upon their coasts1 and were therefore   
under a great  consternation at finding 
them even in their ports4  ,some ran for
 security  to the mountains1 others took
 up arms to oppose our landing1 but were
  soon reconciled to us1 and brought us 
fowls1 fish1 and sheep1 in exchange  for
 ,india calicoes1 on which they set a   
great value4  ,we left this island      
early the next morning1 and soon came in

 sight of ,cape ,gardafui1 so           
celebrated heretofore under the name of 
the ,cape of ,spices1 either  because   
great quantities were then found there1 
or from its neighbourhood  to ,arabia   
the ,happy1 even at this day famous for 
its fragrant products4  ,it is properly 
at this cape 7the most eastern part of  
,africa7 that the  ,gulf of ,arabia     
begins1 which at ,babelmandel loses its 
name1 and is called  the ,red ,sea4     
,here1 though the weather was calm1 we  
found the sea so  rough1 that we were   
tossed as in a high wind for two nights2
 whether this  violent agitation of the 
water proceeded from the narrowness of  
the  strait1 or from the fury of the    
late storm1 ,i know not2 whatever was   
the  cause1 we suffered all the         
hardships of a tempest4  ,we continued  
our  course towards the ,red ,sea1      
meeting with nothing in our passage but 
a  gelve1 or kind of boat1 made of thin 
boards1 sewed together1 with no  other  
sail than a mat4  ,we gave her chase1 in

 hopes of being informed by  the crew   
whether there were any ,arabian vessels 
at the mouth of the  strait2 but the    
,moors1 who all entertain dismal        
apprehensions of the  ,franks1 plied    
their oars and sail with the utmost     
diligence1 and as soon  as they reached 
land1 quitted their boat1 and scoured to
 the mountains4  ,we saw them make      
signals from thence1 and imagining they 
would come to a  parley1 sent out our   
boat with two sailors and an ,abyssin1  
putting the  ships off from the shore1  
to set them free from any suspicion of  
danger  in coming down4  ,all this was  
to no purpose1 they could not be drawn  
from  the mountain1 and our men had     
orders not to go on shore1 so they were 
obliged to return without information4  
,soon after we discovered the isle  of  
,babelmandel1 which gives name to the   
strait so called1 and parts the  sea    
that surrounds it into two channels2    
that on the side of ,arabia is  not     
above a quarter of a league in breadth1 

and through this pass almost  all the   
vessels that trade to or from the ,red  
,sea4  ,the other1 on the  side of      
,a,ethiopia1 though much larger1 is more
 dangerous1 by reason of  the shallows1 
which make it necessary for a ship1     
though of no great  burthen1 to pass    
very near the island1 where the channel 
is deeper and  less embarrassed4  ,this 
passage is never made use of but by     
those who  would avoid meeting with the 
,turks who are stationed on the coast of
  ,arabia2 it was for this reason that  
we chose it4  ,we passed it in the      
night1 and entered that sea1 so renowned
 on many accounts in history1  both     
sacred and profane4    ,in our          
description of this famous sea1 an      
account of which may justly be  expected
 in this place1 it is most convenient to
 begin with the coast of  ,arabia1 on   
which part at twelve leagues from the   
mouth stands the city of  ,moca1 a place
 of considerable trade4  ,forty leagues 
farther is the ,isle  of ,camaram1 whose

 inhabitants are annoyed with little    
serpents1 which  they call basilisks1   
which1 though very poisonous and deadly1
 do not1 as  the ancients have told us1 
kill with their eyes1 or if they have so
 fatal  a power1 it is not at least in  
this place4  ,sailing ninety leagues    
farther1 you see the noted port of      
,jodda1 where the pilgrims that go to   
,mecca and ,medina unlade those rich    
presents which the zeal of different    
princes is every day accumulating at the
 tomb of ,mahomet4  ,the commerce  of   
this place1 and the number of merchants 
that resort thither from all  parts of  
the world1 are above description1 and so
 richly laden are the  ships that come  
hither1 that when the ,indians would    
express a thing of  inestimable price1  
they say1 ,it is of greater value than a
 ship of  ,jodda4  ,an hundred and      
eighteen leagues from thence lies ,toro1
 and near  it the ruins of an ancient   
monastery4  ,this is the place1 if the  
report  of the inhabitants deserves any 

credit1 where the ,israelites           
miraculously  passed through the ,red   
,sea on dry land2 and there is some     
reason for  imagining the tradition not 
ill grounded1 for the sea is here only  
three  leagues in breadth4  ,all the    
ground about ,toro is barren for want of
  water1 which is only to be found at a 
considerable distance1 in one  fountain1
 which flows out of the neighbouring    
mountains1 at the foot of  which there  
are still twelve palm-trees4  ,near     
,toro are several wells1  which1 as the 
,arabs tell us1 were dug by the order of
 ,moses to quiet the  clamours of the   
thirsty ,israelites4  ,suez lies in the 
bottom of the ,gulf1  three leagues from
 ,toro1 once a place of note1 now       
reduced1 under the  ,turks1 to an       
inconsiderable village1 where the       
miserable inhabitants are  forced to    
fetch water at three leagues' distance4 
,the ancient ,kings of  ,egypt conveyed 
the waters of the ,nile to this place by
 an artificial  canal1 now so choked    

with sand1 that there are scarce any    
marks remaining  of so noble and        
beneficial a work4    ,the first place  
to be met with in travelling along the  
coast of ,africa is  ,rondelo1 situate  
over against ,toro1 and celebrated for  
the same  miraculous passage4           
,forty-five leagues from thence is      
,cocir4  ,here ends  that long chain of 
mountains that reaches from this place  
even to the  entrance of the ,red ,sea4 
,in this prodigious ridge1 which extends
 three  hundred leagues1 sometimes      
approaching near the sea1 and sometimes 
running far up into the land1 there is  
only one opening1 through which  all    
that merchandise is conveyed1 which is  
embarked at ,rifa1 and from  thence     
distributed through all the east4       
,these mountains1 as they are           
uncultivated1 are in some parts shaded  
with large forests1 and in others  dry  
and bare4  ,as they are exceedingly     
high1 all the seasons may be here  found
 together2 when the storms of winter    

beat on one side1 on the other  is often
 a serene sky and a bright sunshine4    
,the ,nile runs here so near  the shore 
that it might without much difficulty be
 turned through this  opening of the    
mountains into the ,red ,sea1 a design  
which many of the  ,emperors have       
thought of putting in execution1 and    
thereby making a  communication between 
the ,red ,sea and the ,mediterranean1   
but have been  discouraged either by the
 greatness of the expense or the fear of
 laying  great part of ,egypt under     
water1 for some of that country lies    
lower than  sea4    ,distant from       
,rondelo a hundred and thirty leagues is
 the ,isle of ,suaquem1  where the      
,bassa of that country chooses his      
residence1 for the  convenience of      
receiving the tribute with greater      
exactness1 there being  a large trade   
carried on here with the ,abyssins4     
,the ,turks of ,suaquem  have gardens on
 the firm land1 not above a musket shot 
from the island1  which supply them with

 many excellent herbs and fruits1 of    
which ,i doubt  whether there be not a  
greater quantity on this little spot    
than on the  whole coast of ,africa     
besides1 from ,melinda to ,suez4  ,for  
if we except  the dates which grow      
between ,suez and ,suaquem1 the ground  
does not yield  the least product2 all  
the necessaries of life1 even water1 is 
wanting4  ,nothing can support itself in
 this region of barrenness but          
ostriches1  which devour stones1 or     
anything they meet with2 they lay a     
great number  of eggs1 part of which    
they break to feed their young with4    
,these fowls1  of which ,i have seen    
many1 are very tame1 and when they are  
pursued1  stretch out their wings1 and  
run with amazing swiftness4  ,as they   
have  cloven feet1 they sometimes strike
 up the stones when they run1 which     
gave occasion to the notion that they   
threw stones at the hunters1 a  relation
 equally to be credited with those of   
their eating fire and  digesting iron4  

,those feathers which are so much valued
 grow under their  wings3 the shell of  
their eggs powdered is an excellent     
remedy for sore  eyes4    ,the burning  
wind spoken of in the sacred writings1  
,i take to be that  which the natives   
term arur1 and the ,arabs uri1 which    
blowing in the  spring1 brings with it  
so excessive a heat1 that the whole     
country seems  a burning oven2 so that  
there is no travelling here in this     
dreadful  season1 nor is this the only  
danger to which the unhappy passenger is
  exposed in these uncomfortable        
regions4  ,there blows in the months of 
,june1 ,july1 and ,august1 another wind1
 which raises mountains of sand and     
carries them through the air2 all that  
can be done in this case is when a      
cloud of sand rises1 to mark where it is
 likely to fall1 and to retire as  far  
off as possible2 but it is very usual   
for men to be taken  unexpectedly1 and  
smothered in the dust4  ,one day ,i     
found the body of a  ,christian1 whom ,i

 knew1 upon the sand2 he had doubtless  
been choked by  these winds4  ,i        
recommended his soul to the divine mercy
 and buried him4  ,he seemed to have    
been some time dead1 yet the body had no
 ill smell4  ,these winds are most      
destructive in ,arabia the ,desert4     
,,chapter ,,iv      ,the author's       
conjecture on the name of the ,red ,sea4
  ,an account of the  cocoa-tree4  ,he  
lands at ,baylur4    ,to return to the  
description of the coast3 sixty leagues 
from ,suaquem is  an island called      
,mazna1 only considerable for its ports1
 which make the  ,turks reside upon it1 
though they are forced to keep three    
barks  continually employed in fetching 
water1 which is not to be found nearer  
than at a distance of twelve miles4     
,forty leagues from hence is ,dalacha1  
an island where many pearls are found1  
but of small value4  ,the next  place is
 ,baylur1 forty leagues from ,dalacha1  
and twelve from ,babelmandel4    ,there 
are few things upon which a greater     

variety of conjectures has been  offered
 than upon the reasons that induced the 
ancients to distinguish  this gulf1     
which separates ,asia from ,africa1 by  
the name of the ,red ,sea1  an          
appellation that has almost universally 
obtained in all languages4  ,some affirm
 that the torrents1 which fall after    
great rains from the  mountains1 wash   
down such a quantity of red sand as     
gives a tincture to  the water3 others  
tell us that the sunbeams being         
reverberated from the  red rocks1 give  
the sea on which they strike the        
appearance of that  colour4  ,neither of
 these accounts are satisfactory2 the   
coasts are so  scorched by the heat that
 they are rather black than red2 nor is 
the  colour of this sea much altered by 
the winds or rains4  ,the notion        
generally received is1 that the coral   
found in such quantities at the  bottom 
of the sea might communicate this colour
 to the water3 an account  merely       
chimerical4  ,coral is not to be found  

in all parts of this gulf1  and red     
coral in very few4  ,nor does this water
 in fact differ from that  of other     
seas4  ,the patriarch and ,i have       
frequently amused ourselves with  making
 observations1 and could never discover 
any redness1 but in the  shallows1 where
 a kind of weed grew which they call    
gouesmon1 which  redness disappeared as 
soon as we plucked up the plant4  ,it is
 observable  that ,st4 ,jerome1         
confining himself to the ,hebrew1 calls 
this sea ,jamsuf4  ,jam in that language
 signifies sea1 and suf is the name of a
 plant in  ,a,ethiopia1 from which the  
,abyssins extract a beautiful crimson2  
whether  this be the same with the      
gouesmon1 ,i know not1 but am of opinion
 that  the herb gives to this sea both  
the colour and the name4    ,the vessels
 most used in the ,red ,sea1 though     
ships of all sizes may be  met with     
there1 are gelves1 of which some mention
 hath been made already2  these are the 
more convenient1 because they will not  

split if thrown upon  banks or against  
rocks4  ,these gelves have given        
occasion to the report  that out of the 
cocoa-tree alone a ship may be built1   
fitted out with  masts1 sails1 and      
cordage1 and victualled with bread1     
water1 wine1 sugar1  vinegar1 and oil4  
,all this indeed cannot be done out of  
one tree1 but  may out of several of the
 same kind4  ,they saw the trunk into   
planks1 and  sew them together with     
thread which they spin out of the bark1 
and which  they twist for the cables2   
the leaves stitched together make the   
sails4  ,this boat thus equipped may be 
furnished with all necessaries from the 
same tree4  ,there is not a month in    
which the cocoa does not produce a      
bunch of nuts1 from twenty to fifty4    
,at first sprouts out a kind of seed  or
 capsula1 of a shape not unlike the     
scabbard of a scimitar1 which they  cut1
 and place a vessel under1 to receive   
the liquor that drops from it2  this    
drink is called soro1 and is clear1     

pleasant1 and nourishing4  ,if it  be   
boiled1 it grows hard1 and makes a kind 
of sugar much valued in the  ,indies3   
distil this liquor and you have a strong
 water1 of which is made  excellent     
vinegar4  ,all these different products 
are afforded before the  nut is formed1 
and while it is green it contains a     
delicious cooling  water2 with these    
nuts they store their gelves1 and it is 
the only  provision of water which is   
made in this country4  ,the second bark 
which  contains the water is so tender  
that they eat it4  ,when this fruit     
arrives to perfect maturity1 they either
 pound the kernel into meal1 and  make  
cakes of or draw an oil from it of a    
fine scent and taste1 and of  great use 
in medicine2 so that what is reported of
 the different products  of this        
wonderful tree is neither false nor     
incredible4    ,it is time we should    
come now to the relation of our voyage4 
,having  happily passed the straits at  
the entrance of the ,red ,sea1 we       

pursued our  course1 keeping as near the
 shore as we could1 without any farther 
apprehensions of the ,turks4  ,we were1 
however1 under some concern that we     
were entirely ignorant in what part of  
the coast to find ,baylur1 a port  where
 we proposed landing1 and so little     
known1 that our pilots1 who had  made   
many voyages in this sea1 could give us 
no account of it4  ,we were  in hopes of
 information from the fishermen1 but    
found that as soon as we  came near they
 fled from us in the greatest           
consternation2 no signals of  peace or  
friendship could prevail on them to     
stay2 they either durst not  trust or   
did not understand us4  ,we plied along 
the coast in this  uncertainty two days1
 till on the first of ,march having     
doubled a point  of land1 which came out
 a great way into the sea1 we found     
ourselves in  the middle of a fair large
 bay1 which many reasons induced us to  
think  was ,baylur2 that we might be    
farther assured we sent our ,abyssin on 

shore1 who returning next morning       
confirmed our opinion4  ,it would not be
  easy to determine whether our arrival 
gave us greater joy1 or the  inhabitants
 greater apprehensions1 for we could    
discern a continual  tumult in the land1
 and took notice that the crews of some 
barks that lay  in the harbour were     
unlading with all possible diligence1 to
 prevent the  cargo from falling into   
our hands1 very much indeed to the      
dissatisfaction of many of our soldiers1
 who having engaged in this  expedition1
 with no other view than of filling     
their pockets1 were1  before the return 
of our ,abyssin1 for treating them like 
enemies1 and  taking them as a lawful   
prize4  ,we were willing to be assured  
of a good  reception in this port2 the  
patriarch therefore sent me to treat    
with  them4  ,i dressed myself like a   
merchant1 and in that habit received the
  four captains of gelves which the     
,chec sent to compliment me1 and ordered
  to stay as hostages1 whom ,i sent     

back1 that ,i might gain upon their     
affections by the confidence ,i placed  
in their sincerity2 this had so  good an
 effect1 that the ,chec1 who was        
transported with the account the        
officers gave of the civilities they had
 been treated with1 came in an  hour to 
visit me1 bringing with him a           
,portuguese1 whom ,i had sent ashore  as
 a security for his return4  ,he        
informed me that the ,king his master   
was encamped not far off1 and that a    
,chec who was then in the company was   
just arrived from thence1 and had seen  
the ,emperor of ,a,ethiopia's letters   
in our favour2 ,i was then convinced    
that we might land without scruple1  and
 to give the patriarch notice of it     
ordered a volley of our muskets to  be  
fired1 which was answered by the cannon 
of the two ships that lay at a          
distance1 for fear of giving the ,moors 
any cause of suspicion by their         
approach4  ,the ,chec and his           
attendants1 though ,i had given them    

notice  that we were going to let off   
our guns in honour of the ,king their   
master1 could not forbear trembling at  
the fire and noise4  ,they left us  soon
 after1 and next morning we landed our  
baggage1 consisting chiefly of  the     
patriarch's library1 some ornaments for 
the church1 some images1 and  some      
pieces of calico1 which were of the same
 use as money4  ,most of the  soldiers  
and sailors were desirous of going with 
us1 some from real  principles of piety1
 and a desire of sharing the labours and
 merits of  the mission1 others upon    
motives very different1 the hopes of    
raising a  fortune4  ,to have taken all 
who offered themselves would have been  
an  injury to the owners of the ships1  
by rendering them unable to continue    
their voyage2 we therefore accepted only
 of a few4        ,,chapter ,v      ,an 
account of ,dancali4  ,the conduct of   
,chec ,furt4  ,the author wounded4      
,they arrive at the court of the ,king  
of ,dancali4  ,a description of his     

pavilion1 and the reception they met    
with4    ,our goods were no sooner      
landed than we were surrounded with a   
crowd of  officers1 all gaping for      
presents2 we were forced to gratify     
their  avarice by opening our bales1 and
 distributing among them some pieces of 
calico4  ,what we gave to the ,chec     
might be worth about a pistole1 and the 
rest in proportion4    ,the kingdom of  
,dancali1 to which this belongs1 is     
barren1 and thinly  peopled2 the king is
 tributary to the ,emperor of           
,abyssinia1 and very  faithful to his   
sovereign4  ,the emperor had not only   
written to him1 but  had sent a ,moor   
and ,portuguese as his ambassadors1 to  
secure us a kind  reception2 these in   
their way to this prince had come       
through the  countries of               
,chumo-,salamay and ,senaa1 the utmost  
confines of ,abyssinia1  and had carried
 thither the emperor's orders concerning
 our passage4    ,on ,ascension ,day we 
left ,baylur1 having procured some      

camels and asses to  carry our baggage4 
,the first day's march was not above a  
league1 and the  others not much longer4
  ,our guides performed their office    
very ill1  being influenced1 as we      
imagined1 by the ,chec ,furt1 an        
officer1 whom1  though unwilling1 we    
were forced to take with us4  ,this man1
 who might  have brought us to the king 
in three days1 led us out of the way    
through  horrid deserts destitute of    
water1 or where what we found was so    
foul1  nauseous1 and offensive1 that it 
excited a loathing and aversion which   
nothing but extreme necessity could have
 overcome4    ,having travelled some    
days1 we were met by the ,king's        
brother1 to whom1  by the advice of     
,chec ,furt1 whose intent in following  
us was to squeeze  all he could from us2
 we presented some pieces of ,chinese   
workmanship1  such as cases of boxes1 a 
standish1 and some earthenware1 together
 with  several pieces of painted calico1
 which were so much more agreeable1 that

  he desired some other pieces instead  
of our ,chinese curiosities2 we         
willingly made the exchange4  ,yet some 
time afterwards he asked again for      
those ,chinese goods which he had       
returned us1 nor was it in our power to 
refuse them4  ,i was here in danger of  
losing my life by a compliment  which   
the ,portuguese paid the prince of a    
discharge of twelve muskets2  one being 
unskilfully charged too high1 flew out  
of the soldier's hand1  and falling     
against my leg1 wounded it very much2 we
 had no surgeon with  us1 so that all ,i
 could do was to bind it hard with some 
cloth4  ,i was  obliged by this accident
 to make use of the ,chec ,furt's horse1
 which was  the greatest service we     
received from him in all our journey4   
,when we came within two leagues and a  
half of the ,king's court1 he sent  some
 messengers with his compliments1 and   
five mules for the chief of our         
company4  ,our road lay through a wood1 
where we found the ground covered  over 

with young locusts1 a plague intolerably
 afflictive in a country so  barren of  
itself4  ,we arrived at length at the   
bank of a small river1  near which the  
,king usually keeps his residence1 and  
found his palace at  the foot of a      
little mountain4  ,it consisted of about
 six tents and  twenty cabins1 erected  
amongst some thorns and wild trees1     
which afforded  a shelter from the heat 
of the weather4  ,he received us the    
first time in  a cabin about a musket   
shot distant from the rest1 furnished   
out with a  throne in the middle built  
of clay and stones1 and covered with    
tapestry  and two velvet cushions4      
,over against him stood his horse with  
his  saddle and other furniture hanging 
by him1 for in this country1 the  master
 and his horse make use of the same     
apartment1 nor doth the ,king in  this  
respect affect more grandeur than his   
subjects4  ,when we entered1 we  seated 
ourselves on the ground with our legs   
crossed1 in imitation of the  rest1 whom

 we found in the same posture4  ,after  
we had waited some time1  the ,king came
 in1 attended by his domestics and his  
officers4  ,he held a  small lance in   
his hand1 and was dressed in a silk     
robe1 with a turban on  his head1 to    
which were fastened some rings of very  
neat workmanship1  which fell down upon 
his forehead4  ,all kept silence for    
some time1 and  the ,king told us by his
 interpreter that we were welcome to his
  dominions1 that he had been informed  
we were to come by the ,emperor his     
father1 and that he condoled the        
hardships we had undergone at sea4  ,he 
desired us not to be under any concern  
at finding ourselves in a country  so   
distant from our own1 for those         
dominions were ours1 and he and the     
,emperor his father would give us all   
the proofs we could desire of the       
sincerest affection4  ,we returned him  
thanks for this promise of his  favour1 
and after a short conversation went     
away4  ,immediately we were  teazed by  

those who brought us the mules1 and     
demanded to be paid the  hire of them2  
and had advice given us at the same time
 that we should get  a present ready for
 the ,king4  ,the ,chec ,furt1 who was  
extremely ready to  undertake any       
commission of this kind1 would needs    
direct us in the  affair1 and told us   
that our gifts ought to be of greater   
value1 because  we had neglected making 
any such offer at our first audience1   
contrary to  the custom of that country4
  ,by these pretences he obliged us to  
make a  present to the value of about   
twenty pounds1 with which he seemed to  
be  pleased1 and told us we had nothing 
to do but prepare to make our entry4    
,,chapter ,,vi      ,the ,king refuses  
their present4  ,the author's boldness4 
,the present is  afterwards accepted4   
,the people are forbidden to sell them  
provisions4  ,the author remonstrates   
against the usage4  ,the ,king redresses
 it4    ,but such was either the hatred 
or avarice of this man1 that instead of 

doing us the good offices he pretended1 
he advised the ,king to refuse our      
present1 that he might draw from us     
something more valuable4  ,when ,i      
attended the ,king in order to deliver  
the presents1 after ,i had excused  the 
smallness of them1 as being1 though     
unworthy his acceptance1 the  largest   
that our profession of poverty1 and     
distance from our country1  allowed us  
to make1 he examined them one by one    
with a dissatisfied look1  and told me  
that however he might be pleased with   
our good attentions1 he  thought our    
present such as could not be offered to 
a king without  affronting him2 and made
 me a sign with his hand to withdraw1   
and take  back what ,i had brought4  ,i 
obeyed1 telling him that perhaps he     
might  send for it again without having 
so much4  ,the ,chec ,furt1 who had been
  the occasion of all this1 coming to us
 afterwards1 blamed us exceedingly  for 
having offered so little1 and being told
 by us that the present was  picked out 

by himself1 that we had nothing better  
to give1 and that what  we had left     
would scarce defray the expenses of our 
journey1 he pressed  us at least to add 
something1 but could prevail no farther 
than to  persuade us to repeat our      
former offer1 which the ,king was now   
pleased to  accept1 though with no      
kinder countenance than before4    ,here
 we spent our time and our provisions1  
without being able to procure  any more4
  ,the country indeed affords goats and 
honey1 but nobody would  sell us any1   
the ,king1 as ,i was secretly informed1 
having strictly  prohibited it1 with a  
view of forcing all we had from us4     
,the patriarch  sent me to expostulate  
the matter with the ,king1 which ,i did 
in very warm  terms1 telling him that we
 were assured by the ,emperor of a      
reception in  this country far different
 from what we met with1 which assurances
 he had  confirmed by his promise and   
the civilities we were entertained with 
at  our first arrival2 but that instead 

of friends who would compassionate  our 
miseries1 and supply our necessities1 we
 found ourselves in the midst  of mortal
 enemies that wanted to destroy us4     
,the ,king1 who affected to appear      
ignorant of the whole affair1 demanded  
an account of the injuries ,i complained
 of1 and told me that if any of  his    
subjects should dare to attempt our     
lives1 it should cost him his  own4  ,we
 were not1 replied ,i1 in danger of     
being stabbed or poisoned1 but  are     
doomed to a more lingering and painful  
death by that prohibition  which obliges
 your subjects to deny us the           
necessaries of life2 if it be  ,your    
,highness's pleasure that we die here1  
we entreat that we may at  least be     
despatched quickly1 and not condemned to
 longer torments4  ,the  ,king1 startled
 at this discourse1 denied that he had  
given any such  orders1 and was very    
importunate to know the author of our   
intelligence1  but finding me determined
 not to discover him1 he sent me away   

with a  promise that for the future we  
should be furnished with everything we  
wanted1 and indeed that same day we     
bought three goats for about a crown1   
and some honey1 and found ourselves     
better treated than before4             
,,chapter ,,vii      ,they obtain leave1
 with some difficulty1 to depart from   
,dancali4  ,the  difficulties of their  
march4  ,a broil with the ,moors4  ,they
 arrive at the  plain of salt4    ,this 
usage1 with some differences we had with
 a ,moor1 made us very  desirous of     
leaving this country1 but we were still 
put off with one  pretence or other     
whenever we asked leave to depart4      
,tired with these  delays1 ,i applied   
myself to his favourite minister1 with a
 promise of a  large present if he could
 obtain us an audience of leave2 he came
 to us  at night to agree upon the      
reward1 and soon accomplished all we    
desired1  both getting us a permission  
to go out of the kingdom1 and procuring 
us  camels to carry our baggage1 and    

that of the ,abyssinian ambassadors who 
were ordered to accompany us4    ,we set
 out from the kingdom of ,dancali on the
 #aeth of ,june1 having taken  our leave
 of the ,king1 who after many excuses   
for everything that had  happened1      
dismissed us with a present of a cow1   
and some provisions1  desiring us to    
tell the ,emperor of ,a,ethiopia his    
father that we had met  with kind       
treatment in his territories1 a request 
which we did not at  that time think it 
convenient to deny4    ,whatever we had 
suffered hitherto1 was nothing to the   
difficulties we  were now entering upon1
 and which ,god had decreed us to       
undergo for the  sake of ,jesus ,christ4
  ,our way now lay through a region     
scarce passable1  and full of serpents1 
which were continually creeping between 
our legs2  we might have avoided them in
 the day1 but being obliged1 that we    
might  avoid the excessive heats1 to    
take long marches in the night1 we were 
every moment treading upon them4        

,nothing but a signal interposition of  
,providence could have preserved us from
 being bitten by them1 or  perishing    
either by weariness or thirst1 for      
sometimes we were a long  time without  
water1 and had nothing to support our   
strength in this  fatigue but a little  
honey1 and a small piece of cows' flesh 
dried in the  sun4  ,thus we travelled  
on for many days1 scarce allowing       
ourselves any  rest1 till we came to a  
channel or hollow worn in the mountains 
by the  winter torrents2 here we found  
some coolness1 and good water1 a        
blessing  we enjoyed for three days2    
down this channel all the winter runs a 
great  river which is dried up in the   
heats1 or to speak more properly1 hides 
itself under ground4  ,we walked along  
its side1 sometimes seven or eight      
leagues without seeing any water1 and   
then we found it rising out of the      
ground1 at which places we never failed 
to drink as much as we could1 and  fill 
our bottles4    ,in our march1 there    

fell out an unlucky accident1 which1    
however1 did not  prove of the bad      
consequence it might have done4  ,the   
master of our  camels was an old        
,mohammedan1 who had conceived an       
opinion that it was an  act of merit to 
do us all the mischief he could2 and in 
pursuance of his  notion1 made it his   
chief employment to steal everything he 
could lay  hold on2 his piety even      
transported him so far1 that one morning
 he stole  and hid the cords of our     
tents4  ,the patriarch who saw him at   
the work  charged him with it1 and upon 
his denial1 showed him the end of the   
cord  hanging from under the saddle of  
one of his camels4  ,upon this we went  
to  seize them1 but were opposed by him 
and the rest of the drivers1 who set    
themselves in a posture of opposition   
with their daggers4  ,our soldiers  had 
recourse to their muskets1 and four of  
them putting the mouths of  their pieces
 to the heads of some of the most       
obstinate and turbulent1  struck them   

with such a terror1 that all the clamour
 was stilled in an  instant2 none       
received any hurt but the ,moor who had 
been the occasion of  the tumult4  ,he  
was knocked down by one of our soldiers1
 who had cut his  throat but that the   
fathers prevented it3 he then restored  
the cords1 and  was more tractable ever 
after4  ,in all my dealings with the    
,moors1 ,i have  always discovered in   
them an ill-natured cowardice1 which    
makes them  insupportably insolent if   
you show them the least respect1 and    
easily  reduced to reasonable terms when
 you treat them with a high hand4       
,after a march of some days we came to  
an opening between the mountains1  the  
only passage out of ,dancali into       
,abyssinia4  ,heaven seems to have  made
 this place on purpose for the repose of
 weary travellers1 who here  exchange   
the tortures of parching thirst1 burning
 sands1 and a sultry  climate1 for the  
pleasures of shady trees1 the           
refreshment of a clear  stream1 and the 

luxury of a cooling breeze4  ,we arrived
 at this happy  place about noon1 and   
the next day at evening left those      
fanning winds1  and woods flourishing   
with unfading verdure1 for the dismal   
barrenness of  the vast uninhabitable   
plains1 from which ,abyssinia is        
supplied with  salt4  ,these plains are 
surrounded with high mountains1         
continually  covered with thick clouds  
which the sun draws from the lakes that 
are  here1 from which the water runs    
down into the plain1 and is there       
congealed into salt4  ,nothing can be   
more curious than to see the  channels  
and aqueducts that nature has formed in 
this hard rock1 so exact  and of such   
admirable contrivance1 that they seem to
 be the work of men4  ,to this place    
caravans of ,abyssinia are continually  
resorting1 to carry  salt into all parts
 of the empire1 which they set a great  
value upon1 and  which in their country 
is of the same use as money4  ,the      
superstitious  ,abyssins imagine that   

the cavities of the mountains are       
inhabited by evil  spirits which appear 
in different shapes1 calling those that 
pass by  their names as in a familiar   
acquaintance1 who1 if they go to them1  
are  never seen afterwards4  ,this      
relation was confirmed by the ,moorish  
officer who came with us1 who1 as he    
said1 had lost a servant in that        
manner3 the man certainly fell into the 
hands of the ,galles1 who lurk in  those
 dark retreats1 cut the throats of the  
merchants1 and carry off  their effects4
    ,the heat making it impossible to   
travel through this plain in the day-   
time1 we set out in the evening1 and in 
the night lost our way4  ,it is  very   
dangerous to go through this place1 for 
there are no marks of the  right road1  
but some heaps of salt1 which we could  
not see4  ,our camel  drivers getting   
together to consult on this occasion1 we
 suspected they  had some ill design in 
hand1 and got ready our weapons2 they   
perceived  our apprehensions1 and set us

 at ease by letting us know the reason  
of  their consultation4  ,travelling    
hard all night1 we found ourselves next 
morning past the plain2 but the road we 
were in was not more commodious1  the   
points of the rocks pierced our feet2 to
 increase our perplexities we  were     
alarmed with the approach of an armed   
troop1 which our fear  immediately      
suggested to be the ,galles1 who chiefly
 beset these passes of  the mountains2  
we put ourselves on the defensive1 and  
expected them1  whom1 upon a more exact 
examination1 we found to be only a      
caravan of  merchants come as usual to  
fetch salt4        ,,chapter ,,viii     
,they lose their way1 are in continual  
apprehensions of the ,galles4  ,they    
come to ,duan1 and settle in ,abyssinia4
    ,about nine the next morning we came
 to the end of this toilsome and  rugged
 path1 where the way divided into two1  
yet both led to a well1 the  only one   
that was found in our journey4  ,a ,moor
 with three others took  the shortest1  

without directing us to follow him2 so  
we marched forwards  we knew not        
whither1 through woods and over rocks1  
without sleep or any  other refreshment3
 at noon the next day we discovered that
 we were near  the field of salt4  ,our 
affliction and distress is not to be    
expressed2  we were all fainting with   
heat and weariness1 and two of the      
patriarch's  servants were upon the     
point of dying for want of water4  ,none
 of us had  any but a ,moor1 who could  
not be prevailed upon to part with it at
 less  than the weight in gold2 we got  
some from him at last1 and endeavoured  
to  revive the two servants1 while part 
of us went to look for a guide that     
might put us in the right way4  ,the    
,moors who had arrived at the well1     
rightly guessing that we were lost1 sent
 one of their company to look for  us1  
whom we heard shouting in the woods1 but
 durst make no answer for  fear of the  
,galles4  ,at length he found us1 and   
conducted us to the rest2  we instantly 

forgot our past calamities1 and had no  
other care than to  recover the         
patriarch's attendants4  ,we did not    
give them a full draught  at first1 but 
poured in the water by drops1 to moisten
 their mouths and  throats1 which were  
extremely swelled3 by this caution they 
were soon  well4  ,we then fell to      
eating and drinking1 and though we had  
nothing but  our ordinary repast of     
honey and dried flesh1 thought we never 
had  regaled more pleasantly in our     
lives4    ,we durst not stay long in    
this place for fear of the ,galles1 who 
lay  their ambushes more particularly   
near this well1 by which all caravans   
must necessarily pass4  ,our            
apprehensions were very much increased  
by our  suspicion of the camel-drivers1 
who1 as we imagined1 had advertised the 
,galles of our arrival4  ,the fatigue we
 had already suffered did not  prevent  
our continuing our march all night3 at  
last we entered a plain1  where our     
drivers told us we might expect to be   

attacked by the ,galles2  nor was it    
long before our own eyes convinced us   
that we were in great  danger1 for we   
saw as we went along the dead bodies of 
a caravan who had  been lately          
massacred1 a sight which froze our      
blood1 and filled us with  pity and with
 horror4  ,the same fate was not far    
from overtaking us1 for  a troop of     
,galles1 who were detached in search of 
us1 missed us but an  hour or two4  ,we 
spent the next night in the mountains1  
but when we  should have set out in the 
morning1 were obliged to a fierce       
dispute with  the old ,moor1 who had not
 yet lost his inclination to destroy us2
 he  would have had us taken a road     
which was full of those people we were  
so  much afraid of3 at length finding he
 could not prevail with us1 that we     
charged the goods upon him as belonging 
to the ,emperor1 to whom he should  be  
answerable for the loss of them1 he     
consented1 in a sullen way1 to go  with 
us4    ,the desire of getting out of the

 reach of the ,galles made us press     
forward with great expedition1 and1     
indeed1 fear having entirely  engrossed 
our minds1 we were perhaps less sensible
 of all our labours and  difficulties2  
so violent an apprehension of one danger
 made us look on  many others with      
unconcern2 our pains at last found some 
intermission at  the foot of the        
mountains of ,duan1 the frontier of     
,abyssinia1 which  separates it from the
 country of the ,moors1 through which we
 had  travelled4    ,here we imagined we
 might repose securely1 a felicity we   
had long been  strangers to4  ,here we  
began to rejoice at the conclusion of   
our labours2  the place was cool and    
pleasant1 the water was excellent1 and  
the birds  melodious4  ,some of our     
company went into the wood to divert    
themselves  with hearing the birds and  
frightening the monkeys1 creatures so   
cunning  that they would not stir if a  
man came unarmed1 but would run         
immediately  when they saw a gun4  ,at  

this place our camel drivers left us1 to
 go to  the feast of ,st4 ,michael1     
which the ,a,ethiopians celebrate the   
#afth of  ,june4  ,we persuaded them1   
however1 to leave us their camels and   
four of  their company to take care of  
them4    ,we had not waited many days   
before some messengers came to us with  
an  account that ,father ,baradas1 with 
the ,emperor's nephew1 and many other   
persons of distinction1 waited for us at
 some distance2 we loaded our  camels1  
and following the course of the river1  
came in seven hours to the  place we    
were directed to halt at4  ,father      
,manuel ,baradas and all the  company1  
who had waited for us a considerable    
time on the top of the  mountain1 came  
down when they saw our tents1 and       
congratulated our  arrival4  ,it is not 
easy to express the benevolence and     
tenderness with  which they embraced us1
 and the concern they showed at seeing  
us worn  away with hunger1 labour1 and  
weariness1 our clothes tattered1 and our

  feet bloody4    ,we left this place of
 interview the next day1 and on the     
#bast of ,june  arrived at ,fremone1 the
 residence of the missionaries1 where we
 were  welcomed by great numbers of     
,catholics1 both ,portuguese and        
,abyssins1 who  spared no endeavours to 
make us forget all we had suffered in so
  hazardous a journey1 undertaken with  
no other intention than to conduct  them
 in the way of salvation4               
,,part ,,ii--,a ,,description ,,of      
,,abyssinia      ,,chapter ,i      ,the 
history of ,abyssinia4  ,an account of  
the ,queen of ,sheba1 and of ,queen     
,candace4  ,the conversion of the       
,abyssins4    ,the original of the      
,abyssins1 like that of all other       
nations1 is obscure  and uncertain4     
,the tradition generally received       
derives them from ,cham1  the son of    
,noah1 and they pretend1 however        
improbably1 that from his time  till now
 the legal succession of their kings    
hath never been interrupted1  and that  

the supreme power hath always continued 
in the same family4  ,an  authentic     
genealogy traced up so high could not   
but be extremely curious2  and with good
 reason might the ,emperors of          
,abyssinia boast themselves the  most   
illustrious and ancient family in the   
world4  ,but there are no real  grounds 
for imagining that ,providence has      
vouchsafed them so  distinguishing a    
protection1 and from the wars with which
 this empire  hath been shaken in these 
latter ages we may justly believe that1 
like  all others1 it has suffered its   
revolutions1 and that the history of the
  ,abyssins is corrupted with fables4   
,this empire is known by the name of    
the kingdom of ,prester-,john4  ,for the
 ,portuguese having heard such          
wonderful relations of an ancient and   
famous ,christian state called by  that 
name1 in the ,indies1 imagined it could 
be none but this of ,a,ethiopia4  ,many 
things concurred to make them of this   
opinion3 there was no  ,christian       

kingdom or state in the ,indies of which
 all was true which they  heard of this 
land of ,prester-,john3 and there was   
none in the other parts  of the world   
who was a ,christian separated from the 
,catholic ,church but  what was known1  
except this kingdom of ,a,ethiopia4  ,it
 has therefore  passed for the kingdom  
of ,prester-,john since the time that it
 was  discovered by the ,portuguese in  
the reign of ,king ,john the ,second4   
,the country is properly called         
,abyssinia1 and the people term         
themselves  ,abyssins4  ,their histories
 count a hundred and sixty-two reigns1  
from  ,cham to ,faciladas or ,basilides2
 among which some women are remarkably  
celebrated4  ,one of the most renowned  
is the ,queen of ,sheba1 mentioned in   
,scripture1 whom the natives call       
,nicaula or ,macheda1 and in their      
translation of the gospel1 ,nagista     
,azeb1 which in their language is ,queen
  of the ,south4  ,they still show the  
ruins of a city which appears to have   

been once of note1 as the place where   
she kept her court1 and a village       
which1 from its being the place of her  
birth1 they call the land of ,saba4     
,the ,kings of ,a,ethiopia draw their   
boasted pedigree from ,minilech1 the son
  of this ,queen and ,solomon4  ,the    
other ,queen for whom they retain a     
great  veneration is ,candace1 whom they
 call ,judith1 and indeed if what they  
relate of her could be proved1 there    
never was1 amongst the most  illustrious
 and beneficent sovereigns1 any to whom 
their country was more  indebted1 for it
 is said that she being converted by    
,inda her eunuch1  whom ,st4 ,philip    
baptised1 prevailed with her subjects to
 quit the worship  of idols1 and profess
 the faith of ,jesus ,christ4  ,this    
opinion appears to  me without any      
better foundation than another of the   
conversion of the  ,abyssins to the     
,jewish rites by the ,queen of ,sheba1  
at her return from  the court of        
,solomon4  ,they1 however1 who patronise

 these traditions give  us very specious
 accounts of the zeal and piety of the  
,abyssins at their  first conversion4   
,many1 they say1 abandoned all the      
pleasures and  vanities of life for     
solitude and religious austerities2     
others devoted  themselves to ,god in an
 ecclesiastical life2 they who could not
 do these  set apart their revenues for 
building churches1 endowing chapels1 and
  founding monasteries1 and spent their 
wealth in costly ornaments for the      
churches and vessels for the altars4    
,it is true that this people has a      
natural disposition to goodness2 they   
are very liberal of their alms1  they   
much frequent their churches1 and are   
very studious to adorn them2  they      
practise fasting and other              
mortifications1 and notwithstanding     
their  separation from the ,roman       
,church1 and the corruptions which have 
crept  into their faith1 yet retain in a
 great measure the devout fervour of the
  primitive ,christians4  ,there never  

were greater hopes of uniting this      
people to the ,church of ,rome1 which   
their adherence to the ,eutichian       
heresy has made very difficult1 than in 
the time of ,sultan ,segued1 who  called
 us into his dominions in the year      
#afbe1 from whence we were  expelled in 
#afcd4  ,as ,i have lived a long time in
 this country1 and borne  a share in all
 that has passed1 ,i will present the   
reader with a short  account of what ,i 
have observed1 and of the revolution    
which forced us to  abandon ,a,ethiopia1
 and destroyed all our hopes of         
reuniting this kingdom  with the ,roman 
,church4    ,the empire of ,abyssinia   
hath been one of the largest which      
history gives  us an account of3 it     
extended formerly from the ,red ,sea to 
the kingdom of  ,congo1 and from ,egypt 
to the ,indian ,sea4  ,it is not long   
since it  contained forty provinces2 but
 is now not much bigger than all ,spain1
 and  consists but of five kingdoms and 
six provinces1 of which part is         

entirely subject to the ,emperor1 and   
part only pays him some tribute1 or     
acknowledgment of dependence1 either    
voluntarily or by compulsion4  ,some  of
 these are of very large extent3 the    
kingdoms of ,tigre1 ,bagameder1 and     
,goiama are as big as ,portugal1 or     
bigger2 ,amhara and ,damote are         
something  less4  ,the provinces are    
inhabited by ,moors1 ,pagans1 ,jews1 and
  ,christians3 the last is the reigning 
and established religion4  ,this        
diversity of people and religion is the 
reason that the kingdom in  different   
parts is under different forms of       
government1 and that their  laws and    
customs are extremely various4    ,the  
inhabitants of the kingdom of ,amhara   
are the most civilised and  polite2 and 
next to them the natives of ,tigre1 or  
the true ,abyssins4  ,the  rest1 except 
the ,damotes1 the ,gasates1 and the     
,agaus1 which approach  somewhat nearer 
to civility1 are entirely rude and      
barbarous4  ,among  these nations the   

,galles1 who first alarmed the world in 
#aedb1 have  remarkably distinguished   
themselves by the ravages they have     
committed1  and the terror they have    
raised in this part of ,africa4  ,they  
neither sow  their lands nor improve    
them by any kind of culture2 but1 living
 upon  milk and flesh1 encamp like the  
,arabs without any settled habitation4  
,they practise no rites of worship1     
though they believe that in the  regions
 above there dwells a ,being that       
governs the world3 whether by  this     
,being they mean the sun or the sky is  
not known2 or1 indeed1 whether  they    
have not some conception of the ,god    
that created them4  ,this deity  they   
call in their language ,oul4  ,in other 
matters they are yet more  ignorant1 and
 have some customs so contrary even to  
the laws of nature1  as might almost    
afford reason to doubt whether they are 
endued with  reason4  ,the ,christianity
 professed by the ,abyssins is so       
corrupted with  superstitions1 errors1  

and heresies1 and so mingled with       
ceremonies  borrowed from the ,jews1    
that little besides the name of         
,christianity is  to be found here2 and 
the thorns may be said to have choked   
the grain4  ,this proceeds in a great   
measure from the diversity of religions 
which  are tolerated there1 either by   
negligence or from motives of policy2   
and  the same cause hath produced such  
various revolutions1 revolts1 and civil 
wars within these later ages4  ,for     
those different sects do not easily     
admit of an union with each other1 or a 
quiet subjection to the same  monarch4  
,the ,abyssins cannot properly be said  
to have either cities or  houses2 they  
live either in tents1 or in cottages    
made of straw and clay2  for they very  
rarely build with stone4  ,their        
villages or towns consist  of these     
huts2 yet even of such villages they    
have but few1 because the  grandees1 the
 viceroys1 and the ,emperor himself are 
always in the camp1  that they may be   

prepared1 upon the most sudden summons1 
to go where the  exigence of affairs    
demands their presence4  ,and this      
precaution is no  more than necessary   
for a prince every year engaged either  
in foreign  wars or intestine           
commotions4  ,these towns have each a   
governor1 whom  they call gadare1 over  
whom is the educ1 or lieutenant1 and    
both  accountable to an officer called  
the afamacon1 or mouth of the ,king2    
because he receives the revenues1 which 
he pays into the hands of the           
relatinafala1 or grand master of the    
household3 sometimes the ,emperor       
creates a ratz1 or viceroy1 general over
 all the empire1 who is superior  to all
 his other officers4    ,a,ethiopia     
produces very near the same kinds of    
provisions as ,portugal2  though1 by the
 extreme laziness of the inhabitants1 in
 a much less  quantity3 however1 there  
are some roots1 herbs1 and fruits which 
grow  there much better than in other   
places4  ,what the ancients imagined of 

the torrid zone being uninhabitable is  
so far from being true1 that this       
climate is very temperate3 the heats1   
indeed1 are excessive in ,congo and     
,monomotapa1 but in ,abyssinia they     
enjoy a perpetual spring1 more          
delicious and charming than that in our 
country4  ,the blacks here are not  ugly
 like those of the kingdoms ,i have     
spoken of1 but have better  features1   
and are not without wit and delicacy2   
their apprehension is  quick1 and their 
judgment sound4  ,the heat of the sun1  
however it may  contribute to their     
colour1 is not the only reason of it2   
there is some  peculiarity in the temper
 and constitution of their bodies1 since
 the  same men1 transported into cooler 
climates1 produce children very near as 
black as themselves4    ,they have here 
two harvests in the year1 which is a    
sufficient recompense  for the small    
produce of each2 one harvest they have  
in the winter1 which  lasts through the 
months of ,july1 ,august1 and           

,september1 the other in the  spring2   
their trees are always green1 and it is 
the fault of the  inhabitants that they 
produce so little fruit1 the soil being 
well  adapted to all sorts1 especially  
those that come from the ,indies4  ,they
  have in the greatest plenty raisins1  
peaches1 sour pomegranates1 and         
sugarcanes1 and some figs4  ,most of    
these are ripe about ,lent1 which the   
,abyssins keep with great strictness4   
,after the vegetable products of this   
country1 it seems not improper to       
mention the animals which are found in  
it1 of which here are as great  numbers1
 of as many different species1 as in any
 country in the world3 it  is infested  
with lions of many kinds1 among which   
are many of that which  is called the   
lion royal4  ,i cannot help giving the  
reader on this  occasion a relation of a
 fact which ,i was an eye-witness of4   
,a lion  having taken his haunt near the
 place where ,i lived1 killed all the   
oxen  and cows1 and did a great deal of 

other mischief1 of which ,i heard new   
complaints every day4  ,a servant of    
mine having taken a resolution to  free 
the country from this destroyer1 went   
out one day with two lances1  and after 
he had been some time in quest of him1  
found him with his mouth  all smeared   
with the blood of a cow he had just     
devoured2 the man rushed  upon him1 and 
thrust his lance into his throat with   
such violence that it  came out between 
his shoulders2 the beast1 with one      
dreadful roar1 fell  down into a pit1   
and lay struggling1 till my servant     
despatched him4  ,i  measured the body  
of this lion1 and found him twelve feet 
between the  head and the tail4         
,,chapter ,,ii      ,the animals of     
,abyssinia2 the elephant1 unicorn1 their
 horses and cows2  with a particular    
account of the moroc4    ,there are so  
great numbers of elephants in ,abyssinia
 that in one evening  we met three      
hundred of them in three troops3 as they
 filled up the whole  way1 we were in   

great perplexity a long time what       
measures to take2 at  length1 having    
implored the protection of that         
,providence that  superintends the whole
 creation1 we went forwards through the 
midst of  them without any injury4      
,once we met four young elephants1 and  
an old  one that played with them1      
lifting them up with her trunk2 they    
grew  enraged on a sudden1 and ran upon 
us3 we had no way of securing ourselves 
but by flight1 which1 however1 would    
have been fruitless1 had not our        
pursuers been stopped by a deep ditch4  
,the elephants of ,a,ethiopia are of  so
 stupendous a size1 that when ,i was    
mounted on a large mule ,i could not    
reach with my hand within two spans of  
the top of their backs4  ,in  ,abyssinia
 is likewise found the rhinoceros1 a    
mortal enemy to the  elephant4  ,in the 
province of ,agaus has been seen the    
unicorn1 that beast  so much talked of1 
and so little known3 the prodigious     
swiftness with  which this creature runs

 from one wood into another has given me
 no  opportunity of examining it        
particularly1 yet ,i have had so near a 
sight  of it as to be able to give some 
description of it4  ,the shape is the   
same with that of a beautiful horse1    
exact and nicely proportioned1 of a  bay
 colour1 with a black tail1 which in    
some provinces is long1 in others  very 
short3 some have long manes hanging to  
the ground4  ,they are so  timorous that
 they never feed but surrounded with    
other beasts that  defend them4  ,deer  
and other defenceless animals often herd
 about the  elephant1 which1 contenting 
himself with roots and leaves1 preserves
  those beasts that place themselves1 as
 it were1 under his protection1  from   
the rage and fierceness of others that  
would devour them4    ,the horses of    
,abyssinia are excellent2 their mules1  
oxen1 and cows are  without number1 and 
in these principally consists the wealth
 of this  country4  ,they have a very   
particular custom1 which obliges every  

man  that hath a thousand cows to save  
every year one day's milk of all his    
herd1 and make a bath with it for his   
relations1 entertaining them  afterwards
 with a splendid feast4  ,this they do  
so many days each year1  as they have   
thousands of cattle1 so that to express 
how rich any man is1  they tell you he  
bathes so many times4  ,the tribute paid
 out of their  herds to the ,king1 which
 is not the most inconsiderable of his  
revenues1  is one cow in ten every three
 years4  ,the beeves are of several     
kinds2  one sort they have without      
horns1 which are of no other use than to
 carry  burthens1 and serve instead of  
mules4  ,another twice as big as ours   
which  they breed to kill1 fattening    
them with the milk of three or four     
cows4  ,their horns are so large1 the   
inhabitants use them for pitchers1 and  
each  will hold about five gallons4     
,one of these oxen1 fat and ready to be 
killed1 may be bought at most for two   
crowns4  ,i have purchased five  sheep1 

or five goats with nine kids1 for a     
piece of calico worth about a  crown4   
,the ,abyssins have many sort of fowls  
both wild and tame2 some of the  former 
we are yet unacquainted with3 there is  
one of wonderful beauty1  which ,i have 
seen in no other place except ,peru3 it 
has instead of a  comb1 a short horn    
upon its head1 which is thick and round1
 and open at  the top4  ,the feitan     
favez1 or devil's horse1 looks at a     
distance like a  man dressed in         
feathers2 it walks with abundance of    
majesty1 till it  finds itself pursued1 
and then takes wing1 and flies away4    
,but amongst  all their birds there is  
none more remarkable than the moroc1 or 
honey-  bird1 which is furnished by     
nature with a peculiar instinct or      
faculty of  discovering honey4  ,they   
have here multitudes of bees of various 
kinds2  some are tame1 like ours1 and   
form their combs in hives4  ,of the wild
  ones1 some place their honey in hollow
 trees1 others hide it in holes in  the 

ground1 which they cover so carefully1  
that though they are commonly  in the   
highway1 they are seldom found1 unless  
by the moroc's help1 which1  when he has
 discovered any honey1 repairs          
immediately to the road side1  and when 
he sees a traveller1 sings1 and claps   
his wings1 making many  motions to      
invite him to follow him1 and when he   
perceives him coming1  flies before him 
from tree to tree1 till he comes to the 
place where the  bees have stored their 
treasure1 and then begins to sing       
melodiously4  ,the  ,abyssin takes the  
honey1 without failing to leave part of 
it for the  bird1 to reward him for his 
information4  ,this kind of honey ,i    
have often  tasted1 and do not find that
 it differs from the other sorts in     
anything  but colour2 it is somewhat    
blacker4  ,the great quantity of honey  
that is  gathered1 and a prodigious     
number of cows that is kept here1 have  
often  made me call ,abyssinia a land of
 honey and butter4        ,,chapter     

,,iii      ,the manner of eating in     
,abyssinia1 their dress1 their          
hospitality1 and  traffic4    ,the great
 lords1 and even the ,emperor himself1  
maintain their tables with  no great    
expense4  ,the vessels they make use of 
are black earthenware1  which1 the older
 it is1 they set a greater value on4    
,their way of  dressing their meat1 an  
,european1 till he hath been long       
accustomed to  it1 can hardly be        
persuaded to like2 everything they eat  
smells strong  and swims with butter4   
,they make no use of either linen or    
plates4  ,the  persons of rank never    
touch what they eat1 but have their meat
 cut by  their pages1 and put into their
 mouths4  ,when they feast a friend they
  kill an ox1 and set immediately a     
quarter of him raw upon the table 7for  
their most elegant treat is raw beef    
newly killed7 with pepper and salt2  the
 gall of the ox serves them for oil and 
vinegar2 some1 to heighten the  delicacy
 of the entertainment1 add a kind of    

sauce1 which they call  manta1 made of  
what they take out of the guts of the   
ox2 this they set on  the fire1 with    
butter1 salt1 pepper1 and onion4  ,raw  
beef1 thus relished1  is their nicest   
dish1 and is eaten by them with the same
 appetite and  pleasure as we eat the   
best partridges4  ,they have often done 
me the  favour of helping me to some of 
this sauce1 and ,i had no way to decline
  eating it besides telling them it was 
too good for a missionary4    ,the      
common drink of the ,abyssins is beer   
and mead1 which they drink to  excess   
when they visit one another2 nor can    
there be a greater offence  against good
 manners than to let the guests go away 
sober3 their liquor  is always presented
 by a servant1 who drinks first himself1
 and then  gives the cup to the company1
 in the order of their quality4    ,the 
meaner sort of people here dress        
themselves very plain2 they only  wear  
drawers1 and a thick garment of cotton1 
that covers the rest of  their bodies3  

the people of quality1 especially those 
that frequent the  court1 run into the  
contrary extreme1 and ruin themselves   
with costly  habits4  ,they wear all    
sorts of silks1 and particularly the    
fine velvets  of ,turkey4    ,they love 
bright and glaring colours1 and dress   
themselves much in the  ,turkish manner1
 except that their clothes are wider1   
and their drawers  cover their legs4    
,their robes are always full of gold and
 silver  embroidery4  ,they are most    
exact about their hair1 which is long   
and  twisted1 and their care of it is   
such that they go bare-headed whilst    
they are young for fear of spoiling it1 
but afterwards wear red caps1 and       
sometimes turbans after the ,turkish    
fashion4    ,the ladies' dress is yet   
more magnificent and expensive2 their   
robes are  as large as those of the     
religious1 of the order of ,st4         
,bernard4  ,they  have various ways of  
dressing their heads1 and spare no      
expense in ear-  rings1 necklaces1 or   

anything that may contribute to set them
 off to  advantage4  ,they are not much 
reserved or confined1 and have so much  
liberty in visiting one another that    
their husbands often suffer by it2  but 
for this evil there is no remedy1       
especially when a man marries a         
princess1 or one of the royal family4   
,besides their clothes1 the  ,abyssins  
have no movables or furniture of much   
value1 or doth their  manner of living  
admit of them4    ,one custom of this   
country deserves to be remarked3 when a 
stranger comes  to a village1 or to the 
camp1 the people are obliged to         
entertain him and  his company according
 to his rank4  ,as soon as he enters a  
house 7for  they have no inns in this   
nation71 the master informs his         
neighbours that  he hath a guest2       
immediately they bring in bread and all 
kinds of  provisions2 and there is great
 care taken to provide enough1 because1 
if  the guest complains1 the town is    
obliged to pay double the value of what 

they ought to have furnished4  ,this    
practice is so well established that  a 
stranger goes into a house of one he    
never saw with the same  familiarity and
 assurance of welcome as into that of an
 intimate friend  or near relation2 a   
custom very convenient1 but which gives 
encouragement  to great numbers of      
vagabonds throughout the kingdom4       
,there is no money in ,abyssinia1 except
 in the eastern provinces1 where  they  
have iron coin3 but in the chief        
provinces all commerce is managed  by   
exchange4  ,their chief trade consists  
in provisions1 cows1 sheep1  goats1     
fowls1 pepper1 and gold1 which is       
weighed out to the purchaser1  and      
principally in salt1 which is properly  
the money of this country4    ,when the 
,abyssins are engaged in a law-suit1 the
 two parties make choice  of a judge1   
and plead their own cause before him2   
and if they cannot  agree in their      
choice1 the governor of the place       
appoints them one1 from  whom there lies

 an appeal to the viceroy and to the    
,emperor himself4  ,all  causes are     
determined on the spot2 no writings are 
produced4  ,the judge  sits down on the 
ground in the midst of the high road1   
where all that  please may be present3  
the two persons concerned stand before  
him1 with  their friends about them1 who
 serve as their attorneys4  ,the        
plaintiff  speaks first1 the defendant  
answers him2 each is permitted to rejoin
  three or four times1 then silence is  
commanded1 and the judge takes the      
opinions of those that are about him4   
,if the evidence be deemed  sufficient1 
he pronounces sentence1 which in some   
cases is decisive and  without appeal4  
,he then takes the criminal into custody
 till he hath  made satisfaction2 but if
 it be a crime punishable with death he 
is  delivered over to the prosecutor1   
who may put him to death at his own     
discretion4    ,they have here a        
particular way of punishing adultery2 a 
woman convicted  of that crime is       

condemned to forfeit all her fortune1 is
 turned out of  her husband's house1 in 
a mean dress1 and is forbid ever to     
enter it  again2 she has only a needle  
given her to get her living with4       
,sometimes  her head is shaved1 except  
one lock of hair1 which is left her1 and
 even  that depends on the will of her  
husband1 who has it likewise in his     
choice whether he will receive her again
 or not2 if he resolves never to  admit 
her they are both at liberty to marry   
whom they will4  ,there is  another     
custom amongst them yet more            
extraordinary1 which is1 that the  wife 
is punished whenever the husband proves 
false to the marriage  contract2 this   
punishment indeed extends no farther    
than a pecuniary  mulct1 and what seems 
more equitable1 the husband is obliged  
to pay a sum  of money to his wife4     
,when the husband prosecutes his wife's 
gallant1 if  he can produce any proofs  
of a criminal conversation1 he recovers 
for  damages forty cows1 forty horses1  

and forty suits of clothes1 and the     
same number of other things4  ,if the   
gallant be unable to pay him1 he is     
committed to prison1 and continues there
 during the husband's pleasure1  who1 if
 he sets him at liberty before the whole
 fine be paid1 obliges him  to take an  
oath that he is going to procure the    
rest1 that he may be able  to make full 
satisfaction4  ,then the criminal orders
 meat and drink to be  brought out1 they
 eat and drink together1 he asks a      
formal pardon1 which  is not granted at 
first2 however1 the husband forgives    
first one part of  the debt1 and then   
another1 till at length the whole is    
remitted4    ,a husband that doth not   
like his wife may easily find means to  
make the  marriage void1 and1 what is   
worse1 may dismiss the second wife with 
less  difficulty than he took her1 and  
return to the first2 so that marriages  
in this country are only for a term of  
years1 and last no longer than  both    
parties are pleased with each other1    

which is one instance how far  distant  
these people are from the purity of the 
primitive believers1  which they pretend
 to have preserved with so great        
strictness4  ,the  marriages are in     
short no more than bargains1 made with  
this proviso1  that when any discontent 
shall arise on either side1 they may    
separate1  and marry whom they please1  
each taking back what they brought with 
them4        ,,chapter ,,iv      ,an    
account of the religion of the          
,abyssins4    ,yet though there is a    
great difference between our manners1   
customs1  civil government1 and those of
 the ,abyssins1 there is yet a much     
greater  in points of faith2 for so many
 errors have been introduced and        
ingrafted  into their religion1 by their
 ignorance1 their separation from the   
,catholic ,church1 and their intercourse
 with ,jews1 ,pagans1 and  ,mohammedans1
 that their present religion is nothing 
but a kind of  confused miscellany of   
,jewish and ,mohammedan superstitions1  

with which  they have corrupted those   
remnants of ,christianity which they    
still  retain4    ,they have1 however1  
preserved the belief of our principal   
mysteries2 they  celebrate with a great 
deal of piety the passion of our ,lord2 
they  reverence the cross2 they pay a   
great devotion to the ,blessed ,virgin1 
the  angels1 and the saints2 they       
observe the festivals1 and pay a strict 
regard to the ,sunday4  ,every month    
they commemorate the assumption of the  
,virgin ,mary1 and are of opinion that  
no ,christians beside themselves have  a
 true sense of the greatness of the     
mother of ,god1 or pay her the  honours 
that are due to her4  ,there are some   
tribes amongst them 7for  they are      
distinguished like the ,jews by their   
tribes71 among whom the  crime of       
swearing by the name of the ,virgin is  
punished with forfeiture  of goods and  
even with loss of life2 they are equally
 scrupulous of  swearing by ,st4        
,george4  ,every week they keep a feast 

to the honour of  the apostles and      
angels2 they come to mass with great    
devotion1 and love  to hear the word of 
,god4  ,they receive the sacrament      
often1 but do not  always prepare       
themselves by confession4  ,their       
charity to the poor may  be said to     
exceed the proper bounds that prudence  
ought to set it1 for it  contributes to 
encourage great numbers of beggars1     
which are a great  annoyance to the     
whole kingdom1 and as ,i have often     
said1 afford more  exercise to a        
,christian's patience than his charity2 
for their insolence  is such1 that they 
will refuse what is offered them if it  
be not so much  as they think proper to 
ask4    ,though the ,abyssins have not  
many images1 they have great numbers of 
pictures1 and perhaps pay them somewhat 
too high a degree of worship4  ,the     
severity of their fasts is equal to that
 of the primitive church4  ,in  ,lent   
they never eat till after sunset2 their 
fasts are the more severe  because milk 

and butter are forbidden them1 and no   
reason or necessity  whatsoever can     
procure them a permission to eat meat1  
and their country  affording no fish1   
they live only on roots and pulse4  ,on 
fast-days they  never drink but at their
 meat1 and the priests never communicate
 till  evening1 for fear of profaning   
them4  ,they do not think themselves    
obliged to fast till they have children 
either married or fit to be  married1   
which yet doth not secure them very long
 from these  mortifications1 because    
their youths marry at the age of ten    
years1 and  their girls younger4        
,there is no nation where               
excommunication carries greater terrors 
than  among the ,abyssins1 which puts it
 in the power of the priests to abuse   
this religious temper of the people1 as 
well as the authority they  receive from
 it1 by excommunicating them1 as they   
often do1 for the least  trifle in which
 their interest is concerned4    ,no    
country in the world is so full of      

churches1 monasteries1 and              
ecclesiastics as ,abyssinia2 it is not  
possible to sing in one church or       
monastery without being heard by        
another1 and perhaps by several4  ,they 
sing the psalms of ,david1 of which1 as 
well as the other parts of the  ,holy   
,scriptures1 they have a very exact     
translation in their own  language2 in  
which1 though accounted canonical1 the  
books of the  ,maccabees are omitted4   
,the instruments of music made use of in
 their  rites of worship are little     
drums1 which they hang about their      
necks1 and  beat with both their hands2 
these are carried even by their chief   
men1  and by the gravest of their       
ecclesiastics4  ,they have sticks       
likewise1  with which they strike the   
ground1 accompanying the blow with a    
motion of  their whole bodies4  ,they   
begin their concert by stamping their   
feet on  the ground1 and playing gently 
on their instruments2 but when they have
  heated themselves by degrees1 they    

leave off drumming1 and fall to         
leaping1 dancing1 and clapping their    
hands1 at the same time straining  their
 voices to the utmost pitch1 till at    
length they have no regard  either to   
the tune or the pauses1 and seem rather 
a riotous than a  religious assembly4   
,for this manner of worship they cite   
the psalm of  ,david1 ,o clap your hands
 all ye nations4  ,thus they misapply   
the sacred  writings to defend practices
 yet more corrupt than those ,i have    
been  speaking of4    ,they are         
possessed with a strange notion that    
they are the only true  ,christians in  
the world2 as for us1 they shunned us as
 heretics1 and were  under the greatest 
surprise at hearing us mention the      
,virgin ,mary with  the respect which is
 due to her1 and told us that we could  
not be  entirely barbarians since we    
were acquainted with the mother of ,god4
  ,it  plainly appears that             
prepossessions so strong1 which receive 
more  strength from the ignorance of the

 people1 have very little tendency to   
dispose them to a reunion with the      
,catholic ,church4    ,they have some   
opinions peculiar to themselves about   
purgatory1 the  creation of souls1 and  
some of our mysteries4  ,they repeat    
baptism every  year1 they retain the    
practice of circumcision1 they observe  
the ,sabbath1  they abstain from all    
those sorts of flesh which are forbidden
 by the  law4  ,brothers espouse the    
wives of their brothers1 and to         
conclude1 they  observe a great number  
of ,jewish ceremonies4    ,though they  
know the words which ,jesus ,christ     
appointed to be used in the             
administration of baptism1 they have    
without scruple substituted others  in  
their place1 which makes the validity of
 their baptism1 and the  reality of     
their ,christianity1 very doubtful4     
,they have a few names of  saints1 the  
same with those in the ,roman           
martyrology1 but they often  insert     
others1 as ,zama la ,cota1 the ,life of 

,truth2 ,ongulari1 the  ,evangelist2    
,asca ,georgi1 the ,mouth of ,saint     
,george4    ,to bring back this people  
into the enclosure of the ,catholic     
,church1 from  which they have been     
separated so many ages1 was the sole    
view and  intention with which we       
undertook so long and toilsome a        
journey1 crossed  so many seas1 and     
passed so many deserts1 with the utmost 
hazard of our  lives2 ,i am certain that
 we travelled more than seven thousand  
leagues  before we arrived at our       
residence at ,fremona4    ,we came to   
this place1 anciently called ,maigoga1  
on the #bast of ,june1 as  ,i have said 
before1 and were obliged to continue    
there till ,november1  because the      
winter begins here in ,may1 and its     
greatest rigour is from  the middle of  
,june to the middle of ,september4  ,the
 rains that are almost  continually     
falling in this season make it          
impossible to go far from  home1 for the
 rivers overflow their banks1 and       

therefore1 in a place like  this1 where 
there are neither bridges nor boats1    
are1 if they are not  fordable1 utterly 
impassable4  ,some1 indeed1 have crossed
 them by means  of a cord fastened on   
both sides of the water1 others tie two 
beams  together1 and placing themselves 
upon them1 guide them as well as they   
can1 but this experiment is so dangerous
 that it hath cost many of these  bold  
adventurers their lives4  ,this is not  
all the danger1 for there is  yet more  
to be apprehended from the              
unwholesomeness of the air1 and the     
vapours which arise from the scorched   
earth at the fall of the first  showers1
 than from the torrents and rivers4     
,even they who shelter  themselves in   
houses find great difficulty to avoid   
the diseases that  proceed from the     
noxious qualities of these vapours4     
,from the beginning  of ,june to that of
 ,september it rains more or less every 
day4  ,the  morning is generally fair   
and bright1 but about two hours after   

noon the  sky is clouded1 and           
immediately succeeds a violent storm1   
with thunder  and lightning flashing in 
the most dreadful manner4  ,while this  
lasts1  which is commonly three or four 
hours1 none go out of doors4  ,the      
ploughman upon the first appearance of  
it unyokes his oxen1 and betakes        
himself with them into covert4          
,travellers provide for their security  
in  the neighbouring villages1 or set up
 their tents1 everybody flies to some   
shelter1 as well to avoid the           
unwholesomeness as the violence of the  
rain4  ,the thunder is astonishing1 and 
the lightning often destroys great      
numbers1 a thing ,i can speak of from my
 own experience1 for it once  flashed so
 near me1 that ,i felt an uneasiness on 
that side for a long  time after2 at the
 same time it killed three young        
children1 and having  run round my room 
went out1 and killed a man and woman    
three hundred  paces off4  ,when the    
storm is over the sun shines out as     

before1 and one  would not imagine it   
had rained1 but that the ground appears 
deluged4  ,thus passes the ,abyssinian  
winter1 a dreadful season1 in which the 
whole  kingdom languishes with          
numberless diseases1 an affliction      
which1 however  grievous1 is yet        
equalled by the clouds of grasshoppers1 
which fly in  such numbers from the     
desert1 that the sun is hid and the sky 
darkened2  whenever this plague appears1
 nothing is seen through the whole      
region  but the most ghastly            
consternation1 or heard but the most    
piercing  lamentations1 for wherever    
they fall1 that unhappy place is laid   
waste  and ruined2 they leave not one   
blade of grass1 nor any hopes of a      
harvest4    ,god1 who often makes       
calamities subservient to ,his will1    
permitted this  very affliction to be   
the cause of the conversion of many of  
the natives1  who might have otherwise  
died in their errors2 for part of the   
country  being ruined by the            

grasshoppers that year in which we      
arrived at  ,abyssinia1 many1 who were  
forced to leave their habitations1 and  
seek the  necessaries of life in other  
places1 came to that part of the land   
where  some of our missionaries were    
preaching1 and laid hold on that mercy  
which ,god seemed to have appointed for 
others4    ,as we could not go to court 
before ,november1 we resolved1 that we  
might  not be idle1 to preach and       
instruct the people in the country2 in  
pursuance of this resolution ,i was sent
 to a mountain1 two days' journey       
distant from ,maigoga4  ,the lord or    
governor of the place was a ,catholic1  
and had desired missionaries1 but his   
wife had conceived an implacable        
aversion both from us and the ,roman    
,church1 and almost all the  inhabitants
 of that mountain were infected with the
 same prejudices as  she4  ,they had    
been persuaded that the hosts which we  
consecrated and  gave to the            
communicants were mixed with juices     

strained from the flesh  of a camel1 a  
dog1 a hare1 and a swine2 all creatures 
which the ,abyssins  look upon with     
abhorrence1 believing them unclean1 and 
forbidden to them1  as they were to the 
,jews4  ,we had no way of undeceiving   
them1 and they  fled from us whenever we
 approached4  ,we carried with us our   
tent1 our  chalices1 and ornaments1 and 
all that was necessary for saying mass4 
,the  lord of the village1 who1 like    
other persons of quality throughout     
,a,ethiopia1 lived on the top of a      
mountain1 received us with very great   
civility4  ,all that depended upon him  
had built their huts round about  him2  
so that this place compared with the    
other towns of ,abyssinia seems         
considerable2 as soon as we arrived he  
sent us his compliments1 with a  present
 of a cow1 which1 among them1 is a token
 of high respect4  ,we had  no way of   
returning this favour but by killing the
 cow1 and sending a  quarter smoking1   
with the gall1 which amongst them is    

esteemed the most  delicate part4  ,i   
imagined for some time that the gall of 
animals was  less bitter in this country
 than elsewhere1 but upon tasting it1 ,i
 found  it more2 and yet have frequently
 seen our servants drink large glasses  
of  if with the same pleasure that we   
drink the most delicious wines4    ,we  
chose to begin our mission with the lady
 of the village1 and hoped  that her    
prejudice and obstinacy1 however great1 
would in time yield to  the advice and  
example of her husband1 and that her    
conversion would have  a great influence
 on the whole village1 but having lost  
several days  without being able to     
prevail upon her to hear us on any one  
point1 we  left the place1 and went to  
another mountain1 higher and better     
peopled4  ,when we came to the village  
on the top of it1 where the lord lived1 
we  were surprised with the cries and   
lamentations of men that seemed to      
suffer or apprehend some dreadful       
calamity2 and were told1 upon inquiring 

the cause1 that the inhabitants had been
 persuaded that we were the  devil's    
missionaries1 who came to seduce them   
from the true religion1  that foreseeing
 some of their neighbours would be      
ruined by the  temptation1 they were    
lamenting the misfortune which was      
coming upon  them4  ,when we began to   
apply ourselves to the work of the      
mission we  could not by any means      
persuade any but the lord and the priest
 to  receive us into their houses2 the  
rest were rough and untractable to that 
degree that1 after having converted six1
 we despaired of making any  farther    
progress1 and thought it best to remove 
to other towns where we  might be better
 received4    ,we found1 however1 a more
 unpleasing treatment at the next place1
 and had  certainly ended our lives     
there had we not been protected by the  
governor  and the priest1 who1 though   
not reconciled to the ,roman ,church1   
yet  showed us the utmost civility2 the 
governor informed us of a design        

against our lives1 and advised us not to
 go out after sunset1 and gave us       
guards to protect us from the insults of
 the populace4    ,we made no long stay 
in a place where they stopped their ears
 against the  voice of ,god1 but        
returned to the foot of that mountain   
which we had left  some days before2 we 
were surrounded1 as soon as we began to 
preach1 with  a multitude of auditors1  
who came either in expectation of being 
instructed1 or from a desire of         
gratifying their curiosity1 and ,god    
bestowed such a blessing upon our       
apostolical labours that the whole      
village was converted in a short time4  
,we then removed to another at the      
middle of the mountain1 situated in a   
kind of natural parterre1 or  garden2   
the soil was fruitful1 and the trees    
that shaded it from the  scorching heat 
of the sun gave it an agreeable and     
refreshing coolness4  ,we had here the  
convenience of improving the ardour and 
piety of our new  converts1 and1 at the 

same time1 of leading more into the way 
of the true  religion3 and indeed our   
success exceeded the utmost of our      
hopes2 we had  in a short time great    
numbers whom we thought capable of being
 admitted  to the sacraments of baptism 
and the mass4    ,we erected our tent1  
and placed our altar under some great   
trees1 for the  benefit of the shade2   
and every day before sun-rising my      
companion and ,i  began to catechise and
 instruct these new ,catholics1 and used
 our utmost  endeavours to make them    
abjure their errors4  ,when we were     
weary with  speaking1 we placed in ranks
 those who were sufficiently instructed1
 and  passing through them with great   
vessels of water1 baptised them         
according  to the form prescribed by the
 ,church4  ,as their number was very    
great1 we  cried aloud1 those of this   
rank are named ,peter1 those of that    
rank  ,anthony4  ,and did the same      
amongst the women1 whom we separated    
from the  men4  ,we then confessed them1

 and admitted them to the communion4    
,after  mass we applied ourselves again 
to catechise1 to instruct1 and receive  
the renunciation of their errors1 scarce
 allowing ourselves time to make  a     
scanty meal1 which we never did more    
than once a day4    ,after some time had
 been spent here1 we removed to another 
town not far  distant1 and continued the
 same practice4  ,here ,i was accosted  
one day by  an inhabitant of that place1
 where he had found the people so       
prejudiced  against us1 who desired to  
be admitted to confession4  ,i could not
  forbear asking him some questions     
about those lamentations1 which we      
heard upon our entering into that place4
  ,he confessed with the utmost         
frankness and ingenuity that the priests
 and religious have given  dreadful     
accounts both of us and of the religion 
we preached2 that the  unhappy people   
were taught by them that the curse of   
,god attended us  wheresoever we went2  
that we were always followed by the     

grasshoppers1  that pest of ,abyssinia1 
which carried famine and destruction    
over all the  country2 that he1 seeing  
no grasshoppers following us when we    
passed by  their village1 began to doubt
 of the reality of what the priests had 
so  confidently asserted1 and was now   
convinced that the representation they  
made of us was calumny and imposture4   
,this discourse gave us double          
pleasure1 both as it proved that ,god   
had confuted the accusations of our     
enemies1 and defended us against their  
malice without any efforts of our  own1 
and that the people who had shunned us  
with the strongest  detestation were yet
 lovers of truth1 and came to us on     
their own accord4  ,nothing could be    
more grossly absurd than the reproaches 
which the  ,abyssinian ecclesiastics    
aspersed us and our religion with4      
,they had  taken advantage of the       
calamity that happened the year of our  
arrival3  and the ,abyssins1 with all   
their wit1 did not consider that they   

had  often been distressed by the       
grasshoppers before there came any      
,jesuits  into the country1 and indeed  
before there were any in the world4     
,whilst ,i was in these mountains1 ,i   
went on ,sundays and saints' days       
sometimes to one church and sometimes to
 another4  ,one day ,i went out  with a 
resolution not to go to a certain       
church1 where ,i imagined there  was no 
occasion for me1 but before ,i had gone 
far1 ,i found myself pressed  by a      
secret impulse to return back to that   
same church4  ,i obeyed the  influence1 
and discovered it to proceed from the   
mercy of ,god to three  young children  
who were destitute of all succour1 and  
at the point of  death4  ,i found two   
very quickly in this miserable state2   
the mother had  retired to some distance
 that she might not see them die1 and   
when she  saw me stop1 came and told me 
that they had been obliged by want to   
leave  the town they lived in1 and were 
at length reduced to this dismal        

condition1 that she had been baptised1  
but that the children had not4  ,after  
,i had baptised and relieved them1 ,i   
continued my walk1 reflecting  with     
wonder on the mercy of ,god1 and about  
evening discovered another  infant1     
whose mother1 evidently a ,catholic1    
cried out to me to save her  child1 or  
at least that if ,i could not preserve  
this uncertain and  perishable life1 ,i 
should give it another certain and      
permanent4  ,i sent  my servant to fetch
 water with the utmost expedition1 for  
there was none  near1 and happily       
baptised the child before it expired4   
,soon after this ,i returned to         
,fremona1 and had great hopes of        
accompanying the patriarch to the court2
 but1 when we were almost setting  out1 
received the command of the superior of 
the mission to stay at  ,fremona1 with a
 charge of the house there1 and of all  
the ,catholics that  were dispersed over
 the kingdom of ,tigre1 an employment   
very  ill-proportioned to my abilities4 

,the house at ,fremona has always been  
much regarded even by those emperors who
 persecuted us2 ,sultan ,segued  annexed
 nine large manors to it for ever1 which
 did not make us much more  wealthy1    
because of the expensive hospitality    
which the great conflux of  strangers   
obliged us to4  ,the lands in ,abyssinia
 yield but small  revenues1 unless the  
owners themselves set the value upon    
them1 which we  could not do4    ,the   
manner of letting farms in ,abyssinia   
differs much from that of other         
countries3 the farmer1 when the harvest 
is almost ripe1 invites the chumo  or   
steward1 who is appointed to make an    
estimate of the value of each  year's   
product1 to his house1 entertains him in
 the most agreeable manner  he can2     
makes him a present1 and then takes him 
to see his corn4  ,if the  chumo is     
pleased with the treat and present1 he  
will give him a  declaration or writing 
to witness that his ground1 which       
afforded five or  six sacks of corn1 did

 you yield so many bushels1 and even of 
this it is  the custom to abate         
something2 so that our revenue did not  
increase in  proportion to our lands2   
and we found ourselves often obliged to 
buy  corn1 which1 indeed1 is not dear1  
for in fruitful years forty or fifty    
measures1 weighing each about twenty-two
 pounds1 may be purchased for a  crown4 
,besides the particular charge ,i had of
 the house of ,fremona1 ,i was          
appointed the patriarch's grand-vicar   
through the whole kingdom of ,tigre4  ,i
 thought that to discharge this office  
as ,i ought1 it was incumbent on  me to 
provide necessaries as well for the     
bodies as the souls of the  converted   
,catholics4  ,this labour was much      
increased by the famine which  the      
grasshoppers had brought that year upon 
the country4  ,our house was            
perpetually surrounded by some of those 
unhappy people1 whom want had  compelled
 to abandon their habitations1 and whose
 pale cheeks and meagre  bodies were    

undeniable proofs of their misery and   
distress4  ,all the  relief ,i could    
possibly afford them could not prevent  
the death of such  numbers that their   
bodies filled the highways2 and to      
increase our  affliction1 the wolves    
having devoured the carcases1 and       
finding no other  food1 fell upon the   
living2 their natural fierceness being  
so increased  by hunger1 that they      
dragged the children out of the very    
houses4  ,i saw  myself a troop of      
wolves tear a child of six years old in 
pieces before ,i  or any one else could 
come to its assistance4    ,while ,i was
 entirely taken up with the duties of my
 ministry1 the viceroy  of ,tigre       
received the commands of the ,emperor to
 search for the bones of  ,don          
,christopher de ,gama4  ,on this        
occasion it may not be thought          
impertinent to give some account of the 
life and death of this brave and  holy  
,portuguese1 who1 after having been     
successful in many battles1 fell  at    

last into the hands of the ,moors1 and  
completed that illustrious life  by a   
glorious martyrdom4        ,,chapter ,v 
,the adventures of the ,portuguese1 and 
the actions of ,don ,christopher de     
,gama in ,a,ethiopia4    ,about the     
beginning of the sixteenth century arose
 a ,moor near the ,cape  of ,gardafui1  
who1 by the assistance of the forces    
sent him from ,moca by  the ,arabs and  
,turks1 conquered almost all ,abyssinia1
 and founded the  kingdom of ,adel4  ,he
 was called ,mahomet ,gragne1 or the    
,lame4  ,when he had  ravaged           
,a,ethiopia fourteen years1 and was     
master of the greatest part of  it1 the 
,emperor ,david sent to implore succour 
of the ,king of ,portugal1  with a      
promise that when those dominions were  
recovered which had been  taken from    
him1 he would entirely submit himself to
 the ,pope1 and resign  the third part  
of his territories to the ,portuguese4  
,after many delays1  occasioned by the  
great distance between ,portugal and    

,abyssinia1 and some  unsuccessful      
attempts1 ,king ,john the ,third1 having
 made ,don ,stephen de  ,gama1 son of   
the celebrated ,don ,vasco de ,gama1    
viceroy of the ,indies1  gave him orders
 to enter the ,red ,sea in pursuit of   
the ,turkish galleys1  and to fall upon 
them wherever he found them1 even in the
 ,port of ,suez4  ,the viceroy1 in      
obedience to the king's commands1       
equipped a powerful  fleet1 went on     
board himself1 and cruised about the    
coast without being  able to discover   
the ,turkish vessels4  ,enraged to find 
that with this  great preparation he    
should be able to effect nothing1 he    
landed at ,mazna  four hundred          
,portuguese1 under the command of ,don  
,christopher de ,gama1  his brother4    
,he was soon joined by some ,abyssins1  
who had not yet forgot  their allegiance
 to their sovereign2 and in his march up
 the country was  met by the ,empress   
,helena1 who received him as her        
deliverer4  ,at first  nothing was able 

to stand before the valour of the       
,portuguese1 the ,moors  were driven    
from one mountain to another1 and were  
dislodged even from  those places1 which
 it seemed almost impossible to         
approach1 even  unmolested by the       
opposition of an enemy4    ,these       
successes seemed to promise a more happy
 event than that which  followed them4  
,it was now winter1 a season in which1  
as the reader hath  been already        
informed1 it is almost impossible to    
travel in ,a,ethiopia4  ,the ,portuguese
 unadvisedly engaged themselves in an   
enterprise1 to march  through the whole 
country1 in order to join the ,emperor1 
who was then in  the most remote part of
 his dominions4  ,mahomet1 who was in   
possession of  the mountains1 being     
informed by his spies that the          
,portuguese were but  four hundred1     
encamped in the plain of ,ballut1 and   
sent a message to the  general that he  
knew the ,abyssins had imposed on the   
,king of ,portugal1  which1 being       

acquainted with their treachery1 he was 
not surprised at1  and that in          
compassion of the commander's youth1 he 
would give him and  his men1 if they    
would return1 free passage1 and furnish 
them with  necessaries2 that he might   
consult upon the matter1 and depend upon
 his  word1 reminding him1 however1 that
 it was not safe to refuse his offer4   
,the general presented the ambassador   
with a rich robe1 and returned this     
gallant answer3 ,that he and his        
fellow-soldiers were come with an       
intention to drive ,mahomet out of these
 countries1 which he had  wrongfully    
usurped2 that his present design was1   
instead of returning  back the way he   
came1 as ,mahomet advised1 to open      
himself a passage  through the country  
of his enemies2 that ,mahomet should    
rather think of  determining whether he 
would fight or yield up his ill-gotten  
territories1 than of prescribing        
measures to him2 that he put his whole  
confidence in the omnipotence of ,god   

and the justice of his cause1 and  that 
to show how just a sense he had of      
,mahomet's kindness1 he took the        
liberty of presenting him with a        
looking-glass and a pair of pincers4    
,this answer1 and the present1 so       
provoked ,mahomet1 who was at dinner    
when  he received it1 that he rose from 
table immediately to march against the  
,portuguese1 imagining he should meet   
with no resistance2 and indeed1 any     
man1 however brave1 would have been of  
the same opinion2 for his forces        
consisted of fifteen thousand foot1     
beside a numerous body of cavalry1  and 
the ,portuguese commander had but three 
hundred and fifty men1 having  lost     
eight in attacking some passes1 and left
 forty at ,mazma1 to maintain  an open  
intercourse with the viceroy of the     
,indies4  ,this little troop of  our    
countrymen were upon the declivity of a 
hill near a wood2 above them  stood the 
,abyssins1 who resolved to remain quiet 
spectators of the  battle1 and to       

declare themselves on that side which   
should be favoured  with victory4       
,mahomet began the attack with only ten 
horsemen1 against whom as many          
,portuguese were detached1 who fired    
with so much exactness1 that nine of    
the ,moors fell1 and the tenth with     
great difficulty made his escape4  ,this
  omen of good fortune gave the soldiers
 great encouragement2 the action  grew  
hot1 and they came at length to a       
general battle2 but the ,moors1         
dismayed by the advantages our men had  
obtained at first1 were half  defeated  
before the fight4  ,the great fire of   
our muskets and artillery  broke them   
immediately4  ,mahomet preserved his own
 life not without  difficulty1 but did  
not lose his capacity with the battle3  
he had still a  great number of troops  
remaining1 which he rallied1 and        
entrenched  himself at ,membret1 a place
 naturally strong1 with an intention to 
pass  the winter there1 and wait for    
succours4    ,the ,portuguese1 who were 

more desirous of glory than wealth1 did 
not  encumber themselves with plunder1  
but with the utmost expedition pursued  
their enemies1 in hopes of cutting them 
entirely off4  ,this expectation  was   
too sanguine3 they found them encamped  
in a place naturally almost             
inaccessible1 and so well fortified1    
that it would be no less than  extreme  
rashness to attack them4  ,they         
therefore entrenched themselves on  a   
hill over against the enemy's camp1 and 
though victorious1 were under  great    
disadvantages4  ,they saw new troops    
arrive every day at the enemy's  camp1  
and their small number grew less        
continually2 their friends at  ,mazna   
could not join them2 they knew not how  
to procure provisions1 and  could put no
 confidence in the ,abyssins2 yet       
recollecting the great  things achieved 
by their countrymen1 and depending on   
the ,divine  protection1 they made no   
doubt of surmounting all difficulties4  
,mahomet on his part was not idle2 he   

solicited the assistance of the         
,mahometan princes1 pressed them with   
all the motives of religion1 and        
obtained a reinforcement of two thousand
 musketeers from the ,arabs1 and a      
train of artillery from the ,turks4     
,animated with these succours1 he       
marched out of his trenches to enter    
those of the ,portuguese1 who  received 
him with the utmost bravery1 destroyed  
prodigious numbers of his  men1 and made
 many sallies with great vigour1 but    
losing every day some  of their small   
troops1 and most of their officers being
 killed1 it was  easy to surround and   
force them4    ,their general had       
already one arm broken1 and his knee    
shattered with a  musket-shot1 which    
made him unable to repair to all those  
places where  his presence was necessary
 to animate his soldiers4  ,valour was  
at length  forced to submit to          
superiority of numbers2 the enemy       
entered the camp  and put all to the    
sword4  ,the general with ten more      

escaped the  slaughter1 and by means of 
their horses retreated to a wood1 where 
they  were soon discovered by a         
detachment sent in search of them1 and  
brought  to ,mahomet1 who was overjoyed 
to see his most formidable enemy in his 
power1 and ordered him to take care of  
his uncle and nephew1 who were  wounded1
 telling him he should answer for their 
lives2 and1 upon their  death1 taxed him
 with hastening it4  ,the brave         
,portuguese made no  excuses1 but told  
him he came thither to destroy          
,mahometans1 and not to  save them4     
,mahomet1 enraged at this language1     
ordered a stone to be put  on his head1 
and exposed this great man to the       
insults and reproaches of  the whole    
army4  ,after this they inflicted       
various kinds of tortures on  him1 which
 he endured with incredible resolution1 
and without uttering  the least         
complaint1 praising the mercy of ,god   
who had ordained him to  suffer in such 
a cause4    ,mahomet1 at last satisfied 

with cruelty1 made an offer of sending  
him to  the viceroy of the ,indies1 if  
he would turn ,mussulman4  ,the hero    
took  fire at this proposal1 and        
answered with the highest indignation   
that  nothing should make him forsake   
his heavenly ,master to follow an       
impostor1 and continued in the severest 
terms to vilify their false  prophet1   
till ,mahomet struck off his head4      
,nor did the resentment of ,mahomet end 
here2 he divided his body into          
quarters1 and sent them to different    
places4  ,the ,catholics gathered the   
remains of this glorious martyr1 and    
interred them4  ,every ,moor that       
passed by threw a stone upon his grave1 
and raised in time such a heap1  as ,i  
found it difficult to remove when ,i    
went in search of those precious        
relics4    ,what ,i have here related of
 the death of ,don ,christopher de ,gama
 ,i was  told by an old man1 who was an 
eye-witness of it3 and there is a       
tradition in the country that in the    

place where his head fell1 a  fountain  
sprung up of wonderful virtue1 which    
cured many diseases  otherwise past     
remedy4        ,,chapter ,,vi           
,mahomet continues the war1 and is      
killed4  ,the stratagem of ,peter ,leon4
    ,mahomet1 that he might make the    
best use of his victory1 ranged over a  
great part of ,abyssinia in search of   
the ,emperor ,claudius1 who was then  in
 the kingdom of ,dambia4  ,all places   
submitted to the ,mahometan1 whose      
insolence increased every day with his  
power2 and nothing after the  defeat of 
the ,portuguese was supposed able to put
 a stop to the progress  of his arms4   
,the soldiers of ,portugal1 having lost 
their chief1 resorted to the  ,emperor1 
who1 though young1 promised great       
things1 and told them that  since their 
own general was dead1 they would accept 
of none but himself4  ,he received them 
with great kindness1 and hearing of ,don
 ,christopher de  ,gama's misfortune1   
could not forbear honouring with some   

tears the memory  of a man who had come 
so far to his succour1 and lost his life
 in his  cause4    ,the ,portuguese1    
resolved at any rate to revenge the fate
 of their  general1 desired the ,emperor
 to assign them the post opposite to    
,mahomet1  which was willingly granted  
them4  ,that ,king1 flushed with his    
victories1  and imagining to fight was  
undoubtedly to conquer1 sought all      
occasions  of giving the ,abyssins      
battle4  ,the ,portuguese1 who desired  
nothing more  than to re-establish their
 reputation by revenging the affront put
 upon  them by the late defeat1 advised 
the ,emperor to lay hold on the first   
opportunity of fighting4  ,both parties 
joined battle with equal fury4  ,the    
,portuguese directed all their force    
against that part where ,mahomet was    
posted4  ,peter ,leon1 who had been     
servant to the general1 singled the     
,king out among the crowd1 and shot him 
into the head with his musket4          
,mahomet1 finding himself wounded1 would

 have retired out of the battle1  and   
was followed by ,peter ,leon1 till he   
fell down dead2 the ,portuguese1        
alighting from his horse1 cut off one of
 his ears4  ,the ,moors being now       
without a leader1 continued the fight   
but a little time1 and at length  fled  
different ways in the utmost disorder2  
the ,abyssinians pursued them1  and made
 a prodigious slaughter4  ,one of them1 
seeing the ,king's body on  the ground1 
cut off his head and presented it to the
 ,emperor4  ,the sight  of it filled the
 whole camp with acclamations2 every one
 applauded the  valour and good fortune 
of the ,abyssin1 and no reward was      
thought great  enough for so important a
 service4  ,peter ,leon1 having stood by
 some  time1 asked whether the ,king had
 but one ear8 if he had two1 says he1 it
  seems likely that the man who killed  
him cut off one and keeps it as a  proof
 of his exploit4  ,the ,abyssin stood   
confused1 and the ,portuguese  produced 
the ear out of his pocket4  ,every one  

commended the stratagem2  and the       
,emperor commanded the ,abyssin to      
restore all the presents he had         
received1 and delivered them with many  
more to ,peter ,leon4    ,i imagined the
 reader would not be displeased to be   
informed who this man  was1 whose       
precious remains were searched for by a 
viceroy of ,tigre1 at  the command of   
the ,emperor himself4  ,the commission  
was directed to me1  nor did ,i ever    
receive one that was more welcome on    
many accounts4  ,i had  contracted an   
intimate friendship with the ,count de  
,vidigueira1 viceroy  of the ,indies1   
and had been desired by him1 when ,i    
took my leave of him1  upon going to    
,melinda1 to inform myself where his    
relation was buried1  and to send him   
some of his relics4    ,the viceroy1    
son-in-law to the ,emperor1 with whom ,i
 was joined in the  commission1 gave me 
many distinguishing proofs of his       
affection to me1  and of his zeal for   
the ,catholic religion4  ,it was a      

journey of fifteen  days through part of
 the country possessed by the ,galles1  
which made it  necessary to take troops 
with us for our security2 yet1          
notwithstanding  this precaution1 the   
hazard of the expedition appeared so    
great1 that our  friends bid us farewell
 with tears1 and looked upon us as      
destined to  unavoidable destruction4   
,the viceroy had given orders to some   
troops to  join us on the road1 so that 
our little army grew stronger as we     
advanced4  ,there is no making long     
marches in this country2 an army here   
is a great city well peopled and under  
exact government3 they take their  wives
 and children with them1 and the camp   
hath its streets1 its market  places1   
its churches1 courts of justice1 judges1
 and civil officers4    ,before they set
 forward1 they advertise the governors  
of provinces  through which they are to 
pass1 that they may take care to furnish
 what  is necessary for the subsistence 
of the troops4  ,these governors give   

notice to the adjacent places that the  
army is to march that way on such  a    
day1 and that they are assessed such a  
quantity of bread1 beer1 and  cows4     
,the peasants are very exact in         
supplying their quota1 being  obliged to
 pay double the value in case of        
failure2 and very often when  they have 
produced their full share1 they are told
 that they have been  deficient1 and    
condemned to buy their peace with a     
large fine4    ,when the providore has  
received these contributions1 he divides
 them  according to the number of       
persons1 and the want they are in3 the  
proportion they observe in this         
distribution is twenty pots of beer1 ten
  of mead1 and one cow to a hundred     
loaves4  ,the chief officers and persons
  of note carry their own provisions    
with them1 which ,i did too1 though ,i  
afterwards found the precaution         
unnecessary1 for ,i had often two or    
three  cows more than ,i wanted1 which  
,i bestowed on those whose allowance    

fell  short4    ,the ,abyssins are not  
only obliged to maintain the troops in  
their march1  but to repair the roads1  
to clear them1 especially in the        
forests1 of  brambles and thorns1 and by
 all means possible to facilitate the   
passage  of the army4  ,they are1 by    
long custom1 extremely ready at         
encamping4  ,as  soon as they come to a 
place they think convenient to halt at1 
the  officer that commands the vanguard 
marks out with his pike the place for   
the ,king's or viceroy's tent3 every one
 knows his rank1 and how much  ground he
 shall take up2 so the camp is formed in
 an instant4        ,,chapter ,,vii     
,they discover the relics4  ,their      
apprehension of the ,galles4  ,the      
author  converts a criminal1 and        
procures his pardon4    ,we took with us
 an old ,moor1 so enfeebled with age    
that they were forced  to carry him3 he 
had seen1 as ,i have said1 the          
sufferings and death of  ,don           
,christopher de ,gama2 and a ,christian1

 who had often heard all those  passages
 related to his father1 and knew the    
place where the uncle and  nephew of    
,mahomet were buried1 and where they    
interred one quarter of the  ,portuguese
 martyr4  ,we often examined these two  
men1 and always apart2  they agreed in  
every circumstance of their relations1  
and confirmed us in  our belief of them 
by leading us to the place where we took
 up the uncle  and nephew of ,mahomet1  
as they had described4  ,with no small  
labour we  removed the heap of stones   
which the ,moors1 according to their    
custom1  had thrown upon the body1 and  
discovered the treasure we came in      
search  of4  ,not many paces off was the
 fountain where they had thrown his     
head1  with a dead dog1 to raise a      
greater aversion in the ,moors4  ,i     
gathered  the teeth and the lower jaw4  
,no words can express the ecstasies ,i  
was  transported with at seeing the     
relics of so great a man1 and reflecting
  that it had pleased ,god to make me   

the instrument of their preservation1   
so that one day1 if our holy father the 
,pope shall be so pleased1 they  may    
receive the veneration of the faithful4 
,all burst into tears at the  sight4    
,we indulged a melancholy pleasure in   
reflecting what that great  man had     
achieved for the deliverance of         
,abyssinia1 from the yoke and  tyranny  
of the ,moors2 the voyages he had       
undertaken2 the battles he had  fought2 
the victories he had won2 and the cruel 
and tragical death he had  suffered4    
,our first moments were so entirely     
taken up with these  reflections that we
 were incapable of considering the      
danger we were in  of being immediately 
surrounded by the ,galles2 but as soon  
as we awoke to  that thought1 we        
contrived to retreat as fast as we      
could4  ,our  expedition1 however1 was  
not so great but we saw them on the top 
of a  mountain ready to pour down upon  
us4  ,the viceroy attended us closely   
with his little army1 but had been      

probably not much more secure than we1  
his force consisting only of foot1 and  
the ,galles entirely of horse1 a        
service at which they are very expert4  
,our apprehensions at last proved  to be
 needless1 for the troops we saw were of
 a nation at that time in  alliance with
 the ,abyssins4    ,not caring1 after   
this alarm1 to stay longer here1 we set 
out on our  march back1 and in our      
return passed through a village where   
two men1 who  had murdered a domestic of
 the viceroy1 lay under an arrest4  ,as 
they had  been taken in the fact1 the   
law of the country allowed that they    
might  have been executed the same hour1
 but the viceroy having ordered that    
their death should be deferred till his 
return1 delivered them to the  relations
 of the dead1 to be disposed of as they 
should think proper4  ,they made great  
rejoicings all the night1 on account of 
having it in  their power to revenge    
their relation2 and the unhappy         
criminals had the  mortification of     

standing by to behold this jollity1 and 
the preparations  made for their        
execution4    ,the ,abyssins have three 
different ways of putting a criminal to 
death3  one way is to bury him to the   
neck1 to lay a heap of brambles upon his
  head1 and to cover the whole with a   
great stone2 another is to beat him  to 
death with cudgels2 a third1 and the    
most usual1 is to stab him with  their  
lances4  ,the nearest relation gives the
 first thrust1 and is  followed by all  
the rest according to their degrees of  
kindred2 and they  to whom it does not  
happen to strike while the offender is  
alive1 dip the  points of their lances  
in his blood to show that they partake  
in the  revenge4  ,it frequently happens
 that the relations of the criminal are 
for taking the like vengeance for his   
death1 and sometimes pursue this        
resolution so far that all those who had
 any share in the prosecution  lose     
their lives4    ,i being informed that  
these two men were to die1 wrote to the 

viceroy for  his permission to exhort   
them1 before they entered into eternity1
 to  unite themselves to the ,church4   
,my request being granted1 ,i applied   
myself to the men1 and found one of them
 so obstinate that he would not  even   
afford me a hearing1 and died in his    
error4  ,the other ,i found more        
flexible1 and wrought upon him so far   
that he came to my tent to be           
instructed4  ,after my care of his      
eternal welfare had met with such       
success1 ,i could not forbear attempting
 something for his temporal1 and  by my 
endeavours matters were so accommodated 
that the relations were  willing to     
grant his life on condition he paid a   
certain number of cows1  or the value4  
,their first demand was of a thousand2  
he offered them  five2 they at last were
 satisfied with twelve1 provided they   
were paid  upon the spot4  ,the         
,abyssins are extremely charitable1 and 
the women1 on  such occasions1 will give
 even their necklaces and pendants1 so  

that1  with what ,i gave myself1 ,i     
collected in the camp enough to pay the 
fine1  and all parties were content4    
,,chapter ,,viii      ,the viceroy is   
offended by his wife4  ,he complains to 
the ,emperor1 but  without redress4  ,he
 meditates a revolt1 raises an army1 and
 makes an  attempt to seize upon the    
author4    ,we continued our march1 and 
the viceroy having been advertised that 
some  troops had appeared in a hostile  
manner on the frontiers1 went against   
them4  ,i parted from him1 and arrived  
at ,fremona1 where the ,portuguese      
expected me with great impatience4  ,i  
reposited the bones of ,don             
,christopher de ,gama in a decent place1
 and sent them the ,may following to    
the viceroy of the ,indies1 together    
with his arms1 which had been  presented
 me by a gentleman of ,abyssinia1 and a 
picture of the ,virgin  ,mary1 which    
that gallant ,portuguese always carried 
about him4    ,the viceroy1 during all  
the time he was engaged in this         

expedition1 heard  very provoking       
accounts of the bad conduct of his wife1
 and complained of  it to the ,emperor1 
entreating him either to punish his     
daughter himself1  or to permit him to  
deliver her over to justice1 that1 if   
she was falsely  accused1 she might have
 an opportunity of putting her own      
honour and her  husband's out of        
dispute4  ,the ,emperor took little     
notice of his son-in-  law's            
remonstrances2 and1 the truth is1 the   
viceroy was somewhat more  nice in that 
matter than the people of rank in this  
country generally  are4  ,there are     
laws1 it is true1 against adultery1 but 
they seem to have  been only for the    
meaner people1 and the women of quality1
 especially the  ouzoros1 or ladies of  
the blood royal1 are so much above them1
 that their  husbands have not even the 
liberty of complaining2 and certainly to
  support injuries of this kind without 
complaining requires a degree of        
patience which few men can boast of4    

,the viceroy's virtue was not proof     
against this temptation4  ,he fell into 
a deep melancholy1 and resolved to  be  
revenged on his father-in-law4  ,he knew
 the present temper of the  people1 that
 those of the greatest interest and     
power were by no means  pleased with the
 changes of religion1 and only waited   
for a fair  opportunity to revolt2 and  
that these discontents were everywhere  
heightened by the monks and clergy4     
,encouraged by these reflections1 he    
was always talking of the just reasons  
he had to complain of the ,emperor1  and
 gave them sufficient room to understand
 that if they would appear in  his      
party1 he would declare himself for the 
ancient religion1 and put  himself at   
the head of those who should take arms  
in the defence of it4  ,the chief and   
almost the only thing that hindered him 
from raising a  formidable rebellion1   
was the mutual distrust they entertained
 of one  another1 each fearing that as  
soon as the ,emperor should publish an  

act  of grace1 or general amnesty1 the  
greatest part would lay down their arms 
and embrace it2 and this suspicion was  
imagined more reasonable of the  viceroy
 than of any other4  ,notwithstanding   
this difficulty1 the priests1  who      
interested themselves much in this      
revolt1 ran with the utmost  earnestness
 from church to church1 levelling their 
sermons against the  ,emperor and the   
,catholic religion2 and that they might 
have the better  success in putting a   
stop to all ecclesiastical innovations1 
they came to  a resolution of putting   
all the missionaries to the sword2 and  
that the  viceroy might have no room to 
hope for a pardon1 they obliged him to  
give  the first wound to him that should
 fall into his hands4    ,as ,i was the 
nearest1 and by consequence the most    
exposed1 an order was  immediately      
issued out for apprehending me1 it being
 thought a good  expedient to seize me1 
and force me to build a citadel1 into   
which they  might retreat if they should

 happen to meet with a defeat4  ,the    
viceroy  wrote to me to desire that ,i  
would come to him1 he having1 as he     
said1 an  affair of the highest         
importance to communicate4    ,the      
frequent assemblies which the viceroy   
held had already been much  talked of2  
and ,i had received advice that he was  
ready for a revolt1 and  that my death  
was to be the first signal of an open   
war4  ,knowing that  the viceroy had    
made many complaints of the treatment he
 received from  his father-in-law1 ,i   
made no doubt that he had some ill      
design in hand2  and yet could scarce   
persuade myself that after all the      
tokens of  friendship ,i had received   
from him he would enter into any        
measures for  destroying me4  ,while ,i 
was yet in suspense1 ,i despatched a    
faithful  servant to the viceroy with my
 excuse for disobeying him2 and gave the
  messenger strict orders to observe all
 that passed1 and bring me an exact     
account4    ,this affair was of too     

great moment not to engage my utmost    
endeavours to  arrive at the most       
certain knowledge of it1 and to         
advertise the court of  the danger4  ,i 
wrote1 therefore1 to one of our fathers1
 who was then near  the ,emperor1 the   
best intelligence ,i could obtain of all
 that had passed1  of the reports that  
were spread through all this part of the
 empire1 and  of the disposition which  
,i discovered in the people to a general
  defection2 telling him1 however1 that 
,i could not yet believe that the       
viceroy1 who had honoured me with his   
friendship1 and of whom ,i never had    
any thought but how to oblige him1 could
 now have so far changed his  sentiments
 as to take away my life4    ,the       
letters which ,i received by my servant1
 and the assurances he gave  that ,i    
need fear nothing1 for that ,i was never
 mentioned by the viceroy  without great
 marks of esteem1 so far confirmed me in
 my error1 that ,i  went from ,fremona  
with a resolution to see him4  ,i did   

not reflect that a  man who could fail  
in his duty to his ,king1 his           
father-in-law1 and his  benefactor1     
might1 without scruple1 do the same to a
 stranger1 though  distinguished as his 
friend2 and thus sanguine and           
unsuspecting continued  my journey1     
still receiving intimation from all     
parts to take care of  myself4  ,at     
length1 when ,i was within a few days'  
journey of the viceroy1  ,i received a  
billet in more plain and express terms  
than anything ,i had  been told yet1    
charging me with extreme imprudence in  
putting myself into  the hands of those 
men who had undoubtedly sworn to cut me 
off4    ,i began1 upon this1 to distrust
 the sincerity of the viceroy's         
professions1 and resolved1 upon the     
receipt of another letter from the      
viceroy1 to return directly4  ,in this  
letter1 having excused himself for  not 
waiting for my arrival1 he desired me in
 terms very strong and  pressing to come
 forward1 and stay for him at his own   

house1 assuring me  that he had given   
such orders for my entertainment as     
should prevent my  being tired with     
living there4  ,i imagined at first that
 he had left some  servants to provide  
for my reception1 but being advertised  
at the same  time that there was no     
longer any doubt of the certainty of his
 revolt1  that the ,galles were engaged 
to come to his assistance1 and that he  
was  gone to sign a treaty with them1 ,i
 was no longer in suspense what         
measures to take1 but returned to       
,fremona4    ,here ,i found a letter    
from the ,emperor1 which prohibited me  
to go out1  and the orders which he had 
sent through all these parts1 directing 
them  to arrest me wherever ,i was      
found1 and to hinder me from proceeding 
on my  journey4  ,these orders came too 
late to contribute to my preservation1  
and this prince's goodness had been in  
vain1 if ,god1 whose protection ,i  have
 often had experience of in my travels1 
had not been my conductor in  this      

emergency4    ,the viceroy1 hearing that
 ,i was returned to my residence1 did   
not  discover any concern or chagrin as 
at a disappointment1 for such was his   
privacy and dissimulation that the most 
penetrating could never form any        
conjecture that could be depended on1   
about his designs1 till everything  was 
ready for the execution of them4  ,my   
servant1 a man of wit1 was  surprised as
 well as everybody else2 and ,i can     
ascribe to nothing but a  miracle my    
escape from so many snares as he laid to
 entrap me4    ,there happened during   
this perplexity of my affairs an        
accident of small  consequence in       
itself1 which yet ,i think deserves to  
be mentioned1 as it  shows the credulity
 and ignorance of the ,abyssins4  ,i    
received a visit  from a religious1 who 
passed1 though he was blind1 for the    
most learned  person in all that        
country4  ,he had the whole ,scriptures 
in his memory1  but seemed to have been 
at more pains to retain them than       

understand  them2 as he talked much he  
often took occasion to quote them1 and  
did it  almost always improperly4       
,having invited him to sup and pass the 
night  with me1 ,i set before him some  
excellent mead1 which he liked so well  
as  to drink somewhat beyond the bounds 
of exact temperance4  ,next day1 to     
make some return for his entertainment1 
he took upon him to divert me  with some
 of those stories which the monks amuse 
simple people with1 and  told me of a   
devil that haunted a fountain1 and used 
to make it his  employment to plague the
 monks that came thither to fetch water1
 and  continued his malice till he was  
converted by the founder of their order1
  who found him no very stubborn        
proselyte till they came to the point of
  circumcision2 the devil was unhappily 
prepossessed with a strong aversion     
from being circumcised1 which1 however1 
by much persuasion1 he at last  agreed  
to1 and afterwards taking a religious   
habit1 died ten years after  with great 

signs of sanctity4  ,he added another   
history of a famous  ,abyssinian monk1  
who killed a devil two hundred feet     
high1 and only four  feet thick1 that   
ravaged all the country2 the peasants   
had a great desire  to throw the dead   
carcase from the top of a rock1 but     
could not with all  their force remove  
it from the place1 but the monk drew it 
after him with  all imaginable ease and 
pushed it down4  ,this story was        
followed by  another1 of a young devil  
that became a religious of the famous   
monastery  of ,aba ,gatima4  ,the good  
father would have favoured me with more 
relations of the same kind1 if ,i had   
been in the humour to have heard  them1 
but1 interrupting him1 ,i told him that 
all these relations  confirmed what we  
had found by experience1 that the monks 
of ,abyssinia  were no improper company 
for the devil4        ,,chapter ,,ix    
,the viceroy is defeated and hanged4    
,the author narrowly escapes being      
poisoned4    ,i did not stay long at    

,fremona1 but left that town and the    
province of  ,tigre1 and soon found that
 ,i was very happy in that resolution1  
for  scarce had ,i left the place before
 the viceroy came in person to put me   
to death1 who1 not finding me1 as he    
expected1 resolved to turn all his      
vengeance against the father ,gaspard   
,paes1 a venerable man1 who was grown   
grey in the missions of ,a,ethiopia1 and
 five other missionaries newly  arrived 
from the ,indies2 his design was to kill
 them all at one time  without suffering
 any to escape2 he therefore sent for   
them all1 but one  happily being sick1  
another stayed to attend him2 to this   
they owed their  lives1 for the viceroy1
 finding but four of them1 sent them    
back1 telling  them he would see them   
all together4  ,the fathers1 having been
 already  told of his revolt1 and of the
 pretences he made use of to give it    
credit1 made no question of his intent  
to massacre them1 and contrived  their  
escape so that they got safely out of   

his power4    ,the viceroy1 disappointed
 in his scheme1 vented all his rage upon
 ,father  ,james1 whom the patriarch had
 given him as his confessor2 the good   
man  was carried1 bound hand and foot1  
into the middle of the camp2 the        
viceroy gave the first stab in the      
throat1 and all the rest struck him     
with their lances1 and dipped their     
weapons in his blood1 promising each    
other that they would never accept of   
any act of oblivion or terms of  peace  
by which the ,catholic religion was not 
abolished throughout the  empire1 and   
all those who professed it either       
banished or put to death4  ,they then   
ordered all the beads1 images1 crosses1 
and relics which the  ,catholics made   
use of to be thrown into the fire4      
,the anger of ,god was now ready to fall
 upon his head for these daring and     
complicated crimes2 the ,emperor had    
already confiscated all his goods1  and 
given the government of the kingdom of  
,tigre to ,keba ,christos1 a good       

,catholic1 who was sent with a numerous 
army to take possession of it4  ,as     
both armies were in search of each      
other1 it was not long before they  came
 to a battle4  ,the revolted viceroy    
,tecla ,georgis placed all his          
confidence in the ,galles1 his          
auxiliaries4  ,keba ,christos1 who had  
marched with incredible expedition to   
hinder the enemy from making any        
intrenchments1 would willingly have     
refreshed his men a few days before  the
 battle1 but finding the foe vigilant1  
thought it not proper to stay  till he  
was attacked1 and therefore resolved to 
make the first onset2  then presenting  
himself before his army without arms and
 with his head  uncovered1 assured them 
that such was his confidence in ,god's  
protection  of those that engaged in so 
just a cause1 that though he were in    
that  condition and alone1 he would     
attack his enemies4    ,the battle began
 immediately1 and of all the troops of  
,tecla ,georgis only  the ,galles made  

any resistance1 the rest abandoned him  
without striking a  blow4  ,the unhappy 
commander1 seeing all his squadrons     
broken1 and three  hundred of the       
,galles1 with twelve ecclesiastics1     
killed on the spot1 hid  himself in a   
cave1 where he was found three days     
afterwards1 with his  favourite and a   
monk4  ,when they took him1 they cut off
 the heads of his  two companions in the
 field1 and carried him to the ,emperor2
 the  procedure against him was not     
long1 and he was condemned to be burnt  
alive4  ,then imagining that1 if he     
embraced the ,catholic faith1 the       
intercession of the missionaries1 with  
the entreaties of his wife and          
children1 might procure him a pardon1 he
 desired a ,jesuit to hear his          
confession1 and abjured his errors4     
,the ,emperor was inflexible both to    
the entreaties of his daughter and the  
tears of his grand-children1 and  all   
that could be obtained of him was that  
the sentence should be  mollified1 and  

changed into a condemnation to be       
hanged4  ,tecla ,georgis  renounced his 
abjuration1 and at his death persisted  
in his errors4  ,adero1 his sister1 who 
had borne the greatest share in his     
revolt1 was  hanged on the same tree    
fifteen days after4    ,i arrived not   
long after at the ,emperor's court1 and 
had the honour of  kissing his hands2   
but stayed not long in a place where no 
missionary  ought to linger1 unless     
obliged by the most pressing necessity3 
but being  ordered by my superiors into 
the kingdom of ,damote1 ,i set out on my
  journey1 and on the road was in great 
danger of losing my life by my          
curiosity of tasting a herb1 which ,i   
found near a brook1 and which1  though  
,i had often heard of it1 ,i did not    
know4  ,it bears a great  resemblance to
 our radishes2 the leaf and colour were 
beautiful1 and the  taste not           
unpleasant4  ,it came into my mind when 
,i began to chew it that  perhaps it    
might be that venomous herb against     

which no antidote had yet  been found1  
but persuading myself afterwards that my
 fears were merely  chimerical1 ,i      
continued to chew it1 till a man        
accidentally meeting me1  and seeing me 
with a handful of it1 cried out to me   
that ,i was poisoned2  ,i had happily   
not swallowed any of it1 and throwing   
out what ,i had in my  mouth1 ,i        
returned ,god thanks for this instance  
of his protection4    ,i crossed the    
,nile the first time in my journey to   
the kingdom of ,damote2  my passage     
brought into my mind all that ,i had    
read either in ancient or  modern       
writers of this celebrated river2 ,i    
recollected the great expenses  at which
 some ,emperors had endeavoured to      
gratify their curiosity of  knowing the 
sources of this mighty stream1 which    
nothing but their little  acquaintance  
with the ,abyssins made so difficult to 
be found4  ,i passed  the river within  
two days' journey of its head1 near a   
wide plain1 which  is entirely laid     

under water when it begins to overflow  
the banks4  ,its  channel is even here  
so wide1 that a ball-shot from a musket 
can scarce  reach the farther bank4     
,here is neither boat nor bridge1 and   
the river  is so full of hippopotami1 or
 river-horses1 and crocodiles1 that it  
is  impossible to swim over without     
danger of being devoured4  ,the only way
  of passing it is upon floats1 which   
they guide as well as they can with     
long poles4  ,nor is even this way      
without danger1 for these destructive   
animals overturn the floats1 and tear   
the passengers in pieces4  ,the  river  
horse1 which lives only on grass and    
branches of trees1 is  satisfied with   
killing the men1 but the crocodile being
 more voracious1  feeds upon the        
carcases4    ,but since ,i am arrived at
 the banks of this renowned river1 which
 ,i have  passed and repassed so many   
times2 and since all that ,i have read  
of the  nature of its waters1 and the   
causes of its overflowing1 is full of   

fables1 the reader may not be displeased
 to find here an account of what  ,i saw
 myself1 or was told by the inhabitants4
        ,,chapter ,x      ,a description
 of the ,nile4    ,the ,nile1 which the 
natives call ,abavi1 that is1 the       
,father of ,waters1  rises first in     
,sacala1 a province of the kingdom of   
,goiama1 which is one  of the most      
fruitful and agreeable of all the       
,abyssinian dominions4  ,this  province 
is inhabited by a nation of the ,agaus1 
who call1 but only call1  themselves    
,christians1 for by daily intermarriages
 they have allied  themselves to the    
,pagan ,agaus1 and adopted all their    
customs and  ceremonies4  ,these two    
nations are very numerous1 fierce1 and  
unconquerable1 inhabiting a country full
 of mountains1 which are covered  with  
woods1 and hollowed by nature into vast 
caverns1 many of which are  capable of  
containing several numerous families1   
and hundreds of cows4  ,to  these       
recesses the ,agaus betake themselves   

when they are driven out of  the plain1 
where it is almost impossible to find   
them1 and certain ruin  to pursue them4 
,this people increases extremely1 every 
man being allowed  so many wives as he  
hath hundreds of cows1 and it is seldom 
that the  hundreds are required to be   
complete4    ,in the eastern part of    
this kingdom1 on the declivity of a     
mountain1  whose descent is so easy that
 it seems a beautiful plain1 is that    
source  of the ,nile which has been     
sought after at so much expense of      
labour1 and  about which such variety of
 conjectures hath been formed without   
success4  ,this spring1 or rather these 
two springs1 are two holes1 each about  
two  feet diameter1 a stone's cast      
distant from each other2 the one is but 
about five feet and a half in depth--at 
least we could not get our  plummet     
farther1 perhaps because it was stopped 
by roots1 for the whole  place is full  
of trees2 of the other1 which is        
somewhat less1 with a line  of ten feet 

we could find no bottom1 and were       
assured by the inhabitants  that none   
ever had been found4  ,it is believed   
here that these springs  are the vents  
of a great subterraneous lake1 and they 
have this  circumstance to favour their 
opinion1 that the ground is always moist
 and  so soft that the water boils up   
under foot as one walks upon it4  ,this 
is  more visible after rains1 for then  
the ground yields and sinks so much1    
that ,i believe it is chiefly supported 
by the roots of trees that are          
interwoven one with another2 such is the
 ground round about these  fountains4   
,at a little distance to the south is a 
village named ,guix1  through which the 
way lies to the top of the mountain1    
from whence the  traveller discovers a  
vast extent of land1 which appears like 
a deep  valley1 though the mountain     
rises so imperceptibly that those who go
 up  or down it are scarce sensible of  
any declivity4    ,on the top of this   
mountain is a little hill which the     

idolatrous ,agaus  have in great        
veneration2 their priest calls them     
together at this place  once a year1 and
 having sacrificed a cow1 throws the    
head into one of the  springs of the    
,nile2 after which ceremony1 every one  
sacrifices a cow or  more1 according to 
their different degrees of wealth or    
devotion4  ,the  bones of these cows    
have already formed two mountains of    
considerable  height1 which afford a    
sufficient proof that these nations have
 always  paid their adorations to this  
famous river4  ,they eat these          
sacrifices  with great devotion1 as     
flesh consecrated to their deity4  ,then
 the  priest anoints himself with the   
grease and tallow of the cows1 and sits 
down on a heap of straw1 on the top and 
in the middle of a pile which is        
prepared2 they set fire to it1 and the  
whole heap is consumed without any      
injury to the priest1 who while the fire
 continues harangues the standers  by1  
and confirms them in their present      

ignorance and superstition4  ,when  the 
pile is burnt1 and the discourse at an  
end1 every one makes a large  present to
 the priest1 which is the grand design  
of this religious  mockery4    ,to      
return to the course of the ,nile3 its  
waters1 after the first rise1  run to   
the eastward for about a musket-shot1   
then turning to the north1  continue    
hidden in the grass and weeds for about 
a quarter of a league1  and discover    
themselves for the first time among some
 rocks--a sight not  to be enjoyed      
without some pleasure by those who have 
read the fabulous  accounts of this     
stream delivered by the ancients1 and   
the vain  conjectures and reasonings    
which have been formed upon its         
original1 the  nature of its water1 its 
cataracts1 and its inundations1 all     
which we are  now entirely acquainted   
with and eye-witnesses of4    ,many     
interpreters of the ,holy ,scriptures   
pretend that ,gihon1 mentioned in       
,genesis1 is no other than the ,nile1   

which encompasseth all ,a,ethiopia2 but 
as the ,gihon had its source from the   
terrestrial paradise1 and we know  that 
the ,nile rises in the country of the   
,agaus1 it will be found1 ,i  believe1  
no small difficulty to conceive how the 
same river could arise  from two sources
 so distant from each other1 or how a   
river from so low a  source should      
spring up and appear in a place perhaps 
the highest in the  world3 for if we    
consider that ,arabia and ,palestine are
 in their  situation almost level with  
,egypt2 that ,egypt is as low1 if       
compared with  the kingdom of ,dambia1  
as the deepest valley in regard of the  
highest  mountain2 that the province of 
,sacala is yet more elevated than       
,dambia2  that the waters of the ,nile  
must either pass under the ,red ,sea1 or
 take a  great compass about1 we shall  
find it hard to conceive such an        
attractive  power in the earth as may be
 able to make the waters rise through   
the  obstruction of so much sand from   

places so low to the most lofty region  
of ,a,ethiopia4    ,but leaving these   
difficulties1 let us go on to describe  
the course of  the ,nile4  ,it rolls    
away from its source with so            
inconsiderable a  current1 that it      
appears unlikely to escape being dried  
up by the hot  season1 but soon         
receiving an increase from the ,gemma1  
the ,keltu1 the  ,bransu1 and other less
 rivers1 it is of such a breadth in the 
plain of  ,boad1 which is not above     
three days' journey from its source1    
that a ball  shot from a musket will    
scarce fly from one bank to the other4  
,here it  begins to run northwards1     
deflecting1 however1 a little towards   
the east1  for the space of nine or ten 
leagues1 and then enters the so much    
talked  of ,lake of ,dambia1 called by  
the natives ,bahar ,sena1 the           
,resemblance of  the ,sea1 or ,bahar    
,dambia1 the ,sea of ,dambia4  ,it      
crosses this lake only  at one end with 
so violent a rapidity1 that the waters  

of the ,nile may be  distinguished      
through all the passage1 which is six   
leagues4  ,here begins  the greatness of
 the ,nile4  ,fifteen miles farther1 in 
the land of ,alata1  it rushes          
precipitately from the top of a high    
rock1 and forms one of the  most        
beautiful water-falls in the world3 ,i  
passed under it without being  wet2 and 
resting myself there1 for the sake of   
the coolness1 was charmed  with a       
thousand delightful rainbows1 which the 
sunbeams painted on the  water in all   
their shining and lively colours4  ,the 
fall of this mighty  stream from so     
great a height makes a noise that may be
 heard to a  considerable distance2 but 
,i could not observe that the           
neighbouring  inhabitants were at all   
deaf4  ,i conversed with several1 and   
was as  easily heard by them as ,i heard
 them4  ,the mist that rises from this  
fall  of water may be seen much farther 
than the noise can be heard4  ,after    
this cataract the ,nile again collects  

its scattered stream among the  rocks1  
which seem to be disjoined in this place
 only to afford it a  passage4  ,they   
are so near each other that1 in my time1
 a bridge of  beams1 on which the whole 
,imperial army passed1 was laid over    
them4  ,sultan ,segued hath since built 
here a bridge of one arch in the same   
place1 for which purpose he procured    
masons from ,india4  ,this bridge1      
which is the first the ,abyssins have   
seen on the ,nile1 very much            
facilitates a communication between the 
provinces1 and encourages  commerce     
among the inhabitants of his empire4    
,here the river alters its course1 and  
passes through many various  kingdoms2  
on the east it leaves ,begmeder1 or the 
,land of ,sheep1 so called  from great  
numbers that are bred there1 beg1 in    
that language1 signifying  sheep1 and   
meder1 a country4  ,it then waters the  
kingdoms of ,amhara1  ,olaca1 ,choaa1   
and ,damot1 which lie on the left side1 
and the kingdom of  ,goiama1 which it   

bounds on the right1 forming by its     
windings a kind of  peninsula4  ,then   
entering ,bezamo1 a province of the     
kingdom of ,damot1 and  ,gamarchausa1   
part of ,goiama1 it returns within a    
short day's journey of  its spring2     
though to pursue it through all its     
mazes1 and accompany it  round the      
kingdom of ,goiama1 is a journey of     
twenty-nine days4  ,so far1  and a few  
days' journey farther1 this river       
confines itself to ,abyssinia1  and then
 passes into the bordering countries of 
,fazulo and ,ombarca4    ,these vast    
regions we have little knowledge of3    
they are inhabited by  nations entirely 
different from the ,abyssins2 their hair
 is like that of  the other blacks1     
short and curled4  ,in the year #afae1  
,rassela ,christos1  lieutenant-general 
to ,sultan ,segued1 entered those       
kingdoms with his army  in a hostile    
manner2 but being able to get no        
intelligence of the  condition of the   
people1 and astonished at their         

unbounded extent1 he  returned1 without 
daring to attempt anything4    ,as the  
empire of the ,abyssins terminates at   
these deserts1 and as ,i have  followed 
the course of the ,nile no farther1 ,i  
here leave it to range over  barbarous  
kingdoms1 and convey wealth and plenty  
into ,egypt1 which owes  to the annual  
inundations of this river its envied    
fertility4  ,i know not  anything of the
 rest of its passage1 but that it       
receives great increases  from many     
other rivers2 that it has several       
cataracts like the first  already       
described1 and that few fish are to be  
found in it1 which  scarcity1 doubtless1
 is to be attributed to the river-horses
 and  crocodiles1 which destroy the     
weaker inhabitants of these waters1 and 
something may be allowed to the         
cataracts1 it being difficult for fish  
to  fall so far without being killed4   
,although some who have travelled in    
,asia and ,africa have given the world  
their descriptions of crocodiles and    

hippopotamus1 or river-horse1 yet as    
the ,nile has at least as great numbers 
of each as any river in the world1  ,i  
cannot but think my account of it would 
be imperfect without some  particular   
mention of these animals4    ,the       
crocodile is very ugly1 having no       
proportion between his length and       
thickness2 he hath short feet1 a wide   
mouth1 with two rows of sharp  teeth1   
standing wide from each other1 a brown  
skin so fortified with  scales1 even to 
his nose1 that a musket-ball cannot     
penetrate it4  ,his  sight is extremely 
quick1 and at a great distance4  ,in the
 water he is  daring and fierce1 and    
will seize on any that are so           
unfortunate as to be  found by him      
bathing1 who1 if they escape with life1 
are almost sure to  leave some limb in  
his mouth4  ,neither ,i1 nor any with   
whom ,i have  conversed about the       
crocodile1 have ever seen him weep1 and 
therefore ,i  take the liberty of       
ranking all that hath been told us of   

his tears  amongst the fables which are 
only proper to amuse children4    ,the  
hippopotamus1 or river-horse1 grazes    
upon the land and browses on the        
shrubs1 yet is no less dangerous than   
the crocodile4  ,he is the size of  an  
ox1 of a brown colour without any hair1 
his tail is short1 his neck  long1 and  
his head of an enormous bigness2 his    
eyes are small1 his mouth  wide1 with   
teeth half a foot long2 he hath two     
tusks like those of a wild  boar1 but   
larger2 his legs are short1 and his feet
 part into four toes4  ,it is easy to   
observe from this description that he   
hath no resemblance  of a horse1 and    
indeed nothing could give occasion to   
the name but some  likeness in his ears1
 and his neighing and snorting like a   
horse when he  is provoked or raises his
 head out of water4  ,his hide is so    
hard that a  musket fired close to him  
can only make a slight impression1 and  
the best  tempered lances pushed        
forcibly against him are either blunted 

or  shivered1 unless the assailant has  
the skill to make his thrust at  certain
 parts which are more tender4  ,there is
 great danger in meeting  him1 and the  
best way is1 upon such an accident1 to  
step aside and let  him pass by4  ,the  
flesh of this animal doth not differ    
from that of a  cow1 except that it is  
blacker and harder to digest4    ,the   
ignorance which we have hitherto been in
 of the original of the ,nile  hath     
given many authors an opportunity of    
presenting us very gravely with  their  
various systems and conjectures about   
the nature of its waters1 and  the      
reason of its overflows4    ,it is easy 
to observe how many empty hypotheses and
 idle reasonings the  phenomena of this 
river have put mankind to the expense   
of4  ,yet there  are people so bigoted  
to antiquity1 as not to pay any regard  
to the  relation of travellers who have 
been upon the spot1 and by the evidence 
of their eyes can confute all that the  
ancients have written4  ,it was         

difficult1 it was even impossible1 to   
arrive at the source of the ,nile by    
tracing its channel from the mouth2 and 
all who ever attempted it1 having  been 
stopped by the cataracts1 and imagining 
none that followed them  could pass     
farther1 have taken the liberty of      
entertaining us with their  own         
fictions4    ,it is to be remembered    
likewise that neither the ,greeks nor   
,romans1 from  whom we have received all
 our information1 ever carried their    
arms into  this part of the world1 or   
ever heard of multitudes of nations that
 dwell  upon the banks of this vast     
river2 that the countries where the     
,nile  rises1 and those through which it
 runs1 have no inhabitants but what are 
savage and uncivilised2 that before they
 could arrive at its head1 they  must   
surmount the insuperable obstacles of   
impassable forests1  inaccessible       
cliffs1 and deserts crowded with beasts 
of prey1 fierce by  nature1 and raging  
for want of sustenance4  ,yet if they   

who endeavoured  with so much ardour to 
discover the spring of this river had   
landed at  ,mazna on the coast of the   
,red ,sea1 and marched a little more to 
the south  than the south-west1 they    
might perhaps have gratified their      
curiosity at  less expense1 and in about
 twenty days might have enjoyed the     
desired  sight of the sources of the    
,nile4    ,but this discovery was       
reserved for the invincible bravery of  
our noble  countrymen1 who1 not         
discouraged by the dangers of a         
navigation in seas  never explored      
before1 have subdued kingdoms and       
empires where the ,greek  and ,roman    
greatness1 where the names of ,caesar   
and ,alexander1 were never  heard of2   
who have demolished the airy fabrics of 
renowned hypotheses1  and detected those
 fables which the ancients rather chose 
to invent of  the sources of the ,nile  
than to confess their ignorance4  ,i    
cannot help  suspending my narration to 
reflect a little on the ridiculous      

speculations of those swelling          
philosophers1 whose arrogance would     
prescribe laws to nature1 and subject   
those astonishing effects1 which we     
behold daily1 to their idle reasonings  
and chimerical rules4  ,presumptuous    
imagination6 that has given being to    
such numbers of books1 and patrons  to  
so many various opinions about the      
overflows of the ,nile4  ,some of  these
 theorists have been pleased to declare 
it as their favourite notion  that this 
inundation is caused by high winds which
 stop the current1 and  so force the    
water to rise above its banks1 and      
spread over all ,egypt4  ,others pretend
 a subterraneous communication between  
the ocean and the  ,nile1 and that the  
sea being violently agitated swells the 
river4  ,many  have imagined themselves 
blessed with the discovery when they    
have told  us that this mighty flood    
proceeds from the melting of snow on the
  mountains of ,a,ethiopia1 without     
reflecting that this opinion is contrary

  to the received notion of all the     
ancients1 who believed that the heat    
was so excessive between the tropics    
that no inhabitant could live there4    
,so much snow and so great heat are     
never met with in the same region2 and  
indeed ,i never saw snow in ,abyssinia1 
except on ,mount ,semen in the  kingdom 
of ,tigre1 very remote from the ,nile1  
and on ,namera1 which is  indeed not far
 distant1 but where there never falls   
snow sufficient to  wet the foot of the 
mountain when it is melted4    ,to the  
immense labours and fatigues of the     
,portuguese mankind is indebted  for the
 knowledge of the real cause of these   
inundations so great and so  regular4   
,their observations inform us that      
,abyssinia1 where the ,nile  rises and  
waters vast tracts of land1 is full of  
mountains1 and in its  natural situation
 much higher than ,egypt2 that all the  
winter1 from ,june  to ,september1 no   
day is without rain2 that the ,nile     
receives in its  course all the rivers1 

brooks1 and torrents which fall from    
those  mountains2 these necessarily     
swell it above the banks1 and fill the  
plains of ,egypt with the inundation4   
,this comes regularly about the  month  
of ,july1 or three weeks after the      
beginning of a rainy season in          
,a,ethiopia4  ,the different degrees of 
this flood are such certain  indications
 of the fruitfulness or sterility of the
 ensuing year1 that it  is publicly     
proclaimed in ,cairo how much the water 
hath gained each  night4  ,this is all  
,i have to inform the reader of         
concerning the ,nile1  which the        
,egyptians adored as the deity1 in whose
 choice it was to bless  them with      
abundance1 or deprive them of the       
necessaries of life4        ,,chapter   
,,xi      ,the author discovers a       
passage over the ,nile4  ,is sent into  
the province  of ,ligonus1 which he     
gives a description of4  ,his success in
 his mission4  ,the stratagem of the    
monks to encourage the soldiers4  ,the  

author  narrowly escapes being burned4  
,when ,i was to cross this river at     
,boad1 ,i durst not venture myself on   
the  floats ,i have already spoken of1  
but went up higher in hopes of finding a
  more commodious passage4  ,i had with 
me three or four men that were  reduced 
to the same difficulty with myself4  ,in
 one part seeing people on  the other   
side1 and remarking that the water was  
shallow1 and that the  rocks and trees  
which grew very thick there contributed 
to facilitate the  attempt1 ,i leaped   
from one rock to another1 till ,i       
reached the opposite  bank1 to the great
 amazement of the natives themselves1   
who never had  tried that way2 my four  
companions followed me with the same    
success3 and  it hath been called since 
the passage of ,father ,jerome4    ,that
 province of the kingdom of ,damot1     
which ,i was assigned to by my          
superior1 is called ,ligonus1 and is    
perhaps one of the most beautiful and   
agreeable places in the world2 the air  

is healthful and temperate1 and  all the
 mountains1 which are not very high1    
shaded with cedars4  ,they sow  and reap
 here in every season1 the ground is    
always producing1 and the  fruits ripen 
throughout the year2 so great1 so       
charming is the variety1  that the whole
 region seems a garden laid out and     
cultivated only to  please4  ,i doubt   
whether even the imagination of a       
painter has yet  conceived a landscape  
as beautiful as ,i have seen4  ,the     
forests have  nothing uncouth or savage1
 and seem only planted for shade and    
coolness4  ,among a prodigious number of
 trees which fill them1 there is one    
kind  which ,i have seen in no other    
place1 and to which we have none that   
bears  any resemblance4  ,this tree1    
which the natives call ensete1 is       
wonderfully useful2 its leaves1 which   
are so large as to cover a man1  make   
hangings for rooms1 and serve the       
inhabitants instead of linen for  their 
tables and carpets4  ,they grind the    

branches and the thick parts of  the    
leaves1 and when they are mingled with  
milk1 find them a delicious  food4  ,the
 trunk and the roots are even more      
nourishing than the leaves  or branches1
 and the meaner people1 when they go a  
journey1 make no  provision of any other
 victuals4  ,the word ensete signifies  
the tree  against hunger1 or the poor's 
tree1 though the most wealthy often eat 
of  it4  ,if it be cut down within half 
a foot of the ground and several        
incisions made in the stump1 each will  
put out a new sprout1 which1 if         
transplanted1 will take root and grow to
 a tree4  ,the ,abyssins report  that   
this tree when it is cut down groans    
like a man1 and1 on this  account1 call 
cutting down an ensete killing it4  ,on 
the top grows a  bunch of five or six   
figs1 of a taste not very agreeable1    
which they set  in the ground to produce
 more trees4    ,i stayed two months in 
the province of ,ligonus1 and during    
that time  procured a church to be built

 of hewn stone1 roofed and wainscoted   
with  cedar1 which is the most          
considerable in the whole country4  ,my 
continual  employment was the duties of 
the mission1 which ,i was always        
practising  in some part of the         
province1 not indeed with any           
extraordinary success  at first1 for ,i 
found the people inflexibly obstinate in
 their opinions1  even to so great a    
degree1 that when ,i first published the
 ,emperor's  edict requiring all his    
subjects to renounce their errors1 and  
unite  themselves to the ,roman ,church1
 there were some monks who1 to the      
number  of sixty1 chose rather to die by
 throwing themselves headlong from a    
precipice than obey their sovereign's   
commands3 and in a battle fought        
between these people that adhered to the
 religion of their ancestors1 and  the  
troops of ,sultan ,segued1 six hundred  
religious1 placing themselves at  the   
head of their men1 marched towards the  
,catholic army with the stones  of the  

altars upon their heads1 assuring their 
credulous followers that  the ,emperor's
 troops would immediately at the sight  
of those stones fall  into disorder and 
turn their backs2 but1 as they were some
 of the first  that fell1 their death   
had a great influence upon the people to
 undeceive  them1 and make them return  
to the truth4  ,many were converted     
after the  battle1 and when they had    
embraced the ,catholic faith1 adhered to
 that  with the same constancy and      
firmness with which they had before     
persisted  in their errors4    ,the     
,emperor had sent a viceroy into this   
province1 whose firm attachment  to the 
,roman ,church1 as well as great        
abilities in military affairs1 made  him
 a person very capable of executing the 
orders of the ,emperor1 and of          
suppressing any insurrection that might 
be raised1 to prevent those  alterations
 in religion which they were designed to
 promote3 a farther  view in the choice 
of so warlike a deputy was that a stop  

might be put to  the inroads of the     
,galles1 who had killed one viceroy1 and
 in a little  time after killed this4   
,it was our custom to meet together     
every year about ,christmas1 not only   
that we might comfort and entertain each
 other1 but likewise that we  might     
relate the progress and success of our  
missions1 and concert all  measures that
 might farther the conversion of the    
inhabitants4  ,this year  our place of  
meeting was the ,emperor's camp1 where  
the patriarch and  superior of the      
missions were4  ,i left the place of my 
abode1 and took in  my way four fathers1
 that resided at the distance of two    
days' journey1  so that the company1    
without reckoning our attendants1 was   
five4  ,there  happened nothing         
remarkable to us till the last night of 
our journey1  when taking up our lodging
 at a place belonging to the ,empress1 a
  declared enemy to all ,catholics1 and 
in particular to the missionaries1  we  
met with a kind reception in appearance1

 and were lodged in a large  stone house
 covered with wood and straw1 which had 
stood uninhabited so  long1 that great  
numbers of red ants had taken possession
 of it2 these1  as soon as we were laid 
down1 attacked us on all sides1 and     
tormented us  so incessantly that we    
were obliged to call up our domestics4  
,having  burnt a prodigious number of   
these troublesome animals1 we tried to  
compose ourselves again1 but had scarce 
closed our eyes before we were  awakened
 by the fire that had seized our        
lodging4  ,our servants1 who were       
fortunately not all gone to bed1        
perceived the fire as soon as it began1 
and informed me1 who lay nearest the    
door4  ,i immediately alarmed all the   
rest1 and nothing was thought of but how
 to save ourselves and the little  goods
 we had1 when1 to our great             
astonishment1 we found one of the doors 
barricaded in such a manner that we     
could not open it4  ,nothing now could  
have prevented our perishing in the     

flames had not those who kindled them   
omitted to fasten that door near which  
,i was lodged4  ,we were no longer  in  
doubt that the inhabitants of the town  
had laid a train1 and set fire  to a    
neighbouring house1 in order to consume 
us2 their measures were so  well laid1  
that the house was in ashes in an       
instant1 and three of our  beds were    
burnt which the violence of the flame   
would not allow us to  carry away4  ,we 
spent the rest of the night in the most 
dismal  apprehensions1 and found next   
morning that we had justly charged the  
inhabitants with the design of          
destroying us1 for the place was        
entirely  abandoned1 and those that were
 conscious of the crime had fled from   
the  punishment4  ,we continued our     
journey1 and came to ,gorgora1 where we 
found the fathers met1 and the ,emperor 
with them4        ,,chapter ,,xii       
,the author is sent into ,tigre4  ,is in
 danger of being poisoned by the  breath
 of a serpent4  ,is stung by a serpent4 

,is almost killed by eating  anchoy4    
,the people conspire against the        
missionaries1 and distress them4    ,my 
superiors intended to send me into the  
farthest parts of the empire1  but the  
,emperor over-ruled that design1 and    
remanded me to ,tigre1 where ,i  had    
resided before4  ,i passed in my journey
 by ,ganete ,ilhos1 a palace  newly     
built1 and made agreeable by beautiful  
gardens1 and had the honour  of paying  
my respects to the ,emperor1 who had    
retired thither1 and  receiving from him
 a large present for the finishing of a 
hospital1 which  had been begun in the  
kingdom of ,tigre4  ,after having       
returned him  thanks1 ,i continued my   
way1 and in crossing a desert two days' 
journey  over1 was in great danger of my
 life1 for1 as ,i lay on the ground1 ,i 
perceived myself seized with a pain     
which forced me to rise1 and saw  about 
four yards from me one of those serpents
 that dart their poison at  a distance2 
although ,i rose before he came very    

near me1 ,i yet felt the  effects of his
 poisonous breath1 and1 if ,i had lain a
 little longer1 had  certainly died2 ,i 
had recourse to bezoar1 a sovereign     
remedy against  these poisons1 which ,i 
always carried about me4  ,these        
serpents are not  long1 but have a body 
short and thick1 and their bellies      
speckled with  brown1 black1 and yellow2
 they have a wide mouth1 with which they
 draw in  a great quantity of air1 and1 
having retained it some time1 eject it  
with  such force that they kill at four 
yards' distance4  ,i only escaped by    
being somewhat farther from him4  ,this 
danger1 however1 was not much to  be    
regarded in comparison of another which 
my negligence brought me into4  ,as ,i  
was picking up a skin that lay upon the 
ground1 ,i was stung by a  serpent that 
left his sting in my finger2 ,i at least
 picked an extraneous  substance about  
the bigness of a hair out of the wound1 
which ,i imagined  was the sting4  ,this
 slight wound ,i took little notice of1 

till my arm  grew inflamed all over2 in 
a short time the poison infected my     
blood1 and  ,i felt the most terrible   
convulsions1 which were interpreted as  
certain  signs that my death was near   
and inevitable4  ,i received now no     
benefit  from bezoar1 the horn of the   
unicorn1 or any of the usual antidotes1 
but  found myself obliged to make use of
 an extraordinary remedy1 which ,i      
submitted to with extreme reluctance4   
,this submission and obedience  brought 
the blessing of ,heaven upon me2        
nevertheless1 ,i continued  indisposed a
 long time1 and had many symptoms which 
made me fear that all  the danger was   
not yet over4  ,i then took cloves of   
garlic1 though with a  great aversion1  
both from the taste and smell4  ,i was  
in this condition a  whole month1 always
 in pain1 and taking medicines the most 
nauseous in  the world4  ,at length     
youth and a happy constitution          
surmounted the  malignity1 and ,i       
recovered my former health4    ,i       

continued two years at my residence in  
,tigre1 entirely taken up with  the     
duties of the mission--preaching1       
confessing1 baptising--and enjoyed  a   
longer quiet and repose than ,i had ever
 done since ,i left ,portugal4  ,during 
this time one of our fathers1 being     
always sick and of a  constitution which
 the air of ,abyssinia was very hurtful 
to1 obtained a  permission from our     
superiors to return to the ,indies2 ,i  
was willing to  accompany him through   
part of his way1 and went with him over 
a desert1  at no great distance from my 
residence1 where ,i found many trees    
loaded  with a kind of fruit1 called by 
the natives anchoy1 about the bigness of
  an apricot1 and very yellow1 which is 
much eaten without any ill effect4  ,i  
therefore made no scruple of gathering  
and eating it1 without knowing  that the
 inhabitants always peeled it1 the rind 
being a violent  purgative2 so that1    
eating the fruit and skin together1 ,i  
fell into such  a disorder as almost    

brought me to my end4  ,the ordinary    
dose is six of  these rinds1 and ,i had 
devoured twenty4    ,i removed from     
thence to ,debaroa1 fifty-four miles    
nearer the sea1 and  crossed in my way  
the desert of the province of ,saraoe4  
,the country is  fruitful1 pleasant1 and
 populous2 there are greater numbers of 
,moors in  these parts than in any other
 province of ,abyssinia1 and the        
,abyssins of  this country are not much 
better than the ,moors4    ,i was at    
,debaroa when the prosecution was first 
set on foot against the  ,catholics4    
,sultan ,segued1 who had been so great a
 favourer of us1 was  grown old1 and his
 spirit and authority decreased with his
 strength4  ,his  son1 who was arrived  
at manhood1 being weary of waiting so   
long for the  crown he was to inherit1  
took occasion to blame his father's     
conduct1 and  found some reason for     
censuring all his actions2 he even      
proceeded so far  as to give orders     
sometimes contrary to the ,emperor's4   

,he had embraced  the ,catholic         
religion1 rather through complaisance   
than conviction or  inclination2 and    
many of the ,abyssins who had done the  
same1 waited only  for an opportunity of
 making public profession of the ancient
 erroneous  opinions1 and of re-uniting 
themselves to the ,church of            
,alexandria4  ,so  artfully can this    
people dissemble their sentiments that  
we had not been  able hitherto to       
distinguish our real from our pretended 
favourers2 but  as soon as this ,prince 
began to give evident tokens of his     
hatred1 even  in the lifetime of the    
,emperor1 we saw all the courtiers and  
governors  who had treated us with such 
a show of friendship declare against us1
 and  persecute us as disturbers of the 
public tranquillity1 who had come into  
,a,ethiopia with no other intention than
 to abolish the ancient laws and        
customs of the country1 to sow divisions
 between father and son1 and  preach up 
a revolution4    ,after having borne all

 sorts of affronts and ill-treatments1  
we retired  to our house at ,fremona1 in
 the midst of our countrymen1 who had   
been  settling round about us a long    
time1 imagining we should be more secure
  there1 and that1 at least during the  
life of the ,emperor1 they would not    
come to extremities1 or proceed to open 
force4  ,i laid some stress upon  the   
kindness which the viceroy of ,tigre had
 shown to us1 and in  particular to me2 
but was soon convinced that those hopes 
had no real  foundation1 for he was one 
of the most violent of our persecutors4 
,he  seized upon all our lands1 and1    
advancing with his troops to ,fremona1  
blocked up the town4  ,the army had not 
been stationed there long before  they  
committed all sorts of disorders2 so    
that one day a ,portuguese1  provoked   
beyond his temper at the insolence of   
some of them1 went out  with his four   
sons1 and1 wounding several of them1    
forced the rest back  to their camp4    
,we thought we had good reason to       

apprehend an attack2 their troops were  
increasing1 our town was surrounded1 and
 on the point of being forced4  ,our    
,portuguese therefore thought that1     
without staying till the last           
extremities1 they might lawfully repel  
one violence by another1 and  sallying  
out to the number of fifty1 wounded     
about three score of the  ,abyssins1 and
 had put them to the sword but that they
 feared it might  bring too great an    
odium upon our cause4  ,the ,portuguese 
were some of  them wounded1 but happily 
none died on either side4    ,though the
 times were by no means favourable to   
us1 every one blamed the  conduct of the
 viceroy2 and those who did not commend 
our action made the  necessity we were  
reduced to of self-defence an excuse for
 it4  ,the  viceroy's principal design  
was to get my person into his           
possession1  imagining that if ,i was   
once in his power1 all the ,portuguese  
would pay  him a blind obedience4       
,having been unsuccessful in his attempt

 by open  force1 he made use of the arts
 of negotiation1 but with an event not  
more  to his satisfaction4  ,this       
viceroy being recalled1 a son-in-law of 
the  ,emperor's succeeded1 who treated  
us even worse than his predecessor had  
done4    ,when he entered upon his      
command1 he loaded us with kindnesses1  
giving us  so many assurances of his    
protection that1 while the ,emperor     
lived1 we  thought him one of our       
friends2 but no sooner was our protector
 dead than  this man pulled off his     
mask1 and1 quitting all shame1 let us   
see that  neither the fear of ,god nor  
any other consideration was capable of  
restraining him when we were to be      
distressed4  ,the persecution then      
becoming general1 there was no longer   
any place of security for us in         
,abyssinia1 where we were looked upon by
 all as the authors of all the  civil   
commotions1 and many councils were held 
to determine in what manner  they should
 dispose of us4  ,several were of       

opinion that the best way  would be to  
kill us all at once1 and affirmed that  
no other means were  left of            
re-establishing order and tranquillity  
in the kingdom4    ,others1 more        
prudent1 were not for putting us to     
death with so little  consideration1 but
 advised that we should be banished to  
one of the isles  of the ,lake of       
,dambia1 an affliction more severe than 
death itself4  ,these  alleged in       
vindication of their opinions that it   
was reasonable to  expect1 if they put  
us to death1 that the viceroy of the    
,indies would  come with fire and sword 
to demand satisfaction4  ,this argument 
made so  great an impression upon some  
of them that they thought no better     
measures could be taken than to send us 
back again to the ,indies4  ,this       
proposal1 however1 was not without its  
difficulties1 for they suspected  that  
when we should arrive at the ,portuguese
 territories1 we would levy  an army1   
return back to ,abyssinia1 and under    

pretence of establishing the  ,catholic 
religion revenge all the injuries we had
 suffered4  ,while they  were thus      
deliberating upon our fate1 we were     
imploring the succour of  the ,almighty 
with fervent and humble supplications1  
entreating him in the  midst of our     
sighs and tears that he would not suffer
 his own cause to  miscarry1 and that1  
however it might please him to dispose  
of our  lives--which1 we prayed1 he     
would assist us to lay down with        
patience and  resignation worthy of the 
faith for which we were persecuted--he  
would  not permit our enemies to triumph
 over the truth4    ,thus we passed our 
days and nights in prayers1 in          
affliction1 and tears1  continually     
crowded with widows and orphans that    
subsisted upon our  charity and came to 
us for bread when we had not any for    
ourselves4    ,while we were in this    
distress we received an account that the
 viceroy of  the ,indies had fitted out 
a powerful fleet against the ,king of   

,mombaza1  who1 having thrown off the   
authority of the ,portuguese1 had killed
 the  governor of the fortress1 and had 
since committed many acts of cruelty4   
,the same fleet1 as we were informed1   
after the ,king of ,mombaza was         
reduced1 was to burn and ruin ,zeila1 in
 revenge of the death of two            
,portuguese ,jesuits who were killed by 
the ,king in the year #afjd4  ,as       
,zeila was not far from the frontiers of
 ,abyssinia1 they imagined that  they   
already saw the ,portuguese invading    
their country4    ,the viceroy of ,tigre
 had inquired of me a few days before   
how many men  one ,india ship carried1  
and being told that the complement of   
some was a  thousand men1 he compared   
that answer with the report then spread 
over  all the country1 that there were  
eighteen ,portuguese vessels on the     
coast  of ,adel1 and concluded that they
 were manned by an army of eighteen     
thousand men2 then considering what had 
been achieved by four hundred1  under   

the command of ,don ,christopher de     
,gama1 he thought ,abyssinia  already   
ravaged1 or subjected to the ,king of   
,portugal4  ,many declared  themselves  
of his opinion1 and the court took its  
measures with respect  to us from these 
uncertain and ungrounded rumours4  ,some
 were so  infatuated with their         
apprehensions that they undertook to    
describe the  camp of the ,portuguese1  
and affirmed that they had heard the    
report of  their cannons4    ,all this  
contributed to exasperate the           
inhabitants1 and reduced us often  to   
the point of being massacred4  ,at      
length they came to a resolution of     
giving us up to the ,turks1 assuring    
them that we were masters of a vast     
treasure1 in hope that after they had   
inflicted all kinds of tortures on  us1 
to make us confess where we had hid our 
gold1 or what we had done  with it1 they
 would at length kill us in rage for the
 disappointment4  ,nor  was this their  
only view1 for they believed that the   

,turks would1 by  killing us1 kindle    
such an irreconcilable hatred between   
themselves and  our nation as would make
 it necessary for them to keep us out of
 the ,red  ,sea1 of which they are      
entirely masters3 so that their         
determination was  as politic as cruel4 
,some pretend that the ,turks were      
engaged to put us  to death as soon as  
we were in their power4        ,,chapter
 ,,xiii      ,the author relieves the   
patriarch and missionaries1 and supports
 them4  ,he  escapes several snares laid
 for him by the viceroy of ,tigre4      
,they put  themselves under the         
protection of the ,prince of ,bar4      
,having concluded this negotiation1 they
 drove us out of our houses1 and  robbed
 us of everything that was worth        
carrying away2 and1 not content  with   
that1 informed some banditti that were  
then in those parts of the  road we were
 to travel through1 so that the         
patriarch and some  missionaries were   
attacked in a desert by these rovers1   

with their  captain at their head1 who  
pillaged his library1 his ornaments1 and
 what  little baggage the missionaries  
had left1 and might have gone away      
without resistance or interruption had  
they satisfied themselves with  only    
robbing2 but when they began to fall    
upon the missionaries and their         
companions1 our countrymen1 finding that
 their lives could only be  preserved by
 their courage1 charged their enemies   
with such vigour that  they killed their
 chief and forced the rest to a         
precipitate flight4  ,but  these rovers1
 being acquainted with the country1     
harassed the little  caravan till it was
 past the borders4    ,our fathers then 
imagined they had nothing more to fear1 
but too soon  were convinced of their   
error1 for they found the whole country 
turned  against them1 and met everywhere
 new enemies to contend with and new    
dangers to surmount4  ,being not far    
distant from ,fremona1 where ,i         
resided1 they sent to me for succour4   

,i was better informed of the  distress 
they were in than themselves1 having    
been told that a numerous  body of      
,abyssins had posted themselves in a    
narrow pass with an intent to  surround 
and destroy them2 therefore1 without    
long deliberation1 ,i  assembled my     
friends1 both ,portuguese and ,abyssins1
 to the number of  fourscore1 and went  
to their rescue1 carrying with me       
provisions and  refreshments1 of which  
,i knew they were in great need4  ,these
 glorious  confessors ,i met as they    
were just entering the pass designed for
 the  place of their destruction1 and   
doubly preserved them from famine and   
the  sword4  ,a grateful sense of their 
deliverance made them receive me as a   
guardian angel4  ,we went together to   
,fremona1 and being in all a  patriarch1
 a bishop1 eighteen ,jesuits1 and four  
hundred ,portuguese whom ,i  supplied   
with necessaries1 though the revenues of
 our house were lost1  and though the   
country was disaffected to us1 in the   

worst season of the  year4  ,we were    
obliged for the relief of the poor and  
our own subsistence  to sell our        
ornaments and chalices1 which we first  
broke in pieces1 that  the people might 
not have the pleasure of ridiculing our 
mysteries by  profaning the vessels made
 use of in the celebration of them1 for 
they  now would gladly treat with the   
highest indignities what they had a year
  before looked upon with veneration4   
,amidst all these perplexities the      
viceroy did not fail to visit us1 and   
make us great offers of service in      
expectation of a large present4  ,we    
were in a situation in which it was very
 difficult to act properly2 we  knew too
 well the ill intentions of the viceroy1
 but durst not complain1  or give him   
any reason to imagine that we knew them4
  ,we longed to  retreat out of his     
power1 or at least to send one of our   
company to the  ,indies with an account 
of persecution we suffered1 and could   
without his  leave neither do one nor   

the other4    ,when it was determined   
that one should be sent to the ,indies1 
,i was at  first singled out for the    
journey1 and it was intended that ,i    
should  represent at ,goa1 at ,rome1 and
 at ,madrid the distresses and          
necessities  of the mission of          
,a,ethiopia2 but the fathers reflecting 
afterwards that ,i  best understood the 
,abyssinian language1 and was most      
acquainted with the  customs of the     
country1 altered their opinions1 and1   
continuing me in  ,a,ethiopia either to 
perish with them or preserve them1      
deputed four other  ,jesuits1 who in a  
short time set out on their way to the  
,indies4    ,about this time ,i was sent
 for to the viceroy's camp to confess a 
criminal1 who1 though falsely1 was      
believed a ,catholic1 to whom1 after a  
proper exhortation1 ,i was going to     
pronounce the form of absolution1 when  
those that waited to execute him told   
him aloud that if he expected to  save  
his life by professing himself a        

,catholic1 he would find himself        
deceived1 and that he had nothing to do 
but prepare himself for death4  ,the    
unhappy criminal had no sooner heard    
this than1 rising up1 he  declared his  
resolution to die in the religion of his
 country1 and being  delivered up to his
 prosecutors was immediately dispatched 
with their  lances4    ,the chief reason
 of calling me was not that ,i might    
hear this confession3  the viceroy had  
another design of seizing my person1    
expecting that  either the ,jesuits or  
,portuguese would buy my liberty with a 
large  ransom1 or that he might exchange
 me for his father1 who was kept        
prisoner by a revolted prince4  ,that   
prince would have been no loser by  the 
exchange1 for so much was ,i hated by   
the ,abyssinian monks that they  would  
have thought no expense too great to    
have gotten me into their  hands1 that  
they might have glutted their revenge by
 putting me to the  most painful death  
they could have invented4  ,happily ,i  

found means to  retire out of this      
dangerous place1 and was followed by the
 viceroy  almost to ,fremona1 who1 being
 disappointed1 desired me either to     
visit  him at his camp1 or appoint a    
place where we might confer4  ,i made   
many  excuses1 but at length agreed to  
meet him at a place near ,fremona1      
bringing each of us only three          
companions4  ,i did not doubt but he    
would  bring more1 and so he did1 but   
found that ,i was upon my guard1 and    
that  my company increased in proportion
 to his4  ,my friends were resolute     
,portuguese1 who were determined to give
 him no quarter if he made any  attempt 
upon my liberty4  ,finding himself once 
more countermined1 he  returned ashamed 
to his camp1 where a month after1 being 
accused of a  confederacy in the revolt 
of that prince who kept his father      
prisoner1 he  was arrested1 and carried 
in chains to the ,emperor4    ,the time 
now approaching in which we were to be  
delivered to the ,turks1  we had none   

but ,god to apply to for relief3 all the
 measures we could  think of were       
equally dangerous4  ,resolving1         
nevertheless1 to seek some  retreat     
where we might hide ourselves either all
 together or separately1  we determined 
at last to put ourselves under the      
protection of the ,prince  ,john ,akay1 
who had defended himself a long time in 
the province of ,bar  against the power 
of ,abyssinia4    ,after ,i had         
concluded a treaty with this prince1 the
 patriarch and all  the fathers put     
themselves into his hands1 and being    
received with all  imaginable kindness  
and civility1 were conducted with a     
guard to ,adicota1  a rock excessively  
steep1 about nine miles from his place  
of residence4  ,the event was not       
agreeable to the happy beginning of our 
negotiation1  for we soon began to find 
that our habitation was not likely to be
 very  pleasant4  ,we were surrounded   
with ,mahometans1 or ,christians who    
were  inveterate enemies to the         

,catholic faith1 and were obliged to act
 with  the utmost caution4              
,notwithstanding these inconveniences we
 were pleased  with the present         
tranquillity we enjoyed1 and lived      
contentedly on  lentils and a little    
corn that we had2 and ,i1 after we had  
sold all our  goods1 resolved to turn   
physician1 and was soon able to support 
myself by  my practice4    ,i was once  
consulted by a man troubled with asthma1
 who presented me with  two             
alquieres--that is1 about twenty-eight  
pounds weight--of corn and a  sheep4    
,the advice ,i gave him1 after having   
turned over my books1 was to  drink     
goats' urine every morning2 ,i know not 
whether he found any benefit  by        
following my prescription1 for ,i never 
saw him after4    ,being under a        
necessity of obeying our acoba1 or      
protector1 we changed  our place of     
abode as often as he desired it1 though 
not without great  inconveniences1 from 
the excessive heat of the weather and   

the faintness  which our strict         
observation of the fasts and austerities
 of ,lent1 as it  is kept in this       
country1 had brought upon us4  ,at      
length1 wearied with  removing so often1
 and finding that the last place        
assigned for our abode  was always the  
worst1 we agreed that ,i should go to   
our sovereign and  complain4    ,i found
 him entirely taken up with the         
imagination of a prodigious  treasure1  
affirmed by the monks to be hidden under
 a mountain4  ,he was  told that his    
predecessors had been hindered from     
discovering it by the  demon that       
guarded it1 but that the demon was now  
at a great distance  from his charge1   
and was grown blind and lame2 that      
having lost his son1  and being without 
any children except a daughter that was 
ugly and  unhealthy1 he was under great 
affliction1 and entirely neglected the  
care  of his treasure2 that if he should
 come1 they could call one of their     
ancient brothers to their assistance1   

who1 being a man of a most holy  life1  
would be able to prevent his making any 
resistance4  ,to all these  stories the 
prince listened with unthinking         
credulity4  ,the monks1  encouraged by  
this1 fell to the business1 and brought 
a man above a  hundred years old1 whom1 
because he could not support himself on 
horseback1 they had tied on the beast1  
and covered him with black wool4  ,he   
was followed by a black cow 7designed   
for a sacrifice to the demon of  the    
place71 and by some monks that carried  
mead1 beer1 and parched corn1  to       
complete the offering4    ,no sooner    
were they arrived at the foot of the    
mountain than every one  began to work3 
bags were brought from all parts to     
convey away the  millions which each    
imagined would be his share4  ,the      
,xumo1 who  superintended the work1     
would not allow any one to come near the
  labourers1 but stood by1 attended by  
the old monk1 who almost sang  himself  
to death4  ,at length1 having removed a 

vast quantity of earth and  stones1 they
 discovered some holes made by rats or  
moles1 at sight of  which a shout of joy
 ran through the whole troop3 the cow   
was brought and  sacrificed immediately1
 and some pieces of flesh were thrown   
into these  holes4  ,animated now with  
assurance of success1 they lose no time3
 every  one redoubles his endeavours1   
and the heat1 though intolerable1 was   
less  powerful than the hopes they had  
conceived4  ,at length some1 not so     
patient as the rest1 were weary1 and    
desisted4  ,the work now grew more      
difficult2 they found nothing but rock1 
yet continued to toil on1 till  the     
prince1 having lost all temper1 began to
 inquire with some passion  when he     
should have a sight of this treasure1   
and after having been some  time amused 
with many promises by the monks1 was    
told that he had not  faith enough to be
 favoured with the discovery4    ,all   
this ,i saw myself1 and could not       
forbear endeavouring to convince our    

protector how much he was imposed upon3 
he was not long before he was  satisfied
 that he had been too credulous1 for all
 those that had so  industriously       
searched after this imaginary wealth1   
within five hours  left the work in     
despair1 and ,i continued almost alone  
with the prince4    ,imagining no time  
more proper to make the proposal ,i was 
sent with than  while his passion was   
still hot against the monks1 ,i         
presented him with  two ounces of gold  
and two plates of silver1 with some     
other things of  small value1 and was so
 successful that he gratified me in all 
my  requests1 and gave us leave to      
return to ,adicora1 where we were so    
fortunate to find our huts yet uninjured
 and entire4    ,about this time the    
fathers who had stayed behind at        
,fremona arrived with  the new viceroy1 
and an officer fierce in the defence of 
his own  religion1 who had particular   
orders to deliver all the ,jesuits up to
 the  ,turks1 except me1 whom the       

,emperor was resolved to have in his own
 hands1  alive or dead4  ,we had        
received some notice of this resolution 
from our  friends at court1 and were    
likewise informed that the ,emperor1    
their  master1 had been persuaded that  
my design was to procure assistance from
  the ,indies1 and that ,i should       
certainly return at the head of an army4
  ,the patriarch's advice upon this     
emergency was that ,i should retire into
  the woods1 and by some other road join
 the nine ,jesuits who were gone        
towards ,mazna4  ,i could think of no   
better expedient1 and therefore went    
away in the night between the #bcrd and 
#bdth of ,april with my comrade1 an  old
 man1 very infirm and very timorous4    
,we crossed woods never crossed1  ,i    
believe1 by any before3 the darkness of 
the night and the thickness of  the     
shade spread a kind of horror round us2 
our gloomy journey was still  more      
incommoded by the brambles and thorns1  
which tore our hands2 amidst  all these 

difficulties ,i applied myself to the   
,almighty1 praying him to  preserve us  
from those dangers which we endeavoured 
to avoid1 and to  deliver us from those 
to which our flight exposed us4  ,thus  
we travelled  all night1 till eight next
 morning1 without taking either rest or 
food2  then1 imagining ourselves secure1
 we made us some cakes of barley-meal   
and water1 which we thought a feast4    
,we had a dispute with our guides1 who  
though they had bargained to  conduct us
 for an ounce of gold1 yet when they saw
 us so entangled in the  intricacies of 
the wood that we could not possibly get 
out without their  direction1 demanded  
seven ounces of gold1 a mule1 and a     
little tent which  we had2 after a long 
dispute we were forced to come to their 
terms4  ,we  continued to travel all    
night1 and to hide ourselves in the     
woods all  day3 and here it was that we 
met the three hundred elephants ,i spoke
 of  before4  ,we made long marches1    
travelling without any halt from four in

  the afternoon to eight in the morning4
    ,arriving at a valley where         
travellers seldom escape being          
plundered1 we  were obliged to double   
our pace1 and were so happy as to pass  
it without  meeting with any misfortune1
 except that we heard a bird sing on our
 left  hand--a certain presage among    
these people of some great calamity at  
hand4  ,as there is no reasoning them   
out of superstition1 ,i knew no way  of 
encouraging them to go forward but what 
,i had already made use of on  the same 
occasion1 assuring them that ,i heard   
one at the same time on the  right4     
,they were happily so credulous as to   
take my word1 and we went on  till we   
came to a well1 where we stayed awhile  
to refresh ourselves4  ,setting out     
again in the evening1 we passed so near 
a village where these  robbers had      
retreated that the dogs barked after us4
  ,next morning we  joined the fathers1 
who waited for us4  ,after we had rested
 ourselves  some time in that mountain1 

we resolved to separate and go two and  
two1  to seek for a more convenient     
place where we might hide ourselves4    
,we  had not gone far before we were    
surrounded by a troop of robbers1 with  
whom1 by the interest of some of the    
natives who had joined themselves to    
our caravan1 we came to a composition1  
giving them part of our goods to  permit
 us to carry away the rest2 and after   
this troublesome adventure  arrived at a
 place something more commodious than   
that which we had  quitted1 where we met
 with bread1 but of so pernicious a     
quality that1  after having ate it1 we  
were intoxicated to so great a degree   
that one of  my friends1 seeing me so   
disordered1 congratulated my good       
fortune of  having met with such good   
wine1 and was surprised when ,i gave him
 an  account of the whole affair4  ,he  
then offered me some curdled milk1 very 
sour1 with barley-meal1 which we boiled1
 and thought it the best  entertainment 
we had met with a long time4            

,,chapter ,,xiv      ,they are betrayed 
into the hands of the ,turks2 are       
detained awhile at  ,mazna2 are         
threatened by the ,bassa of ,suaquem4   
,they agree for their  ransom1 and are  
part of them dismissed4    ,some time   
after1 we received news that we should  
prepare ourselves to  serve the         
,turks--a message which filled us with  
surprise1 it having never  been known   
that one of these lords had ever        
abandoned any whom he had  taken under  
his protection2 and it is1 on the       
contrary1 one of the  highest points of 
honour amongst them to risk their       
fortunes and their  lives in the defence
 of their dependants who have implored  
their  protection4  ,but neither law nor
 justice was of any advantage to us1 and
  the customs of the country were doomed
 to be broken when they would have      
contributed to our security4    ,we were
 obliged to march in the extremity of   
the hot season1 and had  certainly      
perished by the fatigue had we not      

entered the woods1 which  shaded us from
 the scorching sun4  ,the day before our
 arrival at the  place where we were to 
be delivered to the ,turks1 we met with 
five  elephants1 that pursued us1 and if
 they could have come to us would have  
prevented the miseries we afterwards    
endured1 but ,god had decreed           
otherwise4    ,on the morrow we came to 
the banks of a river1 where we found    
fourscore  ,turks that waited for us1   
armed with muskets4  ,they let us rest  
awhile1  and then put us into the hands 
of our new masters1 who1 setting us upon
  camels1 conducted us to ,mazna4       
,their commander1 seeming to be touched 
with our misfortunes1 treated us with   
much gentleness and humanity2 he        
offered us coffee1 which we drank1 but  
with little relish4  ,we came next  day 
to ,mazna1 in so wretched a condition   
that we were not surprised at  being    
hooted by the boys1 but thought         
ourselves well used that they threw  no 
stones at us4    ,as soon as we were    

brought hither1 all we had was taken    
from us1 and we  were carried to the    
governor1 who is placed there by the    
,bassa of  ,suaquem4  ,having been told 
by the ,abyssins that we had carried all
 the  gold out of ,a,ethiopia1 they     
searched us with great exactness1 but   
found  nothing except two chalices1 and 
some relics of so little value that we  
redeemed them for six sequins4  ,as ,i  
had given them my chalice upon their    
first demand1 they did not search me1   
but gave us to understand that they     
expected to find something of greater   
value1 which either we must have  hidden
 or the ,abyssins must have imposed on  
them4  ,they left us the rest  of the   
day at a gentleman's house1 who was our 
friend1 from whence the  next day they  
fetched us to transport us to the       
island1 where they put us  into a kind  
of prison1 with a view of terrifying us 
into a confession of  the place where we
 had hid our gold1 in which1 however1   
they found  themselves deceived4    ,but

 ,i had here another affair upon my     
hands which was near costing me  dear4  
,my servant had been taken from me and  
left at ,mazna1 to be sold to  the      
,arabs4  ,being advertised by him of the
 danger he was in1 ,i laid claim  to    
him1 without knowing the difficulties   
which this way of proceeding  would     
bring upon me4  ,the governor sent me   
word that my servant should be  restored
 to me upon payment of sixty piastres2  
and being answered by me  that ,i had   
not a penny for myself1 and therefore   
could not pay sixty  piastres to redeem 
my servant1 he informed me by a renegade
 ,jew1 who  negotiated the whole affair1
 that either ,i must produce the money  
or  receive a hundred blows of the      
battoon4  ,knowing that those orders are
  without appeal1 and always punctually 
executed1 ,i prepared myself to  receive
 the correction ,i was threatened with1 
but unexpectedly found the  people so   
charitable as to lend me the money4  ,by
 several other threats  of the same kind

 they drew from us about six hundred    
crowns4    ,on the #bdth of ,june we    
embarked in two galleys for ,suaquem1   
where the  bassa resided4  ,his brother1
 who was his deputy at ,mazna1 made us  
promise  before we went that we would   
not mention the money he had squeezed   
from  us4  ,the season was not very     
proper for sailing1 and our provisions  
were  but short4  ,in a little time we  
began to feel the want of better stores1
  and thought ourselves happy in meeting
 with a gelve1 which1 though small1  was
 a much better sailer than our vessel1  
in which ,i was sent to ,suaquem  to    
procure camels and provisions4  ,i was  
not much at my ease1 alone among  six   
,mahometans1 and could not help         
apprehending that some zealous pilgrim  
of ,mecca might lay hold on this        
opportunity1 in the heat of his         
devotion1  of sacrificing me to his     
prophet4    ,these apprehensions were   
without ground4  ,i contracted an       
acquaintance1  which was soon improved  

into a friendship1 with these people2   
they  offered me part of their          
provisions1 and ,i gave them some of    
mine4  ,as we  were in a place abounding
 with oysters--some of which were large 
and good  to eat1 others more smooth and
 shining1 in which pearls are           
found--they  gave me some of those they 
gathered2 but whether it happened by    
trifling  our time away in              
oyster-catching1 or whether the wind was
 not favourable1  we came to ,suaquem   
later than the vessel ,i had left1 in   
which were seven  of my companions4     
,as they had first landed1 they had     
suffered the first transports of the    
bassa's passion1 who was a violent1     
tyrannical man1 and would have killed   
his own brother for the least           
advantage--a temper which made him fly  
into  the utmost rage at seeing us poor1
 tattered1 and almost naked2 he treated 
us with the most opprobrious language1  
and threatened to cut off our  heads4   
,we comforted ourselves in this         

condition1 hoping that all our          
sufferings would end in shedding our    
blood for the name of ,jesus ,christ4   
,we knew that the bassa had often made a
 public declaration before our  arrival 
that he should die contented if he could
 have the pleasure of  killing us all   
with his own hand4  ,this violent       
resolution was not  lasting2 his zeal   
gave way to his avarice1 and he could   
not think of  losing so large a sum as  
he knew he might expect for our ransom3 
he  therefore sent us word that it was  
in our choice either to die1 or to pay  
him thirty thousand crowns1 and demanded
 to know our determination4    ,we knew 
that his ardent thirst of our blood was 
now cold1 that time and  calm reflection
 and the advice of his friends had all  
conspired to bring  him to a milder     
temper1 and therefore willingly began to
 treat with him4  ,i told the messenger1
 being deputed by the rest to manage the
 affair1  that he could not but observe 
the wretched condition we were in1 that 

we  had neither money nor revenues1 that
 what little we had was already taken   
from us1 and that therefore all we could
 promise was to set a collection  on    
foot1 not much doubting but that our    
brethren would afford us such           
assistance as might enable us to make   
him a handsome present according to     
custom4    ,this answer was not at all  
agreeable to the bassa1 who returned an 
answer  that he would be satisfied with 
twenty thousand crowns1 provided we paid
  them on the spot1 or gave him good    
securities for the payment4  ,to this   
we could only repeat what we had said   
before3 he then proposed to abate  five 
thousand of his last demand1 assuring us
 that unless we came to some  agreement1
 there was no torment so cruel but we   
should suffer it1 and  talked of nothing
 but impaling and flaying us alive2 the 
terror of these  threatenings was much  
increased by his domestics1 who told us 
of many of  his cruelties4  ,this is    
certain1 that some time before1 he had  

used some  poor pagan merchants in that 
manner1 and had caused the executioner  
to  begin to flay them1 when some       
,brahmin1 touched with compassion1      
generously contributed the sum demanded 
for their ransom4  ,we had no  reason to
 hope for so much kindness1 and1 having 
nothing of our own1  could promise no   
certain sum4    ,at length some of his  
favourites whom he most confided in1    
knowing his  cruelty and our inability  
to pay what he demanded1 and            
apprehending that1  if he should put us 
to the death he threatened1 they should 
soon see the  fleets of ,portugal in the
 ,red ,sea1 laying their towns in ashes 
to revenge  it1 endeavoured to soften   
his passion and preserve our lives1     
offering to  advance the sum we should  
agree for1 without any other security   
than our  words4  ,by this assistance1  
after many interviews with the bassa's  
agents1 we agreed to pay four thousand  
three hundred crowns1 which were        
accepted on condition that they should  

be paid down1 and we should go on  board
 within two hours3 but1 changing his    
resolution on a sudden1 he sent  us word
 by his treasurer that two of the most  
considerable among us  should stay      
behind for security1 while the rest went
 to procure the money  they promised4   
,they kept the patriarch and two more   
fathers1 one of  which was above        
fourscore years old1 in whose place ,i  
chose to remain  prisoner1 and          
represented to the bassa that1 being    
worn out with age1 he  perhaps might die
 in his hands1 which would lose the part
 of the ransom  which was due on his    
account2 that therefore it would be     
better to choose  a younger in his      
place1 offering to stay myself with him1
 that the good  old man might be set at 
liberty4    ,the bassa agreed to another
 ,jesuit1 and it pleased ,heaven that   
the lot  fell upon ,father ,francis     
,marquez4  ,i imagined that ,i might    
with the same  ease get the patriarch   
out of his hand1 but no sooner had ,i   

begun to  speak but the anger flashed in
 his eyes1 and his look was sufficient  
to  make me stop and despair of success4
  ,we parted immediately1 leaving the   
patriarch and two fathers in prison1    
whom we embraced with tears1 and  went  
to take up our lodging on board the     
vessel4        ,,chapter ,,xv           
,their treatment on board the vessel4   
,their reception at ,diou4  ,the  author
 applies to the viceroy for assistance1 
but without success2 he is  sent to     
solicit in ,europe4    ,our condition   
here was not much better than that of   
the illustrious  captives whom we left  
behind4  ,we were in an ,arabian ship1  
with a crew of  pilgrims of ,mecca1 with
 whom it was a point of religion to     
insult us4  ,we  were lodged upon the   
deck1 exposed to all the injuries of the
 weather1  nor was there the meanest    
workman or sailor who did not either    
kick or  strike us4  ,when we went first
 on board1 ,i perceived a humour in my  
finger1 which ,i neglected at first1    

till it spread over my hand and  swelled
 up my arm1 afflicting me with the most 
horrid torture4  ,there was  neither    
surgeon nor medicines to be had1 nor    
could ,i procure anything to  ease my   
pain but a little oil1 with which ,i    
anointed my arm1 and in time  found some
 relief4  ,the weather was very bad1 and
 the wind almost always  against us1    
and1 to increase our perplexity1 the    
whole crew1 though  ,moors1 were in the 
greatest apprehension of meeting any of 
those vessels  which the ,turks maintain
 in the strait of ,babelmandel2 the     
ground of  their fear was that the      
captain had neglected the last year to  
touch at  ,moca1 though he had promised4
  ,thus we were in danger of falling    
into a  captivity perhaps more severe   
than that we had just escaped from4     
,while  we were wholly engaged with     
these apprehensions1 we discovered a    
,turkish  ship and galley were come upon
 us4  ,it was almost calm--at least1    
there  was not wind enough to give us   

any prospect of escaping--so that when  
the  galley came up to us1 we thought   
ourselves lost without remedy1 and had  
probably fallen into their hands had not
 a breeze sprung up just in the  instant
 of danger1 which carried us down the   
channel between the mainland  and the   
isle of ,babelmandel4  ,i have already  
said that this passage is  difficult and
 dangerous1 which1 nevertheless1 we     
passed in the night1  without knowing   
what course we held1 and were           
transported at finding  ourselves next  
morning out of the ,red ,sea and half a 
league from  ,babelmandel4  ,the        
currents are here so violent that they  
carried us  against our will to ,cape   
,guardafui1 where we sent our boats     
ashore for  fresh water1 which we began 
to be in great want of4  ,the captain   
refused  to give us any when we desired 
some1 and treated us with great         
insolence1  till1 coming near the land1 
,i spoke to him in a tone more lofty and
  resolute than ,i had ever done1 and   

gave him to understand that when he     
touched at ,diou he might have occasion 
for our interest4  ,this had some       
effect upon him1 and procured us a      
greater degree of civility than we had  
met with before4    ,at length after    
forty days' sailing we landed at ,diou1 
where we were met  by the whole city1 it
 being reported that the patriarch was  
one of our  number2 for there was not a 
gentleman who was not impatient to have 
the  pleasure of beholding that good    
man1 now made famous by his labours and 
sufferings4  ,it is not in my power to  
represent the different passions  they  
were affected with at seeing us pale1   
meagre1 without clothes--in a  word1    
almost naked and almost dead with       
fatigue and ill-usage4  ,they  could not
 behold us in that miserable condition  
without reflecting on the  hardships we 
had undergone1 and our brethren then    
underwent1 in ,suaquem  and ,abyssinia4 
,amidst their thanks to ,god for our    
deliverance1 they  could not help       

lamenting the condition of the patriarch
 and the other  missionaries who were in
 chains1 or1 at least1 in the hands of  
professed  enemies to our holy religion4
  ,all this did not hinder them from    
testifying in the most obliging manner  
their joy for our deliverance1 and      
paying such honours as surprised the    
,moors1 and made them repent in a       
moment of the ill-treatment they had    
shown us on board4  ,one who had        
discovered somewhat more humanity than  
the rest thought himself  sufficiently  
honoured when ,i took him by the hand   
and presented him to  the chief officer 
of the custom house1 who promised to do 
all the favours  that were in his power4
    ,when we passed by in sight of the  
fort1 they gave us three salutes with   
their cannon1 an honour only paid to    
generals4  ,the chief men of the  city1 
who waited for us on the shore1         
accompanied us through a crowd of       
people1 whom curiosity had drawn from   
all parts of our college4  ,though  our 

place of residence at ,diou is one of   
the most beautiful in all the  ,indies1 
we stayed there only a few days1 and as 
soon as we had recovered  our fatigues  
went on board the ships that were       
appointed to convoy the  northern fleet4
  ,i was in the admiral's4  ,we arrived 
at ,goa in some  vessels bound for      
,camberia3 here we lost a good old      
,abyssin convert1 a  man much valued in 
his order1 and who was actually prior of
 his convent  when he left ,abyssinia1  
choosing rather to forsake all for      
religion than  to leave the way of      
salvation1 which ,god had so mercifully 
favoured him  with the knowledge of4    
,we continued our voyage1 and almost    
without stopping sailed by ,surate and  
,damam1 where the rector of the college 
came to see us1 but so sea-sick  that   
the interview was without any           
satisfaction on either side4  ,then     
landing at ,bazaim we were received by  
our fathers with their accustomed       
charity1 and nothing was thought of but 

how to put the unpleasing  remembrance  
of our past labours out of our minds4   
,finding here an order  of the ,father  
,provineta to forbid those who returned 
from the missions to  go any farther1 it
 was thought necessary to send an agent 
to ,goa with an  account of the         
revolutions that had happened in        
,abyssinia and of the  imprisonment of  
the patriarch4  ,for this commission ,i 
was made choice of2  and1 ,i know not by
 what hidden degree of ,providence1     
almost all affairs1  whatever the       
success of them was1 were transacted by 
me4  ,all the coasts  were beset by     
,dutch cruisers1 which made it difficult
 to sail without  running the hazard of 
being taken4  ,i went therefore by land 
from ,bazaim  to ,tana1 where we had    
another college1 and from thence to our 
house of  ,chaul4  ,here ,i hired a     
narrow light vessel1 and1 placing       
eighteen oars on  a side1 went close by 
the shore from ,chaul to ,goa1 almost   
eighty leagues4  ,we were often in      

danger of being taken1 and particularly 
when we touched  at ,dabal1 where a     
cruiser blocked up one of the channels  
through which  ships usually sail2 but  
our vessel requiring no great depth of  
water1 and  the sea running high1 we    
went through the little channel1 and    
fortunately  escaped the cruiser4       
,though we were yet far from ,goa1 we   
expected to  arrive there on the next   
morning1 and rowed forward with all the 
diligence we could4  ,the sea was calm  
and delightful1 and our minds were  at  
ease1 for we imagined ourselves past    
danger2 but soon found we had  flattered
 ourselves too soon with security1 for  
we came within sight of  several barks  
of ,malabar1 which had been hid behind a
 point of land which  we were going to  
double4  ,here we had been inevitably   
taken had not a man  called to us from  
the shore and informed us that among    
those  fishing-boats there1 some        
crusiers would make us a prize4  ,we    
rewarded  our kind informer for the     

service he had done us1 and lay by till 
night  came to shelter us from our      
enemies4  ,then putting out our oars we 
landed  at ,goa next morning about ten1 
and were received at our college4  ,it  
being there a festival day1 each had    
something extraordinary allowed him2    
the choicest part of our entertainments 
was two pilchers1 which were  admired   
because they came from ,portugal4       
,the quiet ,i began to enjoy did not    
make me lose the remembrance of my      
brethren whom ,i had left languishing   
among the rocks of ,abyssinia1 or       
groaning in the prisons of ,suaquem1    
whom since ,i could not set at liberty  
without the viceroy's assistance1 ,i    
went to implore it1 and did not fail  to
 make use of every motive which could   
have any influence4    ,i described in  
the most pathetic manner ,i could the   
miserable state to  which the ,catholic 
religion was reduced in a country where 
it had lately  flourished so much by the
 labours of the ,portuguese2 ,i gave him

 in the  strongest terms a              
representation of all that we had       
suffered since the  death of ,sultan    
,segued1 how we had been driven out of  
,abyssinia1 how many  times they had    
attempted to take away our lives1 in    
what manner we had  been betrayed and   
given up to the ,turks1 the menaces we  
had been  terrified with1 the insults we
 had endured2 ,i laid before him the    
danger  the patriarch was in of being   
either impaled or flayed alive2 the     
cruelty1 insolence and avarice of the   
,bassa of ,suaquem1 and the  persecution
 that the ,catholics suffered in        
,a,ethiopia4  ,i exhorted1 ,i  implored 
him by everything ,i thought might move 
him1 to make some attempt  for the      
preservation of those who had           
voluntarily sacrificed their lives  for 
the sake of ,god4  ,i made it appear    
with how much ease the ,turks might  be 
driven out of the ,red ,sea1 and the    
,portuguese enjoy all the trade of      
those countries4  ,i informed him of the

 navigation of that sea1 and the        
situation of its ports2 told him which  
it would be necessary to make  ourselves
 masters of first1 that we might upon   
any unfortunate encounter  retreat to   
them4  ,i cannot deny that some degree  
of resentment might  appear in my       
discourse2 for1 though revenge be       
prohibited to ,christians1  ,i should   
not have been displeased to have had the
 ,bassa of ,suaquem and  his brother in 
my hands1 that ,i might have reproached 
them with the ill-  treatment we had met
 with from them4  ,this was the reason  
of my advising  to make the first attack
 upon ,mazna1 to drive the ,turks from  
thence1 to  build a citadel1 and        
garrison it with ,portuguese4    ,the   
viceroy listened with great attention to
 all ,i had to say1 gave me a  long     
audience1 and asked me many questions4  
,he was well pleased with the  design of
 sending a fleet into that sea1 and1 to 
give a greater  reputation to the       
enterprise1 proposed making his son     

commander-in-chief1  but could by no    
means be brought to think of fixing     
garrisons and  building fortresses      
there2 all he intended was to plunder   
all they could1  and lay the towns in   
ashes4    ,i left no art of persuasion  
untried to convince him that such a     
resolution would injure the interests of
 ,christianity1 that to enter the  ,red 
,sea only to ravage the coasts would so 
enrage the ,turks that they  would      
certainly massacre all the ,christian   
captives1 and for ever shut  the passage
 into ,abyssinia1 and hinder all        
communication with that  empire4  ,it   
was my opinion that the ,portuguese     
should first establish  themselves at   
,mazna1 and that a hundred of them would
 be sufficient to  keep the fort that   
should be built4  ,he made an offer of  
only fifty1 and  proposed that we should
 collect those few ,portuguese who were 
scattered  over ,abyssinia4  ,these     
measures ,i could not approve4    ,at   
length1 when it appeared that the       

viceroy had neither forces nor          
authority sufficient for this           
undertaking1 it was agreed that ,i      
should go  immediately into ,europe1 and
 represent at ,rome and ,madrid the     
miserable  condition of the missions of 
,abyssinia4  ,the viceroy promised that 
if ,i  could procure any assistance1 he 
would command in person the fleet and   
forces raised for the expedition1       
assuring that he thought he could not   
employ his life better than in a war so 
holy1 and of so great an  importance1 to
 the propagation of the ,catholic faith4
    ,encouraged by this discourse of the
 viceroy1 ,i immediately prepared       
myself for a voyage to ,lisbon1 not     
doubting to obtain upon the least       
solicitation everything that was        
necessary to re-establish our mission4  
,never had any man a voyage so          
troublesome as mine1 or interrupted with
  such variety of unhappy accidents2 ,i 
was shipwrecked on the coast of  ,natal1
 ,i was taken by the ,hollanders1 and it

 is not easy to mention the  danger     
which ,i was exposed to both by land and
 sea before ,i arrived at  ,portugal4