His Discourses On Indifferent Subjects Will Divert As Well As
Instruct, And If Either In These, Or In The Relation
Of Father Lobo,
any argument shall appear unconvincing, or description obscure, they
are defects incident to all mankind, which, however,
Are not too
rashly to be imputed to the authors, being sometimes, perhaps, more
justly chargeable on the translator.
In this translation, if it may be so called, great liberties have
been taken, which, whether justifiable or not, shall be fairly
confessed; and let the judicious part of mankind pardon or condemn
them.
In the first part the greatest freedom has been used in reducing the
narration into a narrow compass, so that it is by no means a
translation but an epitome, in which, whether everything either
useful or entertaining be comprised, the compiler is least qualified
to determine.
In the account of Abyssinia, and the continuation, the authors have
been followed with more exactness, and as few passages appeared
either insignificant or tedious, few have been either shortened or
omitted.
The dissertations are the only part in which an exact translation
has been attempted, and even in those abstracts are sometimes given
instead of literal quotations, particularly in the first; and
sometimes other parts have been contracted.
Several memorials and letters, which are printed at the end of the
dissertations to secure the credit of the foregoing narrative, are
entirely left out.
It is hoped that, after this confession, whoever shall compare this
attempt with the original, if he shall find no proofs of fraud or
partiality, will candidly overlook any failure of judgment.
PART I - THE VOYAGE TO ABYSSINIA
Chapter I
The author arrives after some difficulties at Goa. Is chosen for
the Mission of Aethiopia. The fate of those Jesuits who went by
Zeila. The author arrives at the coast of Melinda.
I embarked in March, 1622, in the same fleet with the Count
Vidigueira, on whom the king had conferred the viceroyship of the
Indies, then vacant by the resignation of Alfonso Noronha, whose
unsuccessful voyage in the foregoing year had been the occasion of
the loss of Ormus, which being by the miscarriage of that fleet
deprived of the succours necessary for its defence, was taken by the
Persians and English. The beginning of this voyage was very
prosperous: we were neither annoyed with the diseases of the
climate nor distressed with bad weather, till we doubled the Cape of
Good Hope, which was about the end of May. Here began our
misfortunes; these coasts are remarkable for the many shipwrecks the
Portuguese have suffered. The sea is for the most part rough, and
the winds tempestuous; we had here our rigging somewhat damaged by a
storm of lightning, which when we had repaired, we sailed forward to
Mosambique, where we were to stay some time. When we came near that
coast, and began to rejoice at the prospect of ease and refreshment,
we were on the sudden alarmed with the sight of a squadron of ships,
of what nation we could not at first distinguish, but soon
discovered that they were three English and three Dutch, and were
preparing to attack us. I shall not trouble the reader with the
particulars of this fight, in which, though the English commander
ran himself aground, we lost three of our ships, and with great
difficulty escaped with the rest into the port of Mosambique.
This place was able to afford us little consolation in our uneasy
circumstances; the arrival of our company almost caused a scarcity
of provisions. The heat in the day is intolerable, and the dews in
the night so unwholesome that it is almost certain death to go out
with one's head uncovered. 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 straw. We stayed, however, in this place from the latter end
of July to the beginning of September, when having provided
ourselves with other vessels, we set out for Cochim, and landed
there after a very hazardous and difficult passage, made so partly
by the currents and storms which separated us from each other, and
partly by continual apprehensions of the English and Dutch, who were
cruising for us in the Indian seas. Here the viceroy and his
company were received with so much ceremony, as was rather
troublesome than pleasing to us who were fatigued with the labours
of the passage; and having stayed here some time, that the gentlemen
who attended the viceroy to Goa might fit out their vessels, we set
sail, and after having been detained some time at sea, by calms and
contrary winds, and somewhat harassed by the English and Dutch, who
were now increased to eleven ships of war, arrived at Goa, on
Saturday, the 16th of December, and the viceroy made his entry with
great magnificence.
I lived here about a year, and completed my studies in divinity; in
which time some letters were received from the fathers in Aethiopia,
with an account that Sultan Segued, Emperor of Abyssinia, was
converted to the Church of Rome, that many of his subjects had
followed his example, and that there was a great want of
missionaries to improve these prosperous beginnings. Everybody was
very desirous of seconding the zeal of our fathers, and of sending
them the assistance they requested; to which we were the more
encouraged, because the emperor's letters informed our provincial
that we might easily enter his dominions by the way of Dancala, but
unhappily, the secretary wrote Zeila for Dancala, which cost two of
our fathers their lives.
We were, however, notwithstanding the assurances given us by the
emperor, sufficiently apprised of the danger which we were exposed
to in this expedition, whether we went by sea or land. By sea, we
foresaw the hazard we run of falling into the hands of the Turks,
amongst whom we should lose, if not our lives, at least our liberty,
and be for ever prevented from reaching the court of Aethiopia.
Upon this consideration our superiors divided the eight Jesuits
chosen for this mission into two companies.
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