But
All This While, I Used To Resort Secretly In The Night To The House Of
The Milanese Christians; And Learning From Them That The Twelve
Portuguese Ships Were Arrived At Cananore, I Thought That It Was Now A
Favourable Opportunity For Me To Escape.
I remained, however, for seven
days more, learning every thing I could respecting the preparations that
were making by the king of Calicut and his people against the
Portuguese, in regard to their army, artillery, and every thing relative
to the war.
But, before I speak of the manner of my departure, it may be
proper to say something of the religious practices of the Mahometans.
For calling the people to the mosque, their priests and other ministers,
of whom there are a great number, ascend to the highest tower of the
temple, where they sound three or four brass trumpets instead of bells,
and then call to the people in a loud voice to come to prayers. Then
stopping one ear with their finger, they call out in their own language,
_Alla u eccubar, etc._ That is to say, "God is great! God is great! Come
to the temple of the great God! Come pray to the great God! God is
great! God is great! God was! God is! Mahomet, the messenger of God,
shall arise!" They even invited me to the mosque, and desired me to pray
to God for the Mahometans; and this I did outwardly, but with quite a
different meaning from them.
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