IN THIS PART IS RELATED THE JOURNEY WHICH WAS MADE FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE PRESTER JOHN TO PORTUGAL.

On the 28th day of April, of 1526, we set sail, the whole fleet together; it consisted of five sail, namely three royal galloons and two carvels. We reached the island of Camaran the 1st day of May, and there the wind wearied us. We were there three days, and whilst waiting I remembered how we had there buried Duarte Galvam, the ambassador to Prester John, who was sent by the king our sovereign. I was present at his decease, and I went to his burial, and with the licentiate Pero Gomez Teixeira, who was then judge, we marked the grave, so that if at any time any of his relations or friends came, they might know it, to remove his remains to a country of Christians if they chose. And I went with a slave of mine to where we had left him buried, and I ordered him to be dug up, and to dispose all his bones in order; but we did not find more than three teeth, and I put them in a small box, and we brought his remains to the galloon St. Leon, in which I went, without anyone knowing of it except one Gaspar de Saa, factor of the said fleet, and who was of his household. As soon as we had got the said remains on board the galloon, the wind changed to a stern wind, and that hour we set sail, and this factor said to me: “Certainly, as Duarte Galvam was a good man and ended his days in the service of God, so God gives us a good wind for him.” And we had the same wind till the 10th of May, when we were opposite Aden, and already in the open sea,[266] and the winter weather from India was facing us, and we facing it. The storm was so great that the second night we passed in it, what with the great darkness and high wind, we lost one another and were separated without seeing each other again, or knowing what course each ship was making. This galloon St. Leon, in which I went, had a large boat made fast astern with three ropes, and in it was a ship boy, a Frenchman by nation, who steered it. In the fourth night that we passed in this storm, the sea was so wild and high that we all thought we should be lost; and at midnight a little more or less, all three ropes of the boat broke, and the galloon gave so many and so great lurches, that we thought we should go to the bottom of the sea. The master of the galloon sounded his whistle and gave out a Paternoster through the ship to all hands[267] for the soul of the ship boy who was in the boat. On the following day an auction was held, that is, a valuation and sale of the pieces and things which the ship boy had with him, and with them and a slave of his a hundred and twenty pardaos[268] were made. We sailed with this storm[269] until we got to the strait of Ormuz, and on the 28th of May we reached the port of Mazquate, which belongs to the Kingdom of Ormuz, and pays tribute to the King of Portugal our sovereign. There we found one of the carvels of our convoy and fleet, which gave an account of the storm which it had passed, and three days after that the other carvel, companion of the first, arrived; and the same day a galloon arrived, and each related the storms. Ten days after our arrival at this port of Mazquate, they saw tacking about on the sea the galloon Sam Donis, the flagship of the fleet, and she could not fetch the port: two Portuguese fustas, which guarded the strait of the port of Mazquate, went out to her, and as soon as they reached the galloon they turned back, and with great haste they took provisions and water to succour the galloon and her crew, who were lost with hunger and thirst, more with thirst than hunger. The fustas passed the night there; and next day, in the early morning, all our boats and the town boats set out from the town to fetch the galloon, and they did bring her and arrived with her in the port in the afternoon. Here they related the great straits and danger in which they found themselves, saying that they had run before the storm which caught them at the entrance of the strait,[270] and they went as far as the bay of Cambay, from which they could not come out: and the Lord was pleased that the storm should not cease, by which the sea was secure from enemies. They also said that for three days they had not eaten, from being short of water. They spoke of the great virtue and compassion of Hector da Silveira, captain-major of this fleet, and they said that he was the first to leave off drinking, and that with tears in his eyes and a little water in his hand he went about distributing it among the sick: and after the time that they found themselves in these straits, he did not any more sleep in nor enter his cabin, that it might not be supposed that he went to fill himself with water and left the crews to suffer. So they said it was true that on the day when they sighted land and we succoured them, there was not a single drop of water in the galloon, nor had either the sound or the sick tasted it: and that they had sight that day miraculously of the land and port, and we of them; because they already despaired of their lives. I heard this from the ambassadors, Don Rodrigo de Lima who went to the Prester John, and Alicacanate, the ambassador of the Prester, who is going to Portugal; and generally all said it who were in the galloon. All the people landed to refresh themselves and recover from the fatigue of the sea. We were few days in this port of Mazquate, and from there our fleet sailed together, God be praised, and with us certain fustas of those which guard this port and strait. We went to the city of Ormuz, a fortress of the king our sovereign, and found there Lopo Vaz de Sampayo, captain-major and governor of the Indies for his Highness. When we reached the port, all the gentlemen and captains of the ships, carvels, galleys, and fustas, and all the other people, both of the fortress and of the fleet and company of the captain-major, came out to receive us on the beach; and the captain-major was on the beach in front of the fortress, and there they gave us our welcome. Then we went together to the church which is inside the fort, and the captain-major came down there to embrace the ambassadors, and me with them, and some others of our embassy. Then we went each to his quarters. The following day we all came to hear mass and to speak to the captain-major, and to give him a letter from Prester John, which we had brought for Diogo Lopez de Sequeira, who had been captain-major and governor of the Indies, and who took us to the country of the Prester: and we gave the letter to Lopo Yaz de Sampayo, as he had succeeded to the said charge. Besides, we gave him a silk robe with five gold plates before and other five behind, and one on each shoulder, which in all made twelve. Each one was the size of the palm of the hand, and Prester John sent it to Diogo Lopez. The governor, Lopo Vaz de Sampayo, gave the favour of two hundred pardaos to Don Rodrigo de Lima, the ambassador who had gone to the Prester, and another two hundred to the Prester’s ambassador, and to me he gave the favour of a hundred pardaos. Hector da Silveira remained few days at Ormuz, and soon returned with his fleet to wait for the ships which come from Jiddah to Dio, and come out with the monsoon with which we came, and they pass the winter at Aden, and with the first wind make their voyage; and we remained until being certain that the winter had passed.

“In the name of God the Father, Who always was, to Whom no beginning is found. In the name of the Son, one only, who is like Him without being seen, light of the stars from the beginning, before the foundations of the ocean were founded. In another time He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin without seed of man, or marriage. So was the knowledge of His office, in the name of the Paraclete, spirit of holiness, who knows all secrets, where He was first in the heights of heaven, which is sustained without props or supports, and extended the earth, without its being from the beginning, nor was it known nor created from the east to the west, and from north to south; neither is He the first nor the second, but the Trinity joined together in one Creator of all things for ever, with one sole counsel and one sole word for ever and ever. Amen.

“The king of the great and very high city of Ethiopia sends this writing and embassage: the king incense of the Virgin, whose name is his by baptism: now that he has become king he is named David, the head of his kingdoms, loved of God, prop of the faith, a relation of the lineage of Judah, son of David, son of Solomon, son of the column of Sion, son of the seed of Jacob, son of the hand of Mary, son of Nahum in the flesh.

“This goes to Diogo Lopez de Sequeira, captain-major of the Indies.

“I have heard of you that you are under the king, and that you are a conqueror in all the things which are committed to you, and have no fear of the forces of the numerous Moors, and mounted on a horse you do not fear storms, and you go armed with faith; neither are you one who is conquered by concealed things, and you go armed with the truth of the Gospel, and so you sustain yourself on the edge of the banner of the cross: and for ever thanks be to God for the said faith which procured us our joy, for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of the coming to us which you have come, and have announced your good embassy of your sovereign king Don Manuel; and with your present and peace, which you accomplished with so much fatigue in the ships, and upon the sea, with great winds and storms both by sea and land, coming to kill the Moors and Pagans by such distant journeys; and your ships are steered and directed wherever you wish, which is a miraculous thing: and we are amazed at your having gone for two years, at sea and in war, and with so much fatigue, without resting either day or night. That which it is usual to do, is done by day, and by day merchandise is bought and sold, and travelling is done; the night is for men to sleep and rest themselves, as the Scripture says. The day is for men to do their business from the morning till night. And the lion’s cub only scratches the earth and seeks[271] and prays to God that it may find food; and when the sun rises it returns to its den. And the customs of men are like those of animals: the animals exist from the beginning of the world, and you were not conquered by not sleeping at night, nor by day with the sun, from love of the true faith, as St. Paul says. Who will it be that will contradict these words. Sickness or suffering, hunger or cruelty, knife or sword, fatigue or anything else, cannot part us from the faith of Christ, in which we truly believe in death and in life. The great lords and rich men, when they are sent with an embassage of that which was good by day, it is a very deep thing; there is not one who can separate us from Jesus Christ. The apostle moreover says: Blessed is the man who is humble and endures good and evil, and in conclusion deserves to take the crown of life, and God promised him that which was his desire. There are some men who desire to attempt and care for one thing, God chooses another. God does not select a man for bad things. Now may God fulfil your desire, and give you safety, and bring you to the King Don Manuel your sovereign; and those whom you have conquered, carry them before you, with their spoils, that is of the Pagans who are not in the faith of Jesus Christ. May this be for good; and your men-at-arms may they be blessed, like you; because they are martyrs for Jesus Christ, who die for his holy name of cold and heat, with labours and fatigues; and you and they, may God conduct you with health and peace to see the face of your sovereign King Don Manuel. I heard, Sir, and I had heard what you had told us, how you arrived at our country, and there was great joy as when one takes a large booty; and when they told me that you had gone away, there was great sadness. After that, when they told me that your ambassador was coming, and of your good will up to this day, I am in great pleasure, and blessed be the name of God the Father, one only God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world. And they came to me, and I heard your reputation from afar; and now may God maintain you that you have made friendship with me. May your goodness now be fulfilled in that which I desire, and do you send me masters of working gold and silver, of making swords, and weapons of iron and helmets, and masons to make houses, and masters to make vineyards and gardens, and all other masters that are necessary, and of the best arts that are named, and to make lead to cover churches, and to make earthen tiles in our country, so that we may not cover our houses with thatch: of this we have great necessity, and we are very sad at not possessing them. I have built a very large church which is named Trinity, in which I have buried my father, whose soul may it be in God’s keeping; and your ambassadors will tell you how good its walls are, and I wished to cover it in great haste, because it is covered with thatch. I tell you this for the love of God to send me the total of these masters, which is ten of each art. On account of this your masters will neither be diminished nor increased. As long as they like to remain they may remain, and if they should wish to return I will pay them their work, and I will let them go in peace. And now hear another word: I send you there those Franks who were here, and who were going about as Moors in the country of Cairo; I made Christians of them, and they will show the road to Zeila and Aden, and Mekkah, and Masua, as they know it well. On this account let your heart be glad, and I rejoice at that which is in your desire, and I write to you for the sake of the embassage which you sent, which says that you wish to build a church and a fort in the island of Masua, and you ask me for leave to do it: I give you permission to make a church and a castle in Masua and in Dalaqua, and to put priests in the churches, and strong men to guard the castles, from fear of the Moors, dirty sons of Mahomed. Do this quickly before you go to India, and do not give yourselves leisure in this, nor go to India until you have made a church and a castle. For all this we will praise you, I and the King Don Manuel your sovereign, because God has been pleased that we should love one another. And make a market where they buy and sell merchandise, and do not allow Moors to buy and sell, but Christians. And if you wish that Moors should buy and sell there, let it be as you please and with your license. And after you have done this in Masua, come to Zeila and make there a church and castle, as I said before. This town of Zeila is a port of much provisions for Aden and all parts of Arabia, and many other countries and kingdoms; and those kingdoms and lands have no other favour except what comes to them from Zeila. When this is done which I send you word to do, you will have the kingdom of Aden in your hand, and all Arabia, and many other countries and kingdoms, without war nor death of people, because you will take all their provisions and they will be starved. When you wish to make war upon the Moors, send and tell me, and what you want or have need of; and I will send you horsemen and archers, and I will be with you, and we will defeat the Moors and Pagans justly for the faith, I and you. When you wish to go to India, leave Don Rodrigo de Lima as captain of Masua, and let not your ambassadors omit to go and come whenever there is anything suspicious there. These who now are going are the first who came here; the ambassadors of your embassage are great and good, and they love one another well in spite of their faults; and do to them much good for the sake of their goodness, especially to Don Rodrigo de Lima, who is very good, excepting his faults, and that he does not speak much with his lips, and he is remarkable for making himself good, better than all, and he is a servant to be trusted; do good to him, and he is a servant of the blessing. To Padre Francisco give twice as many thanks, because he is a holy man, honest, and of good conscience for the love of God: I know his disposition, and I gave him a cross and a staff of his lordship into his hand: this is a sign of his lordship, and he is an abbot in our country: and do you increase him and make him lord of Masua and Zeila and all the isles of the Red Sea, and of the extremities of our countries, because he is sufficient for, and deserving of such an office. Also, with regard to Joam Escolar the clerk, I have complied with his desire and wishes, because he is always at the king’s service, do to him as may be best for him, because he is a man of very good condition, and he laboured much in the writing of this, and in things which had to be done. To the rest of the embassy do them good, from the small to the great, according to what each is, and give them their reward. Our Lord give you his peace for the service of virtue, and do good to you and to all that are with you. Do good to them, and may the Lord illuminate you and them with his grace. May God assist our brothers, those who love one another well, and all those who persist in it; God is with them, and may He be with you and succour you in all cases; and may your feet be together on the road, and keep you from the evil eye, and keep you from the waves of the sea, and your ships from the storms, and you in life in all times without any sickness, and keep you in all hours of the day and night, in winter and summer, in secula seculorum, amen. I send you my blessing, but not by this letter only, as I am accustomed so to send it; and I excuse myself in this, and remember you, and that in all the houses of Christians and churches which were built by our ancestors, the prayer which we make says thus: “We will pray for that which we want of the Lord God and Jesus Christ his Son for those who come in pilgrimage, our brothers, and those also who have come this pilgrimage by sea or rivers or lakes or difficult roads, wherever it may be. To Thee they belong; God bring them and conduct them in safety with a smooth sea: the Lord sustain them all.” So the deacons say, praying for the priests, and in another part the priests say: “God be with you, because He is with all, and we ask for that which He has for good, and we ask for those who are brothers in dangers, and they are so now, and they come in pilgrimage a straight road with those of the road which they desire, and that we may soon find what we desire, may the Lord give it us.” The deacon says, and all the people say: “Lord God have mercy upon us.” So says the third priest: “May God bring them in safety on a smooth sea, and bring them to their relations with pleasure and peace which they desire, and may they see pleasure by His Son Jesus Christ. May He be with you, and you with Him, and with the Holy Spirit, which is eternal glory, now and for ever in secula seculorum, amen.”

“So, as I say, prayer is made in all the churches and hours of the offices, with incense, not for you alone, but for all of us, that He may be with us in pilgrimage, and that this pilgrimage should not come to us, but over the sea inside our country as in yours; for the sake of this do you make prayer in this office so that you may be saved, and that you may be against bad men, and that bad imaginations may not enter you. And while you live, in order to defeat the Moors and Pagans, those who do not believe in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, I will send assistance to make war, and many men and provisions and gold: not only to Masua, but to Zeila and Adel, and all the countries of the infidels, defeating the sons of Mahomed, the heretics. With the assistance of the Queen St. Mary our Lady I have defeated them, and we will defeat them. You will come by sea, and we will go by land together with consultation, with the strength of the most Holy Trinity.”

We left Ormuz with the captain-major, Governor Lopo Vaz de Sampayo, in his fleet, because Hector da Silveira had already sailed with his galloons and fleet to wait for the Mekkah ships which had wintered at Aden, as has been said; and coming out of the strait of Ormuz, we already met the wild winter weather of India, which could be navigated without a storm, and we went to the fortress of Chaul, which belongs to the king our sovereign, a country which is very strong and flourishing, of much wheat, which comes from Cambay, and much meat of the country, namely, cows, rams, fowls, fish, an infinite quantity of shad fish, and very good, and the rest remain in the canals, (where the ship sunk with Don Lorenzo d’Almeida, a great knight, son of the Viceroy Don Francisco d’Almeida), many Indian figs, large vegetable gardens and delicacies, all made by the Portuguese. Many days did not pass but what Hector da Silveira, who was waiting with his fleet for the Mekkah ships, came and brought three ships as prizes, very large and rich, with much gold, because as yet they did not bring merchandize, and they came for it to India. All the Moors that they captured in them (and the fortress was full of them), those that were young and able for the galleys, all were taken for the king our sovereign for his galleys, and they were taken at a price of ten cruzados each, for such is his regulation. And the other old men or who were not able, they gave them also for ten cruzados to whoever wanted them for ransom, or to make use of them. Among these that were taken in the prizes came many Jews, among whom was an old Jew who had done honour and given hospitality in his house to some Portuguese who had been lost in the kingdom of Fartaque,[272] they went about the country like desperate men, asking the way to Ormuz, and God brought them to the house of this Jew. The Jew took them in and gave them food and drink and stuffs to cover themselves with, and some money for the road. The Lord was pleased that this benefaction of his should not pass without a reward. One of the men to whom the Jew did this good happened to be here, and to know him in a prison where he was lying with others; and he was a man who was poor enough, a native of Viseu: compassion and virtue worked in him, and remembering what he had received from the Jew, he went to the captain-major and told him that the Jew had done much good to him and to other Portuguese, in the kingdom of Fartaque, and had given them their lives, and that he was now a captive with the Moors that Hector da Silveira had taken in the prizes, and that he was very old and not fit for the galleys, and that he himself had no money with which to buy him, and that he entreated his lordship to give this Jew to him on account of his pay for ten cruzados, as they gave for the others. The captain-major sent for the Jew and told him to look and see if he knew any men of those who stood there. Looking at all of them, he pointed out the one who had been in his house, and to whom and to others he had done good. Then the captain-major granted this Jew to that poor man for the good which he had done to him and to the Moors who went with him in that voyage and storm, in which they had come to his house. This man took the Jew by the hand, and went with him among the Portuguese relating the benefit which he had received from him, as also other Portuguese who were not present, and he collected fifty pardaos of alms for him. All Christians, Moors, and Jews said publicly that no other good act received thanks, and that there was no other recompense except for what was done to the Portuguese; and so they would do good to them when they fell in with them in their own countries. We sailed from here and arrived at the city of Goa on Saturday, the 25th of November, the vigil of St. Catherine; and because this city was taken from the Moors and Gentiles on St. Catherine’s day, on the Sunday,[273] which was St. Catherine’s day, they made a very great and solemn procession, with all the plays and festivities which are customary in Portugal on the day of Corpus Christi. Prester John’s ambassador and certain friars who came with him from his country said that here they completed their belief and knowledge that we were Christians since we made so solemn a procession. We did not remain in this city more than three days. Prester John’s ambassador left in this city of Goa four slaves, namely, two to be taught to be painters, and two others to be trumpeters, and the captain-major ordered maintenance to be given them and that they should be taught. We sailed for Cananor and remained there six days; the ambassador and the friars there also rejoiced at seeing the chapel of Jacob, which Matheus had ordered to be built, and the honoured bell which lies over his tomb. From the fortress and town of Cananor we sailed by this sea on the way to Cochim: on reaching it we found Antonio Galvam, son of Duarte Galvam, the ambassador who was going to Prester John and who died in Camaran, whose remains I was bringing with me. I sent word to his son how I was bringing them: he rejoiced much and begged me not to bring them on shore, because he wished to come for them with a procession; which he did with all the clergy and friars of the city, and the confraternities with all their tapers. He ordered an honourable memorial service to be performed in the monastery of St. Anthony, with offerings of sacks of wheat and barrels of wine. And because the seamen would hesitate about carrying dead bodies in the ship,[274] they made a small recess on the Gospel side, close to the high altar, so that it should seem that the box in which the remains were was put in there, and when the people had gone they closed the recess and the box remained outside. As Antonio Galvam was captain of a ship which was going to Portugal, he had the box with his father’s remains taken to his ship. All the time that we remained at Cochim was spent in loading three ships and getting ready the people who were to go. Each ship, when it had got its cargo of pepper and cloves, sailed for Cananor, which is thirty leagues from Cochim, to take in ginger and provisions of biscuit and fish, and also palm wine and gunpowder. All the three ships assembled at Cananor in the beginning of January, and one of the three ships sailed at once.

The ship which first reached Cananor of those which loaded in Cochim, the captain of which was Tristan Vaz da Veiga, in which went the ambassadors Don Rodrigo de Lima and Licacanate, ambassador of the Prester, first took what was necessary in that fortress, namely, ginger, biscuit, arrak, fish, and she sailed on the 4th of January of 1527 for Portugal. The ship of which Antonio Galvam was captain, and in which I went on account of his friendship, arrived at port after the first which had already sailed, so they at once equipped us, and we sailed on the 18th of January for Portugal; and according to what they told us, the ship which had remained in the port of Cananor, taking in what it had to take sailed fifteen days after us, which was twenty-nine days after the departure of the first ship, which went out of port before us. Each ship made its course full speed as God might assist them, without first talking of waiting for one another. On the morning of the 2nd of April the look-out man of our ship, who slept in the top, began to say, “There is a ship a-head of us a distance of two leagues”. All those who still slept arose, and with those who were already up we placed ourselves in the castles to look with much amazement what ship it might be, because we were very far out in the middle of the sea. When it was clear day they knew that she was Portuguese, and one from India. Upon this the look-out man said he saw a ship astern of us. The ship which went in front having knowledge of us, as we had of her, began to wait until we approached and saluted her, and she us. Then the ship which came astern was well in sight, and the two ships agreed to wait for her, and towards night she reached us. There was much pleasure among the crews of the three ships, asking one another how they had fared, and asking the foremost ships if anything had happened to them, or how they had not sailed faster. They said, or we said, that we had sailed as much as we had been able, without anything happening to us by the way; and all in good health, God be praised. Here we went in convoy, and sailed together for three days. And because the ship named Sta. Maria do Espinheiro, Captain Antonio Galvam, in which I went, heeled over a great deal, and did not sail as fast as the others, one day early in the morning one of the ships was a long way off, and the other waited for us to speak us. When we reached her and saluted her, she said that the other ship which had gone a-head, and she, asked our pardon, but they could not wait for us, because they saw our ship heel so much that it seemed to them that we could not go to Portugal. We remained very disconsolate, and they went on their course. We made our course for the island of St. Helena to take in water there. The two ships which had left us fetched the said island, and we on Easter Sunday, which was the 21st of April 1527 ran by the island in the night which ended on Monday. And as at midnight, a little more or less, there came a heavy shower, some said that then we ran by the island, because the shower came from the land; others said that it was still a-head of us. We remained some days in this doubt, until we saw signs that we were beyond the island, and we ran very short of water; already we did not boil anything from want of water. Here the Lord succoured us with his mercy, giving us three days and three nights heavy rain, during which much good water was taken. They took thirty pipes of water for the ship, and for me they took three, and so also each one took what he wanted in whatever he had got, and we remained with abundance of water. From this time forward we made our usual meals. When we were near the island of Terceira we sighted a ship, and we feared much, thinking that she might be French. This ship fell off from the island to seaward, and we got as close in shore as we could; and then they sighted from our top a canoe[275] in which were men castaway, and they launched another canoe from our ship, which they had brought from India, and some seamen and shipboys went to it and took the canoe and nine persons that were in it, namely, five white men and four slaves, who were half dead; for the canoe had capsized with them because it is long and narrow and all of one piece of timber. They placed all these men thrown one upon another as they could not move, and had all been overflowed with water. On reaching the ship they seemed more dead than alive. They at once stripped them and put on them dry clothes, and some of them in beds, others by the fire, and some spoke three hours after that, others four hours, and others next day. Next day at dawn we made the port of the island Terceira, where we found caravels which were waiting for ships, and also alarmed at the ships which appeared at sea, thinking they were French, as they ran by the island, and were thinking of going to them. Upon this, the men whom we had picked up, and who were now somewhat in their senses and wits, said that those were the Portuguese ships which came from India and had separated from our company, and that they had sent them in the canoe to buy some fowls at an island where they were cheap, and the canoe had capsized with them, and they did not know what had become of the ships. After we had been five days at anchor in the port, the said two ships reached the port, and they told how they had run by so much that they could not make the island, and if it had not been on account of the king our sovereign, and fear of the French, they would have made their course for Portugal. They gave great thanks to God for saving their men and slaves, and also for our coming, swearing that they had left us for lost on account of our ship heeling so much, and they entreated us for the love of God to pardon them. They also told us that on Saturday, vigil of Easter, they made the island of St. Helena, and we told them that on the night of Easter Sunday, dawning on Monday, we had run by it with a shower. They also said that it rained there that night. We remained at Terceira eighteen days waiting for a carvel which was at the mine, and ships from the islands of St. Thomas and Cape Verde and from Brazil, for such was the regulation. The carvels that we waited for had to go together with the fleet that it might be secure from the French, and though this island is the mother of wheat it was very dear: and this was caused by its raining every day and not allowing of reaping, and still less carrying what was reaped. As soon as we reached this island they at once sent a carvel with a message and news of our arrival to the king our sovereign. When the ships that we were waiting for had assembled, we made our course for Lisbon, and one morning that we sighted Portugal and were not very far from land, we were still three days without being able to fetch the port, and with fear of running by it, and going to Gallicia. The Lord was pleased that on the 24th of July, which was the vigil of St. James, we entered the bar of Lisbon, and before we reached it, at Cascaes a carvel came out with a message from the king, saying, that His Highness ordered that those who came with the embassy of the Prester John were not to land in Lisbon, because it was prevented by the pestilence. In this carvel there came a servant of the king, who was to provide us with boats at Santarem, and pay expenses as far as Coimbra where His Highness was. This day we entered and anchored in front of the city of Lisbon, which gave us much pleasure.

As soon as we anchored in the Lisbon river, in front of the bulwark of the palace of the King our Sovereign, that day, the vigil of St. James, the king’s servant caused boats to come alongside to take us, all those belonging to the embassy, and convey us to Santarem, and also boats to take our goods with care to the India House. And because I and my nephew we had there a brother of his, also my nephew, who was representative of the monastery of Santos o Novo, which was outside in the parish of Sta. Maria dos Olivaes, he, learning our arrival, came on board, and we entrusted to him to keep for us some baggage which had not got to go to the India House, namely, bed clothes, both that on which we slept at sea, and also new and clean bedding, and dresses of silk, many new shirts, table napkins, head dresses, and all other small articles; and he collected it all within the enclosure of the monastery of Santos, of which he was the representative, in order to come next day with carts and take it all to his house. And we went on our road in the boats which had been assigned to us. On the following night that the said goods remained there, they took away all that was good and select, and left the old and worn, and even with that I and my nephew received a loss of more than fifty cruzados. We did not learn this till many days later, when they told me at Coimbra that a letter of excommunication had been published for my goods. We went this time in the boats to Santarem, and there the king’s servant provided us very good lodgings; he lodged me and the Prester’s ambassador in Alfange, and Don Rodrigo lodged in Marvila, in houses which had belonged to his father. We remained six days in this town, during which we dressed ourselves after the fashion of Portugal, and we bought mules and what we required because we came battered by the sea. One day we departed from Santarem at ten o’clock, in the greatest heat I ever saw, and in order to lodge separately, so we started in a straggling way, the king’s servant and I went together, and the Prester’s ambassador and the clerk of the embassy and his friars and servants in a party by themselves, and Don Rodrigo de Lima with his servants and slaves in another party. Don Rodrigo brought with him two Moorish pilots, who had been captured in the ships which Hector da Silveira took, as was said before in chapter III, who were sent to the King our Sovereign. And he dressed them in skin jackets, shirts, trousers, shoes, and caps, to present them to the king. The Prester’s ambassador, with his company, went in the narrow path half dead with heat. The king’s servant took me out of the town, and we went to stop at Ponte d’Almonda, where I expected my death from the heat. The Lord was pleased that I should find a lodging with much cold water, and a very good host, who when he saw me thus, began to encourage me and to give me cucumbers and cool wine, with which he cooled me and drew out the heat. Upon this, Don Rodrigo arrived galloping on a horse, shouting and saying, “For the sake of God let them run to me with beasts, for the Moorish pilots of the king and my slaves have remained half dead of heat.” There were there some muleteers, who at once went in haste with four beasts and Don Rodrigo with them, and they brought the said Moors and slaves, and they came in such a state that one of these Moors never returned to his senses. It did not profit him to anoint him with verjuice,[276] and many other remedies which they applied to him, he died at midnight; and the fever never left the other Moor until he died. We said with regard to this that they were suffocated with the clothes which they were not used to. We who were used to them passed a sufficiently bad time of it. After this the consequence was the suspicion that arose here whether we had entered Lisbon, and we all went to take oath, going before the king’s servant who conducted us, or ordered us to be brought. We gave our testimony that we were in good health and very sound, and from a very wholesome country: and that we had not entered Lisbon nor any other infected[277] country, but that we thought that these Moors, although they belonged to hot countries with great heats, had not the custom of going clothed, but wore only a cloth round them from the waist downwards, and above that their skins to the sun, and so it seemed to us they had been suffocated in their clothes. Several days later we learned that that day had been pestiferous, and that many people had died on it of heat; as for instance, a woman, an inhabitant of the monastery das Celas, in the olive gardens of Coimbra; coming from the Campo do Bollan, with other women, from washing her linen, she died of the heat at the entrance of the oliveyards, at a place named Fontoura. And a friar of Conception da Veiro, who was a native of Coimbra, going with another friar as was his custom from Botan, which is two leagues from Coimbra, to Penacova, which is four leagues from the same city, died close to a village which is named Gavinhos, of the heat, though he was a young man not more than twenty-four years old. The night that the first Moor died we went on to Golegan, which was a league from there, and thence further on from fear of the heat, and on account of the other Moor that we carried, who was sick, we travelled very little. From Golegan we went to sleep at Tomar, and from there to Alnayazare, and from there to Ansiam. Here the king’s servant separated from us and went to Coimbra; and we made our journey, and on arriving at Çarnache we found a message from the king, bidding us take up our quarters there, and remain there till His Highness sent for us. In our opinion, this was on account of what his servant told him of the Moor who had died with us: and in order to allay the suspicion and doubt about his death. We remained there twenty-eight days. When these were ended the King our Sovereign sent to call Don Rodrigo and me, and we went to kiss his hand, and give an account of those things as to which he questioned us; and he ordered, that two days after that day we should get ready to go all of us to the city.

When we had now been thirty days in Çarnache, well provided with what we required by order of the king, through his servant who accompanied us, one day very early in the morning there came to us Diogo Lopez de Sequeira, chief officer of the household[278] of His Highness, and who when he was captain-major had taken us to the country of Prester John, and looked upon this embassy as a thing of his own, and done by his hand: he came to embrace the ambassador, and the Prester’s ambassador, and all of us separately, saying that the king had bid him come here, and that we were to eat heartily, and set out and go with him by the field road, because all the Court was coming to receive us. Diogo Lopez de Sequeira had ordered dinner to be prepared here, without our knowing of it. We all dined with him, and very early, except the Prester’s ambassador, who said he was not very well. Dinner over we got ready and set out. On reaching a place called d’Antanhol (which is a league from the city), we found there many people of the Court, who came there to meet us or receive us. From this place to San Martinho, which is half a league from the city, we found the roads full of all the Bishops and Counts and gentlemen that were at the Court. They conducted us by the quarter of Rapoula, and we entered by a street which is called Figueira velha, and thence by the gate of the monastery of Santa Cruz; and by another street named rua de Coruche, and by the road passing the gate of Almidina,[279] by the street das Fangas, the street of Sam Christovam, and by the Cathedral See, house of Our Lady, until we arrived at the palace of His Highness. The Marquis of Vilareal led the ambassador of Prester John by the hand until he kissed the hands of the King and Queen our Sovereigns, and of the Cardinal and the Princes, and all of us likewise kissed them. The king asked the ambassador how he had left Prester John his Sovereign, if he was in health, and likewise the Queen his wife, and his children. The ambassador answered, that all had remained in good health, and very desirous to learn and hear good news of His Highness, and of the Queen, and his brothers. The King our Sovereign said, that he received very great pleasure by this visitation and embassage, and he hoped that by it great service would be rendered to the Lord God, and to them as brothers much honour. His Highness, moreover, asked the ambassador how he had been by sea and land, and if he had been well provided for and welcomed since he had been in his dominions, fortresses, and ships, and also since he had come to his kingdoms. The ambassador replied, that the blessing of His Highness was so great, that whoever was comprised in it was in the grace of God. The king said to him that he had arrived tired, and that he should go in peace to his lodging, and all of us in company with him, and that we should rest ourselves; and His Highness would send to call us in order that we might give complete news of Prester John. Then we went away and mounted, and even many bishops and lords and gentlemen returned to accompany us, that is the Prester’s ambassador and all of us, as we had come, as far as the monastery of St. Dominic, where they gave him his quarters. Two days after that the Bishops and Dean of the Chapel and some chaplains came to seek the Prester’s ambassador and us who came with him, and we all went to the palace. The Prester’s ambassador presented to the King our Sovereign a crown of gold and silver, with the sides two palms high, and not very rich, which the Prester sent him; and two letters folded like books on parchment, each written in three languages, namely, Abyssinian, Arabic, and Portuguese, and two of each language, because they came thus in two little bags—they were made for Don Manuel, may he be in holy glory—and another little bag for the King our Sovereign. Licacanate, the ambassador of Prester John, then said to the king: “The King David, my Sovereign, sent this crown with these letters to the king your father, may he be in holy glory; and he sent to tell him that a crown never went from son to father, but that it comes from father to son, and that by the sign of this crown he, King David, was known, loved, feared, and obeyed in his kingdoms and lordships; and being a son he sent to the king his father this crown, in order that he might be assured that his kingdoms, lordships, and peoples were for whatever His Highness might command; and when he was certain that the king his father had died, he said, the crown and letters which he was sending to his father Don Manuel, are going to my brother the King Don Joan, with other letters which I will write to him”: and thus he presented to him the said crown and letters. And he gave all into the hands of His Highness. His Highness gave the crown and letters to Antonio Carneiro his secretary: and as His Highness was very gay and showed that he rejoiced much with this embassy, the said ambassador Licacanate and I presented to His Highness two little bags of brocade with letters inside, and a small cross of gold, which he sent to the Holy Father of Rome, telling His Highness how the Prester had ordered that these letters and cross should be delivered to His Highness, and should be given by the hand of His Highness to me, Francisco Alvarez, to take them to His Holiness. These His Highness took in his hands, letters and cross, and kissed them and gave them to his secretary Antonio Carneiro, saying, that he gave great thanks to the Lord that for the intercession of the King his sovereign and father such service was done to the Lord God; and that he trusted in the Lord to complete it very soon. He sent us away to our quarters very happy. And as up to this time we all ate as we travelled, the king ordered a regular maintenance and animals for riding to be given to the ambassador, namely, three mules, one for him, and two for two friars who came with him; and two cruzados each day for his table, that is, sixty cruzados a month, and one testoon every day for fodder for the mules; and a rich bed and bedding for him to sleep on, silver vessels for his table, napkins, and all that was necessary for him, and a steward, by name Francisco Piriz, to take charge of the silver, bed and tapestry, for he ordered everything to be given him. He also gave him one Francisco de Lemos, a gentleman of His Highness’s guard, as Arabic interpreter to speak for him, and to receive his maintenance, and do what might be necessary for him.