No More Learning

And besides, having selected some young men, well-natured, and
of a good understanding, qualified for the studies of divinity, and human
sciences, who being themselves well modelled, might return with him to
instruct their countrymen; he was of opinion, that he ought to conduct
them himself, without deferring his voyage any longer.

On these considerations he put to sea, on his return, about the
conclusion of the year 1543; and having got to Cochin by mid-January, he
arrived at Goa not long after. For the better understanding of what
relates to the education of those young Indians, whom Xavier brought, it
will be necessary to trace that matter from its original.

Before the coming of Father Francis to the Indies, Christianity had made
but little progress in those countries; and of an infinite number of
Pagans, inhabiting the isle of Goa, and the parts adjoining, scarce any
man thought of forsaking his idolatry. In the year 1541, James de Borba,
a Portuguese preacher and divine, whom king John III. had sent to India,
searching out the cause of so great a misfortune, found, that it was not
only because the Europeans could not easily learn the Indian tongue, but
also, because if an Indian happened to be converted, they exercised no
charity towards him; and that the children of the faithful, who died
poor, were destitute of succour in their wants.

He gave notice of this to the grand vicar, Michael Vaz, to the auditor
general, Pedro Fernandez, to the deputy-governor, Rodriguez de Castel
Blanco, and to the secretary of state, Cosmo Annez, who were all of them
his particular friends, and virtuous men. These being in the government,
considered of the means to remedy the growing evil, the foundation of
which had been discovered to them by Borba; and he himself excited the
people to be instrumental in so good a work. For, one day preaching, he
passionately bemoaned the damnation of so many Indians, and charged it on
the conscience of his auditory, that the salvation of that idolatrous
people depended, in some sort, on them. "I pretend not," said he, "that
you should go yourselves to the conquest of souls, nor learn barbarous
languages on purpose, to labour in the conversion of Gentiles. What I beg
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, is, that each of you would
contribute something towards the maintenance of the new Christians. You
will perform by that, what it is not in your power to do by the preaching
of the gospel; and gain, by your temporal goods, those immortal souls,
for which the Saviour of the world has shed his blood. "

The Holy Spirit, who had inspired his tongue, gave efficacy to his words,
by touching the hearts of those who heard them. Many of them being joined
together, it was resolved to form a company, which should provide for the
subsistence of those young Indians newly converted; and that society at
first was called, the Brotherhood of St Mary of the Light, (or
Illumination,) from the name of that church where the fraternity
assembled, to regulate that new establishment.

It is true, that, as great works are not accomplished all at once, in the
beginning of this, there was only founded a small seminary, for the
children of Goa, and those of the neighbourhood; but the revenues were
increased so much afterwards by the liberality of Don Estevan de Gama,
governor of the Indies, and by the bounty of John III. , king of Portugal,
that all the idolatrous children, who turned Christians, of what country
soever, were received into it.

There was also a fund sufficient for the building a fair house and a
magnificent church in a larger plot: and the seminary, over which Borba
presided, was then called, the Seminary of Holy Faith.

Matters being thus disposed, above threescore children, of divers
kingdoms, and nine or ten different languages, were assembled, to be
educated in piety and learning. But it was soon perceived, that these
children wanted masters, capable of instructing and forming them,
according to the intention of the institute. God Almighty had
pre-ordained the seminary of holy faith, for the Society of Jesus; and it
was by a particular disposition of the Divine Providence, that the same
year, wherein the seminary was established, brought over the sons of
Ignatius to the Indies.

Accordingly, when Xavier first arrived at Goa, Borba offered him the
conduct of this new establishment, and used his best endeavours to engage
him in it. Xavier, who found an inward call to something more important,
and who already was conceiving in his mind the conversion of a heathen
world, would not coop himself up within a town, but in his secret
intentions, designed one of his companions for that employment, which was
presented to himself. In the meantime, Borba wrote into Portugal, to
Simon Rodriguez, and earnestly desired from him some fathers of the new
society, "for whom" he said, "the Almighty had prepared a house in the
new world, before their coming. "

During these transactions, Paul de Camerin and Francis Mansilla arrived
at Goa, from Mozambique: Borba retained them both in the seminary, by
permission from the viceroy; and that was the reason why they followed
not Father Xavier to the coast of Fishery.

Xavier put into the seminary those young Indians whom he had brought
along with him; and whatever want he had otherwise of his companions,
he gave the charge of the Seminarists to Father Paul de Camerin, at the
request of Borba, who had the chief authority in the seminary. For it was
not till the year 1548, after the death of Borba, that the company
possest it in propriety, and without dependence. It then received the
name of a college, and was called the college of St Paul, from the title
of the church, which was dedicated to the conversion of the apostle of
the Gentiles. From thence it also proceeded, that the Jesuits were called
in that country, the fathers of St Paul, or the fathers Paulists, as they
are called in that country even at this day.

Father Xavier remained but a little time at Goa; and returned with all
expedition to his Paravas, with the best provision of gospel labourers,
which he could make. He was then desirous of sending a missioner of the
company to the isle of Socotora, not being in circumstances of going
thither in person; for he had not forgotten the promise, which he made to
God in behalf of that people, when he left them. But the small number of
companions which he had, was not sufficient for the Indies; and it was
not till three or four years afterwards that he sent Father Alphonso
Ciprian to Socotora.

Besides Mansilla, who had not yet received the order of priesthood, he
carried with him to the coast of Fishery two priests, who were Indians by
nation, and one Biscayner, called John Dortiaga. When they were arrived
there, he visited all the villages with them; and taught them the method
of converting idolaters to the faith, and of confirming those who were
already Christians, in it. After which, having assigned to each of them a
division at his particular province in the coast, he entered farther into
the country; and, without any other guide than the spirit of God.
penetrated into a kingdom, the language of which was utterly Unknown to
him, as he wrote to Mansilla in these, terms.

"You may judge, what manner of life Head here, by what I shall relate to
you. I am wholly ignorant of the language of the people, and they
understand as little of mine; and I have no interpreter. All I can
perform, is to baptize children, and serve the sick, an employment easily
understood, without the help of an interpreter, by only minding what they
want. "

This was the preaching by which he declared Jesus Christ, and made the
Christian law appear amiable in that kingdom. For amongst those
barbarians, who reduce all humanity to the notion of not being inhuman,
and who acknowledge no other duties of charity, than forbearing to do
injuries, it was a thing of admiration, to see a stranger, who, without
any interest, made the sufferings of another man his own; and performed
all sorts of services to the poor, as if he had been their father, or
their slave. The name of the country is neither known, nor the fruits
which these works of charity produced. It is only certain, that the saint
continued not there any long time; and that a troublesome affair recalled
him to the coast of Fishery, when it was least in his intentions to
return.

The Badages, who are a great multitude of robbers, in the kingdom of
Bisnagar, idolaters, and enemies of the Christian name, naturally fierce,
always quarrelling amongst themselves, and at war with their neighbours,
after they had seized, by force of arms, on the kingdom of Pande, which
is betwixt Malabar and the coasts of Fishery, made an irruption into the
said coast, in the absence of Xavier. The Paravas were under a terrible
consternation at the sight of those robbers, whose very name was
formidable to them, not daring so much as to gather into a body, nor to
hazard the first brunt of war. They took flight, and abandoned their
country, without any other thought than of saving their lives. In order
to which, they threw themselves by heaps into their barks, some of them
escaping into little desart islands, others hiding amongst the rocks and
banks of sand, betwixt Cape Comorin, and the Isle of Ceylon. These were
the places of their retreat, together with their wives and children,
while the Badages overran the coast, and destroyed their country.

But what profits it to have escaped the sword, when, they must die of
hunger? Those miserable creatures, exposed to the burning heats of the
sun, wanted nourishment in their isles, and on their rocks, and numbers
of them daily perished.

In the mean time, the news of this excursion of the robbers, and the
flight of the Christians, was spread about, and Xavier heard it in the
country where he then resided. The misfortunes of his dear Paravas
touched him in the most tender part. He made haste to their relief; and,
having been informed that they were pressed with famine, he passed
speedily to the western coast, and earnestly solicited the Portuguese to
supply them in this their extreme necessity. He obtained twenty barks,
laden with all manner of provision, and himself brought it to their
places of retreat, where the poor Paravas, as many as were left alive of
them, were languishing without hope of comfort, and expecting death to
end their misery.

The sight of the holy man, whom all of them regarded as their common
father, caused them to forget some part of their misfortune, and seemed
to restore them to life. He gave them all imaginable consolation; and,
when they had somewhat recovered their strength, he brought them back to
their habitations, from whence the Badages were retired. Those plunderers
had swept all away, and the Christians were more poor than ever; he
therefore procured alms for them, and wrote a letter earnestly to the
Christians of another coast, to supply their brethren in distress.

The Paravas being resettled by degrees, Xavier left them under the
conduct of the missioners, whom he had brought for them, and turned his
thoughts elsewhere. He was desirous to have carried the sound of the
gospel into the more inland countries, which had never heard of Jesus
Christ; yet he forbore it at that time, upon this account, that in
those kingdoms where there were no Portuguese to protect the new
Christians, the idolaters and Saracens would make war on them, or
constrain them to renounce their Christianity to buy their peace.

Returning therefore by the western coasts, which were in the possession
of the Portuguese, he travelled by land, and on foot, according to his
custom, towards the coast of Travancore, which beginning from the point
of Comorin, lies extended thirty leagues along by the sea, and is full of
villages.

Being come thither, and having, by the good offices of the Portuguese,
obtained permission from the king of Travancore to publish the law of the
true God, he followed the same method which he had used at the Fishery;
and that practice was so successful, that all that coast was converted to
Christianity in a little space of time, insomuch, that forty-five
churches were immediately built. He writes himself, "That in one month
he baptized, with his own hand, ten thousand idolaters; and that,
frequently, in one day, he baptized a well peopled village. " He says
also, "that it was to him a most pleasing object, to behold, that so
soon as those infidels had received baptism, they ran, vying with each
other to demolish the temples of the idols. "

It was at that time, properly speaking, when God first communicated to
Xavier the gift of tongues in the Indies; according to the relation of a
young Portuguese of Coimbra, whose name was Vaz, who attended him in many
of his travels, and who being returned into Europe, related those
passages, of which himself had been an eye witness. The holy man spoke
very well the language of those barbarians, without having learnt it, and
had no need of an interpreter when he instructed. There being no church
which was capable of containing those who came to hear him, he led them
into a spacious plain, to the number of five or six thousand persons, and
there getting up into a tree, that he might the farther extend his voice,
he preached to them the words of eternal truth. There it was also, that
to the end the compass of the plain might serve in the nature of a
church, he sometimes celebrated the divine mysteries under the sails of
ships, which were spread above the altar, to be seen on every side.

The Brachmans could not suffer the worship of the pagods to be abandoned
in this manner; but were resolved to be revenged on the author of so
strange an alteration. In order to execute their design, they secretly
engaged some idolaters to lie in wait for him, and dispatch him
privately. The murderers lay in ambush more than once, and in the silence
of the night endeavoured to shoot him with their arrows. But divine
Providence would not suffer their malice to take place; of all their
arrows, one only wounded him, and that but slightly; as it were rather to
give him the satisfaction of shedding some blood in testimony of the
faith, than to endanger his life.

Enraged and desperate for having missed their aim, they sought him
everywhere; and not finding him, they set fire on three or four houses,
where they thought he might possibly be lodged. The man of God was
constrained one day to hide in the covert of a forest, and passed the
following night upon a tree, to escape the fury of his enemies, who
searched the whole forest to have found him. There was a necessity
sometimes that the faithful should keep guard about him day and night,
and to that purpose they placed themselves in arms about the house where
he was retired.

In the meantime, the Badages, who had ravaged the coast of Fishery the
year before, animated of themselves against the Christians, and perhaps
pushed forward by the devils, who saw their empire decaying day by day,
excited also by the desire of glory, and above all things by the hope of
booty, entered into the kingdom of Travancore, on the side of one of
those mountains-which confine on the cape of Comorin. Their former
success had rendered them so haughty and so insolent, that they flattered
themselves with an imagination that every thing would bend before them.
But not having now to do, as they had before, with simple fishers, they
were come in good order, and well armed, under the conduct of the Naiche,
or lord of Modure, a valiant and experienced captain.

The inhabitants of the maritime villages took fright at the noise of an
hostile army; and retiring, for the most part with great haste and
confusion into the inland country, carried even to the court the news of
the invasion.

The king of Travancore, whom the Portuguese call the Great Monarch,
because indeed he is the most powerful of all the kings of Malabar,
collecting his army with all speed, put himself at the head of it, and
marched towards the enemy. The battle, in all appearance, was likely to
be bloody, and the victory seemed assured to those vagabond robbers, who
were more in number, and better disciplined.

Father Xavier, so soon as he understood that the Badages were drawing
near, falling prostrate on the ground, "O Lord," said he; "remember that
thou art the God of mercies, and protector of the faithful: give not up
to the fury of these wolves that flock, of which thou hast appointed me
the pastor; that these new Christians, who are yet so feeble in the
faith, may not repent their embracing it, and that the infidels may not
have the advantage of oppressing those, who repose their confidence in
none but thee. "

His prayer being ended, he arose, and inspired with a more than human
courage, which made him incapable of fear, he takes a troop of fervant
Christians, and, with a crucifix in his hand, runs with them towards the
plain, where the enemies were marching in battalia. When he arrived
within distance of being heard, he stopped and said to them, in a
threatening voice, "I forbid you, in the name of the living God, to pass
farther, and on his part, command you to return the way you came. "

These few words cast a terror into the minds of those soldiers who were
at the head of the army; they remained confounded, and without motion.
They, who marched after them, seeing the foremost advanced not, asked the
reason of it; answer was returned from the first ranks, that they had
before their eyes an unknown person habited in black, of a more than
human stature, of a terrible aspect, and darting fire from his eyes. The
most hardy were desirous to satisfy themselves concerning what was told
them; they were seized with amazement at the sight, and all of them fled
with a precipitate confusion.

The new Christians who had followed Xavier, ran to declare to the
neighbouring villages this wonderful event. The fame of it was suddenly
spread abroad, and the king, who was marching towards the enemy with
great speed, heard the report of it on his way. He caused Xavier to be
brought into his presence, and embraced him as the redeemer of
Travancore; and after he had publicly thanked him for so eminent a
service, he said thus to him: "I am called the Great Monarch; and, from
henceforth, you shall be called the Great Father. "

The saint gave the king to understand, that it was only Jesus Christ to
whom he ought to pay his acknowledgments; and, as for himself, he ought
only to be regarded as a weak instrument, who could do nothing of his own
power. The Pagan king comprehended nothing of his meaning; and the two
vices which are the common obstacles to the conversion of the great, that
is to say, the concupiscence of the flesh, and pride of heart, hindered
him afterwards from embracing of the faith; which notwithstanding, he
caused an edict to be published throughout his kingdom, whereby all men
were commanded to obey the Great Father, as they would his proper person;
and that whoever desired to be a Christian, might be so without any
apprehension of danger to ensue. He went so far as even to call Xavier
his brother; and bestowed on him large sums of money, all which the
servant of God employed in charities on the poor.

An edict so favourable to the law of our belief, made many Christians
even in the court, though contrary to the example of the prince. But the
miraculous actions of Xavier finished the conversion of the whole
kingdom. Besides his curing all sorts of diseases, he raised four persons
from the dead, two women and two men. The act of canonization relates no
more of the resurrection of the women, but the bare matter of fact,
without any circumstances; but the resurrection of the men is related at
large, of which the substance is in the ensuing account.

Xavier preached in one of the maritime villages of Travancore, called
Coulan, near Cape Comoriu. Some were converted by his first sermons; but
the greater party remained in their ancient superstition, after having
often heard him. The most obstinate, it is true, listened to him with
delight, and found the maxims of the gospel to be most conformable to the
light of reason: but the pleasure which they took in hearing, produced
nothing; and they satisfied themselves with admiring the Christian law,
without troubling themselves to follow it.

The father one day finding, that he spoke to them of God without working
any thing upon their hearts, prayed fervently to the Almighty in their
behalf; and, with his eyes lifted up to heaven, his countenance more than
ordinarily inflamed, and with abundance of tears, besought him to take
pity on those obstinate idolaters. "O Lord," said he, "all hearts are in
thy hands; thou canst bend, as it pleases thee, the most stubborn, and
soften the most obdurate; do that honour, on this day, to the blood and
the name of thy beloved Son. " Scarcely had he ended his prayer, when he
was assured it was answered: turning himself to his audience, with the
air of one inspired, "Well," said he, "since you will not believe me on
my word, behold that which will make me be believed. What testimony do
you desire from me, of those truths which I have declared to you? " At the
same instant he recalled to his remembrance, that a man had been there
buried the day before. Then resuming his discourse in the same tone that
he began it, "Open," said he, "the sepulchre which you closed yesterday,
and bring out the body; but observe carefully, whether he who was buried
be truly dead. "

The most incredulous ran hastily to take up the corpse; far from finding
any the least sign of life, they perceived it began to putrify with a
noisome scent. They took off the linen in which he was wrapped, and laid
the dead man at the feet of the father, who was come to the place of
burial. The barbarians gazed with astonishment on the dead body, and
impatiently expected the event. The saint fell upon his knees, and, after
a short prayer, addressing himself to the dead, "I command thee," said
he, "in the holy name of the living God, to arise, for the confirmation
of that religion which I preach. " At these words, the dead arose of
himself, and appeared not only living, but vigorous, and in perfect
health. All who were present cried out, with a loud voice, "That the God
of the Christians was omnipotent; and that the law which the great Father
preached was true. " In consequence of which, they threw themselves at his
feet, desired baptism, and received it on the place.

The other dead person whom the apostle raised to life, was a young man,
and a Christian, who died at Mutan, on the same coast, betwixt Carjapatan
and Alicale. He had been dead above four-and-twenty hours, of a
pestilential fever. Xavier met the corpse by chance, as they were
carrying it to the grave. The parents of the dead man, who were of the
greatest quality in all the country, accompanied the funeral pomp, with
all their kindred, according to the custom of that nation. As comfortless
as they were, yet upon sight of the saint, they recovered courage, and,
embracing his knees, implored him to restore their son to life; being
persuaded, that what was not to be effected by the power of nature, would
cost him only a word speaking. Xavier, moved by their affliction, and
excited by their faith, begged the assistance of the Most High, made the
sign of the cross, and threw holy water on the dead, after which he took
him by the hand, raised him up in the name of the Lord, and restored him
living to his father and mother.

To preserve the memory of an action so wonderful and so authentic, the
parents of the man they raised erected a great cross on the place where
the miracle was done; and were accustomed afterwards to go often thither,
and pray to God before it. These resurrections were so famous through all
the country, and made so great impressions on the souls of the
inhabitants, that the people came thronging from all parts to behold the
great Father, and to receive baptism from his hands; insomuch, that the
whole kingdom of Travancore was Subjected to Christ Jesus in few months;
and the king, with some few of his chief courtiers, were the only
remaining idolaters in the land, by a terrible judgment of Almighty God,
who sometimes abandons princes to their unruly passions, and departs from
the great, while he communicates himself to those of the lowest quality.




THE LIFE OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER.


BOOK III.


_He writes into Europe for a supply of missioners. The saint's letter to
the doctors of Sorbonne. Ambassadors from the isle of Manar to the saint.
He sends a missioner to the isle of Manar. The constancy of the
Christians of Manar. A miraculous cross, and its effects. The enterprise
of Xavier against the persecutor. New motives for his journey to Cambaya.
He persuades Michael Vaz to go to Portugal. His letter to the king of
Portugal. The success of the voyage undertaken by Michael Vaz. He
converts a debauched Portuguese. He engages the viceroy of the Indies to
make war on the king of Jafanatapan. Divers predictions of the saint. He
goes to join the Portuguese fleet, and raises one from the dead. He frees
the island of Manar from the plague. The enterprise of Jafanatapan
defeated. He designs the voyage of Macassar, and the conversion of many
kingdoms. He goes to the sepulchre of St Thomas, to consult God
concerning his voyage to Macassar. What happened to him in his passage to
Meliapor. He comes to Meliapor; the monuments which he there finds of the
apostle St Thomas. He is threatened by devils, and afterwards beaten by
them. He learns the will of God concerning his design. The conversions
which he makes at Meliapor. He brings a great sinner to repentance.
Divers wonderful events which encrease his fame. He persuades a rich
merchant to evangelical perfection. The new convert falls from grace, and
becomes suspected to the Saint. His charity to a soldier, who had lost
all his money at play. He arrives at Malacca; a digression concerning it.
In what condition he found the town, and what he did in order to reform
it. He labours with success at Malacca. He revives a dead maid. He
receives letters from Europe by the new missioners who are sent him. He
defers the voyage to Macassar, and designs another. He foreknows, and
foretels the ruin of Malacca. He goes to Amboyna, and what happens to him
in his voyage. He arrives at Amboyna: What he performs there. He converts
the idolaters and Moors of Amboyna. A Spanish fleet arrives at Amboyna.
He assists the Spanish fleet during the contagion amongst them. He passes
into divers islands. He recovers his crucifix, which was fallen into the
sea. He foretels the holy death of a new convert. He goes to the island
of Ulate, and the miracle there wrought by him. He goes to the Moluccas.
What happens to him in his way. He declares to the people the death of
John Araus. He makes many converts at Ternate. Conversion of a queen at
Ternate. He hears of the isles del Moro. Great endeavours are used to
dissuade the saint from going to the isles del Moro. He complains of
those who make opposition to his voyage to the isle Del Moro. He goes for
the isle Del Moro, and writes to Rome. God reveals to him what is doing
in a distant island. He arrives at Del Moro; the condition in which he
found it. He gains the inhabitants of the isle Del Moro. He speaks to
them of hell. He exhorts them to repentance. He says mass in the midst of
an earthquake. He is admired by the barbarians. He is persecuted by a
cruel and savage people. His sufferings in the isle Del Moro; and the
consolations which he there received. He goes for Goa; and the reason
that induced him. He returns to Ternate. His proceedings at Ternate. He
endeavours the conversion of the king of Ternate. What hindered the king
of Ternate's conversion. He labours with great fruit in the court of
Ternate. He leaves to the islanders a Christian instruction written with
his own hand. The counsel he gave the Ternatines at parting. He renews
his labours at Amboyna. He is endued with the supernatural knowledge of
some things. A cross, erected by Xavier, becomes famous. The constancy of
the Christians in Amboyna_.



The reputation of Xavier was not confined to the kingdom of Travancore;
it was spread abroad through all the Indies; and the God of the
Christians, at the same time, was had in so great veneration, that the
most idolatrous nations sent to desire the saint, that he would come and
give them baptism. His joy was infinite, to find the Gentiles, of their
own free motion, searching after the way of eternal life; but, on the
other side, he was afflicted that he was not sufficient alone to instruct
so many vast countries as were gone astray from it.

Seeing the harvest so great, and the labourers so few, he wrote earnestly
to Father Ignatius in Italy, and to Simon Rodriguez in Portugal, for a
supply of missioners. He had such transports of zeal on that occasion, as
to say, in one of his letters, "I have often thoughts to run over all the
universities of Europe, and principally that of Paris, and to cry aloud
to those who abound more in learning than, in charity, Ah, how many souls
are lost to heaven through your default!
It were to be wished, that those
people would apply themselves as diligently to the salvation of souls, as
they do to the study of sciences; to the end they might render to
Almighty God a good account of their learning, and the talents which he
has bestowed on them. Many, without doubt, moved with thoughts like
these, would make a spiritual retreat, and give themselves the leisure of
meditating on heavenly things, that they might listen to the voice of
God. They would renounce their passions, and, trampling under foot all
worldly vanities, would put themselves in condition of following the
motions of the divine will. They would say, from the bottom of their
hearts, behold me in readiness, O my Lord; send me wheresoever thou shalt
please, even to the Indies, if thou commandest me.

"Good God, how much more happily would those learned men then live, than
now they do! with how much more assurance of their salvation! and, in the
hour of death, when they are ready to stand forth before the dreadful
judgment-seat, how much greater reason would they have, to hope well of
God's eternal mercy, because they might say, O Lord, thou hast given me
five talents, and behold I have added other five.

"I take God to witness, that, not being able to return into Europe, I
have almost resolved to write to the university of Paris, and namely to
our masters, Cornet and Picard, that millions of idolaters might be
easily converted, if there were more preachers, who would sincerely mind
the interests of Jesus Christ, and not their own concernments. "

It is pity that his letter to the doctors of Sorbonne is irrecoverably
lost; for certain it is, he wrote to them from the midst of the Indies,
to engage them to come, and preach the gospel. And for this we have the
testimony of Don John Derada, one of the chief magistrates of the kingdom
of Navarre, who, studying at Paris, saw the letter sent from Father
Xavier, admired the apostolical charity with which it was replenished,
and took a copy of it, as did also many divines, to whom it was directed.

Amongst those idolatrous nations, which breathed after baptism, and
desired to be instructed, the Manarois were the first, who made a
deputation to the saint.

The isle of Manar is situate towards the most northern point of Ceylon,
and at the head of the sands of Remanancor. It has a very convenient
port, and is a place of great traffic. But the soil is so sandy and so
dry, that it produces nothing, unless in some few places, which also are
cultivated with much care and labour. For Manar has no resemblance to
Ceylon, though placed so near it: Ceylon being the most delicious and
most fruitful part of all the East; where the trees are always green, and
bear fruits and flowers in every season; where there are discovered mines
of gold and silver, crystal, and precious stones; which is encompassed
with forests of ebony, cinnamon, and cocoa; and where the inhabitants
live to an extreme old age, without any of the incommodities which attend
it, The wonder is, that, being distant from the equinoctial but six
degrees, the air is temperate and pure, and the rains, which water it
from heaven regularly once a month, joined with the springs and rivers
which pass through it, refresh the ground in a greater measure than the
scorching heats can parch it.

Father Xavier was employed in establishing Christianity in Travancore,
when he received this embassy from Manar. As he could not forsake an
infant church without a reasonable apprehension of its ruin, he sent to
Manar one of the priests whom he had left on the coast of Fishery. And
God so blessed the labours of that missioner, that the Manarois not only
became Christians, but died generously for the faith; and this was the
occasion of their martyrdom.

The isle of Manar was at that time under the dominion of the king of
Jafanatapan; for by that name the northern part of Ceylon is called. This
prince had usurped the crown from his elder brother, and enslaved his
subjects. Above all things, he was an implacable enemy of the Christian
faith; though in appearance he was a friend to the Portuguese, whose
forces only could set bounds to his tyranny. When he understood that the
Manarois were converted to Christianity, he entered into that fury of
which tyrants only can be capable; for he commanded, that his troops
should immediately pass over into the island, and put all to the sword,
excepting only the idolaters. His orders were punctually executed; and
men, women, and children, were all destroyed, who had embraced the
Christian faith.

It was wonderful to behold, that the faithful being examined, one by one,
concerning their religion, and no more required for the saving of their
lives, than to forsake their new belief, there was not one amongst them,
who did not openly declare himself a Christian. The fathers and mothers
answered for the newly baptized infants, who were not able to give
testimony of their faith; and offered them to the death, with a
resolution, which was amazing to their executioners. Six or seven
hundred of these islanders gave up their lives for the name of Jesus
Christ; and the principal place which was consecrated by so noble blood,
from Pasim, which it was called before, now took the name of the Field of
Martyrs.

This dreadful massacre, far from abolishing the Christian law, served
only to render it more flourishing. The tyrant had even the shame of
seeing his officers and domestic servants forsake their ancient
superstition in despite of him. But what most enraged him, was the
conversion of his eldest son. This young prince, inspired of God, caused
himself to be instructed by a Portuguese merchant, who had dealings at
the court; which yet could not be so secretly performed, but that the
king had notice of it. At the first news, he cut his throat, and threw
the body into the fields, to serve for food to savage beasts.

But Heaven permitted not, that a death which was so precious in the sight
of God, should be without honour in the sight of men, The Portuguese
merchant buried his disciple by night; and on the next morning, there
appeared a beautiful cross, printed on the ground, which covered the body
of the martyr. The spectacle extremely surprised the infidels. They did
what they were able, to deface, and (if I may so say) to blot out the
cross, by treading over it, and casting earth upon it. It appeared again
the day following, in the same figure, and they once more endeavoured to
tread it out. But then it appeared in the air, all resplendent with
light, and darting its beams on every side. The barbarians who beheld it,
were affrighted; and, being touched in their hearts, declared themselves
Christians. The king's sister, a princess naturally virtuous, having
privately embraced the faith, instructed both her own son, and her
nephew, who was brother to the martyr. But, while she directed them in
the way of heaven, she took care to preserve them from the cruelty of the
tyrant. To which purpose she addressed herself to the merchant above
mentioned, and intrusting him with the lives of the two princes, ordered
him to convey them to the seminary of Goa.

This Portuguese managed all things so discreetly, with the concurrence of
the princess, that he escaped out of the island, with the two princes,
undiscovered. He took his way by the kingdom of Travancore, that he might
behold Father Xavier, and present to him these two illustrious new
converts. The father received them as angels descended from above, and
gave immortal thanks to God, for so noble a conquest. He fortified them
in the faith, gave them excellent instructions, and promised so to
mediate in their favour, with the viceroy of the Indies, that they should
have no occasion of repenting themselves for having abandoned all things
for the sake of Jesus Christ.

When the king of Jafanatapan had notice of the flight of his son and
nephew, he broke out into new fury against the Christians, and put to
death great numbers of them. Being apprehensive that his brother, from
whom he had usurped the crown, and who now led a wandering life, might
possibly change his religion also, and beg protection from the
Portuguese, he sent officers round about, with orders to bring him into
his hands, or, at the least, to bring back his head. But he failed of
getting him in his power either alive or dead; for this unhappy prince,
attended by ten horsemen, having passed to Negapatan, came by land to
Goa, after having suffered extreme hardships, in a journey of more than
two hundred leagues.

Father Xavier, who was informed of all these proceedings, thought it
necessary to make advantage of these favourable opportunities without
loss of time. He considered with what perfection Christians might live in
a kingdom where they died so generously for the faith, with so imperfect
a knowledge of it. On the other side, he judged, that if the injustice
and cruelty of the tyrant remained unpunished, what an inducement it
might be to other idolatrous kings, for them to persecute the new
converts in their turn; that the only means for repairing the past, and
obviating future mischiefs, was to dispossess the tyrant of the crown,
which he so unjustly wore, and restore it to his brother, to whom it
rightfully belonged; that, for these considerations, recourse ought to be
had to the Portuguese to engage them, by a principle of religion, to take
arms against the usurper of the kingdom, and the persecutor of the
Christians.

In order to this, the father caused Mansilla to be recalled from the
coast of Fishery; and having intrusted him with the care of christianity
in Travancore, took his way by land to Cambaya, where the viceroy of the
Indies then resided.

Besides these reasons, relating to the king of Jafanatapan, the saint had
other motives which obliged him to take this journey. The greatest part
of the Europeans, who were in the Indies, and chiefly the officers of the
crown of Portugal, lived after so infamous a manner, that they made the
Christian faith appear odious, and scandalised alike both the idolaters
and the faithful.

The public worship of the pagods was tolerated at Goa, and the sect of
the Brachmans daily increased in power; because those Pagan priests had
bribed the Portuguese officers. The people professed heathenism freely,
provided they made exact payments of their tribute, as if they had been
conquered only for the sake of gain. Public offices were sold to
Saracens, and the Christian natives stood excluded, for want of money,
which does all things with corrupt ministers. The receivers of the king's
revenues, who were to pay the Paravas of the coast of Fishery,
constrained those poor fishers to deliver their pearls almost for
nothing; and thus the exaction of a lawful tribute, in the constitution,
became tyranny and oppression in the management. Men were sold like
beasts, and Christians enslaved to Pagans at cheap pennyworths. To
conclude, the king of Cochin, an idolater, but tributary to the crown of
Portugal, was suffered to confiscate the goods of his subjects, who had
received baptism.

Father Francis was wonderfully grieved to perceive, that the greatest
hindrance to the growth of Christianity, in those vast dominions of Asia,
proceeded only from the Christians. He bewailed it sometimes to God, in
the bitterness of his heart; and one day said, "That he would willingly
return to Portugal to complain of it to the king, not doubting, but so
religious and just a prince would order some remedy for this encroaching
evil, if he had notice how it spread. "

Xavier had taken the way of Cochin, along by the sea coast. He arrived
there the 16th of December, 1544, where he happened to meet with Michael
Vaz, vicar-general of the Indies. In acquainting him with the reasons of
his journey, he made him sensible, that the weakness of the government
was the principal cause of the avarice and violence of the officers; that
Don Alphonso de Sosa was indeed a religious gentleman, but wanted vigour;
that it was not sufficient to will good actions, if, at the same time, he
did not strongly oppose ill ones; in a word, that it was absolutely
necessary for the king of Portugal to be informed of all the disorders
in the Indies, by a person who was an eye-witness of them, and whose
integrity was not liable to suspicion. Vaz immediately entered into the
opinions of the father, and his zeal carried him to pass himself into
Portugal, in a vessel which was just ready to set sail. Xavier praised
God for those good intentions; and wrote a letter by him to King John
the Third, the beginning of which I have here transcribed:--

"Your Majesty ought to be assured, and often to call into your mind, that
God has made choice of you, amongst all the princes of the world, for
the conquest of India, to the end he may make trial of your faith, and
see what requital you will make to him for all his benefits. You ought
also to consider, that, in conferring on you the empire of a new world,
his intention was, not so much that you should fill your coffers with the
riches of the East, as that you should have an opportunity of signalizing
your zeal, by making known to idolaters, through the means of those who
serve you, the Creator and Redeemer of mankind. "

The saint, after this beginning, gave the king to understand the good
intentions of Michael Vaz, and the ill conduct of the Portuguese, who
were in the government of the Indies. He suggested to him the means of
putting a stop to those disorders, and advised him, above all things, not
only to recommend, by letters, the interest of religion, but rigorously
to punish all those officers, who were wanting to their duty in that
respect; "for there is danger," said he, "that when God shall summon your
Majesty to judgment, that will then come to pass which you least expect,
and which is not to be avoided; there is danger, great Prince, that you
may then hear these words of an offended God. Why have you not punished
those who, under your authority, have made war against me in the Indies,
you who have punished them so severely, when they were negligent in
gathering your revenues? Your cause will be little helped by your return
of this answer to Jesus Christ;--Lord, I have not wanted yearly to
recommend, by letters to my subjects, all that concerns thy honour and
thy service. For, doubt not, it will be thus answered;--But your orders
were never put in execution, and you left your ministers, at their own
disposal, to do whatever they thought good.

"I therefore beg your Majesty, by that fervent zeal which you have for
the glory of our Lord, and by the care which you have always testified of
your eternal salvation, to send hither a vigilant and resolute minister,
who will bend his actions to nothing more than to the conversion of
souls; who may act independently to the officers of your treasury; and
who will not suffer himself to be led and governed by the politics of
worldly men, whose foresight is bounded with the profit of the state. May
your Majesty be pleased a little to inspect your incomes from the Indies,
and, after that, look over the expences which are made for the
advancement of religion; that, having weighed all things equally on
either side, you may make a judgment, if that which you bestow bears any
proportion with that which you receive; and then, perhaps, you will find
a just subject to apprehend, that, of those immense treasures, which the
Divine Goodness has heaped upon you, you have given to God but an
inconsiderable pittance.

"For what remains, let not your Majesty defer any longer the payment of
so just a debt, to so bountiful a giver, nor the healing of so many
public wounds. What remedy soever you can apply, what diligence soever
you can make, all will be too little, and of the latest. The sincere and
ardent charity of my heart, towards your Majesty, has constrained me to
write to you in this manner, especially when my imagination represents to
me, in a lively sort, the complaints which the poor Indians send up to
heaven, that out of so vast a treasure, with which your estate is
enriched by them, you employ so little for their spiritual necessities. "
The letter ended, in begging this favour of Almighty God, "that the king,
in his lifetime, might have those considerations, and that conduct, which
he would wish to have had when he was dying. "

Michael Vaz negotiated so well with King John the Third, pursuant to the
instructions of Father Xavier, that he obtained another governor of the
Indies, and carried back such orders and provisions, signed by his
Majesty's own hand, as were in a manner the same which the father had
desired.

These orders contained, That no toleration should be granted for the
superstition of the infidels in the isle of Goa, nor in that of Salseta;
that they should break in pieces all the pagods which were there, and
make search, in the houses of the Gentiles, for concealed idols, and
whosoever used or made them should be punished according to the quality
of his crime; that as many of the Brachmans as were found to oppose the
publication of the gospel, should be banished; that out of a yearly rent
of three thousand crowns, charged on a mosque at Bazain, a subsistence
should be made for the poor, newly converted from idolatry; that
hereafter no public employment should be given to Pagans; that no
exaction should remain unpunished; that no slaves should henceforth be
sold, either to Mahometans or Gentiles; that the pearl fishing should
only be in the hands of Christians, and that nothing should be taken from
them, without paying them the due value; that the king of Cochin should
not be suffered to despoil or oppress the baptized Indians; and, last of
all, that if Sosa had not already revenged the murder of the Christians
in Manar, who were massacred by the king of Jafanatapan's command,
Castro, who succeeded in his place, should not fail to see it done.

To return to Father Xavier;--he put to sea at Cochin, and sailed towards
Cambaya. In the ship there was a Portuguese gentleman, much a libertine,
and one of those declared atheists who make a boast of their impiety.
This was motive enough for the holy man to make acquaintance with him. He
kept him company, and was even so complaisant as to entertain him with
pleasant conversation. The Portuguese was much delighted with his good
humour, and took pleasure in hearing him discourse on many curious
subjects. But if Xavier offered to let fall a word concerning the
salvation of his soul, he laughed at it, and would hear no more. If
the father mildly reproved him for his profane and scandalous way of
living, he flew out into a fury against the holy practice of the church,
and swore he would never more come to confession.

These ill inclinations did not at all discourage Xavier from his
undertaking. He treated this hardened sinner after the manner that
physicians use a patient raving in his sickness, with all manner of
compassion and soft behaviour. In the meantime, they came to an anchor
before the port of Cananor, and, going ashore together, they took a walk
into a wood of palm-trees which was near their place of landing. After
they had made a turn or two, the saint stripped himself to the waist, and
taking a discipline, pointed at the ends with wire, struck so hard and so
often on his naked body, that, in a very little time, his back and
shoulders were all bloody. "It is for your sake," said he to the
gentleman who accompanied him, "that I do what you see, and all this is
nothing to what I would willingly suffer for you. But," added he, "you
have cost Christ Jesus a much dearer price. Will neither his passion,
his death, nor all his blood, suffice to soften the hardness of your
heart? " After this, addressing himself to our blessed Saviour, "O Lord,"
said he, "be pleased to look on thy own adorable blood, and not on that
of so vile a sinner as myself. " The gentleman, amazed and confounded,
both at once, at such an excess of charity, cast himself at the feet of
Xavier, beseeching him to forbear, and promising to confess himself and
totally to change his former life. In effect, before they departed out of
the wood, he made a general confession to the father, with sincere
contrition for his sins, and afterwards lived with the exemplary
behaviour and practice of a good Christian.

Being returned to the port, they went again on shipboard, and continued
their voyage to Cambaya. When they were arrived at that place, Xavier
went to wait on the viceroy, and easily persuaded him to what he desired,
in reference to Jafanatapan; for, besides that Sosa reposed an entire
confidence in Father Xavier, and was himself zealous for the faith, the
expedition, which was proposed to him, was the most glorious that the
Portuguese could undertake, since the consequence of it was to punish a
tyrant, to dispossess an usurper, and to restore a lawful king.

The viceroy, therefore, wrote letters, and dispatched couriers, to the
captains of Comorin and of the Fishery, commanding them to assemble all
the forces they could make at Negapatan, and make a sudden irruption into
the tyrant's country, without giving him time to provide for his defence.
He gave them also in charge to take the tyrant alive, if possibly they
could, and put him into the hands of Father Francis, who desired his
conversion, not his death, and hoped the blood of the martyrs of Manar
might obtain the forgiveness of his crimes.

Xavier, encouraged by these hopes, returned towards Cochin, where he
proposed to himself to follow his ministerial vocation, while the
preparations of war were making. Coming back by Cananor, he lodged in the
house of a Christian, who himself was religious, but his son debauched,
and subject to all sorts of vices. The good man, sensibly afflicted at
the ill conduct of his graceless son, wept day and night; and Xavier
began at first to comfort him, saying, those vices were ordinary in
youth, and riper age would reclaim him from them. Having done speaking,
he stood mute awhile, and recollected himself; then, suddenly lifting up
his eyes to heaven, "Know," said he, "that you are the most happy father
in the world. This libertine son, who has given you so many disquiets,
shall one day change his manners, he shall be a religious of the order of
St Francis, and at last shall die a martyr. " The event verified the
prediction. The young man afterwards took the habit of St Francis, and
went to preach the faith in the kingdom of Cande,[1] where he received
martyrdom from the barbarians.

[Footnote 1: Cande is a kingdom in the island of Ceylon. ]

Father Xavier, being come back to Cochin, was very kindly received by the
secretary of state, Cosmo Annez, his intimate friend, who was there on
some important business. Being one day together, and talking familiarly,
Xavier asked Annez, if the year had been good for the Portugal merchants?
Annez answered him, that it could not have been better: that not long
since, seven vessels had been sent off, which were now in their passage
to Europe, and richly laden. He added, that himself had sent the king of
Portugal a rare diamond, which had cost six thousand ducats at Goa, and
Avould be worth more than thirty thousand at Lisbon. Xavier had a farther
curiosity to enquire, which of the ships had carried the diamond; and
Annez told him, it was the ship called the Atoghia, and that he had
entrusted the jewel to John Norogna, who was captain of the ship.

Xavier then entered into a profound meditation; and after he had kept
silence for some time, all on the sudden thus replied; "I could have
wished that a diamond of so great value had not been entrusted to that
ship. " "And for what reason? " answered Annez; "is it not because the
Atoghia has once formerly sprung a leak? but, father, she is now so well
refitted, that she may be taken for a new vessel. " The saint explained
himself no farther; and Annez, upon a second consideration, began to
conjecture, both from the father's words, and afterwards from, his
silence, that there was some danger in the matter, whereupon he desired
him to recommend that ship to the protection of almighty God; "for in
conclusion," said he, "the Atoghia cannot be lost without a very
considerable damage to me. I have had no order," said he, "to buy that
diamond; so that in case it should miscarry, the loss will be wholly
mine. "

Sitting one day together at the table, and Xavier observing Annez to be
in great concernment, "give thanks to God," said he, "your diamond is
safe, and at this very time in the hands of the queen of Portugal. " Annez
believed Xavier on his word; and understood afterwards, by letters from
Norogna, that the ship opened in the midst of her voyage, and let in so
much water, that being upon the point of sinking, the mariners had
resolved to have forsaken her, and thrown themselves into the sea, but
after having cut down the main mast, they changed their thoughts without
any apparent reason; that the leak stopped of itself, and the ship
pursuing her course, with only two sails, arrived safely in the port of
Lisbon.

The man of God remained about three months in Cochin, and towards the end
of May set sail for Negapatan, where the Portuguese fleet was now in
a readiness. Passing by the Isle of De las Vaccas, which is near the
flats of Ceylon, towards the north, he raised to life a Saracen's child,
which is all that is known of that miracle. He was desirous in his
passage to see the isle of Manar, where so many Christians had been
massacred for the faith; and going ashore, he often kissed the ground,
which had been sprinkled with the blood of martyrs at Pasim. While he
rejoiced at the happy destiny of the dead, he had cause to be afflicted
for the misfortune of the living: a contagious disease laid waste the
island, and there died an hundred every day.

When the Manarois had notice, that the great father, so famous in the
Indies, was at Pasim, they assembled together, above three thousand of
them, for the most part Gentiles, and being come to the village, besought
him humbly to deliver them from the pestilence.

Xavier asked three days, wherein to implore of God, for that which they
had begged from him. During all which time, he only offered up to our
Lord, and set before him the merits of those blessed martyrs, who had
suffered for his name at Pasim. Before those days were ended, his prayers
were heard, the plague ceased, and all the sick were restored to health
at the same moment. So visible a miracle wrought on all of them to
believe in Jesus Christ; and the apostle baptized them with his own hand.
He could make no longer stay with them; for the naval army then expected
him, and his presence was necessary to encourage the soldiers, and mind
the captains of the performance of their duty.

He passed over from Manar to Negapatan; but there he found all things in
a far different condition from what he hoped. The Portuguese navy
diminished daily; and the commanders, who at the beginning had been so
zealous for the Holy War, were now the first to condemn it. It was in
vain for him to set before their eyes the honour of their nation, and
that of God: interest did so blind their understanding, that they forgot
they were either Portuguese or Christians: behold, in short, what
overthrew so glorious an expedition.

While they were equipping the fleet, it happened that a Portuguese
vessel, coming from the kingdom of Pegu, and laden with rich merchandise,
was driven by tempest upon the coast of Jafanatapan. The king made
seizure of it, and possessed himself of all within it, according to the
custom of the barbarians. The captain and the ship's company foreseeing,
that if, in this conjuncture, war should be made against the heathen
prince, they should never be able to retrieve their wealth out of his
hands, corrupted the officers of the fleet with large presents, to desist
from their undertaking. Thus the tyrant, whom Father Xavier designed to
drive out from his ill-gotten kingdom, was maintained in it, by the
covetousness of Christians; or rather by the secret decrees of
Providence, which sometimes permits the persecutors of the church to
reign in peace, to the end a trial may be made of such as dare to
continue constant in their faith.

As holy men resign their will to that of God, Xavier wholly abandoned the
enterprize of Jafanatapan, and thought only of returning to the kingdom
of Travancore. Being now on sea, he cast back his eyes on the Isle of
Ceylon, which he saw from far; and cried out, lamenting for it, "Ah!
Unhappy island, with how many carcases do I behold thee covered, and what
rivers of blood are making inundations on all sides of thee! " These words
were prophetical of what happened afterwards, when on Constantine de
Braganza at one time, and Don Hurtado de Mendoca at another, destroyed
all those islanders with the sword; and the king of Jafanatapan being
himself taken, together with his eldest son, was put to death in his own
palace; as if the divine justice had not deferred the death of this
persecutor, but only to render it more terrible, and more memorable.

Father Xavier was very desirous of returning to Travancore; but the winds
blew so contrary, that they always drove him from the coast. By this he
judged that God had called him to some other place; and thereupon formed
a resolution of carrying the light of the gospel from isle to isle, and
from kingdom to kingdom, even to the utmost limits of the East. The news
he heard, during his navigation, caused him suddenly to cast his thoughts
on an island situate under the equinoctial, betwixt the Moluccas and
Borneo, stretched in length two hundred leagues from north to south, and
divided into sundry kingdoms, called by the geographers Celebes, by the
historians Macassar, from the names of the two capital cities, of the two
principal kingdoms; as to the rest, well peopled, and abounding in all
sorts of riches.

It was related to him, that about the year 1531, two brothers, both
idolaters, as were all the inhabitants of Macassar, going on their
private business to Ternate, the chief of the Moluccas, had some
conference, relating to religion, with the governor, Antonio Galvan, a
Portuguese, one of the most famous warriors of his age, and celebrated in
history both for his piety and valour: that having learnt from him the
vanity of their idols, they embraced the Christian faith, and at their
baptism took the names of Antonio and Michael: that being returned into
their country, they themselves taught publicly the faith of Jesus Christ:
that all their countrymen, with one accord, sent their ambassadors to the
governor of Ternate, desiring him to send them some to instruct them in
the principles of faith; and that the heads of this embassy were the two
brothers, known to Galvan: that these ambassadors found a very kind
reception; and that for want of a priest, Galvan gave them a soldier for
their teacher, whose name was Francis de Castro; a man knowing in
religion, and of exemplary piety. In conclusion, that Castro, who was
thus chosen to instruct that people, embarking for Macassar, was driven
by a tempest another way.

Besides this, Xavier was likewise informed, that not long before, a
Portuguese merchant, called Antonio Payva, going to Macassar in the name
of Ruys Vaz Pereyra, captain of Malacca, for a ship's lading of sandal, a
precious wood growing in that island, the king of Supa, which is one of
the kingdoms of Macassar, came in person to see him, and asked divers
questions relating to the Christian faith: that this honest merchant,
better acquainted with his traffic than his religion, yet answered very
pertinently, and discoursed of the mysteries of faith after so reasonable
a manner, that the king, then threescore years of age, was converted,
with all his family and court: that another king of the same island,
called the king of Sion, followed his example; and that these two
princes, who were solemnly baptized by the hand of Payva, not being able
to retain him with them, desired him to send them some priests, who might
administer the sacraments, and baptize their subjects.

These pious inclinations appeared to Father Xavier as an excellent
groundwork for the planting of the gospel. He wept for joy at the happy
news; and adored the profound judgments of the Divine Providence, which,
after having refused the grace of baptism to the king of Travancore, when
all his subjects had received it, began the conversion of Sion and of
Supa by that of their sovereigns. He even believed, that his evangelical
ministry exacted from him, to put the last hand to the conversion of
those kingdoms.

In the mean time, he thought it his duty, that, before he resolved on the
voyage of Macassar, he should ask advice from heaven concerning it; and
to perform it as he ought, it came into his mind to implore the
enlightnings of God's spirit at the sepulchre of St Thomas, the ancient
founder, and first father of Christianity in the Indies, whom he had
taken for his patron and his guide, in the course of all his travels. He
therefore resolved to go in pilgrimage to Meliapor, which is distant but
fifty leagues from Negatapan, where the wind had driven him back. And
embarking in the ship of Michael Pereyra, on Palm-Sunday, which fell that
year, 1545, on the 29th of March, they shaped their course along-the
coasts of Coromandel, having at first a favourable wind; but they had not
made above twelve or thirteen leagues, when the weather changed on a
sudden, and the sea became so rough, that they were forced to make to
land, and cast anchor under covert of a mountain, to put their ship into
some reasonable security. They lay there for seven days together, in
expectation of a better wind; and all that time the holy man passed in
contemplation, without taking any nourishment, either of meat or drink,
as they observed who were in the vessel with him, and as James Madeira,
who was a witness of it, has deposed in form of law. He only drank on
Easter-Eve, and that at the request of the said Madeira, a little water,
in which an onion had been boiled, according to his own direction. On
that very day, the wind came about into a favourable quarter, and the sea
grew calm, so that they weighed anchor, and continued their voyage.

But Xavier, to whom God daily imparted more and more of the spirit of
prophecy, foreseeing a furious tempest, which was concealed under that
fallacious calm, asked the pilot, "If his ship were strong enough to
endure the violence of bad weather, and ride out a storm? " The pilot
confessed she was not, as being an old crazy vessel. "Then," said
Xavier, "it were good to carry her back into the port. " "How, Father
Francis," said the pilot, "are you fearful with so fair a wind? you may
assure yourself of good weather by all manner of signs, and any little
bark may be in safety. " It was in vain for the saint to press him
farther, not to believe those deceitful appearances; neither would the
passengers follow his advice, but they soon repented of their neglect.
For far they had not gone, when a dreadful wind arose, the sea was on a
foam, and mounted into billows. The ship was not able to withstand the
tempest, and was often in danger of sinking, and the mariners were
constrained to make towards the port of Negapatan, from whence they set
out, which, with much ado, they at length recovered.

The impatience of Father Xavier to visit the tomb of the apostle St
Thomas, caused him to make his pilgrimage by land; and he travelled with
so much ardour, through the rough and uncouth ways, that in few days he
arrived at Meliapor.

That city is now commonly known by the name of St Thomas; because that
blessed apostle lived so long in it, and there suffered martyrdom. If we
will give credit to the inhabitants, it was once almost swallowed by the
sea; and for proof of this tradition, there are yet to be seen under
water, the ruins of great buildings. The new town of Meliapor was built
by the Portuguese; near the walls there is a hill, which they called the
Little Mount, and in it a grotto, wherein they say St Thomas hid himself
during the persecution. At the entry of this cave there is a cross cut in
the rock; and at the foot of the mountain there arises a spring, the
waters of which are of such virtue, that sick people drinking of them are
ordinarily cured.

From this small ascent you pass to a higher and much larger mountain,
which seems formed by nature for a lonely contemplative life; for on one
side it looks upon the sea, and on the other is covered with old trees,
always green, which at once make a fruitful and a pleasing object. Hither
St Thomas retired to pray with his disciples; and here it was also that
he was slain by a Brachman with the thrust of a spear.

The Portuguese, who rebuilt Meliapor, found on the top of the mountain a
little chapel, of stonework, all in ruins. They were desirous to repair
it, in memory of the holy apostle; and, as they were rummaging all about,
even to the foundations of it, they drew out a white marble, whereon was
a cross, with characters graved round about it, which declared, "That God
was born of the Virgin Mary; that this God was eternal; that the same God
taught his law to his twelve apostles; and that one of them came to
Meliapor with a palmer's staff in his hand; that he built a church there;
that the kings of Malabar, Coromandel, and Pandi, with many other
nations, submitted themselves to the law preached by St Thomas, a man
holy and penitent. "

This marble, of which we make mention, having on it divers stains of
blood, the common opinion is, that the apostle suffered martyrdom upon
it. Howsoever it be, the marble was placed upon the altar when the chapel
was rebuilt; and the first time that a solemn mass was said there, the
cross distilled some drops of blood, in the sight of all the people;
which also happened many times in the following years, on the day whereon
his martyrdom is celebrated.

When Xavier was come into the town, the vicar of Meliapor, who had heard
speak of him as a successor of the apostles, and a man sent from God,
for the conversion of the Indies, came to offer him a lodging in his
house. The father accepted of it, because it was adjoining to the church,
wherein were kept the relicks of St Thomas; and that he could easily step
from thence by night, to consult the will of God concerning his intended
voyage to Macassar.

In effect, as soon as the vicar was laid to sleep, for they were lodged
in the same chamber, Xavier rose as softly as he could, and went to the
church, through a church-yard which parted it from the house. The vicar
perceived it, and advertised Xavier, that this passage was not over-safe
by night, and that horrible phantoms had been often seen in it. The saint
believed this only said to frighten him, and hinder him from rising
before day; so he continued his usual prayers; but it was not long before
he found that the advice was true: for, the nights ensuing, as he passed
through the church-yard, he saw those dreadful spectres, which
endeavoured to have stopped him; yet he saved himself from them, and even
laughed at them as vain illusions.

The demons are too proud to bear contempt without revenge, when God
permits them. One night, when the saint was at his devotions before the
image of the blessed Virgin, they assaulted him in great numbers, and
beat him so violently, that he was all over bruised, and forced to keep
his bed for some days together. He said nothing of his adventure to the
vicar; but it was discovered by a young man of Malabar, who lodged near
the church, and was awakened with the noise; rising from his bed, he
heard the blows distinctly, and what Father Xavier said to the holy
Virgin, invoking her assistance against the infernal powers, insomuch,
that the vicar, to whom the young man had related the words which he had
heard, sometimes repeated them to Xavier with an inoffensive kind of
raillery.

The servant of God having recovered some little strength, returned to the
church, and there continued all the night. What rage soever the devils
had against him, they durst no more attempt his person, nor so much as
endeavour to affright him. They only made a noise to distract him in his
prayers; and one time, disguised in the habit of canons, they
counterfeited so well the midnight matins, that he asked the vicar, "Who
were those chanters who sung so admirably? "

But the favours which Xavier received from heaven, made him large amends
for all the injuries of hell; for though the particulars of what passed
betwixt God and him were kept secret, it is known, at least in regard of
the principal affair, for which he consulted God, that he had an interior
light, which gave him clearly to understand, that he was commanded to
pass to the more southern islands, and to labour in their conversion. The
Christian, strength, with which he found himself animated at the same
time, caused all the dangers, which naturally he might apprehend, to
disappear, as is manifest by what he wrote from Meliapor on that
occasion, to two of his friends at Goa, Paul de Camerin, and James Borba,
of whom we have made so frequent mention.

"I hope that God will confer many favours on me in this voyage; since,
through his infinite mercy, I have learned, with so much spiritual joy,
that it is his holy pleasure I should go to those kingdoms of Macassar,
where so many Christians have been made in these latter years. For what
remains, I am so much resolved on executing what our Lord has revealed to
me, that if I should be wanting on my part, I should go, to my thinking,
in direct opposition to his orders, and render myself unworthy of his
favour, both in this life and in the next. If I cannot find this year any
Portuguese vessel bound for Malacca, I will embark myself on any ship
belonging to the Gentiles or the Saracens. I repose, withal, so great a
confidence in God, for the love of whom I undertake this voyage, that if
there should only pass this way some little bark of Malacca, I should go
aboard without the least deliberation. All my hope is in God; and I
conjure you by his love, to remember always in your prayers so great a
sinner as myself. "

Though his intentions in coming to Meliapor were only to receive the
instructions of heaven in his solitude, yet he employed some part of his
time in the good of others. His holy life gave a lustre and value to his
discourse; and the sight of him alone was of efficacy to touch the heart.
The people had received it as a maxim, "That whoever followed not the
counsel of Father Francis, should die an enemy of God. " And they related
the unhappy end of some sinners, who, being urged by Xavier to make a
speedy repentance, had deferred the work of their conversion. This
popular opinion contributed much to the change of manners in the town;
and the fear of a disastrous death served frequently to break off in one
moment the criminal commerce of many years.

There was in Meliapor a Portuguese gentleman, who lived a debauched and
scandalous life.