t for putting us to death with so little
consideration, but advised that we should be banished to one of the isles
of the Lake of Dambia, an affliction more severe than death itself. These
alleged in vindication of their opinions that it was reasonable to
expect, if they put us to death, that the viceroy of the Indies would
come with fire and sword to demand satisfaction. This argument made so
great an impression upon some of them that they thought no better
measures could be taken than to send us back again to the Indies. This
proposal, however, was not without its difficulties, for they suspected
that when we should arrive at the Portuguese territories, we would levy
an army, return back to Abyssinia, and under pretence of establishing the
Catholic religion revenge all the injuries we had suffered. While they
were thus deliberating upon our fate, we were imploring the succour of
the Almighty with fervent and humble supplications, entreating him in the
midst of our sighs and tears that he would not suffer his own cause to
miscarry, and that, however it might please him to dispose of our
lives--which, we prayed, he would assist us to lay down with patience and
resignation worthy of the faith for which we were persecuted--he would
not permit our enemies to triumph over the truth.

Thus we passed our days and nights in prayers, in affliction, and tears,
continually crowded with widows and orphans that subsisted upon our
charity and came to us for bread when we had not any for ourselves.

While we were in this distress we received an account that the viceroy of
the Indies had fitted out a powerful fleet against the King of Mombaza,
who, having thrown off the authority of the Portuguese, had killed the
governor of the fortress, and had since committed many acts of cruelty.
The same fleet, as we were informed, after the King of Mombaza was
reduced, was to burn and ruin Zeila, in revenge of the death of two
Portuguese Jesuits who were killed by the King in the year 1604. As
Zeila was not far from the frontiers of Abyssinia, they imagined that
they already saw the Portuguese invading their country.

The viceroy of Tigre had inquired of me a few days before how many men
one India ship carried, and being told that the complement of some was a
thousand men, he compared that answer with the report then spread over
all the country, that there were eighteen Portuguese vessels on the coast
of Adel, and concluded that they were