twenty-five Englishmen disappointed of a row in Ferrara, on
May 29, 1599, for Constantinople. Thence he went on to Aleppo, and so
down the Euphrates, to Babylon, to Isapahan and Kazveen, where
he met the Shah Abbas the Great. There, thanks to the Shah's
two Christian wives, he had a good reception; the rank of Prince
was conferred upon him, and he won the concession, for all Christians,
of the right, not only to trade freely, but to practise their religion
in Persia. For five months he remained at the court of the Shah, and
then returned to Europe as his ambassador to invite all Christian
powers to ally themselves with Persia against the Turk. He went first
to Moscow, where he was, however, treated with contempt, as was his
mission. He went to Prague and was well received. At last, in 1601,
after visiting Nuremberg, Augsburg, Munich, Innsbruck, and Trent, he
arrived in Rome, and, professing enthusiasm for the Faith his father
had repudiated, was well received. The truth was, he was in grave money
difficulties, and indeed in 1603 was arrested by the Venetians and
imprisoned "in a certain obscure island near unto Scio." The English
Government, however, came to his aid and obtained his release, but
refused him permission to return to England. He went to Prague, and
thence on the business of the Emperor to Morocco. There he was received
in great state and remained five months. Before leaving, however, he
released certain Portuguese whom he found in slavery, and sailed with
them for Lisbon, where he hoped to reimburse himself for their ransom.
In this he was disappointed, so on he went to Madrid, where he was made
very much of and promised the Order of Sant'Iago. In the service now of
Spain, he went to Naples in 1607, after a visit to the Emperor at
Prague where he was created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. He seems
to have travelled considerably in Southern Italy, and after a brief
visit, to obtain money, to Madrid, set out for Sicily in command of a
fleet to attack the Moors and Turks. He achieved nothing and was
dismissed. In 1611 he appeared again in Madrid in utter poverty, but
the King took compassion upon him and gave him a pension, and in Madrid
he remained writing an account of his adventures till he died in
beggary. The English ambassador notes in 1619, "The poor man sometimes
comes to my house and is as full of vanity as ever he was, making
himself believe that he shall one day be a great prince." It might
indee