e ship: Xavier took the occasion, and preached the gospel
to them; withal, instructing them in the holy practices of Christianity.
He had no sooner ended his exhortation, than they acknowledged Jesus
Christ, and received baptism.

While he was christening them, he appeared of a stature much higher than
his own; insomuch, that those who were upon the shore near the vessel,
believed he had been standing on some bench; but seeing him coming and
going, and always appearing of the same height, they thought there might
possibly be some miracle in the matter, and were desirous to be satisfied
concerning it: Stephen Ventura went into the ship on purpose, and
approaching Father Xavier, saw that with his feet he touched the hatches,
and yet his head was higher than the tallest there, on whom he sprinkled
the sacred waters of baptism. Ventura likewise observed, that, after he
had baptized the company, he returned to his natural proportion.

From Cincheo the ship pursued her voyage towards Sancian, which is but
six leagues distant from the continent, over against Canton, a town of
China. They had sailed far beyond Canton, and the mariners believed they
were still on this side of it. Xavier endeavoured to undeceive them, but
they adhered to their first opinion, and they had gone much further out
of their way, if the captain, upon the word of the saint, had not struck
sail, and cast anchor till the return of the chalop, which he had sent
out to discover the neighbouring coast. She was three days before she
came back, and all the ship's company imagined that she had been
overtaken by some hurricane; but Xavier assured them that she should
suddenly return, with refreshments sent them by the Portuguese of
Sancian; and that also she should be followed by some vessels, which
should come to meet them on their way, and conduct them into the port.
All happened as the Father had foretold; and the Santa Cruz, guided by
the vessels of Sancian, arrived at that island, twenty-three days after
her departure from Malacca.

There are three islands so little distant from each other, that they
appear but one; for which reason the Chinese, in their language, call
them Samceu; a word composed of _sam_, which signifies three, and _ceu_,
which is to say an island. The chief of these islands, which the
Portuguese have named Sancian, has a convenient and safe port, all
crowned with mountains, and forming a semicircle on that side, which
looks towards Maca