ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



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area just when the prisoner had 

 been felled, and the old women 

 were dragging the body to the fire; 

 theyforced the body from them, and 

 in the presence of the whole clan, 

 who stood astonished at their cou- 

 rage, carried it off. The women 

 soon roused the warriors to re- 

 venge this insult, and, by the time 

 the Fathers had secretly interred 

 the corpse, the savages were in 

 search of them. The governor 

 received timely intelligence, and 

 sent in haste to call the Jesuits 

 from the mud hovel which they 

 inhabited, upon the spot whereon 

 their magnificent college was af- 

 terwards erected. When the sa- 

 vages had searched here in vain, 

 they were on the point of attack- 

 ing the city ; the governor was 

 obliged to call out his whole force, 

 and partly by the display of fire- 

 arms, and partly by fair words, 

 he induced them to retire. This 

 danger over, thePortuguesethem- 

 selves began an outcry against the 

 Jesuits, saying, that their frantic 

 zeal had endangered the city, 

 and would soon make all the na- 

 tives their enemies. Thome de 

 Sousa, however, was not to be 

 deterred by any such shortsighted 

 policy from protecting and en- 

 couraging Nobrega : and it was 

 not long before these very savages, 

 remembering the true kindness 

 which they had always experienc- 

 ed from the Jesuits, and that those 

 fathers were indeed the friends of 

 the Indians, came to solicit their 

 forgiveness, and beseech the go- 

 vernor that he would command 

 the Fathers to forgive them, and 

 visit them as before ; and they 

 promised not to repeat these feasts. 

 But the practice was too delight- 

 ful to be laid aside at once, and 



they continued it secretly. When 

 the Fathers had obtained suffici- 

 ent authority over them to make 

 themselves feared, they employed 

 the children as spies to inform 

 against offenders. 



" One of the Jesuits succeeded 

 in effectually abolishing it among 

 some clans by going through them 

 and flogging himself before their 

 doors till he was covered with 

 blood, telling them he thus tor- 

 mented himself to avert the 

 punishment which God would 

 otherwise inflict upon them for 

 this crying sin. They could not 

 bear this, confessed what they 

 had done was wrong, and enacted 

 punishment against any person who 

 should again be guilty. With 

 other hordes the Fathers thought 

 themselves fortunate in obtaining 

 permission to visit the prisoners 

 and instruct them in the sav- 

 ing faith, before they were put 

 to death. But the savages soon 

 took a conceit that the water of 

 baptism spoilt the taste of the 

 meat, and therefore would not let 

 them baptize any more. The Je- 

 suits then carried with them wet 

 handkerchiefs, or contrived to wet 

 the skirt or sleeve of their habit, 

 that out of it they might squeeze 

 water enough upon the victim's 

 head to fulfil the condition of sal- 

 vation, without which they were 

 persuaded that elernal fire must 

 have been his portion. What will 

 not man believe, if he can believe 

 this of his Maker ! 



" Ifthemissionaries,overcoming 

 all difficulties, succeeded in con- 

 verting a clan at last, that conver- 

 sion was so little the effect of 

 reason or feeling, that any slight 

 circumstance would induce the 

 proselytes to relapse into their old 



