THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 155 



ed Galvan, who had died upon the road, ambaflador to his 

 highnefs, he had fent with him prefents to the value of 

 100,000 ducats, confuking his own greatnefs, but not 

 confidering himfelf as under any obUgation to fend any 

 prefents at all ; and as to the many fcandalous afperfions 

 that had been thrown upon him by mean people, which the 

 king had given credit to, and were made conftantly part of 

 his difcourfe, he wiflied his highnefs, from the perufal of 

 the letters which he had brought from the general of the 

 Indies, to learn, that the Portuguefe were not accuftomed to 

 ufe lying and diflimulation in their convcrfations, but to tell 

 the naked truth ; to whichhe the ambaflador had ibi(5lly con- 

 fined himfelf in every circumftance he had related to his 

 highnefs, if he pleafed to believe him ; if not, that he was 

 very welcome to do juft whatever he thought better in his 

 own eyes. Yet he would, once for all, have his highnefs to 

 know, that, though he came only as ambaflador from the 

 general of the Indies, he could, as fuch, have prcfented him- 

 felf before the grcatcft fovercign upon earth, without being 

 fubjedled to hear fuch converfation as he had been daily 

 expofed to from his highnefs, which he, as a Portuguefe 

 nobleman and a foldier, though he had been no ambaflador 

 at all, was not any way difpofed to fufler, and therefore he 

 ;defu-ed his immecUate difmiflioru" 



XJpox this the king faid, " Tliat the diHindion he had 

 fncvvn him was fuch as he would never have met with 

 from any of his prcdeceflTors, having brought no prefcnt of 

 any value." To which the ambaflador replied in great 

 warmth, "That he had received no diftindtion in this coun- 

 try whatever, but only injuries and wrongs ; that he fliould 

 think he became a martyr if he died in tliis country where 



V 2. he 



