400 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 



of Adera, fifter to Tecla Georgis, the voice of the women ^t 

 court feems to have had no extraordinary weight with him. 

 In a word, he never varied in his reUgion after he embraced 

 that of Rome, but ftedfaftly adhered to it, when the pride and 

 bad condud of the Jefuits, its profeflbrs, had fcarcely left an* 

 other friend to it in the whole kingdom ; and, therefore, the 

 charge of apoftacy is certainly an unmerited falfehood. 



As it is plain the Portuguefe, from the beginning, be- 

 lieved their religion could only be ellabliflied by force, and 

 were perfuaded fuch means were lawful, the blame of fo 

 much bloodflied for fo many years, and the total mifcar- 

 riage of the whole fcheme at laft, lay at the door of their 

 fovereign, the king of Spain and Portugal ; who, having 

 fucceeded to his wifli in his conqueft of India, feems not to 

 have had the fame anxiety the patriarch had for the con- 

 verfion of Abyflinia, nor even to have thought further of 

 fending a body of troops with his priefts to the fuccour of 

 Socinios, whom he left to the prayers of Urban VIII. the 

 merit of Ignatius Loyola, and the labours of his furious and 

 fanatic difcipleft 



TRAVELS 



