TIN TRADE BETWEEN BRITAIN AND ALEXANDRIA. 291 



off Pentapolis, and the master discharged some of the tin for sale 

 to an old comrade in business, who wanted some of it, giving him 

 twenty pounds of it in a bag. The person who received it, being 

 desirous of testing the purity of the metal, melted it and found it 

 to be pure silver. Thinldng that the master meant to try his 

 fidelity, he brought back the sack, saying: "God forgive you. 

 " Have you ever found me to be such a cheat that you must needs 

 "try my honesty by putting silver instead of tin into the bag?" 

 Upon hearing this, the master was astonished, and said : " Believe 

 " me, I gave it to you as tin ; but if He that made wine of water, 

 " hath, through the prayers of the Patriarch, made tin into silver, 

 " it is nothing wonderful. Come to the ship, and you shall see 

 "the rest of the metal, of which you have received a part." — 

 Going on board, they found the tin all converted into pure silver. 



The narrative then goes on to liken the miracle to others of 

 the New and Old Testament, and represents the present one as 

 worked for the enrichment of God's servant, and for a testimony 

 of mercy to the shipper. 



As the " famulus Dei " must refer to the Patriarch, it should 

 seem that in some way, directly or indirectly, he was interested 

 in the success of the consignment. Indeed, the vessel itself was 

 Church property. 



b3 



