392 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [November, 1912. 
Giuseppe Maria. In 1738, when in Rome, he asked and ob- 
tained leave to accompany the missionaries then ready to 
start for Tibet under the guidance of Orazio della Penna. 
They sailed from Lorient on March 11, 1739. During the six 
months’ voyage, Bernini endeared himself to all, particularly 
to the French officers and the crew. On his landing at Pondi- 
chery, the French authorities of the town begged of him to 
stay and to attend to the spiritual wants of the Christian 
community; but a missionary is like a soldier: he does not 
reason, he only obeys. He left for the mission he was sent out 
to, and was posted at Patna. Knowing French, Portuguese 
and German to perfection, he made himself useful to the Euro- 
peans of various nationalities who had factories in that city, 
converting many heretics and baptizing many children. 
The fame of Father Joseph’s virtues and holy life was so 
great that the king of Bettiah, though a Brahman, on a 
visit to Patna, grew so fond of him that he wrote to the 
Sovereign Pontiff to have him 
rgnano 
fetto delle Missioni del Tibet, scritte ad un amico dal P. CassIANo 
DA Macgrata, etc. Verona, 1767, 8vo, pp. xxxii—277. 
