HENKY THE NAVIGATOK. 325 



It seems that already there had risen between 

 Portugal and England that diplomatic friendship which 

 has lasted to the present day. A commerce of wine 

 for wool was established between the ports of the 

 Tagus and the Thames ; and with this commerce the 

 pirates of Ceuta continually interfered. Ceuta was 

 one of the pillars of Hercules : it sat opposite Gib- 

 raltar, and commanded the straits. The King of 

 Portugal prepared a fleet ; great war-galleys were built 

 having batteries of mangonels or huge crossbows, with 

 winding gear, stationed in the bow ; great beams, like 

 battering rams, swung aloft ; and jars of quicklime 

 and soft soap to fling in the faces of the enemy. The 

 fleet sailed forth, rustling with flags, beating drums, 

 and blowing Saracen horns ; the passage to Ceuta 

 was happily made ; the troops were landed, and the 

 pirate city taken by assault. 



Among those who distinguished themselves in this 

 exploit was the Prince Henry, a younger son of the 

 king. He was not only a brave knight, but also a 

 distinguished scholar ; his mind had been enriched by 

 a study of the works of Cicero, Seneca, and Pliny, and 

 by the Latin translations of the Greek geographers. 

 He now stepped on that mysterious continent which 

 had been closed to Christians for several hundred 

 years. He questioned the prisoners respecting the 

 interior. They described the rich and learned cities 

 of Morocco : the Atlas mountains, shining with snow ; 

 and the sandy desert on their southern side. It was 

 there the ancients had supposed all life came to an end. 

 But now the Prince received the astounding intelligence, 

 that beyond the Sahara was a land inhabited entirely 

 by negroes ; covered with fields of corn and cotton ; 

 watered by majestic rivers, on the banks of which rose 



