710 Report on Shoa [No. 140. 



Although much blood and considerable treasure had been thus fruit- 

 lessly expended, the conversion of Ethiopia was far from being forgotten 

 in Europe, and the spark of hope was further kept alive by an Abyssinian 

 priest, who asserted on his arrival in Rome, that the failure of Bermu- 

 dez had entirely arisen from his own absurd and brutal conduct, and that 

 the utmost deference would be paid to men of sense and capacity. Igna- 

 tius Loyola volunteered to repair in person to re-unite Ethiopia and the 

 Roman Catholic church, but his talents being required for more impor- 

 tant objects, the Pope refused the desired permission to the great 

 founder of the Society of Jesus, and thirteen Missionaries from the new 

 order were chosen instead. Nunez Baretto was elevated to the dignity 

 of Patriarch, and Andre Oviedo appointed provisional successor. 



At that period, the navigation of the Red Sea was rendered dangerous 

 by numerous Saracen fleets, and the Patriarch deeming it inexpedient to 

 hazard his own valuable person in the perils of the voyage, reposed 

 quietly at Goa ; whilst a deputation, headed by Gonsalvez Rodrigues, a 

 priest of the secondary rank, was despatched in advance to ascertain the 

 capabilities of the route, and the sentiments of the reigning monarch. 



The Emperor Claudius little relished the arrival of these monks, and 

 Rodrigues entirely failed in every attempt at conviction on the points at 

 issue — that the Pope, as representative of Christ upon earth, was the true 

 head of all Christians, and that there was no salvation whatever out of the 

 pale of the Catholic Church ; he was dismissed with the reply, that the 

 people of Ethiopia would not lightly abandon the faith of their forefathers. 

 The monk retired to work upon the mind of the monarch by the brilliancy 

 of his controversial writing, but a lengthy treatise on the true faith pro- 

 duced no happy result, and the envoy, disgusted with his reception, re- 

 turned shortly afterwards to Goa. 



The spiritual conclave was plunged into consternation by the unhap- 

 py intelligence, and after much mature deliberation it was resolved, that 

 the dignity of the Patriarch and of the great king of Portugal could not 

 be exposed to the consequences attending the ill favor of the Emperor of 

 Abyssinia, that therefore the prelate should still remain the guest of the 

 Bishop of Nicaca ; whilst the daring and restless Oviedo, with a small 

 train of attendants, attempted the conquest. 



Arriving in safety, the Jesuit experienced a most friendly reception 

 from the Emperor Claudius, and although the letters of recommendation 



