THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 213 



probable that he was more ftrietly guarded in Adel than he 

 would have been in his own country. 



As to his religion, we can only fay that he abhorred the 

 Romifh faith, from the behaviour of thofe that profeffed it ; 

 and, that he had abundant reafon fo to do, we need only 

 appeal to their conduct in the preceding reign, according to 

 the accounts given by the Catholics themfelves. Let any 

 man confider a king fuch as Claudius was ; feated on his 

 throne in the midft of his courtiers and captains ; curfed and 

 excommunicated ; called heretic and liar to his face by an 

 ignorant peafant and ftranger, fuch as John Bermudes ; at- 

 tacked in the night, and forced to fly for his life by a 

 body of ftrangers who depended upon him for their daily 

 bread : Next confider Menas, at his firft accellion, defiring 

 their patriarch to defift from preaching a religion that was 

 fatal to the quiet of his kingdom by fowing diHentions a- 

 mong it as it had done in the two preceding reigns ; 

 and then figure a fanatic prieft, declaring that he would nei- 

 ther depart nor obey thefe orders ; then fay what would have 

 been done to ftrangers in France, Spain, or Portugal, that 

 had behaved in this manner to the fovereign or minifters 

 of thefe countries. Add to this, that all the Portuguefe to 

 a man appeared in the army of a rebel fubjecT: in the lafl 

 battle, fupporting the caufe of a pretender to his crown. If, 

 upon a fair review of all this, it is any matter of furprife 

 that he fhould be averfe to fuch people and behaviour, I am 

 no judge of the fair feelings of man, and the duty a prince 

 owes ro himfelf or pofterity, his country or dignity. 



As to his inclination to the Mahometan religion, the facl: 



is, that he oppofed it even with his fword during his whole 



1 reign, 



