MIRZA ZU-L-QARNAIN, A CERISTIAN GRANDEE. 163 



read in our Gospels, the Psalms and Holy Scripture, || which he had in Persian 1 ; and, Foi. 45*-. 

 when occasions offered themselves, he would often, and to good purpose, make use of 

 those weapons. 



"A certain ecclesiastic placed in authority went to the City of Agra, while I was 

 in that Mission, to see whether he could expel us from it. 2 He made every effort for 

 this purpose, went to the other chief towns, as Laor and Dely, where the King then 

 already was with his Court, and interested some Umbraos to get them to influence 

 the King and convert him to his evil intentions through defamatory papers and 

 letters against us. It was, perhaps, one of the most violent storms that burst over us 

 from the time that we settled in that Great Kingdom. What happened, and what 

 he did against us, God knows, and we who bore it. It is a very long story, and, if I 

 tried to put it in order in writing, I should fill more than four sheets of paper. 

 Suffice it to say that finally, by means of a quite baseless calumny, he succeeded 

 through some one else in getting the King to imprison for more than a month and a 

 half, say about two months, Fr. Henrique Buzeu [Buseo, BusiJ (God rest his soul!) ; 

 but God, who defends the cause of truth, allowed that everything should become 

 clear, and the Father came out of prison with great credit to himself and honour to 

 the Society, the King considering as a base slander the charges brought against the 

 Father. After this ecclesiastic had done what he could, he happened to speak at Agra 

 with one born at Cochy [Cochin] and married at Ogoly [Hugll], who, as I said, came 

 with the other captives. He was a half-caste, but of good extraction (? character, de 

 bom natural)-, and, though the King's prisoner, his pay was big enough to let him live 

 in comfort. I do not name him, because he is well known and my story does not 

 require my naming him. 3 This ecclesiatic went often to the renegade's house, and 

 once he told him : ' Senhor so-and-so, do you think that with four fellows of my pluck 

 I could get rid of those Paulists ? ' The apostate replied very sensibly, ( But, since 

 you see that the Fathers are four, why do you try what you cannot succeed in ? ' — ■ 

 C I should worst them,' said the ecclesiastic, 'but for the help they get from Mirza 

 Zulcarane.' Another person from Bengala, who had been circumcised, and was 

 intimate with Mirza, told him the above story. 'Tell this ecclesiastic,' was Mirza's 

 answer, i that, if we had not the help of the cross, the devil would get the better of 

 the whole world.' What is worse in this story is that, when this clergyman came to 

 Dely, Mirza gave him an alms of a hundred rupees. 



" King Xajan was in the Kingdom of Cassimir [Kashmir], where, owing to the said 



1 J.A.S.B., 1896, pp. 95, 113, shows what parts of the Old and New Testaments Zu-1-Qarnain may have possessed in 

 Persian. In 1912 I found in the Catholic Cathedral library of Agra a copy of Fr. J. Xavier's Persian translation of the 

 four Gospels. 



2 The Provincial of Goa wrote to the General iti the Annual Tetter of 1652 (October 27th) : " This Mission of Mogor 

 suffered this year a severe persecution, which was brought down upon it by Bishop Dom Matheus. This appears from 

 three writings of his, or rather three libels which he spread to discredit us, and even expel us from that Mission. He 

 accused us of having usurped much money, which by the laws of the Kingdom belonged to the King ; secondly, that we 

 had prevented some Dutch gunners, whom the King had caused to be called, from entering his service ; through these 

 false incriminations, he actually got Fr. Henrique Buzeo arrested." On Dom Matheus de Castro, Cf. Manucci's Storia 

 di^Iogor, s.v. Matheus; also C. Beccari, S.J., Notizia e Saggi di opere e documenti inediti riguardanti la Storia di Etiopia 

 durante i secoli xvi, xvii e xviii. . . Roma, 1903 , pp. 1 14-1 1 5 n. 4 ; 169 ; 401 . 



8 Cf. on him, App. C. 



