DISCOVERIES OF THE PORTUGUESE. §5 
princess received them in the most gracious man- 
ner, and having dismissed her attendants, pri* 
vately assured them, that it was with extreme re- 
luctance, and only from necessity, that she follow- 
ed the barbarous customs of the Giagas ; that she 
was still a Christian at heart, and would prove 
herself to be so whenever circumstances permitted. 
She shewed extreme pleasure in hearing them 
speak Portuguese, of which language she was per- 
fectly mistress. These impressions, however, did 
not produce any fruit in the mind of the queen, 
till she had arrived at the mature age of sixty- 
eight. At that time, the accidental sight of a 
cross is said to have rekindled, in all their energy, 
the sentiments by which she was formerly attach- 
ed to the Catholic faith. She therefore transmit- 
ted an application to the church of Rome, for mis- 
sionaries to instruct herself and her subjects in its 
doctrines. Such was the zeal, or such the obedi- 
ence of the fathers, that no dread of this demon in 
female form produced any difficulty in finding men 
who were willing to undertake so formidable a mis- 
sion. Fourteen were accordingly selected, who set 
sail from Cadiz on the 18th July 1654, and arrived 
at Angola on the 18th November. They im- 
mediately began to ascend the Coanza, a deep 
and rapid river, nearly of the magnitude of the 
Po. With difficulty they reached the town of MaV 
jsignano, about a hundred miles from its mouth* 
