P I R 
P I R 
edita ac digefta a Melchiore Goldafto Haiminsfeldio, 
Francof, 1610, fol. It muft not be omitted, that Pirck- 
heimer was an intimate and much-efteemed correfpondent 
of Erafmus. Nicer on’s Memoires des Hommes Lllujires. 
PIR'DE, a river of Pruflia, which runs into the Memel 
four mHes weft of Tilfit. 
PIRE, a town of France, in the department of the Ifle 
and Vilaine: three miles fouth-eaft of Chateau Giron, 
and nine weft-north-weft of La Guerche. 
PIREMIL', a town of France, in the department of 
the Sarte : ten miles north-eaft of Sable. 
PIRE'NE, a daughter of QEbalus, or according to 
others, of the river Achelous. She had by Neptune two 
fons called Leches and Cenchrius, who gave their name 
to two of the harbours of Corinth. Pirene was fo dif- 
confolate at the death of her fon Cenchrius, who had been 
killed by Diana, that (he pined away, and was diffolved 
by her continual weeping into a fountain of the fame 
name, which w-as (till feen at Corinth in the age of 
Paufanias. 
The fountain Pirene was facred to the mufes; and, 
according to fome, the horfe Pegafus was drinking fome 
of its waters, when Bellerophon took it to go and con¬ 
quer the Chimtera. Some fay, that the origin of the 
Fountain was from a ftroke of Pegafus’s foot. At any 
rate it is fpoken of by various authors. Thus Paufanias 
fays that its waters were agreeable to drink 5 extremely 
clear (Strabo) ; very light (Athenteus) ; and pale (Per- 
(ius) ; having relation either to the grief of Pirene, mother 
of Cenchrea, from whofe tears this fountain arofe, (Pau¬ 
fanias) ; or to the palenefs brought on by the too eager 
purfuits of the Mules. 
PIRE'NEAN, adj. Belonging to the famous fountain 
at the foot of Parnaflus. 
PI'RES (Thome), is faid, fays Nicholas Antonio, to 
have written a treatife De Cmifns de China , probably con¬ 
cerning fimples; and this is all which is faid of him in 
the Bibliotheca Hilpana. Mr. Southey fays, that he was 
the firft European ambaftador that ever vilited China, and 
the moft unfortunate one. He was a man of humble 
fortunes, whofe occupation in India had been to choofe 
out drugs for the apothecaries in Portugal. But, as his 
perfon was prepofleffing, his manners accommodating, 
his underftanding good, his intellect quick, and his 
learning confiderable, he was feledled for this office, and 
left at Canton in 1517, by Fernam Peres d’Andrade, a 
commander whofe excellent conduft had conciliated the 
good will of the Chinefe, and who arranged every thing 
lo well before his departure, that a profperous commerce 
was immediately begun. This good underftanding was 
difturbed in 1521 by the milcondubi and miftakes of 
Andrade’s brother, the peculiar cuftoms as well as the 
caution of the extraordinary people with whom he had to 
deal, and the cunning of the Malay Moors. 
After having been long delayed at Canton, Pires was 
at length permitted to proceed to the emperor, and met 
him at Pekin. Unfortunately juft at the fame time a com¬ 
plaint againft his countrymen had arrived from Canton 
and from the city of Nanquin. Tuam Mahamed had 
reached the latter place as ambaflador from the king of 
Bintam, to complain how unjuftly he had been expelled 
by the Portuguese from Malacca, and to requeft that the 
emperor would interfere and reinftate him as his vaflal. 
This Moor plied the governor of Nanquin well with pre- 
fents, and fecured his favourable report: he therefore 
cautioned the emperor not to fuffer any intercourfe what¬ 
ever with thefe rapacious Franks, whofe bufinefs, under 
the-pretext of commerce, was to fpy out the weaknefs of 
every land which they vifited, and endeavour to gain 
footing there as merchants, that they might afterwards 
make themfelves matters. The advices from Canton com¬ 
plained that Simam d’Andrade, as foon as he arrived with 
four veffels from Malacca, had erected a battery on the 
mand of Tamon : he had done this to fecure himfelf 
from pirates, againft whom the whole naval force of 
511 
China could not elfe have protected him. He had re¬ 
filled to let the (hips, which arrived after him, difpofe of 
their cargoes till he had done; alleging the cuftom of the 
country that they (hould be ferved in fucceflion accor¬ 
ding to, the order of their arrival; but, inftead of leaving 
this to the laws of the country, he infolently afferted his 
right by force. The laft complaint was that he had fe- 
cretly bought the children of refpeftable parents, and 
carried them away as (laves. 
Thefe complaints excited confiderable jealoufy at Pekin, 
which was increafed by the ambaffador’s own letters. 
He had brought three with him. The firft was from 
Emanuel king of Portugal, written in the ufual ftyle of 
correfpondence with the kings of the eaft, a ftyle which 
the emperor of China was by no means ufed to, though 
it contained due acknowledgments of that monarch’s 
power and greatnefs. The fecond was from Fernam 
Peres d’Andrade, which to fave trouble he had made 
fome Chinefe tranflate, and he made truly Chinefe tranf- 
lation; that is, it reprefented “that he, Fernam Peres, 
chief captain of the king of the Franks, was arrived at 
Canton with an ambaflador to the Son of God and Lord 
of the World, to befeech him to fend his feal to the king 
of the Franks, who begged permiflion to become his 
vaflal, and fend good merchandize into his dominions.” 
The third letter was from the governor of Canton, writ¬ 
ten before any caufe of difpleafure had been given by 
Simam d’Andrade. It contained “a requeft on the part 
of the Portuguefe to have a factory at Canton, and an 
intimation from himfelf that they were not a people 
eafily fatisfied, very pundtilious; and that it was faid 
they had conquered Malacca.” This part coincided 
with Tuam Mahamed’s complaint. But the difference 
between the tranflation and Emanuel’s own letter, 
puzzled the Chinefe minifters. They fent for the inter¬ 
preters from Canton, and interrogated them. Thefe 
terrified poor people replied that they had not (een the 
letter of the king of the Franks, becaufe the ambaflador 
would not permit it to be opened till he delivered it him¬ 
felf into the hands of the Son of God and Lord of the 
World. Their own verfion of the contents, as they had 
been orally ftated, was made into fuch language as ought 
to be ufed towards that Son of Heaven, and not fuch as 
the Franks ufe. 
All thefe circutnftances made the council conclude 
that the embaffy was altogether a fiction ; that the am- 
baffador had come as a fpy, that Fernam Peres d’Andrade 
had nothing but hoftilities in view when he failed 
along the coaft and furveyed it; and that a fadtory had 
been a(ked with the intention of eredling a cattle and 
beginning the conqueft of the country. Pires therefore 
was not admitted to make his proltrations ; and, while 
they were deliberating what to do with him, the emperor 
died. The counfellors were unanimoufly of opinion that 
he and all his people (hould be put to death 1 but the new 
emperor infilled that, though the embaffy was falfe, dill 
as he had perfonated the character of an ambaflador, his 
perfon ought to be fafe. They therefore fent him and 
his prefent back to Canton, to be kept fafely by the go¬ 
vernor, while orders were fent in the emperor’s name to 
the governor of Malacca, the governor of India, and the 
king of Portugal, to reftore Malacca to the king of Bin¬ 
tam the emperor’s vaflal. Till thefe orders were obeyed, 
no (flip from any of the Portuguefe pofleflions, nor any of 
fo mifchievous a nation, were to be admitted into a Chi¬ 
nefe port: and, when news (hould come that they had 
been duly executed, then Pires and his people were to be 
fent away without injury, but ordered never to return, 
and to give notice to their countrymen, that, if they pre¬ 
fumed to vifit China, they (hould be treated as enemies. 
But, if Malacca was not reftored in obedience, that Pires 
was to be fentenced according to the laws of China for 
the offence which had been committed againft the empe¬ 
ror’s vaflal. The other offences were to be excufed, as 
having proceeded from the ignorance of the Franks; for 
fuch 
