in the Congo River. 32 7 
landers and English, “ whose religion is so very 
contrary to ours,” but to the Portuguese, who would 
“ withdraw the poor souls out of the power of 
Lucifer.” One father goes so far, in his fear of 
heretical influences, as to remunerate by the gift 
of a slave the dealer Ferdinando Gomez, who had 
supplied him with “ a flask of wine for the sacra¬ 
ment and some other small things,” yet he owns 
F. Gomez to be a rogue. 
As the Portuguese would not pay high prices 
like the heretics, disturbances resulted, and these 
were put down by the desperate expedient of 
shutting the church-doors—a suicidal act not yet 
quite obsolete. Whereupon the Count of Sonho, 
we are told, “ changed his countenance almost 
from black to yellow,” and complained to the 
bishop at Loanda that the sacraments were not 
administered : the appeal was in vain, and, worse, 
an extra aid was sent to the truculent church¬ 
men. Happily for them, the small-pox broke out, 
and the ruler was persuaded by his subjects to do 
the required penance. Appearing at the convent, 
unattended, with a large rope round his neck, clad 
in sackcloth, crowned with thorns, unshod, and 
carrying a crucifix, he knelt down and kissed the 
feet of the priest, who said to him, “If thou hast 
sinned like David, imitate him likewise in thy 
repentance ! ” 
The schismatics caused abundant trouble 
