CHAP. III. Archbishop proceeds to the South. this understanding, they permitted him to preach in their church. Though he so far kept to his agreement as to do nothing but preach and give the blessing, yet in his sermon, which was very long, he availed himself of the opportunity to expatiate on the errors of Nestorius; also on the truth and supremacy of the Roman church, and on the obligation of all other churches to render unto her implicit obedience. This gave great offence to the people; and the Archdeacon, justly regarding it as taking an unfair advantage of the indulgence that had been shown him, and a violation of the agreement so recently concluded between them, felt himself much aggrieved, and resolved to go no further in his company. He therefore went to him, and, pleading indisposition, begged to be excused from proceeding, as he desired to retire to Chegurée for medical assistance. Menezes, having no longer any wish for his detention, allowed him to depart; and they met no more until the Archdeacon gave in his adhesion to the Roman communion, an event that was preceded by a series of outrages unparalleled in the history of any church but that of Rome. 6. The ill success of the Archbishop in the five churches which he had already visited, convinced him that the further he went to the North, the opposition would increase; for the Archdeacon had taken up his abode there, where he was generally beloved. He determined, therefore, to proceed to the southward, both because, as the Archdeacon had less authority there, he hoped to meet with better success among the people; and also, because the political affairs of the Portuguese demanded his immediate presence in that direction. In pursuance of the instructions he had brought with him from Goa, it was necessary for him to hasten to Coulan,3 a fortress in Travancore, about one hundred miles from Cape Comorin, belonging to the Portuguese. It was a place of great importance to them, being a considerable mart for cotton, pepper, ginger, cardamoms and other articles of merchandize. At that time the Portuguese trade, and even their safety there, was threatened by a fort which the Rajah of Travancore was erecting in the neighbourhood. The demolition of this fort was the principal object of the Archbishop's visit. 7. He commenced his journey thither on the first of March, halting in his way at a castle within two leagues of Cochin, where the governor and the Bishop of that city paid their respects to him. Having communicated to them his design, he proceeded direct to Porca, where the rajah of that country, who had been expecting him for some days, welcomed him with great demonstrations of joy. In this place he found a small church belonging to the Syrians, to which he went in the evening, and was kindly received by the Christians. this reception he was indebted to the attention of the rajah, who professed a great friendship for the Portuguese, and had commanded the people, on pain of his displeasure, to comply with all that the Archbishop might desire. For After preaching and giving the blessing, Menezes repaired to the house of the principal cattanar, to lodge for the night. Here the rajah 3 Or Quilon. In remote times this was a sea port of considerable note, and the town is said to have been built, A. D. 825. The Christians, as well as the Hindoo natives of this part of Malabar, commence their era at the period of its foundation; and it is mentioned by Marco Paolo, in the year 1295. The brahmins here possess a very ancient temple dedicated to Siva.-Hamilton. A. D. 1599. At Porca he receives a visit from the Rajah. friendly CHAP. paid him a visit before he retired to rest, accompanied by a vast number of his people well armed, and a retinue of pages carrying flambeaux. He was gorgeously apparelled, and covered with gold and jewels. All this display was intended to impress the Archbishop with a high notion of his magnificence and power, as he had a request to make which he considered of great importance. After courteously saluting him, and taking to himself the credit of protecting the commerce of the Portuguese from pirates, and performing other services for that people, he said, that he hoped these good offices would be deemed sufficient to entitle him to the honour of being called Brother in arms to the king of Portugal, as the rajah of Cochin had been. The Archbishop's answer showed that he knew how to render the rajah's ambition available for his own purpose. After returning his civilities, he said, that what he had asked was an honour that the king of Portugal never conferred on any sovereign until he had merited it by some signal service. However, he promised to do what he could to obtain for him the distinction to which he aspired. This interview lasted two hours, and it was near midnight when the rajah took his leave. This prince is described as a young man of short stature, but well proportioned, and distinguished among the rajahs of Malabar for his valour and courtesy. He called himself Nambraché, that is, High Priest. He is said to have been very zealous in his devotions, having nine hundred idols in one temple, to each of which he presented daily an offering and a short prayer. While thus engaged, he was loaded with ornaments, and these superstitions employed him from six in the morning till noon. During this time he gave audience to no one, and attended to no secular business whatever. Not that he was peculiar in these exercises, as it was customary for all the rajahs of Malabar to devote their mornings in a similar way to the worship of their idols: and, assuming that they attributed their prosperity and safety to those images, we cannot but admire their zeal, and think it worthy of the Christian's imitation in his daily supplications to the only true God. Shall the torch of superstition eclipse the lamp of Christian devotion? This be far from the children of light! Not indeed that the Sacred Scriptures require them to spend so much time at their devotions: yet they are to be in the spirit of prayer all the day long. A. D. 1599. with the con. 8. Early on the following morning the Arch- Violates his bishop went to church, where, in open violation agreement of the solemn compact into which he had so Archdearecently entered, he said mass, and afterwards confirmed the whole congregation. It is to be feared, from this and other numerous instances of the kind, that there is too much truth in the historian's assertion," that "none but fools will ever expect that papists will observe any such promises longer than the first opportunity they have to break them." The present case certainly tends to confirm it. Menezes had, as we have seen, expressly engaged, by the agreement of Chegurée, not to administer confirmation until the promised Synod had been held : but he acted here, says another historian, according to the infamous maxim of his Church, that no one is bound to keep an engagement contracted with heretics. The service, how5 M. Geddes, p. 72. 6 La Croze, p. 126. This maxim was justified by the councils of Lateran, and the decrees of popes Gregory IX. and Innocent III. CHAP. Treach erously designs the of a fort at Coulan. ever, went off without commotion; which is to be attributed both to the rajah's commands, and also to the influence of the Jesuits, who had an establishment at Porca, and had laboured hard to reconcile the people there to the Church of Rome. 9. The Archbishop's call to the South being urgent, he set out that evening for Coulan, destruction The journey was long and perilous, as it lay through a country whose inhabitants were hostile to the Portuguese. But the rajah of Porca provided him with a strong escort, commanded by a confidential officer of his own, who preserved him once from imminent danger by the way, and brought him in safety to his journey's end. On his arrival at Coulan, he learned that the Portuguese had just sustained a considerable loss on the coast: this intelligence, however, did not deter him from prosecuting the object of his mission. Under pretence of visiting a church near the fort, which the rajah of Travancore was building, he took a view of the works; and finding them nearly finished, and concluding that they would soon receive a garrison, he lost no time in despatching a messenger to the commander-in-chief of the Portuguese forces before Cunahle, desiring him to bring the whole of his armada without delay to demolish this erection. He assured him, that if he came immediately he would have no difficulty in executing the task, for that he would find none but workmen to resist him. Receives tidings of the Portuguese defeat 10. The Portuguese commandant was not unprepared for this order; for, at the commencement of the siege of Cunahle, though at that time, as at present, the rajah of Travanas a victory. Core was at peace with the Portuguese, the Archbishop left secret instructions with that before Cunahle, but proclaims it |