pigafetta’s voyage round the world.

341

Were otherwlfe naked, fave a fmall girdle of palm cloth about their middle: their hairhung loofe. The Queen, after bowing to the altar, fe ated herfelf on a cufhion ofembroidered filk ; and the captain fprinkled her and her attendants with rofe water,a fcent in which the women of this country much delight.

That the King might obtain more refpeft and be better obeyed, our captain-generalcaufed him to attend mafs one day dreft in filk, and ordered his two brothers to beconducted to the ceremony, one of whom was called Bondara, and was the father ofthe hereditary prince, the other Cadarog with thefe alfo were brought thither feveralchiefs, whofe names were Simicut, Sibuaia, Sifacai # , Magalibe, &c. From thefe feve-rally he exacted on the altar an oath to obey the King ; after which all of them kiffed.his hand.

The captain next caufed the King of Zubu to fwear that he would continue fub*tniflive and faithful to the King of Spain . After his having taken this oath, the captain-general drew his fword before the image of Our Lady, and told the King that after afimilar engagement, a man ought rather to die than fail in obfervance of it; and thatfor his part he was ready to undergo a thoufand deaths rather than falfify an oath thusfworn by the image of Our Lady, by the life of the Emperor his mailer, and by hisown habit. He then made him a prefent of a velvet chair, recommending him tocaufe it to be carried before him by one of his chiefs wherever he went, and inftruct-tng him how this was to be effected.

The King promifed the captain to do exactly as he was defired; and to give him aftefh mark of his perfonal attachment to him, he caufed fome jewels to be worked,which he defigned as a prefent for him: thefe confided of two gold pendents for thecars, of pretty large fize, two bracelets of gold for the arms, and two others for theftnall of the leg, all of them ornamented with precious Hones. Thefe rings are thechief ornaments of the Kings of thefe iflands, who conftantly go naked and without-any fhoes or (lockings, their only veftment being a bit of cloth-which hangs down from;the waift to the knees.

The captain, who had directed the King and the other newly made Chriftians to*burn their idols, which they had promifed to do, feeing they not only continued to-preferve them but made facrifices to them of meat according to cuftom, complained:loudly of and highly blamed this breach of promife.. They did not deny the fact;hut fought to excufe themfelves by faying, it was not on their own account they madethefe facrifices; but for a fick perfon to whom they hoped the idols would rellorehealth. This fick man was the brother of the Prince, who was looked upon as thewifeft and moll valiant perfonage in the ill'and; and his illnefs had attained fuch aheight that four days had already elapfed fince he had loft his fpeech.

The captain hearing this, animated with holy zeal, faid, if they had truly faith inJefus Chrift, they nmft immediately burn, all 1 their idols and caufe the fick man to behaptifed, who would then recover. He moreover added that he was fo perfectly con-Wnced of what he faid, that he would confent to lofe his head if what he promifedc hd not immediately take place. The King confented to all he required. We then£iade a proceflion with all imaginable pomp from the place where we were to thehoufe of the fick man, whom we found in reality in a very fad. condition, fuch indeed. at he could neither fpeak nor move. We baptifed him, together with two of his^ 1Ve s and his ten daughters. The captain then alked him how he found himfelf, and

anfwered, of a fudden recovering his fpeech, that, thanks to the Lord, he found

It appears that Si or Ci placed.before a man’s name is a title of honour.

himfelf