THE CHRISTIANS SAVED MIRACULOUSLY.

43

certain shoemaker (whose name is not known) having only one eye, whom he should summon to the mountain, as a person capable of effecting its removal, through the divine grace. Having found the shoemaker and made him acquainted with the revelation, he replied that he did not feel himself worthy of the undertaking, his merits not being such as to entitle him to the reward of such abundant grace. Importuned, however, by the poor terrified Christians, he at length assented. It should be understood that he was a man of strict morals and pious conversation, having his mind pure and faithful to his God, regularly attending the celebration of the mass and other divine offices, fervent in works of charity, and rigid in the observance of fasts. It once happened to him, that a handsome young woman who came to his shop in order to be fitted with a pair of slippers, in pre senting her foot, accidentally exposed a part of her leg, the beauty of which excited in him a momentary concupiscence; but recollecting himself, he presently dismissed her, and calling to mind the words of the Gospel, where it is said, "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire," he immediately, with an instrument of his trade, scooped out his right eye; evincing by that act, beyond all doubt, the excellence of his faith.

The appointed day being arrived, divine service was performed at an early hour, and a solemn procession was made to the plain where the mountain stood, the holy cross being borne in front. The khalif likewise, in the conviction of its proving a vain ceremony on the part of the Christians, chose to be present, accompanied by a number of his guards, for the purpose of destroying them in the event of failure. Here the pious artisan, kneeling before the cross, and lifting up his hands to heaven, humbly besought his Creator that he would compassionately look down upon earth, and for the glory and excellence of his name, as well as for the support and confirmation of the Christian faith, would lend assistance to his people in the accomplishment of the task imposed upon them, and thus manifest his power to the revilers of his law. Having concluded his prayer, he cried with a loud voice: "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I com

mand thee, O mountain, to remove thyself!" Upon these words being uttered, the mountain moved, and the earth at the same time trembled in a wonderful and alarming manner. The khalif and all those by whom he was surrounded, were struck with terror, and remained in a state of stupefaction. Many of the latter became Christians, and even the khalif secretly embraced Christianity, always wearing a cross concealed under his garment, which after his death was found upon him; and on this account it was that they did not entomb him in the shrine of his predecessors. In commemoration of this singular grace bestowed upon them by God, all the Christians, Nestorians, and Jacobites, from that time forth have continued to celebrate in a solemn manner the return of the day on which the miracle took place; keeping a fast also on the vigil.'

CHAPTER IX.

OF THE NOBLE CITY OF TAURIS, IN IRAK, AND OF ITS COMMERCIAL AND OTHER INHABITANTS.

TAURIS is a large and very noble city belonging to the province of Irak, which contains many other cities and fortified places, but this is the most eminent and most populous.2 The inhabitants support themselves principally by commerce and manufactures, which latter consist of various kinds of silk, some of them interwoven with gold, and of high price. It is

The pretended miracle is here more minutely detailed than in other versions, and the Latin text states it to have taken place at Tauris, and not at Baghdad, although that would have been inconsistent with the presence of the khalif. [The early Latin text says it occurred in 1275, "inter Baldach et Mesul;" and the French text agrees with it.]

2 The city of Tauris, by the Persians and other orientals named Tabriz, is situated in the province of Aderbijan, which borders on that of Al-Jebal, or the Persian Irak, and formed with it the ancient kingdom of Media. It has been, at all periods, a place of great importance. Upon the conquest of Persia by the Moghuls, about the year 1255, it became the principal residence of Hulagu and his descendants, until the founding of Sultaniyah, in the beginning of the fourteenth century.

3

THE CITY OF TAURIS,

45

so advantageously situated for trade, that merchants from India, from Baldach, Mosul, Cremessor,' as well as from different parts of Europe, resort thither to purchase and to sell a number of articles. Precious stones and pearls in abundance may be procured at this place. The merchants concerned in foreign commerce acquire considerable wealth, but the inhabitants in general are poor. They consist of a mixture of various nations and sects, Nestorians, Armenians, Jacobites, Georgians, Persians, and the followers of Mahomet, who form the bulk of the population, and are those properly called Taurisians. Each description of people have their peculiar language. The city is surrounded with delightful gardens, producing the finest fruits. The Mahometan inhabitants are treacherous and unprincipled. According to their doctrine, whatever is stolen or plundered from others of a different faith, is properly taken, and the theft is no crime; whilst those who suffer death or injury by the hands of Christians, are considered as martyrs. If, therefore, they were not prohibited and restrained by the powers who now govern them," they would commit many outrages. These principles are common to all the Saracens. When they are at the point of death, their priest attends upon them, and asks whether they believe that Mahomet was the true apostle of God. If their

1 Cremessor, otherwise written Cremosor, Cormosa, Cremos, and Cormos, is no other than the famous city of Ormuz or Hormuz, by the ancients called Harmuza, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf; of which there will be occasion to speak more particularly hereafter. Baldach, we have already seen, is the city of Baghdad.

2 Chardin mentions a particular bazaar (" le plus beau de tous") for the sale of jewels, and other articles of extraordinary value. The pearls, both from the fisheries of Ceylon, and from Bahrein in the Gulf of Persia, appear to have been conveyed in the first instance to Baghdad, where they were polished and bored, and from thence to the other markets of Asia and Europe, particularly to Constantinople.

3 These Persians, as distinguished from the Mahometans, must have been the original inhabitants of Farsistan, who retained the ancient religion of Zerdusht, or Zoroaster, the characteristic of which was the worship of fire, and whom (in their modern state of expatriation) we term Parsis. They constitute at this time the most wealthy, as well as the most ingenious class of native inhabitants, living under the English protection at Bombay.

+ Abulfeda praises its gardens; and the abundance and variety of its fruits are noticed by Chardin.

5 That is, by their new lords, the Moghul Tartars.

answer be that they do believe, their salvation is assured to them; and in consequence of this facility of absolution, which gives free scope to the perpetration of everything flagitious, they have succeeded in converting to their faith a great proportion of the Tartars, who consider it as relieving them from restraint in the commission of crimes. From Tauris to Persia is twelve days' journey.'

CHAPTER X.

OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT BARSAMO, IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF TAURIS.

Nor far from Tauris is a monastery that takes its name from the holy saint Barsamo,2 and is eminent for devotion. There is here an abbot and many monks, who resemble the order of Carmelites in the fashion of their dress. That they may not lead a life of idleness, they employ themselves continually in the weaving of woollen girdles, which they place upon the altar of their saint during the celebration of divine service, and when they make the circuit of the provinces, soliciting alms (in the same manner as do the brethren of the order of the Holy Ghost), they present these girdles to their friends and to persons of distinction; being esteemed good for rheumatic pains, on which account they are devoutly sought for by all ranks.

CHAPTER XI.

OF THE PROVINCE OF PERSIA.

PERSIA was anciently a large and noble province, but it is now in great part destroyed by the Tartars. In Persia there is a city which is called Saba, from whence were the three

1 This must be understood of Persia Proper, Fars or Farsistan, of which Persepolis was the ancient capital, as Shiraz is the modern; but he probably means the distance from Tauris to Kasbin, which he speaks of in the next chapter as the first city upon entering Persia.

2 This saint is no doubt St. Barsimæus, bishop of Edessa in the second century.

STORY OF THE THREE MAGI.

47

magi who came to adore Christ in Bethlehem; and the three are buried in that city in a fair sepulchre, and they are all three entire with their beards and hair. One was called Baldasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior. Marco inquired often in that city concerning the three magi, and nobody could tell him anything about them, except that the three magi were buried there in ancient times. After three days' journey you come to a castle which is called Palasata, which means the castle of the fire-worshippers; and it is true that the inhabitants of that castle worship fire, and this is given as the reason. The men of that castle say, that anciently three kings of that country went to adore a certain king who was newly born, and carried with them three offerings, namely, gold, frankincense, and myrrh: gold, that they might know if he were an earthly king; frankincense, that they might know if he were God; and myrrh, that they might know if he were a mortal man. When these magi were presented to Christ, the youngest of the three adored him first, and it appeared to him that Christ was of his stature and age. The middle one came next, and then the eldest, and to each he seemed to be of their own stature and age. Having compared their observations together, they agreed to go all to worship at once, and then he appeared to them all of his true age. When they went away, the infant gave them a closed box, which they carried with them for several days, and then becoming curious to see what he had given them, they opened the box and found in it a stone, which was intended for a sign that they should remain as firm as a stone in the faith they had received from him. When, however, they saw the stone, they marvelled, and thinking themselves deluded, they threw the stone into a certain pit, and instantly fire burst forth in the pit. When they saw this, they repented bitterly of what they had done, and taking some of the fire with them they carried it home. And having placed it in one of their churches, they keep it continually burning, and adore that fire as a god, and make all their sacrifices with it; and if it happen to be extinguished, they go for more to the original fire in the pit where they threw the stone, which is never extinguished, and they take of none other fire. And therefore the people of that country worship fire. Marco was told all this by the people of the