We Have At The Present Moment A Notable
Example Of This In Two Christian Traitors Now Residing In This City,
Who
have disclosed all our secrets to the Portuguese; and therefore we most
humbly petition that you would be pleased
To accept from us an hundred
pieces of gold, and to issue your commands that these traitorous
Christians shall be slain."
[Footnote 107: This king of _Gioghi_ was probably the chief bramin in
the southern part of India, a species of patriarch or pope of the
braminical idolatry, similar to the king of _Joga_, formerly mentioned,
in Guzerat, in these travels of Verthema. In a future part of our
collection we shall have a more favourable opportunity of explaining the
hierarchy of the Hindoos. - E.]
When this oration was repeated to the _king of Gioghi_, he immediately
accepted the gift, and consented to the prayer of the petition, and
appointed two hundred of his followers to put the Milanese to death.
These men, that they might not be suspected by the devoted Christians,
came in small bodies to their house, only ten at a time, as if to demand
their customary reward. But on seeing so great a number of men assembled
about their house, the Christians began to suspect that they were in
search of something beyond their usual reward or offering, wherefore
taking to their arms, they so bravely defended themselves, that they
slew six of the assailants and wounded forty: But at length some of the
_Gioghi_ or Jogues, shot them both with arrows from cross-bows, one
being sore wounded in the head and the other in the body; and as soon as
they saw them fall, they broke into the house and cut their throats.
Then taking the warm blood into the palms of their hands, they drank it
up, using the most contumelious expressions against the Christians.
After this murder, the concubine of John Maria came to Cananore with her
young son, whom I bought of her for eight pieces of gold, and had him
baptized by the name of Lorenzo, as he was christened on the festival of
St Laurence.
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