ward, if he could intercept him. Roger, having examined the lodgings of the pilgrims, at length found him whom he sought, who for a long time would not discover himself to him, but at length, forced by the importunity and entreaties of his faithful examiner, confessed who he was. He, urging him with many tears to make instant escape, furnished him with an excellent horse for the purpose, and then returning to his master, told him that the report of the king's arrival was but an idle rumour; and that it was only Baldwin de Bethun and his comrades, who were returning from pilgrimage; whereat his lord being enraged, commanded them all to be seized. But the king departing se cretly with William de Stagro (de la Pole?) and a slave, who understood German, continued on his road with out food for the space of three days and three nights. Then, being compelled by hunger, he turned himself towards the city of Grab in Austria, hard by the Danube, where, to crown his misfortunes, it chanced that the duke of Austria was at that time abiding.

III.-King Richard being thus conpelled by necessity, sent his slave to the market-place of the city to buy some food to satisfy their hunger. The slave, when he arrived at the marketplace, bearing himself with a pompous and haughty demeanour, and dealing about his byzants somewhat too large ly, was apprehended by the citizens, and commanded to give an account of himself. He answered, that he was the slave of a certain rich merchant, who would reach the city within the space of three days; and being thereupon discharged, he returned to the king in his private abode, and exhorted him to make his escape instantly, relating what had happened. But the king, after his sufferings on the sea, was resolved to rest a few days in that city. Meanwhile, as the aforesaid slave was often in the market-place going backwards and forwards, it happened that, on the festival of St Thomas the apostle, he chanced incautiously to carry thither the king's tablets under his girdle; which the magistrates see ing, again caused him to be apprehended, and tortured him in divers modes, threatening that they would cut out his tongue unless he immediately confessed who was truly his master. At length, being compelled by the force

of his torments, he informed them of the whole truth; whereof having immediately apprised the duke, he ordered the king's lodgings to be surrounded, and himself peremptorily summoned to make his surrender. The king, nevertheless, remained unterrified by the host of Barbarians against him; but being aware that his valour would not long prevail against their force, commanded them to bring the duke, saying that he would render himself prisoner to him only. The duke immediately approaching, the king marched out to meet him, and delivered up his sword to him, toge ther with himself. The duke in great joy took him along with him in an honourable manner, and then committed him to the custody of some trustworthy soldiers, who guarded him closely both day and night with drawn swords. The which lamentable misfortune is not to be supposed to have occurred without the peculiar judgment of God, although not manifest to us, whether it were to chastise the youthful errors of the king, or the sins of his subjects; or that the same king might be recalled to penitence by being deservedly punished for the violence with which he besieged his fleshly father, Henry, when lying on his sickbed, in the city of Mans, with the assistance and counsel of the king of France. And although he did not actually slay him with the sword, yet, by frequent assaults, he forced him to leave that place; all which things, beyond doubt, contributed to his death.

IV. During the year of our Lord 1193, King Richard remained in the custody of the Duke of Austria, who sold him to Henry, Emperor of the Romans, for sixty thousand pounds of silver, after the measure of Cologne. The emperor, on receiving him (which was the third week after Palm-Sunday), ordered him to be placed in close custody; and for the purpose of obtaining from him an unreasonable sum of money for ransom, he ordered him to be carried into the land of the Triballi, out of whose prisons no one who had entered was ever known to return

of whom Aristotle speaks in his fifth book, saying, " It is reckoned right to slay one's father among the Triballi;" and of whom elsewhere it is written,

"Sunt loca, sunt gentes, quibus est mactare parentes:"

In this confinement he never was allowed to rest, except under the cus tody of a multitude of soldiers and attendants, some of whom accompanied him night and day with drawn swords. A body of guards surrounded the bed of the king, and did not permit any of his followers to pass the night with him. Yet none of these things could in the least degree disturb the countenance of that most serene prince; and he ever appeared both cheerful and free in words-bold and daring in deeds as the time, place, or occasion required. How many jokes he passed on his guards-how often he derided them when intoxicated-how often he measured his own strength with that of such gigantic forms-I leave to others to relate.

V. The emperor, displaying an angry and implacable disposition to wards the king, would never demean himself so far as to call him into his presence, or to converse with him; but, preferring many grievous accusations against him and his people, he spread various calumnies respecting him. But at length, through the mediation of friends on both sides, especially of the Abbot of Clugny, and William, the king's chancellor; the emperor, having convoked his prelates, dukes, and counts, ordered the king to be brought before him, and accused him on various charges before them all. In the first place, namely, that by his counsel and assistance he had himself lost the kingdom of Sicily and Apulia, which descended to him, by hereditary right, after the death of William its king: to gain which he had procured a large army, by means of an infinite sum of money; while he had also faithfully promised him as sistance to wrest that kingdom from Tancred. He then accused him concerning the king of Cyprus, who was united to him by relationship, whom he had unjustly deprived of his kingdom and thrown into prison, and had by force made himself master of his lands and treasures, and sold the island to a foreigner. He then brought a gainst him the death of his heir, the Marquis of Montferrat, who, through his machination and treachery, had been slain by the Persians; and, moreover, that he had suborned persons to assassinate his liege lord the king of France, to whom he had not preserved his faith pledged, as had

been solemnly agreed between both in their common pilgrimage. He also complained, that he had ordered the standard of his relation, the Duke of Austria, to be cast into the common sewer, on account of their quarrel at Joppa, and had every where dishonoured those of the German nation in the Holy Land, in word and deed. To answer these, and other such calumnies, the king was cited before the emperor whereon, standing in the midst of the assembly, he so well and clearly replied to each objection separately, so as to excite admiration and reverence in the minds of all men; and so as no farther suspicion of the things whereof he was accused remained in the breasts of his hearers; and so clearly did he prove the truth of his assertions by probable arguments, that he destroyed all those false suspicions which were brought against him; especially denying all manner of treachery, or contrivance, as to the death of any prince whatsoever; asserting, that he was at all times ready to prove his innocence against such accusation, as the emperor's court should think fit. And when he had for a long time thus eloquently defended himself before the emperor and his barons, the former admiring the force of his arguments, first having called him, then arose and embraced him; and from that moment began to ac more mildly towards him, and to ho nour him with his familiarity. Accordingly, by the mediation of the friends of both parties, the treaty was carried on for a long time for the redemption of the king. At length they agreed to this-that the emperor should receive 140,000 merks for the king's ransom, according to the measure of Cologne-all which he was to pay before he should be set at liberty. All the bishops, dukes, and barons of the empire, then promised upon oath, that as soon as the king had paid the aforesaid sum, he should be permitted to return to his kingdom in peace. The conditions of this agreement were promulgated in England by William, Bishop of Ely, chancellor of the king, who brought with him the king's letter, and the golden ball of the emperor; and immediately an edict was published by the Royal Justiciaries, that all bishops, clerks, counts, and barons, and all abbeys and priories, should contribute the fourth part of

their revenue towards the ransom of the king; and for that pious end, they collected all the gold and silver chalices. The order of the Cistercians, which had hitherto been free from all

exactions, gave its whole stock of wool towards this loyal purpose. No church or order, no age or sex, was omitted; but all were forced to contribute towards the liberation of Richard.

IN 1228, the Metropolitan of Arme nias, on his travels, arrived in Eng land, and was interrogated of many things respecting the churches under his jurisdiction.

Among other things, being asked as to that Joseph (concerning whom there is much talk among men), who was present at the passion of the Lord, and spoke with him, and who yet lives as a witness to the truth of the Christian religion, and whether he had ever seen or heard of him, se riously affirmed the truth of such report; and a certain knight of Antioch, in his retinue, who was his interpreter, and who was also known to one of the abbot's servants (by name Henry de Spigournel), spoke in the French as follows: "My master well knows that man, and a little before he journeyed to the west, the said Jo seph ate at his table, whom he had often seen and heard speak." And be ing afterwards asked respecting what passed between our Lord Jesus Christ and the said Joseph, he answered thus: "In the time of the passion of Jesus Christ, when, having been taken by the Jews, he was brought before the Governor Pilate in the prætorium, to be judged by him, Pilate, finding no cause of death in him, said to them, Do ye take him, and judge him according to your own law. But as the Jews continued to clamour yet more loudly, he dismissed Barabbas according to their petition, and delivered to them Christ, that he might be crucified. While the Jews were drawing Christ without the prætorium, and when he had come to the gate, and was passing into it, Cartaphilus, porter of the prætorium to Pontius Pilate, struck him on the back with his fist in a contemptuous manner, and, mocking him, said- Go, Jesus, go quicker-why do you delay ? Whereupon Jesus, looking back on him with a severe countenance, said— I go, and thou shalt wait until I return it is said according to that saying of the evangelist. Therefore, by

the word of God, the aforesaid Cartaphilus is still waiting, he having been aged about thirty years at the time of the passion of our Lord; and ever, as soon as he arrives at the age of an hundred, he is seized, as it were, with an incurable infirmity, and is ravished in a sort of ecstacy; and upon re covering his senses, finds himself again returned back to the same age at which he was in the year when our Lord suffered so that he may truly say with the Psalmist, My youth is renewed like that of an eagle. When the Catholic faith increased, this same Cartaphilus was baptized by that Ananias who baptized Saint Paul, and was called Joseph. He frequently sojourns in either Armenia, and in other regions of the East, living among the bishops, and other heads of the church-a man of holy conversation and piety, speaking little, and with circumspection-saying nothing, except when required by the bishops and holy men; and sometimes he relates concerning the things of antiquity, and the circumstances of the passion and resurrection of Christ, and of the witnesses of the resurrection

those, namely, who arose with Christ from the grave, and went into the ho ly city, and appeared to many. He also speaks concerning the apostles' creed, and their division and ministry ; and this without any laughter or le vity, or any sign of disbelief-being rather occupied by grief, and fear of the Lord, ever expecting the advent of Jesus Christ in fire, and the judg ment of the world, and fearing lest, at the last trial, he should find him still angered against him whom he had provoked by derision. Many men come to him from the most distant parts of the world, rejoicing to see and converse with him-among whom, if there be any worthy, he briefly answered their questions. He refuses all presents that are offered to him, being content with moderate food and clothing; and he places all his hope of safety in this, namely, that he sinned

in ignorance, and that our Lord pray ed that his Father might pardon his murderers, as unknowing what they did; and that St Paul, also sinning in ignorance, nevertheless deserved pardon; as also Peter, who denied the Lord through frailty; while Judas,

Refutation of the Power of

MAHOMET Confessed, with his own mouth, that he never had worked miracles, and never should work them, so that the miracles which the Sara cens relate concerning him are to be reckoned false for they assert that a wolf once met him on a journey, whom he put to flight by lifting up three fin gers against him. They relate also concerning an ox, which once spoke with him they say that a fig-tree, by his command, prostrated itself before him, and then advanced towards him; and that the moon was cleft by him into two parts and again joined to gether: also, that poison was once placed before him, which had been in fused into the flesh of a lamb, by a certain woman (by name Zeineb,

who through iniquity (that is, through avarice), betrayed the Lord, hanged himself, and, his bowels gushing out, thus ended his wretched life without hope of salvation. For these reasons only Cartaphilus hopes for salvation.”

Mahomet to work Miracles.

daughter of Acharith, wife of Zelim, who was the son of Muzilum, a Jew), at the time when one of his comrades (by name Abara) was seated at table with him; whereupon the lamb spoke to Mahomet, saying, "Take care not to eat of me, for I am poisoned;" whereupon the aforesaid Albara ate thereof and died. Eighteen years after that day, Mahomet himself died by poison, who, had he been a true prophet, might have prayed for his dead companion, to recall him to life; or, at least, might have guarded himself and his companion, before-hand, against the poison, even as it is written that Elijah and Elisha did of old, saying, " There is death in the pot."

MAHOMET being questioned respect ing Noah's ark and the deluge, and the general extermination caused by it, whether these things were true, and to be believed according to the narration of Moses in Genesis, answered and said to his disciples, "When the Lord Jesus was walking about the confines of Jerusalem preaching; being asked by his disciples concerning the said deluge, he thus certified the fact to their doubtful minds. Finding a piece of turf lying before him, he struck it with his foot, and said, Arise, Japhet, thou son of Noah! whereupon Japhet arose, springing, as it were, out of the turf; a man of goodly aspect, aged, but sorely a stonished. Jesus asked him wherefore he was affrighted, whereupon he answered and said, Lord, hearing the trumpet of thy voice, I feared, for I thought that I was called to the general judgment of the resurrection.' Jesus answering, said to him, Fear not, for the hour of judgment (or resurrection) is not yet come. But I have called thee from the grave that

thou, who wast in the ark with thy father, mightest relate the whole truth respecting it to these who are here bystanding. Japhet, thereupon taking up the parable, thus began his relation: During the inundation of the deluge, we were in the ark, (to wit) the men apart, and the animals in their stable, which was on one side of the ark, and the hay and corn on the other side. When four months had elapsed, the ark began to shake, as it were tottering, and to lean towards that side in which the beasts were. For the animals, accumulating their dung, while they continually consumed the food which produced it, gradually preponderated. One side of the ark, therefore, (namely, that which contained the corn) became elevated, while the other (wherein were the animals) was depressed in proportion, so that we were in some danger, and feared greatly. Nor did we dare to perform any thing of moment without first consulting the Lord. Having therefore performed a sacrifice with prayer, the Lord was appeased, and

said to us, "Make yourselves a heap of the dung of men and camels, instead of an altar, and when you have sacrificed on it, you shall have a remedy for your tribulation." Which, when, we had done, a great sow issued forth out of the heap, and, by scattering abroad that great quantity of filth, whereby the ark had before been nearly overset, saved us. But, after a few days, the sow, having performed its duty, and being no longer serviceable to us, we judged it too unclean an animal, and some amongst us thought even of casting it into the sea; but, being the gift of God, and through him the instrument of our safety, we still supported its presence, although unwillingly. In consequence of which trespass, the Lord sent upon us the following chastisement: The sow, in snorting, emitted from its nostrils a troop of large famished mice, which, running about the ark, destroyed (by nibbling) its beams, its tackle, and all our provisions; and thus, this same sow, which was sought by us, and given to us, as a remedy, became (through our transgression) a great calamity; whilst we therefore repented, and cried out to the Lord in our tribulation, the Lord being appeased, said to us, "Ye have with you a lion -strike him on the forehead with a hammer, but not unto death, and he shall be your deliverer;" whom, when

we had so stricken, according to the command of the Lord, he roared aloud, and, in roaring, emitted out of his mouth a cat, which pursued the mice until it destroyed them, and freed the ark from that pest. And to the end that you may not doubt the production of the sow from the dung of the men and camels, an evident argument proves it: for the sow, in its interior parts, is assimilated unto man ; and, in its exterior parts, being a quadruped, it does not differ much from the camel, and always delights in digging into, and scattering about, heaps of filth. And, that you may believe that the mice proceeded from the nostrils of the sow, ye may know that mice always delight in digging and inhabiting holes in the earth, whence they are so called from the moisture of the earth (v). And, that you may not call in question the truth of the cat's issuing from the mouth of the lion, the cat is like the lion, and as one of the same family, in the form of its body, and in its disposition to prey and rapine. From thenceforth the ark was borne in safety until the inundation ceased.'"These things Mahomet affirmed that Japhet related to Christ and his disciples when they inquired of him concerning the ark; but the same will appear to every man frivolous, and altogether differing from the truth.

Leighton Buzzard, 6th July, 1820.