The Works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16

by John Dryden

Francis Pereyra, who was auditor-royal, and who had great credit in the town, not being able, either by his intreaties, or his arguments, to oblige Don Alvarez to restore the rudder of the Santa Cruz, would have forced it from him; but this was opposed by Xavier, who foresaw, that the soldiers, who kept the rudder, would defend it with the hazard of their lives, and that this affair would have ill consequences.

The way which was taken by the holy man, was to send to the governor the grand vicar John Suarez, attended by the most considerable persons of the town, to shew him the letters of King John III., which expressly made out his intentions, that Father Xavier should extend the faith, as far as he was able, through all the kingdoms of the East, and that the governors should favour him on all occasions. Suarez read also to the governor, the letter of the vice-king Don Alphonso de Norogna, in which he declared criminal of state, whosoever should hinder or oppose this particular voyage of the saint. That which ought to have reduced Don Alvarez to reason, or at least to have terrified him, served only to make him more unreasonable, and more audacious. He rose from his seat, with the action of a madman, and stamping with his foot, sent back the grand vicar, with this dutiful expression: "The king's interest, you say, requires this to be performed; and I will not suffer it to be performed: Here I am, and will be master."

These outrageous dealings of the governor were not confined to those, who made these remonstrances to him from the Father; they extended even to the saint himself, whom he looked on as the author and head of the enterprize. It is incredible what injurious words he gave him, and how rudely he treated him on several occasions; insomuch, that it was the common talk of Malacca, that this persecution might pass for the martyrdom of Father Xavier. The servant of God resented nothing which was done to his own person. He blessed God continually, for giving him occasions of suffering; but he was extremely sensible of what religion and the progress of the gospel suffered, and was often seen to weep abundantly.

He ceased not for a month together to solicit the governor; sometimes beseeching him by the wounds of a crucified Saviour, sometimes urging him with the fatal consequences of a miserable eternity, and endeavouring to let him understand, what a crime it was to hinder the publication of the gospel; but these divine reasons prevailed as little with Don Alvarez, as the human had done formerly. This strange obduracy quite overwhelmed the Father, when he saw that all these ways of mildness were unsuccessful, and the season of navigation passed away; after he had well consulted God upon it, he concluded, that it was time to try the last remedies. Ten years were now expired since his coming to the Indies, and hitherto no one person, excepting only the bishop of Goa, was made privy to his being the apostolic Nuncio. He had kept this secret in profound silence, and had not once exercised his power; but now he thought himself obliged to own it, in a business of so great consequence, and to strike with the thunders of the church, if occasion were, the man who made open war against the church.

Which notwithstanding, he would not dart the thunderbolt himself, but used the hand of the grand vicar. Having sent for him, he began with shewing him one of the briefs of Paul III., which constituted him his Nuncio in all the kingdoms of the East. After this, he requested Suarez to shew this brief to Don Alvarez, and to explain to him the censures which were incurred by those, who should oppose the pope's legates in matters of religion, and to exhort him, by what was most holy in the world, to suffer the embassy to proceed. In case of refusal, to threaten him with ecclesiastical punishments from the vicar of Jesus Christ, and to adjure him at the same time, by the death of the Saviour of mankind, to take compassion on himself.

Xavier had always hoped, that the governor would open his eyes; and in that writing which he gave the vicar to engage him in that nice commission, there were these following words: "I cannot believe that Don Alvarez can be so hardened, but that he will be mollified, when he shall know the intentions and orders of the holy see." He desired the grand vicar, in the same writing, to send that very paper back to him, together with the answer of Don Alvarez, that both the one and the other might be an authentic evidence to the bishop of Goa, that he had omitted nothing for advancing the embassy; and that if it succeeded not, the fault lay not at his door. Suarez proceeded with the governor, according to all the directions which had been traced out to him by the Father. But nothing could work upon Alvarez. He laughed at the threatenings, and broke out into railing language against the person of Xavier, saying loudly, "That he was an ambitious hypocrite, and a friend of publicans and sinners."

The grand vicar not being able any longer to endure so outrageous and scandalous an impiety, at length excommunicated the governor, according to the agreement betwixt himself and Father Xavier. He also excommunicated all his people, who basely flattered the passion of their master, and spoke insolently of the holy see. This excommunication signified little to a man, who had no principles, either of honour, or of religion. Without giving himself the least disquiet for the wrath of heaven, or talk of men, he made himself master of the ship Santa Cruz, and placed in her a captain, with 25 mariners, all of them in his interests, to go and trade at Sancian, where the Portuguese had established a wealthy traffic. The ill success of the negociation, betwixt the grand vicar and the governor, was very afflicting to Father Xavier; his heart was pierced with sorrow, and he acknowledged to Father Francis Perez, that he never resented any thing with greater grief. The deplorable condition of Don Alvarez in the sight of God, the ruin of his friend Pereyra, the embassy of China utterly destroyed,—all these made him sigh from the bottom of his soul; and so much the more, because he imputed these so great misfortunes to himself; as he gave Pereyra to understand, who lay hidden at Malacca, and to whom he expressed himself in writing, because he knew not with what face to see him.

"Since the greatness of my sins," says he, "has been the reason why God Almighty would not make use of us two for the enterprize of China, it is upon myself that I ought, in conscience, to lay the fault. They are my offences, which have ruined your fortunes, and have caused you to lose all your expences for the embassy of China. Yet God is my witness, that I love him, and that I love you also; and I confess to you, that if my intentions had not been right, I should be yet more afflicted than I am. The favour which I desire of you, is, that you would not come to see me; for fear, lest the condition to which you are reduced, should give me too much trouble; and that your sorrow might be the occasion of increasing mine. In the mean time, I hope this disgrace of yours may be of advantage to you; for I doubt not but the king will reward your zeal, as I have requested of him by my letters. As for the governor, who has broken our voyage, I have no farther communication with him: God forgive him, I pity him, and lament his condition; for he will soon be punished, and more severely than he thinks."

But though Father Xavier wrote very pressing letters to the king of Portugal in favour of Pereyra, he wrote nothing against Don Alvarez; and Alvarez himself was witness of it, having intercepted the letters of the Father. In effect, he found not the least expression of complaint against him, at which he was wonderfully surprised. The man of God daily offered the sacrifice of the mass for him, and shed many tears at the foot of the altar, to the end he might obtain for him the favour of a sincere repentance. He said one day, he should lose at once, his estate, his honour, and his life; and added, I beseech God that he lose not his soul also.

For what remains, though the door of China seemed to be shut upon him, since all hopes of the embassy were vanished, which had facilitated his entrance into that kingdom, yet the saint despaired not of preaching the gospel to the Chinese; and a thought came into his head, that if he could get to an isle, which was neighbouring to Canton, he might from thence go privately over into the continent; that if he were stopped and put in prison, he should at least preach to the prisoners; that from the prisons, the Christian doctrine might spread into the towns, and possibly might reach the court; that perhaps also the great men of the empire, and even the emperor himself, might have the curiosity to see a man who published so new a faith; and then he might gain an opportunity of declaring the whole law of Jesus Christ.