and presenting both our persons and all we had at his feet. He said, he
was a priest, and looked lot a priest's reward; which was our brotherly
love, and the good of our souls and bodies. So he went from us, not
without tears of tenderness in his eyes, and left us also confused with
joy and kindness, saying amongst ourselves, that we were come into a
land of angels, which did appear to us daily, and prevent us with
comforts, which we thought not of, much less expected.
The next day, about ten of the clock, the governor came to us again, and
after salutations, said familiarly, that he was come to visit us; and
called for a chair, and sat him down; and we being some ten of us (the
rest were of the meaner sort, or else gone abroad), sat down with him;
and when we were set, he began thus: "We of this island of Bensalem
(for so they called it in their language) have this: that by means of
our solitary situation, and of the laws of secrecy, which we have for
our travellers, and our rare admission of strangers; we know well most
part of the habitable world, and are ourselves unknown. Therefore
because he that knoweth least is fittest to ask questions, it is more
reason, for the entertainment of the time, that ye ask me questions,
than that I ask you." We answered, that we humbly thanked him, that he
would give us leave so to do. And that we conceived by the taste we had
already, that there was no worldly thing on earth more worthy to be
known than the state of that happy land. But above all (we said) since
that we were met from the several ends of the world, and hoped assuredly
that we should meet one day in the kingdom of heaven (for that we were
both parts Christians), we desired to know (in respect that land was so
remote, and so divided by vast and unknown seas from the land where our
Saviour walked on earth) who was the apostle of that nation, and how it
was converted to the faith? It appeared in his face, that he took great
contentment in this our question; he said, "Ye knit my heart to you, by
asking this question in the first place: for it showeth that you first
seek the kingdom of heaven: and I shall gladly, and briefly, satisfy
your demand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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