As soon as Xavier came on shore, he went to visit the governor of the town, to inform him of his intended voyage to Macassar. The governor told him, that he had lately sent thither a priest of holy life, with some Portuguese soldiers, and that he expected to hear of them very suddenly: that, in the mean time, he was of opinion, that the Father and his companion should stay at Malacca, till the present condition of the Christians in Macassar were fully known. Xavier gave credit to the governor, and retired to the hospital, which he had chosen for the place of his abode. The people ran in crowds to behold the countenance of that great apostle, whose fame was spread through all the Indies, and over all the East. The parents showed him to their children; and it was observed, that the man of God, in caressing those little Portuguese, called every one of them by their proper names, as if he had been of their acquaintance, and were not a stranger newly come on shore. For what remains, he found the town in a most horrible corruption of manners. The Portuguese who lived there, at a distance both from the Bishop and the viceroy of the Indies, committed all manner of crimes, without fear of laws, either ecclesiastical or civil. Avarice, intemperance, uncleanness, and forgetfulness of God, were every where predominant; and the habit only, or rather the excess and number of their vices, distinguished the Christians from the unbelievers. This terrible prospect of a sinful town, gave Xavier to comprehend, that his stay in Malacca was necessary, and might possibly turn to a good account; but before he would undertake the reformation of a town so universally corrupted, he employed some days in serving of the sick; he passed many nights in prayer, and performed extraordinary austerities. After these preparatives, he began his public instructions, according to the methods which he had frequently practised at Goa. Walking the streets at evening with his bell in his hand, he cried, with a loud voice, "Pray to God for those who are in the state of mortal sin;" and by this, he brought into the minds of sinners, the remembrance and consideration of their offences. For, seeing the ill habits of their minds, and that the disease was like to be inflamed, if violent remedies were applied, he tempered more than ever the ardour of his zeal. Though he had naturally a serene countenance, and was of a pleasing conversation, yet all the charms of his good humour seemed to be redoubled at Malacca, insomuch, that his companion, John Deyro, could not but wonder at his gaiety and soft behaviour.