presented him with a sword, which he bestowed upon him before his embarking, which he had caused to be kept in his armoury amongst the rest.

Since that you have it then, replied the King, I pray you, let me intreat that it may be brought hither; for, although it be now twentyfour years since I gave it you, I doubt not but I shall know it full well. The Duke had commanded some dozen to be brought, the which the King having severally viewed, told him, Mine is not amongst any of these. Then the Duke willed they should bring all the rest. And, the King espying it in the hands of him that brought them, Lo, Duke, said he, behold the sword which I gave you, when I passed into Africa.

There was in the company of the Duchess a negro, whom the King knew, and said, that he had served him for the washing of his linnen, being one of his launderers, when he reigned in Portugal. The Duke, seeing these things to be so apparent, and so probably true, that they seemed miraculous unto him, blessed himself with many a cross, and was seen to go from him with a heavy and a sorrowful countenance, and weeping, as it were, through compassion and mere pity, to see so miserable a prince, in so wretched and unhappy an estate. And the most part of the Castilians themselves, subjects to King Philip, amazed with these so many signs and testimonies of truth, howbeit they dare not speak it openly, yet, notwithstanding, in their private discourses, they will not stick to say, that it is impossible that this man should be any other than the true Don Sebastian; and that it is to be feared, that God will swallow them all in hell, if the Catholick King restore not all that unto him, which of right appertaineth unto him. But those, who do not look on these great miracles, with the eyes of pity, say, that he is possessed with a devil:

This Duke, if I am not deceived, was called Duke Alphonso de Guzman le Bon, the tenth Count of Niebla, and the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia; who, in the year 1578, the King Don Sebastian arriving at Cales, for to go into Africa, received him with great royalty, magnificent feastings, with tilting and tourning, with bull-baiting, and other sports and pastimes, such as the isle could afford,

The said King continued eight days with the Duke, who, they say, took much pains with him to dissuade him from passing into Barbary in his own person.

This considered, men need not to think it strange, if the Duke had a desire to see him, and also to speak with him; nor that likewise, which the Rochellers report, touching the sword and the negro, since that the wife and lady of the said Duke is Dame Anna de Silva, daughter to King Gomez de Silva, a Portuguese, and Prince of Eboli, who governed the kingdom of Castile for many years; who might very well retain the said negro in her service, by reason he had been brought up in the Prince's house of Portugal.

We have divers letters, written from Cales into many places round about, which we find to be as followeth ;

There arrived out of Spain six or seven merchants, inhabitants of this town, men of the most credit and wealth amongst them, who reported they had seen Don Sebastian, King of Portugal, in the King's galley of

Naples, at St. Lucar de Barrameda; and that they saw him chained as a prisoner, and treated as the rest of the slaves, but served with more respect, and free from the oar; which favour, it is thought, was obtained for him by the Pope's favour.

They added, moreover, That many old men, Portuguese of divers sorts, in great abundance, came thither to see him, and that all of them did confess, that this was the true Don Sebastian, King of Portugal; and that the Castilians cried with a loud voice, in these terms which we have here above mentioned, touching the wrath of God hanging over Spain.

And, if we shall but weigh all the successes of this King, his peregrinations through the world, his imprisonments, his deliverance out of Venice, the manner of his coming from Florence unto Naples, his sentence, and execution upon it, it makes the case appear, in our sight, miraculous and full of wonders but, above all, his embarking and arrival at St. Lucar de Barrameda. And yet, besides all these, this is a rare and extraordinary thing, that the gallies, coming down from Naples into the great sea, did suit in such conformity and correspondency with the ancient prophecies, which touch these adventures.

The reverend father, Dr. Sampayo, a religious and holy man, of the order of Preachers, being at Paris the last year, hath assured many men, that he had seen in the library of St. Victor, in a certain book, a prophecy, which we will openly deliver unto you; to wit, That the King, Don Sebastian, should come out of Naples upon a horse of wood, which, out of the Mediterranean Sea, should enter into the ocean; and, that his horse should rest at St. Lucar de Barrameda.'

See, what Father Sampayo hath truly recounted to these persons, touching this prophecy, the same is confessed and confirmed anew by the religious men of that monastery; for it hath been communicated and declared to divers of them; also they have writ the very same to some of his friends; and, within the self-same library, they have shewed the prophecy to some such secular gentlemen, as stand well affected to the liberty of this unfortunate king. And, forasmuch as the said Father Sampayo is far from hence, we cannot cite the very words of the prophecy, nor the author of it; yet, notwithstanding, it shall make very well for that we have in hand, if we shall but know that which is found written, touching the adverse and prosperous haps of this unhappy prince, by men of great learning and holiness of life; which if we do, we may the more easily be excused. St. Isidore, a very wise and learned man, and of the blood royal, as being the son of Theodora, and of Severian, son to Thierry, King of the Ostrogoths and of Italy, who flourished about the year 580, hath left unto us in writing: Occultus Rex, bis piè datus, in Hispaniam veniet in equo ligneo, quem multi videntes ·illum esse non credent, &c. Which is as much as to say, ' A secret and unknown King, exceeding devoutly given, shall come into Spain; which many men seeing shall not believe it is he,' &c.

This here is found to be published in a strange adventure, lately printed:

A shoemaker of Portugal, named Bandarra, born in the town of Traneoso, who lived here about some three hundred years since, hath

left unto us in writing, in Portuguese verse, very many prophecies upon divers and sundry subjects; amongst the which there are found some, which treat Del Incubierto, viz. Of the concealed and hidden prince; in one part whereof, we have observed the accomplishment, in the person of King Don Sebastian; and, if those, which remain behind, shall prove but as true, as those that are past, doubtless, we shall see this king seated in his royal throne,

The poor labouring people of Portugal retain this as an old tradition:

That a time shall come, wherein a king, whose name shall be, as it were, De Bestia, shall disappear for a time; and that, after he and his realm shall have suffered many afflictions and calamities, the very selfsame king, whom all the world holdeth for dead, shall rise again, and gain his throne with incredible happiness.' In which tradition, we are to note one thing concerning the name of Bestia; for the peasants of Portugal, instead of saying Sebastian, pronounce Bestiam; so that, taking away the last letter of the word, there remains, Bestia. Moreover, we may also persuade ourselves, that this tradition of those base, rustick, and barbarous men shall have its full accomplishment, in the person of this prince, hitherto so unfortunate. It is no such strange and unusual thing to see God permit, that we behold his secrets in the mouth of ignorant persons, since that his son hath taught us, Abscondisti ea a sapientibus, & revelasti ea parvulis. And we may as well, by the permission of God, see this rustick prophecy fulfilled, as they did that, which runneth through the mouths of the labourers of Beaulse, in these latter years of the King that was; which was by tradition deliver. ed still from the father to the son;

The year one-thousand five-hundred eighty-nine,

A new King unto the Throne of Portugal shall climb;
The year one thousand five-hundred and ninety,
Far more hares, than sheep, shall you see,

We have also, elsewhere, another old follow, who hath composed a book in Castilian verse, which serves as an explication of those prophecies of St. Isidore, and of some others, who have writ of the Incubierto. In which book I have read, some forty-five years since, many curious things, which, if I could remember them, would at this time stand me in good stead. But, because I read them in my youth, without any notice of things to come, or imagining of any changes or revolutions to happen in the world these twenty-four years past; and, besides, being then incapable of understanding them, it made me the more negligent in the apprehension of them; only my memory hath, in a confused manner, furnished me with a poem of seven lines very fit for our present purpose; and, not long since, a gentleman of Portugal, a faithful servant to his king, and very desirous of his country's liberty, gave it me in writing:

Vendra & Incubierto,
Vendra cierto,

Entrera en el huerto,

Por el puerto.

Qu'esta mas a ca del muro,
Y lo que paresce escuro,
Se vra claro, y abierto.

Which is as much as to say:

• The unknown shall come,
"He shall come for certain,

And shall enter at the garden,
· By the gate,

'Which is nearest to the wall;

And that, which seemeth dark and obscure,
• Shall
appear full clear, and be discovered!'

For the better understanding of these verses, we are to understand what this Garden, and what this Wall is; for the exposition and understanding of these two words shall give us light to the rest, and shall lay open to our view those admirable things, which a simple poem prophesieth unto us.

We are, then, to understand, that this Garden may be taken for the country which extends itself beyond the mount Calpe, which is in Spain, at the mouth of the Streight of Gibraltar, fronting mount Abyla, which is situated on the other side of the said Streight, in Africa; which are the two mountains, that are named by the ancients Hercules's Pillars, as far as the river which the Latins call Bætis, and is named now at this day, by the inhabitants, Guadal-quiver (a name imposed by the Moors, after they had made themselves lords of Spain) which signifieth, in our language, Great Water; for Guad, in the Arabian tongue, is as much as Water, and Quiver signifieth great.

The isle of Cales is in that country, and was once far greater than now it is. All this country is very fertile, plentiful, and delightful. Ancient authors do report of it, that, if their sheep should go but thirty days without letting of blood, they would die with fatness.

In this country did Homer dwell, before he grew blind, which was in the year 1307 after the flood, and two-hundred fifty-five, before the foundation of Rome, and a thousand before the incarnation of Christ. In those days they called it, Melesegines. They that have seen the fruitfulness and good temperature thereof, affirm, that these were the Elysian Fields, whither the gods sent the souls of the blessed. Whence. we see clearly, that this country is the garden of Spain, and so we likewise call it.

Yet there are some authors, notwithstanding, who maintain and approve with very strong and evident reasons, that Lisbon is the garden of Spain, with the appurtenances thereunto belonging: For as much as it is a very pleasant territory, large, fertile, plentiful, fair, and delectable, wherein grow great abundance of all fruits, the most excellent, and the most perfect that Europe affordeth.

Your elder writers affirm, that the mares, that live thereabout, will

be impregnated by the wind; and that the colts, which come of them, seem rather to fly than run, so swift they are of foot.

Ulysses, whom writers allot unto us, as founder of the said city, and his companions, arrived after his shipwreck, in these quarters, and entering into the ocean sea by Tagus, moved by the fertileness of the territory, with the waters, and the abundance of fish, that were bred in the said river, being so deep, and so marvellous fit for all kind of commodities, besides the great store of gold, which seemed to be in those sands, he named it Theodora, which in the Greek tongue, signifieth God's Gift. So that the garden of Spain is that country, which we affirm to be between the mount Calpe and the river of Gaudiana: Or else the town of Lisbon, with her territories.

The King Don Sebastian having entered some of these parts with prosperity, it importeth us a little for the verification of this prophecy, whether the one, or the other, be the garden of Spain.

Touching the wall, all they, that are well seen and practised in the ancient histories of Spain, confess, that it is the isle of Cales, which they call Gades, and by reason of the affinity of the G with the C, is converted into the name of Cades.

And for the better declaring from whence this name came, it is necessary that we here alledge some ancient histories, which teach us, that there are six men that bear the name of Hercules; whereof two of them have stiffed each others reputation. One was son unto Jupiter and Alcmena; the other, son of the same father, and of Asteria sister to Latona. And this Hercules is adored with great reverence at Tyre.

The histories do report, that he commanded the Gaditanes by a dream, who were the inhabitants of that city, that they should pass into Spain, andb uild a temple unto him in Cales, where his name should be held in veneration.

For to accomplish this commandment, the Gaditanes embarked themselves in the year two-hundred thirty-five, after the foundation of Rome; and sailing by the Mediterranean sea, they entered the ocean; and not far from the mouth of the Streights, they landed at Cales.

There began they to build a town, observing the customs and ceremonies of the Hetruscians, who did, as Marcus Varro mentioneth, couple a bull and a cow under one yoke, and so made a deep furrow with their ploughshare, in a circular or round figure, whose circuit they drew as large as the city should be, which they intended to build. The ploughshare made the furrow, and the earth, they threw up, formed their walls. So did Romulus, when he undertook the foundation of Rome; as it is storied by Dionysius Halicarnasseus. So did Æneas also, according to the testimony of Virgil.:

· Intereà Æneas orbem designat aratro.

And thus, in this manner, was the said place held afterwards for a thing holy and religious.