Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/196

184 184 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. to St. Peter and his successors authority over the uni- versal Church until the end of the world.*' And the monk then began to explain this article of the faith ; but he was soon interrupted by the insolent vocifera- tions of Baidjou's officers, who prevented him also from replying to another point in the speech. During the residence of the Dominicans in the Tartar camp there were long and lively discussions with them concerning the power of the Pope and the Kha-kan, in which of course it was very difficult for the disputants to come to an understanding, since the legate spoke only of spiritual domination by the cross and the gos- pel, and the Mongols thought of nothing but power exercised by force of arms. In the conversations that took place, however, the Tartars managed adroitly to find out whether the Frank crusaders had again en- tered Syria. These they knew by reputation; for their valour, their superiority in arms and discipline, and the con- tinual wars they waged with the Turks and Arabs, had long rendered them formidable in Turkey, Egypt, and Syria ; and the Tartars had made few expeditions to these countries, in which the Franks did not appear to them in the character of auxiliaries. When the Mongols seized upon Erzeroum, there were among the captives two Frenchmen, who had, by their almost extravagant bravery, given the Tartars a high idea of the men of their country. Thus William of Nangis relates the circumstances that took place.* " Some of the Tartars had heard that the French were marvellously brave and skilful
 * " Annales du Regne St. Louis," p. 188.