Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/229

217 ZEAL OF THE ENVOYS OF ST. LOUIS. 217 the Christian religion, he said he should like to hear that speech. " Then," says Rubruk, " I declared to him, as well as I could, by means of our interpreter, who was not at all eloquent, and rather stupid, what belongs to the faith ; and he listened to it all, but when he had done so only shook his head, and said nothing." The envoys of St. Louis were as zealous missionaries as they were prudent ambassadors, and as they went along, they preached, as well as they could, to these barbarous races, concerning the truths of the Gospel. They met Christians in many places, but mostly plunged in the most profound ignorance, and given to ridiculous superstitions. Some Muscovite and Hungarian be- lievers, for instance, were persuaded they could never be saved if they drank kumys, and they regarded such an act as equivalent to apostacy. The Franciscan monks endeavoured to enlighten them on this point, but without success. They were so convinced that kumys was forbidden to Christians, that a Saracen, whom Rubruk was endeavouring to convert, declined being baptized on this very ground. He had been carefully instructed in evangelical truths ; he manifested an excellent disposition, and all things were prepared for the performance of the ceremony, when he suddenly leaped on his horse, and galloped off, saying he must jro home and consult his wife. He returned the next day to tell the missionaries that he must not be made a Christian, for then it would be impossible for him to drink kumys, and that in these deserts he could not live without it. This notion had been inculcated by the Russians, then very numerous in Tartary, and the Franciscan monks bravely endeavoured to remove the