Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/236

224 224 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. the King of France, my sovereign lord. Having heard that, he made me rise, and inquired concerning the name of your Majesty, as well as of mine, and those of my companions ; and my interpreter presented them to him in writing, and he then told me that he had heard how your Majesty had issued from your country with a great army, to make war. I replied that was true, but that it was to make war on the Saracens, who were occupying the holy city of Jerusalem, and profaning the House of God. "He asked also whether you had ever sent ambas- sadors to him, and I answered, No ! Then he made us sit down, and gave us milk to drink, which was thought a great favour ; and as my eyes were fixed upon the ground, he ordered me to look up, perhaps that he might take a better view of me, but possibly from superstition, since the Tartars regard it as a bad omen when any one seated before them appears sad, and holds his head down, and more especially if he should lean it on his hand." Louis IX. had, in his letters, asked permission for the monks to remain in Tartary, to preach the Christian faith, but Batou said he would not take it upon him to grant this permission. It must be asked of the Em- peror Mangou, who had been proclaimed Kha-kan in 1250. The missionaries were, therefore, requested to continue their journey, for which they were promised the means of transport, as well as provisions. The Franciscans now pursued their weary way for five weeks more, along the banks of the Volga, almost always on foot, and very often suffering from want of food, so that Rubruk's companion could not help weeping.