Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/281

269 IIOULAGOU AND ALEXANDER IV. 269 purity of life and learning, who should complete the conversion of the " Governor of the West." Notwith- standing the ready confidence always felt in the truth of intelligence of this kind, experience had taught Christian powers by this time not to count much on the veracity of those who brought it; and since the envoy had no letter from Houlagou, nor any docu- ment to authenticate his mission, Alexander IV., though he wrote a congratulatory letter to the Tartar prince, charged the Patriarch of Jerusalem to verify the facts on which his congratulations were based. " Our heart," says the Pope, " thrilled, and our soul dilated with joy, on learning from the Hungarian John, who calls himself your messenger, the happy news that God had mercifully opened the eyes of your mind ; " and then, having expressed in warm and pious language the joy of the Church on learning the conver- sion of Houlao;ou, Alexander continues thus — " There is one consideration that will not have escaped your sagacity — namely, what a vast increase of power there would be for the subjugation of the Saracens, if the Christian armies should unite their strength with yours. Shielded by the buckler of Christian faith — supported by the Divine protection — you would attain the very summit of temporal grandeur, whilst at the same time you would secure eternal glory." In conclu- sion, the sovereign pontiff entreats Houlagou to reveal to the Patriarch of Jerusalem the secret of his inten- tions, in order that thus prepared he may be able to take measures for the common cause with all conve- nient celerity. It was, in fact, highly desirable to know what were the intentions of the Tartars; for the barrier that