A DISCOURSE OF CHINA
FERNAM MENDEZ PINTO
A.D.
1542.
that one of the boyes died with the blowes. They kept us two dayes in a Cisterne of water up to the waste, full of Hors-leaches, without victuals, and our hands bound ; whence by a man of Suzanganee, wee were freed, reporting better things of us. Thence wee went to Finginilau (in the way finding good reliefe at a Gentlemans house) still avoyding Cities and Townes of note, for feare of stricter justice, two moneths holding on our way, some- time in, sometimes out, from Village to Village, one of which was Chautir, where a woman was then buried which Chautir. had made the Idoll her Heire, and we were invited as poore men to eate at her Grave, and had sixe Taeis given us to pray for her soule. At Taypor an Officer charged Taypor. us to be Rogues, begging against the Law, and therefore layed us in Prison, where we continued sixe and twentie dayes, in which Rodrigues Bravo, one of our companie died. Thence wee were sent to Nanquim, and there Nanquim. continued sixe weekes in a miserable Prison (in which was said to be foure thousand Prisoners) where two of our companie and a boy died of the whipping, and the rest hardly escaped ; being besides sentenced also to have our thumbs cut off as theeves.
After this bloudy whipping, they brought us to a house within the Prison where wee were cured, being as it were an Hospitall for the sicke, where in eleven dayes wee were pretily well recovered, but lamenting the cutting off our thumbes according to the rigour of the Sentence which had beene given, one morning came in two honourable persons which were Procurers of the poore. These questioned us of our case, and hearing the same, made a Petition to the Chaem on our behalfe, and the eight Conchacis, which are as it were Criminall Judges ; and being there delayed, they made another Petition to another Table, called Xinfau nicor pitau, where are foure and twentie Talagrepos assistants, austere Religious men, Takgrepos. as Capuchines amongst us, which review the cases of the poore, which prohibited the Chaem to proceed, and
granted an appeale to the Aitau of Aitaus in Pequim to93
