Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/295

MONGOL ENVOYS VISIT ENGLAND. XHd Cardinal of Ostia, afterwards Pope Innocent V. The Sovereign Pontiff on this occasion presented some costly robes to the Tartars, and he always made a point of having them present at all the religious ceremonies, with the pomp and splendour of which they were greatly struck ; but it does not appear that this solemn em- bassy ever had any very important political results. The Mongol envoys who went to England were also received with great attention, but the success of their mission was just as little decisive as in France. Edward I. replied to Abaga in a letter written in Latin, and dated from Bellus locus regis, January 26th, 1274. It was to the following effect : — " The devout Friar David of the order of Preachers, chaplain to Friar Thomas, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and legate of the Apostolic See, has arrived at our court, and presented to us letters addressed by you to the Holy Father, and the other Christian sovereigns. We have therein seen the affection you bear to the Christian religion, and the resolution you have taken to lend assistance to the Christians of the Holy Land against the enemies of Christendom. We pray your magnificence to execute this holy project ; but we can- not at the present moment tell you anything certain touching the epoch of our own arrival in the Holy Land, and the passage of the Christians, since at this present writing nothing has been settled by the Sovereign Pontiff relatively to the said passage ; but as soon as we shall ourselves know anything positive thereupon, as we speedily shall, we will not fail to instruct you of it. " We recommend to the care of your mightiness the Holy Land, and all the Christians of the East."