314 CHEISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. baptism ; and, in order that the articles of your faith may be more familiar to you, we send you a copy of them, which you will find added hereunto. It begins thus, ' We believe in the holy Trinity,' &c. Receive with kindness, out of respect for us and the holy see, our dear sons the brothers William de Cheri, our penitentiary, and Matthew de Thieti, professor of Theo- logy, whom we send into your country for the salva- tion of your nation. Treat them with favour, and in the business which has been entrusted to them, grant them, if they shall ask it, advice, assistance, and protec- tion."* At the moment, however, when the Pope was sending by two new ambassadors, these numerous letters to Tartary, Argoun was breathing his last.f Providence, says a contemporary author, had allowed that column to fall, upon which every hope of the propagation of the faith in Upper Asia seemed to rest. It is certain that his death overwhelmed with regret and sadness all who were interested in the progress of Christianity. The conversion of Argoun had been relied upon ; and only a favourable opportunity was waited for, to see him publicly take his place amongst the worshippers of Jesus Christ. But this prince was of too undecided a character to defy the opinion of the numerous Mussul- mans at his court. Before declaring himself, he wished to see their power insensibly diminish ; he had in the first place begun by depriving them of their dignities and employments, and he hoped that their influence would be completely destroyed, by the projected expedition into Syria and Palestine. Argoun had also repeatedly said, that lie would be baptized at Jerusalem only. It
- Odor. Raynald, ann. 1291, p. 443. Wadding, torn. v. p. 256.
f Bar-Hebraeus, p. 512.
