408 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. themselves to him with the great people of his court, and would often ask their blessing at night before going to rest.* The respect and influence enjoyed by the mission- aries in China were increased by the arrival of John of Florence and his companions invested for ten years with the dignity of apostolic nuncios. The emperor had facilitated the exercise of their ministry by a new edict, authorising the preaching of the Christian faith throughout the empire, and commanding the other princes of the East to give the most honourable recep- tion to the preachers. John of Florence, the chief of the legation, traversed the provinces with indefatigable zeal, proclaiming everywhere the name of Christ. At his voice new churches arose for the converts, and the Catholic faith, victorious and triumphant, spread into all parts of the empire. After a residence of twelve years, he returned to Avignon in 1353, bringing letters from the emperor not now extant, but the learned author of the Annals of the Brothers Minor f assures us that the grand khan pronounced therein a great eulo- gium on the Christian religion, placed all his subjects under obedience to the sovereign pontiff, and asked for more missionaries to finish the work of converting and civilising his vast states. Benedict XII. was, in accordance with this request, preparing a new Franciscan mission, when the revolu- tion broke out in China, which frustrated the whole project. The mission of Ili-Balik, of which we have already spoken, had borne in the wilds of Tartary fruits of sal-
- Wadding, v. 7. p. 728. f Hud. v. 87.
