294
letters from his king. Joseph, who formerly had been in
Bagdad, and who on his return had related to the monarch
all that ho had heard thero about Ormuz, the world renowned mart of the spices and drugs of India, had been
commanded by the k i n g , in company with the aforesaid
Rabbi Abraham, to search for the wandering Cavilhao, and
to deliver to him the injunction, that ho should give Joseph
a report of the success of his mission, but that he himself
should travel with the Rabbi Abraham to Ormuz, in order
to make himself there acquainted with the conditions of
India. Cavilluio rendered punctual obedience to Joao's orders: he travelled with the Rabbi to Ormuz, and by a caravan proceeding to Aleppo sent Joseph back to Portugal,
1
capateiro
0 qualJosepe
de Lamego;
fiavia pouco tempo
queviera
daquellas partes ; e como soube qa no Ret/no o grande desejo que el Rey
tinha da
informaqao
das
cousas da
estivera em a cidade de Babylonia,
ada no rio Eufrates,
India, foi-lho
dar conta como
a que ora chamam Bagodad, situ-
e que alii ouvira fallar
do trato da Ileha cha-
mada Ormuz, que estava na boca da mar da Persia, em a qual havia
huma Cidade a mais celebre de todas aquellas partes, por a elle concom-erem todalas esjieciarias e riquezas
da India, as quaes per cafilas de
camelos vinham ter as Cidades de Aleppo e Damasco. El Bey, ao tempo
que soube estas, e outras coitsas deste Judeo era ja Pero
de Covilhao
ordenou se 0 mandar em bttsca delle, e assi 0 outro chamado
partido,
R. Habrao,
mandaua
o Josepe pera Ihe trazer recado das cartas, que per elles
a Pero
de Covilhao,
e Habrao pera
ir com elle ver a
Ilha de Ormuz e dahi se informar das cousas da India. Em as quaes
cantar El Rey enrommendaua muito a Pero de Covilhao que se ainda
nao tinJia achado
o Preste Joao,
que nao receasse 0 trabalho te se
ver com elle e Ihe dar sua carta e recado;
fosse,
per
aquello Judeo
e que em quanlo a esto
Josepe Ihe escrevesse tudo o que tinha e
sabido . . . .
‫ נ‬Schftfer, 1. c. I I I . 155, in his description suddenly ceases to mention Joseph, and lets Abraham, instead of Joseph return to Portugal
with the statements. Garcia de Kesende, Chronica del Bey I). Joam II
(Lisboa 1752), F o l . 29b. without thinking of the Jews, concludes his
u
account with the words: ,,Cavilhao . . . . nao ousu tornar.
In ac-
cordance with Portuguese sources of information, Barrios likewise
speaks of these Jews.
El
n
In his Ilisloria
Universal Judayco, 7, he says:
Bey Don Juan Segundo de Portugal por el leal adviirio de los Judios,