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of Bavaria] her brother, and there I made my reverence to the king and to the Cardinal his iinele, who received me gladly : and there I told them the etory of my journey, that I had come there chiefly to visit the king and his court, and then to obtain a safe-conduct for Babylon [Cairo] and mount Sinai. And as I had brought letters of introduction from the king Don Jnan to the Cardinal of Cyprus, who had been lately in Italy and whom I met there, he told me it would give him pleasure to further my wishes. At that time Monsieur Suarez, Admiml of Cyprus, was present and came np to me in a very friendly way, explaining that he was a Castilian like myself, and begged the king and Cardinal and Madame Tnes that they would allow me to be his guest; and so importunate was he, especially with the lady, that he gained his point, and straightway I left with him. He was a gentleman bora in Segovia, of the family of the Cernadilla, and when he was a youth and wandering about, the world found himself in Cyprus the day of the battle which the king Janus [at Choirokoitia, July 7, 1426] fought with the troops of the Soldan, and showed such personal bravery that he saved the king's life, and was taken prisoner with him and carried to Babylon. It is a custom with the Moors that no one shall go on horseback who is not a Christian and renegade, and the day the captive king entered Babylon they brought two horses, one foi- the king and the other for Monsieur Suarez ; and when they were brought before the Soldati and he knew the truth of the story he ordered that the same honour should be paid to Suarez as to the king. And when some days had passed when they were talking of the king's ransom the Soldan said to M. Suarez that if he intended to interest himself in tire king's freedom that he would let him go on parole, so that he returned with the money promised, or at least in person. M. Suarez gave Ids word, and the Soldan ordered all that he needed to be given him, and they even say that he asked him what manner of dress he wished to wear, and he replied, after the Syrian fashion. The Soldan ordered it to he provided at once and dismissed him. He left and came to Cyprus, and there with the Cardinal and Madame Ines, and the rest uf the Council, it was arranged to send certain gentlemen to the kings and princes of Christendom to beg their help for the ransom of the king. And I saw there in Cyprus the gentleman who came here who was called Jacques Guiri. It fell to M. Suarez' lot to go to the Pope. After a while all had returned, each with what he brought and what he could get from the kingdom to which he was sent, and the king's ransom was completed. And M. Suarez, with others of the king's Council, rook that amount of gold—it was 300,000 dneats—and left to fetch their king. And when they arrived at Babylon, nnd the Soldan knew of it, he ordered men to go out to meet him, and did him as much honour as though he were his son. And there was given the order for the release of the king after this wise. The Soldan received that sum of gold, and the king •>f Cyprus fnrther engaged to pay him each year 8000 dneats, and so the affair ended. And the Soldan ordered the preparation of all things needful, and uf ships to carry him to his kingdom, and gave great thanks to M. Suarez : and to the Soldan's chief dragoman, a native of Castile, a Jew uf Seville, who turned renegade in Babylon, for the services he rendered to the king in his captivity, they give every year 200 ducats. And the king, when he reached his kingdom and held counsel with its nobles, took M. Suarez by the hand, and made him sit at his side, saying that, if he had no legitimate son, to him he would leave his kingdom : and at once sent tu call a bastard daughter who was there, and married him to her and made him Iiis admiral, and lui' his heir in the kingdom. After 1 had been four or five days in the house of the admiral M. Snarez the Cardinal sent for me and said that I was to go and hear mass with the king, who would give me a safe-conduct for the journey to Babylon, and that I was to dine with hiin. Ami after we had heard mass the king wont apart to a corner of 32 EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

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