Now it happened that the Calif, with those shrewd priests of his, got hold of that passage in our Gospel which says, that if a Christian had faith as a grain of mustard seed, and should bid a mountain be removed, it would be removed.  And such indeed is the truth.  But when they had got hold of this text they were delighted, for it seemed to them the very thing whereby either to force all the Christians to change their faith, or to bring destruction upon them all.  The Calif therefore called together all the Christians in his territories, who were extremely numerous.  And when they had come before him, he showed them the Gospel, and made them read the text which I have mentioned.  And when they had read it he asked them if that was the truth?  The Christians answered that it assuredly was so.  “Well,” said the Calif, “since you say that it is the truth, I will give you a choice.  Among such a number of you there must needs surely be this small amount of faith; so you must either move that mountain there,”—­and he pointed to a mountain in the neighbourhood—­“or you shall die an ill death; unless you choose to eschew death by all becoming Saracens and adopting our Holy Law.  To this end I give you a respite of ten days; if the thing be not done by that time, ye shall die or become Saracens.”  And when he had said this he dismissed them, to consider what was to be done in this strait wherein they were.

NOTE 1.—­The date in the G. Text and Pauthier is 1275, which of course cannot have been intended.  Ramusio has 1225.

[The Khalifs in 1225 were Abu’l Abbas Ahmed VII. en-Nassir lidini ’llah (1180-1225) and Abu Nasr Mohammed IX. ed-Dhahir bi-emri ’llah (1225-1226).—­H.  C.]

NOTE 2.—­“Cum sez regisles et cum sez casses.” (G.  T.) I suppose the former expression to be a form of Regules, which is used in Polo’s book for persons of a religious rule or order, whether Christian or Pagan.  The latter word (casses) I take to be the Arabic Kashish, properly a Christian Presbyter, but frequently applied by old travellers, and habitually by the Portuguese (caxiz, caxix), to Mahomedan Divines. (See Cathay, p. 568.) It may, however, be Kazi.

Pauthier’s text has simply “a ses prestres de la Loi.”

CHAPTER VIII.

HOW THE CHRISTIANS WERE IN GREAT DISMAY BECAUSE OF WHAT THE CALIF HAD SAID.

The Christians on hearing what the Calif had said were in great dismay, but they lifted all their hopes to God, their Creator, that He would help them in this their strait.  All the wisest of the Christians took counsel together, and among them were a number of bishops and priests, but they had no resource except to turn to Him from whom all good things do come, beseeching Him to protect them from the cruel hands of the Calif.

So they were all gathered together in prayer, both men and women, for eight days and eight nights.  And whilst they were thus engaged in prayer it was revealed in a vision by a Holy Angel of Heaven to a certain Bishop who was a very good Christian, that he should desire a certain Christian Cobler,[NOTE 1] who had but one eye, to pray to God; and that God in His goodness would grant such prayer because of the Cobler’s holy life.