"The eleventh day of the tenth moon of the fourth Year of Yung-li (te, about the end of 1650 A.D.)"
The letter from the Catholic eunuch was as follows:
"I, Achilleus Christianus P'ang, by Imperial Decree of the Great Ming Dynasty, Viceroy of the Province of Fukien and Canton, Commander-in-chief of all the military and naval forees for the restoration and pacific tion of China, Generalissimo of all the Chinese and native Troops, Chat cellor of the Empire, with Plenipo-tertiary Power over the National 'Treasury, Captain of the Imperial Guards, Chief of the Imperial Grooms, Master' of State Ceremonies, and Grand intendant of the Palace, pr int this, my letter, on my knees to His Holiness the Pope, Vicar on Earth of Jesus Our God and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, "1, Achilleus, an unworthy official in charge of civil and military affairs, om a man of shallow intellect, little culture and sinful deeds, Formerly when I was in the Court of Peking, it was my good fortune to meet the Jesuit Fathers who, having pointed out to me the error of my ways and shown me the road to salvation, ree deemed me with the Holy Water of Baptism, After my conversion, I realized the grandeur and the sublimity of the Catholic Religion and, with a firm faith, T have conscientious ly followed the teachings and the practices of the Church for over twenty years,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.