356 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. come to partake the cares of his apostleship. "What joy must it have been for him to hear once more that native language, whose accents never sound so beautiful and harmonious as in a foreign land ! With the help of his suffragans the archbishop continued to preach with the same zeal as before, and the arrival of new comers seemed to redouble the strength, energy, and health of the old missionary, and to renew in him the ardour of youth. He taught them his prudence and wisdom, and communicated to them the results of his long experience in apostleship. They helped one another, and conver- sions became so numerous, and the fruit of their labour so abundant, that it became necessary to have more assistance still, and in 1312, the sovereign pontiff de- spatched three new suffragans to the Archbishop of Khanbalik.* They were again taken from the Order of Saint Francis, and their names were Thomas, Jerome, and Peter of Florence. In the bull f which Clement V. sent to Peter de Florence, he states that, in consequence of the great increase in the number of Christians throughout China and Tartary, he thought it advisable to create new episcopal sees, in order to facilitate the further propagation of the faith. It was about this time that a very rich Armenian lady took up her residence in Kai-Tou, in China, a large and very beautiful town not far from the sea, most probably the same as that now bearing the name of Han-Tcheou- Fou, the capital of the province of Tche-Kiang. Chris- tianity was in a very flourishing state in Tai-Tou ; but notwithstanding this, there was no convenient place in
- Wadding, vol. vfi. p. 53.
f This bull is dated at Avignon, where the tomb of Clement V. may still be seen.
