_ 522 _ also gave him a very long account of everything, for him to understand better this style of messenger and embassy. I also wrote to Gaspar de Sousa and to a Francisco Jacome, whom they tell me is well regarded by him. His Holiness wants very much to have news of the Sophy, through Your Highness. As I have already mentioned, in the event of a fresh war breaking out next summer between the Sophy and the Turk, he hopes that this would provide a reason for his accepting the practice of expecting help from Christendom, and this could be a means of inflicting great harm on the Turk. I agreed with His Holiness to suggest this to Your Highness and to give him as answer as to the way that this contact could be managed. When it is a matter of hope, bide your time; delay is often an advantage. I am sending the Jew, the Licenciate Solva’s son, whom I told Your Highness had arrived from India, along with this mail, because he observed, and I understood from other people, that there was no wood on the banks of the Euphrates or the Tigris that could be of use for the galleys. It can be verified from any cosmographical books how far the mountains of Armenia area from Aleppo, from where according to report from India, the wood for the Basra [sic] fleet originates.
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