of his majesty from them, until the moment of their departure, when
the royal foot was graciously put forth from under the veil, and
reverence was done to it as a "holy thing." From this statement it
appears that the pope of Rome is not the only person, whose foot is
treated as a "holy thing;" there is not, however, any information
extant, that the Portuguese ambassadors kissed the great toe of the
African prince, and therefore the superiority of the pope in this
instance is at once decided. The statement, however, of the
Portuguese ambassadors excited greatly the curiosity of the court on
their return, and it was immediately surmised by them, that this
mysterious potentate was more likely to be Prester John, than any
person whom they had yet heard of. It must, however, be remarked,
that it was a subject of great doubt and discussion to determine who
this Ogane really was.

Although in possession of the extensive coast of Africa, the
Portuguese had, as yet, no declared title to it, for that purpose,
therefore, they appealed to religion or rather the superstition of
the age. It was a maxim, which the bigots of the Vatican had
endeavoured strongly to inculcate, that whatever country was
conquered from infidel nations, became the property of the victors.
This title was, however, not completed until it was confirmed by a
special grant obtained from the pope, and accordingly the reigning
monarch of Portugal, John II., obtained the grant of all the lands
from Cape Bojador to the Indies inclusive. Robertson, speaking of
this grant, says, "extravagant as this donation, comprehending such a
large portion of the habitable globe, would now appear even in
catholic countries, no person in the fifteenth century doubted but
that the pope, in the plenitude of his apostolic power, had a right
to confer it."