FRANCIS, a Portuguese priest, and almoner to Emanuel, king of Portugal, flourished about the beginning of the 16th century. He was sent ambassador from Portugal to David, prince of Abyssinia; and, after a residence of six years in that country, returned with letters of friendship from David to Juan, Emanuel's successor, at the same time being charged with the Abyssinian monarch's submission to Pope Clement VII. At Bologna, in the year 1523, he gave a narrative of his expedition to the pope, in the presence of the emperor Charles V. In the year 1540 he published, in the Portuguese language, the relation of his journey, in one volume folio. This Alvearium work was translated into Latin, under the title of De Fide, Regione, et Moribus Aethiopum, by Damien Goez, a Portuguese gentleman; and has often been reprinted and translated into other languages. The information it contains must, however, be received with caution, as the author is prone to exaggerate, and does not confine his remarks to his own observation.