PEDRO, a famous Spanish missionary, was born at Olmedo in New Castile in 1564. Having entered the Order of Jesus, he devoted himself to foreign missions, and repaired to Goa in 1588. His toils and sufferings, however, in the cause of proselytism did not commence until, in the course of a year, he was despatched along with a fellow-missionary to Abyssinia. The vessel was boarded by pirates off the coast of Arabia; he was doomed to hard labour during a captivity of seven years at Sana, the capital of Yemen; the next few years were spent in sojourning at Diu and Cambaya; and it was only in 1603 that he reached his destination, the Abyssinian town of Massowa. Paez now set himself to spread Christianity throughout the country. Within a year he had made himself a proficient in Geez, the chief of the native dialects; had translated into that tongue the catechism of Marcos George; and had by these means been enabled to instruct in Christianity several Abyssinian children. This vigorous beginning soon led to important results. The success of the missionary was quickly known throughout the country; he was summoned to preach before the court, and so effectual was his sermon, that the king Za-Denghel professed himself a convert, and wrote to Europe for more missionaries. Even although this last act led to a civil war, and cost the king his life in 1604, the influence of Paez continued to increase. The successor to the throne, Melek-Seghed, recalled him to court, and presented him with a piece of ground at Gorgora, for the purpose of building a convent for his order, and a palace for himself. At length the king and the nobility were induced to abjure paganism and embrace Christianity. The missionary was rejoicing at the success of his labours, when he was seized with a fever, which brought his life to a close in 1612. Paez was the first European who visited the Abai, the supposed main branch of the Nile, although this honour was afterwards claimed by Bruce the traveller.