Note 229 — A JOURNAL OF THE FIRST VOYAGE OF VASCO DA GAMA IN 1497-99. (continued 2)

The figure-head of the S. Raphael was taken away by Vasco da Gama and treated as an heirloom by the family, several members of which carried it with them on their travels. It ultimately found a resting-place in the church of Vidigueira, founded by D. Francisco da Gama. When the church was desecrated in 1840, the figure was removed to another church, where Texeira de Aragão discovered it in 1853. It is now in the church at Belem. The figure is carved in oak, and about 24 inches in height (see Texeira de Aragão, in the Boletim of the Lisbon Geographical Society, VI, 1886, p. 621.)