been left; and fo ftrong a hold had his former ftudies taken of his imagination, that he could relish no part of the Bible, except the Revelation of St. John, a great part of which, he thought, referred to the whore of Babylon, or, in other words, the Pope of Rome. This part of the fcripture he perufed continually with unabating ardor and delight. His friend the clergyman, having obferved this, took occafion to fay, that every part of the Holy Bible was, without doubt, moft fublime, and wonderfully inftructive; yet he was furprised to see that he limited his ftudies entirely to the last book, and neglected all the rest. To which the other replied, That he who was a divine, and a man of learning, might, with propriety, read all the facred volume from beginning to end but for his own part, he thought proper to confine himfelf to what he could underftand; and therefore, though he had a due refpect for all the fcripture, he acknowledged

9

;

1

knowledged he gave a preference to the Revelation of St. John. This answer entirely fatisfied the clergyman; he did not think it expedient to question him any farther; he took his leave, after having requested the people of the family with whom this perfon lived, to have a watchful eye on their relation. In the mean time, this poor man's terrors, with regard to the revival of popery and perfecution, daily augmented; and nature, in all probability, would have funk under the weight of fuch accumulated anxiety, had not a thought occurred which relieved his mind. in an instant, by fuggefting an infallible method of preventing all the evils which his imagination had been brooding over for fo long a time. The happy idea which afforded him fo much comfort, was no other, than that he fhould immediately go to Rome, and convert the Pope from the Roman Catholic to the Presbyterian religion. The moment he hit on this

fortunate

fortunate expedient, he felt at once the ftrongest impulfe to undertake the task, and the fulleft conviction that his undertaking would be crowned with fuccefs; it is no wonder, therefore, that his countenance threw off its former gloom, and that all his features brightened with the heart-felt thrillings of happiness and self-applause. While his relations congratulated each other on this agreeable change, the exulting vifionary, without communicating his defign to any mortal, fet out for London, took his paffage, to Leghorn, and, in a fhort time after, arrived in perfect health of body, and in exalted fpirits, at Rome.

He directly applied to an ecclefiaftic of his own country, of whofe obliging temper he had previously heard, and whom he confidered as a proper perfon to procure him an interview neceffary for the accomplishment of his project. He informed

that

that gentleman, that he earnestly wished to have a conference with the Pope, on a bufinefs of infinite importance, and which admitted of no delay. It was not difficult to perceive the state of this poor man's mind; the good-natured ecclefiaftic endeavoured to foothe and amufe him, putting off the conference till a diftant day; in hopes that means might be fallen on, during the interval, to prevail on him to return to his own country. A few days after this, however, he happened to go to St. Peter's church at the very time when his Holiness was performing fome religious ceremony. At this fight our impatient missionary felt all his paffions inflamed with irrefiftible ardour; he could no longer wait for the expected conference, but bursting out with zealous indignation, he exclaimed, "O thou beaft of nature, with feven "heads and ten horns! thou mother of "harlots, arrayed in purple and fcarlet, "and decked with gold and precious

"ftones

"ftones and pearls! throw away the golden 66 cup of abominations, and the filthinefs "of thy fornication !"

You may easily imagine the astonishment and hubbub that fuch an apostrophe, from fuch a perfon, in fuch a place, would occafion; he was immediately carried to prifon by the Swiss halberdiers.

When it was known that he was a Britifh fubject, fome who underflood English were ordered to attend his examination. The first question asked of him was, "What "had brought him to Rome?" He answered, "To anoint the eyes of the scarlet whore "with eye-falve, that fhe might fee her "wickedness." They asked, "Who he

meant by the fcarlet whore?" He answered, "Who else could he mean, but her who "fitteth upon feven mountains, who hath "feduced the kings of the earth to com"mit fornication, and who hath gotten

"drunk