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ftriking And in the Eighth, of the seventh beauty, or Expreffion. Thefe diftinctions, however, are not in our opinion altogether neceffary, as the fubjects of the 3d and 6th, might have been confidered under one, as alfo thofe of the 7th and 8th. On the whole, our learned Profeffor hath acquitted himself in this inveftigation with much ingenuity, and with that degree of pleasantry which may be naturally expected on such a subject.

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Conclufion of Pfalmanazar's Memoirs.

K-n-k.

See Page 385.

N our laft, we attended our Hero to the opening of what he, in his penitential language, juftly ftyles a fcene of the blackeft fhame and guilt. We are now to accompany him in his tour through Germany, &c. and his voyage to England.

His first design was, to vifit all the confiderable cities on both fides of the Rhine, as they lay in his way to Cologn; whither he pretended to go on a religious pilgrimage to the three Kings*, (as they are ftyled in the Romifh Calendar) whofe remains are faid to be there interred, in the cathedral.-At Landau he was feized as a spy, by the French garrifon in that city; but the Governor, not knowing well what to make of the whimfical account which our Adventurer gave of himself, and of his pretended country, fent him out of the city, with a strict charge, under the fevereft penalties, to come there no more.

This was but poor encouragement to proceed; however, on he went; and travelled feveral hundred leagues, through Germany, Brabant, and Flanders, under the notion of a Japanese converted to Chriftianity, by fome Jefuit Miffionaries, and brought to Avignon, to avoid the dreadful punishment inflicted on all who turn Chriftians in the dominions of the Emperor of Japan. His religious deportment, his frequent appearance at church, his fluency in the Latin tongue, his fmattering of logic, philofophy, and theology, generally procured him more regard, and a greater fhare of beneficence than was commonly fhewn to other Travellers or Pilgrims; but his careleffnefs and extravagance, nevertheless, foon reduced him to fo fhabby an appearance, that in respect to drefs, and even in the article of linen, he made a worfe figure than the very common beggars. This, at length, gave such an ill face to all his pretences, as almeft totally to difcredit them; and, moreover, when he came into fome confiderable cities which he was defirous to fee, and where they have hofpitals for pilgrims and ftrangers, with

The wife men that came to worship our infant Saviour. Pfalmanazar had given out, that Formoza was fubject to that Prince, although it is well known to belong to the Chinese.

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442 fuitable accommodations, according to their rank, appearance, or recommendation, he in vain fhewed his counterfeit pafs, which, if he had been in a more decent trim, would have procured him a much better reception than he met with: for those who attend on fuch occafions, would feldom give themfelves the trouble of reading it, but taking it for granted that he was one of the lowest rank, difpofed of him accordingly; fo that in a fhort time he found himfelf covered with rags and vermin, and infected with a moft virulent itch.

In this evil plight he had the farther mortification to perceive, that all his fair fhew of learning, only made him appear the more defpicable in the eyes of fober difcerning people; for even thofe who gave any credit to his ftrange tale, could not but fuppofe that he must have been guilty of fome great fault, or the Jesuits, by whom he pretended to have been brought from Japan, would hardly have given him to fo fhameful a vagabond life.—Thus did he find his affairs grow from bad to worfe, infomuch that he was often pinched with want, and would have been glad to have returned home to his mother; but that was too mortifying, and too difficult a step to be taken. I have, however, fays he, had reafon to think it a mercy that I had fuch an inveterate itch-for I perceived, that in feveral great cities of Brabant and Flanders, there are a fort of procureffes, who wander about the streets, under the character of Begines, and pick up all the likely fellows they meet with, in order to make a lewd trade of them; and I being then young, fanguine, and likely in person, have now and then been led by them, in a feeming hospitable manner, to fome charitable Ladies, to receive, as was pretended, fome token of their generofity; but, in reality, to return a lefs commendable one to the benefactress. But my diftemper, whether or no it was imagined to be of a worfe kind than it was, proved fuch a difguftful bar, that I never was put to the trial.'

Being at length arrived at the city of Liege, he there enlisted for a foldier in the Dutch fervice. The pretended officer who engaged him, proved not to be a military man, but a person who acted as an agent for procuring recruits, and who was himself in reality the master of a noted coffee-houfe at Aix-la-Chapelle,

The true Begines, it feems, are a good fort of unmarried women, who dedicate themselves to works of charity; vifiting the houses of the poorer fort, the fick, the lame, prifoners and ftrangers, and procuring them all proper relief from the charitable rich. They are known by a particular plain dress, not unlike that of the nuns ;-but there are alfo vile women who, under the appearance of that dress and character, carry on the trade of procurejes: in which they are but too much encouraged and fupported.

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He, on hearing our Author's patched-up ftory, conceived the defign of turning the young Adventurer to fome better account than that of carrying a mufket; and accordingly took him home to the laft-named place, had him fcoured, fcrubbed, and decently equipped; but found it too difficult a jobb to get him cured of his filthy cutaneous eruption. He was phyficked, anointed, blooded, bathed, but without fuccefs. However, he was appointed to wait on his master's customers, and to teach a boy of his to read.

His new mafter had entertained hopes, that fo extraordinary a waiter would occafion an extraordinary refort to his house: but the event was not altogether anfwerable to his expectations; and after some time, this his hopeful fervant being fent on a journey to the Spa, the young rover thought it expedient to mifs his way, and he once more repaired to Cologne.

From hence he went to Bon, the refidence of the Elector of Cologn; and then repaired to another city of that Electorate; where he again enlifted for a foldier, in the Elector's fervice. Being now in a herd of the moft licentious profligates, for of fuch, he fays, was the corps he belonged to compofed, he here became, in some respects, as abandoned as his comrades, and was particularly remarkable for his spirit and excess, in the horrid vice of prophane curfing and fwearing: but he tells us, that in regard to drinking and lewdnefs, he did not chufe to follow their example. He ftill pretended to be a Japanefe; but he now thought it a more consistent part to profess himself an heathen, and as yet unconverted to Christianity. This induced fome of the more fober fort of people, with whom he occafionally conversed, to think of his converfion in good carneft; and his vanity now prompted him to enter the lifts, as the Champion of paganifm, with fome of the learned Priests or Monks,-who, on their part, made little doubt that they fhould easily convince him of his errors.

But this great undertaking produced very little effect. The good Fathers, he tells us, with whom he had the honour of dif puting, were better provided for a controversy against the Proteftants than againft Heathens; which gave him no fmall advantage over them: and, in the end, it seems, they were fo backward in repeating the conferences, that all came to nothing; and the pretended idolater plumed himself on his imaginary victory. However, if this ridiculous controverfy had not died of itself, it must have been cut short by another revolution in our Author's affairs: he was difcharged from his military service, by order of his Colonel, who found him too fhort for the ftandard, and too young and tender for the fatigues of a foldier's life.

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He now repaired once more to Cologn, where he again enlifted in the company of an officer who had taken a liking to him, and on whom, as ufual, he paffed for a Japanese.-Pretending alfo ftill to be an Heathen, he here entered upon fresh controverfies, and engaged both with Proteftants and Papists: but to as little purpofe as before.From Cologn, the corps in which he now ferved, was ordered into Holland; and our Hero being in garrifon at Sluys, became known to Brigadier Lauder, Colonel of a Scotch regiment in that garrifon. This Gentleman had the curiofity to fend for Pfalmanazar to his house, where he engaged him in a religious conference with the Minifter of the French' church, and Mr. Innes, Chaplain to the Scottish regiment. Of this conference our Author inferted fome account, but by no means a just one, in his pretended History of Formofa.

This Innes, it seems, was an artful man, and foon formed a scheme for making a fine jobb of the converfion of the supposed heathen Japanese. With this view, he found means to attach the young Adventurer to him, by the moft fpecious and infinuating behaviour; and artful as Pfalmanazar was, he now met with his match. By this time he began to be heartily tired of a foldier's life. The place where he was in garrifon, was very cold and bleak, the duty hard, and the pay so small, that it was very difficult to fubfift on it; fo that the little fums of money which Innes now and then gave him, were peculiarly acceptable to a man in fuch circumftances, and could not fail of anfwering the purpose intended by the politic Chaplain. In fhort, there was no likelihood that the poor Pagan fhould make a long oppofition to fuch cogent arguments as were brought from this quarter; efpecially as Innes took care to back them with large promifes of procuring his Convert's discharge, and carrying him to England, where he made him hope he should meet with the greatest encouragement. The profpect of fuch a change of life, made fo great an impreffion upon him, that he rather seemed too forward in acquiefcing with the Chaplain's scheme, and more ready than was confiftent with prudence, to be wholly directed by him. In fine, matters went on fo fmoothly, that Innes wrote a letter to the Bishop of London, Dr. Compton, wherein he faid fo many things in his Convert's favour, that it was not doubted but he should foon be fent for, and meet with a kind reception.

The wifhed-for anfwer to this letter not arriving, however, till fix or seven weeks after, the zeal of Mr. Innes began to cool, and fearing after all, left his views might be fruftrated, he grew fomewhat more fhy of his pupil, faw him but feldom, was lefs cordial in his behaviour towards him, and even withheld

held his hand from making him the ufual prefents.-But in the midst of this chagrin and diftruft, a jealous thought ftruck the apprehenfive Chaplain, who now began to fear left certain other Minifters in that place, who had alfo attempted Pfalmanazar's converfion, fhould rob him of the credit of his new Convert. This fufpicion made him all at once alter his behaviour, and refolve to baptife his Difciple without farther lofs of time. This abrupt procedure, with fome other parts of his odd behaviour, convinced our Author, that a charitable zeal for faving a foul, was no part of Innes's motive; and that he was fo far from believing his Convert to be what he pretended to be, that he had fome time before taken a most effectual way to convince himself to the contrary, beyond all poffibility of doubting. His ftratagem was, to make the pretended native of Formofa tranflate a paffage in Cicero de Naturâ Deorum, of fome length, into his Formofan language, and give it to him in writing. This, fays our Artift, I eafily did, by means of that unhappy readinefs I had at inventing characters, languages, &c. But after he had made me conftrue it, and defired me to write another verfion of it on another paper; his propofal, and the manner of his exacting it, threw me into fuch vifible confufion, having had fo little time to excogitate the first, and lefs to commit it to memory, that there were not above one half of the words in the fecond, that there were in the firft. His defiring me to conftrue this likewise, confufed me ftill more, especially when he fhewed me the palpable difference! The serious air he affumed upon it, made me expect nothing less than a total rupture, and his expofing the impofture in the manner I was confcious it deferved. I was, however, agreeably deceived; and he finding, by this unexpected trial, what a memory and readiness I had, and how qualified I was to carry on fuch a cheat, began to clear his brow, and calm the diforder he had thrown me into, by a more chearful and friendly look; but did not forget, at the fame time, to give me to understand, that I ought to take care to be better provided for the future. I promifed to take his advice, and did fo in part; but was become too indolent to go through the fatigue of forming a whole language-at leaft till I was convinced that it would ftand me in fome ftead; tho', by what I have tried fince I came into England, I cannot fay but I could have compofed it with lefs difficulty than can be conceived.'

What a confummate wretch muft this Innes have been! Pfalmanazar himself was an honeft man in comparifon. His defperate circumftances were fome excufe for his impofture; but his vile affociate had not the fanie plea. The one wanted but to fubfift by his roguery; the other's view was unmerited PREFERMENT, too often attained by means equally indirect, hypocri

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