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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49911	Memoirs and observations typographical, physical, mathematical, mechanical, natural, civil, and ecclesiastical, made in a late journey through the empire of China, and published in several letters particularly upon the Chinese pottery and varnishing, the silk and other manufactures, the pearl fishing, the history of plants and animals, description of their cities and publick works, number of people, their language, manners and commerce, their habits, oeconomy, and government, the philosophy of Confucius, the state of Christianity : with many other curious and useful remarks / by Louis Le Compte ... ; translated from the Paris edition, and illustrated with figures.	Le Comte, Louis, 1655-1728.	1697 (1697)	Wing L831; ESTC R15898	355,133	724

represents saying This is that great and glorious City which has subsisted for so many years and saith I truly am a City and there is none besides me The Chinese indeed were something excusable in this Point since they knew of nothing beyond the Seas of Iapan and Forests of Tartary but what we have told 'em That the West had also its Cities and Kingdoms which in several things exceeds theirs has very much humbled them being not a little vexed that their Title to the Universal Monarchy should now be questioned after having enjoyed it above 4000 years Our Comfort My Lord is that these proud Cities which stiled themselves Ladies of the Universe have been forced to open their Gates to the Gospel and art partly subdued by our Religion Those that dwelt in high places have bowed their heads and the Lord has in a holy manner brought low the lofty Cities This My Lord has often supported me in the midst of my Labours and Travels I have seen but few Cities where Christianity had made no Progress and among those Crowds of Worshippers of Belial I have observed a chosen People which worshipped the Lord in Spirit and in Truth Our Churches are now the Ornament of those very Cities which during so many Ages had been defiled with Idols and the Cross raised above their Houses confounds Superstition and gains it self Respect from the very Gentiles What then remains My Lord but that we labour with the utmost Diligence to the perfecting of a Work worthy the Zeal of the first Apostles Woe to those who are kept there by the Care of the Head of the Church and the Liberality of Christian Princes if thro' Negligence or an ill-ground●d Cowardice they fail of rendring the Inhabitants of those vast Cities a Holy Nation Hitherto thro' God's good Grace the Ministers of the Gospel have not been ashamed of their Profession not before the Pagan Magistrates and when forced by a long Exile to quit their beloved Churches they all might with St. Paul say You know I have endeavoured to serve the Lord in all humility with many tears and notwithstanding the Crosses I have met with from the Heathen that I have hid nothing from you that might be to your advantage no hinderance being strong enough to prevent my preaching it both in publick and private but rather admonishing you all to be p●nitent towards God and faithful to our Lord Iesus Christ. I know that those who have Composed whole Volumes to cry down our Catholick Missions will not agree to what I have said Men who have once professed themselves Enemies to the Orthodox Doctrine attack it every where and make it their Business to slander such as preach it But it may be a Comfort to us that we have no other Adversaries but those who are such to our Church and that we are only blamed by those whose Praise would be a Reproach to us However we stand in daily need of the Assistance of our kind Protectors For in what part of this World can Naked Truth and Distressed Innocence withstand alone the Force of Inveterate Malice In you My Lord we hope to find one full of Zeal and Justice The Approbation of so great a Prince whose Wit Judgment and Uprightness are well known to all Europe is able alone to Silence and Confound our Enemies And when it is once known that you are in some Concern for our Affairs that you are sensible of our Labours perswaded that our Designs are good and willing to contribute to carry them on none sure will then be so daring and hardened a Calumniator as to speak against our Missions to China or reflect on our Conduct in that Country I am with a profound Respect My Lord Hour Eminences most ●umble and obedient Servant I. J. LETTER IV. To the Count de CRECY Of the Clime Soil Canals Rivers and Fruits of China My Lord THE French Missionaries to China are so highly obliged to your whole Family that among the most important Commands they have honoured me with for Europe that of returning you their hearty Thanks was earnestly recommended to my Care I know My Lord that how great soever your Favours may have been your several Employments and the unbounded Application with which you serve his Majesty have somewhat curbed your Zeal But what is not owing from us to that other Self of yours pardon the Expression whom his Blood Name Wit and a thousand excellent Qualifications do so confound with you that we can scarce distinguish the one from the other In all our Travels in which some of us have already reckon'd above 40000 Leagues we have not made a Step without his Orders and Assistance His Zeal has excited us to Noble Enterprises his Prudence directed us how to carry them on his Courage strengthned us against all Opposition and I hope his unshaken Constancy will at last give Success to one of the most Noble Atchievements that this Age has produced to our Churches good to the Improvement of Learning and to his Glory who Sways the Gallick Scepter Thus My Lord while you make known his Name in the several Courts of Europe he spreads yours abroad thro' the new World where he is equally reverenced by the Preachers of the Gospel whose Support he is and dreaded by those of Paganism and Idolatry whose Ruin he is the occasion of I the more willingly do Justice to his Merit because I cannot write on a Subject more agreeable to your Lordship and if I had not already spoke to it in a private Conversation I were to blame to give over so soon But after having indulged a Father's Tenderness is it not time you should satisfie a State-man's Curiosity I have often described Europe to the Chinese who have admired its Politeness Beauty and Magnificence it is but just that I make China known to that European who is best able to judge of its true Grandeur I have My Lord pitched upon the following Particulars being such as will give you a true Idea of that Country and will perhaps give some pleasure in the reading China being of a large Extent the Nature of the Soil is different according to its particular Situation as it lyes more or less Southwards I can however assure your Lordship that the least of its fifteen Provinces is so Populous and Fertile that in Europe it would make alone a considerable State and a Prince who should enjoy it might have Wealth and Subjects enough to content a moderate Ambition This Land like all others is divided into Hills and Plains but the latter are so even that one would think the Chinese have ever since the Foundation of their Monarchy been employ'd in nothing else but levelling them and making them into Gardens and their manner of meliorating their Ground being to let Water thro' it they could not think of a better way to distribute it equally else those Parts which lye highest would have laboured under a continual

niu no nou noui noum nouon nun o ou pa paï pam pan pao pe peou pi piao pié pien pim pin po poi pou pouen poum pouon qua quoué quouai quouam quoueï quouen qouo qouon sa saï sam san sao sé sem sen seou si siam siao sié sien siéou sim sin sio siou siuè suien siun so sou siu soui su soum sun souon ta taï tam tan tao te tem teou ti tiao tie tien tieou tim to tou touï toum tun touon tsa tsaï tsam tsan tlao tle tlem tléou tsi tsiam tsiao tsié tsien tsieou tsim tsin tho thu thué ●●uen thoum thou tso tsou tsu tsui tsoum tsin tsouon tcha tchaï tcham thcan tchao tché tchen tcheou tchi tchim tchin tcho tchoua tchouam tchu tchou● tchouen tchouè tchoum tchun üa va vaï vam van ven ve vi vo von vou voum oum 328.                     Place this between Fol. 180 and 181. THE Present State OF CHINA A Letter to my Lord Pontchartrain Secretary of State to his most Christian Majesty The Voyage from Siam to Pekin My Lord THO' Men generally take no little Pride in recounting their Travels and that of China be the most entertaining to this part of the World I could never yet be reconciled to the thoughts of writing a Formal Account of my Voyage thither That Subject indeed is worn so thread-bare that People have little Curiosity after New Relations and indeed the World is sufficiently taken up with the Business of the Times the Wars Negotiations and divers Movements Europe is in at present take 'em off from enquiring into the Affairs of Remote Countries But you my Lord whose Genius is as far extended as your Zeal and who no less rejoyce at Victories obtained by Christ's Doctrine over Idolatry then at those by our Arms will I dare hope give us his Ministers a patient Hearing I have already had the honour to be heard by you on this Subject at spare hours and I may say that besides those Divine Helps which support us in all our Labours nothing could more encourage our Industry then that Goodness with which you are pleased to countenance it The Project of sending Missionaries skill'd in the Mathematicks into the utmost parts of the World was conceiv'd of that Glory for his Majesty's Reign and that Advantage to our Religion that his Ministers have ever used their best Endeavours to carry it on Monsieur Colbert not only brought the King to approve of the Design but also himself gave Orders for the preparing of all necessary Instruments for a considerable number of Mathematicians who were all bound for China some thro' Muscovy and Tartary others thro' Syria and Persia and the rest on Board the Vessels belonging to the East-India Company His Death put some stop to this great Design but the Marquis de Louvois no sooner succeeded him in the Super-intendency of Arts and Sciences but he did by Order from his Majesty command our Superiours to look out for Men whose Zeal and Capacity might enable them for such an Undertaking for whom he procured all sorts of Instruments and furnished them with Money Letters of Commendation and in short all that might contribute to the Success of the Enterprise Monsieur De Seignelay judging that these new Missions needed the support of the Admiralty desired they might be intrusted to his Care but tho' Monsieur De Louvois gave up to him the Management of them yet did he not wholly abandon them but largely and bountifully contributed to the making their Journey the shorter thro' Poland Russia Siberia and the greater Tartary to the Eastern Ocean Thus my Lord has Providence led three great Men to forward so Noble a Work the perfecting of which it has left to you The several Reasons which induced them to it will no doubt be as prevalent with you who are no less desirous of the Honour of Religion the Glory of our King and the Advantage of his Subjects and no less careful in your Employments which respect both to Arts and Sciences and Trade and Navigation Your Protection has hitherto been so Benevolent to those Zealous Missionaries that they cannot doubt of a happy Success But besides this Acknowledgment they are bound to give you an exact Account of their Actions their Travels and the Use they have made of his Majesty's Bounty These Memoirs my Lord I offer to you on their behalf The King about Ten years since commanded Six of his Subjects Jesuits for China with the Character of his Majesty's Mathematicians that under cover of that Learning they might the easier insi●uate the Gospel I was one of them and set ●ai● with the rest in the beginning of the Year 1685. in the same Ship on Board which was Monsieur Chaumont sent by his Majesty on an Extraordinary Embassy to the Court of Siam Our Voyage thither was very fortunate but the Season forbad our going farther and we were detained there near a Twelve-month till the time of year proper for our Design The K. of Siam a Pretender to Astrology desired to be a Sharer in our Astronomical Observations He admired above all our exactness in foretelling an Eclipse of the Moon and from that time had thoughts of keeping us at his Court But having informed him what our Orders were he consented that Four of us should depart for China provided Father Tachard should return to France to request the King for more Mathematicians and that I the whilst should remain with him Accordingly he went for Europe and I continued at Siam while the Fathers Fontaney Gerbillon De Visdelon and Bouvet took Ship for Macao a small City situate on the Point of an Island adjacent to China where the Portugueze have a Fortress Father Tachard arrived safe at Paris with the Siamite Ambassadors But those who were failed for China were in a few days after their departure surprised by a Tempest which put a stop to their Voyage they were in a stout Vessel of Monsieur Constance's but it was so terribly shattered that in a little time it began to be leaky The Shipwreck being inevitable it was thought better to strand on the Shoar with some hopes of Life then by Loosing up against the Wind to keep the Sea and Founder in a desperate Condition So before Night they reached an unknown Land The Ship often run upon Shoals but did not split and with much ado they got to the Leeward of an Island near C●ssomet a Province of the Kingdom of Siam bordering upon that of Camboja The Captain then despaired of proceeding on his Voyage being fallen under a Wind which according to the Season was like to keep the same Corner for several Months and hindred him from doubling the Cape of Camboja the Ship being very much disabled The Missionaries more concerned at this loss of time than at

in her and withdrew to let his Master know it That Mandarine who holds his Commission immediately from Court and is therefore much respected ordered us to be brought before him whom we found in a large Hall assisted by his Assessors and other inferiour Officers having been waited on thither by a multitude of People who there are more curious of seeing an European then we should be here of viewing a Chineze No sooner were we enter'd but we were admonished to kneel and bow our Heads nine times to the ground that being the Custom in those Parts of doing Obeisance to the Prime Mandarine who in that Quality represents the Emperor's Person His Countenance was very Severe and bore a Gravity that challenged Veneration and a Dread which increased at the sight of his Executioners like Roman Lictors attending with Chains and great Sticks ready to bind and cudgel whom his Mandarineship should think fit Having paid him our Devoirs he asked us Who we were and what was our Errand My Lord answered we by the means of our Interpreter we have heard in Europe that several of our Brethren and particularly Father Verbiest laboured with success to spread the Knowledge of our Holy Religion in these remote Parts The same Zeal has moved us and the Noble Idea we have framed to our selves of this Empire and of the Wit and Politeness of its Inhabitants has prevailed with us to procure them the only thing that is wanting to compleat the Grandeur of so flourishing and renowned a Nation to wit the Knowledge of THE ONLY TRUE GOD without which it cannot be truly Great We have besides understood how kind his Imperial Majesty has been to them and hope his Mandarines who know his Intentions will be so favourable as not to molest us This Declaration seemed something bold in a Province where our Religion was scarce tolerated and in a City where there was not one Christian. But we were unacquainted with these Circumstances and had thought that since the Freedom of Trade had been granted Strangers might come and settle there which is directly opposite to the Laws of the Land The Mandarine who must needs be surprised at the Liberty we took dissembled his Thoughts and as if he approved of our Zeal told us it was true the Emperor had a particular Esteem for Father Verbiest whose Merit was well known throughout the whole Empire that as for himself he was very desirous to serve us But continued he I must first advise with the Governor and we shall consider of it together In the mean while return to your Ship where you shall hear further from us Some days after the General of the Militia in and about the City which might consist in about fifteen or twenty thousand Men was willing to see us and entertained us very kindly insomuch that when we left him to wait upon the Governor he sent an Officer to desire him that he would use us kindly assuring him we were very honest People The Governor nor expressed some Consideration for us but said he could determine nothing in our Case till he had first conferred with the Chief Officers of the City so that we were forced again on Board our hared Ship which seemed to us a very severe Prison Most of us were sick but Our Lord who permitted these Delays to try our Patience did at last soften the hardened Hearts of these Infidels who took Compassion on us Eight days being spent in Consultations the Mandarine of the Customs held his Court in a House not far from the Port where his Clerks usually kept their Office There having sent for us and our Goods being several Bales of Books Images and Mathematical Instruments they opened but three of our Trunks without demanding any Custom and his Lordship told us we might lodge in the Suburbs till they had heard from the Viceroy to whom the Governor had wrote concerning us We thankfully accepted of his Civility and in our new Habitation enjoyed a Rest we stood in great need of Permit me My Lord before I go on to give you a general Description of that great Empire framed according to the Observations of Ancient Geographers rectified by those we have since made with much Care and Exactness CHINA which the Inhabitants call Tchoum-coev● the Middle Kingdom because they formerly thought themselves seated in the midst of the World is divided into fifteen very large Provinces Quamtom Fokien Chekiam Nankin Chanton and Pecheley lye along the Eastern Ocean from South to North. And from North to South on the Western side are extended Chansi Chensi Sout-ch●●●en Yunnan and Ko●ansi and then Kouei-tchéou Kiansi Houguam and Honan are locked in by the other eleven and form the midst of the Empire which a Channel divides from Iapan and the Island Formosa and a very long wall from Tartary Here My Lord I must beg your Patience awhile to give you an exact account of its Situation and put you in mind of two considerable Faults Geographers are guilty of The first is that they have misplaced the whole Province Leanton within the Wall whereas it is undoubtedly without tho' it ever made part of the Chineze Dominions This is Matter of Fact and whoever questions it needs but to take a Journey thither as we did to be convinced The second is that they place the whole Empire five hundred Leagues more Eastward than it really is this is not so palpable a mistake as the last but is by our Observations clearly demonstrable so that China is much nearer Europe then had always been thought Could succeeding Observators but bring it each Journey so many Leagues nearer our Voyages would soon be shortned and those who are so fond of seeing unknown Countries might with ease satisfie their Desires but the mischief is that it is out of their power and I dare say our Observations and those of the Royal Academy of Sciences will scarce be out-done unless M r V who has so much inveighed against our Manner of Proceeding herein gives himself that trouble then indeed I should not despair did he give us a Map of his Travels of seeing China beyond Iapan or Iapan near Mexico Besides these two Essential Blunders they have failed in the Situation of each several City but a more particular Account would be too tedious to insert here and may besides be expected from Father Gouye a Mathematician of our King's Colledge with whom I have lest our Geographical Observations which he will shortly produce to the World However my Lord be pleased that I give you the true Extent of the Empire From the City of Canton which we place a little above the 23 Degree to Pekin which lyes in the 40th there are from North t● South 17 Degrees But we may reckon 18 because beyond Pekin and Canton to the outmost Bounds is 20 Leagues more These 18 Degrees amount to 450 Common Leagues and are the entire Length of that Country It s Extent from East

an opportunity of improving our Acquaintance with the Mandarines Some sent us Presents others invited us to their Houses and all in general were very kind to us We indeavoured to make use of this opportunity in converting them from Idolatry but it is hard for Souls wholly buried in Flesh and Blood to savour the Things which are of God However the Governor of the City made one Step towards it which gave us great Hopes It was this They had for five Months time been afflicted with a continual Drought so that their Rivers and the Channels they cut out into their Land to water it were now quite dry and a Famine much apprehended The Priests had offered numberless Sacrifices and the Mandarines left nothing undone which they thought might Appease the Anger of the Gods They had often asked us what Methods we used in Europe in such Cases and being answered that by Humiliation Penitence and the Fervency of our Prayers we moved Heaven to Compassion they hoped by the like Means to procure their Idols Pity but alas they called upon Gods that have Ears and cannot hear So the Governor tired with Delays resolved to worship the only God whom all Nature obeys Having understood that in our House we had a pretty handsome Chappel in which we every day celebrated the Sacred Mysteries of our Religion he sent to us to know if we would permit him to come in State and joyn his Prayers with ours We answered we desired nothing more than that he should worship as we did and that all the City would follow his Example and assured him moreover that if he begged with Faith and Sincerity he should undoubtedly obtain We presently went to work to put our Chappel in order and make all things ready to Solemnize his coming when to our great surprize his Secretary came to tell us That his Lord would be with us the next day very early being necessitated to meet at Eight the same Morning at a neighbouring Hill where with some Mandarines he was to offer a Sacrifice to a Dragon In answer to this unexpected Message we ordered our Interpreter to wait on him and make him sensible that the Christian's God was a Iealous God who would not allow of his paying to any others the Honours due to Himself alone that his Gods were Statues or Creatures that had no Power to help themselves nor him and that we humbly craved him to despise those idle Fancies fit only to amuse a credulous sensless Mob but far beneath a Man of his Sence and Merit and to trust in the Only God of Heaven whom his Reason alone must convince him to be the True one I really believe he was almost perswaded but he had engaged himself to the Mandarines and for some worldly Respect durst not break his Promise so he worshipped his Idols whom doubtless he had no Faith in and withdrew from the Only True God of whose Being he was inwardly convinced Then My Lord moved with Indignation at their Blindness and the Devils Tyranny some of us thought of imitating what St. Francis Xavier had done on some like occasion by erecting a Cross in the City under these Conditions First that we would prevail with Heaven to grant the Rain they stood in such want of And secondly that if we did they should pull down their Idols and own That God who should have been so favourable as to grant them their Request Our Minds were different as was our Zeal Some full of Lively Faith which the miraculous and continual Support of Providence thro' the several Perils we had encounter'd had inspired them with could not question the Success of so Bold but Holy an Undertaking Others not so Zealous but perswaded that Prudence ought to be our Guide where the Inspiration is not Evident were of Opinion nothing should be hazarded which failing might Expose our Religion So we were content to mourn within our selves and beg of God not that he would give them Rain but that Celestial Fire which Our Saviour hath brought into the World and desires all Nations may be inflamed with While we were thus busied in promoting the Interest of our Religion the Viceroy was no less in thinking how to Execute the Orders he had received from Court He left our Journey as far as Hamt-chéou to the Governor's Care who provided Boats for us and commanded an inferiour Mandarine to attend us that we might lack for nothing We performed it in five days time without meeting with any of those Accidents which Strangers there are subject to when they are thought to carry things of value with them The Christians at Hamt-chéou were lavish in the Expressions of their Affection to us They came in Crouds to the River whence we were carried as in Triumph to their Church with more Kindness perhaps then Prudence For they had unknown to Father Intorcetta provided for each of us an Elbow-Chair borne by four Men and attended by as many into which we were obliged to suffer our selves to be set not knowing what they meant for our little skill in their Language did not permit us to learn it from themselves Having locked us in we were forced to make our Entry as they would have it which was in this manner A Musick of ten or twelve Hands with some Trumpets led the Van next came some Horse and Foot the former bearing several Standards and Flags and the latter armed with Launces and Pikes and next to these four Officers who supported a large Board varnished with Red on which these words were written in large Golden Characters Doctors of the Heavenly Law sent for to Court We came in the Rear surrounded by a throng of Christians and Gentiles whom the Novelty of the Show had drawn thither In this mortifying Pomp we went thro' the whole City being a long League in length vexed that we had not foreseen their Indiscretion and resolved to reprimand them for it Father Intorcetta waited for us in the Church-door whence he carried us to the Altar There having nine times bowed our selves to the Ground and returned Thanks to the Good God who thro' so many Hazards had in spight of our Enemies brought us to the Promised Land we returned to the Chief of the Christians These we desired the Father to acquaint that we were not unthankful of their Love nor ill satisfied with their Zeal for God's Glory but that the Splended Manner in which they had received us was no ways conformable to a Christian's Humility That the Heathen might indeed celebrate their Triumphs with such Earthly Pomps and Mundane Vanities but that a Christian's Glorying was in the Name of the Lord. These returned no Answer but all on their Knees implored our Blessing Their Fervency and a Meek and Devout Look in which the Chine●e do when they will exceed all other Nations wholly disarmed our Wrath we wept for Joy and Compassion and I protest My Lord that one Moment made us a large

Zeal and Prudence was owing the Restauration of the Christian Religion which had been almost ruined by the late Persecutions He encouraged the Old Christians Constancy and supported the Weakness of the New by taking them under his especial Protection His Recommendation gained our Missionaries Respect He had saved Macao of which the Tartars had entertained some Jealousies and the State it self to which he had rendred considerable Services was not a little beholding to him so that the Europeans the Chinese and the Emperor himself did equally look on him as their Father This Great Man so much respected in the East deserved My Lord that you should take Notice of him and in pursuance to my Design which was in this Letter to give you an Account of our Journey from Siam to the chief Town of China I could not end with a Subject that might better challenge your Attention I am with all Respect My Lord Hour Honours most humble and obedient Servant L. J. LETTER II. To her Highness the Dutchess of NEMOURS The Manner of our Reception by the Emperor and what we observed at Pekin MADAM NONE but a Lady of an unbounded Genius and an unlimited Zeal could as you do concern her self in what passes at so great a Distance The Curiosities of Europe were too few for your vast Mind which would be a Stranger to nothing that might Inform or Edifie it and I may without Flattery say that the East has no Secrets you have not pried into nor any Rarities you are unacquainted with I have my self learned from your Highness several things unknown to most Travellers and having been as far as the World reaches must confess that your Knowledge has travelled farther yet than me What then Madam can I tell you of China more than you already have discover'd unless it be some Particulars of my Voyage which being the latest any European has made thither cannot want the Charms of Novelty It being my Duty to give a a Great States-man an Account of it I make bold to send your Highness the Letter I wrote to him some days since and what I now add shall at once be a Continuation of it and a Token of the Respect I bear you and the Readiness I shall ever be in to obey your Highness's Commands On our Arrival at Pekin we found the Court in Mourning for the Empress Dowager The Courts of Justice were shut up and the Emperor gave no Audience But the 27 Days being spent during which the Laws obliged him to remain Solitary he sent one of his Officers to our House to see how we did and put some Questions to us The Message was very obliging and besides a thousand other Civilities we were told the Emperor would be no less kind to us than he had been to the Fathers at his Court since we were all of the same Society The Gentleman told us his Imperial Majesty would gladly know what the French Court thought of his Progress into Tartary and the Defeat of Ousanguay who was a Chinese Rebel that had given him no small Trouble He asked us in what Perfection Learning was in Europe whether any new Invention had lately made been or any considerable Discovery Then he spoke much of the Honours the Emperor designed to pay to the Memory of Father Verbiest for whom his Majesty had a particular affection That Name Madam cannot be unknown to you and you are too much concern'd in what relates to the Eastern Church to be ignorant of her Loss in that Illustrious Missonary's Death We all replyed that we gratefully acknowledged the Emperor's Bounty but that among the Ceremonies with which the Chinese used to express their Respect for their deceased Friends there were some which seemed to disagree with the Sanctity of our Religion How answered he Do you oppose the ●mperor's Will To this a Father returned My Lord Our Lives are the Emperor's he may take them away when he pleases but nothing in the World is able to make us alt●r the least tittle of our Belief My Orders said he are not to dispute it with you but to ask you for the Petition which according to Custom you are to present to him upon this Occasion The Emperor by an unpresidented Goodness would gladly peruse and correct it himself if it should need any amendment but he commands you to keep this Favour secret All that is presented to the Emperor ought to be indited in Terms so nicely conformable to the Laws and Customs of the Country to his Quality who speaks and to the Business he treats of that the Penning of it is no little trouble especially for a Stranger An improper Expression a Word nay a Letter misplaced is sufficient to undo a Mandarine and several have lost their Places for being Guilty of the like Faults whether thro' Inadvertency or Ignorance The Emperor well skill'd in all these Formalities questioned our Capacity in that respect and would trust no body but himself so that by an incredible Goodness he took the pains to compose it that it might stand the most Critical Examination Some days after the same Gentleman came with several new Queries He inquired particularly into the Motives of the late Dutch War and into the famous Passage of the R●ine For in truth said he what has been told the Emperor is not to be believed Perhaps the River is neither so broad so deep nor so rapid as is reported and that as for the Dutch they had some private Reasons not to oppose your King's Conquests with more vigour Then Madam did we wish for a more perfect Knowledge of his Language that we might represent to him the Great Soul the Good Fortune and the unshaken Valour of Lewis the Great to whose Soldiers nothing is impossible while they fight in his View and are animated by his Example The Father who was our Interpreter told him however as much as would perswade him that none but such a Hero could frame and carry on the like Enterprises He was astonished at our Recital of them and rose immediately to go and report it to his Prince As he was going out he turned to us saying Gentlemen All I have heard is indeed wonderful but what my Eyes behold seems no less surprising Who could think that these Fathers who have dwelt here so long who are of a different Nation and never saw you before should look on you as their Brethren that you should treat them like yours and that you should be as kind to each other as if you had been acquainted all your Lives I really am extreamly taken with this Charity and can no longer doubt the truth of what you profess So open a Confession might give us some hopes that He was not far from the Kingdom of God It is true he believed but alas of what use is that Belief when we have not the Courage to Act accordingly but to inhance our Guilt If we had come thither Incognito the Mandarines would

I say they have put on their back one of these furr'd Gowns with long Hair they differ but a little from Bears or from the Animal of whom they borrowed the Skin altho' in this Condition they think themselves to be very gentile and to make a graceful Figure Of all the Furrings the most common are Lambskins They are white downy and very warm but burthensome and at first of a strong smell in a manner like those greezy Gloves that smell in a manner like those greezy Gloves that smell of Oil I wonder they bring not up the Mode in France those who delight in slender fine Shapes would not submit to it yet otherwise there is nothing more gentile nor more convenient for Winter Upon the whole if great Caution be not used all these Furs are easily spoiled especially in hot and moist Countries Worms breed in them and the Hair falls off To prevent them the Chineses so soon as ever the Summer approaches expose them to the Air for some days when it is fair and dry Weather then they beat them with Sticks or shake them often to get out the Dust and when they have enclosed them in huge earthen Pots into which they throw Corns of Pepper and other bitter Drugs they stop it up very close and there let them lye till the beginning of Winter Besides their usual Garments there are yet two sorts that deserve to be known They put on one to defend them from the Rain for the Chineses who delight in Travelling spare for no cost to travel commodiously they are made of a course Taffaty crusted over with a condensed Oil which is in lieu of Wax which being once well dried makes the Stuff green transparent and extraordinary gentile They make Bonnets of it Vests and Surtouts that resist the Rain for some time but it gets through at last unless the Garment be a choice one and carefully prepared The Boots are of Leather but so little that the Stockings are spoiled at the Knee except one be a Horseback like the Tartars with their Legs doubled up and their Stirrups extream short The Mourning Habit hath also something odd in it The Bonnet Vests Surtout Stockings and Boots are made of white Linnen and from the Prince to the most inferiour Handicrafts-man none dare wear any of another colour In close Mourning the Bonnet seems phantastick and very difficult to be represented it is of a red and very clear Canvas Cloath not much unlike the Canvas we use for packing up Commodities The Vest is kept close with a Girdle of Canvas the Chineses in this posture do at the beginning affect a careless Behaviour and Grief and Sorrow seems painted all over the outward Man but all being nothing but Ceremony and Affectation with them they easily put on their own Face again they can Laugh and Cry both with a wind for I have seen some Laugh immediately after they had shed abundance of Tears over the Tomb of their Fathers Perhaps My Lord you may have the Curiosity to know after what manner the Missionaries who labour about the Conversion of the Infidels are habited the Laws that suffer no Foreign Mode to take place determined the first Jesuits to take the Garb of the Bonzes at the beginning But this Garb though grave and modest enough was so cried down by the ignorance and irregular Life of those wicked Priests that that alone was sufficient to deprive us of the Company and Correspondence of honest People In effect nothing was so diametrically opposite to Religion so that after a long deliberation they thought it more adviseable to take the Students Habit which together with the quality of European Doctor did capacitate us to speak to the People with some Authority and to be heard by the Mandarins with some respect From that very time we had free Access every where and God did so far vouchsafe a Blessing to the Labours of our first Missionaries that the Gospel in a short time was propagated with considerable Success But in the late Revolution of the Empire these Fathers as well as the Chineses were forced to go in the Tartarian Fashion after the manner as I told you In the Visits made to the Mandarins upon the account of Religion we could not dispense from wearing a Vest and Surtout of common Silk but in the House we are clothed in Serge or painted Linnen So that My Lord preserving as much as lyes in us the Spirit of Poverty suitable to our Condition we endeavour to become all things to all Men after the Apostles example that we may the more easily win over some to Iesus Christ being perswaded that as to a Missionary the Garment Diet Manner of Living and exterior Customs ought all to be referred to the great Design he proposes to himself to Convert the whole Earth A Man must be a Barbarian with Barbarians Polite with Men of Parts Austere and Rigid to Excess among the Indian Penetents handsomly Drest in China and half Naked in the Wilderness of Medura to the end that the Gospel always uniform always unalterable in it self may the more easily insinuate it self into the Minds of Men whom an holy Compliance and Conformity to Customs regulated by Christian Prudence have already prepossest in favour to us I am with the most profound Respect My Lord Your most humble and most obedient Servant ● J. LETTER VI. To the Dutchess of Bouillon Of the Oeconomy and Magnificence of the Chineses MADAM THE Zeal that your Grace hath shewn to be fully informed of the present State of the Missions in China hath been an infinite Satisfaction to me But I confess I was a little surprised that amongst so many curious things to be met with in this new World you have in a manner wholly insisted upon that which relates to the Neatness and Magnificence of the Chineses I know very well that it is the usual Subject of Discourse among the Ladies and I could have almost expected no more from any other But for you Madam when I had the honour to see you I had prepared my self for Subjects of a quite different nature I made account you would discourse with me concerning the Ingenuity Sciences and Politeness of this People And whereas Travellers do usually affect to prefer what they have seen amongst Foreigners to that which is found in their Native Soil I pleased my self that I could sincerely and safely tell you that the French Ladies I mean those who like you have raised themselves above those Toyish Cares that do in a manner totally possess the fair Sex have more Wit Capacity and a more raised Genius even in the solid and substantial Sciences than all the great Doctors of that Empire for as for Politeness I can scarce believe Madam that you can doubt of it and it is not necessary to be Mistress of as much of it as you are to deface and eclipse the most Polite Courts of the East But since either

of them and does upon several occasions laugh at those things which they enjoyn for Principles of Religion as Extravagancies and Fables He often sends those who speak to him of them to the Missionaries Hear says he those Fathers who reason so well I am sure they will not be of your mind One day he said to Father Verbiest his Mathematician Why do not you speak of God as we do People would be less set against your Religion You call him Tien-tçhu and we call him Cham-ti Is it not the same thing Will you leave the use of a good word because People give false Interpretations of it My Lord said the Father I know that your Majesty does follow the old Doctrine of China which several Doctors have forsaken and if we should use their words they would fancy we believe as they believe But if your Majesty will by a Proclamation publickly declare that the word Cham-ti signifies the same in effect that the Christians mean by Tien-tçhu we are ready to make use of any one of them as soon as the other He liked the Fathers answer but reasons of State hindred him from following his advice When the Queen Mother was dead those who had the care of the Funeral committed to them informed the Prince that it was necessary according to antient Custom to pull down part of the Palace wall that the body might be carried thro' the breach because that the Royal Family would be exposed to a great many misfortunes if the body was carried thro' the ordinary passages You do not talk rationally said the Emperor to them your heads are full of whimsies What folly is it to think my good or bad fortune depends upon the way by which my Mother goes to her Tomb It was my unhappiness to lose her and to fear any misfortune after so great a loss would be to dishonour her after her death by superstitious Rites and ridiculous Ceremonies Some time after several Maids of Honour to the Empress came and fell at the Emperors feet and begged with Tears that he would suffer them who had served the Empress here to follow her into the other World where their services might be needful to her He said to them I have taken care of that already you need not therefore put your selves to farther trouble about it And for fear lest a cruel zeal might prompt them to lay violent hands on themselves he commanded their Hair to be immediately cut off and that they should be confined When they are shaved they fancy themselves useless and unfit to serve Persons of Quality in the other World These Examples are enough to let us see that the Emperor is very far from giving himself up to all these popular extravagancies He honours Confucius as the first and wisest Philosopher in the World in several things he follows Custom when he judges it much for his interest at certain times of the year he offers Sacrifices in the Temples according to antient practice yet he says it is only in honour of the Cham ti and that he adores no other but the Supreme Lord of the Universe Thus far the instruction of the Missionaries have worked upon him He believes in one God but State Reasons and the gratification of his Passions which are opposite to the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST have never suffered him to open his Eyes to the truth of the Gospel The rigidness and severity of Morals which this requires oftimes stops the most resolute and we see every day persons in this World who have a greatness of soul enough to deserve the name of Hero's who do yet want courage when they ought to behave themselves as those who bear that of Christians Nevertheless this Prince would not have any one think that he rejects our Religion for want of courage He told his mind to Father Verbiest one day in these words Your Law is hard yet whatever difficulty was to be undergone I should not stick one minute to be of it were I convinced of the truth of it If I was once a Christian I am pretty well satisfied that in three or four years the whole Empire would be so too For I am their Master We might have some hopes from these Sentiments of the Prince if we were not on the other side persuaded that the love of pleasure and the fear of giving occasion to some Revolution in the Empire were not almost invincible hindrances to his Conversion But who can find out the Almighty's designs And who has hitherto penetrated into the mysteries of his eternal Councils Are not the Hearts of the greatest Princes as well as of the meanest People in his keeping It is from that Almighty hand that all our hopes are which has already confounded an infinite number of Idols and overthrown many of their Temples it has made Vice-Roys Ministers of State Princes and one Empress submit to the Yoak of Christianity The more the Conversion of the Emperor requires Miracles the more worthy is it of the great power and infinite goodness of God who is called Great for no other reason than for the great and mighty things which he hath done Thus my Lord if Europe continues to send into China fervent and devout Missionaries we may hope that God will vouchsafe to make use of their Zeal for the accomplishment of his great Work I am in the most profound manner My Lord Your Eminence's most obedient and most humble Servant L. J. To Monsieur Rouillié Counsellor of State in Ordinary Of the Establishment and Progress of the Christian Religion in China Sir THE Ardent Zeal which you have always shewed towards establishing and promoting the Christian Religion in China makes me hope that you will be pleased with the Letter which I now take the boldness to write to you You will not only read therein those things which I have already had the honour to discourse with you about so often but also many other useful remarks which I hope may be worthy your curiosity and attention It will without doubt bring you a great deal of comfort by shewing you that your Care your Prayers and your Bounty have been seconded by Heaven and that in contributing so much as you have done to the Conversion of so many Souls you will at the end of the World be accounted a Father of many faithful But if in spight of all that I can say you will not be made sensible of the great good you do there for it is with the greatest difficulty that you are brought to believe you do good you will at least see that the fervent Missionaries who for more than an Age have laboured in the large field of the Gospel are not altogether unworthy their Employment and that the Fruits which they gather there should be an encouragement to all Europe to perfect this great Work which by them has been so happily began Among other things which the Emperor objected against us when discoursing of the

to purge them from their Sins and to purifie their Hearts Even Kings who follow not this Law whatsoever they do can never make themselves truly estimable among men In the Reign of Tui tçoum a most wise and honoured Prince Olopoüen coming from Iudea after a long course of dangers by Sea and by Land at last arrived at China in the Year of our Lord 636. The Emperour having notice of it sent a Colao to meet him in the Suburbs of the Imperial City with Orders to conduct him to the Palace When he came there his Law was examined and the truth of it acknowledged so that the Emperour in favour of him made the following Edict No particular Name comprehends the true Law neither are the Saints fixed to one place they are scattered thro' the whole World that they may be universally useful A Man of Iudea of exemplary Vertue is arrived at our Court We have examined his Doctrine and found it admirable with no mixture of Pride and built upon those Principles which suppose the World had a beginning This Law teaches the way of Salvation and cannot but be extreamly useful to all our Subjects I therefore judge it necessary that it be taught them Afterward he commanded that a Church should be built and nominated one and twenty Persons to serve that Cure Kao the Son of Tai-çoum succeeded him in the Year 651 and endeavoured to make that Religion flourish which his Father had received He highly honoured the Bishop Olopoüen and built in all the Provinces Churches for the true God So that the Bonzes some Years after being alarm'd at the progress which Christianity had made used all means to stop the course of it The Persecution was great and the number of the faithful grew small when our Lord raised up two persons of extraordinary Zeal who defended the Faith with so much vigour that in a little time it recovered its former lustre The Emperor on his part strove to confirm it more and more even so far as to command five Kings to go to Church and prostrate themselves before the Altar and to erect other Churches in several Towns to the Honour of the God of the Christians Thus the Foundation hook by the struggle which the Bonzes made became more solid and better fixed than ever In the mean while the Prince himself continued to give great signs of his Piety he made the Pictures of his Predecessors be carried to Church he offered himself an hundred pieces of Silk upon the Altars payed mighty respect to Ki-ho a Missionary newly arrived out of Iudea and all his life time omitted nothing that was necessary for the propagating the Gospel in his Dominions Venmin who succeeded him in the year 757. inherited his Vertue as well as Crown He built five Churches He was famous for his other great Qualities as well as for his care of Religion The following Emperors confirmed Christianity by their Edicts and Examples We can pray for them without fearing that our Prayers will not be heard for they were humble and peaceable they bore with the faults of their Neighbours and did good to all sorts of Men. Which is the true Character of Christianity and is the true way to make Peace and Plenty flow into the greatest Kingdoms Others of them were exercised in the Works of the brightest Charity The Emperor So-tçoum offered at the Altar and built Churches besides he assembled together the Priests of four Churches and for forty days served them himself with great respect he fed the Poor cloathed the Naked healed the Sick and buried the Dead It is to keep up the memory of these great Actions and to let Posterity know the present State of the Christian Religion here that we have erected this Monument in the year 782. This Sir is a faithful Epitomy of what is remarkable in this famous remain of Chinese Antiquity The Bonzes who keep it in one of their Temples near Signanfou have erected over against it a long Table of Marble every way like it with Encomiums upon the Gods of the Country to diminish as much as they can the glory which the Christian Religion receives from thence The Chronicle of China confirms by the Order and Succession of the Emperors what the Monument says of it but I am apt to think that the Vertues of those Emperors mentioned therein are exalted too much some of whom in History are said to have done as much for Paganism as this says they did for Christianity However that be it is a plain testimony that the Faith was preached there and received by a great many persons It flourished there at least an hundred fourscore and six years and perhaps much longer for we ' have no account of its failure for the very memory of it was lost and when the new Missionaries of our Society came thither they found no sign or footstep of it It was in the year 1552. that Saint Xavier went thither in hopes to add this new Conquest to the Kingdom of JESUS CHRIST It seemed that that great Man had made but an Essay in the Indies and if I may use the expression had but served an Apprenticeship to that Zeal which he would be perfect Master of in China And surely Moses never had a more ardent desire to enter into the Holy Land to gather with his People the Temporal Riches of that Country than this Apostle longed to carry into this new World the Treasures of the Gospel Both one and t'other dyed by the Providence of God in a time when their long Voyages and infinite Labours seemed answered by a great probability of success The Scripture tells us Moses's death was a punishment to him for his lack of Faith Saint Xavier's seems to be a reward for the abundance of his God had a mind to reward his Zeal his Labours and his Charity and was willing to defer for a time that torrent of Mercy which he designed for the Empire of China that he might reward his Servant with that Glory which he had procured for so many Nations He dyed in the Isle of San-cham or as we speak it Sanciam under the Jurisdiction of the Province of Canton it is well known that he lay in the ground several months all which time God preserved him from the usual Corruption from hence he was carried to Goa where from that time he hath been honoured as the Protector of that place and the Apostle of the East The touch of his body Consecrated the place of his burial That Island became not only a famous place but also an holy Land Even the Heathens honoured it and fled thither as to a City of Refuge In the mean time Pirats haunted those Coasts that no Vessels dared to go thereabouts so that the place where this Sacred Tomb lay was quite unknown to the Europeans and it is but a little while ago that they discovered it by a particular accident In the year 1688. a Portuguese Vessel which

was present he behaved himself in such manner as the Emperor could scarcely bear with him He layed his Hands across and cryed out as loud as he could See here do but observe what these Fellows adore and what they would have 〈◊〉 worship too a Man who was hanged a person who was crucified let any one judge hereby of their understanding and good sense But all these Excursions served only to diminish his own Credit This wicked person more blameable for his Crimes than for his Ignorance lost his charge and was condemned to death Notwithstanding the Emperor suspended the Execution of the Sentence by reason of his extraordinary old Age but God himself executed his Sentence of Vengeance He smote him with an horrible Ulcer and by his sorrowful death delivered Religion from this Monster of Iniquity Then the care of the Mathematicks was committed to Father Verbiest the antient Missionaries were recalled to their old Churches but forbid to go about to build new ones or to labour in the Conversion of the Chinese Lastly to magnifie our happiness the memory of Father Adam was mightily respected even at Court He was publickly justified and cleared his Charges and Titles of honour were remanded him and his Ancestors made Nobility The Emperor himself appointed considerable sums of mony to build him a stately Mausoleum which at this present is to be seen in room of a Sepulchre adorned with Statues and several Marble Figures according to the Custom of the Country Thus it is that God by a continual Vicissitude proves the constancy of the Faithful by Persecution and encourages them again by punishing their Persecutors This happy Peace which the Church gained thro' Father Verbiests means encouraged the Missionaries to repair that damage which Hell had done Besides the Jesuits there were several Fathers of the Orders of St. Francis and St. Augustin who entered into the Lords Vineyard New establishments were gained every where and notwithstanding any Prohibition a great number of Heathens were Converted to the Faith being more afraid of eternal punishment than of that with which the Laws of Man seemed to threaten them So ardent and so hasty a Zeal will perhaps make you amazed but besides that Charity is always hazardous many things contributed to confirm those who might else be afraid of fatal consequences The first of these is the great Authority which the Missionaries have acquired at Court in a small time Especially the Emperor is satisfied that they despise Honours and that at home they lead an Austere life The Prince is inform'd of this such ways that it is impossible he should be deceived He had information from Spies of all that passed in their Houses even so nicely as to know their Mortifications and corporeal Penances He sends also to the Fathers Houses a young Tartar of good parts under pretence to learn Philosophy but in reality to discover the most secret things in their Families and to be himself I think an occasion of offence He stays there a year without knowing what the Princes intentions are who having sent for him into his presence commands him to tell him all the private disorders of these Fathers and especially how they have behaved themselves towards him And when these young Men constantly bear Testimony of the Fathers innocence I see very well says the Emperor they have stop'd your Mouth with Presents but I know a way to open it again Then he makes him be severely slashed at several times yet is not the pain enough to make the young Tartar speak against his Conscience Which pleases the Prince mightily who would be disturbed to find himself deceived in the Idea which he has formed to himself of these fervent Missionaries This obliges him afterward to take their part in an Assembly of the Mandarins some of which do not esteem the Missionaries because their outward carriage seems so good As for that Matter says the Emperor to them neither you nor I can find fault with them After all that I can do to get information I am persuaded that these People teach us nothing but what themselves practice and they are indeed as modest as they appear outwardly to be The second reason which engaged the Emperor to favour the Missionaries was the great understanding of Father Verbiest who in a small time was reckoned the learnedst Man in the Empire in all Faculties His Reputation is every where spread abroad and upon many occasions his Opinion has the repute of an Oracle Some Mandarins one day speaking of the Trinity and using it as a Fable one of them said I do not know what the Christians mean and am as much puzled as you but Father Verbiest is of that opinion what say you to that Can a Man of his sence and understanding mistake They all held their Tongues and seemed to yield to this reason So true is it that the use of humane Learning is so far from being as some think opposite to the Spirit of the Gospel that it sometimes serves to establish it and to render the most obscure mysteries therein credible The third Reason is that hearty love which the Emperor believes the Missionaries have for him It is true the Missionaries omit nothing which they think will please him and as they are the most inflexible and resolute against doing any thing contrary to their Religion so are they the most complaisant and ready to comply with all the reasonable requests of the Emperor A Rebellion which happened at this time put it into Father Verbiests power to do the Crown a considerable piece of Service Ousang●ei that famous Chinese General who had brought the Tartars into the Empire thought he had then a good opportunity to drive them out again He was naturally courageous and in Chensi commanded the best of the Chinese Soldiery and had got together a vast deal of mony This made him set up to be Emperor and made him believe he could easily compass his design And indeed he so ordered his matters that he made himself presently Master of the three great Provinces Yunnam Soutçhouen and Gueit çheou afterwards a great part of the Province of Houquam acknowledged him So that these possessions and Chensi which he had in possession a good while before made him Master of almost a third of China These Conquests seemed to be the more secure to him because at the same time the Vice-Roys of Quantoum and Fokien followed his example and gave the Emperor on that side a mighty diversion and beside a powerful Pirate with a great Fleet attacked and in few days took the Island Formosa at the same time Less than this would have ruined the Tartars if they had all concerted their business together but jealousie which does oft overthrow the firmest Leagues ruined their Projects The King of Fokien fell out with that of Formosa and to preserve himself from being damaged by his Fleet made his Peace with the Emperor who gave him such

Faith We have frequently told him that God was the Master and Giver of these Gifts and that he distributed them according to the Decrees of his eternal Wisdom that it is out of our Sphere to fathom their Depth that sometimes he did not work these Prodigies in Kings Courts because he foresaw the ill use they were likely to make of them sometimes because giving them better Parts and Abilities and more Penetration than to others these ordinary Graces were sufficient for them whereas the simple vulgar and the rude unciviliz'd Nations stood in need of the sensible Marks of his Almightiness for the more easy discovering of the Truth yea and it is more than probable also that carnal Prudence which is at such enmity with the Spirit of the Blessed Jesus the Softness Ambition and Luxury of great Persons draw upon them this terrible Chastisement and that God in his just Judgment refuseth Miracles to Persons who do themselves refuse to submit to the most plain and ordinary Laws of Nature But my Lord have some replied the Charity of that great Number of Missionaries who joyfully forsake Europe where their Quality Estates and their Science ought naturally to detain them who traverse a Thousand Dangers to come hither to sacrifice themselves to the Happiness of your People and with so unbiassed and constant Zeal Sir Is not there something of a Prodigy in it and should it not be as powerful to perswade you as Miracles If they be such Knowing Learned Men as your Majesty allows them to be how do they abuse themselves and if they be Wise as you seem to think them why do they abandon all the Pleasures of this World to come so far to deceive others and all to no purpose After all the Reflections they have made this Hundred Years upon the different Religions of China there is not one of them who hath not judg'd them all wholly contrary to Reason but during so many Ages that we have examined the Christian Religion we have not observed amongst us one wise Man and of good Morals that hath suspected it of Falshood These Answers do usually put him to a stand and force him to make certain Reflections that do not a little disturb him In short most Reverend Father if Miracles be wanting at Pekin the Business is otherwise in the Provinces several are there wrought and those of Father Faber are so generally known that it is somewhat difficult not to believe them not that I go about to justifie all that is related of those nor of a great many more Prodigies which they relate on small grounds but you 'll give me leave not to doubt of those whereof I my self have been Witness and peradventure most Reverend Father you rely so much upon my Sincerity as to be inclined to believe them likewise upon my Testimony In a Village in the Province of Chensi near the City of San-uyen there lived an Idolater devout in his way and extreamly addicted to these Superstitions At the time of Full Moon he burnt commonly in honour of his Gods Gilded or Silver'd Papers wrapt up in different Figures according to the Custom of the Country One day preparing to Offer this kind of Sacrifice before his Gate there arose a Storm that forc'd him to retire into his House where he lighted the said Papers in the middle of a Hall without taking any farther Care but the Wind blowing open the Gate drove them up and down every where and they had not time to prevent one part from flying into a Stack of Straw which set fire on the House People came running but the conflagration became so furious in a moment that it was impossible to extinguish it The House on one side adjoyning to the Idolater's belonged to a Christian and by this time seem'd half encompassed with the Flames driven furiously by the Wind to be in Danger of being quickly quite consumed this poor Man attended with divers others got upon the House-top and did his Endeavour but all in Vain to defend himself from the Conflagration when his brother very confidently came as near the Fire as he durst possibly and fell on his Knees upon the Tiles and looking up to heaven said O Lord forsake not those that put their Trust in thee all that thou hast bestowed upon us is here if we lose it the whole Family is reduced to the utmost Extremity Preserve it O my God and I promise before thee that I will assemble all the Christians in the Neighbourhood and we will go to Church together to demonstrate my acknowledgment of the same Thereupon he loosed a small Relique from his Chaplet threw it into the middle of the Flames that by this time cover'd part of the House This Action perform'd with such a sprightly Air did equally attract the Attention of Christians and Idolaters who mightily astonished at their Companions Confidence expected the event of the Business when Heaven all on the suddain declar'd it self in a most miraculous manner The Wind blowing violently forthwith slacken'd and a contrary Wind stronger than that arising at the same time drove the violent Streams of the Flames to the opposite side upon the House of a wicked falsehearted Christian that had lately abjured It was consumed in a Moment becoming an Example of divine Vengeance as the House that Heaven preserved was an evident Token of his Protection I was at that time Six Miles from the Village 'T is true my urgent Business hindred me from being my self upon the Spot but I sent very credible Persons thither to be inform'd about it The Pagans first of all bore Witness to the Truth and some while after the Christians thereabouts conducted by him who was lately heard in his Prayer appear'd in my Church to fulfil his Vow where with one accord they eccho'd forth the Praises of the Great God who alone is able to cause his Voice to be heard by the most insensible Creatures to the Confusion of false Gods that are not themselves capable to hear the Voice of rational Creatures Some Months after there happened a thing no less surprising the Consequences whereof were very beneficial to Religion An Idolater of an indifferent Fortune felt himself assaulted with an unknown Distemper it was so catching that his Mother and Wife shar'd in it likewise Two or three times a Week he fell into fainting Fits which at the beginning look'd like Swooning and then turned again into cruel Head-aches Pains in the Stomach and Bowels sometimes they found themselves extreamly agitated as if they had had a Fever they lost the use of their Reason their Eyes rolled in their Heads and men judged by several other unusual Postures that the Devil had a hand in the matter They were the more perswaded to it because they often found their House all put out of Order the Chairs Tables and earthen Vessels overthrown not knowing on whom to lay the Fault The Physicians whose Interest it was to pass