corrupted the Faith, and by her bloody persecutions rendered christianity odious to Jews. Turks, and Pagaus.

Arrived at Goa, principally with a design to inquire into the state of the inquisition there, Dr. B. was received into the house of the British resident, and introduced the next day to the viceroy, by that gentleman and colonel Adams. Having obtained permission from his excellency to sail up the river to Old Goa, the seat of the inquisition, major Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, offered to accompany him, and to introduce him to the archbishop of Goa. The following account, copied from Dr. B.'s Journal, is far from being calculated to make any impres sions favourable to popery.

"Goa; Convent of the Augustinians, Jan. 23, 1808. "I had communicated to colonel Adams, and to the British. resident, my purpose of inquiring into the state of the inquisition. These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to accomplish my design without difficulty; since every thing relating to the inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being ig norant of its proceedings; and that, if the priests were to discover my object, their excessive jealousy and alarm would prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my inquiries on any subject.

"On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it would be necessary to act with caution. I was, in fact, about to visit a republic of priests whose dominion had existed for nearly three centuries; whose province it was to prosecute heretics, and particularly the teachers of heresy and from whose authority and sentence there was no appeal in India.

On

"It happened that Lieut. Kempthorne, commander of his majesty's brig Diana, was, at this time, in the harbor. his learning that I meant to visit Old Goa, he offered to accompany me; as did captain Stirling, of his majesty's 84th regiment.

"We proceeded up the river in the British resident's barge. accompanied by major Pareira, who was well qualified, by a thirty year's residence, to give information concerning local circumstances. From him I learned that there were upwards of two hundred churches and chapels in the province of Goa, and upwards of two thousand priests.

"On our arrival at the city, it was past twelve o'clock all the churches were shut, and we were told that they could not be opened again till two o'clock. I mentioned to major Pareira, that I intended to stay at Old Goa some days, and that I should be obliged to him to find me a place to sleep in. He seemed surprised at this intimation, and told me that it would be difficelt for me to obtain a reception in any of the churches or con

vents, and that there were no private houses into which I could be admitted. I said I could sleep any where; I had two servants with me, and a travelling bed. When he perceived that I was serious in my purpose, he gave directions to a civil officer, in that place, to clear out a room in a building which had been long uninhabited, and which was then used as a warehouse for goods. Matters at this time presented a very gloomy appearance; and I had thoughts of returning with my companions. from this inhospitable place. In the mean time we sat down in the room I have just mentioned, to take some refreshment, while Major Pareira went to call on some of his friends. During this interval, I communicated to Lieut. Kempthorne the object of my visit. I had in my pocket Dellon's account of the inquisition at Goa; and I mentioned some particulars. While we were conversing on the subject, the great bell of the cathedral began to toll; the same which Dillon observes always tolls, before day light, on the morning of the Auto da Fè. I did not myself ask any questions of the people concerning the inquisition; but Mr. Kempthorne made inquiries for me; and he soon found out that the Santa Casa, or Holy Office, was close to the house where we were sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the horrid mansion; and I could see the indignation of free enlightened men arise in the countenances of the two British officers, while they contemplated a place where formerly their own countrymen were condemned to the flames, and into which they themselves might now be suddenly thrown, without the possibility of rescue.

The magnificence of the churches of Goa far exceeded any idea I had formed from the previous description. Goa is properly a city of churches and the wealth of provinces seems to have been expended in their erection. The ancient specimens of architecture at this place far excel any thing that has been attempted in modern times in any other part of the East, both in grandeur and in taste. The chapel of the palace is built after the plan of St. Peter's at Rome, and is said to be an accurate model of that paragon of architecture. The church of St. Dominic, the founder of the inquisition, is decorated with paintings of Italian masters. St. Francis Xavier lies enshrined in a monument of exquisite art, and his coffin is enchased with silver and precious stones. The cathedral of Goa is worthy of one of the principal cities of Europe; and the church and convent of the Augustinians (in which I now reside) is a noble pile of building, situated on an eminence, and has a magnificent appearance from afar.

"But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the churches is

Monsieur Dillon, a physician, was imprisoned in the dungeon of the inquisition at Gos, for two years, and witnessed an Auto da Fè, when some heretics were burned,

The divine original of the Christian revelation, was attested by facts which were attended with the clearest evidence. Those facts were numerous, and were done publicly, and great numbers both of Jews and Heathens, who had the best opportunities of examining them, were so fully convinced of the truth of them. that they were brought to receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. The accounts of those facts were published in the very age in which these facts were done, and by persons that were perfectly acquainted with the things which they related. And the facts were of such a nature, that the persons who were eye witnesses to them, could not be deceived in them, if they had their senses. Nor had those persons any temptation, or interest, to induce them to endeavour to impose upon other false accounts of those facts, if it had been possible for them to have published false accounts of them without detection; and the religion which was confirmed by those facts, was directly contrary to the opinions and prejudices of the persons themselves who related those facts, and which opinions and prejudices, nothing but the evidence of undoubted truth and plain fact could have

overcome.

The books of the New-Testament were immediately received with great veneration, in the very age in which they were first written and published; and from that time, were regarded as of undoubted truth, and of divine authority. They were soon spread far and wide, read in the public assemblies of Christians, and translated into various languages. They have been constantly quoted by numerous writers in every age since they were first published, and many of those writers have transcribed large portions of them into their works, by which it incontestably appears, that the scriptures of the New Testament always contained the same doctrines, and the same accounts of facts, that are now found in them. It never could be in the power of any sect, or party of men, to have destroyed, or corrupted all the copies, or to have altered the scheme of religion, or the accounts of facts recorded in the New Testament. And it is evident that no such alterations have been made, as religion appears in the New Testament in its primitive simplicity, as it appeared in the first age of the Christian church, and without any of the corruptions which have been mixed with it in latter ages.*

It is no defence of Infidelity to assert, that the Christian revelation contains doctrines which are attended with difficulties that we cannot account for, and which relate to things that we cannot comprehend. There are numerous things both in religion and philosophy, which the wisest of men have thought it reasonable

Vide. Leland's View of the Deistical Writers.

me to see what I thought of this sentiment. I acknowledged that Xavier was considered by the learned among the English, to have been a great man. What he wrote himself bespeaks a man of learning, of original genius, and great fortitude of mind; but what others have written of him has tarnished his fame, by making him the inventor of fables. The archbishop signified his assent. He afterwards conducted me into his private chapel, which is decorated with images of silver, and then into the archiepiscopal library, which possesses a valuable collection of books. As I passed through our convent, in returning from the archbishop's I observed, among the paintings in the cloisters, a portrait of the famous Alexis de Menezes, archbishop of Goa, who held the Synod in Diamper, near Cochin in 1599, and burned the books of the Syrian Christians. From the inscription underneath, I learned that he was the founder of the magnificent church and convent in which I am now residing.

"On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the chief Inquisitor, at his house in the country. The second Inquisitor accompanied me, and found a respectable company of priests, and a sumptuous entertainment. In the library of the chief Inquisitor, I saw a register, containing the present establishment of the Inquisition at Goa, and the names of the officers. On my asking the chief Inquisitor whether the establishment was as extensive as formerly, he said it was nearly the same. I had hitherto said little to any person concerning the Inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned much information concerning it, not only from the Inquisitors themselves, but from certain priests, whom I had visited at their respective convents; particularly from a Father in the Franciscan Convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Fè."

"Goa, 20th Jan. 1808. "On Sunday, after divine service, which I attended, we looked together over the prayers and portions of Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concerning some of the doctrines of christianty. We then read the third chapter of St. John's gospel, in the Latin Vulgate. I asked the Inquisitor whether he believed in the influence of the spirit there spoken of. He distinctly admitted it; conjointly however, he thought, in some obscure sense, with water. I observed that water was merely an emblem of the purifying effects of the Spirit, and could be but an emblem. We next adverted to the expression of St. John in his first epistle; "This is he that came by water and blood: even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood: blood to atone for sin, and water to purify the heart; justification and sanctification; both of which were expressed at the same moment on the cross. The Inquisitor was pleased with

decency, and if they have cast off the ties of religion, and are abandoned to their own unrestrained passions, they are capable of every enormity.

This is a matter in which the interests of the community are very nearly concerned. When once the corruptions of Deism, or Atheism have spread through the community, public order is perverted, and the very foundation of public happiness is destroyed. In proportion as dissoluteness of manners prevails, honest industry is neglected, trade consequently decays, fraud and violence increase, and all the bands that hold society together are in danger of being dissolved. Machiavel himself has decided, that a free government cannot long be maintained, when once a people are become generally corrupt. All the true friends, therefore, to public order and liberty, must wish that virtue may flourish, and that the vicious appetites of meu may be restrained. But the Christian Religion only can effect this. If the influence of religion be removed from the minds of men, civil laws will be found utterly ineffectual for the preservation of order in society, and universal anarchy must ensue.

Infidelity has already overthrown one of the greatest kingdoms in Europe, and in many inferior states, both Protestant and Catholic, have been involved in the spreading ruin. "Princes hold their dominions by the influence of the Christianity which is left amongst us; and if Christianity be destroyed, their governments must fall like houses which are built on the sand." Christianity is the foundation and strength of all the good governments in the world. It is the source of individual and social happiness in time, and the ground of all our hopes of happiness in eternity.

Cumberland, gives us a most mournful tale concerning a gentleman of infidel principles. "I remember him in the height of his fame, the hero of his party; no man so caressed, followed and applauded he was a little loose, his friends would own, in his moral character, but then he was the honestest fellow in the world; it was not to be denied, that he was rather free in his notions, but then he was the best creature living. I have seen men of the gravest characters wink at his sallies; because he was so pleasant and so well bred, it was impossible to be angry with him. Every thing went well with him, and Antitheus seemed to be at the summit of human prosperity, when he was suddenly seized with the most alarming symptoms: he was at his country house, and which had rarely happened to him, at that time alone wife or family he had none, and out of the multitude of his friends no one happened to be near him at the moment of his attack. A neighbouring physician was called out of bed in the night to come to him with all haste in this extremity: he