a.'* S I X
LETTER S
FROM
J d B—r
T O
Father S h e l b o Ny
Provincial of the yefuits in England ;
Illuflrated with
Several Remarkable FACTS,
tending to afcertain the Authenticity
of the faid Letters, and the true
CharaSter of the Writer.
If the external Evidence he convincingly firong^ and
there is no internal Proof of its Falfhood^ hut much to
fupport and confirm its Truths then furely no Difficulties
ought to prevent our giving afullAffent and Belief to it, .
Observations on the Conversion
of St. Paul, p. 107.
LONDON:
Printed for J. Morgan, in Pater-nojier RoWy
M DCC LVI.
[Price Eighteen -pence.]
V
( 1 )
BEFORE the publication of the Hiftory of the
Popes, by A d B r, Efq\ heretofore fuh-
Itc profefjor of rheiorick, hiflory\ and philofophy in the
univerfutes of Rome^ Fermo, and Macerata^ and in the
latter place counfellor of the inquifition^ the attention
ot the public was greatly excited by the above high-
founding titles {a) which the author afTumcd, and by
the
{a) That I may not omit any thing material, nor repeat,
as my own, what hath already been obferved by another, I
beg leave to offer to the reader, in this note, the following
very remarkable particulars concerning Mr. B---s titles, which
I have extra6ted from a pamphlet, intituled. Remarks on the two
firji volumes of the lives of the Popes, bearing date, Douay
1754, not meaning to put an implicit confidence in any thing
that Cometh from fuch a quarter, but rather defirous to give
Mr. B r an opportunity of vindicating himfelf, by letting
him fee that what had been charged upon him near two years
ago, without any reply, in a Popijh pamphlet, becomes now
more worthy of his notice, as it is made public to Protejiants.
' We cannot wonder (fays the anonymous remarker) that
* the chara6^;er of fuch an Hiftorian fliould fill his purfe, draw
* in a long lift of fubfcribers and patrons, and make all who
* were impofed upon by the cheat, big with expedtations of
' fomething e^ctraordinary from fuch a pen. It is to be pre-
^ fumed, that his intention is already anfwered, at leaft as to
* his main purpofe of fubfcriptions, and the df gulfed Jefuit
* may be now lafely unmafked. lam furprifed to find the only
* title omitted which he could with truth, and ought in juftice,
* to have mentioned, that of a Jefuit, and of a profcfTed Je-
* fuit : for he had made his laft folemn vows. He certaiiily
' could net mean that by the word Efquire. Why then did he
' fupprefs his former prcfelTions of Jefuit and Priejl F
* I know not whether the church of England, which glories
' in fupporting the hierarchy, would approve fuch a condud:,
* that a prieft fhould totally fhake off his orders, and meta-
* morphofe himfelf into a lay fqu'ire, fo as to retain neither
* the name, nor any marks or obli2;ations, ot his former ffate.
' May vi^e net afcribe the fuppreffion of this circumfran e in
* our North Briton to an apprehenfion that it might give
* fome fcandal or offence And again. ' Mr. B - - r, to
A ' indemnify
( a )
the induftry made ufe of to reprcfent him not only as
a convert from popery^ but as a convert who had given
the mod convincing proofs of his llncericy. His (tory,
indeed, as retailed by him in cqnverfation, was ex-
* indemnify himfelf for the omiffion of the titles of Prieji and
* Jefuit^ ufkers in his name, adorned with thofe of public
' Profeflbr of Eloquence, Hiftory and Philofophy, in the
* univerfities of Rome^ Fermo and Macerata, I am in-
* formed, that he certainly never was a profeflbr, but only a
* (ludent, in Romey tho' that city is not famed as an tinlver-
* fity, except for the canon and civil laws : fo that what he
* here means I cannot guefs He taught, indeed, the fchools
* of humanity, and I believe, of morals and philofophy, at
' Macerata which college is barely a fchool for the neigh-
* bourhood, not a place of reputation or refort for learning.
* The Gentleman feems at fome lofs for titles, when he ftrains
' and boafts fo pompoufly that he has been a fchool-mafter,
' in a fociety inftituted for that end, and which moftcom-
*- monly afligns that employment to its young members.
* But how can we think him at a lofs, whilft we read him
* qualified Counfellor of the Inquifttion f By this word, I
* fhould naturally underftand a judge in that tribunal : for
* the word counfellor in a court abroad, fignifies a judge and
< it 16 explained of our author in that fenfe, in the relation
< publiflied by Dr. Hill. But I fhouJd be glad for his fake ta
' prefume that by this title he means to ftile himfelf only
' Con/ultory to bring to the inquifition prohibited books, efpe-
' cially EngliJJj^ or to be confulted by the inquifitors in cer-
* tain cafes, which is a thing poflible, and very probable : for
' in country- towns a curate or fchool- mafter may bear fuch
« a title. In France bookfellers are often deputed - - - to
« examine books, which are imported. But for a Jcfuit in^
' quifitor in Italy^ every one who has travelled abroad, and in-
* formed himfelf of that court, knows it is an Hirco-cervus^ a
^ monfler in nature, it being a thing repugnant to the laws
* and cuftoms of that country, whatever might be poflible
« elfe where. ' When Mr. B r is pleafed to favor the pu-
blic with that narrative of his efcape from Italy, and of his
condudl: fince his arrival in England, which is expected, in
his peculiar fituation, by every lover of truth, it will be ah-
folutely neceffary for him to give foliJ anfwers to the contents
of this, and of fome other notes whichlfliall cxtrad from the
pamphlet of bis Popijh lemarkcr.
tremcly
( 3 )
tremcly well calculated to engage the curiofity,
and ro affecl: the good - nature of the people of
this ifland , who could not , as he flattered him-
felf, hear him relate the wonderful account of the
motives which induced him to change his religion,
and of his elcape from the inquifition of Macerata in
the papers dominions, without opening their arms to
embrace him as one who had expofed himfelf to
dangers that ou^ht to endear him to Proteftants.
Numbers of unexceptionable witneflTes, many of
them perfons of high rank, at London^ at Batb^ ia
the North of England^ and in feveral parts of Scotland^
have heard this remarkable tale from Mr. jB r'j own
mouth ; and it made fo deep an impreirion upon
fome, that they committed to writing a ftory, which,
however extraordinary, they believed on the unfupported
evidence of the relater, and which, therefore, they
thought ought not to be forgot. By this means, few
of the good proteftants of Great Britain^ have ever
heard any thing of the Hiftorian of the Popes ^ or per-
ufed his hiftory, without alfo knowing fomething of
his hazardous efcape from Italy \ and the MS. ac-
counts of it being handed about, and tranfcribed, it
was no wonder, that one of them fhould at laft, be
conveyed to the prefs (b)^ the fubftance of which I
(hall here prefent to the reader.
A 2 * Upon
{b) It was publiflied, in November 1750. By Mr. Richard
> Barron, a difTenting minifter, who wrote a preface to the nar-
rative, in which he mentions its having been communicated
by Mr. B'—r himfelf, to the Rev. Mr. Hill, chaplain to
the Jrchbijhop of Canterbury, But, in this, is appeared by an
advertifemeiit of Mr. Hill, that Mr. Barron was miftaken.
For tho' what he printed had been copied from a MS. in the
hand writing of Mr. Hillf this MS. was only a copy of
an account of this matter, which had been fent up, as I am
informed, to his grace of Canterbury by a correfpondent in
the country, and was taken down by William Duncomhe Efq;
and his fon, from the mouth of a con fider able Perfon^ who,
upon hearing it afterwards read, acknowledged it to be what
he
( 4 )
• Upon an information that a perlon had fpoke dif^
* rerptrdtfully o\ the inquifirion , whilft the guilty
' perfon fafifc^red at Ro/ne, an innocent gentleman of
' Florence
he had heard from B—r's own mouth. And, indeed, if we
except perhaps one or two geographical inaccuracies in the ac-
count publifhed by Mr. Barron^ it agrees, as to the principal
particulars, with the ftory, which very /nany -KA Mr. B-- rs ac-
quaintances well remember to have heard from his own mouth.
1 have, long before Mr. Barron s pamphlet appeared, been en-
tertained with the fame tale, repeated to me by gentlemen of
judgment and veracity, who heard the author himfelf give the
narration ; and 1 had, lately, in my hands, a MS. account, con-
fifting of 27 quarto pages, taken from his own mouth,
by a lady in Cumberland^ and tranfcribed from her papers
by a very eminent divine of our church, now vefted with
the higheft honours in one of the unlverfities. The principal
difference between the account publifhed by Barron and the
MS. one juft mentioned, confifts in this, that the latter is
vaftly more copious and circumftantral, and paints the cruelties
of the inquifition in much ftronger colours. After being told
this, the reader will be furprized to read the advertifement
which Mr. B——r publiftied on the occafion iii the General
Advertifer of November id 1750.
Bond-Street November 1^ i^^O,
^ Whereas a pamphlet is juft publifhed, entituled,^ faithful
' account of Mr, A—d B—r's motives for having his office of
' fecretary, ^c. To prevent the public from being impofcd
* upon, I hereby declare, that I gave no fuch account, and
* that it is almojl in every particular abfolutely falfe. '
A. B.
Why this worthy gentleman fliould have been fo ready to
give the lie, in fo peremptory words, to a ftory which he
had been as ready to propagate in converfation, will be very
difficult to be well accounted for, fuppoQng the fadls which
he related to have really happened. The above advertife-
ment, therefore, could not but create a fufpicion in the
minds of fome who before had a good opinion of him, that
the curious account of his cfcape, with which he had capti-
vated the hearts of honefl Proteftants, was a tale fit only for
feleSl companies, and not proper to be made public, leii: it
fhould get into the hands of Papijls^ who might be fo uncivil
as to charge him with having courted appUufe by making
a lacu-
( 5 )
' Florence was by a villainous treachery decoyed thence
* to Maceratay where, Mr. B r himfelf fining in
* the council of inq^iiifitlon^ he was tcrrureJ with a cruelty
' beyond
a facrifice of truth.--- In order, therefore, to remove all fuch
fufpiciuns, and to fatisfy thofe friends who could not recon-
cile Mr.^-— r'jadvertifemedt with what they had heard from
his own mouth, he thought it necellary to make the follow-
ing declaration, which 1 have tranfcribed from the General
Adveriifer of November 27, 1750.
Bond-Street^ November 27, 1750.
' An account of the motives that occafioned my leaving the
' inquifition, very imperfeSf^ and falje in many clrcumjlances
' that might af^'edtand impeach the credit of the whole, having
' been furreptitioufly impofed on the public, and a new edition
' thereof being advertifed by the publiflier, notwithftanding it
* has bsen publicly difavowed by me and by the gentleman
' who was faid to have taken it immediately from my mouth, I
' fhall, at the defire of my friends, publifli, myfelf, a true
' account of this matter in all its particulars, ^jy^^^ as I have
' acquitted myfelf of my engagement to my fubfcribers, by
* finifhing the additional fheetsthat will complete the fecond
* volume of my Hiftory of the Popes. A, B r. '
It is inipofTible for any one, who compares this laft adver-
tifement with the former one of November the 2d, not to be
llruck with a moft eflential inconfiftence. In this laft, Mr.
B"-r hysxh^i^lr. Barron 5 account is very imperfect ^and falfe
in many circumjiances ; words which plainly admit that the
fadls are, in general, true : and yet if we look back, we
fhall find him, on the 2d of November^ declaring that this
very account is almoft^ in every -particular^ abfolutely falfe,
Mr. B'-'r^ it is to be fuppofed, had, when his fecond advertife-
ment came out, refrefhed his memory ; or, which is moft
probable, fome of his friends had put him in mind that
they had heard from himfelf a ftory agreeable to that account
which he had called abfolutely falfe in almojl every particular.
And he muft well remember that he had a vifit from the
Rev"^. Mr. /////, chaplain to his Grace the Archbifhop of
Canterbury^ to know upon what grounds he had fo abfolute-
Jy denied the ftory ; and his anfwers were fo prevaricating and
cvafive, that Mr. Hill came away with the lovv^eft opinion
of his fincerity ; for the only miftakts that he pretended to
find in the account were of the name of a place and of a date.
Bat what is moft remarkable in the laft advertifement, is
A 3 ih©
( 6 )
* beyond that of Nero^ and, at lafl:, difmified upon
' advice that the true criniinal was taken at Rome :
* but the unhappy gentleman continued, ever after,
' fenfelefs and diftraCted. Another relation given by
* Mr. B r is dill more frightful. A certain gentk-
* man, his particular friend, happened to let fall an
* innocent joke , about the garb of tvs/o capuchin
* friars, and being overheard by them, was accufcd to
* the inquifuion. Mr. B- — r was ordered to take a
' guard, which is always in waiting, and to appre-
' hend his unfortunate friend, whilft he was in bed
^ with his wife, lately married, at midnight, and the
* lead excufe would have been fatal to himfeif. The
* nobleman expired under his inhuman tortures, in
* prefence of the inquifitors. Mr. B r ftruck
* with horror, refolved to make his efcape, and to
* renounce a religion which fandified fuch villanies.
* He procured, from the inquifitor general leave to
* make a pilgrimage to Loretto , but fliapcd his
* courfe over the mountains to Switzerland^ armed
* with a pocket-piftol, in refolution to difpatch him-^
* felf for fear of torments, in cafe he could no ways
* efcape. Both he and his horfe were growing faint
' when he arrived among the Switzers : but whilft
* he was refrefliing himfeif in a catholic canton, he
* faw hin^felf defcribed, with a great reward for ap-
* prehending him, in a paper which tv;o men were
' reading.
the folemn promife which Mr.5-- r make«i to publifh, himfeif,
a true account of his efcape, foon as he jhould have acquitted
himfeif of his engagement to his fubfcribers^ by finifoing his
fecond volume. This fecond volume hath been completed
thefe five years^ the third hath, long ago, made its appea-
rance, and the fourth, we are affured, is in great forwardnefs
in the prefs ; but where is Mr. i5-—r*i promifed account ? He
hath fhamefully broke his word to the public : and he who
could be guilty of this, hath given but too much reafon for
our disbelieving any thing which hath no other evidence but
his own word to fupport it. In (hort, to ufe Mr. Barron* s
juft remark, in fome queries which B. never anfvvered, the
whole affair turns upon the veracity of a man^ who to raife
compaffton and gain money ^ has told fuch Jiories in private as b(
dare not publickly acknoivhdge.
( 7 )
" reading. He difguifed himfelf, got away immc-
* d lately, or he would have been feized. From Berm
* he fell down the Rhine to Strasburg^ to avoid paf-
* fing through Popijh countries, and from Strasbm'g he
' came on polt-horfes to Calais. No fooner was heahght-
' ed at his inn there, but advertifcmcnts were fixe upon
' the gate, defcribing him, and promifing a reward for
* apprehending him. He endeavoured to crofs the Tea
' in a fifhing boar, but v^as forced back to Calais ^ the
* weather being too boiftcrous. Luckily, Lord Balti-
* more took him into his yacht. The day he landed aC
* Dover^ he was furprized to receive a letter diredcd
* to him from the inquifitor general, with promifes of
' honor and rewards, if he would return. But the per Ton
* had difappearcd, before he could enquire after him.'
This tale with all its improbabilities and incon-
fiftencies (0> and to which Mr, B r ufually added,
upon the fame infallible authority of his own word, a
A 4 lamen-
[c) Mr. B, is defired to give an anfwer to the following
quotation from his Popijh antagonift. ' The ftory of Mr.
' B. 's efcape is the moft ridiculous piece of forgery, in every
* circumftance. The pretended cruelties which the author
* dcfcribes, are faid to have been exercifed for the moft
* trifHing jefts, fuch as are not uncommon in thofe countries,
* as my ears have been witnelTes. Certainly, the author was
* refolved that no flourifties ftiould be wanting to his tale,
* that might render it more furprizing. But he ought to
* have firft proved that the judges were not civilized crea-
* tures, or even men, that his ftory might appear poflible.
* Mr. B. indeed made his efcape from Perugia to Vejjtce^ and
^ I do not doubt in great hajie. The occafion is very well
* known in that country^ in the family of Buonacorfi. Ths
* reafon of his hurry in Calais to crofs the channel (which was
* very different ) is I'lkewife well known among his brother
* Jefuits and countrymen at Douay, I am perfuaded he has
* never chofen to publijh the one or the other, I only fay^ they
* have no fort of affinity with what the pamphleteer puts in
* his mouth, Mr. B, by difowning it has ingenuoufly given
' him the lie, which teftimony alone ought to have difcre-
^ dited the pretended authority of him who difclaims it,
' Indeed who could imagine itpoffible, that this gentleman
' would
( 8 )
lamentable defcription of the many dangers to which
he was daily expofed, after his arrival in England^ by
the attempts of the Papifts to poiTon or kidnap him,
had the wiflied-for efiect, gained ^^«cT/z/ credit, and,
of courfe, recommended the hero of it to the favor of
many well-meaning Proteftants, who eagerly fub-
fcribed to his Hiftory of the Popes, a work to enrich
which they were taught to believe that the treafures of
the Vatican had been ranfacked, and in which the fe-
crets of the inqui/ition would be difclofed and which,
it was thought, would contain many diicovcrics fatal
to the caufe of popery, as being written by one whofe
former profefTtons as a jefuit and as an inquifjor had
given him accefs to know the weaknefs of that caute,
which, it wasfuppofed, he haddeferted upon principle.
* would not have made a more confiftent ftory ? Would he
* have altered and contraaitSted every real Circumftance of
* his efcape and journey ? Could he have faid that he ob-
* tained leave to make a pilgrimage to Loretto^ from the in-
quifitor general, who knew tins was to transfer the fcene
* into Spain or Portugal^ td^nd fuch a tide, which is not
* to be met with in Rome, much lefs in a Jefuit's convent in
* Maarata or Perugia ? He would not have forged an
' advcrtifement of the inquifition publifhed in any of the
* Swifs cantons ; • much lefs would he have invented the
* flory, that he was no fooner got into Calais^ but his perfon
' w^as marked to the fentry at the gate of the town to be
' feized 3 and this from the inquifition, which has no more
' power in France than it has in England. The like orders
' would have been given at the fame time to the guards of
* the harbour, who arc always extremely vigilant. Confe-
' quently he could never have got out of Calais. This whole
< piece is diverting to one who knows the cxceilive jealoufy
< of all French tribunals againfl the leaft 2(51 or name of a
' foreign inquifition. But the flory of the invifible meffenger
« v.'ith a letter from the inquifitor general, meeting him ac
< Dover, crowns the jeft. He would certainly have kept fo
* previous a monument, and fo honourable a proof as that
< letter would have been. And I would fain know, who
< ever heard of an inquifitor general in Italy ; for the Pcpe
f cannot be meant by that name. '
Mr.
( 9 )
Mr. B rV propofals and preface to his Hi (lory
of the popes were publifhed in the year 1747 (d)^
and, from chat time, he hath been looked upon by
the public in general as a worthy champion of the re-
formed church •, his work, fo far as it hath been
carried on, hath had many admirers, and more readers :
and, as if the ample profits of a fubfcription uncom-
monly great were an inadequate reward for his labour,
a noble penfion hath been fettled upon him, by the
lolicitation of a patron , whofe charader, both as a
man and as a fcholar, is in fuch eftimation, that his
Iriendfhip, while it procured to Mr. B r the folid
advantages of profit, could not fail to procure to him,
at the fame time, the plcafing acquifition of reputation.
Thus rewarded and thus honored as the hiftorian of
the popes hath been, whoever would attempt to un-
mafk him as an impoftor, will, no doubt, find the
Public extremely averfe to change the favorable opinion
they have entertained of his character ; and nothing but
evidence irrefiftiblecan be fuppofed capable of producing
this eftc6f, and of engaging thofe, who have been impof-
ed upon, to confefs, without reludance, what there can
be no difgrace in confefling, that their good fenfe hath
been a dupe to low cunning, and impudent falfnood.
{d) They bear date March 25, 1747. In thefe propofals
he promifed that the two firft volumes, which would reach to
the death of Gregory VJI. in 1085, would be delivered on,
or before, Lady-day 1748 : whereas the fecond volume
extends no farther than the death of Boniface III. anno 607,
and Gregory the 7th hath not even made his appearance in the
third vol. The firft vol. was publifhed in May 1748, and the fe-
cond not completed before 1751. The public were made to
believe that die whole work would be comprized in four
volumes j but, at the rate the author feems refolved to go on,
we may perhaps be favored vi^ith fourteen volumes. Never
furcly was there a more glaring inftance of fcandalous abufe
of the public favour, than in the cafe before us. Had any
other perfon, except Mr. B r, given this convincing proof
^hat he fpun out his work merely to encreafe his gains, he
vvould have been defpifed as a mercenary hackney-fcribbler.
And
( lo )
And yet, difficult as the talk may be, I am not
without hopes, that I fhall be able to place fuch
facts before the reader, as muft convince every one
whofe mind is open to convidion, that the author of
the hiftory of the popes is an impoftor, who, having
gained the rewards of virtue, deferveth to be expofed
to the infamy of vice ; and whom not to expofe,
when there are materials for doing it in my poflcirion,
would, in fome meafure, be to confpire with him in
his grofs and unparalleled impoficion upon the inhabi-
tants of this ifland.
But before I proceed to drav/ afide the veil which
Mr. B r hath fo artfully thrown around his cha-
radler, it may not be improper to quote fome palTages
from the preface to his hitlory ; a preface which was
circulated throughout the kingdom, above a year be-
fore the work itfelf appeared, being intended as a fpe-
cimen of what Proteftants might expedl, from an au-
thor who maketh the following declarations.
* The work which I now offer to the public, I un-
* dertook fome years fincc at Rome : as I was then a
* moft zealous champion of the popes fupremacy,
* which was held as an article of faith by the body
' I belonged to, my chief defign when I engaged ia
* fuch a work, was to afcertain that fupremacy.
* But alas! I foon perceived that I had undertaken
* more than it was in my power to perform. In
* fpite then of my endeavours to the contrary, rcafon
* getting the better of the ftrongeft prejudices, — /
^ became a frofelyte to the opinion which I had propofed
* to confute^ and jincerely abjured in my mind that which
' / had ignorantly undertaken to defend {c }.* And
again :
(e) The following obfervations, from the Douay pamph-
let are remarkable, * Mr. Bower tells us in his preface, that
' he began a hiftory of the popes in Rome^ and liad carried
* it down to the clofe of the fecond century ; but that whiift
* he wrote to maintain their fupremacy, he difcovered it to
' be a chimerical prerogative, unknown in the primitive
* ages.
( " )
again : * I no fooner found myfelf in a country 'whgr^
* ^ru!b might be tittered without danger, than 1 refolved
* to rcfume and purfue, in my native tongue, as
* foon as I recovered the ufe ot it, the work 1 had
' begun in a foreign language. If it fhall pleafc
' heaven to fecond my undertaking, fo far as to alarm
* by it thofe proteftants (I wilh 1 might not lay thofe
' many Proteftants) who are not aware, nor fufficiently
' guarded againft the crafty infinuations , the fecret
' views and attempts of the papal emijjaries^ I fhall
' think the time and pains it coft me abundantly
' paid.'
Thefe and many other declarations equally warm,
which may be feen in Mr. B r^s preface, bring
confidered, and the ftory of his efcape, as related by
himfelf, being attended to, it will, no doubt, at firft
fight, be thought to be a malicious and improbable
falfhood, to affirm of this zealous advocate for the
Proteftant religion, whofe reajon had got the better of
the ftrongeft prejudices vMle he was ftill in Italy \ that,
after he had been near twenty years in England ^ a
country where truth might be uttered without danger,
and where nothing could hinder him to make a pu-
blic profeffion of that opinion to which he had become a
< ages. / became a profelyte to the oplntGn^ &c. - - - Had this
' been true, it muft have happened whilft he lived in Rome a
' ftudent. And he niuft have been adlually a Proteftant in
' his heart, when he made his laft vows among the Jefuits^
« continued feme years faying the breviary and mafs every
' day, honoring the faints, profeifing, teaching, and defending
' the pope's fupremacy, and the other tenets of the catholic
' faith, nay, as he tells us, in the title of this work, de-
' fending it by being himfelf a member of the bloody inqui-
' fttion. We are told in the account of his efcape, afcribed
* to him, that the cruelties of that court firjl opened his eyeSy
* and made him refolve to renounce a religion in which they
* were pra5iijed, i confefs I cannot fee what fubtilty can
' reconcile thefe accounts together, much lefs make them
' confiftent with the true notorious circumftances of his
' coming over \
profelyte
C 12 )
fro/elytehdorchis arrival amongft us, thatheftill kept,
up an inrimacy and correfpondence with his brethren
the Jejuits^ and a correfpondence ot fuch a nature,
as would give us reafon to defpife him as the dif-
guifed papift, or rather the abandoned profligate.
Malicious and improbable as this accusation may-
appear to be, the following account will put the truth
of it beyond all probabihty, nay, indeed, beyond
all poflibility, of doubt.
There are now in the poflfeffion of Sir H ry
B Id of Ox h in N -Ik^ the mod au-
thentic proofs of this afTertion : for, furely, nothing
can be more authentic than letters written by himfelt
to Father Sheldon^ Provincial of the Jefuits in
England, How difficult it will be to reconcile Mr.
B — r abjuring popery in his mind while he was (fill at
Rome^ and amazing the inhabitants of Great-Britain
with a wonderful tale of his efcape from the Inqui-
ficion, with Mr. B — r writing fubmiffive and peni-
tential letters to his fuperiors the Provincial of the
Jefuits in England^ and the General of the whole Order
at Rome^ will appear from a perufal of the letters in
quertion,^;;^ in number^ copies of which I have been
able to procure; and which 1 have thought it my
duty to mdkt public, and to illuftrate and confirm by
collateral evidences, and authentic fads, which have
come to my knowledge that fo the v/orld in ge-
neral may receive that full fatisfadion, which pri-
vate examination hath already given to particular
perfons who have had accefs to inquire into the par-
ticulars of iWisJtrange tranfaclion, and whofe inquiries,
without being biaflcd by prejudice, or animated by
refentment, have had no other end in view, but the
difcovery of the truth.
But before 1 gratify the curiofity of the reader with
a perufal of letters fo remarkable as thefe muft be, it
will be neceflary to premife fome particulars, which,
by fixing the dates, and explaining names of per-
fons, may throw fome light uponatranfadion, which,
from
( ^3 )
from the nature of ir, cannot but be attended with
obfcLirities, when inquired into by thofe, who, bncon-
neifted equally with Mr.B — r and the reprefentatives
of the Jefuits^ muft have had many difficulties to
ftruggle with, in i^rriving at the knowledge of the
fa6ls before us.
1 he two firft. of the y/;; /V//^rj being without any
date at all, it will be very material to obferve, from
the following fa6ls, that they could not be prior to
the year 1745. As they are written to Father
Sheldot, in his character as the Superior of the Order
in this country, this will bring them down at lead
to the time of his entering upon that office. Now,
upon inquiry , I find that Father Sheldon did not
arrive in England^ to a6t as Provincial, till after
the death of Father Sbirburn^ his predeceflbr in that
office, and with whom alfo it will appear, by and
by, that Mr. B r had very impcrtant deal-
ings. Father Shirburn died on the 5th of January
174^ •, and it was not till fome time after, that his
fucceflbr arrived in England. The correfpondence,
therefore, between Sheldon and B — r did not begin
before 1745. Nay, we may be pretty certain that
it did not begin till towards the clofe of that year ;
perhaps not till the beginning of the next. This I
collect from the following circumftances. Mr. Shel-
don., as I have been informed, refided confbantly ia
London for feveral months after his arrival in Eng-
land \ and as London hath alfo been the ufual place of
Mr. B-'-r's refidence, it is not, in the leaft, probable,
that they fhould correfpond by letter upon an affair,
which, from the nature of it, could befb be tranfadted
by meeting together in company. But what putteth
" it beyond all doubt, that the correfpondence did not
commence till the clofe of 1745, at foonefl, is this
circumltance, that, at the time when it was carried
on, Mr. Sheldon paiTed under the nam.e of Elliot Bro'ivn ;
which direction is upon two of the letters. Some
time after the breaking out of the rebellion, which
,was in the latter pare of the year 1745, a v/arrant
being
( H )
being ifliied out by the fecretary of ftate to apprehend
Sheldon^ on iufpicion of treafonable pradices ; he nar-
rowly efcaped being taken at his lodging in Little
Wyld Street Lincolns- Inn- Fields^ where his papers were
all feized ; and retired to the country feat of his ne-
phew Mr. Sheldo7J, at Weft on in IVar wick/hire^ pafTing
under the name of Elliot Brown, I am informed that
Mr. B r was not fo far trufted by his provincial as
to be made acquainted with the place of his retreat
but that the correfpondence pafTed through the hands
of one Mr. Elliot, a Jefuit^ and near relation of Shel-
don, and who had been appointed to ad as his deputy.
This may partly be colleded from one of the letters,
where mention is made of this Mr. Elliot^ as one
from whom B — r expeded Sheldon'' s anfwer. Cer-
tain it is, from the very look of the letters, that they
paffed through a third hand ; the diredion, which is
upon two of them, being very different from Mr.
B — writing, who muft have fent or given his
letters (f) undirelfed^ to this Mr. Elliot^ or fome other
perfon.
Having thus, with fome degree of exadnefs,
brought dovv^n the commencement of B cor-
refpondence with Father Sheldon^ to the end of 1 745,
or the beginning of 1746, it may be neceffary alfo
to premife, that the Mr. Retz^ who is mentioned in
them, was, at that time, the General of the Jefuits ;
there being always one, who, under that title, hath
the diredion of the affairs of the Order y refiding con-
Itantly at Rome^ and exercifing an abfolute power
over every member of the fociety, in every part of
the world. His deputies, in the feveral countries,
(/) If Mr. B. put no diredion at all, upon any of the
letters in queflion, this circumftance, which the reader is
defined to take notice of, might furnifh our J^f^it /killed in
all the art of cafuiftical refervation, with a pretence for de-
claring, as he hath done in his advertifemcnt, and in a more
folemn paper, //?a/ he never did hold correfpondence with
Sheldon, either in his own or any feigned narne^
or.
( 15 )
or, as they call them, Provinces, where there arc
Jefuits appointed to serve, have the name of pro-
vincials, from whom any Father of the Order^ who
thinketh himfelf aggrieved, may appeal to the Gene-
ral at Rcme\ who is confulted in all cafes of great
confequence. Thefe particulars, will throw fome
light upon Father B - - - r's letters to Father Sheldoriy
his provincial^ both of them here in England, There
are only two other perfons named in the letters ;
Mr. Elliot^ whom I have already mentioned, who
is ftill alive, but fo far off as Rome ; and Mr. Carte-
rety fucceflbr to Father Sheldon^ as provincial in Eng-
land^ who tho' dead (g) ^ lived long enough, as the
reader will obferve before 1 have done, to difclofe fe-
crets, which the hiftorian of the Popes never intended
to truft to Proteftant ears. The letters fhall now
follow, copied, as I have been informend with the
utmoft exadlnefs, from the originals .
( g ) Father Sheldon-^ after the expiration of his authority
as Provincial in England, retired to Rome, in the year 1750,
or 1 75 1, and died, Rector of the ErigliJJi College there, on
the I ft of January 1756. Father Carteret died Provincial,
at London in March laft.
(h) Three of the letters being without date, the order in
v^hich they ought to be read, can be difcovered only by an
attentive perufal of them ; and, I believe, mofl: of my rea-
ders will be of opinion, that my arrangement of them is die
true one.
FIRST
( 16 )
FIRST LETTER.
T write this on the laft day of my retreat (0
which 1 have endeavoured to confirm myfelf ftili
more in my former, I hope, unalterable refolutions.
But, dear Sir, I diftruft my own weakncfs, and
tremble when I refledt on the fevere trials I muft
again undergo. To avoid them, I have thought ot
the following expedient, which, if you don't approve
of, yet you will, I hope, forgive me for offering it,
and afcribe the trouble 1 give you to the entire con-
fidence I place in you. The expedient is, to make
over to me part of the fum that is owing to you,
"which I find you cannot eafily recover. I Ihould im-
mediately transfer it to the woman, who would, in a
very fliort time, find means to recover it, and al-
low me my fo much wifhed-for liberty. This would
make me completely happy ; but nonmea 'voluntas^ fed
tua fiat^ for that, I am fure, is the will of him who
difpofes and ordains all things for our good. I have
received a letter from Mr. Carteret^ in Mr. Retz's
name, who defires to know what province will be
mofl to my fatisfacflion. If I could be any ways fer-
viceable here, I fhould be glad to fhew my gratitude
for the many favors 1 have received. I leave you to
judge whether or no I am fit to ferve here, and to
write your thoughts to Mr. Retz. As for myfelf, I
fhall name no place to him, but fubmit myfelf entire-
ly to his will i for I am now, thank God, quite in-
different
(^) A retreat, in thclanguage of the Roman Catholics^ means
a retirement from the world, for a certain number of days,
fuch as a perfon's own zeal lhall prompt him to, or his fupe-
riors and director fliall enjoin by way of penance. It doth not
appear from the letter, which of thefe was the cafe, when Mr.
B made his retreat ; but Mr. Carteret hath told feveral
perfons, that the retreat was enjoined by order of Mr. Retz.
On either fuppofition, this circumftance is, in itfelf, a ver}'
folemn proof of B r'j profe/Ting himfelf to be a Roman
Catholic, but a very inconfiderablc one, when compared with
what followeth afterwards in this Letter.
( 17 )
different as to places, and am well perfuaded that
what place fhall be thought by you or by him the
moft proper, will be the mod proper. 1 fhall con-
clude this letter with begging you to forgive the
trouble, and to afllire yourfelf that I want nothing fo
much as an opportunity to Ihew by my anions and
conduct how fincerely I am,
Dear Sir,
Your moft obedient humble Servant^
A. B.
SECOND LETTER;
Diredled in a different Hand to Mr, Elliot Brown-, and in-
dorfed, Anfwered July iph.
Dear Sir,
AS your having kept fo long, and your continuing
to keep me in this unhappy fituation, tho' at this
prefent time you have it in your power to deliver
me from it, leaves me no room to exped any relief
from you, I think myfelf obliged to apply to Mr.
Retz and lay my cafe before him. This ftep, how-
ever neceflary, I would not take without acquainting
you before hand with it. Dear Sir, I repofed an en-
tire confidence in you, and am greatly concerned to
find myfelf, in an affair of fuch infinite confequence,
thus difappointed. But as it was my duty fo to do,
that, 1 hope, will juftify me, and at the fame time
procure me ftrength to withfland the dangers, to
which you leave me expofed, till I receive an anfwer
{^) As this letter was anfwered on the 17th of July^ we
may fix the date of it to be very near that day, as it is not
to be fuppofed that Sheldon would defer anfwering what he
appears, from the following letter, to have refented highly,
viz, B r's threatning to complain to Mr. Retz, the Ge-
neral of the Order. The year is indifputably 1746.
B from
( i8 )
irom our common friend, who, I am confident, will
pity my cafe, and findfome means to deliver me from
myprefent unhappy fituation. Excufe the trouble.
I am
Tour mofl obedient humble Servant^
A. B.
P. S,
The money being now ready and your confent a-
lone wanting, as 1 fhall write to Mr. Retz j I wifli
you would at the fame time let him know upon what
motive you refufe it, or let me know it, that he ( I )
may acquaint him with it, if you are not at leifure to
write.
THIRD LETTER,
Preferved entire ^ directed to Mr, Elliott Brown at TVeJion
Warwickjhire^ by Chipping Norton bag ; with the Poft
mark upon it. The diredion a different hand.
July 24, 1746.
Dear Sir,
T Return you thanks for your paler ml admonition ('),
and own that I deferved to be treated with more fe-
verity
(^) A proper expreflion from a penitent Jefuit to an of-
fended fuperior. Mr. Sheldon's feverity was, no doubt, oc-
cafioned by the fecond letter, in which B r threatens
him with a complaint to Mr. Retz^ for refufmg the money.
B r alio having, in that letter, faid at this perfect time
you have it in your power to deliver me &c. and again, the
money being now ready ^ and your confent alone wanting^ as I Jhall
write Mr, Retz ; it is probable that Sheldon looked upon this
as a charge brought againft him, of having told a falfhood
about the money. For it appears from the firft letter, that
he had given it as a reafon to Mr. B why they could not
return
( 19 ;
verity than your charity and goodnefs have allowed
you to ufe. My impatience and earneft defire of
being delivered at once from my prefent mod heavy
tribulation, tranfported me beyond the bounds of my
duty, and prompted me to write in a manner very
unbecoming one who can plead nothing for himfelf
but pure charity and compalTion. Dear Sir, if repen-
tance can repair a fault, I do alTure you 1 am hearti-
ly forry for what I have done, and moft humbly beg
your pardon, which I hope you will grant me, not-
withftanding the juft provocation my ingratitude may
have given you. I rely entirely upon you; in you
alone, after God, I put all my confidence ; and there-
fore lhall from you alone exped my deliverance.
The woman with her child is turned upon my hands ;
I am obliged to vifit her frequently •, flie often pref-
fes me either to keep her company, as I did before,
or return her the money and I find it a very dif-
ficult tafk to keep her in humor without doing either.
Dear Sir, as I am not infenfible, the temptation is
great ; 1 am afraid of myfelf, and have, 1 afture you,
fhed many tears in refleAing on my dangerous fitu-
ation. But it is no worfe than I deferve, and there-
fore I have no reafon to complain. I lhall ftrive to
bear my tribulation chearfully till it pleafes God to
deliver me from it. I thank you for your kind re-
gard to me in writing to Mr. Retz, 1 lhall write to
him this week, as you defire, to beg his pardon, and
acquaint him with the fincerity of my intentions. As
your Letter has given me great concern, 1 lhall be
very uneafy till I hear from you. If you abandon
me I am quite undone but the goodnefs you have
hitherto ihewn me makes me believe you never
return the money to him, that there was a fum owing to them
which they could not eaftly recover. This feems to be the pro-
vocation which had drawn upon B r th(: paternal admo"
nition of his Provincial,
will
( )
5
v9i\\, notwithftanding the provocation I have given'
you ; for which I again afk your pardon, fincerely
wifhing it were in my power to atone for it. I am.
Dear Sir,
Tour mojl obedient humble Servant^
A. B.
FOURTH LETTER.
Richmond 24. OElober 1746.
Dear Sir,
T T is with the deepefl: fenfe of gratitude that I re-
turn you my moft hearty thanks for the great pains
you have taken to deliver me from my prefent moft
unhappy fituation. Your charitable and good na-
tured endeavours have not, to my great concern,
been attended with fuccefs ; but to you I am no lefs
obliged than if they had, and I fhall ever moft grate-
fully acknowledge this obligation. As I am fully
convinced from what you have done that you will
omit nothing in your power to relieve me as foon as
you can, it would be needlefs to recommend to you
an affair, which you have already fo much at heart.
I fhall therefore on'y add, that I repofe an entire
confidence in your goodnefs and charity ; and that in
fpite of the prefent moft fevcre trials, and of any
thing that can happen, I am determined, I hope
unalterably, to keep my former refolution, till being
fet at liberty by your means, I fhall have the much
wifhed for opportunity of fhewing my gratitude more
by my adlions than by words. In the mean time»
I am.
Dear Sir,
Tour mofl obedient humble Servant y
A. B.
( 21 )
FIFTH LETTER.
London, 1 4. March i y^y, ('^)
Dear Sir,
T F you had thought fit to make over to me part of
the fum that is owing to you, I Ihould have taken
no ftep towards the recovery of it, but what you
approved of, and none at all, if you did not approve
of it. I chiefly wanted to fatisfy the woman and her
relations by fhewing them the conveyance , and
thereby purchafe a little quiet ; it not being by any
means proper to fhew them what I now have. Dear
Sir, you cannot conceive the diftrefs I am in at this
prefent time ; and, what is worft of all, I begin now
to defpair, being very confident that the perfon,
who owes the fum to you, never defigned to pay it,
nor ever will pay it, unlefs forced by law. But the
whole I refer and entirely fubmit to your judgment.
You need not take the trouble of anfwering my
letter, I often fee Mr. Elliot, and from him 1 Qial.l
know your fentiments. Forgive this trouble, and be-
lieve me moft fincerely
Tour moft obliged humble Servant^
A. B.
(^) This muft be March 1746-7.
SIXTH LETTER.
London, {^)
Dear Sir,
E s p A I a and conftant vexation have at length
got the better of all my good refolutions ; I
could no longer withftand a temptation, which I
could
The contents of this letter fix its date pretty nearly ;
B 3 for
( 22 )
could by no means avoid, and therefore have con-
fented to take the woman again, and live with her,
as I did before, till I fhall be able to fatisfy her juft
demands. It was with the greateft reludance and
remorfe that I took fuch a ftep, and fhould never
have taken it, had I had but the lead prorpe6t or
hopes of relief. You know 1 propofed all the expe-
dients 1 could think of ; and nothing but your zeal
and good nature could have bore with me fo long,
which I fhall always gratefully remember and acknow-
ledge. The laft expedient would have quieted both the
woman and her relations, for they only wanted fome
fecurity for the money would have faved me from
utter ruin, and could not poffibly be attended with
any evil confequences, fince I fhould never have
given the leaft trouble to that perfon without your
knowledge and confent : in fliort, had you not difap-
proved of it, I fhould have thought that nothing
could have been objected againfl it ; but as you did,
it would have been impertinent in me to prefs it any
farther. As for that perfon's paying you, dear Sir,
it is but too plain fhe never intended it, and this is
what has quite difheartened me, as on that all my
hopes of relief was founded. I do not pretend to
juftify the ilep 1 have taken ; God forbid I fhould :
but the reludance with which 1 have taken it, my
fuffering fo much and fo long before I took it, and
my having tried all pofTible means of avoiding the
danger, will, I hope, in fome degree, extenuate my
guilt
for It was previous to his taking a ftep which would put an
end to his correfpondence with Jefutts, The publication
of his propofals and preface fo full of proteftant zeal, was
fuch a fl:ep ; and they bear date, on the printed copy, March
25, 1747. This date, I fuppofc, was in the MS. fent to
the preis ; fo that if we allow a week or ten days for the
printing, we may fix the publication of B r'j intention
of being the champion of proteftantifm to the beginning of
April 1747 ; and confequently, between that time, and the
preceding t4th of March, was this farewell letter written.
C 23 )
guilt (^), And now, dear Sir, in the firfl: place I
heartily pray God to reward you for your pious, bur,
to my unfpeakable misfortune, unfuccefsful endea-
vours ; you have done all that lay in your power
to relieve me ; and 1 fliail always remember and
acknowledge il. In the next p'ace, with tears in my
eyes I take my leave of you ; for this firft ftep will
in a fhort time be followed by another, which muft
put an end to our correfpondence. I muft repair
the crying injuflice I have done to an innocent
child, and to a woman that has fhewn the greatefl:
regard and tendernefs for me even in my diftrefs, and
in order to that accept the advantageous offer now
made me by my friends.
Having thus laid open to you, as my bed friend,
my prefent fituation, without the lead difguife, I
hope you will remember me in your l?efl thoughts^
that I may not hereafter refufe what at prefent I fo
much wifh for, fliould it be ever in your power, or
any body's elfe to relieve me (=). Perfuade yourfelf,
dear Sir, tho' you fliould never hear from me again,
that
I am, and ever fliall be, mod fmcerely
Tour mojl obliged humble Servant Sic,
(^) What can one think of a Divine (for Mr. B r, a
yefuit in full orders, hath a right to this title, tho' he mo-
deftly declineth it for that of Efquire) who hopes that what
aggravates the guilt of all other finners, will extenuate his ? —
namely, his committing crimes deliberately, with his eyes
open, and againft his own conviclion ?
(^) It will be impoflible to affix any meaning to this part
of the letter, unlefs we fuppofe that Mr. B. intimates to his
correfpondent, that tho' he be, at prefent, obliged ivith
Relu£iance and Remorfe to take a ftep that will put an
end to their correfpondence, he will, neverthelefs return to
his duty, fhould Father Sheldon or any other perfon make
him fuitable propofals. And with no other view but this,
6 4 could
( H )
Tho' I have confented to take the woman again,
yet 1 am under no obligation of performing my
promife till 1 hear from you. As for the place, it
will be a fortnight before the patent is made out. I
heartily wifh it were in your power to make me eafy
in that time, and prevent the impending ruin.
could he defire to be remembered in the Jefuit's beji thoughts,
or prayers.
(^) This poftfcript is worthy of our notice. For, befides
prefenting us with a very remarkable fpecimen of B -- 's jfe-
fuitical cafuiftry^ when he fays, tho I have confented to take
the woman again, yet I am under no obligation of performing my
promife we may obferve that he calls his breach with the
Jefuits, impending ruin ; and tells Father Sheldon, if he couM
make him eafy >^thin a fortnight (I fiippofe by repaying his
money to him) this impending ruin might be prevented,
1 N
( 25 )
In ihefe letters we have a very remarkable fpecimea
of the abfolute l'ub)e(5tion and lubmiflion of 7/ /'j to
their fuperiors •, and it will be obvious to any one who
perufes them with attention, that the writer drives at
one fingle objed, of which he never lofes fight, the
recovery of a fum of money. But befides this tranf-
adion, which runs through all the fix letters, it ap-
pears from the firjl, that Mr. Carteret had been nego-
tiating with the General of the Order about appointing
B. to a6t as a miflionary in fome Province or other :
/ have received a letter from Mr, Carteret in Mr,
Retz^s name, deftring to know what Province would he
moft to my Satisfadlion, From which words it fhould
feem that Mr. Retz gave Mr. B. his choice of any
province, except that of England, But it is eafy to
perceive, amidft all our Letter-writer's affected indif-
ference as to places, that no other province but that of
England would have been agreeable to him. Why
elfe fhould he fay, // / could be any ways ferviceable
here 1 Jhould be glad to Jhew my gratitude for the many
favors I have received ? Doth it not appear from this
that he would have looked upon his being appointed
to ferve in the Englifh province, as a favor ? And if
he did not mean that his correfpondent Ihould recom-
mend him as fit to ferve here, why doth he defire him
to write his thoughts upon that fubjed, to Mr. Retz ?
And the reafons why Mr. B. fliould prefer the Englifh
province are as obvious as they were prudential. After
twenty years enjoyment of Englifh liberty and Englifh
plenty, he could not but be unwilling to quit this
icene for Italian fubjeclion, and confinement in a col-
lege, where he might be obliged to fafl without any
liking to abflinence, and to pray tho' his heart was a
ftranger to devotion. Befides, while he continued in
England, he was certain his former irregularities, which
had brought him here firfl, could not be punifhed,
in cafe his fuperiors fhould not be hearty in their for-
givenefs of him \ and, therefore, it was no wonder
that.
( 26 )
that, to one in his fituation, the province of England
fhould be mofl: defirable.
Here, then, we may obferve a very furprizing in-
ftanceof the bafeft hypocrify. That very perfon who,
in 1 747* hopes to alarm thofe many Protejtants who are
not aware ^ nor fufficiently guarded agatnft the crafty in-
sinuations^ the fecret views and attempts of the papal emif-
faries^ as we read in his preface, but a little while before,
moft probably not a year, offers, with the moll abjecc
fubmilHon and earneftriefs, his fervice to the General
of the Jefuits to be, himfelf, one of thofe Emiffaries !
Nor will it be any apology for him, to urge that he
writes in fuch a ftyle, to the Jefuits^ only to get his
money out of their hands, being, all the while, a
fincere convert to the Proteftant religion. For, admit-
ting that, when he correfponded with Sheldon^ there
was no Popery in his heart, we rnuft admit that there
was the vilcft diffimulation and the meaneft treachery.
Bat tho' I fliould admit that he may be fiippofed ca-
pable of writing penitential letters to Father Sheldon
without believing any one Papijh tenet ^ in order to, get
his money back, where was his Proteflantifm when he
lent it, as we fliall find by and bye, to Father Shir-
hum ? And how will he reconcile his accepting of an
annuity from the fociety of Jefuits^ within thele four-
teen or fifteen years, with his having joined in com-
munion with the church of England, upwards of twenty
four years
This money tranfadlion between the Hijiorian of the
Popes^ and his brethren the Jefuits^ bring only men-
tioned as fubfifting, but the nature of it not being
explained, in the letters ; chat I may clear up the end
and intention of the correfpondence, it will be necefiary
to relate this myfterioiis affair as it really happened,
which will not only difpeli the obicurities under which
it will be left it we confine oiirfelves to the letters
themfclves, but which will alfo be a fort of key to the
condudl and views of the writer \ of whom I fhall now
be obliged to ment;cn fuch particulars, as will place
him
( 27 )
him in a very different light from that, in which he
hath held himfelf out to the Proteftant inhabitants of
Great-Britain, And I defirc that no farther credit
may be given to the fadls which I fhall relate, than as
they fhall bt authenticated by proofs too ftubborn to
be invalidated by all the Ibphiftry which can be
difplayed by low cunning when it hath credulity and
ignorance to work upon.
One of the mod remarkable epochs of our Hero
being his arrival in England, it will be proper to fix
its date. But in doing this, I own that I am at a lofs ;
for as this is a fact known beft to Mr. B. himfelf, and
as I find him varying in his accounts of it, at dif-
ferent times, the reader cannot exped that I fliould be
able to point out the time wh.m he fpoke the truth.
In the MS account of B 's efcape, in the hand-
writing of an eminent Divine, and which 1 have
already mentioned , he tells us , that he landed ac
Dover on the eleventh oijuly 1732. But fince he
gave this date , he has refrelhed his memory , and
now we are told , that he arrived either in June
or in July 1726. For my own part, I have been in-
formed, that he might, if he had pleafed, fixed this
date in 1725. But as I aflert nothing which 1 cannot
confirm by real evidence ^ I fhall only obfcrve that I can
trace our Hiftorian back, in this country, fo far as
1727-, in which year, if his memory doth not fail
him, he muft recol.e(5l that he ufed to be in company,
here in London^ with one Gordon^ a fopijh pritft (thll
alive, and at prefent chaplain to Lady Perth) and that
at the fame time he frequented the lodgings of
the Provincial of tbejefuits^ he himfelf lodging next
door. (tf). With what views he continued luch con-
nexions,
(tfj A gentleman, now in London^ aflures me, that he faw
B r in May 1727, at Gordon's lodgings in Little IVyld-
Strat, The Provincial of the Jifuits^ at that time, lodged
in
( 28 )
nexions, or lodged in fuch a Quarter, after his arrival
in this country, he himfclt can beft tell. This at
lead is certain, that fuch a condudt was not that which
we might exped from one, who, if his account of his
motives for coming into this country was true, would
naturally have ihunned all popifh connexions, and
taken the firft opportunity of publickly renouncing and
abjuring that religion, whofe tenets he now pretends
that he even then looked upon as impious and heretical.
Bur, fo far as I have been able to learn, he doth
not even fay that he ever made any fuch renunciation
(J?) in form. While he palled, fometimes for what
he
in the fame Street, at the houfe of Mrs. Fleetwood^ aunt to
Mr. Fleetwood of Drury-Lane Play-houfe. This houfe is on
the cppofite fide of the way to that where Gordon lodged, and
B - - •<• r was feen by the gentleman from whom I have my
information, knock at that door ; and upon afking Gordon
who lived there, he vi^as told it was the lodging of the Pro-
vincial of the Jejuits. Gordon at the fame time faid, that
B r had told him he was a Jefuit and was going upon
the miflion to Scotland. But Mr. B rs vifits to his Pro-
vincial and other priefts fhall be confirmed by other proofs
befides this.
(b) To do 5 r juftice on this point, 1 mufl: own that
I have heard, that to fome of his friends he hath faid that
he abjured the errors of popery upon his arrival in England^
to Dr. Afpnwall, I hope for his own fake, this is not true ;
becaufe to mention his acquaintance and connexion with
Dr. Afpinwall^ Vv'ill never ferve any purpofc, but to confirm
the charge brought againft him. Dr. Edward Afpinwali^
had originally been a "Jefuit \ but, upon giving what bifhop
Gibfon thought to be fatisfa6lory proof of the fincerity of
his converfion, he was, by the patronage of that learned and
worthy prelate, made prebendary of iVeJlminJler^ and fub-
dean of the King s Chapel. Thus honored, as a fincere
convert to the Church of England^ Dr. Jfpinwall died on
the 3d of Augujl I'JI'i', a faithful fen of the Church of
Rome. This fa£l was notorious at the time, and Mrs.
Afpinwall made no fecret of her hufband's dying fcntiments,
and, being a good Proteflant, would not permit a Prieji to
adminifter
( 29 )
he really was, a Jefuit^ at other times, when his cha,-
racter of Pried would have been an incumbrance, he
afTumcd the tjde or Knight of Malta (c) with Protef-
tants he aimed at no higher merit, than to be looked
upon as a Freethinker (d) ; a charadler indeed very
cor-
adminifter Extreme UrSiion to the Do£lor, who defined it.
I fhould be ferry to find that Mr. B r acquainted no
other Divine ot the Englijh Church with his abjuration of
Popery. But I am much more forry to findi that, not many
months ago, Mr. 5 r told a very worthy Divine of
high lank in our Church, with whofe friendfhip he hath been
honored, that he himfelf, and Mr. Barton^ then curate of
St. Anrii (but who had alfo been a Popijh prieft) attended
Dr. Afpinwall during his laft illnefs. I fear that by this de-
claration Mr. 5 - - - r will encreafc the fufpicions which
had been entertained before by many concerning his own
faith, without convincing any one, as he intended it fhould,
that J/ptnwall did not die a papift. I fliall only add, that
it is well known that the Aflericki which now ftand in Dr.
Middletons Letter to Mr. Venn^ in the firft volume of the
o6lavo edition of the Dr's works, p. 4.21. were filled up, ia
the MS. With fome remarks on AfphnvaWs return to popery.
[c) The reader fliall hear more of this in the proper
place.
i^d) B ' ~ - r's own friends feem to admit that his religious
principles, after he came into England^ will not bear exami-
nation. In February laft a friend of mine was told by one
who, 1 fuppofe, had his information from B - - - r himfelf,
that upon his coming to Ejigland he waited upon bifhop
Gibjon^ to acquaint him that tho' he had left his own reli-
gion, he was not as yet determined as to the opinions to be
fubftituted in its flead. It was the expreftion of another of
his friends, about the fame time, that B r'j mind was a
Tabula rafa^ as to religious principles, for feveral years after
his arrival in this country. Mr. B r, therefore, cannot
complain of my injuring him by the appellation of Freethinker^
as it feems to be a point not difputed that he himfelf to big
friends hath dated his converfion to Chriftianity, to be many
years pofterior to his renouncing of Popery, Were it necef-
fary, inftances of his impious bufroonry, and mockery of our
holy religion, even publicly in Bookfellers fhops, could be
ailigned*
( $o )
•orrefpondcnt to his condudt as a Free^Liver (e). Ad-
mitted into the family of Lord A — r as a Compa-
nion to his lordfhip , and afterwards into that of
Colonel 'T — n as tutor to his fon, in that circle of
Protcftant connexions, he could give full fcope to his
inventive faculty^ entertain the company with the
cruelties ot the Inquifition, his own efcape from ir,
and the continual dangers to which he was expofed by
the attempts of Fo^ijh emiffaries. And yet, at the
alHgned. I fhall only mention one inftance. Tho* it be
one of this worthy perfon's talents to accommodate his dif-
courfe and principles to the company in which he happeneth
to be, he unfortunately made a grofs miftake at the houfe
of a Gentleman in the country. The profane raillery,
tittered by hrm there, upon his feeing fome paintings repre-
fenting gofpel hiftories, furprifed as much as it fliocked the
very worthy proprietor ; who gave this as a reafon (and a
good reafon to fo good a man) upon being applied to, before
the publication of the Hijl^y of the F opes ^ why he would not
encourage that work, by Jdliching fubfcriptions for the au-
thor ; rightly judging, that no honor could be done to the
Frotejiant caufe by fuch a champion.
(/) Mr. 5 - - - r, far from conciealing his irregularities,
ufed to glory in them. Amongft other ftories, he hath fre-
quently entertained* his companions with an account of his
being met coming out of a houfe of civil reception in the
regions of Covent-Garden^ by an acquaintance who alked
him, Mr. B r, / j this your Roman Hiftory ? When we
confider that he was, at leaft, forty years of age before he
came to England^ and that he did not begin to write the
Roman Hijiory till feveral years after ; to find him, fo late
in life, thus revetting in brothels, and glorying in his fhame,
giveth us no very favourable notion of the regularity of his
conduct. Perhaps he was endeavouring to make amends
for the time that he had loft in the college of Macerata ;
where, it feems, he could find no means of gratifying his
amorous inclinations, but by making an experiment, which
proved fatal to him. The Hiftory of this, already hinted at
in a quotation from his remarker, lhall be more particularly
mentioned before I conclude.
fame
(31 )
fame time, he did not feem to apprehend much real
danger from them, otherwife he would not have kept
up an intimacy with any of them, nor aflTociated with
RomiJJo priefts in general, and priefts of his own order
in particular, not only by vifiting them at their lodg-
ings ; but by difcourfing with them daily, when he
was in town, at their common Rendezvous^ the fhop
of Mr. Lewis the bookfeller in Rujfel-Street Covent-
Garden (/).
Frequent as Mr. B. was in his vifits to the Pro-
vincial of the jefuits^ from the time of his coming to
England^ it is not infinuated as if he had been an emif-
fary then trufted and employed by the Order. The
truth feems to be, he was fonder of alTociating with
his old friends, than they were of aflbciating with
him. And the reafon is plain, he had not come
into England after throwing off his Order on account
of any Icruples of confcience, but after his Order had
thcown off him on account of irregularities in his con-
duct. His affociating therefore with priefts and jefuits
could be with no other view, but to have his paft
offences pardoned. For by thus payhig his court,
and by his attachment to the catholic religion, for the
fincerity of which he could appeal to the laudable en-
deavours which he made ufe to bring over (g) fome
Proteflants to the Romijh communion^ he was in hopes Ot
being able to appeafe his offended fuperiors.
(/) Mr. Lewises charadler as an honeft, worthy man, 15
fo well eftablifhed, that his evidence as to this point muft be
decifive. Such company, and fuch a place of refort, agreed
but very ill with 5 - - - r'j profeflions to Proteflants j and
Martin Folkes Efq; the late worthy prefident of the Royal
Society^ who, by frequenting Torns CofFee-Houfe, had often,
feen our Convert thus engaged^ below flairs, ufed to exprefs
his fufpicions of our Hiflorian's character, from this cir-
cumftance, and fubfcribed to his Hiflory merely becaufe it
was fafhionable to do fo.
{g) This remarkable fa6l (hall be properly authenticated.
But
( 3^ )
But whether, notwithftanding all thefe marks of zeal,
his fuperiors faw grounds for fufpedting his fincerity,
or whether the fcandal which his conduct in Italy had
brought upon the Order, made them cautious of re-
ceiving again into their body one, who, to gratify his
pafTions, had already made no fcruple to break his vowsj
or whether his irregular life, and inconfiftent beha-
viour after his coming into England^ had prejudiced
thofe againft him, from whom he fued for favour
whatever was the reafon, the penitent negotiated about
being re-admitted into his order, for leveral years,
without fuccefs. At length, in the year 1741, he
had recourfe to a method which he thought would
remove all obftrudions to the point at which he
aimed.
By writing, for the bookfellers, in the Univerfal hi-
ftory (^), by his fituation in the families of Lord A.
and Colonel T. and by his labours as a teacher of
Italian^ he had faved a confiderable fum of money.
To give the Jefuits^ therefore, a fatisfadory proof
(as indeed it really was) that he was fincere in his
defire to be re-admitted into the order^ he made a pro-
pofal to Father Sbirburn, who was then the Provincial
in England^ to give up to him, as reprefentative of the
fociety, this money, upon condition of being paid for
it, during his life, an annuity, at the rate of feuen
per. cent.
This offer being accepted, on the twenty firft of
Augujt 1 741, he paid to Father Shirburn^ eleven hun-
dred pounds. Six months after, on the 2ph of Fe-
hruary 1 74^, he paid to the fame perfon One hun-
dred and fifty pounds more, upon the fame conditions.
Nor did his confidence in the fecurity given him by
his order flop here, but on the 6/^ of Augufi; 1743, he
added another hundred pounds to the above fums, now
augmented to one thoufand three hundred and fifty pounds ;
{h) The Roman hiftory in that work is his.
when
( 33 )
v/hen the feveral annuities were reduced into one of
94/. 10 J. to commence from the 27/^ of the
fame month •, for which he had a bond, A tranf-
a6tion of fuch a nature, entered into with fo much de-
i beration , there being two years between the firft
and the laft payment, could not but give the Jefuits
hopes that the ftrayed fheep was returned to the fold.
Indeed there feems no reafon to fufped that Mr.
B. was not fincere in his profeffions of fubmiifion at
the time when he accepted of this annuity. Whether
confcience had any (hare in influencing his endeavours
to .regain the confidence of his order ^ is known only
to himfclf: but, certainly, his /«/^r^/ vifibly prompted
him to take fuch a dep. He was now declining in
life, and, after being in England a great many years,
he had, as yet, gained no connexions that had pro-
cured him any fettlement^ and his fubfiftence depended
upon the flavifli employment of writing for book*
fellers, and his uncertain gains as a language- mafter
to ladies. What objedt, therefore, could be fo de-
firable to a perfon in his circumftances, and happily
difengaged from religious prejudices, as to regain the
protedtion and confidence of a body of men who
had it in their power to make him eafy and kappy^ the
reft of his days ? Upon being reconciled to his ordery
he had reafon to hope that the public purfe of the fo-
ciety might be open to him, as v;ell as to other mem-
bers of it, and that his income might be augmented
. by the addition of a falary as a miffionary in this
country, where it was his inclination to dwell. Mr.
B's money tranfadion with Father Shirburn^ whea
viewed in this light, feems perfe6lly confiilent wick
that prudent forefight fo remarkable in his charadler^
And it had fuch weight with fome of his Jefuit ac-
quaintances, that they were induced to recommend him
to the general of the order as worthy of being re-ad-
mitted amongft them. This negotiation had the
wilhed for etfed, and A. B, Efq-, was re-admitted,
in a formal manner, into the order of Jefus^ at Lon-
C doHy
( 34 )
don^ about the end of the year 1744, or the begin-
ning of the year 1745 (/).
Whatever was the reafon, whether Mr. B, found
that tho' his fuperiors had confented to readniit him as
a Jefuit^ they did not care to truft him as a mijfionary
here in England^ but infilled upon his going abroad ;
or whether, having at length had the good fortune
to infinuate himfelf into the good graces of a powerful
friend, he began to have a profpe6t of advancing his
interejl more, by declaring himfelf a protejiant^ than by
being a Popijh emijjary whatever, 1 fay, was the
reafon (perhaps both the above-mentioned operated) it
fhould feem that when he began his correfpondence
with Father Sheldon , in thofe letters , which have
been placed before the reader, he had come to a final
refolution of making a fecond breach of his vows^
which he had, but a year or two before, folemnly re-
newed. At leaft, this muft appear certain, from a
perufal of the letters, that the fmgie objed: which he
hath in view in writing them, is to induce Sheldon^ who^
as fucceffor to Father Shirhurn in the ftation of provin-
cial, was his proper reprcfentative, to redore that mo-
ney which had been put into his hands. For I can
figure to myfelf no fufficient reafon why he fhould
prefs fo ftrenuoufly to be releafed from a bar-
gain of his own propofing, why he fhould make
it fo capital a point, to get his money back again
from the Jefuits^ if he himfelf had not refolved
once more to throw oflF the Cloak of a Jefuit. If we
apply this key, his condud will be confident as
{k) The reader will hear more of this important tranfac-
tion, and the proofs of it, before I finilh this pamphlet. I
lhall only defire him at prefent to remark, that it never
hath been charged to Mr. B's account that he was recon-
ciled to the church of Rome ; and for a good reafon ; becaufe
he had never renounced it. ///rZ'^r^ word, therefore, might
have fatisfied us of this. But that he a(Slually was reconciled
to his order fhall be proved by eYid^^ce, as convincing as the
moft peremptory affidavit*
confident
( 35 )
confiflrent as the condudl of any one can be, who, in-
variable in the profccution of what he looks upon as
his immediate intereft, becomes all things to all men^that
he may gain jomething\ a Papift to day, a Proteftant to-
morrow j again a Papift if it can ferve a turn, and even
a champion of Proteftants, without being a Chriftian.
Mr. B*s plan, then, when he wrote his letters to
Father Sheldon^ feems to be this. The views and ex-
pe<5lations in life, which he had got by new connexions
with Proteftants both able and willing to ferve him,
and other prudential motives, having obliged him to
break off his renewed connexion with his Order, it
was neceffary he (hould do this with caution, that his
exafperated brethren might not, if it were poffible,
have it in their power to hurt him. He had no fecu-
rity for his annuity of 94/. \os. but a bond from
the provincial of the Jefuits\ and, perhaps, he was
afraid, judging of the moral honefty of others, from
what he experienced within himfelf, that upon his
ceafing to profefs himfelf a Jefuit^ his annuity from
the Jefuits would ceafe. Nor could he be fo fhort-
fighted as not to forefee that upon any fuch ftop being
made, an adion at law, tho it might recover his an-
nuity, could not be had, unlefs he owned that he had
connexions fince his coming to England^ which would
be fatal to his pretenfions, as a fincere convert from
popery. Or, admitting that there could be no dan-
ger of lofing his annuity, he knew that to continue to
receive it from the Jefuits, after having refolved to bs
a Proteftant, would have a very ill afped and that
he could never fign the receipt for his half-year's in-
come, without meeting with Jefuits who were wit-
nefics of his bafe diffimulation : another witntfs per-
haps, his own confcience, might alfo exped, upon
fuch an occafion, to be heard. Bcfides all this, it is
likely that he had determined that the change of his
religion (perhaps I fhould have faid the change of
his profeftions of religion) fhould be followed by a
change in his condition 5 and, therefore, in order to
C 2 enable
( 36 )
enable him to make a fetclement on his future fpoufe^
it became neceflary that the money which he had
funk, in the hands of the Jefuits^ for an annuity on
his own life, fhould be recovered.
But what Iteps could Mr. B. take, in order to gain
this point Legal remedies, even tho his prudence
would have permitted him to have recourfe to them,
could have given him no relief. For having parted
with his money upon terms of his own chooHng, and
having confented to accept, in its ftead, an annuity
which had been paid to him for feveral years, he could
have no foundation either in reafon, or in law, to de-
mand the repayment of it. Nothing remained, there-
fore, for him, but to endeavour to gain as a favour,
what he could not demand as a right.
If we look to his letters to Father Sheldon^ we fhall
fee him urging the repayment of his money, with the
utmoft art. He endeavours to raife compaflion of
his provincial by reprefenting himfelf as unfortunately
having had a criminal connexion with a woman ; that
the money which he had employed in purchafing of
his annuity was her money ; and that he was reduced
to this alternative, by the importunity of the woman,
either to keep her company ^ as he did before^ or return
her the money. To heighten the colourings of his dif-
treffcd fituation, a child is brought upon the ftage ;
for he mentions the woman and her child being turned
upon his hands ^ and his being obliged to viftt her fre-
quently. By this lamentable tale he hoped not only to
raife the compaffion, but to afFedl the confcience, of his
fuperior, who, by refufing to return the money, left
him expofed to dangers which perhaps he had not flrength
to withftand. For // is a very difficult task^ lays he,
to keep the woman in humour^ without either keeping
her company^ or returning her the money •, as I am not in-
fenftble^ the temptation is great \ I a?n afraid of myfelf^
and I offure you that I fhcd many tears in rejie^ling on
7ny dangerous fituation. — The Jefuits had lent B^s
money, and alfo an additional fum, to one Mrs. Ha!es^
ac
( 37 )
at common intereft. She is fpoken of in the letters as
owing this money to them ; and it fliould feem thaC
Father Sheldon had evaded B*s demand, by reprefent-
ing that this lady, who owed the Jefuits the money,
could not, at that time, repay them. Bs however
was not difcou raged , but dijlrujling his own weak-
nefs^ and trembling when he reflets on the fevere trials
which he again muft undergo^ to avoid them he takes
occafion to make a propolal to his provincial. 1 have
thought of the following expedient^ fliys he ; to make over
to me part of the fum that is owing to you, which 1 find
you cannot eafily recover, I fhould immediately transfer
It to the woman^ who would in a fhort time find means to
recover ^it and allow me my fo much wifhed for liberty ,
This, and every other expedient propofed by him, ap-
pears to have been rejeded. And, perhaps. Father
Sheldon might be averfe to give his confent, from the
fufpicions which he could not but entertain of B'^s
intentions, and from the bafenefs which he could not
but diCcover in his character. For what could he
think of a Jefuit (now turned of 50) a Jefuit making
Retreats in order to confirm himfelf in good refolu-
lions; a Jefuit fo fubmiirive to his fuperiors as to have
no will of his own^ and to be quite indifferent as to
places^ threatening, as I may well call it, his fuperior to
take the woman again and live with her as he did before,
unlefs the fuperior will releafe him from a bargain
which had been concluded on terms of his own choof-
ing ? Or, again, fuppofing Mr. B^s compalTionate
plea, that the money belonged to a woman, to be a
true one (tho' it feems vaftly more probable that
the woman and her child exifVed no where but in his
letters to the Jefuits, and were trumpt up for the oc-
cafion, as probable means of inducing them to return
the money) what could the provincial of the Jefuits
(unlefs all Jefuits are as abandoned as Mr. B.) ^ think
ofaprieftand a Jefuit, purchafing with his whore's
money, without her confent (as muft be fuppofed) a
life-rent, in his own name and making this purchafe
C 3 ^ at
( 38 )
at a time when he pretended to be a contrite penitent,
a prodigal Ton, returned to his Father, the General of
the Jefidts f
Every art having proved unfuccefsful, which Mr.
B. had employed to get his money out of the hands
of the Jefuits^ before he threw off the malk, he at
lafl: takes his folemn farewell of them, as we read in
the fixth letter ; reprefenting himfelf as having been
obliged with the utmoft relu5lance and remorfe^ to con-
fent to take the woman again ^ and to repair the crying
injuftice he had done to an innocent child, hy acceptiiig
of a propofal made to him hy his friends, rWhat this
propofal was he doth not tell us \ but by faying in his
poftfcript, that it would be a fortnight before the patent
was out^ he gives his correfpondent to underftand,
that a place had been offered him. That any fuch
offer was then made to him will, perhaps, and with
reafon, be looked upon as very doubtful, unlefs we
have better authority for it, than the word of one
whofc whole life hath been a continual lie ; and who,
at the very time when he was writing fubmifTive and
penitential letters to his Jefuit fuperior, was planning,
if not writing, his Hiftory of the Popes, under the di-
re6i:ion of his Proteftant Patron, But by thus hinting
to Father Sheldon that he was looked upon as a perfon
of fuch importance, as to be tempted with the offer of
a place to turn Proteftant, he hoped that the fear of
his complying with this offer, might prevail upon his
correfpondent to releafe him from his money bargain,
which his pitiful tale of the woman and the child had
not b-en able to do. He was difappointed, however,
for the Fortnight elapfed without his being made eajy^
by the return of his money ; and immediately upon
this followed a ftep which could not but put an
end to Mr. correfpondence with Jefuits 1 mean
the publication of his propofals for the Hiftory of the
Popes, with that remarkable preface fo full of Pro-
teftant zeal, from which we have given fome quo-
rations. The profits arifing from a fubfcription fo
power-
( 39 )
powerfully ufhered into the world, and recommended
by fo eminent an advocate as Mr. B, had j and the
pleafing proiped: of prom i fed penfions , and places
(promifes not long after really fulfilled) were tempta-
tions not to be refifted by one who never a6ted the
imprudent part of lofing fight of his immediate inter-
eft. And no wonder that our Hijlorian accepted of
fuch propolkls made to him by his Proteftant friends,
as he well knew that Father Sheldon the provincial of
the Jefuits could not bid fo high, nor ferve him fo
effectually. And yet fuch is the modtfty of the man,
that in the preface to his hiftory, he fpeaks of hav-
ing facrificed intereft to confcience, and of having
changed his religion at the expence of his fortune (k).
As the publication of the propofals and preface,
about April 1747, put an end to Mr. E*s correfpon-
dence with the Jefuits^ fo alfo did it put an end to his
afifociating with the Papifts and their Priefts in gene-
ral. For, about this time, he difappeared from Mr.
Lewises (hop ; rightly judging the impropriety of his
continuing to frequent that place, now that he had
declared himfelf the champion of the Proteftants,
where he had been known for many years in the very
{k) ' The proteftations Mr. B - - r makes of fincerity are
* very folemn I but thefe are an aggravation of hypocrify,
' if the whole condu