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 then sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the horrid mansion; and I could see the indignation of free and 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 suddenly be thrown, without the possibility of rescue.

"At two o'clock we went out to view the Churches, which were now open for the afternoon service; for there are regular daily masses; and the bells began to assail the ear in every quarter.

"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 the worship offered in them!" I have been present at the service in one or other of the Chapels every day since I arrived; and I seldom see a single worshipper, but the ecclesiastics. Two rows of native Priests, kneeling in order before the altar, clothed in coarse black garments, of sickly appearance and vacant countenance, perform here, from day to day, their la

borious masses, seemingly unconscious of any other duty or obligation of life.

We

"The day was now far spent, and my companions were about to leave me. While I was considering whether I should return with them, Major Pareira said he would first introduce me to a Priest, high in office, and one of the most learned men in the place. accordingly walked to the Convent of the Augustinians, where I was presented to Josephus a Doloribus, a man well advanced in life, of pale visage and penetrating eye, rather of a reverend appearance and possessing great Aluency of speech and urbanity of manners. At first sight he presented the aspect of one of those acute and prudent men of the world, the learned and respectable Italian Jesuits, some of whom are yet found, since the demolition of their order, reposing in tranquil obscurity in different parts of the East. After half an hour's conversation in the Latin language, during which he adverted rapidly to a variety of subjects, and inquired concerning some learned men of his own Church whom I had visited in my tour, he politely invited me to take up my residence with him during my stay at Old Goa. I was highly gratified by this unexpected invitation; but Lieutenant Kempthorne did not approve of leaving me in the hands of the Inquisitor. For judge of our surprise when we discovered that my learned host was one of the Inquisitors of the holy office, the second member of that august tribunal in rank but the first and most active agent in the business of the department, Apartments were assigned to me in the College adjoining the Convent, next to the rooms of the Inquisitor himself; and here I have been now four days at the very fountain-head of information, in regard to those subjects. which I wished to investigate. I breakfast and dine with the Inquisitor almost every day, and he generally passes his evenings in my apartment. As he considers my enquiries to be chiefly of a literary nature, he is perfectly candid and communicative on all subjects.

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"Next day after my arrival, I was introduced by my learned conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. We found him reading the Latin Letters of St. Francis Xavier. On my adverting to the long duration of the

city of Goa, while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered from war or revolution, the Archbishop observed that the preservation of Goa was owing to the prayers of St. Francis Xavier.' The Inquisitor looked at 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 him a man of learning, of original genius, and great fortitude of mind; but what others have written for him and 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 posseses 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 of 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 we 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 all 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 visited at their respective convents; particularly from a Father in the Franciscan Convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Fe.”

"Goa, Agustinian Convent, 26th Jan. 1808. "On Sunday, after Divine Service, which I attended,

we looked over together the prayers and portions of Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concerning some of the doctrines of Christianity. 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 the subject. I referred to the evangelical doctrines of Augustin (we were now in the Augustinian Convent) plainly asserted by that Father in a thousand places, and he acknowledged their truth. I then asked him in what important doctrine he differed from the Protestant Church? He confessed that he never had a theological discussion with a Protestant before. By an easy transition we passed to the importance of the Bible itself, to illuminate the priests and people. I noticed to him that after looking, through the colleges and schools, there appeared to me to be a total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowledged that religion and learning were truly in a degraded state. I had visited the theological schools, and at every place I expressed my surprise to the tutors in presence of the pupils, at the absence of the Bible, and almost total want of reference to it. They pleaded the custom of the place, and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. Some of the younger Priests came to me afterwards, desiring to know by what means they might procure copies. This inquiry for Bibles was like a ray of hope beaming on the walls of the Inquisition.

"I pass an hour sometimes in the spacious library of the Augustinian Convent. There are many rare volumes, but they are chiefly theological, and almost all

of the sixteenth century. There are few classics; and I have not yet seen one copy of the original Scriptures in Hebrew or Greek."

"Goa, Augustinian Convent, 27th Jan. 1808. "On the second morning after my arrival, I was surprised by my host, the Inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed in black robes from head to foot; for the usual dress of his order is white. He said he was going to sit on the Tribunal of the Holy Office. 'I presume, Father, your august office does not occupy much of your time.' Yes,' answered he,' much. sit on the Tribunal three or four days every week.'

I

"I had thought, for some days, of putting Dellon's book into the Inquisitor's hands; for if I could get him to advert to the facts stated in that book, I should be able to learn, by comparison, the exact state of the Inquisition at the present time. In the evening he came in, as usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some conversation, I took the pen in my hand to write a few notes in my journal; and, as if to amuse him, while I was writing, I took up Dellon's book, which was lying with some others on the table, and handing it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in the French language, which he understood well. Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa,' pronounced he, with a slow articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and began to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the beginning, as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil. He then composed himself to read, while I continued to write. He turned over the pages with rapidity, and when he came to a certain place, he exclaimed in the broad Italian accent, Mendacium, Mendacium.' I requested he would mark those passages which were untrue, and we should discuss them afterwards, for that I had other books on the subject. Other books,' said he, and he looked with an enquiring eye on those on the table. He continued reading till it was time to retire to rest, and then begged to take the book with him.