then the Duchess, and in ten minutes it would all be done. He had heard of surgical operations which had lasted much longer than that, and men had lived through them, and been able to speak of them calmly in after years. But when he pictured to himself what would follow-the Duchess's tears and lamentations, as she made her preparations for departure-Jeanne moving silently from room to room, packing and arranging, with a grave, sorrowful face, worse than any outspoken reproach, his fortitude gave way, and throwing his arms over the back of the bench he hid his face in them and groaned.

After a time some one came behind him and touched him gently on the

shoulder.

I

He started up, and saw Saint-Luc. "Oh, is it you, Saint-Luc ?" said he, in a hurried, confused manner. will be with you directly. I must just speak to my sister and the Duchess-it will not take ten minutes-and then I will come back. I have added up what I owe you, and it comes to two hundred and fifty-five thousand eight hundred francs, I think. I shall be able to pay you before very long; but you will understand that it takes a little time." Saint-Luc did not reply, but, passing

his arm through Léon's, led him away towards the Hotel d'Orient. The young man made no resistance till they had reached the door, then he started and drew back. "Where are we?" he asked, pushing his hat back from his forehead. "This is your hotel, is it not? I think I must have fallen asleep. I must be going home now."

66

Not at this hour," said Saint-Luc, quietly. "It is morning already, and you would disturb them. You can have the bedroom next to mine, and if you have anything to say about money matters, we will discuss it at breakfast. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is to take off your clothes and get to sleep."

The young man made some faint effort at opposition, but he was too confused and weary to hold out long; and half an hour afterwards he was in bed, and sleeping as soundly as if the events of the evening had been merely a troubled dream.

Saint-Luc peeped in at him presently through the half-open door, and then stealing away on tip-toe to his own window, lighted a cigar and watched the sun rise from behind the shadowy Djurdjura range. Cornhill Magazine.

II.

Belgravia Magazine.

CREDULITY is a phenomenon of persistent recurrence in the history of mankind, but its manifestations, on a large scale, vary from age to age, according to the differing character of its chief factors, ignorance and curiosity. Ignorance, pure and simple, of Nature and men, of life and books, is usually coupled with a restless inquisitiveness and insatiable thirst for news regardless of its quality. The credulity bred of this union becomes the prey of gross and vulgar frauds addressed to any prevailing disposition or current prejudice of the time. Learned ignorance, i.e., the lack of any knowledge of the world and its pursuits with the exception of one absorbing object of study, is commonly united with a curiosity, the restricted scope of which only renders it the more morbidly active. Credulity is as common among experts as the world at large, but the frauds which victimise them must be contrived with special skill, so as to appeal to their ruling passion and arouse their enthusiasm, without appearing to offend the conditions of which their experience qualifies them to judge. The several characteristics here referred to may be illustrated by two remarkable cases, one of which occurred at the outset and the other at the close of the eighteenth century.

In 1704 Anne has been on the throne

two years. The Tories are in the secure possession of power and office, and fresh lustre has just been conferred upon their administration and the national arms by the victory of Blenheim and the capture of Gibraltar. The atmosphere is stormy with theological controversy, but the strength and popularity of the Established Church have been demonstrated beyond doubt in the recent debates upon the Bill of Conformity, and Nonconformists, Nonjurors, and Catholics alike must hide their diminished heads. The pleasure-seeking, gossip-loving society of London is in full career of its pursuit after every species of novelty and excitement. The gaming-tables at White's and other chocolate and coffeehouses, the public lotteries and the political clubs are unfailing sources of attraction. Duncan Campbell, the deaf and dumb fortune-teller, holds daily receptions at which persons of the highest rank seek his oracular counsel upon doubtful cases of love, intrigue, or speculation. The wits at Will's are discussing the merits of Addison's Campaign, and enjoying the caustic satire of the Tale of a Tub and the Battle of the Books, by which Swift has just leapt into fame. The latest works of Congreve and Wycherley draw crowded audiences to the leading theatres; and rumors are afloat respecting a project for

performing an intermezzo of Italian Music at York Buildings. These competing claimants for the town's favor are all at once set aside by the arrival of a new lion, who absorbs public curiosity by the romantic interest of his character and adventures. He is a young, middlesized, well-shaped" man of fair complexion, giving the name of George Psalmanazar, a converted savage from the tropics, who still retains a preference for his old diet of roots and raw meat, but in all other respects conforms to the usages of civilised society. He has come to England at the invitation of Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, to whom he has been recommended by the Rev. Mr. Innes, chaplain of a Scotch regiment in the Dutch service. These are his preliminary credentials, His account of himself is as follows:

He was born of a noble family in the island of Formosa, situate, as all the world knows, in the Pacific, off the coast of China. At an early age he was placed by his father under the tuition of a learned man who passed for a Japanese then on a visit to the island, from whom he acquired not only the ordinary instruction of a Formosan youth in the national creed and literature, but a thorough knowledge of Latin. This teaching was enlivened by glowing narrations of the wonders of Europe which inflamed his young imagination, and when his tutor suddenly declared an intention of undertaking a journey thither, Psalmanazar entreated permission to accompany him. The tutor assented with much apparent reluctance, but enjoined the youth to keep the matter a secret from his father, some of whose money it would be necessary to borrow for the expenses of the journey. The fugitives made good their way to the coast and embarked for one of the Philippine islands, whence they sailed to Goa; thence by Gibraltar to Toulon and finally reached Avignon. Here, at the Jesuits' College, the pretended Japanese announced himself to his astonished pupil as Father de Rode, a missionary brother of the Order, who had assumed the disguise in which he visited Formosa (from which all Christians were legally excluded) with the pious design of saving one heathen soul. All the learning and skill of the Father and his brethren NEW SERIES.-VOL. XXX., No. 1

was then employed to bring about the youth's conversion; but without success. His mother-wit, sharpened by education, enabled him to detect the fallacy of the arguments which maintained Jesuitical Christianity to be a more reasonable creed than Formosan paganism. The baffled doctors having threatened him with the Inquisition, Psalmanazar managed to escape from Avignon. After leading a vagrant life for some months, he was pressed into the service of the Elector of Cologne. At Sluys, whither his regiment marched, two Protestant chaplains endeavored to convert him, the one to Lutheranism, the other to Calvinism, but the weapons of consubstantiation and predestination proved powerless against the shield of his heathen incredulity. Mr. Innes, the chaplain of Brigadier Lauder, governor of the town, then entered the lists as champion of the Church of England. A brief exposition of its tenets sufficed to convince Psalmanazar of their truth, and he became, to use his own language, a willing proselyte to "a religion that was not embarrassed with any of those absurdities which are maintained by the various sects in Christendom." He was at once baptised, the Brigadier standing his sponsor, and obtained his discharge from the army. The news of so remarkable a conversion was communicated by Mr. Innes to the Bishop of Lon-don, who invited him and Psalmanazar over to England.

This interesting narrative of savage innocence, Jesuit cunning, and Anglican skill takes the heart of London by storm, and disarms the animosities of all parties by its appeal to common sympathies. The Tories, headed by the clergy, are delighted at such a signal demonstration of the superior claims of Anglicanism to any other form of Christianity, and the Whigs to find their suspicions of Jesuitry so strongly confirmed. The fashionable world is enraptured with the acquisition of a visitor so absolutely fresh, a young man of noble birth, uncommon ability, good looks, and fair breeding, a Christian who was once by his own confession a cannibal. The wits and philosophers are curious respecting the manners and customs of the Formosans, their language and religion, upon all which subjects he affords ample 6

46

information. He is petted and fêted accordingly in the highest circles, dining now with " my Lord Pembroke," now with my Lady Powis ;" is invited to Sion House and the Royal Society, and at the residence of its secretary, Mr. (afterwards Sir Hans) Sloane, meets his Excellency Baron Spannheim, the Prussian Envoy. A few detractors of his merits are of course to be found, but jealousies invariably attend upon a successful career, and all objections to the credibility of his story will soon be set at rest by the appearance of the historical work upon which he is known to be engaged. This volume is published in the course of the same year, a translation from the author's Latin, hastily made at the urgent request of the booksellers who are eager to gratify the public appetite. It bears the following title: "An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an island subject to the Emperor of Japan, giving an account of the religion, customs, manners, &c., of the inhabitants; together with a relation of what happened to the author in his travels, particularly his conferences with the Jesuits and others in several parts of Europe. Also the history and reasons of his conversion to Christianity, with his objections against it in defence of Paganism, and their answers, &c. To which is prefixed a preface in vindication of himself from the reflections of a Jesuit lately come from China, with an account of what passed between them. By George Psalmanazar, a native of the said island, now in London. Illustrated with several cuts."

After a grateful dedication to the Bishop of London, the author commences a long preface by charging the Dutch historian Candidius, and all other writers upon Formosa, with gross ignorance or glaring falsehood, which it is the object of his work to expose. He proceeds to describe his contest with Father Fountenay, a Jesuit missionary newly arrived from China, whose effrontery in challenging certain of his statements at a meeting of the Royal Society he chastised as it deserved; and concludes the preface with a fervent thanksgiving to God for the blessings of his conversion. The first hundred and fifty pages of the work are occupied with a narrative of the author's adventures, the substance

of which we have already given, and a copious profession of his faith in Anglican Christianity. A description of Formosa follows. We learn that the capital error of its previous historians is their concurrent assertion that the sovereignty of the island is vested in the Emperor of China. To vindicate the dignity of his nation and establish the truth of history upon a firm basis, Psalmanazar epitomises the annals of the kingdom for the last two hundred and fifty years, to show how, after the long reign of a native dynasty, one Meryaandanoo, a Chinese fugitive, by divers intrigues usurped the throne of Japan and subsequently that of Formosa. That there may be no doubt as to the correctness of this information, the letter which Meryaandanoo addressed to the native monarch whom he eventually deposed, whereby he obtained admission into the island, is set out verbatim.

We are then informed touching the civil and religious government of the country. Under the latter head the author recounts the historical foundation of the polytheism by law established. The sacrifice of boys' hearts to the number of 18,oco per annum is its leading rite. Plans of the chief temple and its altars are given in illustration. We have next a description of the great religious festivals and the ceremonies observed at birth, marriage, and death. The national belief respecting a future state is based upon the transmigration of souls, males having the preference of choice. The soul of a woman, it is held, cannot attain eternal rest until it has informed the body of a man. Some indeed think that if it animate the body of a male beast, it is sufficient to attain as great happiness as it is capable of."

66

A minute account of the Formosan priesthood is followed by details respecting the manners and customs of the people, with numerous illustrations. The upper classes, of which the author is a member, are as fair-skinned as Europeans, owing to their practice of living during the hot season either in caverns underground, among dense groves which exclude the sun, or in tents kept cool by perpetual sprinkling with water. Their dress, to judge from the illustrations, is partially European in fashion, although from the description of some

of its materials, such as tiger, leopard, and bear skins, it would seem scarcely suited to a tropical climate. The pictures of the chief cities and buildings prove the national architecture to be a novel amalgamation of the classical and Chinese styles. Under the head of diet we are informed of a remarkable peculiarity in the organisation of the Formosan reptilia. The islanders are wont to beat live serpents "with rods until they be very angry, and when they are in this furious passion all the venom that was in the body ascends to the head, which, being then cut off, there remains no more poison in the body, which may therefore be safely eaten.' Thus, says the author on the subject of meals, "all who can live without working eat their breakfast about seven of the clock in the morning; first they smoke a pipe of tobacco, then they drink bohea, green, or sage tea; afterwards they cut off the head of a viper and suck the blood out of the body. This, in my humble opinion, is the most wholesome breakfast a man can make." Flesh is usually eaten raw by the Formosans. Though not habitual cannibals, they eat the bodies of their enemies taken in war and also of "malefactors legally executed. The flesh of the latter is our greatest dainty, and is four times dearer than other rare and delicious food." Under special circumstances, moreover, a Formosan husband, whose wife has offended him, soothes his injured feelings by resorting to cannibalism. Having first sent for his wife's father and other members of her family, "sometimes with fiery indignation he strikes her into the breast with a dagger, and sometimes to show his resentment he will take her heart out hastily and eat it before her relations.

Of natural curiosities in the island, perhaps the most extraordinary is the suspension of the law of gravitation in the case of a tree called Charpok, which differs from all other trees in "that whereas their fruit hangs downward, the fruit of this stands upright." In his concluding chapter, which treats of the Formosan language, the author dwells at some length upon its alphabet and grammatical structure, and adds specimens of the written character which are to be read from right to left. Though not stated to be cognate to any other lan

guage, the presence of Greek roots is noticeable; for example, in the words gnosophes (priests), koriam (lord), kay (and), &c. On this point, however, the author does not comment, although mentioning the curious fact that Greek is generally taught in the public academies.

*

The first edition of the work was rapidly sold, and a second called for in the following year. In the interval Psalmanazar was sent to Oxford by the Bishop of London and other patrons, in order to complete his education and prepare himself for returning as a missionary to the island. Some account of an interview with him at this period has been left by a contemporary. Being questioned respecting the average duration of life in Formosa, he stated it to range from 100 to 120, a longevity which he ascribed to the national practice of sucking warm viper's blood in the morning. A lady of the party expressing horror at its being the custom of Formosan husbands to cut off the heads of their unfaithful wives, he protested that he could not even now consider it a sin, but admitted smilingly that it was certainly "unmannerly. He did not remain long at Oxford, being called to London that he might superintend the issue of his second edition. The preface and several passages of the text testify to the growth of a formidable crop of objections to the truth of his narrative since the first edition appeared. Of these the author deals with twenty-five, some of which would perplex a skilled casuist; but with charming agility he manages either to evade or leap over every difficulty. His statement, for example, that 18,000 boys' hearts were annually sacrificed, has been questioned on the ground that such a practice would long since have depopulated the island; but he explains that he only referred to this number as legally required by the priests. Bribery, prompted by parental affection, no doubt tended greatly to diminish it. Does anyone question his ability to remember the precise words of the letter written by Meryaandanoo? The answer is simple and sufficient: "My father has a copy of the letter by him."

The preface briefly alludes to a recent conversation which the author had with

* Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxv. p. 78