Gentlemen was devolv'd providentially upon me; of which by God's Affiftance I acquitted my felf in that Discourse with such fuccefs, that after the publishing of it thofe Gentlemen became very quiet, and never after that I could hear of, reproached the Church of England with the English Herefies and Schifms.

I am now a third time engaged in Controverfy with an unknown Adverfary, and by an unforeseen accident, which was not in my Power to prevent. In the Octaves of Chriftmas in the year 1703, as I happened to be alone in my own Houfe, a young Gentleman of good appearance and addrefs came to me; and after making an apology in fuch manner, as the civility of Strangers obligeth them to do, he told me he came to ask me a question, which I remember was to this effect: Whether the Fathers were not the beft judges between the Church of England and the Church of Rome, in the Controverfy concerning the Doctrine of Tranfubftantiation? To which I reply'd in thefe or the like words: That the confentient Testimony of the Fathers was undoubtedly the best and fureft evidence for or against the truth of any Doctrines in difpute between the two Churches; and particularly in the Controversy of Tranfubftantiation, we of the Church of England were willing to have it try'd by that Teflimony, whether that Doctrine were true or falfe. Then he asked me, if I had read a Book entituled Nubes Teftium; I anfwer'd, that I had read it about nineteen Years ago, when it was first publifh'd. Then he ask'd me again, if the Fathers cited in that Book were truly cited, to which I reply'd, that to the best of my remembrance many of them were partially cited, and all falfly, fallacioufly, and impertinently apply'd; adding, that a good anfwer to it had been publifh'd many

Years

Years fince, to which I referr'd him. He told me, he had not heard of that anfwer, and fo other Company coming in and interrupting all farther Difcourfe he took leave; when waiting upon him to the Door without asking his name, I defir'd to know, if he ask'd that queftion about Tranfubftantiation upon his own Account or of fome other Perfon? Not upon my own account, Sir, (faid he with an accent of Zeal) for I thank God I am a Roman Catholick, but for another Perfon.

Some time after he came to me again to defire me, as he was pleas'd to fpeak, to give a charitable vifit that Evening to a Gentlewoman at his House. I then began to apprehend what was coming upon me; and having ask'd where his House and who that Gentlewoman was, I told him I would wait upon her that Evening, betwixt five and fix a Clock. This Gentlewoman was his Sifter, whom he had profelyted to the Church of Rome. At the time appointed I went, as I promised, to his Houfe, where he was pleas'd to conduct me up ftairs with great civility to the dining room; where feeing two Gentlewomen, 1 ask'd him which of them was his Sifter; which having told me, we fat down, and then he faid, Sir, the queftion my Sifter would ask of you is this, Whe ther the Fathers, &c. as in the question he had ask'd me at my Houfe. After he had repeated the question, I fpoke to his Sifter in these words: Madam, before 1 answer this, I must beg leave to ask you another question, to which I expect you'll return a plain pofitive answer: Are you already reconciled to the Church of Rome or not? This queftion, as I perceived, was not expected from me, because it put the Lady to a stand, who after longer filence than fuch an eafy queftion needed, reply'd: Indeed, Sir, I cannot deny, but that I am

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almost perfelly fatisfied. Then faid I, Madam, why was I fent for? I am defired to come to you, as Phyficians fometimes are to vifit Patients, when there are no hopes of recovery. I faid a great deal more upon that occafion, as I thought I had juft reafon, which I judge needlefs to repeat, and then proceeded to give the fame answer to the question her Brother had put for her, which I had given him before; adding, that if they pleafed to put the merit of the Controverfy between the two Churches upon the doctrine of Tranfubftantiation, and try it by the testimony of the Fathers, I would be content to allot one Day in every Week to examine the Fathers of the five first Centuries, with her Guide or any other of their Priefts, in order to come to an iffue in that point; and when her Brother objected, that would take up too much time, I offer'd to make short work of it by agreeing to fland or fall in that difpute by the fole authority and testimony of St. Auguftin, the great Doctor of the Latin Church.But this neither being accepted, I took leave, not expecting to hear any more from them.

Not many days after, the Gentleman came again to me in the Evening, to tell me his Sifter defired to give me a vifit, which, altho' fafting, and wearied with a long Walk, I confented to receive within an hour. He came along with her; and after common forms upon fuch occafions, he told me, that what I had faid to his Sifter of the danger the would be in, if fhe turned Roman Catholick, had made her defirous once more to speak with me. This gave me a new occafion to fet before her the great danger of her Apoftacy: I told her again, that the moment fhe went over to the Church of Rome, the muft be refponfible to God for all the Errors, Abufes, and Corruptions of it in Doctrine, Worship, and Government,

which were many and grievous; and 1 befeeched her by her eternal Salvation to give her felf time to compare the Doctrine, Worship, and Government of the two Churches one with the other, in their Creeds, Offices, and Conftitutions, telling her, that was the best way to judge which of the two Communions was the moft pure and primitive, when they were fo fet one against the other.

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told her common decency and the Duty fhe ow'd the Church in which fhe had been bred, required she should do this, and I offer'd to affift and direct her in the work; putting her in mind, how many Months fhe had converfed with Romish Priefts, without once communicating her doubts to any Minister of the Church of England; and that juftice to her felf, as well as to the Caufe of the Religion fhe had profeffed, required fhe fhould be impartial, and hear from us at one Ear, as the had a long time hearkened to our Adverfaries at the other. At leaft, I told her, fhe ought to have a new hearing of the Caufe before us and them together; that otherwife her partiality would aggravate the Crime of her revolt, and that her danger would be much greater, than that of thofe who were bred up in the Church of Rome. And because we had difcourfed of Tranfubftantiation, I begg'd leave to fet before her the contradictions of that Doctrine, its inconfiftencies with the Latin Canon of the Mafs, and offer'd to fhew, her the monftrous and horrible Indignities and Difhonours it reflected upon our Saviour's bleffed Body and Blood, fuppofing fuch defects fhould happen in the celebration of the Mafs, as the Roman Mif fal recites. I alfo offer'd again to try the truth of that Doctrine by the Fathers, particularly by St. Augustin, if he would be concluded by his Authority. But the faid, the had rather it fhould

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be try'd by St. Cyril, meaning St. Cyril of Hierufalem, to which I confented; telling her, that to determine any Difputes which might arife from St. Cyril's words, it would be convenient at the Conference to have the Fathers by us, who wrote in the Age wherein he lived. IL

After this I expected when the Conference would be appointed, in which we were to examine the Doctrine of Tranfubftantiation by the Writings of St. Cyril, or fome others of the Fathers; but after fome Days her Brother came again to tell me, that the Gentleman (meaning the Milioner) I was to meet, defired the Confe rence might be about the Infallibility of the Church This I alfo accepted, defiring the Dispute might be in Writing. But, as you will find in my Adverfary's Reply to my Anfwer, the Gentleman miftook the Infallibility for the Indefedibility of the Church.

In order to this difpute about Indefe&tibility, he fent me a Paper called a Query from my unknown Adverfary, with which our Controverfy began. I was very unwilling at that time to enter into Controverfy, being then, as I told him, intent upon a great work of another nature, which was enough for all my time and thoughts. But there was no remedy, for I feared, had I declined the Difpute, that ill ufe would have been made of it; and perhaps it was not without the special Providence of God, that I was brought under a neceffity to leave this testimony behind me against the Popery of the Roman Church: Concerning which I here declare, that if I were in fuch freights, that I could not upon Catholick Principles join my felf to any other Communion; I muft rather chufe to dye, as fome good Men have done, in the melancholy ftate of Segregation, than join in Communion with the Church of Rome.

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