FATHER SIMON. 569

took it with so many hazards, and who have no prospect of the
least temporal advantage to themselves.

But to return to my story. This French priest, Father Simon,
was appointed, it seems, by order of the chief of the mission, to go up
to Pekin, the royal seat of the Chinese Emperor, and waited only
for another priest who was ordered to come to him from Macao to
go along with him; and we scarce ever met together but he was
inviting me to go that journey, telling me how he would show me
all the glorious things of that mighty empire; and, among the rest,
the greatest city in the world—‘‘ A city,” said he, “‘that your London
and our Paris put together cannot be equal to.”” This was the city
of Pekin: which, I confess, is very great, and infinitely full of
people; but as I looked on those things with different eyes from
other men, so I shall give my opinion of them in few words, when
I come in the course of my travels to speak more particularly of
them,

But first, I come to my friar or missionary. Dining with him
one day, and being very merry together, I showed some little in-
clination to go with him, and he pressed me and my partner very
hard, and with a great many persuasions, to consent. ‘‘ Why,
Father Simon,” says my partner, “why should you desire our
company so much? You know we are heretics, and you do not
love us, nor can keep us company with any pleasure.” ‘“ Oh,”
says he, “ you may, perhaps, be good Catholics in time; my busi-
ness here is to convert heathens, and who knows but I may convert
you too.” “ Very well, father,” said I; ‘so you will preach to us
all the way.” “I won’t be troublesome to you,” says he; “ our
religion does not divest us of good manners; besides,” says he,
“we are here like countrymen, and so we are, compared to the
place we arein; andif you are Huguenots and I a Catholic, we may
be all Christians at last; at least,” said he, ‘‘ we are all gentlemen,
and we may converse so without being uneasy to one another.” I
liked that part of his discourse very well, and it began to put me
in mind of my priest that I had left in the Brazils; but this Father
Simon did not come up to his character, by a great deal; for
though Father Simon had no appearance of a criminal levity in
him neither, yet he had not that fund of Christian zeal, strict