in her hand, and heard her fing in a masterly manner. She could not fee me, but I had' a full view of her fine face, and as I remembred to have seen her fomewhere, I ftood gazing at her with wonder and delight, and was ftriving to recollect where I had been in her company, when another young one came into the room, whom I had reafon to remember very well, on account of an accident, and then I knew they were the two young ladies I had feen at Mr. Harcourt's, (fee p. 374. of Memoirs of feveral Ladies of Great Britain,) and admired very greatly for the charms of their perfons, and the beauties of their minds. Upon this I walked up to the window, and after a little aftonishment at seeing me, they behaved with the greatest civility, and feemed to be highly pleased with the accidental meeting. While we were talking, their mamma came into the apartment, and on their letting her know who I was, and where they had been acquainted with me, the old lady was pleased to ask me to stay at her house that night, and to affure me she was glad to fee me, as she had often heard her daughters fpeak of me. days I paffed with great pleasure in this sweet place, and then with regret took my leave. These two fine young creatures were the Mifs Thurloe's, and are Mrs. Lowman and Mrs. Munkley, in the Memoirs of feveral La

P 4

Three

dies

Account

of a Carthufian

dies of Great Britain. In the 2d volume of that work, the reader will find their lives.

4. The 5th of July I left Mrs. Thurloe's, and by the affistance of a guide, had a fine monastery ride to the house of Friar Fleming, in Richmondbire. mondshire, where I arrived by noon. I dined

in Rich

with this good Francifcan, and should have lain there that night, but that I could not help being melancholy, on miffing my dear friend Tom, the Monk's brother, who died of a fever, as before related. From him then I parted in the evening, and rid to a Carthufian monaftry, which confifted of seven monks, men of fome eftate, who had agreed to live together in this remote place, and pass their lives in piety, study, and gardening. I had a letter from Fleming to one of these gentlemen, the fuperior, letting him know I was his near friend, and defiring he would receive me as himself; that, although a proteftant, I was of no party, but in charity with all mankind. This letter procured me all the kindness and honours thefe gentlemen could fhew me. They behaved with great civility and tenderness, and gave me the best they had, good fifh, good bread, good wine, excellent fruit, and fine vegetables; for as to flesh, they never eat any, by their rule,

They were all learned and devout men, very grave and filent for the most part, ex

cept

cept when vifited, but without any thing ftiff or morofe in their manner. They had a large collection of books, and feemed to understand them well. What time they had to fpare from the hours of divine fervice, and working in their gardens, according to the rule of St. Benet, which they follow, they give to ftudy, and had many volumes. of their own writing; being moftly old MSS. they had tranfcribed, Greek, Latin, and French. Making fuch copies was their principal work in the closet.

bies, ficti

§. 5. I ftayed two days with these Reafons genfor reading tlemen, and had a good deal of useful con- the works verfation with them, on various fubjects. On of the Rablooking into the writings of the Rabbies, which tious and I faw in their library, I told one of these extravaChartreux, that it was a wonder to me, that they are, any one read fuch extravagant fabulous relations and defpicable fictions as these books contained, and fhould be glad to know, what good could be extracted from them.

The Friar replied, that notwithstanding their being fictitious and extravagant to a high degree, yet great ufe may be made of the works of the Rabbies, and especially of the Talmud of Babylon (11.) We obtain from

thence

gant as

An account of

(11) Reader, that you may the better understand the converfation I had with this learned Carthufian, I must the Tal

inform muds.

thence a knowledge of the customs and opinions of the Jews, which afford fome benefit. In the next place, they ferve to the confirmation

of

inform you what the Talmud, and other writings of the Rabbies, are.

The Talmud is a celebrated piece of Jewish literature, that is full of Rabinical domination and enthufiafm. The Rabbins pretend, this book contains the Oral laws, and other fecrets, which God communicated to Mofes. It confifts of two parts, each of which is divided into feveral books. In the first part, which they call Mishna, is the text. In the other, is a fort of comment on the text, and this is ftiled the Gemara.

This oral law, or tradition of the Jews, was collected after the deftruction of the Temple, A. D. 150, by Rabbi Judah, and is by them preferred before the fcripture. They fuppofe it was orally delivered by Mofes to Ifrael, and unlawful to be written; but when Jerufalem was deftroyed, they were conftrained to write it, leaft it fhould be loft; but yet it was fo written, as that none but themfelves might understand it.This Mina and Gemara compleat the two Talmuds: -that of Jerufalem, A. D. 230;—and that of Babylon, 500 years after Chrift. Many parts of these Talmuds are tranflated by feveral learned men, who have endeavoured to render them intelligible: but in order to understand them fully, you must read the Jud Chaska, or Mifhna Torah of Mofes Maimonides, who was phyfician to the king of Egypt about 600 years ago. This Rabbi hath comprized the fubftance of the Mishna and Gemara of the Talmud, in his books, and enabled us to understand all the Mishna with eafe and pleasure. See likewise the Clavis Talmudica, Cock's Excerpta, and the works of the excellent Ludivicus de Campeigne du Veil, who had been a Few, but became a Roman Catholic; from Rome went over to the Church of England, where he was for several years in the character of a great divine: but at last turned Baptif, and died a member of that chriftian church; which loft him all his friends and intereft.

He

of the hiftory of Jefus Chrift; for it appears by the Babylonish Talmud, that there was one Jefus, who had disciples, lived in such and such a place, and did and said divers things; and in the Bible many texts relating to the Meffias are confirmed and explained by these books of the Rabbies, though not by them intended. This I have fince found to be the truth of the cafe. I have read the works of the Rabbins fince, and find it to be as the Carthufian faid. For example;

It is faid in Gen. iii. 15. I will put enmity between thy feed and her feed. It shall bruife thy bead, and thou shalt bruife his heel. Now the Targum of Onkelos gives the fense thus: The man shall be mindful of, or remember, what thou (fatan) haft done to him in times paft, and thou shalt obferve, watch or baunt him till the end of days; that is, the ferpent or devil fhould purfue and have dominion over the world till the last days, and then the prince of this world should be caft out,

He died the beginning of this century, with the reputation of an upright Chriftian and a moft learned man. There is no tolerable account given of him in any of the Biographical Dictionaries. What they fay is short and next to nothing. And the Popish accounts are not only fhort, but falfe, and mere calumny.I took a great deal of pains fome years ago, to collect among the Baptifs, and from others who knew this great man, every thing I could get relating to him and his works, and formed what I had got into a life of him, which I did intend to infert in this place; but by fome accident or other, it is gone. I cannot find it any where.

and