h I had begun to contract with Doctor d'Ivernois, making my
rambling more amusing, I went through the country herbalising, without
being affected by the clamors of this scum of the earth, whose fury was
still augmented by my calmness. What affected me most was, seeing
families of my friends,

[This fatality had begun with my residence at, Yverdon; the banneret
Roguin dying a year or two after my departure from that city, the
old papa Roguin had the candor to inform me with grief, as he said,
that in he papers of his relation, proofs had been found of his
having been concerned in the conspiracy to expel me from Yverdon and
the state of Berne. This clearly proved the conspiracy not to be,
as some people pretended to believe, an affair of hypocrisy since
the banneret, far from being a devotee, carried materialism and
incredulity to intolerance and fanaticism. Besides, nobody at
Yverdon had shown me more constant attention, nor had so prodigally
bestowed upon me praises and flattery as this banneret. He
faithfully followed the favorite plan of my persecutors.]

or of persons who gave themselves that name, openly join the league of my
persecutors; such as the D'Ivernois, without excepting the father and
brother of my Isabel le Boy de la Tour, a relation to the friend in whose
house I lodged, and Madam Girardier, her sister-in-law. This Peter Boy
was such a brute; so stupid, and behaved so uncouthly, that, to prevent
my mind from being disturbed, I took the liberty to ridicule him; and
after the manner of the 'Petit Prophete', I wrote a pamphlet of a few
pages, entitled, 'la Vision de Pierre de la Montagne dit le Voyant,
--[The vision of Peter of the Mountain called the Seer.]--in which I
found means to be diverting enough on the miracles which then served as
the great pretext for my persecution. Du Peyrou had this scrap printed
at Geneva, but its success in the country was but moderate; the
Neuchatelois with all their wit, taste but weakly attic salt or
pleasantry when these are a little refined.

In the midst of decrees and persecutions, the Genevese had distinguished
themselves by setting up a hue and cry with all their might; and my
friend Vernes amongst others, with an heroical generosity, chose that
moment precisely to publish against me letters in which he pretended to
prove I was not a Christian. These letters, written with an air of
self-sufficiency