wn them at Rome, the poor young ladies had become quite handmaids of
superstition, so that they, especially the youngest, were prepared to bow
down to anything, and kiss anything, however vile and ugly, provided a
priest commanded them; and as for the old governor, what with the
influence which his daughters exerted, and what with the ascendency which
the red-haired man had obtained over him, he dared not say his purse, far
less his soul, was his own. Only think of an Englishman not being master
of his own purse! My acquaintance, the lady's maid, assured me that, to
her certain knowledge, he had disbursed to the red-haired man, for
purposes of charity, as it was said, at least one thousand pounds during
the five weeks we had been at Rome. She also told me that things would
shortly be brought to a conclusion--and so indeed they were, though in a
different manner from what she and I and some other people imagined; that
there was to be a grand festival, and a mass, at which we were to be
present, after which the family were to be presented to the Holy Father,
for so those two priestly sharks had managed it; and then . . . she said
she was certain that the two ladies, and perhaps the old governor, would
forsake the religion of their native land, taking up with that of these
foreign regions, for so my fellow-servant expressed it, and that perhaps
attempts might be made to induce us poor English servants to take up with
the foreign religion, that is herself and me, for as for our
fellow-servant, the other maid, she wanted no inducing, being disposed
body and soul to go over to it. Whereupon I swore with an oath that
nothing should induce me to take up with the foreign religion; and the
poor maid, my fellow-servant, bursting into tears, said that for her part
she would die sooner than have anything to do with it; thereupon we shook
hands and agreed to stand by and countenance one another: and moreover,
provided our governors were fools enough to go over to the religion of
these here foreigners, we would not wait to be asked to do the like, but
leave them at once, and make the best of our way home, even if we were
forced to beg on the road.

'At last the day of the grand festival came, and we were all to go to the
big church to hear the mass. Now it happened that for some time past I
had been much afflicted with melancholy, especially when I got up of a
morning, produced by the strange manner in which I saw things going on i