ed some gibberish
prose and verse, written in his invented character, muttering or
chanting it, as the humour took him. His custom of eating raw flesh
seemed to assist his deception more than the sun and moon.[218]

In a garrison at Sluys he found a Scotch regiment in the Dutch pay; the
commander had the curiosity to invite our Formosan to confer with Innes,
the chaplain to his regiment. This Innes was probably the chief cause of
the imposture being carried to the extent it afterwards reached. Innes
was a clergyman, but a disgrace to his cloth. As soon as he fixed his
eye on our Formosan, he hit on a project; it was nothing less than to
make Psalmanazar the ladder of his own ambition, and the stepping-place
for him to climb up to a good living! Innes was a worthless character;
as afterwards appeared, when by an audacious imposition Innes practised
on the Bishop of London, he avowed himself to be the author of an
anonymous work, entitled "A Modest Inquiry after Moral Virtue;" for this
he obtained a good living in Essex: the real author, a poor Scotch
clergyman, obliged him afterwards to disclaim the work in print, and to
pay him the profit of the edition which Innes had made! He lost his
character, and retired to the solitude of his living; if not penitent,
at least mortified.

Such a character was exactly adapted to become the foster-father of
imposture. Innes courted the Formosan, and easily won on the adventurer,
who had hitherto in vain sought for a patron. Meanwhile no time was lost
by Innes to inform the unsuspicious and generous Bishop of London of the
prize he possessed--to convert the Formosan was his ostensible pretext;
to procure preferment his concealed motive. It is curious enough to
observe, that the ardour of conversion died away in Innes, and the most
marked neglect of his convert prevailed, while the answer of the bishop
was protracted or doubtful. He had at first proposed to our Formosan
impostor to procure his discharge, and convey him to England; this was
eagerly consented to by our pliant adventurer. A few Dutch schellings,
and fair words, kept him in good humour; but no letter coming from the
bishop, there were fewer words, and not a stiver! This threw a new light
over the character of Innes to the inexperienced youth. Psalmanazar
sagaciously now turned all his attention to some Dutch ministers; Innes
grew jealous lest they should pluck the bird which he had already in his
net. He resolved to bapti