49 o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



king), from motives of vanity only, by the pride of the Je- 

 fuits, and the ignorance of the conful, hurried in one day 

 into apoftacy and flavery! Whatever Maillet thought of Pon- 

 cet's conduct, his bringing Murat, and him only, cook as 

 he was, was the very luckieft accident of his life. 



I know French flatterers will fay this would not have 

 happened, or, if it had, a vengeance would have followed, 

 worthy the occafion and the refentment of fo great a king, 

 and would have prevented all fuch violations of the law of 

 nations for the future. To this I anfwer, The mifchief 

 would have been irreparable, and the revenge taken, how- 

 ever complete, would not have reftored them their religion, 

 and, without their religion, they themfelves would not havs 

 returned into their own country, but would have remained 

 necefTary facrifices, which the pride and rafhnefs of the Je- 

 fuits had made to the faith of Mahomet, 



Besides, where is the threatened revenge for the afiaflinav 

 tion of M. du Roule, then actual ambaffador from the king 

 of France, of which I am now to fpeak ? Was not the law of 

 nations violated in the ftrongeft manner poffible by his 

 murder, and without the fmalleft provocation ? What ven- 

 geance was taken for this ? — Juft the fame as would have 

 been for the other injury ; for the Jcfuits and conful 

 would have concealed the one, as tendernefs for the Fran- 

 cifan Friars had made them cover the other, left their a*- 

 bominable wickednefs mould be expofed. If the court of 

 France did not, their conful in Cairo mould have known 

 what the confequence would be of decoying twenty-eight 

 Abyflinians from their own country, to be perverted from 



their 



