"Well," I exclaimed to myself, "I must be firm in my resolution; the more I am pressed and solicited to remain, the more speedily shall my departure take place. As long as I am met with reproaches and annoyances, I have nothing to fear; but when the opposite measure of kindness and entreaty is adopted, I am too weak to resist; and I cannot look for a miracle in my favour, if I needlessly expose myself to danger. Onward, then, and let me depart, in the name of God." But whither? In what part of the world should I seek an asylum? At Geneva? or at Malta? I at length determined for the Ionian Islands. Previous to my departure, I called upon all my friends in the neighbourhood, and I wrote farewell letters to others who were beyond my reach. I did not neglect to visit my relations; and, having provided myself with a servant, I set off for Ancona, stopping on the road in those towns where I chanced to find any of my acquaintance. The Governor of Ancona, Monsignor Orfei, (now Bishop of Cesena), was an old friend of mine; consequently I did not hide from him the reason of my leaving Italy, or the place I had chosen for my retreat, which I had frequent occasion to discuss with him during the fortnight I remained in the place. I mention all this as a proof that I neither fled from my country, nor sought in any way to conceal myself; and that my going into exile was a matter of free choice, dictated by conscientious motives, and nothing else. I left Ancona on the 4th of October, and two days afterwards reached Corfu. I was fortunate enough to get included in the passport of a family with which I travelled, without any separate mention being made of my name; this was a necessary precaution, to ensure me from molestation on the road. But at Corfu I was on free ground, protected by the laws, and under colours that owe no obedience to the pope. Here, then, I blessed the Lord, and offered up my thanksgiving to Him, for having thus far preserved me from the jaws of the lion, and from the hands of those who sought to ensnare my soul. For the first time in my life I breathed the fresh air of true liberty--of that precious liberty of spirit which is granted to the children of God. I sought for a minister of the holy Evangelists; and soon became acquainted with the Reverend Isaac Lowndes, an independent minister, and Secretary to the Bible Society. I ran to him as a famished man would to obtain bread; I opened my whole mind to him; I chose him for my spiritual director; and he has always proved himself to be one of my best and most esteemed friends.