It is a difficult matter to drive this idea from the heads of the priests and monks of the Romish Church, the major part of whom are accustomed to an idle life, setting aside the _laborious_ duty of saying Mass; so that even when they leave their ancient creed, from motives of conscience and clear conviction, their first inquiry is, how they are to live. Hence it follows that many of them are kept in their allegiance to Rome, because they fear they shall die of hunger if they desert her. Others, on the contrary, deceived by false statements, forsake the Church of Rome, and throw themselves boldly into any reform whatever, under the vain hope of finding the means of becoming rich in so doing. The first err through too great timidity, and the second through too great rashness. Both the one and the other are very little serviceable to the cause. I have had experience with both kinds--with those who before joining me looked for an agreement on my part that I should always be at the expense of their maintenance, and with others who unreservedly associated themselves with me, under the idea that I should, with a liberal hand, supply them with all the money they wanted. On the contrary, I have been poor ever since I left the Church of Rome; still I never solicited aid from any other than God alone. I admit, however, that His goodness never failed me. I have laboured hard to gain my living, but have never eaten the bread of idleness; and I have sometimes, through my own exertions, been able to minister to the necessities of my brethren. I have never regretted the privations I have had to undergo; I have even frequently concealed them, in order not to be burthensome to others. My companions have seen all this, and can bear witness how I have confided my wants to the care of the Divine Providence, and how often it has happened that some one has spontaneously come forward to our relief, at the moment we most required it; through the agency of man we have been fed by the hand of God. But the priest who leaves the Church of Rome, persuaded of the truth, yet not converted by it, is always in search of "what he shall eat, what he shall drink, and wherewithal he shall be clothed," and becomes unhappy and desponding if he be not regularly supplied according to what he thinks necessary. The idea of providing for these priests, and the great difficulty of finding the means of doing so, has, in fact, hitherto prevented me from calling them to me. I had had a sad experience on the subject, when I associated myself with those at Malta. As long as they were well fed, peace and harmony prevailed; but the very day our means failed, they rebelled against me, with the exception of one or two, and turned out ungrateful, unthankful, and altogether unworthy.