While Thomas Paine was thus founding; in Paris a religion of love to God expressed in love to man, his enemies in England were illustrating by characteristic fruits the dogmas based on a human sacrifice. The ascendency of the priesthood of one church over others, which he was resisting in France, was exemplified across the channel in the prosecution of his publisher, and the confiscation of a thousand pounds which had somehow fallen due to Paine.* The "Age of Reason," amply advertised by its opponents, had reached a vast circulation, and a prosecution of its publisher, Thomas Williams, for blasphemy, was instituted in the King's Bench. Williams being a poor man, the defence was sustained by a subscription.** * This loss, mentioned by Paine in a private note, occurred about the time when he had devoted the proceeds of his pamphlet on English Finance, a very large sum, to prisoners held for debt in Newgate. I suppose the thousand pounds were the proceeds of the "Age of Reason." ** Subscriptions (says his circular) will be received by J. Ashley, Shoemaker, No. 6 High Holborn; C. Cooper, Grocer, New Compton St., Soho; G. Wilkinson, Printer, No. 115 Shoreditch; J. Rhynd, Printer, Ray St., Clerkenwell; R. Hodgson, Hatter, No. 29 Brook St., Holborn. It will be observed that the defence of free printing had fallen to humble people. The trial occurred June 24th. The extent to which the English reign of terror had gone was shown in the fact that Erskine was now the prosecutor; he who five years before had defended the "Rights of Man," who had left the court in a carriage drawn by the people, now stood in the same room to assail the most sacred of rights. He began with a menace to the defendant's counsel (S. Kyd) on account of a notice served on the prosecution, foreshadowing a search into the Scriptures.* * "The King v. Thomas Williams for Blasphemy.--Take notice that the Prosecutors of the Indictment against the above named Defendant will upon the Trial of this cause be required to produce a certain Book described in the said Indictment to be the Holy Bible.--John Martin. Solicitor for the Defendant. Dated the 17th day of June 1797."