Note 754 — Chapter IV

Porcupine’s Gazette, July 14, 1798. An illustration of the dearth of vital data bearing on the existence of the Illuminati, as well as of the absurd way in which those who sought to prove their existence grasped at straws, is to be found in this issue of Porcupine’s Gazette. Cobbett published a letter which he had recently received from a certain William Smith, of Norwalk, Connecticut, who claimed that the chaplain of the ship of a French Admiral had made statements in his presence that corroborated Robison’s contentions. This letter speedily found its way into several New England newspapers, and passed for evidence in the case. Cf. for example, the Salem Gazette, Aug. 7, 1798.