He visited privately many of the leading citizens of the city, statesmen, divines and merchants, and besought them to take the lead in a national movement against slavery; but they all with one consent made excuse, some of them listening to his plea with manifest impatience.
Warenne retired to Berwick and besought his master for aid.
He immediately recalled his forced confession, and besought all Christian men " to pray for him, so that his tears might secure the pity of the Almighty."
Nothing daunted, Catherine herself besought Gregory, who, indeed, was himself so minded, to return, and he did so, in September (taking the sea route from Marseilles to Genoa), though perhaps intending only to make a temporary stay in Italy.
He carefully kept thermometric and meteorological statistics.; he imported silkworms and books on silk culture; he corresponded with many litteratinotably with Dr Nathaniel Lardner and with Sir William Jones, of whom he besought information of all kinds, but especially any that would lead to the discovery of the whereabouts of the ten lost tribes; and he undertook the study of Hebrew at the age of forty and became an able scholar.