{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38644/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38644","id":"gutenberg_38644","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38644","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Travel Writing","Latter Day Saints","United States -- Description and travel"],"text":"Produced by Bryan Ness, Josephine Paolucci and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This\nbook was produced from scanned images of public domain\nmaterial from the Google Print project.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGLEANINGS BY THE WAY;\n\nBY REV. JOHN A. CLARK, D. D.,\n\n_Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia_,\n\nAUTHOR OF \"PASTOR'S TESTIMONY,\" \"GLIMPSES OF THE OLD WORLD,\" ETC., ETC.\n\n\"Let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn.\" RUTH, ii. 2.\n\nPHILADELPHIA:\nW. J. & J. K. SIMON.\n\nNEW YORK:\nROBERT CARTER.\n1842.\n\n\nEntered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by\nJOHN A. CLARK, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court in the\nEastern District of Pennsylvania.\n\nPRINTED BY KING AND BAIRD.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nWhen it was not so common, as now, to issue publications from the press, a\nbook of any kind seldom made its appearance, without a PREFACE, to give the\nreader some idea of its contents, and the history of its elaboration from\nthe author's mind. But at the present day, when authorship is no longer the\nprerogative of the few, and the press teems with every species of\nliterature, preface writing has quite fallen into desuetude; not improbably\nfor the very solid and satisfactory reason that it would be a most\ndifficult, perplexing, and onerous business, to their several authors, to\nassign any plausible grounds for the publication of one half of the volumes\nthat come forth in such immense shoals from the press.\n\nWe are certainly attached to the good old custom of having a preface,\nalthough we are aware that many authors who omit this appendage, assign as\na reason, that the preface is the only part of a book that is never read.\nThis we think, in many instances, is not exactly true. There are those in\nthe present day, who like to know why a book was written, and what it\ncontains, before they begin to read it. By such knowledge--and this is\nprecisely the information a preface ought to convey--they avoid the trouble\nof reading many a volume, which had the author been of the same mind, he\nmight have escaped the trouble of writing. To this class of readers the\npreface is an important part of the book: while to those who eschew every\nthing of this sort, it will give but little trouble, to turn over a leaf or\ntwo to the commencement of the first chapter.\n\nWe did not mean, when we began, to write a defence of prefaces--but to\nwrite a preface to our own work.\n\nThe name of this volume, GLEANINGS BY THE WAY, indicates the character of\nthe work. It consists principally of thoughts gathered up--and sketches of\nscenery, and incidents, that came before the author during excursions made\ninto the country at different periods, within the last four years. For\nseveral years the author has been labouring under infirm health, and has\nfound it necessary after encountering the heavy pastoral duties and labours\nconnected with a large city congregation for nine or ten months in\nsuccession, to retire from the scene of his ministerial duties, and seek to\nrecruit his wasted strength and enfeebled health amid the retirement of\nrural life, or the diversified scenes of travel and journeying. During\nthese seasons of relaxation, the author desired still to be engaged in\nsomething that might at least indirectly promote the interests of religion.\nThis volume contains some of the things of which he at such seasons made a\nrecord.\n\nIn the tour to the FAR WEST, made during the summer of 1837--and the sketch\nthat depicts the outline of the Mormon Delusion, the author cherishes the\nhope that facts are brought to light that will interest a large class of\nreaders. And he also cherishes the hope that while these pages may interest\nthe general reader, may beguile a lonely hour--and attract the attention of\nsome who would not be likely to take up a more serious book--the tendency\nof the whole volume will be to advance, at least indirectly, that cause\nwhich lies so near to his heart. With this hope--and not with any\nexpectation of earning increased literary reputation, he sends forth these\nGLEANINGS BY THE WAY.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.                                           13\n\n_The Three Gleaners._\n\n\nCHAPTER II.                                          25\n\n_Views of Pennsylvania_:--Tour to Harrisburgh--Aspect of the country--The\nValley of the Susquehanna--The passage of the River--The\nValley of the Juniata--Huntingdon--The Rev. John W. James--His\nsudden exit.\n\n\nCHAPTER III.                                         32\n\n_Glimpses of Western Pennsylvania_:--Source of the Juniata--Ascent of the\nAlleghanies--The summit--The Great Mississippi Valley--Skepticism--Rank\ngrowth of religious error--Dunkards--Valley of the Conemaugh--\nMoonlight--Singular conversation--Infidel sneers.\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.                                          42\n\n_Pittsburg and its environs_:--First view of Pittsburg--Its general\naspect--Sabbath and its employments--An affecting incident--Orphan\nchildren--A Christian father in the midst of his children on the Sabbath.\n\n\nCHAPTER V.                                           49\n\n_Voyage on the Ohio_:--Travelling companions--Steamboats on the Ohio--The\nElk--The Ohio river--The Harmonists--Steubenville--Wheeling--Marietta--\nPortsmouth--Kentucky--The dead steamboat captain--Kentucky funeral.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.                                          62\n\n_A glimpse of Kentucky_:--Cincinnati--The Queen city--Views in reference\nto missionary labour--The kind of missionaries wanted in the great\nValley--Walnut Hills--Lane Seminary--Dr. Beecher--Woodward College--Dr.\nAydelott--The old Kentucky man--Louisville--The Galt House--View\nof the interior of Kentucky--Plantations--A sore evil--Kentuckian\ntraits of character--A thrilling incident.\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.                                         75\n\n_The Ohio near its mouth_:--New Albany--Sailing down the\nOhio--Profanity--Lovely views of nature--A sudden squall on the\nriver--Kentucky shore--Young fawn--The mouth of the Tennessee river--The\nswimming deer--His struggle and capture--Meeting of the waters of the Ohio\nwith the Mississippi--Gambling--Intemperance--Sail up the Mississippi to\nSt. Louis.\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.                                        88\n\n_The Mississippi and some of its tributaries_:--St. Louis--Roman\ncathedral--Desecration of the Sabbath--Golden sunsets--Sail up the\nMississippi--The meeting of the waters of the Missouri and the\nMississippi--Alton--The burning prairie.\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.                                         105\n\n_Further views on the Mississippi_:--Des Moines River--Iowa--Group of\nIndians--Tributary streams to the Mississippi--Galena--Bishop of Illinois--My\nsister's grave.\n\n\nCHAPTER X.                                          114\n\n_Illinois and the Lakes_:--Lead mines--Indian treaty--Ride to Chicago--Vast\nprairies--The stricken family--Amusing adventures--Chicago--Milwaukie--\nMackinaw--Indian encampment.\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.                                         126\n\n_Michigan_:--Steamboat travelling upon the western Lakes--The waters of\nHuron--Saginaw Bay--The stormy night--The beautiful St.\nClair--Detroit--Bishop of Michigan--Ypsilanti--Ann Arbour--Ore\nCreek--Bewildered at night in the woods--Rescue--Meeting of friends--Log\nCabin.\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.                                        140\n\n_Tour from the West_:--The Romanists--Miracles--Indians--Captain\nM---- The unhappy sailor--Toledo--Cleveland--Buffalo--Niagara\nFalls.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.                                       151\n\n_Western New York_:--Niagara Falls--Rochester--Canandaigua--Geneva--Seneca\nLake--The moonlit heavens--Departed friends--The clergyman's son--The\ncandidate for the ministry--A beloved brother--My departed mother--Geneva\nCollege--The Sabbath.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.                                        161\n\n_A jaunt from Philadelphia to Albany_:--A bleak, dreary morning--Bishop\nof Illinois--Sail up the Delaware--New York Bay--Sail up the\nHudson--Unexpected meeting--College friend--Story of his afflictions--Poor\nAfrican servant.\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.                                         171\n\n_The Irish couple_:--Albany--The Irish mother--Incidents that occurred\nfive years ago--The disappointed emigrants--The Little Falls--Rural\nretirement.\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.                                        179\n\n_Western New York._\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.                                       181\n\n_A Summer Tour_:--Retirement--Seneca Lake--Burlington, N. J.--Brooklyn,\nN. Y.\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.                                      187\n\n_Green Wood Cemetery_:--Brooklyn--Improvements--Ride--Approach\nto the Cemetery--Views--Beautiful scenes.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.                                        193\n\n_Rhode Island_:--Sail up the Sound--Burning of the\nLexington--Providence--Meeting of old friends--Mr.\nEmerson--Transcendentalism--Westerly.\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.                                         201\n\n_The sudden storm_:--Rapid travelling--Auburn--Stage coach--Seneca\nLake--Summer's sultry heat--Sudden change--Fierce tempest--Imminent\nperil.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.                                        205\n\n_Reminiscences of the past_:--Sunday--Sacred worship--The sanctuary\nrecalling youthful scenes--Early plighted vows at the table of the\nLord--Retrospect--Mournful reflections--Change in the congregation--Mr. and\nMrs. N---- The C---- family--Col. T---- Village burial ground--C---- The\nburied pastor--My Mother--Palmyra--Early ministerial labours--Lyons.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.                                       216\n\n_The Origin of the Mormon Delusion_:--The golden Bible--Moral, political,\nand numercial importance of the Mormon sect--Views of Revelation--Causes\nthat have contributed to spread Mormonism--Martin Harris--Interview\nwith the author--Transcripts from the golden Bible--Jo\nSmith, the Mormon prophet--His early history--First pretended revelation--His\nmarriage--Chest containing the golden Bible--Attempts to\ndisinter it--Consequence--Delusion of Harris--Translation and publication\nof the _Book of Mormon_.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.                                      232\n\n_A letter written by Professor Anthon_:--The circumstances that led to\nthis letter--Martin Harris--His visit to New York--Interview with Dr.\nMitchell--Professor Anthon.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.                                       239\n\n_The Mormon, or Golden Bible_:--The origin of the Book of Mormon--The\nstatement of Mr. Isaac Hale, father-in-law of the Mormon Prophet--Rev.\nMr. Spalding's Historical Romance--Mrs. Davison's statement--The\nblindness of Martin Harris--Testimony of the three witnesses--The\neight witnesses.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.                                        259\n\n_Mormon Jesuitism_:--Denial of Mrs. Davison's statement in reference\nto the origin of the Mormon Bible--The truth of her statement corroborated\nby a letter from the Rev. John Storrs--By another from the Rev.\nD. R. Austin.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.                                       268\n\n_Analysis of the Book of Mormon._\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.                                      285\n\n_Analysis of the Book of Mormon continued._\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.                                     304\n\n_Farther developments in relation to the Mormon imposture._\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.                                       311\n\n_Organization of the Mormons, and their removal to Ohio_:--Steps leading\nto the Mormon emigration to the West--Conversion of Parley P. Pratt--Mission\nto the Lamanites--Sidney Rigdon--His avowed conversion--Fanatic\nscenes at Kirtland--Dr. Rosa's letter--Mr. Howe's statement--Smith's\nremoval.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.                                        323\n\n_Mormon emigration to Missouri_:--Mission to Missouri--Causes that led\nto emigration--Settlement at Independence--Change in operations--Gift\nof tongues--Rule for speaking and interpreting.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.                                       331\n\n_Mormon Banking_:--The prophet's attempt at financiering--Mr. Smalling's\nletter.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.                                      337\n\n_The Mormon Prophet and his three witnesses_:--An interesting public\ndocument--The Danite band--Testimony of Dr. Avard--Paper drafted\nby Rigdon.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.                                     345\n\n_Concluding sketch in relation to Mormonism._\n\n\n\n\nGLEANINGS BY THE WAY.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE THREE GLEANERS.\n\n\nNature has a voice to instruct, as well as charms to please. No one can\nwalk over the surface of this earth, and gaze upon the objects and scenes\nthat every where cluster around him, and not hear her instructive voice\nechoed upon his ear from ten thousand points, unless stupidity, or sin have\nsealed up his senses, and made him deaf as \"the adder that stoppeth her\near, and will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so\nwisely.\"\n\nProvidence, too, has a voice, that speaks with trumpet-tongue in the ear of\nthose who watch the movement of human events--_who regard the work of the\nLord, and consider the operation of his hands_. The fall of every leaf--the\nopening of every grave, the subversion of kingdoms--the overthrow of\nempires--every event transpiring around us, reads us a lesson full of deep\nand solemn instruction.\n\nIn the various and diversified developements of human character--whether\ncontemplated in its rougher, or more polished state, there is a vast deal\npresented to view, from which an intelligent mind may gather very important\nelements of instruction.\n\nOne who keeps his eye out upon these various fields, will scarcely fail to\nGLEAN something every day, either from nature, or Providence, or the\ndifferent and ever varying phases of human character, that can be turned to\na profitable account both for instruction and pleasure.\n\nThere are, however, different kinds of GLEANING--and different kinds of\nGLEANER. The caption to this chapter contains an implied pledge, that there\nis to be brought before the eye of the reader three successive\nGLEANERS.--And so we intend it shall be. We will at once introduce you to\nthe first of the three.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSome sixteen hundred years before the first advent of the Lord's ANIONTED,\nthere lived in Bethlehem a man of wealth and distinction. He possessed\nextensive flocks and herds, and fields, and all the usual resources of\noriental riches. Palestine was then the land that _flowed with milk and\nhoney_. Though there had been periods when for the sins of the people the\nheavens were shut, and the dews and rains withheld--till the blight of\nsterility seemed to have impressed its dreary iron aspect upon every\nsmiling valley and sunny hill:--at the time to which we refer it was not\nso. That whole region then poured forth its productions most luxuriantly,\nfor the blessing of the Lord was upon the land. And now the season of the\nbarley harvest had arrived, and the reapers went forth with their sickles\nto cut down the bearded and bending grain.\n\nThis opulent citizen of Bethlehem, to whom we have referred, when the\nrising sun, ascending the deep blue arch of heaven and pouring its full\norbed radiance over hill and dale, had drank up the dew drops of morning,\nrode forth into the country amid vine-clad hills, and beneath groves of\nolive and palm till he reached his own paternal estate. The bright luminary\nof day now poured down a full tide of heat and effulgence over the whole\nsurrounding scene. The reapers were plying their glittering steel, and\ngathering the falling grain into sheaves. The sound of rustic music came\nupon his ears as he rode along through the fields. It was the song of the\nreapers. He approached them. They were his own hired servants. Though they\nwere poor, and had to toil for their daily bread, their wealthy employer\ndid not despise them. He was one who feared the Lord, and saw in every\nhuman form a brother. Kind were his words as he approached the reapers, and\nfull of pious sentiment--for his salutation was, _The Lord be with you_.\n\nThose sun-burnt and swarthy laborers, suspending for a moment their toil,\nrespectfully and piously responded, _The Lord bless thee_. I know not what\nother pleasant discourse followed. An object of deep interest now presented\nitself to the rich owner of these grounds. In a distant part of the field\nwas to be seen the slender and delicate form of a young female walking\nhither and thither to gather up the scattered heads of barley that had\nescaped the hand of the reaper. Then said he to his servant who was set\nover the reapers: _Whose damsel is this?_ And he replied, _It is the\nMoabitish damsel that came back with Naomi_.\n\nThat lone female, whose hand was gathering the scattered heads of barley,\nhad known better days. She had been nursed in the lap of ease. She dwelt in\nMoab. A stranger came there. He had been reared near Siloa's sacred stream.\nHe had been instructed in the divine law and his intellect had been\nbeautified and expanded, and his heart softened and refined by its heavenly\nteaching. He was young and beautiful, and full of manly dignity. This\ninteresting Moabitess saw the stranger. His dark lustrous eye met hers with\nan interest that mutually increased till love burned bright in both their\nbosoms. They were joined in wedded love, and her Mahlon was all her own!\nNo, not all--for death, the insatiable archer, had fixed his eye upon him.\nOnly a short period elapsed, and Mahlon was numbered with the dead! She saw\nhis bright eye forever shut, and the dark grave closing over his pale,\nunbreathing corse.\n\nMahlon had a father, but he too had found a grave in that Moabitish land\nwhere they now sojourned. Mahlon had a brother, but that brother had fallen\nbeneath the shaft of death, and his dust slumbered fast by the side of his\ndead father. Mahlon had a mother. Poor lone widow! Her name was once\nNaomi--PLEASANT, but now she chose to be called Mara--BITTER--for _the\nAlmighty had dealt very bitterly with her_. She had buried all she most\nloved in a stranger land. Why should she not now return to her native\nland--to the altars of her fathers--and the home of her childhood?\n\nShall she go alone? No--not while Mahlon's widow lives. The hour of\nparting came. Her two daughters-in-law--for both of her sons had taken them\nwives in the land of Moab--had already accompanied her several miles on her\nway to the land of her nativity. But the moment of separation had now come!\nThey stood under a cluster of palms--a cool, refreshing spring sent forth\nits waters which flowed and gurgled along beside them. All nature smiled\naround them, but their hearts were sad. This widowed, childless\nmother--after a long painful struggle of silent feeling, said unto her two\ndaughters-in-law, _go return each to your mother's house_. _The Lord deal\nkindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me._ Then she\nkissed them each. And they lifted up their voice and wept. How could they\npart? They said, _surely we will return with thee unto thy people_.--And\nshe said--nay--I have nothing to offer you: I go back to my country stript\nof friends, and substance. Therefore turn again my daughters, why will ye\ngo with me?\n\nThe deep fountains of feeling were again broken up, and they again lifted\nup their voices and wept. Then Orpah clasping the mother of her buried\nChilion in her arms, fell on her neck, and, sobbing long and loud, kissed\nher and bid her a final adieu.\n\nNot so the beautiful, but now faded and care-worn Ruth. Hers was a love\nstronger than death. Many waters could not drown it. She refused to\nseparate herself from the mother of him she had loved. They still lingered\nunder the shade of the clustering palms. Orpah had taken her final leave,\nand her retiring form had now vanished from their view. The sad widowed\nmother, now preparing to start on her way, again addressed Ruth, still\nlingering at her side--_Behold thy sister-in-law has gone back unto her\npeople, and unto her gods. Return thou after thy sister-in-law._\n\nBut the fair and lovely Moabitess nobly replied--_Entreat me not to leave\nthee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I\nwill go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge: thy people shall be my\npeople, and thy God my God; where thou diest I will die, and there will I\nbe buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part\nthee and me._ So onward they two went together to the holy land. It was the\nbeginning of the barley harvest when they reached Bethlehem. They were\nquite destitute, and scarcely knew how they were to provide themselves with\nthe means of subsistence. But the eternal God in whom they trusted, and who\nfeeds the fowls of the air, clothes the grass of the field, and decks the\nexpanded petals of the lily with hues more brilliant and beautiful than\nthose reflected from the shining robes of royalty--had not forgotten the\npoor--had not forgotten to insert in his law _when ye reap the harvest of\nyour land--thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of the field, neither\nshalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest_. * * * _Thou shalt leave\nthem for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God._ This divine\ninjunction was reiterated again and again. _When thou cuttest down thine\nharvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not\ngo again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and\nfor the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of\nthine hands._ Here was a merciful provision for the poor. The devoted\nMoabitess who had left country and home for her love to Naomi, was not\nbackward in offering to go forth to glean in the field after the reapers.\nIt was on this errand, that she walked into the country, and patiently\ntoiled beneath the rays of the scorching sun.\n\nIt was while thus engaged, that Boaz, the rich Bethlehemite, came to his\nreapers, and first saw the lovely stranger. How she afterwards sped, those\nacquainted with the sacred story need not be told. It only remains for us\nto add, that she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out all that she\nhad gleaned: and it was an ephah of of barley. And she took it up and went\ninto the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she\nbrought forth and gave to her that she had received after she was sufficed.\nAnd her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and\nwhere wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee!\n\nThis is the first of the three Gleaners. The story of the two that follow\nwill be much shorter.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nCircumstances, several years since, led the writer to spend a few days in a\nsecluded little village, in a very retired and beautiful part of the\ncountry. It was in the month of August, when the indications of summer were\nseen on every side--the wheat fields were ready for the hand of the reaper,\nand during the livelong day there seemed no cessation to the tide of heat\nthat came flowing down from the sun, overwhelming the broad earth and every\ncreature that moved upon it with his fervid influence. The early dawn of\nmorning, and the hour of twilight at the decline of day, seemed to be the\nonly seasons, when one could walk forth with any comfort, to enjoy the\nrural scenery, that the hand of the Creator had spread with surpassing\nloveliness around this spot. These seasons were not allowed to pass\nunimproved. The first morning that I walked forth--while the grey twilight\nstill lingered on hill and dale--casting a sombre, dusky aspect over\nsurrounding objects, as I passed along, refreshed by the fragrant breath\nexhaled from the fields, cheered by the notes of the feathered tribe who\nwere chanting their early matin lays, and enamored with the glorious scene\npencilled on the eastern sky, which brightened and kindled into broader\nlines of orient radiance every step I took, and every moment I gazed, I saw\na young lad, some twelve or thirteen years old, passing by me with a brisk\nstep, but stooping every now and then, to gather up some straws of wheat,\nthat lay scattered along the road. The occurrence, however, awakened no\nparticular attention, and would have been forgotten, had not the same thing\nbeen observed in the evening. In returning to my lodgings, after a ramble\nover the fields on the evening of the same day, I met this boy with quite a\nbundle of wheat under his arm, moving with a quick step, but stopping every\nnow and then to gather up a single straw that lay in the road.\n\nThe next morning, the circumstance had quite passed out of my mind, till\nsuddenly and unexpectedly the form of this boy again appeared before me. He\nwas still occupied in the same manner. He seemed in a great hurry, and yet\nhe stooped to pick up every straw that lay in his path. I felt an unusual\ncuriosity to learn his history, and the motives that influenced his\nconduct. Upon inquiry, I was made acquainted with the following facts. This\nlad was an orphan boy, who resided in an old cottage, about a mile distant\nfrom where I met him, with an aged grand-mother, who was blind, and very\npoor. Her children had all gone down to the grave, and this boy was the\nonly representative of her family. The old blind cottager, was one who\ntrusted in the Lord, and believed that he did all things well. She tried to\ntrain up her child to a life of industry and early piety. He was a\npromising lad and seemed disposed to aid his aged grand parent, and\ncontribute to her comfort by every means in his power. Every evening he\nwould read to her out of God's holy book, and in the day he sought some\noccupation by which he could contribute to her maintenance. At the time I\nfell in with him, he was in the employ of a wealthy farmer, assisting in\nsecuring the wheat harvest. This farmer resided in the outskirts of the\nvillage, while the broad fields which he cultivated, lay abroad in\nlengthening expansion and beauty in the immediate vicinity of his dwelling.\nSeveral of his barns were contiguous to his dwelling, so that the wheat\nwhen harvested, was principally conveyed from the field where it grew,\nalong the road on which I had taken my walks, to these barns. Hence as one\nloaded wane after another was driven along, the whole road became strewed\nwith heads and stalks of wheat. This lad, to whom I have referred, rose a\nhalf an hour earlier in the morning to go on his way to his daily toil, and\nlingered a half an hour later at evening on his way homeward to his nightly\ncouch, in order to gather up these wheat stalks that had fallen by the way.\nThese wheat gleanings thus gathered up by the way he every night carried\nhome with him and subsequently threshed, and by steady perseverance in this\ncourse was able to obtain a considerable quantity of grain, to afford bread\nboth for himself and his aged grand parent. Was not this a beautiful\ninstance of filial piety? This is the story of our second GLEANER--one who\nGLEANED BY THE WAY.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSome twelve years since, it was our happiness, to have met a very\nremarkable man, who seemed to live for one single purpose. He possessed\nnaturally great strength and brilliancy of intellect. While yet a child, a\nhighly gifted mother had laid her plastic hand upon his character, and so\ndirected his education as to bring out the highest powers of his mind in\nsymmetrical development. Thus through the educational advantages he\nenjoyed, he was prepared to make large attainments, and to gather much\ninformation from every field of knowledge through which he walked. As he\ngrew up, he became furnished with most ample stores of learning. He had the\npower to instruct and to please, and was eminently fitted to act upon other\nminds. Added to all this--he was a Christian. He had felt the power of a\nSaviour's love, and had consecrated himself to his service. To him had been\ncommitted the ministry of reconciliation, and he was acting as the legate\nof the skies--the ambassador of the King of kings. This was his business.\nAll the powers of his mind were consecrated to the work of winning souls to\nJesus. He still moved around in society. He was still the charm of every\ncircle in which he was found. He did not always speak upon religion. He did\nnot always stand before his fellow men in the attitude of a preacher. He\ntravelled; for his health required it. He walked out into the fields. He\nlooked abroad over the face of nature. He moved amid the circles of his\nfellow men. He engaged in literary pursuits and scientific investigations.\nBut he pursued nothing to the neglect of ministerial duty. And from every\ncircle in which he moved, from every scene he witnessed, from every company\nhe met, from every field he trod, from every object to which he turned his\neye, from every investigation in which he engaged, he gleaned something, by\nwhich to throw new charms around religion, and enable him to reach minds\nthrough new channels. He never for one moment lost sight of his great\nbusiness--but was all the time steadily moving forward to the attainment of\nthe object for which he lived and laboured. All his pursuits--all his\nenjoyments, all his recreations, were made to contribute at least\nindirectly to the furtherance of that great object. Like the wheat gleaning\nboy, he went to his daily labour, and relaxed no effort in the business of\nprosecuting prescribed ministerial duties, yet while going to and from\nthese duties, he GLEANED BY THE WAY. Every flower that spread its expanded\npetals before his eye, every breath of music that fell upon his ear, every\ndew drop that glittered in the beams of morning, every little tiny insect\nthat flitted across his path, every landscape that stretched before him,\nevery mountain and hill that pointed upward to heaven, every forest and\nstream on which his eye rested, every star that hung out its golden lamp on\nthe sable curtain of night, every interview of friendship, every\nvicissitude of life, every incident of travel, every occurrence whether\npleasing or painful, presented to his enriched intellect some new aspect of\nthought, from which he could glean materials for the instruction of other\nminds. Thus he GLEANED BY THE WAY. And through THESE GLEANINGS he acted\nupon a thousand minds, that he could not otherwise have reached. He has\ngone to his reward. He sleeps in the silent sepulchre. But _though dead, he\nyet speaketh_. A thousand flowers gathered by his hand from the fields of\nliterature and the scenes of active life, and by his hand planted in the\ngarden of the Lord, still remain, and from their contiguity to Siloa's\nsacred font, and the blood-stained cross, they bloom with brighter tints,\nand richer fragrance, and still lead many to approach and fix their eye on\nthat blessed cross, and ultimately to feel its transforming power. This is\nthe history of our third GLEANER. And from the history of the three, our\nreaders will be at no loss to determine what suggested to us the idea of\nentitling this volume GLEANINGS BY THE WAY.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nVIEWS OF PENNSYLVANIA.\n\n     Tour to Harrisburg--Aspect of the country--The Valley\n     of the Susquehanna--The passage of the River--The\n     Valley of the Juniata--Huntingdon--The Rev. John W.\n     James--His sudden exit.\n\n\nThe following twelve Chapters consist principally of extracts from the note\nbook which the author kept, during a tour through the great Western Valley\nin 1837.\n\n                              _On board the Canal Packet Swatara,\n                              Wednesday evening, June 14, 1837._\n\nI have never been more struck than to-day with the tranquilizing influence\nwhich the works of nature are capable of exerting upon the mind. There is a\ncalmness, a solemn stillness--a sweet quietude spread over field and\nforest, and all that the eye rests upon in passing through the country at\nthis beautiful season, which cannot fail to find a response in the bosom of\nevery beholder. I have no doubt a ride into the country would often operate\nlike a charm to calm down the agitations, quiet the corrodings, and soothe\nthe anxieties of many, who amid the engagements of the city are the victims\nof carking care, and seem to live only to wade through the fiery stream of\nperturbed and anxious feeling.\n\nWe left Philadelphia at six o'clock this morning. The cars belonging to the\nthree regular lines that run on the Rail Road to Harrisburg, filled with\nabout one hundred and fifty passengers, and fastened to each other in one\ntrain, were moved by the same locomotive. There is something very\nexhilarating in the act of being borne through a beautiful country at the\nrate of fifteen miles an hour. It seemed as we moved along as though our\nwhole train was instinct with life, and endowed with magic pinions, which\nit had only to spread abroad, and skim over the surface of the ground with\nthe fleetness of the wind. As we passed along from the city, one varied,\nand verdant scene of all that is lovely in hill and dale, forest and field,\norchard and farm-house, presented itself in quick succession after\nanother--filling up the whole way with images as beautiful and varied as\nare brought to the eye by every turn of the kaleidoscope.\n\nThe country between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in its outlines and\nagricultural aspect strikingly reminded me of western New York. The impress\nof thrift and wealth are enstamped upon every vale and hill-side that meets\nyour eye in this vast fertile landscape. I could not but ask myself,\nhowever, \"Is there a moral beauty here, displayed in the lives of those who\ncultivate this land, corresponding with the marks of material loveliness\nwhich the Creator has spread over all this scene? Do the walls of these\ncottages and farm-houses resound to the voice of prayer and praise with\neach rising and setting sun? Is the Saviour of sinners universally known,\nand loved, and served here? Do all these people, whose homes are scattered\nalong this range of country, regard this beautiful region as the theatre on\nwhich God has placed them to prepare for the skies?\"\n\nI know not what the state of religion may be generally through these\ncounties, but when I turned to a tabular list to see how many churches and\ncommunicants we numbered in this extent of country, I felt sad to find how\nsmall a part of the land we had possessed, and how very little we, as a\nbranch of the great Catholic Church, were doing to extend the kingdom of\nChrist even in our very neighborhood. I hope other communions have done and\nare doing more to diffuse vital godliness through this section of the land\nthan we, otherwise there must be a lamentable want of that faith which\nChrist came to establish on the earth. O when shall prayer go up as one\nthick cloud of incense from every house and hamlet scattered through this\nregion, made so fair and beautiful by a divine hand! Then indeed will \"the\nvalleys which stand so thick with corn laugh and sing, the hills will clap\ntheir hands, and every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.\"\n\nAt Harrisburg we took the canal. Our course till evening lay along the\nvalley of the Susquehanna, which as we proceeded we found hemmed in with\nmountain bluffs, not unlike the palisades which surmount the banks of the\nbroad Hudson, or some of the rougher mountain features in the neighborhood\nof the Highlands. The scene that opened before us was one of calm--quiet\nbeauty. There was awakened somewhat of a romantic feeling as we sat down to\nour tea, borne quietly along through the rural beauties that clustered\nthick around us. Our cabin windows were thrown wide open, and we inhaled\nwith delight the cool and refreshing breath of evening. On our right,\nalmost within reaching distance, the road passed along just under the brow\nof a very precipitous hill, whose top peered up amid the clouds. On the\nleft, parallel with our course, was the expanded Susquehanna: and beyond\nthis beautiful stream one bluff and lofty range of hills rising up after\nanother, gave to that side of the river the aspect of continuous mountain\nscenery.\n\nAs the day declined and the sun sunk below the horizon, a dark mass of\nclouds seemed rolling up from the northwest. This stupendous pile of clouds\nhung directly over the gap in the mountains, through which the Susquehanna\npoured its wide and troubled waters. Soon the heavens began to gather\nblackness, and the forked lightning to play with fearful glare on the\nsurface of this dark mass of clouds, followed by loud peals of startling\nthunder. Almost immediately the rain commenced pouring down in torrents.\nThe transition from the quiet scene through which we had been passing, to\none of storm and tempest, was sudden and unexpected. There was a sublimity\nand awful grandeur that gathered around that hour and spot, which I shall\nnot soon forget. What added to the effect, was, that just then we had\narrived at the point, where we were to cross the Susquehanna. The bridge\nthat had been flung up over the river to afford a passage for the horses to\ntow the boat across, had partially fallen down, so that it was no longer\ncapable of use. A strong cable had been fixed across the stream, by means\nof which a power was applied to our boat, which, in connexion with the\nforce of the current, would bear us rapidly over. It began to be dark, and\nthe rain fell violently. The waters seemed rough and threatening, and many\nof the passengers felt a sense of great insecurity. To many on board,\nthough I presume there was no danger, it was a moment of deep and awful\nsuspense. My mind instantly run off into a train of serious thought. It\nappeared to me that our course this day had been not unlike the journey of\nlife. At first in the May morning of our existence, we start off with speed\nand are borne as by enchantment through a succession of gay, bright,\nblooming fields. As we advance, though we move apparently beneath benignant\nskies, and tread amid many of the beauties of creation, our path all the\nwhile runs along by the side of the river of death. That river we must\nfinally cross, and it may be amid darkness and storms, and beneath the\nimpending thunder cloud of divine wrath! Happy are they whose hopes and\ninterests are so garnered up in Christ, that it matters not to them _when_,\nor _how_ they cross it! Happy are they who can embark upon this river with\nsuch a simple, and firm reliance on the Saviour, as to feel that there is\nno danger, however rough or dark the passage may be!\n\n_Thursday, June 15._--When we awoke at four o'clock this morning, we found\nourselves wending our way along the valley of the Juniata, a stream\ntributary to the Susquehanna. The scenery on either side of this river is\nsurpassingly beautiful, and in style not unlike that which we passed\nyesterday on the Susquehanna. The hills that hedge in the narrow valley of\nthe Juniata are usually of a conical, or triangular shape, covered to the\nvery summit with a stunted growth of forest trees. There was a peaceful\nquiet--a solemn stillness reigning through almost the entire extent of this\nvalley, which to me appeared truly delightful. It seemed like the deep and\nunbroken silence of nature. It was to us a stillness seldom broken save\nwhen the sound of the boatman's horn, or the heavy tread of the horse on\nthe tow path, went up the mountain side, and woke an echo amid the\nuntrodden solitudes that stretched up those wild, and wood covered steeps.\n\nAs we advanced farther up the Juniata we saw evidences of a more dense\npopulation. Villages occasionally rose to view. We passed Lewistown early\nin the forenoon, and heard a favorable account of the acceptableness and\nlabors of our young clerical friend, the Rev. J. F. H. How true it is, that\nwherever a faithful servant of the Lord is planted, there \"the waste places\nwill soon be converted into a fruitful field, and the desert will be made\nto rejoice and blossom as the rose!\"\n\nJust at nightfall we passed Huntingdon, the place where poor James fell\nlast August on his way to western Pennsylvania. This esteemed brother had\nbeen much in my mind in all our jaunt up the valley of this river: and it\nhad occurred to me as we passed along, if there was a spot on earth where\none could be content to lie down and die, far from friends and home, it was\nalong this valley, amid this sweet quiet mountain scenery. One can scarcely\nlook out upon these green and foliage clad heights and the multiplied\ndemonstrations around him of Almighty power and skill without feeling his\nheart drawn up in devout adoration to the Framer of these everlasting\nhills.\n\nI was disappointed, and sorry in finding the scenery less beautiful at\nHuntingdon than at any of the former points on the Juniata. The village\npresented an unattractive appearance. The house in which our brother[1] met\nhis final hour was pointed out to me. It seemed a very gloomy and unlovely\nabode. As I passed the spot I felt the deep fountains of sensibility moved\nin my soul: I thought, that it was here, far away from the sympathy of his\npeople, that this man of God lay down in the agonies of death. It was here\nthat his eye was sealed for ever on earthly scenes--and his liberated\nspirit mounted up to God! Though to mortal eyes the circumstances of his\ndeath seemed most undesirable, yet we know that he went quickly up to tread\nthe streets of the heavenly city, and to stand where he could gaze\neverlastingly on the unveiled face of Jesus, his crucified and risen Lord.\nO who that looks to the end of the glorious consummation will not long to\ndepart and \"be with Christ which is far better!\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] The individual above referred to was the Rev. John W. James, assistant\nminister of Christ Church, Philadelphia. Mr. J. was travelling with his\nfamily on a summer excursion in 1836, when he was suddenly arrested with\ndisease, and called from the scenes of his labors to \"the rest which\nremaineth for the people of God.\" He was a faithful minister of Jesus\nChrist, and his memory is still most sacredly cherished by many, who feel\nthat he was to them the messenger of salvation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nGLIMPSES OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.\n\n     Source of the Juniata--Ascent of the Alleghanies--The\n     summit--The Great Mississippi Valley--Skepticism--Rank\n     growth of religious error--Dunkards--Valley of the\n     Conemaugh--Moonlight--Singular conversation--Infidel\n     sneers.\n\n\n                              _Saturday morning, June 17, 1837._\n\nWE reached Hollidaysburg, a little village on the Juniata, where the\nAlleghany Portage Rail Road commences, yesterday morning, June 16th, about\neight o'clock. Our way from this point was up the mountain by successive\ninclined planes. I never saw more strikingly illustrated the triumph of art\nover the obstacles of nature.\n\nIn our progress up the mountain, we at length left the Juniata, at a point\nso near its source that we saw the two little rills which, by their\nconfluence, constituted the commencement of that river, pouring down the\nprecipitous side of the same hill, and which, separately, were so small\nthat one might step over them with perfect ease. We traced these mountain\nbrooks with our eye as they swept along over the washed and worn\npebbles--saw them unite, and then followed them in imagination till they\nswelled along the banks of the Juniata, mingled their waters with the\nSusquehanna, poured into the Chesapeake, and finally were lost in the\nocean.\n\nIn our ascending way up the mountain, we found the scenery altogether of a\nnew, wild, and more rugged cast. Our ascent amid these vast summits,--the\nwonderful velocity with which we were borne--the ease with which we seemed\nto move through the gaps of the mountains, and over the tops of these\neverlasting hills--surrounded at every step by the most picturesque and\ngigantic elevations, appeared like the effect of enchantment. Then too as\nwe moved upward a change was perceptible in the atmosphere--we felt its\ninvigorating and exhilarating influence--and perhaps the new buoyancy,\nwhich our spirits acquired, helped to impart increased effect to the\nmajestic scene that stretched around us, and had laid hold of our every\nsense and feeling with the power of a giant.\n\nOur course was still upward--upward! and all our train of cars still flew\nupward till we reached the very tops of the mountain wilds and fastnesses\nthat stood in such majestic grandeur around us. It was announced at length\nthat we had attained the summit height of the mountain. Just here the\nrivulets changed their course. The streams had all flowed eastward to empty\nthemselves into the Atlantic, but now they turned westward and leaped\nforward, as though eager to find repose in the deep waters of the\nMississippi. The Conemaugh, a tributary stream to the Kiskiminetas takes\nits rise here, and appears as a very little rill at its commencement.\n\nIt was with peculiar emotions that I stood on the summit of the\nAlleghanies, and strained my eye to look off towards the vast valley of the\nMississippi, whose western boundary is terminated by the Rocky mountains,\na distance not less than 2500 miles. I then thought what immense\nundeveloped resources does this vast valley contain! What an object of\nsublime contemplation is this broad and beauteous region in its surpassing\nfertility--its measureless capabilities--its vast rivers--its deep\nuntrodden forests--its boundless prairies--and in its ten thousand rising\nvillages and cities! What vast, complicated and mighty sympathies are\ngathering around this valley! What scenes are to be acted here, deciding\nthis nation's civil and religious destiny! What teeming millions are to be\nsustained by the products of this soil--are to live and die, and be\nprepared for heaven or for hell on the broad bosom of this valley! There is\nnothing but the gospel that can exert a saving influence upon the mass of\nmind congregating here, and make this far outspreading and fertile region\nthe abode of moral beauty and the home of civil freedom. The gospel\nplanting her foot here, and stretching her arms over the whole extent of\nthis western valley, must wake up holy affections, and songs of praise to\nthe sin-conquering Lamb, all along the banks of these thousand streams, or\nthe blight of desolation will fall here--and the fairest portion of God's\nearth will be withered by the scorching fire of human passion--and bathed,\nas has been the old world, in seas of human blood! There is but one\ninfluence that can save this mighty empire from the sway either of lawless\nanarchy or of iron-handed despotism, or rescue the populous millions that\nwill spread over it, from the deep \"damnation of hell,\" and that is the\ninfluence of the gospel. What new arguments do we find in this thought to\nlead us to be unwearied in our efforts to send Bibles, and tracts, and\nmissionaries, and to establish Sunday-schools _in the west_!\n\nI have already seen enough of western character to discover that while mind\nstarts up here vigorous and majestic as the sturdy trees of the forest, it\nis exceedingly prone to spurn the restraints, and question the authority of\ndivine Revelation. No where probably is there more avowed or evident\nindependence of mind--or with a certain class, greater susceptibility of\nbeing gulled, by a swaggering, boastful departure from the ancient\nlandmarks of faith. The great adversary is always ready to persuade men\nthat there is much more manliness and independence in believing something\nnew, however false, than in adhering to what is ancient, however true, in\nthe faith of our forefathers.\n\nWe had scarcely crossed the mountains and reached the level of the great\nvalley, before we encountered a group of men of very singular, and\ngrotesque appearance. Their beards were long and filthy, hanging down upon\ntheir breast. I was greatly surprised to learn that this savage appearance\nwas for conscience' sake. I was told that these were individuals belonging\nto a religious sect called Dunkards. My informant gave me the following\nparticulars in relation to this people. They sometimes live in distinct\ncommunities, and have all things in common. This, however, is not always\nand perhaps not generally the case. They do not usually build houses for\npublic worship, nor believe in sustaining a ministry as a distinct order of\nmen. Certain persons in their churches, they think, are from time to time\ncalled to preach, and these are denominated ministers. These individuals,\nhowever, still pursue their own secular avocations as before. They not\nonly hold to baptism and the Lord's supper, but to washing each other's\nfeet, and, I believe, the observance of an annual love feast. They also\nkeep up the ancient custom of saluting each other with the kiss of charity,\nand this among all their members, whatever the color or sex may be. Their\nconverts are all baptized by immersion, and hence, they are sometimes\ncalled _Dunkard Baptists_. They hold to a _trine_ baptism--dipping the\ncandidate three times, with the face downward into the water. Their\nsacramental seasons are periods of general feasting--when they keep open\nhouses, and free tables. In doctrine they hold to the Arian heresy, though\nsome of them are decided Unitarians. They also believe, most of them, in\nuniversal salvation, holding that the wicked will be punished after death\nfor a certain period, and then be restored to happiness. One of the\npeculiarities to which I have already referred, is that they feel\nconscientiously bound to abstain from cutting the beard, or removing the\nhair that grows upon their faces. I am told that this sect is quite\nnumerous in the west.\n\nLast evening we were slowly moving down the valley of the Conemaugh, on\nboard the Canal Packet Detroit. The scenery on either side of the stream\nwhose course we were following was bold and beautiful. The trees were\ncovered with dark thick foliage--at one time spreading out before us the\nview of a lengthening forest, and then again opening to disclose to us a\nrich verdant lawn--a beautiful corn field or a smiling farm house--with all\nits usual appendages for convenience and comfort. After the lingering rays\nof twilight had faded away, and night had drawn her sable covering over\nthe woodland scenes that stretched so gracefully around us, the moon rose\nin silvery brightness, and poured down her rich mellow light on all the\nshadowy landscape. Now and then a floating cloud crossed her path, and gave\na deeper momentary shade to the sombre shadows that here and there were\nflung over the face of nature. It was a summer evening to make one court\nthe open air; most of our passengers were on deck. Some were sitting apart\nby themselves, in silent meditation: some were gazing upward into the\npeaceful heavens--and others, off upon the quiet scenes of nature. Others\nstood around in little groups and knots, holding various conversations. I\nwas walking slowly from one end of the deck to the other, a silent observer\nof what was passing around me.\n\nAt length a remark that I heard arrested my attention, and led me to stop\nand listen. The group was composed of some six or eight individuals, who\nwere most of them evidently well educated and intelligent men, though, as\nit will appear in the sequel, exceedingly ignorant upon all topics\nconnected with the gospel. One of the number was a physician of some\nstanding; another a lawyer, a member of the Senate in our state\nLegislature, who although young has already attracted considerable\nattention by the depth of his acquirements, and the brilliancy of his\ntalents.\n\nThe remark which fell upon my ear, and drew my attention to the discussion\nthat was going on in this little group--was--\"that any man would find it\nhard work to be an infidel.\" I was glad to hear such testimony from such a\nquarter. As it was regarded no intrusion to sit or stand any where, where\none chose on the deck, I found an unoccupied seat near this little knot of\ngentlemen, which I immediately took with a view of listening to their\nconversation now that it had turned upon the subject of Christianity. The\nquestion had been raised as to what constituted a Christian, when one of\nthe company thus delivered himself:\n\n\"He may be called a Christian who acknowledges the divine authority of the\ndoctrines and precepts of the Saviour.\"\n\nThis remark the more interested me, as it came from one who had spent much\nof his time since we entered the packet in card-playing. As the\nconversation progressed, I became more and more interested--but determined\nto continue a silent listener. The general style of remark, was of a\ncharacter that evinced beyond all question a consummate ignorance on the\npart of the speakers, not only of the real design of the gospel, but of the\nleading truths which the Bible unfolds. I could not but think how\nmelancholy it was that so many of the distinguished men of our country--who\nwere well educated in other matters--should be so profoundly ignorant, in\nthe science of all others most important. I could not but fear that the\nindividuals congregated in that little group but too truly represented\nseveral classes in our country, which taken collectively constituted the\nmajority of our population. I was so struck and so pained at what I heard\nthat I felt constrained to note down the substance of the conversation at\nonce.\n\nAs the conversation progressed, one of the gentlemen observed--\n\n\"No man can come up to the requisitions of the gospel: neither is this\nexpected. It of course became a perfect Being, like the author of\nChristianity, to lay down a perfect system. We are to aim to reach this\nsystem in all its demands. Some will succeed in one particular, and others\nin another. No one will come up to the required standard in all things.\nStill every one should do what he can to come up to the model set before\nus. This is my idea of being a Christian.\"\n\nThe same individual afterwards observed, \"Christ had great shrewdness. He\nnever answered questions directly, but evasively. Take, for instance, the\ncase when he was asked 'Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar,' he\nreplied, 'render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the\nthings that are God's!' this is the way he generally did. It was difficult\nto obtain a direct answer from him.\"\n\n\"He was like a Yankee,\" said another of the company, sneeringly.\n\n\"Or like a Quaker,\" rejoined a third, with a leering laugh. \"I never yet\ncould get a direct answer from a Quaker; they will always answer your\nquestion by asking another.\"\n\n\"That is because they wish neither to give offence, nor to get caught,\"\nreplied one of the company.\n\nI felt it was almost sinful to sit and listen to this profane manner of\nspeaking of the blessed Saviour--of Him before whom the loftiest hierarchs\nin heaven cast their crowns in lowliest reverence. It was a page of human\nnature, however, that I thought it well for me to read; and therefore, I\nsat still:\n\n\"A really conscientious man,\" continued the man of law, \"is just the worst\nwitness that can be brought on to the stand. He has so many qualifications\nto make, and is so afraid that he shall not state every thing precisely as\nit is, he fritters his whole testimony away. A legal friend of mine told me\nthe other day that he had just lost a cause by having a student of divinity\nas a witness. When he conversed with him in private, he thought his\ntestimony would be entirely conclusive, but when sworn he made so many\nqualifications to all he stated, such as--'if he recollected\ncorrectly'--'if he heard correctly'--'if he did not receive a false\nimpression,'--and ten thousand other hypotheses, which so weakened his\ntestimony as to render it good for nothing.\"\n\nAgain the conversation went back to the question as to what constitutes the\nsubstance of Christianity. One of the gentlemen remarked.\n\n\"In my view the whole of it is summed up in this precept--'Do unto others\nas ye would they should do unto you.' Whoever acts on this principle is a\nChristian; and I don't care what he believes about the Trinity, or\natonement, or any of the other mysteries of faith. Let him be a Unitarian,\nor Trinitarian, or believe what he chooses about the Deity, if he acts on\nthis principle he will do well enough, and need not trouble himself about\nmatters of faith.\"\n\nAnother of the group responded--\"This is undoubtedly true--it is in\naccordance with common sense; but some hold strange views. A lady of my\nacquaintance, the other day, was expressing great anxiety about the\nsalvation of a certain acquaintance of hers. This acquaintance, though\nsomewhat of a fashionable woman, and not particularly religious, is\nnevertheless a most lovely and estimable character. I replied to the lady\nexpressing this anxiety, 'If you think she is in danger, I am sure there is\nnot much hope for me.' She looked very grave, and shook her head as though\nshe thought my case wholly desperate. Now I think it is horrible for people\nto be cherishing such opinions about their neighbours--looking upon all the\ncommunity around them as going infallibly to an eternal hell, unless they\nhave a certain species of faith, which is supposed to ensure to those who\nhave it the favour of God, and everlasting life. I believe this is all a\nmystic dream, and whoever acts on the principle 'of doing to others, as we\nwould they should do to us,' may with perfect safety give to the winds all\napprehensions about salvation, and all controversies about doctrines, and\nparticular forms of faith.\"\n\nThe individual who uttered these sentiments was the very person who had\nremarked that \"it was hard work for any one to be an infidel.\"\n\nTo me it seemed astonishing, that intelligent men, who knew any thing of\nthe scriptures, could hold the views that had been broadly expressed, and\nyet suppose that they were not infidels. I was more than ever convinced\nthat men might be learned in science, in law, in medicine, in politics, and\nyet be profoundly ignorant of the great design and prominent features of\nthe gospel.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nPITTSBURG AND ITS ENVIRONS.\n\n     First view of Pittsburg--Its general aspect--Sabbath\n     and its employments--An affecting incident--Orphan\n     children--A Christian father in the midst of his\n     children on the Sabbath.\n\n\n                              _Saturday Evening, June 17._\n\nAbout nine o'clock this morning, we passed the Alleghany river just above\nthe point where the Kiskiminetas falls into it; our course thence was along\nthe banks. The scenery on either side of this river, like that of all the\nother rivers we have traced, is very interesting. Its waters seem clear and\ntransparent, and the banks are beautifully over-hung with trees of a rich\ndark foliage.\n\nIt was about three o'clock, P. M., when we caught the first view of\nPittsburg. The day was unusually bright and sunny, and the atmosphere\nuncommonly clear, and our Pittsburgian friends congratulated us upon having\nso favorable a time in which to take the first view of their city.\n\nI was aware that the hills that encompassed this city were filled with\nbituminous coal, and that one great source of its wealth and prosperity\nwere the factories moved by steam power which could be employed with great\neffect and cheapness, in consequence of the abundance of this coal. I was\nalso aware that this article constituted the principal fuel which warmed\ntheir houses. I therefore expected to see a _smoky city_, but I was not\nprepared to see what actually, at first sight, burst upon my view--a vast\ncloud of smoke rolling up in ten thousand dark columns, and forming a\ndense, murky canopy, that hung in expanded blackness over the whole town.\nThe city seemed in its sooty and blackened houses, and in its columns of\neverlasting smoke, like one vast and extended group of furnaces or\nglass-factories. As I continued to gaze upon it, I was reminded of the\nsmoke that went up from the plain of Sodom the morning after the\ndestruction of that city, \"when Abraham gat up early and looked over the\nwhole plain.\" Our nearer approach to the city did not relieve me from my\nfirst impression. Every object and scene, every house and building within\nthe purlieus of the town seemed stained, soiled, and tarnished with the\nsooty vapour that was ceaselessly ascending from its ten thousand chimneys.\nLike the frogs of Egypt this dreadful smoke came up into their houses, and\nthere was no escape from it. The walls of the most elegant drawing-rooms\nbore evidence that the discolouring element had found its way there. The\natmosphere every where seemed impregnated with it. I raised the window in\nmy chamber, and the room was almost instantly filled with smoke. Almost as\nsoon as I reached the church on Sunday evening, the doors and windows being\nopen for the admission of air, I perceived the church was filled with a\ncloud of smoke. Surely Pittsburg is a _smoky city_. I ask the pardon of its\ninhabitants for this doleful description. The town certainly bears marks\nof great thrift and prosperity, and its inhabitants do not lack in sterling\nexcellencies of character. I should be very ungrateful if I did not here\nrecord the acknowledgement of the many acts of kindness and hospitality\nthat were extended to me during my temporary stay.\n\nIn the manner in which the people regarded the unpleasant appendage\nconnected with Pittsburg to which I have just adverted, I saw another\nevidence of the benevolence and wisdom of the Creator in constituting us\nwith capabilities of adapting ourselves to whatever is around us. The smoky\natmosphere, so far from being an annoyance to the citizens of Pittsburg, is\nconstantly spoken of by them as its beauty and glory, and seems associated\nin their minds with all the delights and interest of _home_.\n\nI have visited the environs of the city, and clambered to the summit of\nsome of the hills out of which the coal is dug. The views from these\nelevations up the Alleghany and the Monongahela are beautiful. The scenery\nin every direction around Pittsburg, viewed from these eminences, would be\nmagnificent, were it not for that unchanging cloud of smoke that covers the\ncity as a canopy of darkness.\n\nFrom many a point on the lofty range of hills that encircle the city, you\nhave a view at the same glance of the Alleghany and the Monongahela,\nwending their way from different points through their own distinct\nbeautiful valleys, and hastening on like two ardent lovers to meet and\nmingle into one; and still farther on you see these two blended rivers\nmoving off in one united stream--THE BEAUTIFUL OHIO, which winds its\nserpentine way through _its_ own rich valley, to meet the waters of the\nmighty Mississippi--a thousand miles from this spot.\n\n\n                         _Pittsburg, Sabbath Morning, June 18th, 1837._\n\nThe church-going bell calling worshippers to the house of prayer, emits\nsounds that fall sweetly on the Christian's ear. How delightful is the\nthought, that go where we may in this happy land, we find some who love the\nSaviour and are glad when it is said--\"_Let us go up to the house of the\nLord._\"\n\nAs I sat in my room an hour since, I was attracted to the window, which\nlooks out upon the back-yard, by the merry voices of children. I found the\nvoices came from an adjoining yard; and as I looked thither I was struck\nwith the wonderful resemblance which two fine looking boys bore to a\ndeceased clerical friend. I was not deceived! Upon inquiry, I found that\nthese were the orphan children of my friend, whose image was so accurately\ntraced in their countenances. Their father had been suddenly cut down in\nthe freshness and vigor of manhood. Their mother, always delicate, survived\nhim only a few weeks,--and they were left alone. They were now thrown upon\nthe care of their paternal grand-father, who was a Campbellite Baptist, and\nwhose family, though very amiable, were not professedly pious. Thus were\nthe children of this deceased clergyman, at almost the very dawn of their\nbeing, removed from those religious sympathies and influences that their\nfather would most ardently have desired, should have encircled them. We\nknow not what may be in reserve for us, or our children. We may be quickly\nin our graves, and our children may be left to be trained by those who have\nno attachment to the church of our affections--and little regard for that\nholy religion which brings us into blessed union with the Framer of the\nskies, and the Father of our spirits. Can not we, who are bereaved\nparents, find in this thought an argument to reconcile us to that\nmysterious dispensation of Divine Providence, which has smitten down our\ntender blossoms, and covered up in the grave those dear ones that seemed\nthe light of our eyes and the joy of our hearts! Surely, it is the Lord who\nhath done this! He hath made safe and ample provision for our little ones\nin his kingdom above! When we go the way of all the earth, we shall have no\nanxieties about them--about their education--their morals, their spiritual\nwelfare, or their future success in life. Yes, thou art just and righteous\nin all thy ways, O thou King of saints! And blessed be thy name, that thou\nart on the throne, and orderest all things after the counsel of thy own\nwill! Taking hold of the everlasting covenant, we can leave ourselves, our\nfamilies, our all, in thy hands, for eternity!\n\n\n                                             _Sunday Evening._\n\nAfter returning from divine service this afternoon, I went to my room to\nspend a few hours in preparation for the evening exercises. The window of\nmy chamber being open, and those of the back parlour directly under my\nroom, I discovered that my kind host had his children, six little\ndaughters, assembled there for religious instruction. He was a\nSunday-school teacher, and his children were in the Sunday-school; and yet\nhe did not feel himself on this account released from the parental\nobligation of instructing his own offspring in the way of holiness. I could\ndistinctly hear the sweet voices of that little assembled group, one after\nanother, reading aloud to their parent the word of God, and then his\nsimple but striking comments upon the meaning of what was read. This was\ncontinued for awhile, and then they all united in singing one of the songs\nof Zion. Never did I listen to sounds sweeter than those that came from\nthose uplifted voices, engaged in chanting the praises of God. Directly,\nhowever, those sweet strains were hushed. A solemn pause ensued. Then I\nheard the voice of that father going up to heaven supplicating a divine\nblessing upon his offspring. The prayer was a simple, earnest pleading with\n\"the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\" for the sanctification and\neverlasting salvation of these children whom the Lord had given him. There\nwas a tenderness, and pathos, and child-like simplicity connected with the\nprayer that deeply affected me. This manifestly was not an\nextraordinary--but usual Sunday exercise in which parent and children were\nengaged. A lovelier, or holier scene, I could not well conceive this side\nof heaven. What a delightful occupation to the parent! What a blessing to\nthe children! When his head is laid low in the dust, the memory of that\nconsecrated Sabbath hour, will come up with an influence to melt and subdue\ntheir hearts, and lead them to seek after their father's God. But, alas!\nhow is this duty of family instruction neglected. How many Christian\nparents could be found in any Church who habitually set apart a portion of\nthe sacred day, to be employed in singing and praying with their children,\nand instructing them in the knowledge of Christ and his salvation? What\nwould be the effect, if all professing Christian parents were in the habit\nof spending an hour with their children this way each Sabbath! Would not\nthe baptized youth of our congregation be a very different race of beings\nfrom what they now are? Should we so frequently hear of infidelity, and our\nbreaking sins among the children of Christian professors? No. There is\nunquestionably a great neglect of duty here--a neglect on the part of\nparents which results in the everlasting ruin of their offspring.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nVOYAGE ON THE OHIO.\n\n     Travelling companions--Steamboats on the Ohio--The\n     Elk--The Ohio river--The Harmonists--Steubenville--Wheeling\n     --Marietta--Portsmouth--Kentucky--The\n     dead steamboat captain--Kentucky funeral.\n\n\n                              _On board the Elk,\n                              Monday Evening, June 19._\n\nI have two exceedingly agreeable travelling companions. The one, Mr. B----,\nwho started with a special view of accompanying me in this tour. He is a\nyoung gentleman of mature intellect, accomplished education, and ardent\npiety. The other friend we fell in with on our way to Pittsburg. Mr. F----\nis a merchant, residing in Boston, a devoted member of the Congregational\nChurch, a man of business, and of sterling Christian principle, possessing\nmore of \"the milk of human kindness\" than ordinarily falls to the lot of\nmortals. The presence of these delightful companions has taken away much of\nthe solitariness one feels in having a space of so many miles thrown\nbetween him and his home.\n\nWhoever has travelled on any of the western rivers knows something about\nthe annoyances connected with western steamboats--the drinking--the\nswearing--the gambling. We were induced to take our passage in \"THE ELK,\"\nfrom the fact that it was the only boat that was going down the river this\nmorning. We soon found that our boat was not of the first order; our\ncaptain, however, appears to be one of the most quiet, taciturn, and\nunmoveable men we ever met.\n\nIt was about ten o'clock, that we found our boat pushing off from the\nshore, and our backs turned upon the clouds of smoke that hung in dense\nmasses over what has been called the Birmingham of America. As we stood on\nthe deck, we seemed at the moment of starting enclosed by a forest of dark\ntunnels peering up from countless steamers lying along the shore. More than\nforty of these were clustered together in the same group where \"_The Elk_\"\nwas stationed. It is said there cannot be less than seven hundred\nsteamboats moving on these western and south-western rivers.\n\nWe were fully in the stream!--We began to feel that we were borne on the\nflowing bosom of the Ohio! The luxury of that moment was worth travelling\nfour hundred miles to enjoy! What thronging emotions then came rushing upon\nour minds! We remembered whither this stream was bearing us--away from our\nfriends--perhaps never to return! We thought of the vast territory it\nwatered--its majestic length--the scenes of Indian warfare that had been\nacted upon its shores and on its surface, long before the axe of the white\nman had felled a single tree in those vast and unbroken forests that stood\nupon its banks, and were reflected from its mirrored surface! It was even\nthen _the beautiful river_, as the name Ohio denotes. It is said that \"the\nline of beauty\" is not a straight but waving line. If so, this river is\nrichly entitled to its name. From first to last, it moves in \"the line of\nbeauty.\" So winding is its course that we usually do not see, as we are\npassing along upon it, more than a half or quarter of a mile in advance of\nus, and often not so far. Thus we see it in distinct sections, each section\nresembling a beautiful little lake, surrounded by its own sweet and\npeculiar scenery--shut in by its verdant and variegated banks and\nwood-covered hills, and ornamented by one or two, and often several little\ngreen islets, around which the parted waters wind romantically.\n\nWe passed the settlement of the _Harmonists_, or _Economists_, as they are\nfrequently called. This people are the followers of Rapp, and reside at a\ntown called _Economy_, about fifteen miles below Pittsburg. They also form\na singular instance of the power of delusion. The people belonging to this\ncommunity are principally German emigrants, extremely ignorant, and,\ntherefore, more easily controlled by a shrewd and cunning leader. Rapp\nprofesses to be a prophet sent from God, and gifted with the high privilege\nof holding such constant communication with heaven, as to receive from\nthence directions how to regulate and govern all their affairs.--He\ntherefore enjoins upon every individual belonging to the community, entire,\npassive submission, and implicit obedience to his orders.\n\nThis self-constituted ruler claims to be their sole religious instructor.\nThe people usually assemble on the Sabbath, when he speaks to them, what it\nconcerns them to know in relation to the Supreme Being and his\nProphet--and then gives them directions about their labour for the ensuing\nweek, reminding them of the great importance of _harmony_ and _economy_,\nassuring them, that both of these will be effectually secured if they\nundeviatingly follow his directions.\n\nThough they have no outward ordinances, they make great account of an\nannual festival--the _Harvest Home_. At the observance of this festival,\nafter immense preparation in the way of providing all manner of good things\nto eat and drink, not less than six hours are spent at the table--which are\noccupied alternately in eating, singing, and praying. The above particulars\nI received from several different, but well informed individuals, residing\nat Pittsburg.\n\nIn the course of the day we passed Steubenville, pleasantly situated on the\nriver. I had barely time during the landing of passengers to ascend the\nhill, and look into one of its principal streets. Its houses, like those of\nPittsburg, bore the dingy stain so common to all this bituminous coal\nregion. I wished to have met the Rev. Mr. M----, of this place, with whom I\nhad no personal acquaintance, but in whom I felt a particular interest on\naccount of the silent and powerful influence he exerted in the institution\nwhere he finished his literary studies, in commending godliness and\nrebuking sin, by a holy, spotless, and unblemished life. The savour of his\nname still remained at that institution several years subsequent, at the\ntime when I was passing through my preparatory studies there. I found upon\ninquiry that the same simplicity of faith, and singleness of mind, and\ndevoted holiness of life, characterized his labours on the banks of the\nOhio, which imparted such a charm and moral power to his conduct as an\nacademical student. There is nothing, after all, that can place such a\nmighty moral lever in a man's hands, as simple-hearted piety--decided\nholiness of heart and life.\n\nWe reached Wheeling just at sunset, and made our arrangements to remain\nthere through the night, with a view of taking the stage next morning to\npass into the interior of Ohio, making Gambier one of the points at which\nwe should stop. There having fallen heavy rains, however, the state of the\nroads was such that the project was abandoned, and we determined to keep on\nin the Elk. We felt some pleasure in being permitted to spend an hour or\ntwo within the limits of the \"old dominion,\" for it was the first time that\neither of us had trod upon Virginia soil.\n\n\n                              _Tuesday, June 20th, Cabin of the Elk,\n                              Passing down the Ohio._\n\nI know of nothing more delightful than to sit at one's ease, and be wafted\ndown such a beautiful stream as this, winding its graceful and circuitous\nway through groves and grass-covered fields, and beauteous woodland scenes.\nOccasionally we see the banks surmounted with lofty bluffs that lift their\nproud summits up towards the clouds--and then succeeded by bottom land\nstudded with trees that bend over to dip their pendent boughs in the glassy\nsurface that sweetly reflects them. As one sits in a sheltered nook in the\ncabin, gliding down such a stream, with such a scenery around him, and\nfeeling the cool refreshing breeze fanning his fevered brow, and imparting\nvigour and new elasticity to his enervated frame, he must be very stupid,\nor very depraved, if his heart is not drawn upwards and made to throb with\ngratitude to the glorious Framer of this garnished and goodly scene!\n\nOne acquires as he proceeds westward, largeness and expansion to his ideas:\nhis mind is carried out of its former habits of thought, and swells away\ninto the vast dimensions of the majestic rivers, and boundless tracts of\ncountry, over which his eye expatiates. Only think of sailing beyond the\nMississippi, in a steamboat, still westward more than two thousand miles,\nand find your course at every step skirted with the most rich and fertile\nlands which stretch away interminably before you!\n\nWe passed this day some interesting towns. _Marietta_ appears beautiful\nfrom the river, is neatly built, and bears the marks of thrift and\nenterprise. _Point Pleasant_ and _Guyandot_ in Virginia, _Gallipolis_ and\n_Burlington_ in Ohio, are interesting points.\n\n                              _Wednesday, June 21._\n\nWe found ourselves this morning lying at the shore of Portsmouth, with the\nborders of Kentucky on our left. Being detained several hours we took a\nview of the town, found a neat little Episcopal Church, and had an\ninterview with its humble, worthy, and devoted minister, the Rev. Mr.\nS----. In all this western world we find that ministers have many trials\nand discouragements. The people are more intent upon every thing else than\nthat of saving their souls. We here met, to our great delight and surprise,\nthe Rev. W. J----, and his lady, on their way to Louisville, his future\nfield of labour.\n\nThe river continued to present us with the same beautiful views, varied now\nand then by loftier ridges of head-land on the Kentucky side. It was about\ntwo o'clock, P. M., when we saw on the Kentucky shore in a solitary place,\na house surrounded by a large collection of people. Our boat seemed to\nsympathize in the scene before us, for it was immediately arrested in its\ncourse, and the captain put on shore. I have before spoken of the captain\nof our steamer, as remarkably quiet, taciturn, and even tempered. We did\nnot know that the placidity of his natural temperament could be moved, or\nhis tongue unloosed by any earthly power, till the second night after our\nembarkation, when we were awakened from our sleep by the tones of\nboisterous anger, and volleys of oaths that almost froze our blood. It was\nour captain chiding his men. We were now to see him under new\ncircumstances. As I have said, we dropped him on the Kentucky shore about\ntwo o'clock, while the boat went on to a small village a few miles below.\nWe were told by some of the hands on board that the captain had stopped on\naccount of the severe illness of his brother-in-law, who was the owner of\nthe Elk, and its former commander. The order was to wait until he joined\nus. The Rev. Mr. J. and myself improved the time of this delay by\nclambering up to the summit of one of the loftiest hills in the\nneighbourhood, where we had a fine view of the river and the surrounding\nscenery. When the signal for our boat's departure was sounded, we\nperceived, as we were going on board, a coffin covered with black velvet.\nWe now learned for the first time that our boat was to go back to the point\nwhere we dropped our captain, and remain there until the funeral rites of\nhis brother-in-law, now deceased, were performed. It was in vain to\nremonstrate, so we submitted to the delay with as much cheerfulness as\npossible.--To improve my time I determined to go on shore and witness a\nfuneral among the yeomanry of Kentucky. The steamboat had been drawn up to\nthe bank under the verdant canopy of a cluster of umbrageous trees. After\nascending the bank, which might have been some fifty feet from the water to\nits summit, we found ourselves in the midst of a beautiful grove, where the\nunderwood had been cut away, and the earth was carpeted with green sward.\nMost of our passengers having landed, the coffin was brought out from the\nboat and conveyed towards a cottage that stood some two hundred yards\ndistant. We all then moved on towards the house. The first thing that\nattracted our attention in approaching this rural dwelling, was the number\nof horses fastened to the fences, and equipped most of them with ladies'\nriding saddles.--Around and within the house we found a large company\nassembled. I was sorry to see so many rotund and rubicund faces among the\nmen, bearing unerring indications of intemperance. The fair daughters of\nKentucky were certainly on this occasion more happily represented than the\nstronger sex. They were, however, very peculiarly dressed. They generally\nwore a sun-bonnet, which had a long frill or flounce that hung like a shawl\nover their shoulders, and carried in their hands little riding whips, which\nleft us at no loss to understand who were the riders of the caparisoned\nsteeds that we had seen in such numbers around this house of mourning.\n\nI pressed along through the crowd, and followed the coffin to the house\nwith the hope of witnessing the religious exercises that I supposed would\nbe performed on this occasion. The house consisted principally of one long\nlarge room, in a corner of which the corpse was placed. Here also the\nmourners sat, and the company that were collecting to attend the funeral.\nThe coffin was brought into this room, and placed in front of the corpse,\nwhich was clad in the vestments it was to wear in its narrow house. It was\nimmediately in the presence of the mourners, and of this promiscuous\ncompany, raised from its position and transferred to the coffin. This being\ndone, the undertaker proceeded to fasten on the lid with the exception of\nthe head-piece, which was separate from the other. The wife, and mother,\nand family friends, then moved forward, and proceeded to take leave of the\nunbreathing dead. I never was more struck with the power of human sympathy.\nAt that moment many hardy, sun-burnt, iron-looking faces put on all the\nexpression of deep and overwhelming emotion. Tears ran down cheeks that one\nwould have thought had never been wet with such tender drops before. Even\nour imperturbable captain, whom we thought proof against all feeling, and\nalmost a perfect impersonation of apathy, wept and sobbed aloud.\n\nThe coffin was then borne out into a rude open piazza or stoop in front of\nthe house, and there left for some time till the curiosity of every gazer\nseemed fully glutted. Then again the near relatives came forward and kissed\nthe dead. The widowed wife seemed almost frantic in bestowing the parting\ntokens of her affection upon the unbreathing body of her deceased\ncompanion. I felt obliged to turn away, for I could not endure the sight of\nher wild frantic manner as she clasped and kissed again and again the cold\nclay of her husband! This finally had a close. Then after a short pause, a\nfemale bearing in her hands a pair of shears, pressed her way through the\ncrowd, and proceeding to the head of the coffin, took off several large\nlocks of hair that rested on the cold forehead of the dead man. The coffin\nwas then immediately closed, and preparation made to move towards the\ngrave. I accosted an elderly lady that stood near me and said--\n\n\"Are we to have no religious services on this occasion?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Is there no minister present to officiate?\"\n\n\"No,\" was the only reply I received.\n\nI then turned to another and said, \"Are there no ministers who reside in\nthis part of the country?\"\n\n\"None very near here,\" was the response.\n\nI mentioned this conversation to my friend B---- who stood near, and\nobserved to him that I regretted that such an opportunity should be lost,\nwhen the feelings of all were so subdued, to direct the minds of these\npeople to the solemn realities of eternity; that even a single prayer\noffered up at this moment might be the means of saving a soul. He went and\nspoke to our captain, mentioned that there was a clergyman present, and\nsuggested to him the expediency of inviting him to engage in some religious\nexercises. The captain with his usual apathy, into which he had again\nrelapsed, replied, \"I don't know whether it is worth while.\"\n\nThe funeral began to move off in the following order or rather disorder.\nFirst, the four bearers took the lead, carrying the coffin on two rudely\nhewn sticks, prepared for the occasion. Then followed four or five of the\nnear relatives all abreast. Then came the bereaved widow, riding on\nhorseback, and after her all the assembled crowd, male and female, hurrying\non twelve or fifteen abreast of each other. The funeral train proceeded\nnear where we landed, and, after having gone a short distance into the\ngrove, it descended into a narrow ravine, through which run a little brook,\ngurgling over its pebbly bottom. When the bearers reached this brook they\nhad no other way to proceed but to ford it; the others got over as well as\nthey could, on logs and stones. Having ascended the opposite bank, we soon\nreached a well trodden path, which we followed for some short distance, and\nthen turned abruptly into a cornfield. When we had reached the central part\nof the field, which was an eminence of some height, we found an open grave.\nThe excavation was at least four times larger than the coffin required,\nwith a place sunk in the bottom just large enough to receive it.\n\nWhile we were ascending the hill near the grave, the captain having had\nsome consultation with the friends of the deceased, and again feeling some\nkindlings of sensibility, sought me out from among the crowd, and very\naffectionately throwing his arm over my shoulders thus accosted me--\n\n\"I am very sorry to detain you on your journey, but the hands were all so\nmuch attached to Mr. R., I could not well send them on till the funeral was\nover.\" I replied, \"It is perfectly right to detain us under these\ncircumstances. This is a very solemn event, and one that should be regarded\nas a loud call both to you and your hands. We must all soon come to this!\nHow important then to lay it to heart!\"\n\nTo all this he readily assented and replied, \"Several of the friends have\nexpressed a wish that you should give us a short exhortation at the grave.\"\n\nI felt no disposition to decline complying with this request. Accordingly\nwhen the coffin had been placed over the excavated grave, with the broad\nblue canopy over our heads, amid the stillness of the surrounding country\nscene, and the hill-side beneath me covered with a dense mass of human\nbeings, I lifted up my voice for my Master, and spoke to them of sin, and\ndeath, and Christ, and salvation. As I looked over the silent listening\nthrong, I remembered that I had never met one of them before, and probably\nshould never meet one of them again, till we stood together at the judgment\nbar. I endeavoured to exhibit to them the scenes of that great and dreadful\nday, and the terms on which they would be accepted or rejected. I\nendeavoured to direct the mourners that wept around that grave to the balm\nthat is in Gilead and the physician who is there. The countenances of all\nwere solemn, and there were not wanting evidences of deep and tender\nemotion. The remarks were closed with prayer to the eternal Framer of earth\nand sky. Whether on that hill-side, with the Ohio rolling at our feet, and\nthe blue heavens stretching over our heads, any good was done when we laid\nthe dead steamboat captain in his grave, the developements of the great day\nmust show! In my heart I thanked the Lord for this opportunity of going out\ninto the highways and hedges to try to compel them to come in.\n\nAs soon as the grave was closed up, the bell from our boat reminded us that\nwe must be on our way. During the rest of the voyage our captain seemed\nvery serious and thoughtful. At tea he requested that a blessing should be\ninvoked on our meal. My friend B. sought a private opportunity to press the\nsubject of personal religion upon his attention. He received what was\noffered with great candour, and seemed willing to prolong the conversation.\nHis conduct after this to us was marked with every indication of\nrespectfulness and attachment. The next morning we found ourselves at\nCincinnati, the city which has been called \"THE QUEEN OF THE WEST.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nA GLIMPSE OF KENTUCKY.\n\n     Cincinnati--The Queen city--Views in reference to\n     missionary labour--The kind of missionaries wanted in\n     the great Valley--Walnut Hills--Lane Seminary--Dr.\n     Beecher--Woodward College--Dr. Aydelott--The old\n     Kentucky man--Louisville--The Galt House--View of the\n     interior of Kentucky--Plantations--A sore\n     evil--Kentuckian traits of character--A thrilling\n     incident.\n\n\n                            _Cincinnati, Friday Morning, June 23d, 1837._\n\nWe reached this city, not inappropriately called \"The Queen of the West,\"\nyesterday morning, and bid adieu to the Elk and its taciturn captain. Upon\nthe whole I have been greatly pleased with Cincinnati. The whole air and\naspect of the town has reminded me more of Philadelphia than any city I\nhave seen west of the mountains. Christ Church, in this city, is a noble\nbuilding, and the interior furnishes a beautiful specimen of architectural\ntaste and skill. St. Paul's Church is also a tasteful structure, although I\nwas not able to obtain a view of the interior. The Roman Catholic cathedral\nand college make a fine appearance, but the interior of the cathedral\ngreatly disappointed me. The audience room is small, narrow, and mean in\nappearance. I am happy to say that in passing through this western region\nI find but one impression among well-informed and intelligent men in\nrelation to the growth and progress of popery here; and that is, that it is\nmaking little or no advances, except with the increase of foreign\npopulation.\n\nIn my visit to Cincinnati I derived much information in relation to the\nwest, as well as much personal enjoyment from the conversation and society\nof our most excellent brother, the Rev. J. T. B., Rector of Christ Church.\nHe occupies a most important position on the walls of Zion, and I could not\nbut say to myself, the more I saw and conversed with him, \"Oh that we had a\nthousand such clergymen at the west as he.\" He, as well as several other\nintelligent clergymen in this region, assured me that it needed only a band\nof well-trained, devoted, godly men, to plant the Episcopal Church every\nwhere through the whole length and breadth of this vast valley. The united\ntestimony of all is, \"Send us the right kind of men--or send us none. The\nidea that any one will answer for a missionary to the west is a most fatal\nerror. We want here men of enlarged and liberal views, thoroughly educated,\nof great prudence, energy and efficiency--men who are willing to work, and\nwilling to keep on working till they see the fruit of their labours--and\nabove all, pious, devoted men--men full of the Holy Ghost, and burning with\na love for immortal souls, who will speak directly to the hearts and\nconsciences of people. Give us such ministers, and no limits need be set to\nthe establishment of the Church. But if men of another stamp are to be\nsent, those whose dullness, and deadness, and inefficiency prevent their\ngetting any place among the old established parishes at the east, the\nresult will be that our prospects here for the Church wherever they plant\nthemselves will be for ever ruined.\"\n\nI have heard these sentiments again and again from the lips of some of our\nmost devoted ministers at the west. The body of clergy that now come here\nare going to give character to the Church. They are engaged in the\nmomentous business of _laying foundations_. We must look not only to the\nimmediate, but future results of their labours. In almost all places,\nbefore any thing can be done a church has to be built. I had no conception\ntill I entered this great valley of the difficulty of finding a place in\nwhich to assemble the people for public worship. Almost the first business\nto be done is to effect the erection of a church. The clergyman who can\ninspire such confidence in himself and awaken such a degree of interest, as\nto lead a western community to embark in such an enterprize, must have some\ntact and power. Another difficulty is to induce the people to attend\nchurch. Vast numbers here have fallen into the confirmed habit of spending\ntheir Sabbaths in another way. It is an effort for them to go to church.\nThere must be some attractions in the minister to draw this class of\npersons out, and they are here a very large, and respectable, and\ninfluential class. A dull, sleepy, prosing minister is not the man for the\nwest.\n\nIn the afternoon we rode out to Walnut Hills to visit Lane Seminary, and\npay our respects to Dr. Beecher. He received us with that frank, blunt\ncordiality, which I have so often experienced in New England, and which\nmakes its rough and cragged hills more attractive to me than all the\nluxuriant fields of the west. The pleasure of our visit was not a little\nenhanced by the presence of Miss Catharine E. Beecher, who is widely known\nto the literary world through the productions of her gifted pen. I am sorry\nthat my limits will not allow me to detail to you some parts of a\ndiscussion that we had upon several interesting topics--especially in\nreference to the present state of _the Presbyterian Church_, and of the\nbest mode of diffusing light among the _Roman Catholics_. I certainly left\nDr. B---- more than ever impressed with a high conviction of the brilliancy\nof his intellect, and the depth of his piety.\n\nThe location of Lane Seminary is in the midst of a most beautiful\nlandscape. There is just enough, and just the right admixture of hill and\ndale, forest and field, to give it the effect we love to feel in gazing\nupon a calm and quiet scene of beauty. In our return to Cincinnati we took\nanother route, which, as we approached the town, gave us from the lofty\namphitheatre of hills that encircle this \"occidental queen\" a new view of\nher charms. As we approached the lofty eminences in the rear of the town,\nwhile we gazed from the summit down upon the city, I could not but reflect\nhow Jerusalem must have appeared to the spectator who stood upon Mount\nOlivet, and looked down upon the proud domes and busy streets that lay\nbeneath him. And the thought too then occurred to me, that had I the gifted\nvision of him who once stood upon Olivet, and wept over Jerusalem, I might\nsee in this beautiful city enough to draw forth floods of grief. With all\nmy admiration of Cincinnati, I see here abundant evidences of great\nwickedness. The temperance cause I fear has made but little advance in this\nplace, and the god of this world holds a fearful sway over the minds of too\nmany of its inhabitants.\n\nI met last evening the Rev. Dr. Aydelott, the former Rector of Christ\nChurch, who now occupies the place of President of Woodward College, an\ninstitution in Cincinnati, endowed by the munificence of a single\nindividual, and which promises, with its present head, to do much for the\ncause of learning in the west. I am satisfied that education here is to be\none of the great moral levers by which mind is to be raised from the\ndarkness and degradation of sin. In the President of Woodward College I\nfound a man of thorough evangelical views, sound intellect, and fine\nliterary attainment.\n\n\n                              _Louisville, Tuesday, June 27._\n\nIt was about noon, Friday the 23d, that we left Cincinnati on board the\nsteamboat _Commerce_. Having reached the great Miami, we had immediately\nunder our eye the view of three states. Ohio which we were leaving--Indiana\nwhich now constituted the right-hand bank of the river, and Kentucky, which\nstill continued to present us with its \"alternations of bottom and bluff\"\non the left.--We met on board a fine specimen of plain, honest, fearless\nKentucky character. He was an old man who cultivated a farm without slave\nlabour, possessing great bluntness, a large share of intelligence, and an\nevident warm-hearted piety. Having formed some acquaintance with B----, he\naccosted Mr. F---- and myself almost immediately upon coming where we\nstood, in the following manner. \"Well, gentlemen, I find your friend here\nis for Christ: which side are you on? I am willing to show my colours.\" He\nseemed very happy to know that we were trying to serve the same Master whom\nhe loved.\n\nAt early dawn, on the morning of Saturday, June 24th, we found our\nsteamboat lying along the shore, on which Louisville is built. As the heat\nnow began to be oppressive, it was very reviving to leave the confined\ncabin of our steamer, and inhale the fresh breath of morning. Louisville is\nevidently a flourishing business town, containing about twenty-five\nthousand inhabitants, ten thousand less than Cincinnati. We put up at the\nGALT HOUSE, an establishment which we had heard very highly commended. We\nhowever, in the end, did not feel disposed greatly to dissent from the\nremark of one of the lodgers at the Hotel, who in true Kentucky style\nremarked--\"_that the Galt House was not after all just what it was cracked\nup to be_.\" I found many things to interest me in Louisville. During the\nfew days that I stopped here, it was my intention to visit Lexington, but\nhaving been providentially prevented, I endeavoured to make amends for this\ndisappointment by taking short excursions into the country. How could I\nfail to be delighted with the splendid corn and hemp fields along by the\nsides of which I passed! and the luxuriant forests which, with their\nunderwood cleared away, and grown up, as they were, with blue grass,\nappeared like noble parks affording pasture ground for the hundred beeves\nthat roamed there! How could I fail to be delighted with the frank, and\ngenerous, and warm-hearted hospitality which I every where experienced. But\nI saw a dark cloud hanging over this beautiful state! Almost all its\ninhabitants see it, and lament it, and hope that it may one day be rolled\naway! Through the politeness of a friend I was afforded an opportunity of\nvisiting several large plantations cultivated by slaves. I was pleased with\nthe evident kindness with which the slaves are treated, and the happy\ncontentedness which they displayed. But still I could not but see many\nevils connected with this system. And I have no doubt that large portions\nof the intelligent part of the people in Kentucky have juster views of\nthese evils than any of their northern neighbours--and that could silent\nwishes remove the difficulty the chains of bondage would be instantly\nbroken. I dined with a gentleman, of great urbanity and professed piety,\nliving on a small plantation in the country. After dinner, we walked out,\nand passed by the shantee in which his slaves lived. He asked me to look\nin, and talk with them, he in the mean time passing on, with some other\ngentlemen into the garden. I did so. In the cottage they occupied there was\nevery appearance of neatness and comfort. I remarked to an intelligent\nlooking woman who stood over the wash-tub--\n\n\"You look quite comfortable here, I suppose you are very happy.\"\n\nShe immediately replied, \"I am not happy.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" said I, \"what makes you unhappy? Are you not treated kindly by your\nmaster and his family?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes!\" she responded, \"I have nothing to complain of on that ground.\"\n\n\"What is it then that makes you unhappy?\" I asked.\n\n\"My sins,\" she replied.\n\nI remarked that this was indeed the cause of all our misery; and I then\nendeavoured to point her to that blessed fountain opened for sin and\nuncleanness, where she and all our guilty race might wash and be clean.\n\nAs I passed along, I saw several young children around the establishment,\nand when I joined our host in the garden, I told him what had passed, and\ninquired of him, if the parents of the children we saw had been regularly\nmarried. He appeared somewhat confused, and very serious--but at length\nreplied--\n\n\"This is one of the worst features of slavery. Two of the parents of those\nchildren are married. The woman with whom you were conversing is the mother\nof four children, and has never been married? Her conscience is not easy.\"\n\nI inquired if such things were of common occurrence among the slave\npopulation? He replied--\"Yes--and we cannot prevent it.\" Alas for that\nstate of society which brings along unavoidably such sin in its train!\n\nI inquired in relation to the religious instruction of the slaves, and was\nsorry to learn that it was so very defective. On one plantation where there\nwere seventy slaves, the master was a perfect worldling, and never allowed\nhis slaves to attend public worship or receive any kind of religious\ninstruction. Must there not be something wrong in that state of society\nwhich places seventy immortal souls so entirely under the control of one\nindividual that he can shut against them completely the gate of heaven? But\nthis is an unwelcome theme and I pass on.\n\nPerhaps there is no part of our country where there are such fixed and\nmarked traits of character as in New England and Kentucky. There are many\ntraits in the Kentuckian which I admire, and which when brought under the\ninfluence and control of Divine grace form the substratum of a noble\ncharacter. One of the attributes of this character is an honest\nindependence, which despises the meanness of stooping to get any advantage\nby blandishment or truckling. This is evident from the common drayman to\nthe high-minded planter. Another attribute in this character, is a love,\namounting almost to a passion, for discussion, oratory, and public\nspeaking. It is said, that in no one of the states are all political\nquestions so thoroughly discussed and understood by the great mass of the\npeople as in Kentucky. During the sittings of the courts, I am told that\nall leave their work, and give up their time to attend the trial of the\nvarious suits that are pending, and to listen to the speeches that are made\non the occasion. Wherever there is public speaking, there the people will\nflock. I believe there is no state where a talented, eloquent ministry\ncould effect more than here.--Unhappily there is much infidelity prevailing\nin this state, and yet I have no doubt that it may and will be entirely\nsupplanted by the labours of a faithful and efficient ministry. You will be\ngratified to learn that the Rev. Mr. J---- has commenced his labours with\ngreat acceptableness. His removal to Louisville, at this time, is regarded\nby the friends of the Church in this region as a most auspicious event. I\nhave no doubt that a wide field of usefulness lies before him. They are\nerecting in Louisville a new Episcopal Church, and if a suitable pastor is\nprocured, there is not the least question but that both churches will be\nentirely full.\n\nThe very best specimen of true original Kentucky character, which I have\nmet, was on board the steamboat. The love of this individual for his native\nstate amounted almost to a passion. Though in exterior very plain and\nblunt, he possessed uncommon intelligence, and contributed by his\nconversation in no small degree to our enjoyment.\n\nHe gave me the following statement in relation to the early settlement of\nKentucky.\n\n\"This was one of the most beautiful and blooming territories over which a\nwild luxuriant forest ever waved.--And yet as it was a sort of dividing\nline between the northern and southern Indians, it became the battle-ground\nupon which these nations met and waged interminable wars, so that it went\namong the savages by the name of the _dark and bloody land_. Near the close\nof the revolutionary war several settlements were attempted in Kentucky by\nemigrants from Virginia. My ancestors were among the number. The Indians\nboth from the south and north, almost immediately became jealous of these\nwhite settlers, and adopted the purpose of exterminating them. The settlers\nwere able to keep their position only by building a fort and living in it.\nWhile a certain portion of the men worked in attempting to clear and\ncultivate the land, another portion being armed, were on watch. I was born\nin one of these forts near Boonsborough. I wore, till I was twelve years\nold, hose made of buffalo hair. Our chief living was upon bear and buffalo\nmeat. We were in the midst of the wildness of nature. Hundreds of times\nhave I seen the Indians rushing upon our fort, or fleeing before the\nsharp-speaking guns of our friends. People who live in the densely settled\nportions of our country, know very little about the toils and dangers, the\nsacrifices and privations which the first settlers endure.\"\n\nMy Kentucky acquaintance illustrated this last remark by a vast number of\nthrilling incidents, one or two of which I will relate.\n\nWhen he was quite young, several of the people of that settlement,\nundertook to manufacture maple sugar. The winter had relaxed its rigours,\nand the warm sun began to pour down his genial rays. The snow was fast\nmelting away, and the sap ran merrily from the perforated sugar trees.\nSeveral negroes were engaged a short distance from the fort in collecting\nthe sap. It was supposed that no Indians were in the neighbourhood, as none\nhad been seen for several months. Tempted by the bright sunny day, a\ndaughter of one of the settlers, a young, beautiful, blooming girl, rambled\nbeyond the enclosures of the fort, where the negroes were collecting the\nsugar sap. While she stood there, full of buoyancy and free from every\napprehension, a negro being near, busily engaged in some of the various\nprocesses of sugar-making, four or five wild Indians in a moment sprung\nupon them! The negro they seized and bound, and in an instant cut down with\ntheir tomahawks this beautiful girl. Having scalped her, they fled,\ncarrying with them the captured negro. The alarm was soon given at the\nfort. They were pursued--overtaken, and several of them shot. The negro was\nrescued. Those that had escaped went five hundred miles around among the\ntribe to raise the war-cry, and then came back and again attacked the\nsettlement. In that encounter my Kentucky friend told me that _eleven_ of\nhis family relatives were killed.\n\nAnother incident which he related was the following. Somewhere on a station\nnear Kentucky river, in the spring, when the earth began to put on her\nbloom, two young ladies, the eldest of whom was the first child born in\nKentucky, went out to gather flowers. As they saw some very rich blossoms\non the banks of the river, they took a little skiff, and went from one\nside to the other collecting them. While thus engaged a number of Indians\nwere in the canebrakes watching them. The young ladies having by a turn of\nthe river passed beyond the view of their enemies, the Indians proposed to\ngather flowers, and place them all along the bank, where they were in\nambuscade, so that when they returned, attracted by these flowers, they\nwould come up to the bank and then the boat could be seized. The plan\nentirely succeeded, and while these young ladies were gaily cropping their\nflowers, a huge wild Indian sprang from his concealment into the boat.\nTheir destiny then seemed sealed. They were immediately borne away as\ncaptives. One of them, however, wore a dress handkerchief of red and\nbrilliant colours.--This she silently kept pulling to pieces, and dropping\nthe shreds as she was hurried along through the forest. The friends of\nthese young ladies soon become alarmed. Marks were discovered of an Indian\ntrail. The empty boat was found. A band of armed men commenced pursuit,\nheaded by the father of one of these young ladies.--They discovered the\nshreds of the handkerchief, and traced them till night fall, when they\nsuddenly came upon them where they were encamped. They perceived there was\na large number of Indians, and thought secresy in their movements\nimportant. They waited till the Indians were asleep, and then the father\ndrew near. He saw the two young ladies sitting by themselves, guarded by an\nIndian. The others appeared to be asleep. His men were at some distance,\nand he thought it better to go up unseen, and tomahawk this sentinel, and\nrescue his child without alarming the other Indians. But in attempting it,\nhis faithful dog which accompanied him, growled at the sight of these\nsavages. In a moment they were on their feet and he their prisoner. They\ndetermined at once to put him to death. He was stripped and bound to a\ntree, and they were just levelling their pieces to fire at him.--What a\nmoment of awful suspense for his child who stood looking on! His men,\nalarmed at his long absence, drew near, saw what was going forward, and\ninstantly fired upon the Indians. A panic was immediately struck into the\ncamp, and as the fire from the whites was kept up, and one and another\nIndian fell gasping on the ground, they soon fled and left their prisoners.\nThe father and the two young ladies returned. One of them is still living,\nthe mother of a large and respectable family, whose declining age is\ncheered with the comforts of a sweet hope in Christ.\n\nIt is well for us to know something of the hardships endured by the first\nsettlers in the west.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE OHIO NEAR ITS MOUTH.\n\n     New Albany--Sailing down the Ohio--Profanity--Lovely\n     views of nature--A sudden squall on the river--Kentucky\n     shore--Young fawn--The mouth of the Tennessee\n     river--The swimming deer--His struggle and\n     capture--Meeting of the waters of the Ohio with the\n     Mississippi--Gambling--Intemperance--Sail up the\n     Mississippi to St. Louis.\n\n\n                              _New Albany, Indiana,\n                              Tuesday Morning, June 27, 1837._\n\nIndiana is unquestionably destined to become one of the most interesting of\nthe Western States. Its principal towns that stand along on the Ohio, must\nof course become very important points. This will be particularly the case\nwith New Albany, which is already one of the most populous and flourishing\ntowns in Indiana. It bears on every part of it the marks of a new place,\nand the manner in which every house and shed within its precincts is\ncrowded, shows that it must have expansion. It is situated about four miles\nfrom Louisville, just below the rapids, on a fine broad table of land,\nwhich is so far above high water mark, as effectually to secure it from\nthose inundations, occasioned by the sudden rise of the Ohio. Some way\nback in the rear of the town, and nearly encircling it, rises up in a very\npicturesque manner, what is here called _a knob_, an elevated steppe of\nland, from which we look down upon the town and river, and see them spread\nout before us as on a map, in distinct and beautiful delineation.\nLouisville appears in the distance, and the adjacent country, which with\nthe windings, and wooded scenery of the beautiful Ohio, presents a view so\nexquisite, that the imagination can scarcely conceive any thing more\nromantic.\n\nIt is only three or four years since there were but a handful of\ninhabitants at New Albany: it now numbers six thousand, and is rapidly\nincreasing in population. A very large proportion of its inhabitants are\nyoung, enterprising men from the East, who possess moderate means, and have\ncome here to build up their fortunes. How important to bring such minds\nunder the influence of the Gospel! This is a centre from which influences\nfor good or evil will go forth through the state, and I believe it may be\ntruly said, it is one of those fields that \"are white for the harvest.\"\n\nI met Bishop Kemper at Louisville, on his way to hold an ordination at\nMadison, another interesting town in Indiana, on the Ohio, between\nLouisville and Cincinnati. The bishop purposes to devote two or three\nmonths between this and autumn to Indiana. He appears indefatigable in his\nefforts to promote the good cause, and every tongue through the whole west\nspeaks forth his praise, and cheerfully accords to him the high encomium of\na _zealous, devoted, and holy man_. There are now seven or eight Episcopal\nclergymen in Indiana, and the cry still is, \"The harvest is plenteous, but\nthe labourers are few.\"\n\n\n                              _Steamboat, Tuesday Evening, June 27th._\n\nIt was about three o'clock to-day, that we started on our way from\nLouisville, down the Ohio. It was excessively hot, and I experienced a\nlanguor and sense of exhaustion, which I do not recollect ever before to\nhave felt. When the sun began to decline, and we again found ourselves\ngliding as by enchantment over the surface, and sweeping through the midst\nof the beautiful scenery of the Ohio, I felt that I had passed into a new\nworld. As I traversed the deck of the boat, and saw reflected from the\nsmooth and mirror-like bosom of the river, the luxuriant foliage, rich and\ndark by its own deep verdure--the smooth green bank that sloped down to the\nwater's edge, as though to kiss the smiling surface that slept so quietly\nbelow--the abrupt precipitous bluff, starting up like a mound of earth, or\na wall of solid masonry--and the head-land sweeping off into sloping woods\nthat towered in majesty above the stream, I could not but feel, and could\nscarcely refrain from exclaiming aloud, how beautiful and surpassingly\nlovely are the works of God! What must the heart of that man be made of,\nwho can pass through the midst of such displays of divine beauty, and\npollute the very atmosphere as he passes with profanity! This is what\nhundreds are daily doing. Almost all the hands on board of the steamboats,\ndown even to the little boys, utter an oath almost every other word.\n_Profane swearing_ is one of the crying sins of this western world. Oaths\nthe most horrid are awfully common among all sorts of people. Amid these\nscenes of varied beauty where creation appears so lovely we may truly say,\n\n    \"* * * Every prospect pleases\n    And only man is vile.\n    In vain with lavish kindness\n    The gifts of God are strown.\"\n\nMen pass here in thousands, and mindless of all these tokens of a\nwonder-working Deity, continue to live as though there were no God in the\nUniverse, or as if He existed only to afford a theme for more aggravated\nprofanity. And yet looking at the matter, aside from the native depravity\nof the human heart, one would think that the spontaneous effusion of every\nintelligent mind whose attention was directed to this scene, would be, as\nhe looked around, \"Surely this is the teaching of the mighty God! May\nlessons be impressed upon my heart by the outspread volumes before me,\nwhich no mutations of time, no excitement of passion, no fascinations of\nthe world, no devices of the Evil one will ever efface. Eternal Creator,\nhere among this green, boundless, majestic temple of thy works I renew the\nconsecration of myself to thee, soul, body, and spirit. While these rivers\nroll their waters towards the sea--while a spear of grass grows in these\nfields--while a tree on these wooded banks is clothed with foliage in the\nvernal month--yea, while the solid earth lasts, and the cycles of eternity\nmove on, with thy grace will I live only to serve and glorify Thee.\"\n\n\n                              _Wednesday, June 28th._\n\nWhile we were leisurely sailing along to-day, the weather being\noppressively warm, and the heavens very bright and sunny, and not a breath\nof air stirring, pyramids of snow-white clouds began to be piled up in the\nnorthern and western sky. These masses of cloud seemed heaped together in\nevery fantastic form. They towered aloft like huge mountains of snow. What\nadded to the interest and singular appearance of the scene was, that this\narch of the snow-pillowed sky sprung directly up from a boundless sea of\nverdant foliage that stretched interminably around. Through these masses of\nwhite cloud, there occasionally appeared large interstices, like deep\ncaverns, opening into the blue profound!--long vistas through which we\ncould seem to catch a view of the inmost heaven. Suddenly a tremendous gale\nstruck us; the waters of the calm Ohio were thrown into the utmost\ncommotion, and the wind came down upon us with a power that threatened to\nshiver the steamer into a thousand atoms. The heavens gathered blackness,\nand the whole dark firmament presented a surface every now and then lit up\nwith a sheet of the most vivid fire. The waters ran very high, the wind\nroared, and the thunder was awful. The captain very prudently sought the\nshelter of the shore, and our boat was soon fastened by a strong cable to a\ntree. Then the rain fell in torrents, as though the waters of the river\nitself were scooped up and poured upon us. We learned that a few days\nbefore, not far from where we were, a steamboat had been capsized by a\nsimilar flaw of wind. We were soon again on our way, moving beneath a\nbright and benignant sky, and fanned by a gentle and refreshing breeze. How\nmuch our course down this river resembles human life! I cannot stay to make\nthe application, but will only add that they only are wise who seek the\nshelter of God's presence as a hidingplace till the storm be overpast.\n\nWe stopped towards evening to take in wood on the Kentucky shore. We there\nsaw for the first time the native cane-brake. A wood-cutter's hut was near.\nA little ragged boy came out followed by two large dogs, and a little pet\nfawn. The dogs seemed to be fond of this little innocent thing, which had\nbeen taken only two or three weeks before. It seemed as it skipped along,\nand played around the footsteps of the child, very affectionate and\nconfiding. Oh! that hardened sinners were transformed into a nature as\nmild, and gentle, and sweet as this little fawn! The power of Christ\nthrough the gospel can alone accomplish this.\n\nJust at nightfall we passed the steamer Louisiana in distress. She had run\nupon a reef of rocks, and was in a sinking state. I cannot but here record\nthe mercy of God which has followed us thus far in our journeyings.\nSteamboats have been blown up, and fired, and sunk, all around us since we\nstarted, and yet the Lord in boundless mercy has preserved us.\n\n\n                                          _Thursday, June 29th._\n\nWhen I awoke this morning, I found the boat was taking in wood at Paducah,\njust at the mouth of the Tennessee, having passed the Cumberland river in\nthe night. We were now approaching a scene of interest that we had been\nlong anticipating--the meeting of the waters of the Ohio and \"the father of\nrivers.\" The morning was rainy and unpleasant, still we were constantly on\nthe alert, eagerly intent upon seeing every object of interest around us.\nWhile thus looking abroad, an affecting scene presented itself to us. The\nOhio here, having received its last large tributaries, had become very deep\nand broad. Its banks were covered with tangled underwood, and dense\nforest-trees--presenting a scene of unbroken wildness. Now and then a\nwoodman's hut was visible on the shore, and a little boat fastened to the\nbank. A deer, bounding with the fleetness of the wind to escape his\ndestroyers, had reached the river's edge. What could be more natural than\nthat, as his pursuers pressed on, he should plunge into the midst of the\nflowing stream! How cool and grateful must have been its waters to him thus\npanting and faint! But will he find safety here! No. His pursuers are again\nupon him. Having seized two little skiffs they eagerly press on to reach\nhim. We saw them gliding through the waters towards him. Again he puts\nforth all his energies, and dashes through the waves like an arrow through\nthe air. The effort he is making is for his life. But the strong arms that\nply the oars, send forward the little barques which contain his pursuers\nwith a velocity that seems to cut off the hope of escape. Now they are upon\nhim! one boat is in advance of him, and the other rushing towards him. His\ndestiny seemed sealed! But no--he is gone! He has darted to the depths\nbeneath, and risen far beyond the furthermost boat! He is exerting every\nnerve to reach the shore! A few moments more, and his point will be\ngained--he will be bounding through the Kentucky woods! No. Hope again\ndies! His pursuers are again upon him--the boat is again between him and\nthe shore. His strength is exhausted. The uplifted oar with dreadful stroke\nhas fallen upon his head. The hands of his fell pursuers have grasped his\nhorns, he is dragged up into the boat and the huntsman's knife has made a\ndeep incision in his throat. He pants, and struggles, and expires!\n\nI said to myself--the sinner is pursued by sin, and satan, and passion,\nlike that chased deer. There is no escape for him but in Christ. Oh what a\nhappy, blessed hour of deliverance is that when the arm of mercy is reached\nforth to pluck him from the hands of his destroyers!\n\nIt was about nine o'clock this morning, when we first come in sight of the\nMississippi. The waters of the Ohio had seemed muddy to us, but now they\nappeared clear and limpid compared with the muddy and discoloured stream\nwhich we were about to enter. There it was before us in all its\nmagnificence, \"the mighty father of rivers!\" When our steamer touched its\nwaves, it was with us a moment of deep and intense interest. We now turned\nup to breast its impetuous current which swept proudly along by us in\nfoaming eddies. Every part of the river seemed turbid and thick with mud,\nand we could not understand how these waters could hold so much soil in\nsolution. I shall never forget my sensations, when, shortly after we\nreached the Mississippi, I saw one of the boatmen draw up a pail full of\nthis muddy water, and putting his lips to the vessel drink it off with\napparent relish. I afterwards found it was the only water drank on board\nthe steamboats, and in the towns situated on this river. I also found that\nafter it was filtered, it was the most delightful water that I ever drank.\nOne cause of its turbid appearance is the large portions of magnesia it\nholds in solution. This water derives its peculiar characteristics from\nthe Missouri. Above that stream the waters of the Mississippi are clear and\nlimpid.\n\nI have already spoken of the annoyance to which we were constantly\nsubjected from the profanity of those we encountered. And I may now add\nthat, gambling is another of the vices that are rife here. On our way from\nLouisville to St. Louis there has been one incessant scene of gambling\nnight and day. We have evidently had three professed gamblers on board. I\nam told that there are men who do nothing else but pass up and down these\nwaters, to rob in this way every unsuspecting individual, they can induce\nto play with them, of his money. We saw one victim fall into the clutches\nof these blacklegs. He was a young merchant, I believe, from Chilicothe,\nOhio. He was first induced to play a simple game of cards. A slight sum was\nthen staked to give interest to the game. He was allowed for awhile to be\nsuccessful and to win of his antagonist. He played on till he became\nperfectly infatuated. He would hardly stop long enough to take his meals.\nBeing fairly within their toils, large sums began to be staked, and this\nyoung man did not see the vortex into which he was being borne until he had\nlost six hundred dollars. In this deep gambling, physicians and judges who\nwere present participated. What will our country come to, with such\nexamples before the people! After being shut up for two or three days with\nsuch company, I thought how horrible it must be to be shut up in perdition\nwith such characters forever! Surely the very presence of such men, with\ntheir depraved passions in full play, would of itself constitute a perfect\nhell! Another crying sin, which abounds on board the western steamboats,\nand is fearfully prevalent through every portion of this western region, is\n_the free and unrestrained use of ardent spirits as a drink_; usually on\nboard these western steamboats whiskey is used just as freely as water. All\ndrink. The pilot--the engineer--the fireman--all drink. The whiskey bottle\nis passed around several times a day, and then the dinner table is loaded\nwith decanters. I am satisfied that more than two-thirds of the disasters\nthat occur on board these steamboats, are attributable to this free use of\nardent spirits.\n\nI know it will be natural to ask, can nothing be done to arrest the\nprogress of these mighty evils? A gentleman at St. Louis, Captain S----,\nhas embarked in a noble effort to do this. Last summer he ran a boat from\nGalena to St. Louis, with these avowed principles--that the Sabbath should\nbe sanctified--that wherever the Lord's day found them, there they would\ntie up their boat and remain till Monday--that no ardent spirits should be\nbrought on board the boat--that no profane swearing should be allowed, and\nno card-playing permitted. He remarked to me that the exclusion of ardent\nspirits removed the whole difficulty--that where there was no intoxicating\ndrink, there was very little disposition to indulge in profanity or\ngambling. This gentleman has now raised forty thousand dollars, and hopes\nto bring it up to one hundred thousand in order to establish a line of\nboats on the same principle from Pittsburg to New Orleans. I do believe\nthat this is one of the most important enterprises of the present day, and\nthat the religious interests of the west are vitally connected with it.\nCaptain S---- remarked to me, that no class of men, after the clergy, could\nexert such a prodigious influence for good or for evil, in the western\nvalley, as the captains of steamboats. If they were only pious men, there\nis no telling how much they might do, every trip they made, to promote the\ncause of the Redeemer.\n\nIf something be not speedily done at the west to prevent the profanation of\nthe Lord's day, there will soon be no Sabbath. At the principal landing\nplaces along the rivers, business appears to go forward on the Sabbath just\nas upon any other day. Professors of religion are deeply involved in this\nsin. Goods are carried to and from their ware-houses at noon-day, and their\nclerks are busy in the counting-room while they are at church. Facts of\nthis kind I do not guess at, but _know_. Will not God visit for such\nthings? Oh what will become of our land when God riseth up to judge the\nearth?\n\nThe whole character of the scenery, since we entered the Mississippi has\nbecome changed; the banks of this great stream are low and marshy. They are\ngenerally covered with dense forests and tangled underwood, and present the\nappearance of nature in its untrodden wildness.\n\n\n                                               _Friday, June 30th._\n\nWe to-day made a short stop at a place which bears the name of _Western\nPhiladelphia_. There were some half dozen buildings, and two stores. It is\nonly about nine months since the settlement commenced. Chestnut and Market\nstreets were pointed out to us. Their course was through a flourishing\ncornfield, the stalks of which were so luxuriant and lofty, that we in vain\nessayed to reach their tops with our hands.\n\nThere are more signs of cultivation visible, as we passed along, on the\nMissouri than on the Illinois side. The banks as we proceed up the stream,\noccasionally rise into high bluffs--especially in Illinois--towering aloft,\nnot unlike the palisades on the Hudson. Frequently one rock is piled upon\nanother to such an elevation, that the summit of the bluff juts over the\nriver, as though it were ready to tumble down upon the heads of those who\nwere passing along on the quiet stream beneath. This is particularly the\ncase as we enter the lead country which commences some time before we reach\nSt. Louis. These lofty towering bluffs that rise up so perpendicularly,\nprojecting over the river, afford every convenience for forming natural\nshot towers. We saw several of these lofty cliffs that were thus used. A\nlittle box was erected upon the summit of the rock, where the molten lead\nwas poured down through the mould, into a little tub on the shore beneath\nto receive the shot as they fell.\n\nAs we slowly wended our way up this mighty stream we found the shores\nadorned with flowers, and covered with cane-brake and thick underwood. We\nalso saw the trees loaded with grape-vines--and many of them completely\nmatted over with ivy, woodbine, and misletoe. The luxuriance of vegetation\nseemed so great, as not only to cover the earth, but to lift itself up\nsuspended in the air.\n\nWe passed to-day St. Genevieve, a French village standing on a beautiful\nhill-side. The loveliest prospect stretched out before the town. We could\nfrom this point see the broad Mississippi in its magnificent course\npiercing the boundless forests of eternal verdure, and spreading out its\nwatery surface upon which a hundred green islets seemed to float. The town\nitself, like all the French villages that we have seen on this river,\nappeared old and dilapidated, and quite destitute of every thing like\nimprovement, or enterprise. I could not but contrast these French villages,\nin the midst of this rich luxuriant land, with their little Roman Catholic\nchapels, their low narrow houses, and abundant marks of poverty, with the\nneat, tidy, thriving villages of New England, which, although they rear\ntheir heads from a hard rocky soil, where industry has to be taxed to the\nutmost to obtain the means of subsistence, present--in their beautiful\nchurch edifices--their elegant public buildings, and well constructed\nprivate residences--marks of thrift, industry, and comfort, which cannot\nfail to gladden the heart of the traveller who passes through them. Such is\nthe difference in their influences between Protestantism and Romanism.\n\nTwelve miles before we reached St. Louis we passed Jefferson barracks, a\nmilitary station on the Missouri shore, located on a beautiful swell of\nland.\n\nCarondolet is another French village on the banks of the Mississippi,\naround which every thing appears ruinous and poverty stricken.\n\nAt length St. Louis rose to view, and we hailed the sight with no ordinary\nsensations, not only as it was to be our resting place for awhile, but as a\npoint of exceeding interest in this vast western world.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE MISSISSIPPI AND SOME OF ITS TRIBUTARIES.\n\n     St. Louis--Roman cathedral--Desecration of the\n     Sabbath--Golden sunsets--Sail up the Mississippi--The\n     meeting of the waters of the Missouri and the\n     Mississippi--Alton--The burning prairie.\n\n\n                              _St. Louis, Tuesday Evening, July 4th._\n\nThis, unquestionably is destined in time to become THE GREAT CITY OF THE\nWEST. Its location is pleasant, and from the manner in which the upper part\nof the city is now building, I should think it would ultimately compete in\nregularity and beauty with almost any city in the Union. Its most prominent\npublic buildings at present are the theatre and the Roman cathedral. One of\nthe priests politely showed us through the latter building. The interior\nwould be very grand and imposing, were it not for the gaudy paintings,\nintended as scriptural illustrations, suspended around the audience room.\nHowever much these may catch the attention and awaken the admiration of the\n_ignobile vulgus_, they cannot fail to excite any thing but complacency in\nminds accustomed to the more chaste productions of the pencil. In entering\nthe church, we passed through the basement, where are the confessional\nboxes and a small altar, on which wax candles were burning. Here we saw\none of the sisters of charity, sitting in black vestments, in a solitary\ndusky nook, as though absorbed in holy meditation. In the church we found\nanother priest, engaged, as far as we could understand, in preparing a\nclass of German boys for confirmation.\n\nI learned from an intelligent source that Romanism is making little or no\nprogress among Protestants at St. Louis. They have found it necessary to\ncut off, or conceal many of its offensive excrescences, so that a friend\nremarked to me, that he thought that a reformation in spite of themselves,\nsilent and gradual, was going on in the Roman Catholic Church. The fact is,\nthat the great difficulty at St. Louis is, that the mass of the people\n\"care for none of these things.\" They are equally indifferent to every form\nof religion. Of course iniquity abounds, and the institutions of God are\ntrampled in the dust. The following fact will illustrate this point. As I\nwent to church on Sunday morning, to my utter astonishment, in passing by\nthe new theatre, I saw some twenty or thirty men at work on it--masons,\nhouse-carpenters, and painters. God's law, _Remember the Sabbath, to keep\nit holy_, was to be of no account, because the people of St. Louis were\nanxious to have their new theatre opened on the evening of the Fourth of\nJuly! Each one of the usual denominations has a church here. From all I\ncould learn, however, I fear religion is at a very low ebb in St. Louis.\nThere are numberless discouragements to be encountered every where in the\nWest, calculated to weaken the hands and depress the spirits of the\nministers of religion. No one can understand the number or nature of these\ndiscouragements, without being actually on the ground. A successful\nmissionary at the West must have great faith and patience, and be unwearied\nin his labours. To animate his clergy, and cheer them on in their toil,\nthere could not be a better man than Bishop Kemper. He seems to throw\nsunshine around him wherever he goes.\n\nOne thing struck me as remarkable at the West, and particularly at St.\nLouis. I refer to the appearance of the heavens at sunset. Nothing can\nexceed the richness and splendour of a western sunset. I have heard much of\nan Italian sky, but my imagination never conceived such pictures of beauty\nand indescribable glory, as are painted on the sky here at the decline of\nday. The whole hemisphere seems flooded with unearthly radience. The clouds\npiled up the western sky, appear more brilliant and gorgeous than any or\nall the colours of earth can make them. And as you look at them, you see,\nthrough the clouds, apertures, which seem like golden vistas, through which\nyou look almost into the heaven of heavens.\n\nOur Fourth of July has been spent quietly here. There has not been half the\nnoise and disturbance I had anticipated.\n\n\n                              _Wednesday Evening, July 5th._\n\nWe this morning left St. Louis about nine o'clock. Our progress up the\nriver has been slow. Some eighteen miles from St. Louis we witnessed one of\nthe most interesting sights in all our journey--_the meeting of the waters\nof the Mississippi and the Missouri_! I cannot attempt description! The\nimagination alone can conceive it. If I ever had feelings of sublimity\nwaked up in my bosom, it was when our boat stood off just abreast the\nMissouri, and I looked up its mighty channel, and thought of its source\nbetween two and three thousand miles distant, amid those mountains whose\ntops are covered with eternal snow, and then thought of the sunny orange\ngroves, near where it empties its waters into the ocean!\n\nWe stopped a few hours at Alton, Illinois, just above the point where the\nMissouri mingles its waters with the Mississippi. This is an interesting\ntown, fast rising into importance. It is destined to become a point of\ngreat interest. Its present population exceeds two thousand. We passed\nMarion City and Quincy, as we advanced up the river. Of the former we have\nheard frequent descriptions. We stopped an hour or so at the latter, and\nenjoyed from the high bluff on which it is built, a view of one of the most\nmagnificent prospects that ever stretched before the human eye. The\nexpanded waters of the Mississippi--the innumerable green islets that seem\nto float on its bosom--the beautiful vistas opening between these--the\nboundless ocean of forest stretching off to the south and west, and the\nlevel, treeless, luxuriant prairie running back to an unknown distance--all\nthese lay at your feet, furnishing one of the most picturesque scenes upon\nwhich the eye ever gazed. I regretted the shortness of our stay at Quincy,\nnot only on account of the enchanting loveliness of the spot, but more\nparticularly as it deprived me of the pleasure of paying a visit to Dr.\nNelson, the author of a popular work entitled, \"_The cause and cure of\nInfidelity_,\" a book of sterling excellence.\n\nWe had now passed over a long tract of river navigation since we embarked\nat Pittsburgh. Our eyes had become almost wearied with tracing first the\nendless sylvan beauties that clustered around the banks of the\nsmooth-flowing Ohio; and then the vast, unpenetrated, boundless forest\nscenes that spread away on either side of us from the abrupt, muddy banks\nof the Mississippi. Our ear had become wearied with the monotony of the\nsharp, rough sound of the high-pressure engine, that was heard ceaselessly\nday and night. Books scarcely any longer could interest us. The character\nand conversation of most of those around us seemed exceedingly dull and\ncommon-place. There was however one exception. This was found in the person\nof one of our passengers--a man of almost herculean stature, who, we soon\nlearned, possessed great versatility and vigour of mind. His manners,\nhowever, at first appeared so coarse, and his conversation so blunt, that\nthere seemed something exceedingly repulsive connected with his character.\nBut this impression soon wore away, and in a few days he became the centre\nof almost universal attraction. He was a true Kentuckian of the old school;\nhe was born and brought up amid the stirring scenes connected with the\nearly settlement of his native state, and was perfectly familiar with all\nthe war legends, and every bloody fray from the first movement of Col.\nBoone to the final expulsion of all the savage tribes from this their\nancient hunting ground. To use his own language, he was \"born in an Indian\nfort, and through childhood fed upon bear's meat, and clothed in buffalo\nskins.\" His physical strength seemed enormous, and he bore evident marks of\nbeing one of those brave, reckless characters that find pleasurable\nexcitement in facing danger and death in every form. Yet he was not\ndestitute of the softer and more kindly feelings of our nature, and withal\nseemed to have a high and reverential regard for religion.\n\nIt was now just at the close of a long summer's day. Our steamer for many a\nlong weary hour had been pushing her slow course up the broad current of\nthe Mississippi, when there suddenly opened upon us a vast, far-extending\nprairie. To me this was an object of thrilling interest, and the more so\nbecause hitherto we had seen scarcely nothing upon either side of the river\nbut unbroken and boundless forests, stretching away as far as the eye could\nreach to the distant horizon. But here was a vast expanse in which no tree,\nnor stump, nor stone was visible. Naught met the eye but the tall grass,\nwaving in the breeze, bending, rising, and rolling to and fro like the\nwaves of the ocean after a tempest; and this grassy surface interspersed\nwith wild flowers of every colour, hue and form.\n\nFor a long time I watched this beauteous scene, till the shadows of evening\nbegan to settle down upon it. While I continued still gazing upon the\nprairie, the old Kentuckian, who stood near, was making his observations,\nand at length remarked, \"That prairie on fire would be a noble sight! I\nhave seen them burning in a dark night, while the wind sprung up and bore\non the flames like a sea of fire. I can tell you a good story and a true\none about a burning prairie, and a family who perished by the\nconflagration.\"\n\nWe were urgent for him to proceed in the narrative. He began by giving an\naccount of the family that perished in this conflagration, with whose\nhistory he seemed quite familiar. It was a beautiful and touching picture\nof real life that he drew in describing this family as they lived somewhere\nin the valley of Onion River, amid the sublime mountain scenery of Vermont.\nHe represented Mr. N----, the father, as a hardy, sensible, and pious New\nEngland farmer. The family consisted of four children, two of whom, James\nand Lydia, were grown up to adult age, while George, the next son, was\nabout thirteen years old, and the youngest daughter was only eight. Mr.\nN---- had long toiled to accumulate a little property, but the increase had\nbeen so slow, that in a fit of discouragement he sold his little farm, and\ndetermined to emigrate to the Far West, where he learned he could purchase\nland at a very low price, and procure the means of subsistence with very\nlittle labour. He persuaded himself that by adopting this course he should\nbe doing more justice to his children than by remaining in a country where\nproperty, and even the means of subsistence for a family, could be attained\nonly by years of persevering toil. There was only one heart made sad by\nthis determination, and that was the heart of his favourite and eldest\ndaughter. Lydia N---- was a girl of excellent sense, and some personal\nattractions. She had interested the affections of a young man who had grown\nup with her from childhood. His father owned an adjoining farm. The two\nfamilies were quite intimate, and many happy hours had Charles S---- and\nLydia passed together. This proposition of emigrating to the Far West\nseemed to the young people a death-blow to all their long-cherished hopes,\nas the circumstances of the young man did not warrant his forming a\nmarriage connexion at once. But true affection is ready to make any\nsacrifices to attain its object. As soon as it was a settled point that Mr.\nN---- was to leave, Charles S---- offered to accompany him in the capacity\nof a hired man, if he would accept his services. Mr. N---- assented, and\nevery thing was arranged accordingly.\n\nThey were now on their way, moving in true western style. They expected to\nbe weeks and months on their journey before they reached their distant\nhome. The family and all the effects they bore with them, were carried in\ntwo stout wagons, each one of which was drawn by three yoke of oxen. Mr.\nN---- or his eldest son usually acted as the driver of one of these wagons,\nwhile Charles S---- took charge of the other. They had already been on\ntheir journey many weeks, and had penetrated so far into the western world\nas to find it necessary to pitch their tents each night, and seek a\nlodging-place wherever the shades of evening overtook them. They at length\nentered the prairie country, and were for awhile almost spell-bound by the\nwide tracts of plain that stretched around them. To them the wonders of the\nboundless prairies appeared more amazing, because they had always been shut\nup by lofty mountains in a narrow dell, and had never till now looked\nabroad upon such amplitude and vastness of expanse.\n\nThey had now been travelling through prairie country for several days. It\nwas late in autumn, though the weather continued as bland as summer. The\nday was bright and sunny; the wagons, each covered with a thick tow-cloth\nawning, and drawn by three yoke of oxen, were moving slowly on through the\nvast extended region of long grass, now sere and dry, which stretched\naround them like a shoreless ocean, and gently bent and waved to and fro\nin the autumnal breeze. No house, nor stone, nor hillock, nor solitary tree\nwere seen within the vast circle of the encompassing horizon. As the sun\ndeclined, and the shadows began to lengthen, the tops of a small grove\nbegan to be visible in the distance. The emigrants immediately determined\nto seek a place of encampment for the night in the neighbourhood of this\ngrove; for they naturally concluded that they should there find a spring or\nrivulet that would furnish water for their cattle and for their own use,\nand fuel for cooking their evening meal. They had been successful this day\nin shooting a large quantity of prairie hens, and were anticipating a\ndelicious repast.\n\nMr. N---- proposed that James and himself should go on ahead of the wagons,\nand get every thing ready by the time they came up. They accordingly\nstarted off, having left Charles S---- to drive the forward wagon in which\nthe family rode, and George to conduct the other. Mr. N---- and James,\nhowever, had gone but a few yards before Lydia came bounding through the\nlong, sere grass, with the fleetness of a deer, bearing a tea-kettle in one\nhand, and three or four prairie hens in the other. Lydia, as we have before\nsaid, was full of sprightliness and vivacity, and she had too often\nclambered up the steep and rough sides of the Green Mountains to think any\nthing of a walk of two or three miles across the prairie. Her object in\naccompanying her father and brother was to hasten the evening meal; and as\nher father made no objection, the group moved on with quickened step\ntowards the distant woods. They had already proceeded full three miles when\nthey came to a beautiful spring of cool, clear water. Here they all sat\ndown, and with grateful hearts partook largely of nature's refreshing\nbeverage. In the mean time Mr. N---- drew his pipe from his pocket, and\nhaving filled it with the dried Indian weed, a supply of which he always\ncarried with him, he soon ignited the same by means of his jack-knife and a\nflint. They were now only a short distance from the woods, and having\nfilled a tea-kettle and a pail with water, they went forward and began to\ncut up some wood and prepare for kindling a fire.\n\nAnd now the sun had set, and the evening shades were gathering fast around\nthem. Beneath the covert of a large tree a fire was burning brightly, over\nwhich was suspended the tea-kettle and all things were ready for the\narrival of the party on board of the wagons. Lydia ran out of the woods a\nlittle way into the prairie to see if she could any where discover the\nadvancing party. She saw them about a half mile distant, moving slowly on,\nbut she saw at hand, and near the spring, what greatly alarmed her--a smoke\nand flickering blaze. She ran back in great haste and said, \"Father, I fear\nin lighting your pipe you have set the prairie on fire!\"\n\nMr. N---- started up as though a thunderbolt had fallen at his feet, and\nrushed forward to ascertain the truth of Lydia's remark, James and Lydia\nboth following him. The moment they had emerged from the woods and got into\nthe open prairie, the awful certainty burst upon them in a moment! What a\nsight then met their view! The prairie was indeed on fire. It was now quite\ndusky, and the little flickering blaze which Lydia had seen had already\nbecome a sea of fire! The wind drove the flames in the direction of their\nfriends, whose escape seemed impossible.\n\nThe long dry grass, which had waved so gracefully in the wind, now caught\nevery where like tinder, and sent up a long sheet of flame that widened and\nexpanded every moment, and mounted up with increasing brightness and\nheight, as though it would reach the very skies.\n\nThe feelings of this group were excited almost to agony in behalf of their\nfriends. The thought at length struck them that if they could only succeed\nin getting them through the long line of flame, they might save them, as\nthe conflagration was evidently moving off from the place where they stood;\nand as the column of flame seemed to extend more to the right than to the\nleft, they embraced the determination to make an effort to reach their\nfriends in that direction. Reckless of consequences, wild with despair,\nthey instantly rushed forward, and succeeded in getting in advance of the\nfire in one place. But they soon saw that the enemy was coming upon them\nwith the speed and the fury of the whirlwind. Mr. N---- lifted up his voice\nand shouted aloud, bidding the teams to move in this direction, but no\nsound was returned save the awful crackling of the advancing flames.\nDarkness, too, covered the whole vast prairie, save where this sweeping\ncolumn of fire spread its desolating track. They could no where discover a\nsingle trace of the wagons; and now they began to see the peril of their\nown situation. Already were they completely environed with the fire, and\nall retreat seemed cut off. The only hope left them was to endeavour to\nrush through the flames and get to the windward side of the conflagration.\nMr. N---- and James made their way for a while successfully through this\nawful tempest of flame, the daring Lydia keeping close at their heels. At\nlength a point was gained which seemed to open the prospect of escape; not\na moment was to be lost, for already the fire raged around them like a\nfurnace. Mr. N----, drawing in his breath, dashed through this awful line\nof flame, and reached a spot where the consuming element ceased to rage, it\nhaving already swept away every vestige of combustible matter. Though\nscorched and smarting in every limb, he could not but feel grateful to God\nfor this deliverance. He instantly turned to see what had become of his\nchildren. At this instant he saw one bright, lurid sheet of fire mounting\nup like a vast wave of the ocean, and completely overwhelming them! He\nrushed back to assist them, but the flame, like a furnace seven times\nheated, rolled its intense, fiery surge back upon him in such a manner that\nhe was obliged to retreat. At this moment he heard Lydia shriek--her dress\nwas all on fire, and her brother was trying to bear her through the raging\ntempest. When it had in some slight degree abated, again the father rushed\nforward--but another gust of wind swept such a torrent of fire over the\nbodies of his children that it was impossible for him to reach the spot\nwhere they were. When the burning waves had passed by, he strained his\neyes, but in vain, to catch a glimpse of these objects of his affection.\nThey were not visible. At length, as the fire marched on, he reached the\nspot where he had seen his children struggling with this awful element, and\nthere he found them both, lying on the ground--their clothes nearly burnt\noff, and their bodies half consumed by the devouring flame! His poor\ndaughter was gasping in death, and his son so dreadfully burned that he\ncould scarcely move a limb. The fire was still burning the roots of the\ngrass around and beneath them. A little distance, however, there was a spot\nwhere the consuming element had exhausted itself; to this place he\nendeavoured to remove his children. Poor Lydia almost expired in his arms.\nAs he laid her down on this black and scathed spot of earth, she faintly\nsaid, \"Christ is my hope! Jesus can make this resting-place 'soft as downy\npillows are!'\" The father hastened to remove his son to the same spot. He\nthere laid him with his face turned towards his sister. He soon saw that\nshe was dead, and said to his father, \"This is a sad night for us; Lydia is\ngone, and I think I shall soon follow.\"\n\n\"This is an hour,\" replied his father, \"in which all we can do is to look\nto God. He has said 'when thou passest through the fire I will be with\nthee.'\"\n\n\"Will you pray with me, dear father?\"\n\n\"I will,\" said the agonised father, and kneeling down on the blackened\nearth, while bending over one child already dead, and another almost ready\nto expire, he cried unto God for help and mercy. When he arose from his\nknees he perceived that James's breathing was more rapid and embarrassed\nthan it had been before. A dreadful fever was burning through his veins.\n\n\"I shall soon be,\" said the dying son, \"where the flame can no longer\nkindle upon me; and I shall be able to bathe in the cool, refreshing stream\nthat flows from the throne of God and the Lamb.\"\n\n\"God grant,\" said the father, \"that an entrance may be ministered unto thee\nabundantly into his everlasting kingdom.\" \"Amen,\" responded James, and\ndied. The chill of death had suddenly come over him, and his spirit fled to\nthe presence of his Maker and Judge.\n\nThe father sat for a long time on the ground gazing upon his dead children.\nThe curtain of darkness was drawn over the scene--but here and there\ndissipated by the dying and reviving embers, and flickering flame that\nstill lingered on almost every spot over which the awful conflagration had\nswept. An unsteady, lurid light, just sufficient to reveal the wide-spread\nscene of desolation, was thus flung over the dark and blackened waste where\nthe consuming element had a few hours before rode on in his resplendent\ncar. At the distance of a few miles, and as far to the right and left as\nthe eye could reach, rose one vast extended column of flame, mounting up to\nheaven amid the darkness of midnight, and marching on with the speed, and\nfierceness, and fury of the whirlwind. It was an awful and sublime sight!\nHere the father sat by the side of his lifeless and unbreathing children;\nthe stillness of solitude was around him;--and there, bursting up from amid\nthick darkness, was this tremendous conflagration, which seemed so bright,\nand fierce, and awful, that one could hardly refrain from thinking it would\nburn up the world and melt the elements with its fervent heat.\n\nBut I ought before this to have told the reader the account the Kentuckian\ngave of the fate of those who were connected with the advancing wagons.\nThey had seen the smoke of the fire that was to cook their evening meal\ncurling above the trees, and directed their course to that point as the\nspot where they should meet their friends. They were not at all aware of\nthe coming of this awful conflagration, or of the approach of danger, till\nthey saw the whole prairie directly before them lit up with one extended\nsheet of flame. No one can depict the terror, the anguish, the horror of\nthat moment! No one can depict the sublimity and grandeur of the scene that\nat that moment burst upon their view! But fear and wild distraction took\ncomplete possession of the whole company. The very cattle that drew the\nwagons seemed to sympathise with them, and to discover at once that their\nfate was sealed.\n\nWe have already remarked that the fire extended more rapidly in one lateral\ndirection than the other. This Charles S---- observed, and immediately\nsought to take advantage of it, and if possible get to the windward of the\nfire. But long before they reached the line of the flame, the fire had\nextended miles in this very direction. It was too late--there was no\nescape--the fire was every moment approaching them. Mrs. N---- clasped her\nyoung daughter to her bosom and sat still in the wagon. The oxen, as the\nflames advanced, became perfectly unmanageable. They rushed forward with\nthe fury of wild and maddened beasts into the thickest of the flames. The\none team took one direction, and the other, another, but both of them\ncontinued to move on through the hottest column of flame, till at length\nthe cattle one after another fell down in the yoke, suffocated by the\nflame, and bellowing as though in the agonies of death. Long before the\nlast ox had fallen, and the wagon had ceased to move, Mrs. N----, with her\nyoungest child clasped to her bosom, had given up the ghost. The tow awning\nwhich covered the wagon in which she rode, took fire almost as soon as\nthey met the line of flame, and instantly all the combustible materials in\nthe vehicle were in flames. Escape seemed impossible, for already the oxen\nwere moving with the speed of the wind through the thickest of the flames,\nand Mrs. N.----, clasping her child to her bosom, yielded to her fate,\ncommitting all to God. Poor George, not able to keep pace with the team he\ndrove, as he saw the flame marching on, sought by running to escape from\nthe face of the devouring element, but the attempt was vain. The whirlwind\nof fire soon overtook him, and like a resistless sea, rolled its burning\nwaves over him. When Charles S---- saw the team he drove could no longer be\ncontrolled, and that in order to follow them he must encounter certain\ndeath, he left them to take their own course, and sought to rush through\nthe line of flame--which had now become so expanded, that long before he\npassed the fiery column, the flesh was almost burned from his bones, and he\nat length fell down upon the burning earth, unable to move a step farther.\nThe fire still moved on with awful, unabated fury over the wide and\nfar-extended prairie. No one that looked upon that awful sight could have\nfailed to have exclaimed, \"What a time it will be for the ungodly when this\nwhole world shall be on fire!\"\n\nWhen the morning came, a most melancholy spectacle was presented to view\nover that blackened plain. One solitary living human form alone, was seen\nslowly moving amid the scene of desolation--and that was Mr. N----. He\nfound Charles S---- just in the last agonies of death, from whom, however,\nhe learned the particulars above stated. This young man soon expired; and\nMr. N----, alone, of all that emigrant train, was left to tell the sad\nstory of THE BURNING PRAIRIE.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nFURTHER VIEWS ON THE MISSISSIPPI.\n\n     Des Moines River--Iowa--Group of Indians--Tributary\n     streams to the Mississippi--Galena--Bishop of\n     Illinois--My sister's grave.\n\n\n                              _Friday Evening, July 7th._\n\nHaving passed the Des Moines river, the whole country bordering on the west\nbank of the Mississippi, is denominated the Wisconsin Territory, or more\ncommonly here, _the Iowa country_. It is indeed a most beautiful country.\nIt is said that a little more than four years since, there was not a single\nwhite settler west of the Mississippi and north of Des Moines river; now,\nthere are between thirty and forty thousand. The Iowa country will,\nundoubtedly, soon become a state. Its new towns are springing up rapidly. I\nstopped at Burlington, where there are more than twelve hundred\ninhabitants, and where two years since there were only a few log-cabins.\nHow important is it that the gospel should be planted here! The Methodists\nare beginning to send their preachers to proclaim salvation here. Every\nwhere we find them first on the ground. Truly their promptness and zeal are\nto be commended.--We have not a clergyman in this whole region. Cannot one\nbe found who is willing to go to the Iowa country? Is there not one in the\nclasses now graduating in our seminaries, that will come over to this\nMacedon and help them?\n\nAs the day declined, the scenery around us seemed still more pleasing. The\nprairies on the left bank of the Mississippi became increasingly\ninteresting. The river stretched before us like a broad lake, indented at a\nhundred points by masses of luxuriant and thickly clustered trees, that\nseemed to float in natural and upright form upon the surface. These, with\nall their verdant foliage, were distinctly reflected from the mirrored\nbosom of the unruffled waters, so that we seemed, as we gazed upon the\nwatery surface, to look into the very depths of the forest, and see one\ntree standing back of another almost interminably. While thus gliding on,\nby a turn of the river we came suddenly upon the corner of another large\nprairie, and almost the first object that met our view were two rude bark\ncovered wigwams that had just been put up on the very margin of the stream.\nIn front of these cabins a fire had been kindled, either to keep off the\nmusquitoes or to cook their evening meal. At the entrance of these Indian\nhuts lay a dog, and around him stood or sat half a dozen Indian children,\nsome of them in a state of almost entire nudity. Still nearer the water,\nlooking into it, and off on to the opposite shore, stood the adult members\nof each family. These scarcely raised their head, or deigned to cast a\nglance at us, as our boat with all its clattering machinery swept proudly\nby.--While I continued to look at them, and saw them standing amid the\nsolitariness of the prairie, with their eyes still fixed upon the opposite\nbank of the river, where rested the bones of their ancestors--when I saw\nhow dignified, and serious, and contemplative they seemed, I could not but\nregard them as the last representatives of a race fast fading away, and who\nwill soon scarcely have a place or name this side of the Rocky Mountains.\nIt seemed to me that they were standing at this twilight hour looking once\nmore upon the shore where rested the bones of their people, before they\nbade a final adieu to these scenes where they used once to hunt the deer,\nglide over the watery surface with their bark canoes, raise the luxuriant\ncorn, and build their wigwams. Strangers now possessed their home, and they\nwere just bidding to the scenes of their childhood a _long, long farewell_!\nOh, thought I, that they could have the gospel to tame their fierceness,\nsoften their savage natures, and cheer them in their solitary wanderings\nthrough the wilderness! It occurred to me as very likely that those Indians\nwho stood there on the bank of the Mississippi, knew nothing of the way of\nsalvation, and very likely had never heard of the name of Jesus! We know\nthere are thousands that range over the great hunting grounds of the west\nprecisely in this condition. We are going to meet them at the judgment\nbar--shall we not make every effort to send them the gospel?\n\n\n                              _Saturday Evening, July 8th._\n\nWe found ourselves, when we awoke in the morning, at Stevenson. This is\nanother of those places springing up as by the wand of enchantment. It is\nlocated at one of the most beautiful points in all the west. Just here Rock\nRiver enters the Mississippi, separating the town from Rock Island, on\nwhich stands Fort Armstrong. It was in reference to the section of country\njust around here, that the Black Hawk war took its rise, and all along\nabove was the scene where it raged. I do not wonder that the Indians gave\nup this tract of country with reluctance. The eye never looked out upon a\nmore beautiful land--the imagination in its most romantic flight never\nconceived any thing more lovely. On the Iowa side, especially, the country\nsweeps off from the shore most beautifully in the form of a rolling\nprairie, covered here and there with small clusters of trees, that give it\nthe aspect and loveliness of a region that had been under the highest\ncultivation for the last three centuries. And yet five years ago no foot\ntrod there but the Indian's.\n\nThe day passed pleasantly away. As the shades of evening gathered thick\naround us, we bade adieu to the mighty Mississippi, on whose broad current\nwe had travelled nearly seven hundred miles. Our boat turned in behind an\nislet of living green, and pushed its way up the serpentine course of\n_Fevre River_. At length Galena was in view. It was at the close of the\nweek, and here we were to seek a resting place for a number of days.\n\n\n                                            _Galena, July 15th._\n\nFevre River, at Galena, runs through a narrow vale, and is hedged in on\neither side by ranges of hills. The town is built at the base and on the\nside of the western ridge, which is here quite precipitous. The valley\nitself is overflown with every rise of the Mississippi above this point.\nThe waters of the Fevre River between Galena and its junction with the\n\"Father of rivers\" are very sluggish--so that the waters of the Mississippi\nflow up to Galena often three or four times a year, and flood the whole\nlower part of the town. Since I have been here the third rise which they\nhave had this season occurred, occasioned as it was supposed by the melting\nof the snows and ice around the sources of the most northern tributaries of\nthe Mississippi. One thing is very remarkable in relation to the whole\nclass of western tributaries to this stream. The freshets to which they are\nsubject, all occur at different seasons, beginning with the southernmost\nand ending with the most northerly. This is accounted for by the fact,\nthat, as these streams take their rise at different points of latitude in\nthe Rocky Mountains, spring and summer reach the source of each of them in\nregular progression from south to north, by a few weeks later. This is a\nmost merciful provision: for if the freshets in two or three of these\nstreams were to happen at the same time, the effects would be desolating.\nLet the Red River, the Arkansas, and the Missouri, pour their swollen\nstreams at the time of their annual freshets, together into the\nMississippi, and the whole lower regions for hundreds of miles above and\naround New Orleans would be one unbroken sea. What a tremendous armament of\ndestruction has the Almighty here! Have not the inhabitants of that city\nwhich has seated herself as a queen at the mouth of this river, reason to\nremember that the Lord can bury them in a moment in the midst of the sea?\nHe has only to blow with his wind, and the waters will flow, and the depths\ncover them! Let those who openly and remorselessly trample on every law of\nGod consider this and tremble.\n\nGalena is by no means a pleasant town. There are some situations on the\nhills which environ it that would furnish delightful sites for residences,\nbut at present these are chiefly unoccupied. The streets of this place are\nnarrow, and after a rain unspeakably _muddy_. The houses are small, poor,\nand crowded. There is nothing interesting or attractive about the\nappearance of the town, except in a business point of view. Galena is the\nport where almost all the lead raised from the vast mines scattered through\nthis region is brought to be shipped, and will therefore unquestionably be\na place of great importance. Its moral character, I fear, is far from what\nwe could wish it. Like many of these western towns, till recently, there\nhas been scarcely the semblance of a Sabbath here. Drinking, duelling, and\ngambling, have all been common.--And yet there are many here that wish\nthings were different, and are making some successful efforts to cause them\nto be so.\n\nThe Bishop of Illinois was here, and officiated the first Sunday I spent in\nGalena. He bore his testimony very faithfully, in rebuking the prevailing\nsins of the country, especially duelling, Sabbath-breaking, and profane\nswearing. I believe his counsel was very kindly received. There is a great\ndeal of intelligence among the residents in this place, and they seem\nwilling to have the truth preached to them plainly.\n\nTo me there was one object of thrilling interest in Galena--_its grave\nyard_! Some half-mile from the town, on the head lands beyond the western\nrange of hills that encompassed it, where one stands and looks down into\nthe valley of Fevre River, and off upon the far-spreading prairie, in a\nretired place, is the spot of earth allotted to the dead, shut in and\nguarded from unhallowed tread by a neat enclosure. Owing to the newness of\nthe country, and the difficulty in procuring marble, scarcely a single\nsculptured monument appears on this ground which has already become the\nresting place of many who were once engaged amid the activities of life.\nBut affection has displayed itself in another form. Not a few of the graves\nare enclosed by a little fence, painted beautifully white, and the graves\nare adorned with wild roses which scatter their fragrance and leaves over\nthe place where rests the mouldered dust beneath. When I first entered this\nsacred enclosure, and trod through the high tangled grass that grew here, I\nfelt at each step that I was treading on holy ground. I was led to a spot\nwhere rested the mortal part of one whose image came up before me with the\nvividness of living reality. The long grass had grown, and become matted\nover her grave! Fifteen years had elapsed since I had looked upon that dear\nform, that rested in unbreathing stillness below. During this period I had\npassed through many trying scenes and often drank deep into the cup of\nsorrow. And now with the image of this dear departed one, all of \"life's\ntroubled dream\" rose up before me with a power that paralyzed every effort\nI made to subdue or control my feelings. I then _felt_ and wept like a\nchild. Why should I not have done so? I was standing on the grave of the\nsister of my childhood, whose existence and mine for many years had run\nalong together as though our being had been woven in the same web. I\nremembered how when I was but a very little child, she led me to the\ncountry school--how we wandered together in playful glee on the green bank\nof the Housatonic, and her hand gathered for me the wild flowers that grew\nthere. I remembered how in the wild buoyancy of childhood we strolled\ntogether through the orchard, and gathered fruit from a favourite tree?\nWith what kind looks and affectionate greeting our dear mother met us when\nwe returned from such a ramble. And could I then fail to remember the sad\nhour when that dear sainted mother gasping in the agonies of death bade us\nall a long farewell? When a mother's kind eye no longer gazed upon me, was\nit not natural that my heart should turn with deeper and stronger affection\nto the sister of my childhood? But where was she? She no more came,\nbounding along with sparkling eyes, and flowing locks, and animated\nfeatures at the call of her brother. There she lay sleeping, oh how\nsilently, how profoundly in the grave! The solitude and stillness of the\nmighty prairie were around me. No mortal was present to witness or\nintermeddle with the feelings or overflowings of my heart, save him who\nrecognised in this heaped hillock of earth the resting place of the loved\none of his heart--the wife of his youth--the mother of his children.\nTogether we bowed down there in silent grief? Our hearts were so full that\nwe could do nothing but mingle our tears together over that sacred spot,\nwhich I would again travel all the way from the Atlantic to the Mississippi\nto look upon! A thought full of light and glory, however, darted across my\nmind as I bent over that grave. I remembered that this dear sister had\nclosed her eyes upon this mortal scene, full of faith, full of trust in\nChrist, and of calm resignation to his blessed will. I recollected the\nwords of my Saviour, and his promise to raise the dead. This recollection\nchased away my tears, and brought a flood of heavenly radiance down upon\nthat grave. I said, \"my sister shall rise again.\" \"The Lord Jesus will\nbring her with him.\" This is his promise.\n\nThe last time I visited this grave, I brought away a little flower that\nbloomed on it. It has already faded--but that glorious body which Christ\nwill give to that dear mouldered form will never fade, but bloom on in\nimmortal youth, through the unending ages of eternity. Oh, how happy shall\nwe be, when we have passed all these gloomy scenes that now surround us,\nand stand in the midst of that \"land where the inhabitants no more say I am\nsick\"--when we shall have done with sin, and behold the Redeemer in all his\nglory! May the Lord safely bring us there.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nILLINOIS AND THE LAKES.\n\n     Lead mines--Indian treaty--Ride to Chicago--Vast\n     prairies--The stricken family--Amusing\n     Adventures--Chicago--Milwaukie--Mackinaw--Indian\n     encampment.\n\n\nWe spent one day during the present week in passing through the mining\ncountry to visit several of the diggings in Wisconsin, and around Galena,\nand also the smelting furnaces, where the mineral is extracted from the ore\nand cast into pigs. The country through which we passed was one continued\nseries of rolling prairies. It was perfectly enchanting to see what a\nperfect flower garden was before us wherever we went.\n\nWe descended a mine which had been sunk about one hundred feet. The lead\nruns in veins either due north and south, or west and east. Veins\nfrequently cross each other at right angles. If it is a north and south\nvein, and a good one--and crosses an east and west vein, it becomes\ninferior from that point, and the other assumes a superior character, and\nusually is the best lead. The way the miners dig the lead is to pierce down\nperpendicularly till they get to the bottom of the sheet--then take the\nbase out and dig upwards. The lead is usually wedged in between two ledges\nof rocks, filling up the crevice, which runs down from fifty to one\nhundred feet. It is frequently wedged in so tight that the rocks have to be\nblasted to loosen it. I went down about fifty feet where they were at work,\nand then passed along in a horizontal direction, about eighty feet, where\nthe miners were knocking out the lead in the fissures in the rocks over\ntheir heads. We loitered around the mines till the decline of day. The\nshades of evening gathered over us before we had crossed the last prairie\non our way to Galena. The moon was just climbing above the horizon, when a\nprairie wolf darted across our path, as though scared by the sound of our\ncarriage wheels, but having run a few rods, turned around to look to see\nwho were the intruders upon his domain.\n\nAn Indian treaty is about negotiating at St. Peters, and a steamer started\nfrom here a few days since to carry up a party who desire to be present at\nthis gathering of the wild men, and to visit the majestic and stupendous\nscenery around St. Anthony's Falls. I had fully intended to have been one\nof the party, but on the eve of starting I felt myself forced for want of\ntime to forego the excursion.\n\n\n                              _The Steamer James Madison,\n                              Wednesday Evening, June 19th._\n\nAt early dawn, on Monday last, we crossed Fevre river, and started for\nChicago in an open lumber wagon, 'ycleped a stage. Taking our trunks for\nseats, we determined we would make the best of every thing, and if possible\nkeep up good spirits, while we learned the manner in which people travel\nthrough new countries. Our journey, though attended with no little fatigue,\nwas like a walk over the rosied path of pleasure, compared with a jaunt of\nwhich Bishop Kemper gave me an account. He had made an appointment\nsomewhere in the interior of Indiana, where it was necessary for him to be\nat a given day, and had undertaken to pass over Illinois from St. Louis to\nthat point by land. He was overtaken by rain which continued a day or two:\nthe streams became swollen, and the roads, often for miles, completely\noverflown. All this time he was obliged to ride in an open wagon, the\nbottom boards of which were loose, and often slipping out, rendering it\nnecessary for him every now and then to get out, and stand in the mud and\nwater, till the rickety wagon could be again brought into a state of\ntemporary order. During the last part of his journey he rode all night with\nthe rain pouring down upon him, and the horses sometimes fording deep\ncreeks--sometimes plunging into sloughs, and then wading for miles through\nthe water which had overflowed the road. The office of a missionary Bishop\nat the west, if he does his duty, and throws himself with all his heart\ninto the work, is no sinecure.\n\nOur course from Galena, for the first thirty miles, was through beautiful\noak openings, and over a rolling prairie. After this, on nearly to Chicago,\nour path lay through a magnificent, level prairie country. The wide sea of\ngrass around us was now and then broken by a grove, springing up with\nluxuriance and beauty amid the treeless tract of country that stretched\naround on every side. These groves are points of great interest, and are\nspoken of by the sparsely scattered inhabitants of northern Illinois, as we\nspeak of cities and towns. The most beautiful of those which we passed were\nBuffalo, Inlet, and Paw Paw groves, around or near which were scenes of\nmassacre and slaughter during the Black Hawk war.\n\nAs no one can conceive the sensation awakened by being out of sight of land\nat sea, till he actually stands on the deck of a vessel, that is ploughing\nher way through the trackless world of waters that stretch interminably\naround him, and strains his eye in vain to catch a view of one single\nfading outline of the far off shore--so no one can conceive the emotion\nthat rises up in the bosom of the traveller as he stands on the broad\nprairie, and sees the horizon settling down upon one wide sea of waving\ngrass, and can behold around him neither stone, nor stump, nor bush, nor\ntree, nor hill, nor house. These vast prairies, though bearing a luxuriant\ngrowth of grass, would impress one with a sense of desolateness, were they\nnot beautified with flowers, and animated with the songs and the sight of\nthe feathered tribes. The view of the prairie, as it stretches off before\nyou, often appears like a perfect flower garden. Though we were too late to\nsee these productions in their rich vernal beauty, yet often they stood\nstrewn around us on every side as far as the eye could reach, spreading out\ntheir rich and brilliant petals of every colour and hue. An intelligent\nlady told me that in a single walk over the corner of a prairie, she\ngathered for a bouquet forty different kinds of flowers; and another\ninformed me that she had been able to gather one hundred and twenty\ndifferent kinds. Though the music wafted along over these luxuriant\nexpanses of earth be usually not so melodious nor varied as that to which\nthe woodlands echo, there is something very animating in the wheeling of\nthe plover, the chirping of the robin, and the fluttering of the wings of a\nflock of prairie hens, started up at every half mile of your journey. And\nthen occasionally we saw noble herds of cattle feeding over these vast\nplains. Such large, and fat, and noble-looking oxen and cows, I never\nbefore beheld, as I saw grazing amid the luxuriant prairies of Illinois.\nThere is no fence to stay them in their course:--they range where they\nchoose amid the ten thousands of acres that stretch unenclosed around them.\n\nI have already intimated that this part of Illinois is as yet but thinly\npopulated. It is rapidly filling up but for some years the first settlers\nwill have to endure many hardships, and submit to many privations and\nsacrifices, of which we can scarcely form an idea. The following fact will\nserve to illustrate this remark. While on our way to Chicago, as we stopped\non one occasion to change horses, I went in and sat down in the only house\nin the place. It was a comfortable log-cabin, and all nature looked so\nbright and sunny without, I was hardly prepared for demure and melancholy\nlooks within: and yet the moment I entered, I saw in the countenance of the\ngood lady of the cabin that her heart was ill at ease. She looked so\nforlorn and full of gloom, I determined to enter into conversation with her\nand if possible elicit the cause of her depression. After a variety of\ninquiries, she was drawn out to give the following sketch of herself, which\nI will put down as nearly as possible in her own words.\n\n\"We came into this country from western New York several years since. We\nhave never failed to be amply remunerated for our cultivation of the soil.\nIn a temporal point of view we have increased in goods. But our children\nhave never been to school a day since we have been here. We used to go to\nmeeting every Sabbath, but here often for months there is no such thing\nknown as public worship. A while ago, there was a minister that used to\ncome once in three weeks, and preach about four miles from this. But now\nhe is dead, and we have no preaching at all. We have no ministers and no\nphysicians. What made me more contented to reside here, was that my oldest\ndaughter was married and lived my nearest neighbour, about two miles from\nthis. She had three lovely and promising children, in whom all our hearts\nwere bound up. But the grave now covers them! They were all cut down one\nafter another about six months ago by the scarlet fever. We could'nt get\nany physician to see them, and they all died within ten days of each other.\nAnd then we had to carry them ourselves to the grave. We put them into the\nground in silence. There was no one to lift up the voice of prayer.\"\n\nHere the good woman seemed choked in her utterance. She wiped her eyes and\nceased speaking for a moment. I remained silent, and soon she proceeded.\n\n\"My daughter laid her loss very much to heart. She never after the death of\nher babes wore a bright countenance. About ten days ago she was confined.\nHerself and her infant are dead! We buried them about three days since. She\nhad no physician to attend upon her, for there was none within _thirty_\nmiles. She had no minister to speak to her words of heavenly consolation,\nfor there are none near here. Her husband has a good farm, and the crops\nlook well; but what is all this to him, now that his wife and children are\nall gone? He appears desolate and broken-hearted.\"\n\nHaving listened to this touching story, I could well understand why the\naspect of gloom sat upon her countenance, and while I endeavoured in a few\nwords to direct her thoughts to Him who was \"appointed to bind up the\nbroken-hearted, and to comfort all that mourn,\" I was led to think of the\nunnumbered blessings and privileges that we who live on the Atlantic border\nenjoy, for which we feel little or no emotions of gratitude. How\nunspeakable are our religious privileges! And yet how little are they\nappreciated by the great mass of the people! Will not God one day visit for\nthese things?\n\nIn our journey we had some singular and rather amusing adventures. We found\nall along at our log inns, for our refreshment, substantial food, bacon and\nbeans, or fried pork and potatoes, and if we were too dyspeptic to eat\nthese, we could fast, which is sometimes useful. But at night we frequently\nfound ourselves placed under more embarrassing circumstances. A single\ninstance will serve to illustrate a number of analogous cases. I select the\nsecond night after leaving Galena. It is after nine o'clock. The strip of\nmoon that is visible emits a few feeble rays. The stars, half obscured,\nglow faintly in the heavens. Our course is still onward through the\nboundless prairie. In the distance may be seen the faint outline of a\ngrove. We hope to find there a resting place for the night. As we approach\nit, we find it is a cluster of trees that grow on either side of Somonauk\nCreek. Our driver has already plunged his horses into the cool waters of\nthe creek. The farther bank is gained. Our course now is beneath the noble\nelms that hang drooping over the creek, and spread abroad their branches\nforming a thick and dark shade over the road. We see in the distance the\nsmoke eddying up amid the trees. It is the place where we are to spend the\nnight--a log cabin, before the door of which is kindled a fire, half\nsmothered with dirt and chips, whose eddying currents of smoke as they are\nswept into the house by the evening breeze expel the swarms of musquitoes\nthat for several hours had been making acquaintance with us.\n\nWhen the weary traveller reaches his resting-place for the night, it is a\ngreat comfort to have a bed and room by himself to which he can retire and\nseek repose. But this is a luxury not to be expected usually by the western\ntraveller. They have here what is playfully called \"_The Potter's field_,\"\na place in these log taverns in which they put strangers--a room designed\nas a dormitory, in which all travellers, men, women and children are placed\nto lodge! The house which we had reached at Somonauk Creek had a place of\nthis sort. It was the only room in the house save the kitchen. Two stage\nloads had already arrived, and other travellers were coming in. I told my\nfriend B---- that we must try to secure a bed while we could. In this\nPotter's field they gave us a comfortable corner with a straw bed on which\nto stretch ourselves. We were among the earliest to seek our repose.\nFortunately, there was one bed enshrouded with curtains, which was assigned\nto a gentleman from Vermont and his newly married bride, whom he was\nbringing to reside at the west.--They went on stowing the beds with\noccupants, and spreading the floor with couches, till _fourteen_ persons\nwere disposed of, and then they found that every foot of ground was\noccupied. The landlord appeared to be full of the milk of human kindness.\nWhen some of our fellow lodgers cried out, that they were half devoured by\nmusquitoes, he very benignantly replied, \"I will open the door and let in a\ncurrent of smoke, and that will drive them out.\" We found some inhabitants\ntabernacling in our bedstead that annoyed us more than the musquitoes. Yet\nafter all we got some rest, and when we rose to breathe the fresh air we\nfelt that we had abundant cause to thank the Lord for his goodness. However\nindifferent had been our lodgings, we remembered that the Saviour while\nhere on the earth, had not always so comfortable a spot at night to lay his\nhead as this.\n\nAbout a dozen miles before we reached Chicago, we seemed to descend to\nanother _steppe_ of land, where the prairie was for the most part from two\nto twelve inches under water. The grass, thus having its roots continually\nirrigated, looked very rank; we made but very slow progress through it on\nour way. Though that part of Chicago which is built up, stands on more\nelevated ground, the anticipated limits of the city extend into this wet\nprairie. We saw the lots staked out as we passed, which I suppose have been\nsold at a very high price. I could not but think of the remark of a fellow\ntraveller, who, in speaking of this and several other places, said, \"If\neach of these places do not become as large as Pekin in China, these city\nlots cannot all be built upon.\"\n\nChicago is truly an interesting place. It has sprung up here in three or\nfour years--a city--as by the wand of enchantment. I had heard much of this\nplace, but must confess I was not prepared to find so large and interesting\na town. Its situation on either side of the Chicago river is too well-known\nto need description. It has quite the air of an eastern town. There is a\nfine brick Episcopal Church just completed. Our stay was very brief in\nChicago. Almost the first sound we heard after our arrival, was the ringing\nof the bell of the large and beautiful steamboat, _James Madison_, which\nwas on the eve of departure for Detroit and Buffalo. As we might have no\nother opportunity of going by the lakes for the next ten days, with the\nspecimen of land travelling that we had just had, we were not long in\nmaking up our minds whether we would avail ourselves of this boat, or\ndirect our course to Detroit through the Michigan woods. We gave Chicago a\nvery hasty survey, took our passage on board the James Madison, and as the\nshades of evening gathered over us we found ourselves skimming over the\nwaves of Michigan lake.\n\n\n                                         _Mackinaw, July 20th._\n\nWe this morning found ourselves bounding over the green waters of the\nMichigan with the Wisconsin Territory on our left. About nine o'clock, A.\nM. we landed at Milwaukie. A bar in the river prevented the steamboat from\ngoing up to the town, but we found ourselves amply compensated for our long\nwalk by a view of this interesting place from several of its streets and\nmore elevated parts. The whole site of the town, in connexion with the\nadjacent country, is richly entitled to its Indian name,--\"THE LOVELY\nLAND.\" Less than two years since there was scarcely a frame house on the\nspot, and now there is a population of nearly three thousand, with\nbuildings that will compare in stability and elegance with those found in\nour large eastern towns.\n\nIt was towards evening when we approached this picturesque\nspot--Mackinaw--where the wide expanse of water, and the dark evergreens of\nthe islands, and the thronging multitudes of wild men, gave to this point\nin my journey a novel appearance. I think this would be a most delightful\nretreat for an invalid who wanted retirement, a cool, invigorating\natmosphere, and inducements to active exercise. It would be impossible for\na man to be here long without having new trains of thought awakened in his\nmind, or without being led to contemplate the human character under several\nnew aspects. Mackinaw is an island of about nine miles in circumference.\nThere is a fort occupying the elevated parts of the town, which is now\nvacated, the troops having been withdrawn to be present at the treaty at\nSt. Peter's. This circumstance, in connexion with the great number of\nIndians now present, has created some uneasiness in the minds of the\ninhabitants of this place, especially as the Indians are very much\ndissatisfied with the attempt to palm off on to them goods in part for\ntheir annuities, when money had been promised. Already has a council been\nheld among them, and the hint has been dropped that they can bring a\nthousand warriors into the field. The first object that met my eye on the\nlow pebbly shore, as we approached the island, was the beautiful lodges,\nand well made bark canoes of the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes. The whole\nappearance of their encampment in this wild spot is picturesque and\nimposing. Each family had their bark canoe, which was now drawn up on the\nbeach, and lay beside their lodge or tent. In this canoe, made of the outer\nrind of the birchen tree, they carry their family, and furniture, and all\ntheir worldly effects--children, dogs, fishing-tackle, guns, their tent,\ncooking utensils, and themselves. Their tent, or lodge, consists first of\nfive or six tapering rods, which are set up so as to form a cone, and then\naround these are placed a coil of matting, made of reeds or flaggs, and\narranged in such a manner as to form a series of concentric or circular\ncovering, each lapping upon the other like the scales upon a fish. In the\ncentre of the lodge a fire was kindled, a hole having been left in the\nupper part through which the smoke could pass off. Around the fire were\nspread the blankets and bear-skins, which furnished both beds and seats. We\nentered several tents and were kindly received. Almost the first\ncountenance of a white man upon which I looked after reaching the shore,\nwas the bright sunny face of our beloved brother, the Bishop of Michigan. I\nnever had a more unexpected or joyful meeting with a Christian brother. We\nspent two or three hours in the most delightful Christian intercourse.\nBishop McCoskry was on his way to visit Green Bay, Milwaukie, and other\nparts of Wisconsin. It was only a few hours, before our steamers were again\nmoving forward through the deep green waters, to their several places of\ndestination.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nMICHIGAN.\n\n     Steamboat travelling upon the western Lakes--The waters\n     of Huron--Saginaw Bay--The stormy night--The beautiful\n     St. Clair--Detroit--Bishop of Michigan--Ypsilanti--Ann\n     Arbour--Ore Creek--Bewildered at night in the\n     woods--Rescue--Meeting of friends--Log cabin.\n\n\n                                          _Detroit, July 23d._\n\nWe parted with the friend we met at Mackinaw in the night. The two steamers\nrode off in two opposite directions. Our course, which from Chicago had\nbeen to the north, now became southward. There is something exceedingly\nnovel in steamboat travelling upon the great western rivers. But the\nnavigation of the lakes by steam presents scenes to the eye, and furnishes\nmaterial for the imagination, far more grand, and striking, and\nmagnificent. These lakes are indeed great inland seas. The wind and the\nstorm have mighty power over them. But the well-directed steamer rides\nproudly over their agitated surface with all her precious cargo of life,\nand holds steadily on her way to the destined port in despite of wind and\nwaves. This, however, is not always the case. The wind at times blows so\nfierce and furious that the vessel is driven back some fifty or ninety\nmiles in her course. When a storm occurs with great and unwonted violence\nupon these lakes, especially upon Huron and Michigan, where there are very\nfew safe harbours, the expedient adopted is to keep the boat at sea, and\nlet her drive before the gale. We saw, but in one single instance, these\nwaters putting on a wrathful appearance. During the greater part of our\nvoyage, they lay beneath our steamer that swept over them in smooth and\nplacid tranquillity. There is something in the very appearance of the\nwaters of these lakes to wake up poetic conception. They have a sandy or\npebbly bottom, which appears white as chalk, while every rippling wave as\nwell as the whole mass of waters that roll beneath you, though so pure and\ntransparent that a silver dollar might be distinctly seen at the depth of\nthirty feet, everywhere assumes the colour of deep emerald green.\n\nThe day after we left Mackinaw, while passing Saginaw Bay, every vestige of\nland faded from our sight, and we saw nothing around us but one wide world\nof waters. As the close of the day drew on, the hitherto bright sunny\nheavens became covered with dark menacing clouds. A wind sprang up, and the\nwaters of Huron, that had previously slept with the tranquillity and hushed\nslumbers of an infant, suddenly woke to the fierceness and fury of an\nenraged giant. I plainly saw what an aspect that lake could put on in a\nstorm!\n\nThe sun went down. Neither moon nor stars were visible. The curtains of\ndarkness were drawn closely around that whole world of waters that roared\nand dashed so fiercely. As I stood upon the upper deck, and looked out upon\nthat scene of darkness and wild commotion, and heard the roar of the wind,\nand the dashing of the waves, and the hoarse rumbling breath of steam from\nthe escapement pipe, like the suppressed growl of a lion, that told of\nmighty power to urge onward and to destroy, I felt, in a way I have seldom\ndone before, my entire dependence on God. As I stood there on the deck,\nwith the wind sweeping by me, the waves of the troubled lake rolling\nbeneath me, and the blackness of darkness around me, interrupted and\nillumined only by the cloud of ignited sparks that streamed incessantly\nforth from the dark funnels of the steamer, I felt the force and meaning of\nthe 93d Psalm, \"The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty. He is\nclothed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself. The floods have\nlifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice: the floods lift\nup their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,\nyea, than the mighty waves of the sea. _Thy testimonies are very sure._\"\n_There_ I saw my safety. The testimonies of my covenant God were very sure,\nwho had said, \"when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee.\" I\nslept soundly that night. In the morning the sun shone brightly on us, and\nall appearance of a storm had gone by. In a few hours we were gliding over\nthe surface of the beautiful St. Clair, and before evening, Detroit, with\nits neatly built streets, and its noble stream sweeping proudly by it, lay\nbefore us. It was with a grateful heart that I stepped on the shore,\nremembering the many mercies I had enjoyed, and anticipating much pleasure\nin the eight or ten days that I had purposed to spend in Michigan. I was\nnot disappointed.\n\nDetroit, is an interesting and beautiful town. The parted stream above the\ncity, and the island around which it winds, as well as the view of Sandwich\non the opposite side, with the improved country that stretches around it,\nare all points of interest upon which the eye loves to linger. The houses\nin Detroit are generally composed of wood, which are very neatly painted.\nSeveral streets running parallel with the river are exceedingly beautiful,\nespecially _Jefferson Avenue_, which is the Broadway or Chesnut street of\nDetroit. The Episcopal Church is a very neat gothic building. A second\nEpiscopal Church of a larger size is soon to be erected in another part of\nthe town. The churches and other public buildings in Detroit are certainly\nhighly creditable to the place.\n\nI met, soon after my arrival at Detroit, the Rev. Mr. R----, who had come\nto supply the pulpit of St. Paul's during the first Sunday of the Bishop's\nabsence. It has always appeared to me that there was great wisdom in the\nviews expressed some years since by our present presiding bishop--_that\nevery diocesan should have a parochial charge_. His judgment, as delivered\nat the time to which I refer, was, that all our dioceses should be _small_,\nas they were in primitive times; that the mitre should have no worldly\nsplendour or peculiar emoluments connected with it; that each bishop, like\nthe rest of his clergy, should have his own parochial charge, to whom he\nshould look for his maintenance. One reason assigned for this--and that is\nwhat I particularly refer to--was that as one of the great duties of a\nbishop is to preach the gospel, it is infinitely important that his heart\nshould be burning with love for souls; and that he only who had a\nparticular congregation, the charge of whose souls was upon his hands,\nwould ordinarily feel a ceaseless and ever wakeful solicitude for dying\nsinners; and if he did not feel this he would not preach with the power and\nunction that become an ambassador of Christ, and the chief pastor of the\nchurch. Go to that man who, as a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, has\nbeen spending his days and nights in prayer and toilsome labours to promote\nthe spiritual interests of the flock committed to his care, and then visit\nhim after he has been acting four or five years in the capacity of a\nprofessor or president of a college, and see if he does not recognize the\ntruth of this doctrine, see if he does not sigh for that spirituality and\nburning love for souls, which once bore him on so cheerfully in his\nlabours. However this matter shall be viewed, the bishops in many of our\ndioceses must have parochial charges, and this will constitute an important\nportion in the field of their labour. In this department of labour the\nBishop of Michigan has been pre-eminently blessed.\n\nOne could hardly desire a larger measure of popularity, either with his\nparish or in his diocese, than Bishop McCoskry enjoys. Every where the\nhighest testimony is borne to the loveliness and excellency of his\ncharacter, and the faithfulness and evangelical spirit of his ministry.\nThis I heard from all quarters--from clergy and laity, Episcopalians and\nPresbyterians. Indeed I think the bishop's greatest danger lies in this\nquarter. May he still have grace as he hath hitherto done, amid all these\npraises of men, to count himself as nothing, and to sit as a little child\nat the feet of Jesus. When all our bishops become distinguished for their\nmeekness and simplicity, for the fervour of their love, their spirit of\nevangelical piety, and their unquenchable zeal to exalt Christ, and rescue\ndying sinners from the iron grasp of the god of this world, we shall then\nindeed see a return of primitive days, and evidences of a truly apostolic\nchurch.\n\nI was delighted to learn from the Bishop of Michigan, that in his\ncontemplated visitation through his diocese, he purposed to hold as far as\nit was practicable, continued services for several days in each parish,\nlike the _Rhode Island convocations_, or the _Pennsylvania and Virginia\nassociations_. A clergyman speaking of these anticipated services,\nremarked, \"they will be worth to me in such a place a whole year's labour.\"\nIn the place to which he referred, the Episcopal Church was just about\nbeing organized, and there, as every where, the great obstacle to the\nestablishment of our church was the impression that we were destitute of\npiety, and that our object was to establish a particular denomination, and\nnot to save souls. Let the missionary go where he will _and preach Christ\ncrucified_, and the people will rally around him. Let him only make the\nimpression on the mind of any community that he has a message from God to\nthem--that he stands as between the living and the dead to stay the\nplague--that in his view all other things dwindle into nothing, when\ncompared with the salvation of their undying souls--and he will not want\nhearers, he will not want materials with which to build up a church. The\npeople are not opposed to an Episcopal form of government--they are not\nopposed to our liturgy--they are not opposed to our doctrines--but they are\nopposed to a _dead_ church. Whether these, their impressions in relation to\nus are well or ill-founded, one thing is certain, these impressions do in\nten thousand instances exist, and in my view, that minister of our church,\nis the best and soundest churchman, who preaches most faithfully the\ndoctrines of the cross, and exemplifies most fully the power of\nChristianity upon his heart by a holy life. It is not by controversy and\nargumentation, but by doing their Master's work, by putting forth all their\nenergies to bring men to repentance and the foot of the cross, that our\nclergy will remove this impression in relation to our want of piety, and\nmake our Zion a praise in all the earth. And this, I believe, to a very\ngreat extent, the clergy of Michigan are striving to do.\n\n\n                                         _Tuesday, July 25th._\n\nI was induced to start this morning for Ypsilanti, by the kindness and\nimportunity of the Rev. Mr. R----, who offered, if I would return with him\nto his parish, to convey me in his own carriage to the several points I\nwished to visit in the interior of the state. The pledge was fully\nredeemed, and my comfort and pleasure greatly augmented by my acceptance of\nhis kind offer. The road for the first twenty miles towards Ypsilanti gave\nus a fine specimen of the toil and tardiness of travelling in a new\ncountry. At one time the formidable slough received us into its cavernous\ndepths, and as we went down, vehicle and horses and all, seemed to threaten\nto swallow us up in its miry embrace. Then, as we rose from this perilous\ndepth, our carriage went bounding from log to log which lay side by side\ntransversely across our path, deeply embedded in mud, constituting what is\nexpressively called a _corduroy road_. These were almost the only\nalternations in our path for the first twenty miles. The land, after you\nleave Detroit, is, in almost every direction, low, clayey, and wet. It is\nalso heavily timbered, and therefore will not be very rapidly settled. The\nsoil of the farms that have been cleared up is said to be productive, but\nprincipally valuable for purposes of grazing.\n\nThe last ten miles of our course, as we urged our way on to Ypsilanti, lay\nthrough a country of a totally different character. I almost felt as\nthough I was again travelling through a section of Illinois, though there\nwere more signs of cultivation around me than I any where saw there. Our\nroad now became fine, and we swept along through the oak openings, and by\nthe side of successive fields of beautifully tasselled corn, luxuriant\noats, and yellow bending wheat, with a speed which soon brought us to the\nplace of our destination. Ypsilanti is a neat country village, built on\nHuron river, and contains a population of nearly two thousand.\n\n\n                                                _July 27th._\n\nWe started yesterday morning from Ypsilanti, directing our course towards\nAnn Arbour. We found the country through which we passed, rich and\nbeautiful, and bearing every where incontestible evidence that it was a\nsoil which would remunerate the agriculturalist for every stroke struck\nupon its bosom.\n\n_Ann Arbour_ also stands on Huron river, and is a very pleasant village\ncontaining nearly three thousand inhabitants. There is here an Episcopal\nChurch, which has been recently erected, that stands beautifully embosomed\nin a grove of oaks. Immediately adjoining the plot of ground on which the\nchurch is built, an acre of land which cost one thousand dollars, has been\npurchased by a gentleman residing, I believe, in Monroe, who purposes to\nerect upon it a neat and commodious dwelling for the use of the rector, and\nto convey it to the parish corporation as a parsonage. To this noble act of\nmunificence he was prompted from his love of the Redeemer's cause, and an\nardent desire for the success and establishment of our church in Michigan.\nHe saw that if there was a house provided for the rector, the parish would\nsoon be able to provide the means for his support, and that thus the\nministrations of the Gospel would be permanently secured to this people.\nHow many men there are within the bounds of our church, who could in like\nmanner, with the utmost ease, bestow a few thousand dollars, and secure to\nfeeble churches the certainty of future ministrations of the word, while at\nthe same time they would be adding unspeakably to the comfort of a body of\nmen who are wearing themselves out in the service of the Lord, and by their\nexhausting labours and toil to rescue sinners from death, are preparing\nthemselves for a premature grave! Sure I am, when these opulent men, stand\nat last before God and the Lamb, and behold the resplendent crown of glory\nwhich Jesus has purchased for them by his toil and tears, and sweat and\nblood--when they look down into the depths of that hell from which he has\nrescued them, and up to the heights of that heaven to which he is about to\nexalt them, and when that same Jesus points to such an act of munificence,\nand says, _Inasmuch as ye did it for the least of these my ministers, ye\ndid it unto me_, oh then I am sure they will not regret the few thousand\ndollars they have given to Christ! Would to God that many professors of\nreligion, who have already wealth enough to ruin all their children, and\nare still holding back their pecuniary means and hoarding them up, refusing\nto consecrate any part of them to Christ, would think seriously of this,\nwould meditate frequently on the scenes of that day.\n\nOur course from Ann Arbour was towards Ore Creek. The country through which\nwe passed was somewhat undulating, and upon the whole a very fine\nagricultural district. No where in the west have I seen better crops. The\nyellow golden wheat, the bearded and densely standing barley, the luxuriant\noats, and stout corn, as they were spread out before the eye in vast fields\nrapidly succeeding each other, and gently waving in the summer breeze,\npresented a scene full of interest, and bore indisputable testimony in\nrelation to the excellence and fertility of the soil. The point to which we\nwere directing our course was _North Green Oak_. We had already travelled\nsome thirty miles, and were now within the limits of this town. Night was\ncoming on, and we were yet some four miles from the place which I wished to\nreach. As it would be dark before our arrival, and the road was rough, and\nit was uncertain whether we could all be accommodated for the night at the\nplace to which I was directing my course, it was decided as a matter of\nprudence, that Mr. and Mrs. R----, who had kindly accompanied me in their\ncarriage, should remain at the log inn which we had already reached, and\nwhose quaint sign was \"CALL AND C,\" while the driver, mounting one horse,\nand myself the other, should go on to find the house of my friend. I\nscarcely need say that we had now reached a very new country. It was with\ndifficulty that we could muster a saddle in the neighbourhood; but at\nlength one was found, and we set out, bidding adieu to our friends for the\nnight. During the first two miles our path lay chiefly through the forest:\nwe however passed in that distance three houses; at the last house, which\nwas on the borders of a lake, we stopped to enquire for the residence of my\nfriend. We were told he lived almost two miles on the other side of the\nlake, that there was no road save the track of a wagon, and that as our\npath was a blind one, it was very uncertain whether we should find the way.\nWe tried to get some one to go with us as our guide, but there was no one\nat home but women and children. It was already dark, our path was through\nthe thick woods, and as the last rays of twilight were fast fading away, we\nhad no time to lose. We rode rapidly on, and were soon buried in the dense\nforest. We had not proceeded more than a mile before we lost every trace of\nour path, but after riding around awhile among the bushes we again struck\nupon the track, and were able to advance a little further. Soon, however,\nin consequence of the increasing darkness, we were again at fault, and knew\nnot which way to proceed. We dismounted, and having searched for awhile on\nour hands and knees, succeeded in discovering the track of a wagon wheel,\nwhich we followed till it led us into a small oak opening. We had gone but\na few paces, however, on our way, before the path, which had now become\nmore distinct, diverged into two branches, the one leading into the dense\nforest, and the other descending into a low marsh. It now became a grave\nquestion which path we were to take. We were far away from any human\nhabitation; it was doubtful whether we could retrace our steps, even if we\nattempted to return; the night was dark, sultry, and hot, the deep forest\nwas around us, the musquitoes were biting us most unmercifully, and we had\nnot provided ourselves with the means of striking a light to kindle a fire.\nThe idea of spending the night, therefore, unsheltered in the woods under\nthese circumstances, was not altogether agreeable. What added to our\nembarrassment was that if we took either path and were able to follow it,\nwe knew not but we might be going so much farther from the place where we\nwould be. The driver, who was now my only companion, proposed to lift up\nhis voice and halloo, thinking that if any one was within hearing distance,\nwe should receive an answer. But though the woods rung to the shout, and\nechoed back his voice, no other response was returned.--All was still and\nsilent around us as though we were in some vast and boundless solitude. At\nlength we determined to advance as far as we could trace the track of a\nwheel through the marsh, and if our path did not lead us to the place where\nwe would be, to return and try the other. We had not proceeded far amid the\nhigh grass before we ascended a hill, and again entered the woods. Our road\nnow became more distinct, but whether it was leading us in the right\ndirection we knew not. At length my eye caught the glimmering of a taper;\nat first I thought it might be only the phosphorescent light of the\nfire-fly, swarms of which had been hovering around our path. A second look,\nhowever, convinced me that it was indeed the light of a taper we saw. I\ncannot describe the emotions that then thronged around my heart. I thought\nat that moment of those words of Cowper, and could in some measure\nunderstand their meaning, and conceive of the feelings of a lost sinner,\nupon whose benighted path the first glimmering of hope fell.\n\n    \"I see, or think I see\n    A glimmering from afar,\n    A beam of day that shines for me,\n    To save me from despair.\"\n\nWe now rode on with speed, and were soon by the side of a log cottage. It\nwas the very place which we had been seeking. All anxiety was now at an\nend, and the glad welcome so cordially tendered, and the well-known face\nglowing with looks of kind recognition, made all the care and toils of the\nevening appear as naught. Here was a family around me, consisting in all of\nsome ten or twelve in number, apparently contented and happy in a log\ncabin. They had a single room below and a sort of garret above it. The last\ntime that I saw them was in an elegant three story house, in East Broadway,\nin New York. I know not that they appeared more happy then than they did\nthis evening. They expected soon to have a better and more commodious\ndomicil, which they were erecting but even with their present dwelling\nplace they were contented. Truly happiness is in the mind, and they whose\nhopes are on God, and who feel that they are in the path of duty can be\nhappy in spite of all external circumstances.\n\nThe sun was shining brightly the next morning as we retraced our way, and\njoined our friends at the log tavern. Our course was then towards Pontiac,\nwhich we reached just at the close of the day. We passed through a\nbeautiful country rendered truly picturesque and romantic by the chain of\nlittle lakes that stretch through this section of the state. The banks of\nthese lakes are high and shaded, affording the most delightful spots for\nresidence. The waters are pure and limpid, and filled with the finest fish.\nWe must have passed during our journey at least twenty of these lakes.\nPontiac is as beautiful a village for size as I saw in Michigan.\n\n\n                                              _Friday, July 28th._\n\nOn our way to Detroit we stopped to-day at Troy, to visit our old friend,\nthe Rev. Mr. H----, who is leading a little flock onward in their heavenly\njourney.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nTOUR FROM THE WEST.\n\n     The Romanists--Miracles--Indians--Captain M---- The\n     unhappy sailor--Toledo--Cleveland--Buffalo--Niagara\n     Falls.\n\n\n                              _Detroit, Monday, July 31._\n\nThe Roman Church has been supposed to be very strong here, but from\ninquiries that I every where made, I am still more confirmed in the belief\nthat the papists at the west are making very little impression upon the\nProtestant population. While they are attempting much, and with sinuous\neffort endeavoring to identify themselves with every interest, they in fact\nas yet, with all their marvellous reports to the Leopold Society, have done\nbut very little. That system cannot bear the light. It flourishes best\nunder arbitrary governments, and amid the thick darkness of ignorance. The\nexperiment is now making in this country, whether it can live and flourish\nin Protestant and republican America without losing its essential and most\nobnoxious features. The remark was made to me by a highly intelligent man\nin Detroit, \"that the absurdities that were swallowed ten years ago by the\nCatholics there would be hooted at now.\" In illustration of this remark, he\nwent on to say, that about eleven years since he was present at the\ncathedral where the former bishop was preaching, and endeavoring to prove\nthe doctrine of transubstantiation. Among other evidences to which he\nreferred was the following: \"A few years previous,\" said this mitred\nprelate, \"in a certain city in Europe, a profane person procured one of the\nconsecrated wafers, and with carnal curiosity, after leaving the church,\nbroke it in two, when instantly a stream of blood issued forth, which ran\ndown his clothes, and stained his apparel. He went home in great affright,\nbut the stream of blood still flowed, and ceased not till in haste he\nreturned to the priest, and confessed his sin; then the crimson stream was\ndried up, and its stain from his person removed.\" \"This,\" said the bishop,\n\"happened in such a city, and there is such an individual now present who\nlived in that city at the time, to whom you can refer for corroboration.\"\n\n\"It would be the utter ruin of their prospects,\" said my informant, \"for a\nbishop or a Roman Catholic priest to make such an assertion at the present\ntime. There is too much light now, even among the papists, to listen to\nsuch a ridiculous story for a moment.\"\n\nThere is one point of view in which it is infinitely important that\nDetroit, and many other towns situated similar with it, should have\npervading it a high sense of religious feeling. I speak with reference to\nthe influence which the tone of its morals must, and does exert upon the\nmany hundreds of Indians that annually visit it. These red men of the woods\nare forming their opinions of Christianity from what they see at Detroit,\nand St. Louis, and many of our western towns. They see among the white\npopulation every thing to lead them to turn away with disgust from a\nreligion, professed to be drawn from the Bible. Their depraved natures\nreadily lead them to lay hold of the vices that abound among us, and they\ngo back to their tribes, carrying the impression that these are among the\nfruits of Christianity. It is painful to see how degraded many of them\nbecome in their intercourse with what is called civilized society.\nIntemperance is the vice which they most readily fall into. Under its\nbaneful influence they seem to lose all the natural and noble traits of\ntheir character. I saw in Detroit a stout built Indian playing the _merry\nAndrew_ through the streets, hawking about a lump of ice, as though it were\na loaf of sugar, and calling for the highest bidder. As he staggered by I\ncould not but think how different he appeared from the native son of the\nforest; that manly and noble bearing, that graceful and elastic step, that\ngrave, serious, and dignified look which sat so well upon the native\nIndian's brow, and marked him as one of nature's true noblemen, was gone\nand he had become a poor, degraded, drunken outcast and was trying to pick\nup a few pennies by making himself a laughing stock to a crowd of idle\nboys! What formidable barriers do the vices that still remain incorporated\nwith Christian communities present, to hinder the progress and extension of\nthe Redeemer's kingdom!\n\nWhile at Detroit I met with two incidents, which I noted down at the time,\nand which it may not be improper to record here. The one was an interview\nwith Captain M----, the popular author of several recent novels who is now\nmaking the tour of the lakes. The gentleman whose kind hospitalities I was\nsharing, had met with him on his way from Buffalo, and had also after his\narrival at Detroit, called to pay him his respects. It was certainly civil\nin the captain to have returned the call, but it was shocking to the\nfeelings of Christian sensibility, that the time selected for this\nreciprocation of civility, was during the sacred hours of the Sabbath.\nCapt. M---- could not attend the place of public worship, for the day was\nto be employed in returning his calls. He appeared to be addressing himself\nto this in a business-like way. With a friend as his guide, and a carriage\nto convey him, he was proceeding from street to street, carrying with him\nhis long list of names, and a bundle of visiting cards. All this was done,\nof course, to show that he appreciated the attentions and civilities he had\nreceived. When will men show as much respect to God and his institutions,\nas they do to the worms of the dust around them?\n\nThe other incident was of a still more painful character. On the same\nSunday, just at the close of the day, there passed my window, a face that\ncalled up the recollection of one whom I supposed had long since been\nnumbered with the dead. My first acquaintance with him was at the\ncommencement of my ministry. His father's residence occupied one of the\nloveliest spots I had ever beheld on the bank of Lake Ontario. The house\nand garden, and court yards, all indicated ease and opulence. This young\nman was then a youth, the only son of his father, and cherishing large\nexpectations in relation to future wealth. He had been reared up under the\neye of a fond mother, who \"would not let the winds of heaven blow too\nroughly\" upon him. His disposition was naturally amiable and vivacious, and\nthere were many to admire and caress him. But suddenly his prospects were\ndarkened. It was discovered that his father's estate was covered with\nmortgages, and his affairs embarrassed beyond redemption. One piece of\nproperty went after another, till the beautiful family residence was\nalienated, and bankruptcy and poverty seemed now staring them in the face.\nMr. ---- had reserved a single farm unencumbered, which he now promised to\ngive his son. The young man, with a truly noble spirit, determined to\naccommodate himself to the circumstances around him, and entered with\nhearty zeal upon the cultivation of his farm with his own hands. He had\njust become acquainted with some of the more common agricultural operations\nand began to look forward to humble independence, when the astounding fact\nwas disclosed, that this farm too was under a heavy mortgage. In the\nstraitened circumstances in which Mr. ---- found himself, he had been led\nto forget his promise to his son, and to alienate his last acre of land.\nThe young man's spirit seemed broken. He had unhappily contracted the habit\nof moderate drinking. On his father's sideboard, while he was yet a boy,\nthere always stood a decanter of brandy, and every visitor who made a\nmorning, afternoon, or evening call, was urged to drink. The father and\nson, to encourage their guests always drank with them. Thus this young man\ncontracted a love for ardent spirits. It was now the season of darkness and\ndepression with him. The mother who had watched over his childhood, had\ngone down to the grave. The riches in which they once rolled, had taken to\nthemselves wings and flown away. The fond hopes he had cherished of rising\nby his own industry, had been crushed. Poverty was staring them in the\nface. This young man was without employment. Several years passed by, and\nthe prospects of this family did not brighten in a single particular. At\nlength the father went abroad. His family were left behind to shift for\nthemselves. He never returned. The son became more and more dissipated,\ntill in a fit of desperation he went to New York, and embarked on board of\na ship as a common sailor. Many a father and mother who knew this promising\nyoung man, and witnessed his career up to this point, when they looked\naround upon their own infant band, sighed and shook their heads, painfully\nfeeling that they could not tell what their children would come to. Young\n---- went to the East Indies, and, it was said, was lost during the voyage.\nI had never heard of him since. But as I sat by the window at this time,\nthe countenance and form of one that passed by, so strongly reminded me of\nhim, that I sent out a young lad to overtake him, and invite him to come\nin. There soon entered one in complete sailor's dress, with loose\npantaloons, round-about coat, and tarpaulin hat, swaggering along,\nevidently under the influence of intoxicating drink. He looked at me for a\nmoment, and then uttered my name! What was my astonishment and amazement!\nWas this the gifted and talented young ----, whom I had first met in the\ndwelling of courtly splendor--from whose father's hands I had received so\nmany expressions of kindness and acts of hospitality--over whose\npleasure-grounds, amid delightful shade and shrubbery, I had so often\nroamed? Was this that noble, gifted boy, in relation to whom such high\nhopes were formed, and who had naturally such generous and kind feelings? I\nhad thought the waves of the deep had long since rolled over him! But no,\nthere he stood, a perfect wreck of what he once was. His eye was glassy,\nand his breath fetid and offensive beyond endurance. He seemed to be\nconscious of the degradation he had brought upon himself, and by an evident\nstruggle and effort of will, did succeed in throwing off the symptoms of\npresent inebriety. I found that he had visited every part of the world, and\nhad suffered every thing but death. He had been imprisoned in Chili, and\ncast away on the shores of western Africa. I spoke to him about his soul.\nHe seemed much affected, and shed tears. After a few moment's pause, he\nsaid, \"I have been a very wicked fellow, but I have never lost the early\nimpressions I had in relation to my responsibility to God. The little\nTestament my sister gave me, I have kept when stript of every thing else. I\nhave read it when the other sailors around me were asleep. I knew they\ndid'nt understand my feelings, and they would only laugh at me. I have\noften prayed, but then I would soon become as wicked as ever. I have\nthought of you, sir, often, and of the sermons I used to hear. When I sat\nnaked on the burning sand in Africa, I thought of many serious things,\nwhich I had heard from your lips, and I tried to pray. Yes, that was an\nawful time! We were cast away--our vessel was lost--three or four of us got\nashore and were saved. But we were immediately stript of every rag of\ncovering, and for three months I wandered over the sands of Africa, naked\nas when I came into the world, and living as I could snatch a little fruit\nhere and there. I at length found my way to Liberia, and was sent to\nAmerica by the Governor of that colony.\"\n\nHe then told me that for several years past, he had been on the lakes. I\nasked him if he was happy. He said \"No, never, except in a storm, when\nevery thing around me seems going to destruction. Then I become excited and\nfeel a sort of mad happiness.\" I entreated him to bethink himself of his\nways, and turn unto the Lord. He said he did not think it would do any\ngood; that he was too far gone, and that if he prayed ever so much, or made\never so many resolutions, in a few days he was as bad as ever. I endeavored\nto point out where the difficulty lay. He went to church with me that\nevening, and seemed solemn and affected. Poor fellow, I know not what will\nbe his end! I fear there are many youths of our land going on just in this\nsame path.\n\n\n                                         _Cleveland, August 2d._\n\nYesterday I took leave of Detroit on board the steamboat \"United States\"\nfor this place, which we reached this morning. On our way here, we visited\nToledo, in Ohio, which stands on the Maumee River, about ten miles from its\nmouth. This is a place of some notoriety, but although we stopped there\nseveral hours, I found very little to interest me. There were not a few\nindications that it was a place where iniquity abounded. Though a place of\nconsiderable size, the institutions of the gospel have found very little\nfoothold as yet. I was told, though I cannot vouch for the correctness of\nthe account, that some time ago, when an effort was about being made to\nestablish some religious society here, a public meeting was called, and\nthey voted that they would have no such thing in their town. I hope they\nhave come to a better mind before this.\n\nJust before we entered the Maumee River, we passed a light house that had\nbeen erected on a bare and barren bank of sand, of about an acre in extent,\nwhich had risen up in the midst of the surrounding waters. On this barren\nspot there is a solitary dwelling, the residence, I presume, of the keeper\nof the light-house. There is something very striking in this lonely\nresidence, pitched in the midst of a wild waste of waters, and forcibly\nreminded me of the state of the Christian in this life, whose habitation is\noften in some desolate place, some lonely spot amid a surrounding moral\ndesert, but always where he can answer some useful end, can tend upon some\nlight-house to direct the path of tempest-tost mariners towards the haven\nof rest.\n\nWe also touched in our way to Cleveland at Sandusky City and Huron. It was\nmy original intention to stop at one of these places, and make an excursion\nthrough the northern part of Ohio, taking Gambier in my circuit. I felt an\nincreased desire to visit that place, after learning as I did in Michigan,\nthe important influence the institution there is silently exerting upon the\nwest, but I found it necessary to deny myself this pleasure for the want of\ntime. From what I heard of Kenyon College, I should think that the standard\nof attainment there was very high, and that they had wisely guarded against\nthe custom too common in the west of hurrying the student through a rapid\nand superficial course of studies, and conferring upon him a degree at a\ntime when he ought to be regarded as a _sophomore_. The course of studies\nat this institution is very thorough, and the faculty able and talented.\nKenyon College cannot fail to prove a most powerful auxiliary to the cause\nof learning and religion in the west, and its influence for the interests\nof the Episcopal Church will be more extended than any of us of the\npresent generation can compute.\n\nWith Cleveland I have been decidedly pleased. It is principally built on a\nhigh table of land, that looks boldly off upon the far-stretching and\nmajestic waters of Erie. It has a population of about eight thousand; its\nhouses are generally handsome and well built. It is separated from Ohio\nCity by the Cuyahoga river, a stream into which the steamboats run up,\nwhich stop at Cleveland. Ohio City is a pleasant town, having between two\nand three thousand inhabitants. They are here erecting a fine stone edifice\nfor an Episcopal Church. This place appears to bear the same relation to\nCleveland that Brooklyn does to New York. Unhappily there is no small\njealousy between the two places, which it is hoped the experience of a few\nyears will cure. Some of the streets in the eastern part of Cleveland,\nlooking off upon the lake, are beautiful beyond the power of description.\n\n\n                                          _Niagara Falls, August 3d._\n\nIn passing from Cleveland to Buffalo over Erie's green waters, we touched\nat several interesting points, but I omit any description of them or of\nBuffalo, which has grown up into a large and beautiful city. I have spent\nthe day most delightfully here, silently musing on these vast waters that\nleap with giant stride over this mighty precipice of rock. I had thought\nthat these falls, when I first gazed upon them from Table Rock, some four\nyears since, possessed all the conceivable elements of sublimity, but I\nnever understood their full grandeur and majesty till I looked at them\nto-day, and remembered that the water of all those lakes upon which I had\ntravelled more than a thousand miles, was pouring in one gathered column\nover that precipice! Then, immediately, I felt that the tremendous roar,\nthat rose deafening around me, was the voice of God! I saw that it was His\nhand that had gathered those waters, and poured them with such resistless\nforce over that vast precipice, and the thought then flashed upon my mind,\n\"How will he speak to impenitent sinners when he riseth up to judgment? How\nwill they escape from his mighty hand when he poureth out his fury like\nfire?\"\n\nJust then a rainbow met my eye that lay beautifully pencilled on the\nfoaming flood below. I remembered it was the bow of promise; and new\nemotions of gratitude were waked up in my heart, when, at the very moment I\nwas surrounded with such demonstrations of almighty power, and such vivid\nproof that God could with the breath of his mouth hurl the guilty down to\nbottomless perdition, I was reminded by the bow that lay on the bosom of\nthe foaming gulf, that through the mercy of God in Christ there was a way\nfor poor sinners to escape! Oh that they might be prevailed upon to lay\nhold of the hope set before them, and not rush madly on to the precipice of\neternal death!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nWESTERN NEW YORK.\n\n     Niagara Falls--Rochester--Canandaigua--Geneva--Seneca\n     Lake--The moonlit heavens--Departed friends--The\n     clergyman's son--The candidate for the ministry--A\n     beloved brother--My departed mother--Geneva\n     College--The Sabbath.\n\n\n                                          _Geneva, Aug. 9th._\n\nEvery man who has visited Niagara Falls, that scene of enchantment,\nremembers with what difficulty he tore himself from the spot. To every mind\nthat has any sensibility--any relish for the grand and sublime, every\nisland and grove, every stone and tree, every green bank and shaded nook\naround that mighty cataract, is a charmed spot. Go to what point you may,\nto take your last look at the falls, whether it be on the British or\nAmerican side--whether you stand on Table Rock or Goat Island--whether you\nlook out from the top of the observatory that has been reared with daring\nintrepidity on the edge of the foaming current and the brow of the Falls,\nor look up from the foot of the vast cataract, and see a world of waters\nplunging in one animated, leaping mass from the heights above, you will\nfeel as you gaze there to bestow your last lingering look, that the hand of\nsome giant power has laid a spell upon all the scene around you, and\nchained you to the spot. You may tear yourself from this scene, but it is\nwith the feeling with which you separate yourself from, and bid adieu to\nthe loved one of your heart. Your eye and your thoughts oft turn back to\ncatch another glimpse of that which you fear is fading from your view for\never.\n\nHave you not sometimes in your journeyings, taken your leave with great\nreluctance from some dear family circle, who gathered around you at the\ndoor, and followed you while you could yet see them with every\ndemonstration of kindness and interest? At length a turn in the road shut\nthem from your view, and you went on your way musing on the past, and\nthinking perhaps you would never meet them more till you met them with the\nransomed on high. While you moved on indulging in a pensive train of\nreflection, your path took another turn, and brought the mansion you left\nagain to view, and showed you your friends still watching your course,\nwhose waving hands and handkerchiefs testified that their hearts were with\nyou, though their voices could no longer reach your ear. It was somewhat so\nwith us, when on _Friday morning the fourth of August_, we started in the\nrailroad cars from the Falls, bound to Lockport. The course of the railroad\nfor some distance lies along on the bank of Niagara river, every now and\nthen revealing to us the swift and green waters of the stream as it leaps\nalong its deep-worn channel, some hundred feet below. We had proceeded thus\na mile or two, when suddenly by a turn of the river, the entire view of the\nFalls was again brought before us. The eye was now able to take in the\nwhole scene at a single glance, and no view of Niagara appeared more\nimpressive than this. You could distinctly trace the rapids above the\nFalls, see the foaming current urging its way on like the angry billows of\nthe ocean, till it reached the dreadful leap, and then gracefully and\nmajestically sliding off from the edge of the precipice to the vast abyss\nbelow in one beautiful and vast column of emerald green. Below you saw, as\nin one great cauldron, the whole river boiling up in white and milky\nappearance, and then winding off in its deep channel, till at length it\nagain assumed its native hue of green. The islands and groves, and wild\nscenery that environ this wonder of the world, were all gathered in one\nrich group distinctly before the eye. Who can look on such a scene and not\nremember its Creator? What must be the glories which God will reveal to his\nransomed and sanctified people in the celestial world, when he allows to\nlinger here amid the defilements and desolations of sin such traces of\nsurpassing beauty and loveliness!\n\nWe took Rochester in our way, and thence directed our course by stage to\nCanandaigua, which, with its tasteful court-yards, and beautiful houses,\nand elegantly shaded streets, reminds one of a beauteous, gemmed, and\nhighly adorned bride that has retired from the festal scene, and is seeking\nrepose in some rural bower. The country through which we rode from\nRochester to Geneva is in a high state of cultivation, and the rich fields\nof waving grain around one makes him feel at every step that he is passing\nthrough the garden of America. We reached Geneva in the early part of the\nafternoon. There is not a lovelier spot beneath the far-expanded sky for\nthe site of a village than the banks of the Seneca. Though the business\npart of the village is situated principally on the northwest corner of the\nlake, by far the most beautiful part of the town stretches along on the\nwestern bank which rises some fifty or hundred feet above the quiet waters\nof this beautiful lake. Here a street runs along parallel with the lake,\nand the most delightful residences are built up on either side. Almost\nevery dwelling has before it a fine court-yard filled with shrubbery and\nornamented with flowers. And those built on the brow of the lake have\ngardens terraced down to the water's edge.\n\nThe lake is here some three miles wide, stretching off forty miles to the\nsouth, and presenting on the opposite side a beautiful and\nfinely-cultivated country. On this street, looking off upon this lovely\nsheet of water, stands the college. As we recede to the west the land rises\nby gentle and successive undulations for a mile or two, furnishing on the\nsummit of these successive ridges the most delightful locations for\nresidences, from some of which you have brought within the ken of your eye\nthe whole village and lake, and country beyond. I have already partially\ndescribed the street that runs along on the western bank of the lake, which\nis adorned and shaded with trees, and on which the college and principal\nchurches are built. Farther west and running parallel with this is another\nstreet inferior in beauty, but peculiarly attractive to me, as at its\nnorthern extremity is situated the old burying ground, where sleeps the\ndust of many, many dear friends.\n\nMemory loves to go back to the past. I well recollect a summer evening of\n1820. The day had declined, and the curtains of night were drawn around the\ngreen earth. While twilight still lingered in the west, gently fading into\ndarkness, the moon rose in full orbed splendour. I was returning, with a\nfriend from a walk. Our course lay along on the margin of the lake. Never\ndid I see a sweeter or lovelier scene, than was exhibited on the bosom of\nthat lake, lit up with a flood of splendour streaming down from the bright\norb of night. That beautifully-expanded sheet of water lay in unruffled\nsmoothness. The lake seemed like a sea of glass. If a ripple run over that\ntransparent surface, it was so gentle, that it seemed only the rocking of\nthe moon-beams to sleep that played there. The air was bland and balmy, and\nfull of the fragrance which the verdant and flowery earth gave forth. But\nwith myself and my friend, life then looked thus bright and fresh and fair.\nOur walk terminated at the threshhold of my own paternal mansion. We went\nin and sat down. Three other persons joined us. We looked out upon the\nmoonlight scene, and talked of future days. There was not one sad or\nclouded brow there. I can remember every countenance in that happy group as\nthough it were but yesterday night. But now of the five that sat there and\nenjoyed the delightful converse of that sweet night, I alone am the only\nsurvivor. All the rest have for these nine years slept within the precincts\nof the burial-ground.\n\nOne of this little group was the friend of my childhood. His father was the\nparish priest, from whose lips my infant ear first drank in the sounds of a\npreached gospel.--I well recollect with what a throbbing heart I first drew\nnear the chancel in an old time-stained church in New England, with a band\nof children like myself to rehearse to this holy man my catechism. I well\nrecollect the solemn tones of his voice, and the benignant look with which\nhe pronounced a blessing on our young heads. I can never forget the many\nkind, cordial welcomes I have received under the roof of the pastor of my\nchildhood. The young man to whom I have referred was his eldest son. We\nwere now far from the scene where had past the sports and frolics of\nchildhood. The good hand of the Lord had shown me that there was something\nbetter than the fading vanities of this empty world to occupy and absorb\nthe affections of an immortal being. Often had I tried to lead my young\nfriend to see things as I saw them. When absent I had written to him; but\nthough his affection for me seemed unchanged, he always evaded any coming\nto the point, in relation to his own personal salvation. Though amiable and\nmoral, he was naturally gay and vivacious, and the world had still an\nunbroken hold upon his affections. On the evening to which I have referred,\nhe seemed more than ordinarily pensive. In less than a year, though\napparently full of vigour and health, he was suddenly laid upon a sick bed.\nThe last night of his life I was with him, and did not leave his room till\nthe dawn of morning. At midnight when all was still, he called me close to\nhis bed-side, and thanked me for my letters that I had formerly written to\nhim, and all my solemn admonitions, and assured me that they had not been\nforgotten, but had made very deep impressions upon his mind. And then he\ncontinued--\"I wish to be saved, I wish to give my heart up to God, I wish\nto be pardoned and have a hope in Christ. Oh that I had sought the Lord in\nhealth, and now were at peace with him.\" Then he fervently called on God\nfor mercy. His mind soon began to wander. The next morning he was an\nunbreathing corpse.\n\nAnother of this company, was one who had been associated with me in study.\nThe home of his childhood was amid the rugged hills of New England. He had\ncontended with a long train of difficulties to push his way onward to the\nthreshold of the sacred ministry. The last obstacles now seemed giving\naway. In about a year he would go forth as the accredited ambassador of the\nKing of kings. Animated with this thought, and the brightening prospect\naround him, his mind on that evening seemed winged with hope, and his\nconversation was full of life and sprightliness. Just about a year had\ngone. The day for his ordination was appointed. His friends were anxiously\nwaiting to see him put the sacred armour on. But the hand of disease\nsuddenly seized him, and on the very day he was to have been ordained, he\ndied, and I trust went up to the heavenly court to be made there a \"priest\nunto God.\"\n\nA third in this group, was a beloved brother, who had been to me not only a\nbrother, but my spiritual father. It was his voice that first directed my\nfeet to the cross of Christ; and it was from his hands that I first\nreceived the consecrated memorials of a Saviour's dying love. The cares and\ntoils and anxieties of his spiritual flock were even then wearing away his\nlife. A few years passed by, and my friend--my counsellor--my brother, was\nborne to that same burial-ground, where his voice had been so often heard,\ncommitting \"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.\" There are those\nthat remember the pastor's counsel, who still go to that grave where his\nashes sleep, and water it with their tears.\n\nThe last in that group which sat and conversed so delightfully together on\nthe evening to which I have adverted, was one who bore to me a dearer and\nmore sacred relation than any or all of these. Can I ever forget the\nkindliness of that eye that beamed with such sweet affection on me? Can I\never forget the soft velvet pressure of that hand, which when I was sick\nwas laid so gently on my burning, feverish brow? Can I ever forget that\ncradle hymn, that calmed my infant fears, and hushed all my troubles to\nrepose? Can I ever forget the tones of that sweet voice that first breathed\ninto my infant ear the name of Jesus? Can I ever forget the appearance of\nthat dear form, the heavenliness of that look, or even the seat in which\nshe sat, when I was first taught to kneel down by her side, and say \"_Our\nFather who art in heaven?_\" No! Every other image may fade from my memory,\nbut my mother's will be there for ever!\n\nOn that evening to which I have referred, no one appeared more cheerful or\nhappy, and no circumstance added more enjoyment to that hour than the\npresence and conversation of my dear and beloved mother. But a few years\nonly had elapsed, and the charm of our home was gone! Well do I recollect\nthat night when I was called from my bed, and saw the last breath trembling\non her quivering lips. Well do I recollect how that brother of whom I have\njust spoken, as we stood silent around that bed from which a departing\nsaint was about to go up to glory, took her dying hand, and as the last\npang was ended, said in the deep solemn stillness that pervaded the weeping\ngroup, \"The bitterness of death is passed, and _she is at rest_!\" Her grave\nis in the burying ground. Of all that company that sat and talked and\nlooked out on that moonlight scene I only am left. Oh what reason have I to\npraise the Lord! What reason to die daily!\n\nThe commencement of Geneva College had occurred a few days previous to my\narrival. This institution had been struggling for many years with a series\nof difficulties, most of which are now happily overcome. The corporation\nhave recently received an endowment that will enable them to compete with\nany kindred institutions in the country. They have an able and\nwell-organized faculty, at the head of which is President Hale, a man not\nonly of varied and large acquirements, but of most bland manners and\ndevoted piety. There is an influence now gathered around this institution\nthat must very soon elevate it to a high rank among the institutions of our\ncountry. It gives fair promise at present of being what one of its\noriginators toiled and prayed and spent many anxious days and nights to\nmake it. Though he has gone to his rest and though he saw gathering over it\nduring his life nothing but clouds and darkness, he will reap the fruits of\nhis labours in eternity.\n\nI spent a Sunday here that strikingly reminded me of former days. The\ncongregation were already gathered. I went in, and sat in the same pew I\nused to occupy long before I assumed the responsibilities of the sacred\noffice. The place itself was unaltered, but the worshippers--what a change\nhad come over them! Here and there was a well-known countenance, but how\nmany pews were occupied with those who were strangers to me! And then,\nwhere was that venerable father--that promising young jurist--that\nphysician rising rapidly to eminence--that blooming, beautiful young bride,\nthat drew all eyes towards her? Where was that mother in Israel--that much\nrespected and hoary headed man, whose voice used to give such deep emphasis\nto the responses? Where were a hundred others, whose images came up fast\nbefore me? Ah! the grave, the grave had swallowed them up! And where too\nwas the pastor whose voice used to echo through this temple? He too was\ngone! That voice which had so often called upon sinners to turn and flee\nto calvary, and urged the heaven-bound pilgrim onward towards the goal, was\nnow hushed in death! On a tablet near the pulpit I saw his name inscribed,\nbut I believe it was written in deeper and more durable characters upon the\nhearts of some who worshipped with me that morning.\n\nThe day was bright and sunny. There seemed that morning to rest on the mind\nof the assembled worshippers a sweet, holy calm, the emblem of that \"rest\nwhich remaineth for the people of God.\" The deep, solemn tones of the\nservice, came that morning with unwonted power on my ear. Every sentence of\nthe liturgy, fraught as it is with the richest vein of evangelical piety,\nseemed particularly on that occasion to give wings to my devotion, and to\nbear my soul upward to the very courts of the most high God. It was a\nsacramental season. The sermon was appropriate, faithful, solemn, and\naffecting. The communion service began. The bread was broken and the wine\npoured out. As I went forward to kneel at that altar, I could not but call\nto remembrance my feelings eighteen years before, when I first bowed there\nto vow a vow unto God, and receive a token of the Saviour's dying love. The\nthoughts and feelings of that hour I will not presume to obtrude upon you.\nThere was a rush of sensibilities and recollections that quite overcame me\nfor the moment.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nA JAUNT FROM PHILADELPHIA TO ALBANY.\n\n     A bleak, dreary morning--Bishop of Illinois--Sail up\n     the Delaware--New York Bay--Sail up the\n     Hudson--Unexpected meeting--College friend--Story of\n     his afflictions--Poor African servant.\n\n\nThe sketches contained in the three following chapters were written in\n1838.\n\n\n                              _Fairfield, N. Y., Sep. 21, 1838._\n\nAfter having passed a day or two in the country, or gone along some two or\nthree hundred miles by stages, steamboats, and railroad cars, in looking\nback upon the scenes through which you have passed, the company you have\nmet, and the different individuals with which you have been brought in\ncontact, one feels almost astonished to reflect how many touching incidents\nof human woe have been brought to his notice during this short period.\nSorrow and sadness seem to lie every where on the surface of society. You\ncannot enter a steamboat, or walk through the streets of a large town, or\nmingle at all in the circles of the living, without meeting with something\nto remind you, and that most painfully, \"_that man is born to trouble_.\"\nDoes not this show that ours is a world full of disorder and sin? Does it\nnot show that some great moral convulsion has occurred here, which has\nupturned the very foundations upon which human nature was originally built?\nSurely a God of order and of benevolence would never have created such a\nworld as ours now is! Surely this world is not now what it was when upon\nits original creation, \"the morning stars sang together, and the sons of\nGod shouted aloud for joy!\" I do not see how any one can prosecute an\ninvestigation upon the subject of moral philosophy, and not come to the\nconclusion that the Bible is the only book in the world that gives any\nsatisfactory account of the origin and history of man.\n\nIt was a bleak and dreary morning upon which we left Philadelphia. The wind\nblew fiercely, and the waters of the Delaware seemed stirred the very\nbottom as we entered the steamboat. Notwithstanding the earliness of the\nhour, and the roughness of the weather, a great crowd was rushing on board.\nAmong the number was the Bishop of Illinois. The last time I had seen him\nto have any continued conversation with him, was more than a year since,\nnear the banks of the Mississippi, in the extreme northwest corner of his\nextensive diocese. I was sorry to find on the present occasion, that the\nbishop seemed a good deal depressed in reference to the prospects of the\nChurch in his diocese, though still looking to the Lord and trusting in his\nwise government. I could in some measure enter into his feelings, as I had\ntravelled over the vast field of destitution in the midst of which he is\nplaced. Being entrusted with the interests of the Church in the vast and\npowerful state of Illinois, without funds, without a salary adequate to his\nown support, with only here and there a single labourer to co-operate with\nhim, how can he carry out the designs of his office? Though a thousand\nfair fields lie blooming before him, all promising a rich and luxuriant\nharvest, how, with his present means, can he take possession of them? He\nwants a vast increase of missionary men, and pecuniary means to sustain\nthem. The discouragements around him are innumerable. What can be done for\nthe West? What can be done for Illinois? I believe if three or four of our\neastern clergy, who have acquired character and standing in the Church,\nwere to go into each of the western dioceses, and there co-operate\ntogether, determined to stand by the Church, to sink or swim with it,\ndetermined never to leave the ground till the whole western wild should\nblossom as the rose, this would do more for the cause of religion than any\nother measures that could be adopted. Are there not in the length and\nbreadth of our Church a dozen men of this character, who will make this\nsacrifice for Christ and for undying souls? If we had the spirit, and the\nfaith, and the self-sacrifice of Paul, is it not probable that we should\nsee, if not in divine visions, yet in many of our waking hours, and perhaps\nin the dreams of the night, imploring thousands standing on the banks of\nthe Wabash, the Illinois, and the Mississippi, stretching forth their hands\nand saying, \"_Come over and help us!_\"\n\nOur sail up the Delaware was characterized with nothing new or unusual. The\ncars took us on at their usual rate. And in due time we were safely landed\nat the battery in New York. At five o'clock, P. M., we found ourselves\nagain embarked on board one of the North river steamers. As we pushed out\nfrom the wharf and gazed over the beautiful bay that stretched around us,\nstudded with islands and whitened with a hundred sails, the thought most\nforcibly pressed itself upon my mind, that Americans need not be ashamed\nto speak of New York bay, even in connection with the bay of Naples, though\nthe latter in the bold shores of Capri, the towering summit of Vesuvius,\nand the vast, extended, circling sweep of its waters has, doubtless,\nfeatures of _sublimity_, which the former cannot claim.--As we passed the\n_palisades_, and began to approach the mountain scenery of the highlands, I\nwas more than ever impressed with an idea which I embraced while in Europe,\nthat, take it all in all, there is no river scenery in the world comparable\nwith that of our own Hudson.\n\nWhile I stood upon the deck of our steamboat, gazing upon the precipitous\nand rugged sides of the _palisades_ that rise like a wall of masonry above\nthe noble Hudson, a gentleman approached me and said, \"I ought to know you;\nI think we were class-mates in college. My name is W----.\"\n\nWhen I first looked at the speaker, the remembrance of him as an old\ncollege acquaintance, was like the faded and indistinct recollections of a\nforgotten dream. But as one and another particular was mentioned, the\npicture of the past gathered fresh brightness, and stood before my mind's\neye with all the vividness of an occurrence of yesterday. More than fifteen\nyears had elapsed since we bid adieu to our _Alma mater_ and to each other.\nOur class at the time we graduated, consisted of about eighty; my\nacquaintance with W. during our college course was slight, and as his\nresidence was in one of the remote southern states, I had never met with\nhim before since the day of our graduation. We, however, immediately upon\nthis unexpected meeting, felt our hearts strongly drawn towards each other,\nby the power of old associations. We sat down and talked over college\nscenes, till the shades of evening gathered around us. I was astonished to\nfind how many of our class were already numbered with the dead: and how\nmany among the most gifted and talented of our old associates had fallen\nvictims to intemperance. During the fifteen years since we last met, we\nourselves had passed through a variety of scenes, and had each tasted of\nthe cup of sorrow. I became deeply interested in my friend's history, and\nthough the dark summits and lofty mountain peaks of the highlands were\naround and above us, and at this time rendered still more wild and romantic\nby the partial darkness in which they were enwrapped, I had no eye nor ear\nfor any thing but the touching tale to which I listened. The outlines of\nthe story were as follows:--\n\nWhile young W. was still in college, he had formed an acquaintance with Mr.\nY----, who then resided in a neighbouring city, and filled one of the\nhighest offices in the state. Mr. Y's. family, for several generations\nback, had been regarded among the most respectable in the land. Young W.\nwas often invited to share the hospitalities of his house, and soon became\na frequent visiter there. There were in this family three young ladies,\ndaughters of Mr. Y., all of them accomplished and interesting. Jane, the\nyoungest, was particularly beautiful and attractive. To her W. felt his\nheart drawn with resistless power. Himself belonging to a distinguished and\nwealthy family in Georgia, he did not hesitate to aspire to the hand of the\nlovely Jane Y. His suit was successful. After having passed through a\ncourse of law studies, the happy hour arrived in which he was permitted to\nstand up and claim Jane as his wedded bride. The evening of the\ncelebration of their nuptials, witnessed a scene of most brilliant\nfestivity in the old family mansion of Mr. Y. All the gaiety, and\nsplendour, and luxury which are found in the brightest paths and most\nresplendent saloons of fashion, were that night there. When the next\nmorning dawned, and the family gathered around the table for breakfast,\nthere was an occasional cloud of gloom that every now and then came over\nthe mother's countenance: for that day she was to part with her daughter!\nJane was now the wife of a planter in Georgia, and upon that distant\nplantation was to be her future home. Her young and joyous heart, though\nfor a moment depressed, as she gave the parting kiss to each of the family,\nsoon recovered its wonted buoyancy. Her presence flung an immediate\nsunshine around the habitation to which she was conducted, and her happy\nhusband thought again and again that he had never before known half her\nworth. Years passed on, and Jane had now become the mother of two beautiful\nchildren. This couple were as happy as this world could make them. They had\nhealth and wealth, ease, family distinction, and promising children, and\nyet they lacked one thing absolutely essential to their happiness. They\nwere strangers to the transforming power of divine grace. Living remote\nfrom any place of divine worship, they seldom visited the house of God, and\nwere becoming each year more indifferent to divine things.\n\nAt length the following incident awakened Mrs. W---- to a consideration of\nthe things of eternity. There was a female slave on the plantation advanced\nin years, who was very ill. Mrs. W---- had an amiable and tender heart, and\nnever failed to do all in her power to render the situation of their\nslaves comfortable. She visited them in sickness and did every thing to\nminister to their wants and to alleviate their sufferings. Hearing of the\nillness of old Peggy she hastened to the cabin to see what she could do to\nrelieve her. As she stood on the threshold of the door, just ready to\nenter, she heard the voice of this old negro woman lifted up in prayer. She\nimmediately stopped, feeling that it would be wrong to interrupt any human\ncreature while communing with God. The words which this old female slave\nuttered were very simple, but full of pious sentiment. As Mrs. W----\nlistened she heard her say, \"Oh Lord God, me am a poor sinner, but massa\nChrist died for sinners, therefore, good Lord, do have mercy upon me, poor\ndying cretur, for Jesus' sake. My sins many, oh do blot them all out--make\nme, poor slave, holy--make me fit to enter heaven--and oh bring massa and\nmissa and the little babies there. Save us all for Jesus' sake.\" As Mrs.\nW---- listened to these simple words, her heart was touched--the tear fell\nupon her cheek. She entered the cabin, and found old Peggy stretched on a\ncouch, and evidently struck with death. In haste and with agitation she\nasked what she could do for her. The old servant replied, \"Nothing,\nnothing--I am now going home.\" As Mrs. W---- appeared distressed and\nanxious to do something for her, Peggy said, \"Dear missa, don't be troubled\nabout me--you have always been good to we poor blacks. The Lord bless you.\nYou can do no more for me, I shall be gone soon.\" But, said Mrs. W----,\n\"Are you not afraid to die?\" Upon this inquiry, the did woman raised\nherself up, and clasping her hands, looked towards heaven and said in the\nmost plaintive, touching tone, \"Oh Jesus, should me be afraid to come to\nthee?\" And then her eye sparkling with joy, as she turned to Mrs. W----,\nshe said, \"Me love Jesus--me give him my heart; Jesus knows me, and\ntherefore me no fear to go through the dark valley to him: for he says in\nthe good book, '_I know my sheep and they follow me, and I give unto them\neternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out\nof my hand._'\" The old woman was exhausted by this effort and fell back\nupon the bed with her eyes closed, apparently dying. One or two coloured\npersons who were in the room, now gathered around the bed, expecting every\nmoment to see her breathe her last. After ten or fifteen minutes she again\nopened her eyes, and fixing an intense look upon Mrs. W----, said, \"Dear\nmissa, do you not love Jesus?\" * * * She would have said more, but her\ntongue was already palsied in death--the muscles around her mouth\nquivered--her eye seemed glazed--her breath was gone: her soul was in\neternity!\n\nMrs. W---- went home serious and thoughtful. She retired to her chamber and\ntook down her long neglected Bible. She perused the sacred page for a long\ntime. She knelt down and tried to pray. She found her heart was cold, and\nthat there was no love to Jesus there. She called upon God for mercy. The\ndeep fountains of sensibility in her heart were at length broken up, and\nshe wept in agony of spirit over her impenitence and hardness of heart.\nWhen her husband came in, he found her bathed in tears and instantly\ndemanded the cause. She told him of Peggy's death, and of the solemn\nimpression made upon her mind, adding, \"I have a presentiment that I shall\nnot live long, and I am determined no longer to neglect the salvation of my\nsoul.\" \"Oh,\" said W----, who at that time was rather inclined to be\nskeptical, \"do not indulge in such gloomy and nervous feelings or think\nabout such superstitious matters.\"\n\nMrs. W----, however, remained steadfast to her purpose. From this time she\ndaily read the sacred Scriptures, and sought divine illumination at the\nmercy-seat. The Methodist ministers who had officiated on the plantation\namong the slaves, and by whose instruction old Peggy had been taught the\nway to heaven, were invited to visit Mr. W----'s house. The voice of prayer\nwas now frequently heard in that dwelling. Mrs. W---- had already become a\ndecided Christian, and was leading her husband on in the same path, when\nshe was suddenly attacked with a violent fever. From the very commencement\nshe felt that this sickness would be unto death. When it was evident that\nshe was rapidly sinking and could survive but a few hours, she begged her\nhusband to sit down at her bed-side and the children to stand by their\nfather, and then calmly addressed him in substance as follows: \"Charles, I\ntold you a year ago I had a strong presentiment that I should not live\nlong. Ever since that time I have been looking forward to this hour. I have\na hope in Jesus, which is 'as an anchor to my soul.'--Though I love you and\nthese dear children above all earthly things, I am willing to leave you all\nin the hands of God and to _depart and be with Christ which is far better_.\nBut, dear husband, will you not join me in yonder heaven? Will you not\nbring these dear, precious ones with you there? Oh! then seek the salvation\nof your soul in the atoning blood of Christ, and train up these children in\nthe nurture and admonition of the Lord.\" These were her last dying words.\nThe green grass has for more that two years waved over her grave. Before\nher death the decease of her father had thrown a vast increase of wealth\ninto her husband's hands. But that bereaved husband with all his vast\nwealth, as he looks upon his motherless children, and upon Jane's\ngrass-covered grave, feels that this world is all an empty show, that we\nlook for happiness in vain beneath the skies.\n\nThis was the outline of W----'s story. The hour had already become late\nbefore our conversation drew to a close. We each sought our respective\nberths in the cabin below. When we awoke in the morning, we found ourselves\nin the immediate vicinity of Albany. We were soon on shore moving up State\nstreet. * * * *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nTHE IRISH COUPLE.\n\n     Albany--The Irish mother--Incidents that occured five\n     years ago--The disappointed emigrants--The Little\n     Falls--Rural retirement.\n\n\n                                         _Fairfield, N. Y., Sept. 22._\n\nOur stopping place in Albany was at CONGRESS HALL, which we reached some\ntime before the sun sent his resplendent beams abroad: the morning was damp\nand hazy, and upon the whole every thing looked dull and gloomy around us.\nWe were, however, occupying one of the most delightful positions in the\nplace--our inn being located on one corner of the beautiful enclosure in\nfront of the capitol or state-house, whence we could overlook almost the\nentire city. As I sat down by a window which commanded a view of the\nstate-house park, or square, my travelling companion directed my attention\nto a female, who with tattered vestments and feeble steps, was pacing\nbackwards and forwards one of the gravelled walks in the verdant enclosure\nbefore us. She was carrying in her arms a sickly looking infant, some nine\nor ten months old, and the whole appearance both of the mother and child,\nseemed to indicate that they were houseless wanderers, and had passed the\nnight without a shelter. As in her continued walks up and down the\ngravelled avenue, she occasionally approached near the window where we sat,\nI saw that she was about middle aged, and had evidently once had a fine and\nexpressive countenance, though the traces of sorrow and grief were now\ndeeply worn there.\n\nWe were called to our breakfast: as soon as it was dispatched we hurried\naway from our hotel to the grand railroad depot, whence we were to take our\ndeparture westward. On our way we passed directly by the gravelled walk,\nwhere we had seen the poor woman, who had so much excited our sympathy. She\nnow sat on the ground, her infant sleeping in her lap, and herself\napparently absorbed in melancholy. She was evidently of Irish extraction,\nand though her appearance bore evidence of extreme poverty, there were no\nindications about her of intemperance. I could not but think what a tale of\nsorrow, of disappointed hopes, and perhaps of cruelly blighted innocence,\nwould that Irish mother's history, if recorded, unfold. My thoughts\nimmediately went back to that beautiful Emerald Isle, over whose green\nfields I had so recently roamed. Though I had seen some misery there, I had\nseen much happiness and contentment. I verily believe there is often to be\nfound more real happiness in the mud cottage than in the gilded palace. The\nIrish have strong and generous feelings, and strong family affection. As I\nsaw that poor Irish mother sitting there upon the ground, so forlorn and\ndesolate, my imagination pictured to me her early home, where she passed\nher childhood beneath the glad eye of her affectionate parents. They saw\nher grow up, the pride of their heart, and thought that she would be the\nsolace of their declining years. But the tempter came--she was lured from\nher home--she passed over the deep waters, and found herself in a foreign\nland. Her base husband soon showed himself the degraded victim of\nintemperance, and after a few years deserted her--leaving her houseless,\nhomeless, in poverty, and broken-hearted sorrow. Perhaps in point of fact\nthere were no lines in the history of that poor Irish mother in\ncorrespondence with this picture, but I believe, if the real history of\nmany an emigrant from that green isle were known, we should feel more\nkindly to that people, and the heart and hand of Christian charity would be\nmore frequently open to relieve the destitute among them. I know not where\nwe shall find on earth such noble elements of character as in the Irish\nrace. I confess I have been charmed and filled with admiration with some\nspecimens I have met of Irish Christian gentlemen. I cannot turn my face\naway from any poor Irishman who asks alms at my door, unless he be\nmanifestly the victim of intemperance, and begs to procure the means of\nindulgence in this sin. It is true we are sometimes liable to be deceived.\nClothes and money are sometimes procured under false pretexts. But even\nthen they may minister to the comfort of the destitute, and if we have\ngiven for Christ's sake, we shall not lose our reward.\n\nI do not mean by these remarks to intimate that I regard it as a Christian\nduty to give to all without discrimination who ask alms at our hands--but\nsimply to say, that I think it better to give to twenty undeserving objects\nthan to turn our face away from one who is Christ's representative here on\nearth. (Mat. xxv. 35-46.) Neither do I mean to affirm, that there is not\ndanger of being deceived by some who make large demands upon us for\nassistance. In such cases we should undoubtedly proceed with great caution:\nand even then, after all, we may be beguiled. A case in point now occurs to\nme.\n\nWhile residing in New England, on a dull, cold, rainy Saturday afternoon,\nsome five years ago, I heard a ring at my door. As the servant did not\nimmediately appear to answer the call, I myself went to the door, where I\nfound two persons in shabby and tattered dress, standing on the steps, with\ntheir clothes dripping with rain. The female was the first to speak,\ninquiring if I would not render some assistance to a distressed couple, who\nwere extremely destitute, and far from country and home. The tones of her\nvoice were so sweet and gentle, her manners so modest and unobtrusive, and\nthe language which she used so well chosen, and even elegant, I felt\nconvinced that they had indeed seen better days, and I should have done the\ngreatest violence to my feelings, and every better principle of my nature,\nhad I not opened my door and bid them enter. After they had dried\nthemselves by the fire, and partaken of some refreshment, I asked them to\ntell me their history. The outline of it was as follows:--They were both\nnatives of Ireland, where they had always resided till about four years\nsince. Mrs. S----, the name of this female, and the wife of the man who\naccompanied her, was the daughter of a clergyman of the Established Church,\nwho was vicar of a parish in Ireland, the name of which I do not now\nrecollect. She was brought up in great tenderness and highly educated, as\nshe was an only daughter. Being a novel reader and full of romantic ideas,\nshe took it into her head to fall in love with a young bricklayer, who was\nengaged in working upon a house that was building near the vicarage. She\nfound means of meeting him unknown to her parents, and they were soon\nengaged to be married. At the appointed time she stole away secretly from\nhome, met her lover at a specified spot, and then they went together to a\ndistant part of the country, where they were married. She then sent home to\nher parents, confessing the whole affair. They were very indignant, and\nreturned so severe an answer, that she and her husband concluded to embark\nat once for America.--They soon put their resolution into execution, and\nafter a very long voyage found themselves at Montreal, without any means of\nsubsistence. Her husband succeeded in obtaining some employment, so that\nthey lived along comfortably for nearly a year. About this time she became\nthe mother of a little daughter; and accidentally hearing that the Rev. Mr.\n----, who was a brother of her mother's, and had been in this country\nseveral years, was residing at Troy, she persuaded her husband to go with\nher in quest of her uncle. When they reached Troy, they found that there\nwas no Rev. Mr. ---- residing there. Here they lived for some time, Mr.\nS---- hiring himself out to a builder, who was carrying on a large business\nthere. After S---- had earned about one hundred dollars besides his living,\nthis builder unexpectedly failed, and absconded without paying off any of\nhis hands. S---- was again left in poverty, and without employment. A few\nmonths before, their little babe had sickened and died. They had recently\nheard that their relative resided in Boston. They therefore started off\nwith the hope of finding him: having at length reached Northampton in great\ndestitution, they made known their situation to the Rev. Dr. P----, who\nrelieved them from present distress, and informed them that the clergyman\nwhom they were seeking lived in Philadelphia. With a view of going thither\nthey had come to the place where I resided. The whole story appeared\nnatural, and though they told it to a number of different individuals, they\nnever contradicted themselves. Mr. S---- was rough and uncultivated--just\nsuch a man as a bricklayer would be. On the other hand Mrs. S---- was\nevidently an accomplished lady. She was acquainted with books, played on\nthe piano forte, and sung beautifully. A clergyman bearing the name of the\none whom she claimed as her uncle, actually resided in Philadelphia, and\nhad not long since visited England and Ireland, as she said. I could detect\nno incongruity in any part of the narrative. They remained with us a\nweek--during which time a number of our friends fitted them both out with\nnew apparel, and procured for them the means of travelling with comfort to\nPhiladelphia. I have seldom known so much sympathy to be awakened for\ndestitute strangers as there was in their case. Several individuals\naccompanied them to the steamboat when they left, and wished them God\nspeed. I sent by them a letter to the Rev. Mr. ---- informing him of the\nfacts above related. This was the last I ever heard of them! I saw the Rev.\nMr. ---- in a few months; he informed me he had never received the letter,\nthat he had no relatives in Ireland, and that so far as he was concerned it\nmust have been a sheer fabrication. My friends and myself, when these facts\ncame to our knowledge, had a hearty laugh over this affair, and though we\nregretted that this Irish couple had used such deception, at least in one\nparticular we did not regret that we had fed the hungry, clothed the\nnaked, and sent them on their way with solemn admonitions about the\nsalvation of their souls.\n\nVery little of interest is to be seen on the way between Albany and\nSchenectady across those sandy plains, save the distant tops of the\nCattskill to the south, and the misty summits of the Green mountains to the\nnorth. Our course from Schenectady up the valley of the Mohawk was very\ndelightful. The beautiful sylvan scenery up this valley, with its broken\nsheets of water, and dark rich verdure, reminded me of some scenes in\nEngland, which I can never forget. I need not describe the grand and rugged\nmountain scenery which nature has thrown up in forms of singular wildness\naround the _Little Falls_, nor the upland and undulating country through\nwhich one has to pass to reach the spot whence I write.\n\nHere then, I am, far away from the strife of tongues, the agitations of\nbusiness, and the dust and din of the city. The green hills are all around\nme, presenting a coat of dark rich verdure, which shows that they have not\nthis season felt the blight of the withering and far-spread drought. All\namid these retired hills appears full of quietness and repose--a fit place\nin which to study one's own heart and try to get nearer to heaven. I\nattended the other evening, what in England would be denominated _a cottage\nmeeting_. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood were gathered together in a\nprivate house, and after suitable devotions conducted by the pastor, the\npeople were familiarly and solemnly addressed on the subject of their\nimmortal interests. These meetings, I understand, are held weekly in\ndifferent parts of the village, and will, I doubt not, carry salvation to\nmany a house. What an inexpressible blessing is a faithful pastor, who\ncares for the flock, and uses every means in his power to guide them in the\nway everlasting!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nWESTERN NEW YORK.\n\n\n                              _Fairfield, N. Y., Oct. 1._\n\nWithin the last week I have made an excursion into the central part of\nWestern New York. I never fail, while travelling through this region, to be\nimpressed with the conviction, that this is the garden of America! The soil\nitself has in every field you pass, and upon every hill-side and vale to\nwhich you turn your eye, ten thousand witnesses to attest its astonishing\nfertility. And then there are treasures beneath the soil more valuable than\nsilver or gold, in the vast beds of lime and plaster, and the exhaustless\nsaline springs, scattered at different points over this region. Here, also,\nyou have beautiful scenery in ten thousand varied forms: and if you wish to\nview nature in one of her more awful moods, you have only to draw near and\nlisten to the tremendous roar of Niagara, and see the collected waters of\nan hundred lakes, dashed headlong in one great, furious tide, down the vast\nprecipice, to the deep, rocky channel below.\n\nI am sure the traveller who passes along the old post-road from Utica to\nBuffalo, and sees the hundred beautiful villages, the noble forests, the\nmajestic trees, the rich foliage, the luxuriant orchards, the luscious\nfruits, the crops of yellow wheat, the fields of waving corn, the vast\nenclosures of dark, fertile soil, the peaceful lakes and silvery streams\nthat everywhere meet the eye, will exclaim, THE GARDEN OF AMERICA! And then\nwhen he sees all this beautiful region intersected by canals and bound\ntogether by turnpikes, railroads, and lake and steam navigation, he will\nfeel that Western New York possesses advantages of a most singular and\nsuperior character!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLast year in some few sketches of a tour to the West, a brief description\nwas given of Geneva. This sweet village, take it all in all, I must regard\nas the gem of Western New York. I cannot conceive of a more lovely place\nfor residence than this beautiful village on the banks of Seneca lake.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was towards the close of the day that I reached this place, a spot with\nwhich so many sweet and sacred recollections were connected in my mind. My\ndestination for the night was a few miles beyond it in the country. The\nroad along which I passed lay through a scene full of sylvan beauty,\ndisclosing every half mile to the eye of the traveller through the opening\nof the trees a beautiful view of a portion of the lake, that now slept in\nthe sweet evening calm, tranquil as a sea of glass. The house of our\nfriends was at length reached--and there were such greetings and gladness\nof heart, as they only feel who have been long and far separated from each\nother, with but little hope that they should ever again meet this side of\neternity.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nA SUMMER TOUR.\n\n     Retirement--Seneca Lake--Burlington, N. J.--Brooklyn,\n     N. Y.\n\n\nThe following chapters are made up of letters detailing incidents of travel\nconnected with a tour from Philadelphia to Rhode Island, and from thence\ninto Western New York, during the summer of 1840.\n\n\n                                         _Seneca, July 22._\n\nAlthough nearly five weeks have elapsed since I left Philadelphia, I have\nnot, till the present time, had an opportunity of redeeming my promise in\ngiving you the sketches I promised. I am now enjoying what I have been\nsighing for ever since I started on my summer excursion, _quietude_ and\n_seclusion_. Here I am encompassed with delightful rural scenery, and\npassing the livelong day undisturbed by the calls of either friends or\nparishioners making demands upon my time or services.\n\nI cannot understand, how those who reside in the city and who escape for a\nweeks in summer from the dust, and din, and heat, and ceaseless cares that\nassail them amid the scenes of their daily occupation, can from choice fly\nfor recreation to other cities, or to fashionable watering places, where\nthey are sure to encounter all the inconveniences they have left behind,\nwith scarcely any of their home comforts. To me it would seem infinitely\nmore desirable to seek \"a lodge in some vast wilderness--some boundless\ncontiguity of shade.\" Indeed I must say, I very much prefer a wholly rural\ndistrict, to the most picturesque country village, in which to spend the\nfew weeks during which I am to seek to recruit my health, and prepare for\nthe duties and labors that await me on my return to the city. In such a\nsituation one has not to make a constant effort to be agreeable. You can\nsit down and vegetate for a while, without being called upon to make any\nintellectual exertion whatever. Here one can sit or walk, wake or sleep,\nlounge or ride, as he chooses; he can read or write, or stroll forth amid\nthe quiet fields, or sit beneath the shade of some wide-spreading tree.\nThere is much in such a scene to hush all stormy passions to repose--to\ntranquilize one's existence, and to lift up the heart in devout aspirations\nto God.\n\nMy location for a few weeks is in just such a rural district near the banks\nof Seneca Lake, a beautiful expanse of water, of which I will tell you more\nhereafter. Around me are scattered farm-houses and orchards, and smiling\nfields, interspersed here and there with remaining fragments of that once\nmighty forest, that in the early history of this country waved in unbroken\nmajesty from the shores of one lake to another. Here we see all the beauty\nof dark, deep, American foliage, and all the light, glowing brightness of\nAmerican verdure, so strikingly in contrast with the English. On every side\nof me, I see from the window where I sit writing, the busy scenes of the\nhay harvest--the mowers swinging their scythes or pausing for a moment to\nwhet the shining steel--the young lads, full of the life and spring of\njoyous youth, spreading the new mown grass--the rakers gathering up the hay\ninto winnows, or rolling it into heaps; and the loaded wains creaking under\nthe burthen of the fragrant products of the meadow, slowly moving towards\nthe barn or the rising stack. I look across to another field, and there\nwaves in silent beauty the newly tasselled corn; while in a third, I see\nthe golden headed wheat, gently nodding in the breeze, or bowing before the\nkeen stroke of the cradler, or the more slow, but no less sure onward\nmovement of the reaper. Above this rural scene spreads a cloudless canopy,\nand upon it the great luminary of day is pouring a flood of brightness. The\nsky, however, is not always cloudless here--the heavens not always\nserene--nor the day always bright, as I shall have occasion to relate to\nyou before finishing these sketches.\n\nHaving thus informed you something of my present locality, I will return to\nthe commencement of my journey, and if you and your readers will follow me\nin a tour along a very common-place track, I will endeavor to furnish them\nand you with such GLEANINGS BY THE WAY as I was able to make.\n\nOur first landing place after turning our backs upon Philadelphia, was\nBurlington, N. J., where we spent a week in the most delightful manner.\nOften as I had passed that place by steamboat or rail road car, and much as\nI had admired its location, a single stroll along the green bank that\nskirts the Delaware, shaded as it is with luxuriant and full grown trees,\nconvinced me that I had never appreciated one half of the beauties of this\nsweet spot. The country seat of one of my parishioners, located on GREEN\nBANK, amid the thickest and tallest cluster of those trees which add so\nmuch beauty to the whole extent of the river side, was the hospitable\nmansion where we spent our time--and from which we could look out and watch\nthe changing phases of the river, the passing of the steamers, the\ngarniture of the fields beyond, the glowing tints of the evening sky, and\nthe golden glories of the setting sun. We enjoyed our walks along the\nverdant bank and over the green lawn--we enjoyed our little excursions\nacross the river in the row-boat--but most of all we enjoyed that sweet\nChristian converse we were permitted to have with the kind friends beneath\nwhose hospitable roof we lodged.\n\nStrangers in passing Burlington are usually attracted by the singular\nappearance of one particular mansion that stands near the banks of the\nriver, surmounted by a small cross. Although this is sometimes mistaken for\na church, I need not tell you it is the residence of the Bishop of New\nJersey. This structure to an American eye, at first sight, has rather an\nuncouth appearance; but this impression will be corrected in the mind of\nevery one who takes the trouble to visit this Episcopal palace. The\ninterior arrangements are delightful, and exhibit great taste. While\ntraversing its spacious apartments, we were strikingly reminded of some\nantiquated structures that we saw in England. During our stay at\nBurlington, the Bishop was absent. The institution of St. Mary's Hall is,\nof course, one of the things that will be likely to attract the attention\nof a visitor to this place. I was invited by the superintendant to attend\nthe family worship of the young ladies connected with this institution on\nSunday evening. The evening service of the Liturgy was read; after which,\nby the request of the superintendent, I addressed a few words of Christian\ncounsel to the assembled group. I have seldom seen a more interesting or\nintelligent company of young beings than those who then sat before me; and\nthe solemn attention and evident sensibility with which they listened, led\nme to hope that under the Christian culture they were receiving, in\nconnection with their intellectual training, they would all at last be\nfound among the sheep of Christ's heavenly fold.\n\nOur time passed quickly away while we remained at Burlington, and the hour\nwe had fixed for our departure, came by far too soon. But life itself is\nlike a journey, and to all our bright sunny spots here below, we have to\nbid an adieu almost as soon as we have reached them. Our next stopping\nplace, after leaving Burlington, was Brooklyn, N. Y., where we were\nwelcomed to the hospitalities of the spacious domicile of a Christian\nfriend, to whom our hearts were knit in strong attachment, when existence\nwith us was fresher than it now is. O, it is delightful to find, in this\ncold, heartless, fickle world, one who remains amid all the fluctuations of\nthis changeful scene, the same; one, who, after the lapse of years, and\nwho, though borne high upon the swelling tide of worldly prosperity,\ncontinues to the end the same simple, warm-hearted friend and consistent\nheavenly-minded Christian that he was at the first starting point of life.\nSuch was the friend in the bosom of whose happy family we were permitted to\nabide during our stay at Brooklyn.\n\nI shall by no means attempt to enter into a detail of the scenes or\nincidents connected with our visit to New York, or Brooklyn; but there are\ntwo things which I am not disposed to pass entirely by.\n\nI was present during a portion of the exercises of the commencement of the\nNew York Seminary, and felt particularly interested in the Address of\nBishop Ives to the graduating class. It contained exceedingly well-timed\ncounsel, calculated to produce a most salutary effect upon the minds, not\nonly of those about to assume the responsibilities of the sacred office,\nbut of all those engaged in the exercise of its functions. The subject was\nthe indispensable necessity of humility to the clerical character. There\nwas a pathos and force and unction about the Bishop's remarks, that we\nthink must have gone home to every heart.\n\nHad we among us universally that lowliness of mind and gentleness of spirit\nwhich the Bishop so happily pourtrayed and so delightfully enforced, we\nshould soon learn, both laity and clergy, in the great essentials to \"be\nall of one mind; to love as brethren; to be courteous; to be patient toward\nall men, not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but\ncontrarywise blessing.\" May the Lord speed the happy day when all the\nmembers and ministers of our Church may \"_be clothed with humility_\"--may\nhave as the controlling principle of their lives, dwelling in them and\npervading all their thoughts and actions, \"_the meekness and gentleness of\nChrist_.\"\n\nThe other particular to which I referred as worthy of some passing notice,\nI shall have to reserve for my next chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nGREEN WOOD CEMETERY.\n\n     Brooklyn--Improvements--Ride--Approach to the\n     Cemetery--Views--Beautiful scenes.\n\n\n                                          _Seneca, July 29th._\n\nIn my last I conducted you on my journey as far as Brooklyn, N. Y. My\ntemporary stay there was at South Brooklyn, a portion of that enterprising\ntown which has been but recently built up. Scarcely any thing during my\ntour has more astonished me than the wonderful growth of this place. From a\nlittle rural village, it has grown up, in a few years, to a city, which,\nthough it cannot pretend to rival the mighty metropolis that lies spread\nout in gigantic dimensions on the other side of the river, can still number\nits _thirty_ or _forty_ thousand inhabitants. One of the causes that have\ncontributed to the rapid growth of this town, is its vicinity to New York.\nGentlemen engaged in business in New York, find it pleasant and healthful\nto have their residences located upon the hills of Brooklyn, which look off\nupon the beautiful bay, and are daily fanned with fresh breezes from the\nocean. While Brooklyn is thus increasing in population, I was happy to find\nthat a corresponding increase was observable in its religious institutions\nand houses of public worship. The temporary edifice occupied by the\ncongregation of Christ Church, of which our friend the Rev. K. G---- is\nrector, is soon to be abandoned, and a new and beautiful Gothic structure\nis to be erected for the occupancy of that congregation. I was greatly\ndelighted with what I saw of this congregation. The labours of our brother\nseem to have been peculiarly blessed. He has gathered around him a most\ninteresting people, and God has sent among them already multiplied tokens\nof his converting grace. Whereever the Gospel is faithfully, and earnestly\npreached, and its holy precepts illustrated in the daily walk and\nconversation of those who \"bear the vessels of the Lord,\" religion will\nprosper, and the church become like the garden of the Lord.\n\nBut I commenced this letter with a view of giving you an account of another\nmatter, referred to in my last--a visit to the Green Wood Cemetery.\n\nThe friend with whom I was staying, charged me not to think of leaving\nBrooklyn without paying a visit to this Cemetery. I had heard something of\nthese picturesque grounds, but had formed no adequate conception of their\nbeauty. Several racy and graphic notices, from time to time, have appeared\nin the New York papers, as I since learned, of this magnificent ground\nplot, where is to be constructed a vast subterranean city for the dead.\nNone of these, however, had fallen under my eye, and I therefore did not go\nprepared to witness the magnificent scene of wild and sylvan beauty, that a\nride over these grounds revealed to me. My visit to this spot almost\ninstantly unfolded to me the origin and propriety of its name, GREEN WOOD\nCEMETERY--a large portion of the grounds being covered with green wood.\nThe great interest of this spot arises from the natural beauty of the\ngrounds in connection with the association of the purpose to which it has\nbeen devoted: for as yet not a grave has been dug here, nor a monument\nreared.\n\nIt was a bright sunny morning, while a bland balmy sea breeze refreshed the\nair, in which we started to visit the Green Wood Cemetery. We rode from\nSouth Brooklyn along on the margin of the bay, some two miles or more, till\nwe had passed the little village of Gowanus, before we ascertained the\nexact locality of this future city of the dead. A short distance beyond the\nvillage just named, at a spot signalized in the Revolutionary war as the\nscene of a bloody engagement, we left the road, and entered a lane leading\nto the grounds of this Cemetery. This lane, from the gate onward, had all\nthe appearance of wild and uncultivated rusticity, being shut in on either\nside with a sort of rude hedge, and shaded by forest trees and brushwood.\nFor a while it conducted us through cultivated grounds, and we saw on each\nside of us, rich fields of grain, and corn growing in all the luxuriance of\nsummer. Soon, however, this lane in its winding and upward course brought\nus into a scene perfectly sylvan, and woodland in its character. There was\na stillness and seclusion around us that impressed us with the idea that we\nwere in the depths of a vast forest,--such as we might expect to find a\nthousand miles from the great metropolis, whose steeples, and shipping, and\nscenes of vast activity were visible a few rods from the spot we now\noccupied. We had already entered upon the grounds of the Cemetery. They\nconsist of about two hundred acres. I never before saw the same extent of\nterritory combining such vast variety of scenery. There is here forest and\nfield, hill and dale, streamlet and lake in such variety, and singular\njuxtaposition, that in following the circuitous avenue that conducts you\nover these grounds in a ride of four miles, one is impressed with the idea\nthat he has been travelling over a very extended district of country. It\nwas not only the grounds themselves, but the views we caught of distant\nobjects, from different points of the winding avenue, that helped to give\neffect to this whole scene. As we proceeded, every turn of the carriage\nwheel, either brought to view some new developement of striking sylvan\nbeauty, or opened upon us some new feature of loveliness, or grandeur in\nthe surrounding prospect. At one point we were completely embosomed in\ntrees, where all was stillness and deep repose as though we were shut up in\nsome remote dell, amid the lofty and rugged Alleghanies. Then again we\nemerged into smiling plains, and sunny fields, and smooth lawns of deepest\ngreen. Again our path conducted us into a dense forest, and we directly\nfound ourselves upon the wooded brow of a steep declivity, sweeping off\ndown to the margin of a little silent lake, whose dark shaded waters gave\nback with more than pictorial beauty, every tree and limb, and leaf whose\nshadow fell upon their surface: and then soon we again emerged from this\nforest scene, and found grassy fields, and an extended open country lie\nstretching around us. The winding avenue which we traced, every few rods\nbrought us to a point of observation, where the surrounding scenery, made\nup of bays and islands, rivers and mountains, cities and villages, farms\nand country houses, and forests, put on a new phase, and, like the turn of\na kaleidoscope, presented a new and still more beautiful picture to the\neye.\n\nThe highest elevation of land in these grounds, is near their centre, and\nis said to be the highest point of land upon Long Island,--it manifestly is\nthe highest point in this part of the Island. It is called Mount\nWashington, from a determination already formed on the part of the\nproprietors of this ground, to erect upon its summit a lofty and\nmagnificent monument to the Father of his country. From this elevated\npoint, a panoramic view of surpassing beauty, in almost illimitable\nperspective, opens upon the eye. In one direction you see the blue waves of\nthe outstretched ocean, upon which are visible all along the margin of the\nhorizon, the whitened canvass of a hundred receding or approaching vessels;\nwhile in the intervening space, are seen the plains of Flatland and\nFlatbush, covered with grain, and verdure, and orchards, and forests,\nvillages, hamlets, and farm-houses. Turning directly around, the whole bay\nof New York, with its beauteous islands, and the two magnificent rivers,\nwhose mingled waters form the bay, together with the great metropolis\nitself, burst upon the view. Or to trace the prospect more leisurely:--at\none point, you see in the distance, Sandy Hook, and the Lighthouse; and a\nlittle further to the right, Staten Island, the Lazaretto, Brighton, and\nthe Jersey shore: still farther to the right appears Jersey City,--the\nwaters of the broad Hudson, and along its banks, the palisades, and, still\nhigher up, the highlands fading away in the dim distance. At a point in the\nlandscape much nearer us rises to view the city of New York with its canopy\nof perpetual haze,--its hundred spires, and encircling forests of masts,\nwhile in still closer vicinage we can trace the East River, with all its\nbusy show of commerce, and see Brooklyn sitting like a bridal queen upon\nthis shore of the island.\n\nWe have often followed the remains of some friend, or parishioner, to the\npicturesque grounds of our own LAUREL HILL--we have _traced_ each winding\nwalk among the groves and tombs of MOUNT VERNON, and gazed upon the various\nmonuments, the sculptured tombs, the dark shrubbery, and encircling scenery\nof _Pere la Chaise_; but we have no where seen such combined beauties, and\nnatural advantages for a rural cemetery, as in the grounds which we have\nhere attempted to describe. And what will these grounds be some hundred\nyears hence, when art shall have reared up in every vale, around the margin\nof every lake, and upon every hill-side a thousand marble monuments, and\nwhen a larger population shall be ensepulchred here, than the living mass\nof beings that now inhabit New York and Brooklyn? What multitudes and\nmyriads will those two cities within the next hundred years send to be\nentombed here! How will the population of this subterranean city go on\nincreasing, till all these acres are covered over with piles of human dust!\nAnd what a scene will be exhibited here, when the last trumpet sounds! What\nmyriads will start up here at that call! \"For all that are in their graves\nshall hear his voice and come forth!\" And how solemn the truth which the\nSaviour subjoins,--\"they that have done good unto the resurrection of life,\nand they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation!\"\n\nI have lingered so long about the grounds of Green Wood Cemetery, that I\ncan tell you nothing in my present letter about our excursion to Rhode\nIsland.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nRHODE ISLAND.\n\n     Sail up the Sound--Burning of the\n     Lexington--Providence--Meeting of old friends--Mr.\n     Emerson--Transcendentalism--Westerly.\n\n\n                                         _Seneca, August 1._\n\nIn my last I was principally occupied in giving you some account of the\npicturesque grounds of Green Wood Cemetery. It was on Tuesday afternoon,\nthe thirtieth of June, at five o'clock, that we started in the well-built\nand beautiful steamer MASSACHUSETTS, on our way upon an excursion to Rhode\nIsland. The scenery along the East River and up the Sound presents\nevidences of higher cultivation, but possesses features of less native\npicturesque wildness and rural beauty, than that which opens to view along\nthe pathway of the Hudson. The atmosphere we encountered on our way to the\nsteamboat issuing from every street of the great metropolis we had just\nleft, was like the heat from a burning furnace. In delightful contrast with\nthis, was the cool refreshing breeze that played around the bow of our\nadvancing steamer, as we tracked our way up the river and along through the\nwhirlpools and breakers of Hurlgate, a pass far more formidable, and\nrequiring vastly more nautical skill than the famous Straits of Pelorus\nwith Scylla on one side and Charybdis on the other. The evening was\nbeautiful, and our sail up the Sound proved truly delightful. The last rays\nof twilight were beginning to fade away, and the countless stars studding\nthe arched firmament, to twinkle with unwonted brightness, when we reached\nthe spot where we were told the ill-fated LEXINGTON met her disastrous end.\nI could not but contrast the scene around me at the moment with the events\nof that awful night. We were sailing along over the tranquil and starlit\nbosom of the Sound, with the balmy breath of a summer evening fanning us:\nwith no alarms within,--no raging tempest without. But on that fearful\nnight, and aboard that ill-fated vessel, what a scene was exhibited! What\namazement and terror and dismay must have seized every heart when the\nconflagration broke forth in all its fury! What added exceedingly to the\nexcitement, and no doubt tended greatly to bereave many of all\nself-possession and presence of mind, was that the fire burst out in the\ncentral part of the steamer, cutting off all communication between those\noccupying the forward and the hinder part of the boat. Thus, in this moment\nof awful peril, husbands and wives,--parents and children, brothers and\nsisters were suddenly separated from each other by a wall of fire, and\ndeprived of each other's counsel when most they needed it: and thus they\nwere filled with increased alarm, not only for themselves, but for each\nother. Alas! this was an hour when no man could help his brother,--when the\nparent could neither save himself nor his children. If they remained on\nboard the burning vessel, they must be consumed. If they plunged into the\nroaring waves they would sink into the depths beneath, and find there a\nwatery grave: or if they should escape the fury of the waves by clinging\nto a bale of cotton, or some floating part of the wreck, the chill winds of\nwinter, and the icy waters that dashed over them, would soon stagnate and\nfreeze to the very fountain the warm current of life. Thus all the elements\nof nature were armed against them, flame, and flood, and frost, and they\ncould not escape. No imagination can conceive the horror or agony of the\nscene! I leaned over the side of our steamer, as we passed the spot where\nthis awful scene occurred, and tried to picture to myself some of its\noutlines. Even the picture which rose before me was too awful to\ncontemplate.\n\nWhat a lesson that disaster ought to teach us of our entire dependence upon\nGod for safety while travelling by land or by sea! What an admonition ought\nit to sound in our ears to be always ready for death! We know not the day\nnor the hour in which the Son of Man cometh! Our death may be as sudden,\nand as unexpected, as that of any of those on board the Lexington, though\nit occur in our own dwelling, and in the bosom of our family. If we are\ntruly the Lord's people, and our names are in the Lamb's book of life, it\nmatters little _when_, or _where_ death meets us: for then the grizly king\nbecomes the friendly porter that opens to us the golden gates of paradise.\n\nThe more usual course that passengers now pursue to Providence and Boston\nis to stop at Stonington, and take the railroad cars from that point. By\nthis means they reach Providence and Boston several hours earlier than they\nwere accustomed to by the old route. But as the steamboat arrives at\nStonington long before morning, we were not disposed to leave our quiet\nberths for the sake of reaching Providence some three or four hours earlier\nthan we otherwise should, and therefore kept on in the old course around\nPoint Judith touching at Newport.\n\nThe time that we spent at Providence in the midst of our old friends, I\nneed not tell you, was passed most delightfully. The church where I once\npreached the reconciling word, the lecture-room where I saw countenances\nthat called up with thrilling emotions the memory of days and scenes that\nwill be fresh in my recollection through all eternity,--the private circle\nwhere cordial greetings, and more than Highland welcomes met us, all these\nand the countless associations they awakened, seemed to throw around us\nsuch a circle of enchantment, that, when the time had elapsed which we had\ndesigned to spend there, we still lingered from day to day, as though\nunable to pass that circle. If there be one draught of enjoyment more\ndelicious than another which a Christian minister is permitted to drink\nthis side of heaven, it is, when after years of absence, he returns to\nvisit the flock from whom in the providence of God he was removed, and with\nwhom his labours were once greatly blessed, and finds those for whose\nsalvation he laboured, and whom he was instrumental in introducing into the\nfold of the Redeemer, \"standing fast in the Lord,\" and exhibiting \"the\nfruits of the Spirit;\" or learns that those who are gone, and are numbered\nwith the dead, departed in the triumphs of Christian faith. St. John could\nsay, \"_I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the\ntruth._\" And St. Paul, \"_For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord._\"\nThe highest zest of the pleasure I enjoyed in this visit to the scene of my\nformer labours, arose from what I saw and heard of the stability, and\nincreased spirituality of a people with whom I hope to sit down one day,\nin company with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God.\n\nYou are familiar with the whole topography of Rhode Island, and therefore I\nneed say nothing of the interblending of rural scenery and retirement, with\ncity embellishment and comfort, which so eminently distinguish not a few of\nthe neat and elegant residences in Providence. There is one feature in the\nmoral character of this city, which distinguishes it from most other New\nEngland towns. In almost all New England the great mass of mind is\neducated, and the people upon all subjects think for themselves. Generally,\nhowever, especially in the interior, the descendants of the Puritans,\ncleave in religious matters to the faith of their forefathers, and are\nopposed to all change. But in Rhode Island, there has always been a more\nliberal, and free-thinking spirit on the subject of religion than in any of\nthe other New England states.--It was here that Roger Williams fled when\nhis Puritan brethren would not tolerate him in the Bay state. It was\nthrough his influence that a more enlightened feeling in reference to\nreligious toleration was made to pervade the community settling at\nProvidence, than was found at that period in any other New England town.\nAnd probably there is no place in our country, where, at this time, a more\nkind and catholic spirit, or a greater freedom from the influence of\nnarrow, sectarian feeling prevails, than here. This tolerant spirit,\nhowever, in some minds, manifests a strong tendency to latitudinarianism.\nHence, perhaps, there is no community in the world where a new religious\nsect would so soon gather intelligent adherents as at Providence, and no\nwhere, where more sound and able, and fearless advocates would rise up to\ndefend \"the faith once delivered to the saints.\" I have been led into this\ntrain of reflection, from encountering a greater prevalence of the\ntranscendental spirit, at Providence, than I have anywhere before met in\nour country. This offshoot of German neology, issuing from the same parent\nstock with Socinianism, finds a congenial soil in a Unitarian community.\nYou are aware that the Rev. Mr. Emerson, formerly a Unitarian minister at\nBoston, has embraced transcendentalism in all its heights and depths.\nWhether he be actually deranged, as some suppose, or not, matters very\nlittle, since multitudes, and some who desire to be classed among the\n_elite_ of the land, are ready to gather around him and receive the law of\ntheir belief from his mouth. He has recently made a visit to Providence,\nand developed by means of lectures and conversations, his peculiar views.\nHe is spoken of as a man of genius, and wonderfully attractive. He is a\nthorough pantheist. He believes that every thing in nature is a part of\nGod--that good men are incarnations of Deity, and that it was in this sense\nalone, that God is said to be \"_made flesh_\" in the person of Jesus Christ.\nHe places Socrates, and Zoroaster and Jesus in the same category, and\nconsiders that they differed from each other only in the degree of\ninspiration which they had. He thinks that the writings of Socrates and\nPlato, and Zoroaster should be bound up in the same volume with the Bible,\nand that they are entitled to more confidence, and marked with deeper\nwisdom than some portions of our present canon of Scripture.\n\nDuring Mr. Emerson's stay at Providence, having advanced some crude idea,\nhe was referred to a saying of the Saviour, which contradicted his\nposition: when he very deliberately replied, \"_Jesus was mistaken_.\" On\nanother occasion speaking of the Saviour, he said: \"Jesus was a very good\nman, I wish he had been better: he had no fun, no humour in his character,\nin this respect he was imperfect.\" Such are some of the specimens of gross\ninfidelity, which the abettors of transcendentalism in New England, openly\nput forth. The charm of this transcendental scheme consists partly in the\nmetaphysical mystification, the sentimental namby-pambyism,--the crazed\npoetic inspiration, with which the masters of this school speak and write.\nThen there is much to soothe and flatter the pride of the human heart, in\nthe idea which they would have every man take up that he is a pure\nemanation of Deity,--a bright scintillation from the divine mind, and that\nall he has to do, is to follow the lofty inspirations of his own mind, and\nthen he will sparkle forth along the track of being, an incarnate God. One\nvery truly remarked in relation to transcendentalism, that it was no new\ndoctrine,--that it was taught as long ago as when man was in the garden of\nEden: even then, the father of lies, said to our first ancestors, eat the\nforbidden fruit, and \"_ye shall be as gods_.\"\n\nIn the midst of abounding iniquity and multiplying error, it behoves the\nfriends of truth to stand on the watch tower and give the people timely\nwarning. I felt greatly refreshed and truly delighted in various interviews\nwith the clergy whom I met in Rhode Island. My mind naturally reverted to\nthe scenes of former days, when I was so pleasantly associated with them,\nand when we used to meet at the monthly Convocations as a band of brothers,\nhaving one heart and one mind, and labouring together for one simple\nobject, the upbuilding of the Saviour's kingdom and the glory of God. Great\nchanges since that period have taken place. Some of these brethren have\ngone to the north, and some to the south--some to the east, and some to the\nwest; and yet the character of the Rhode Island clergy continues the same.\nTake them all in all, I know of no set of men more thoroughly evangelical\nor more truly devoted to the best interests of the Church of Christ; or\noccupying a more elevated stand for piety and learning and talents, than\nthe clergy of Rhode Island.\n\nI passed a few days at Westerly, and could not but remember with gratitude\nmy first visit to this place some six years ago. As I saw the beautiful\nchurch--the neat parsonage house--the respectable congregation, and the\nmultiplied tokens of true piety around me, I could not but say, \"_What hath\nGod wrought!_\" Never can I doubt that the power of God is connected with\n_Revivals of religion_, while I remember the scenes of Westerly--while so\nmany \"fruits of the Spirit\" remain, of consistent, devoted, exemplary\nfollowers of Christ, brought to a knowledge of the truth in a revival.\nBecause men get up imitations of the work of the Lord, as the magicians did\nof the miracles of Moses, it does not invalidate the Lord's work any more\nthan those magical attempts did the truth of his miracles.\n\nI have room only to add, if the Lord permits, you will soon hear from me\nagain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nTHE SUDDEN STORM.\n\n     Rapid travelling--Auburn--Stage coach--Seneca\n     Lake--Summer's sultry heat--Sudden change--Fierce\n     tempest--Imminent peril.\n\n\n                                         _Seneca, August 6th._\n\nIn our journey to this place, we had a practical illustration of the\nincreased facilities and greatly accelerated movements of modern\ntravelling. Having left New York on Wednesday evening, the fifteenth of\nJuly, at five o'clock, we found ourselves the next evening, before nine\no'clock, at Auburn--a distance but little short of three hundred and fifty\nmiles, which was passed over, omitting, in our reckoning, the time spent at\nAlbany, Utica, and Syracuse, in about twenty-one hours.\n\nI cannot now stop to notice the refreshing influence of the broad-swelling\ntide of the noble Hudson as we sailed up this stream--nor the picturesque\naspect of the palisades--nor the more sublime features of the rugged and\nsombre highlands, throwing their dark shadows upon the moonlit waters\nbelow; neither can I now stay to tell you any thing of the improvements in\nthe capital of the great empire state, nor of the improving aspect of the\ninterior city, which stands, as it were, on the dividing line between\nEastern and Western New York--nor yet of the peculiarities of the rising\ntown, which is the centre and the great emporium of the salt trade, and\nwhich has appropriated to itself the dignified name of the renowned city\nwhere the great Archimides met his fate. Passing by all these, with\nrailroad speed, and all the varied beauties of a magnificent agricultural\nregion, I hasten to give you some account of an adventure in which we found\nourselves involved just before arriving at this place. The railroad is\ncompleted no farther than Auburn, from which place we were obliged to come\non in a common stage coach. The morning was very hot and dusty, and our\nride, although only about twenty miles, seemed long and tedious. The driver\nof our coach, in order to avoid the deep sand between Waterloo and Geneva,\ntook the lake-road, which brought us on to the beach of the lake, about\nthree miles from Geneva. From this point, on quite to the village, we keep\nalong upon the circling margin of the lake, with the waters of the broad\nSeneca dashing up over the pebbly shore, almost laving with every returning\nsurge the carriage wheels. Here too we see the whole expanse of the lake,\nwhich is about three miles wide, together with the beautiful farms that\nsweep away from the shores back into the country; and are also able to\nfollow the long track of these far stretching waters many miles towards\ntheir head. Upon a noble and finely-elevated bluff of land which forms the\nshore and northwestern corner of this beautiful lake, the village of\nGeneva, with its colleges and churches, and stores and elegant residences,\nsurrounded with gardens and embowered in shade, lies spread out in one\nnoble panoramic view. We had reached the point where all this scene of\nbeauty opened upon us. We thought we never saw the lake more placid--nor\nall nature more quiet. Every thing seemed to be oppressed with the weight\nof the sultry and heated atmosphere. Immediately around us was a rural\ndistrict, from the living features of which Thomson might have drawn all\nthe pictures that make up one scene of his SUMMER. A various group of herds\nand flocks were scattered around us. Some lay ruminating on the grassy\nbank; while others stood half in the flood, and \"often bent to sip the\ncircling surface.\" Deeper in the lake drooped the strong laborious ox \"of\nhonest front, which incomposed he shook;\" and lashed from his sides the\ntroublous insects with his tail. Not a breath of air seemed to shake a\nbough of the leafy elm, or spread a ripple over the glassy waters. But as\nwe rode leisurely along the sandy beach, a little cloud seemed gathering\nover the lake, and now and then a faint gleam of lightning played with\nfitful and flickering blaze over its darkening fold. We had nearly reached\nthe place of our destination, and were congratulating ourselves that we\nshould be in the midst of our friends and under safe shelter before the\nshower reached us. But scarcely had we thought this, before the heavens\nbegan to gather blackness and the wind to rise and roar as though a tempest\nwere coming. And indeed a tempest was coming; for scarcely five minutes had\nelapsed after the first visible indications of the coming storm before a\nperfect gale struck us. The waters of the lake were dashed into the wildest\nscene of agitation--the trunks, and band-boxes, and baggage began to be\nblown from the top of our coach, and chased along on the ground, \"like a\nrolling thing before the whirlwind.\" And then the rain began to descend,\nand to rush into our carriage as though the water had been scooped up from\nthe lake and poured upon us in a torrent. We had no time to fasten down\nthe uprolled curtains of our coach; we had no time to protect ourselves in\nany way--our baggage was flying--our horses were frightened--our driver\ncould hardly keep in his seat. And still the storm increased: the wind\nswept down in a narrow column from the head of the lake with all the fury\nof a tornado, and blew our horses and coach quite up against the fence,\nwhere the rain continued to come in upon us as though a water spout had\nbroken directly over our heads. But this was not our greatest difficulty.\nOur carriage was now in a position in which it seemed impossible that it\nshould not be upset. The wheels had already become entangled in the fence.\nOne of the huge stakes of the fence was thrust into the window of our\ncarriage which we could not remove, while the carriage itself was rocking,\nand nearly on its side. The horses all this time were floundering and\njumping, and exceedingly restive; but the wind was so strong that they\ncould not move forward. There were three ladies in the coach, of whom I had\nthe care, besides my wife and children, and nurse. Never before did I so\nfully realize that I was held in the hollow of God's hand, as at this\nperilous moment. For at least five minutes there seemed to be but a hair's\nbreadth between us and death. But we looked unto the Lord, and he delivered\nus. In a few moments the storm abated--the rain ceased--the dark clouds\nrolled away, and the sun came forth as bright and as lustrous as though no\nmist or dark thunder cloud had ever obscured his disk.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nREMINISCENCES OF THE PAST.\n\n     Sunday--Sacred worship--The sanctuary recalling\n     youthful scenes--Early plighted vows at the table of\n     the Lord--Retrospect--Mournful reflections--Change in\n     the congregation--Mr. and Mrs. N---- The\n     C----family--Col. T---- Village burial ground--C----The\n     buried pastor--My mother--Palmyra--Early ministerial\n     labours--Lyons.\n\n\n                                        _Fairfield, Aug. 15th._\n\nIn these GLEANINGS BY THE WAY, I have very little plan or method, but send\nyou just what happens to interest me most at the time.\n\nPerhaps there are no two places that we visit, after long years of absence,\nwith so much interest as _the sanctuary_ where we first plighted our vows\nof allegiance at the sacramental table to Jehovah, and the old, shaded\n_burial place_ where repose the ashes of many whom we knew and loved in\nearly life. In my late excursion through Western New York, I was permitted\nto enjoy this pleasing, yet melancholy satisfaction. Upon the first Sunday\nof the present month, I was permitted to worship in the sanctuary where\ntwenty-two years before I first knelt at the communion table to receive the\nconsecrated symbols of my Saviour's dying love. As I stood within the rail\nof the altar and looked around that sanctuary, a tide of thought rushed\nupon me, awakening in my mind varied and conflicting emotions.\n\nThe sacred place with its history called up some pleasing reflections. I\ncould not but rejoice that \"_the truth as it is in Jesus_,\" continued to be\nproclaimed there, and that the cross of Christ was perpetually held up as\nthe sinner's only hope. I could not but rejoice to see the increase and\nprosperity of Christ's spiritual flock; the number of communicants having\nswelled from _fifty_ to nearly _two hundred_. I could not but be thankful\nto remember how mercifully and kindly the Lord had led me through the\nwilderness for more than twenty years, and how unerringly he had fulfilled\nall his covenant promises!\n\nBut there were also painful reflections called up by what I saw before me.\nRemembering as I did that here, in this spot my covenant vows were pledged\nbefore high heaven, I could not but recollect how far I had fallen short of\nthat entire consecration to God--that separation from the world, and\nsupreme love for Christ, implied in those vows--I could not but recollect\nwhat poor returns I had rendered to that Saviour who had laid down his life\nfor my redemption, to that merciful God\n\n    *   *   *   *   *   * that sought me\n    Wretched wanderer, far astray;\n      Found me lost, and kindly brought me\n    From the paths of death away.\n\nSince the hour I had first knelt at that altar to consecrate myself to the\nservice of Jehovah, his covenant promises had been all verified. \"Not one\nthing had failed of all the good things which the Lord my God had spoken\nconcerning me.\" During all this period, \"his loving kindness he had not\ntaken away, nor suffered his faithfulness to fail.\" But amid all these\nunwearied displays of divine faithfulness, alluring me with the sweetness\nof spiritual joys, and rousing my dullness, as well as rebuking my\nwaywardness with the chastenings of a father's rod, how often had I, like\nIsrael of old, by spiritual declension, and worldly conformity \"forsaken\nthe Lord--provoked the holy one of Israel unto anger, and gone away\nbackward!\" Most overwhelming, indeed, would have been the review of the\npast, but for that voice of redeeming love which breathed from the altar on\nwhich lay the symbols of Christ's great sacrifice, saying--\"the blood of\nJesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.\" \"Come now, and let us reason\ntogether, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as\nwhite as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.\" \"If\nany man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the\nrighteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins.\"\n\nThe scene within that sanctuary also awakened other mournful reflections. A\nlarge congregation sat before me, but where were the individuals and\nfamilies that twenty years before filled those pews? Only here and there\namid the assembled congregation could be traced a familiar countenance. The\ngreat mass had gone! Some had undoubtedly left the place and removed to\nother parts of the country; but the majority of the senior members of the\nformer congregation, had finished their probation and gone to the Spirit\nland! How solemn did the place seem as I stood and looked upon the mere\nhandful now remaining of that large congregation that once filled this\ntemple. There were four pews to which my eye was particularly directed. I\nrecollected distinctly how they were occupied twenty years ago. Each of the\nfamilies that sat in those pews were among the most respectable and\ninfluential people in the place. Regular as the Sabbath morn came, was Mr.\nand Mrs. N---- with their large and interesting family seen moving up the\naisle in a dignified train and with looks of deepest seriousness towards\ntheir pew. He was for a long time one of the wardens of the church. He had\nfilled some most important posts of civil duty, and enjoyed the esteem and\nrespect of all. Mrs. N---- afforded in her whole life a most lovely\nspecimen of consistent, dignified, matronly piety. So extensive were the\ncharities of this family, that it might almost literally be said of them,\nthat \"they were eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. They delivered the\npoor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help\nhim,\"--so that in truth wherever they went in the neighbourhood of their\nown home, \"the blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon them; and\nthey caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.\" But those venerable forms,\nthose worthy characters, were no longer to be seen in that pew. Long since\nthey had been borne to the place of the dead, and several of those children\nthat used to sit by them, had also been laid by their side in the grave.\nAdjoining this pew, was another occupied by a family of great\nrespectability and worth. The head of this family was one who filled a\nlarge space in the public mind, and for many years held a seat in the\nhighest legislative council of the nation. I looked for him in that pew,\nbut he was not there! he was numbered with the dead! I was wont to see amid\nthat family group, a young beautiful blooming girl--the pride of her\nparents' hearts, but now _she_ was not there! She had been married, and\nhad every thing around her that earth could afford to make one happy. But\nin the midst of all that was bright and lovely, consumption had fixed its\ndeadly blight upon her, and nothing could rescue her from the grave.\n\nI looked across the church to two other pews, their former occupants,\nthough they were families that had been long residents in the place, and\npossessed great wealth and respectability, were gone. Not a single\nrepresentative of either family remained in the congregation or the place.\nMr. C----, the head of one of these families, was also long a warden of the\nchurch. They had a lovely daughter, who was an only child. I well recollect\nher appearance in the house of God. She was a delicate flower, and most\ntenderly was she nurtured by her affectionate parents. All their earthly\nhopes seemed to centre in her. No expense was spared in her education.\nEvery advantage that was supposed calculated to refine her taste, cultivate\nand expand her intellect, embellish her manners, and fit her to shine in\nthe world, was placed within her reach. She was indeed a lovely young\nbeing. She had already interested the affections of one every way worthy of\nher. He was highly educated--of an excellent moral character, and belonged\nto a family of great wealth, influence and respectability--the very family\nwho occupied the other pew of which I am soon to speak. But strong parental\naffection, high personal accomplishments--the brightest prospects in life,\nand the warm attachment of a devoted lover, could not shield Susan from the\npower of disease, or the cold iron grasp of death. The long grass now waves\nover her grave, and her broken-hearted father lies by her side. Their large\nestate has been scattered to the winds--and her mother resides in a\ndistant part of the land a lonely widow.\n\nI have already alluded to a fourth pew in this sanctuary, whose occupants I\nhad some twenty years before so often seen in this place of worship. Col.\nT---- held a proud place among the distinguished and influential men in\nWestern New-York. He possessed all which wealth and high standing and\nextensive influence can impart to secure to himself and family the most\nunalloyed earthly enjoyment. And I trust that he had something better than\nthis, even that hope, which sheds light over the gloom and darkness of the\ngrave. He and his family were regular attendants upon the service of the\nsanctuary. He had two sons whom he expected would inherit a portion of his\nproperty and perpetuate his name in the world. But the youngest to whom we\nhave before alluded, did not long linger upon the shores of time, after he\nsaw the object of his young affections torn from him and swallowed up in\nthe grave. His only surviving brother, in the very midst of life, shortly\nfollowed him. And soon his father and his mother were laid by his side.\nThis is a picture--a miniature picture of life! Thus doth \"the fashion of\nthis world pass away!\" What solemn testimony was before me, that \"all flesh\nis grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field.\" How\nemphatic then did the words of the prophet seem--\"The grass withereth, the\nflower fadeth; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the\npeople is grass.\" Not only had the flock changed--but the pastor was also\ngone! He who had instructed my youth--who had led me to the Saviour--who\nhad first broken to me the sacramental bread, and given some of the first\nimpulses to my preparation for the ministry--no longer stood before that\naltar--his voice was no longer heard in that sanctuary! A simple marble\nslab placed in the recess behind the pulpit, told the melancholy tale that\nhe too had gone to the spirit land.\n\nThe account I have given you of my visit to this sanctuary, is so full of\ndeath I need scarcely take you to the village burial ground. It was a\nplace, however, consecrated by the dust of too many dear friends for me to\nabstain from treading among its grass-covered and heaped hillocks of earth.\nThis burial place, consisting of several acres of ground, enclosed by a\nneat pale, and shaded by shrubbery and trees, was located in the outskirts\nof the town, and at present, is seldom used for interments. A solitary walk\namid its graves brought up a long train of recollections of the past. How\nmournful, yet how sacred did I find the satisfaction of brushing away the\nlong grass that had grown over the spot where reposed the mouldered ashes\nof one who gamboled with me amid the sports of childhood's careless hour,\nand rushed onward at my side in life's joyous course till youth was\nripening into manhood, and then the barbed arrow of death met him, and he\nfell like a young, vigorous, foliage-clad tree, struck by heaven's bolt, in\nall the freshness of his existence! How mysterious and inscrutable did the\nways of Providence appear to me as I trod down the tall weeds that had\ngrown up around the grave of one who had been associated with me during a\nportion of my academical life, and who looked forward to the same\nprofession with myself! C---- had one of the warmest and most amiable\nhearts that ever beat within the human bosom. He had faults of character,\nbut they were all counterbalanced and lost amid the many excellencies that\ndistinguished him. He had long contended with poverty and discouragements\nof various kinds, in order to press his way towards the sacred ministry.\nAfter years of toil, and sacrifices of every kind, when he had just reached\nthe goal, and was to be invested with the ministry of reconciliation,\ndisease fastened upon his earthly tabernacle, and he sank down in death. No\ntender mother, nor kind sister was near to close his dying eyes. No family\nfriends were present to follow his remains to the tomb. There he lies in a\nlone spot, far from the home of his childhood, with the weeds grown up all\naround his grave, and few that pass by understand the full import of the\nsimple inscription of the marble slab that marks the spot where his ashes\nrepose!\n\nAnd there too, amid the gathered crowd of the dead, was all that remained\nof the mortal part of one whose voice had been heard a hundred times amid\nthose grounds repeating the solemn burial service of our Church. But years\nhave passed away since that service was repeated over him. Well do I\nrecollect the melancholy occasion, when the cold icy clod of winter fell\nupon his coffin, as the affecting words were pronounced--\"_We commit his\nbody to the ground: earth to earth--ashes to ashes, dust to dust._\" I could\nnot pass through those grounds without paying a visit to the grave of the\nburied minister, for he had not only shed spiritual light upon my path, but\nwas united to me by the strong ties of kindred and blood. He was my own\nbrother! The grass was green over his grave; for it had flourished there\nundisturbed for more than twelve years.\n\nBut no spot in all that ground seemed so sacred, or so pregnant with power\nto awaken deep emotions and melt my soul into tenderness, as my mother's\ngrave! What a volume of past recollections does every visit to that grave\ncall up! What hallowed thoughts and sacred remembrances stand associated\nwith the dust that slumbers in that narrow house? Can I ever forget a\nsainted mother's love! Can I ever forget the hour she took my tiny hand\ninto hers and led me to a secret place there to pray for me and to teach me\nhow to lift up my infant voice to the Creator of the skies? Can I ever\nforget how each night and morning in childhood's happy days I knelt at her\nside to repeat \"OUR FATHER?\" Can I ever forget how in my childish sorrows\nher voice soothed my distress, and her bright beaming smile spread a\nsunshine around my path? Can I ever forget how, when sickness came upon me,\nand the scorchings of fever sent the blood boiling through my veins, she\nhung over me like a guardian angel--laid her soft hand upon my burning\nbrow, and night after night sat and watched by my pillow? Can I ever forget\nthat look of holy rapture and unutterable gratitude that lit up her\ncountenance when the constraining love of Christ first led her unworthy\nchild to go forward and take hold of the horns of the altar? And above all,\ncan I ever forget her prayers and solemn counsel, her holy trust in Christ\nand upward looking towards the summit of the everlasting hills, when the\nicy hand of death was upon her, and her hold upon life was breaking away?\nAnd could I stand by her grave, and not have these recollections come\nthronging upon me? But I must stop. I had almost forgotten that I was\nwriting for the eye of others. Did I not know that many into whose hands\nthese remarks will fall, have also stood by _a mother's grave_, and\nthought and felt unutterable things, and will therefore appreciate the\nsource and sacredness of these feelings to which I have been almost\ninvoluntarily led to give expression, I would immediately erase them from\nthis sheet.\n\nBut I have lingered over these scenes much longer than I intended. I had\npurposed to give you some account of an excursion I made to Palmyra and\nLyons, two rising and beautiful villages located within sixteen miles of\neach other, at different points on the line of the great Erie Canal. The\nwhole range of country from Geneva onward to these villages, and still\nfarther north till we reach the shores washed by the waves of the broad\nOntario, which expands before the eye like a great inland sea, is one of\nthe richest and most beautiful farming districts found in our country. This\nregion, fourteen years ago, was the scene of my early missionary labours.\nIt was then comparatively a new country. A change has come over the whole\naspect of this agricultural district, and that within so limited a period,\nthat it would almost seem to have been effected by the wand of enchantment.\nEdifices too for public worship have been raised, and the sound of the\nchurch-going bell is now heard in many places where a few years since all\nseemed like spiritual desolation. The Episcopal Church had neither\nexistence nor local habitation in the county of Wayne fourteen years ago.\nAn effort had been previously made at Palmyra to establish the Episcopal\nChurch, but it proved abortive. Palmyra, Lyons, and Sodus, were the\nprincipal points where my early ministerial labours were bestowed. Here we\norganized churches, and in two places commenced rearing up houses of public\nworship. In each of these three places they now have a settled pastor. I\nspent a Sabbath most delightfully at Palmyra, preaching in the neat and\ntasteful church edifice erected there. Most deeply affecting was it to see\namong the serious and exemplary communicants of this church some who during\nmy residence in that place were among the giddiest youth of the village.\n\nAt Lyons they are building a beautiful stone Gothic Church--which will be\nan ornament to the village, and highly creditable to those engaged in this\nenterprise. I have met with but few men, to whom upon so short an\nacquaintance, I have felt my heart more drawn than to the worthy young\npastor placed over this congregation. His ministerial fidelity, attractive\npulpit powers, and lovely Christian character seem to have attracted all\nhearts towards him. Here too, was I delighted to find among the\ncommunicants some whom I had baptized in infancy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF THE MORMON DELUSION.\n\n     The golden Bible--Moral, political, and numercial\n     importance of the Mormon sect--Views of\n     Revelation--Causes that have contributed to spread\n     Mormonism--Martin Harris--Interview with the\n     author--Transcripts from the golden Bible--Jo Smith,\n     the Mormon prophet--His early history--First pretended\n     revelation--His marriage--Chest containing the golden\n     Bible--Attempts to disinter it--Consequence--Delusion\n     of Harris--Translation and publication of the _Book of\n     Mormon_.\n\n\nThe sketch that follows, detailing some facts connected with the rise and\norigin of Mormonism, is made up partly of a series of letters written by\nthe author in 1840 for the columns of the EPISCOPAL RECORDER, a religious\nperiodical published in Philadelphia, of which he is one of the editors,\nand partly of facts and documents that have since come into his hands.\n\nThe present chapter contains the substance of the first letter of the\nseries referred to.\n\n                                            _Palmyra, Aug. 24th._\n\nI proceed to give some account of the rise and origin of the Mormon\ndelusion, as I am now in the region where this imposture first sprung up.\nIn the town of Manchester, about six miles from this place, may still be\nseen an excavation in the side of a hill, from whence, according to the\nassertion of the Mormon prophet, the metallic plates, sometimes called THE\nGOLDEN BIBLE, were disinterred. A writer in the NEW YORK EVENING EXPRESS,\nwho has been recently travelling in the West, remarks that \"the Mormons\nhave assumed a moral and political importance which is but very imperfectly\nunderstood.\" He then proceeds to add in relation to them that, \"associated\non the religious principle, under a prophet and leader, whose mysterious\nand awful claims to divine inspiration make his voice to believers like the\nvoice of God; trained to sacrifice their individuality; to utter one cry;\nto think and act in crowds; with minds that seem to have been struck from\nthe sphere of reason on one subject; and left to wander like lost stars,\namid the dark mazes and winding ways of religious error; these remarkable\nsectaries must necessarily hold in their hands a fearful balance of\npolitical power. In the midst of contending parties, a single hand might\nturn their influence, with tremendous effect, to which ever side presented\nthe most potent attraction, and should they ever become disposed to exert\ntheir influence for evil, which may Heaven prevent, they would surround our\ninstitutions with an element of danger, more to be dreaded than an armed\nand hundred-eyed police.\" It is not, however, in reference to their\npolitical, but to their _religious_ influence, that we entertain a degree\nof apprehension. This sect has been organized only about ten years, and yet\nthey profess to number, in their society, _one hundred thousand_ souls.\nThis undoubtedly is an exaggeration, but it has been stated from a source\nupon which reliance can be placed, that there are probably not less than\n_sixty thousand_ persons now professing the Mormon faith. It is said also\nthat they are putting forth the most indefatigable efforts by itinerant\nmissionaries, both in this country and in Europe, to make proselytes to\ntheir creed. These facts show the importance of spreading upon the columns\nof our religious journals from time to time statements that tend to unveil\nthe trickery and artifice by which this system of imposture was got up and\ncontinues to be perpetuated.\n\nThere are two or three reasons why the Mormon delusion has spread so\nrapidly, and which will probably continue to give it more or less currency.\n\nOne cause is, that it fully and cordially admits the truth of the sacred\nScriptures. Did it discard all previous revelation,--pour contempt upon the\nSaviour of the world, and set up an independent claim for a revelation\nwholly new, it would have gained comparatively few adherents. But\nrecognizing the truth and credibility of the sacred Scriptures, and\nretaining as it does, many doctrines which are held in common by different\ndenominations of Christians, and covering its own absurdities with imposing\nforms and lofty pretensions, it opens a winning asylum for all the\ndisaffected and dissatisfied of other persuasions, and contains much that\nis congenial to almost every shade of radicalism, or erratic religious\ncharacter.\n\nAnother cause which has contributed to the rapid spread of this imposture,\nis, that it appeals strongly to the love of the marvellous,--to that thirst\nand anxiety, so rife with a certain class of mind, to know more than God\nwould have us know,--to find some discovery that will carry us farther than\nrevelation,--to get some one to come back from the grave, and tell us what\nis in eternity,--to see with our own eyes a miracle, and obtain some new\nglimpse of the invisible world. There is manifestly existing in a certain\norder of men, in every part of the world, and in every period of time, a\nstrong propensity of this sort. What but this propensity would have given\nsuch potent and almost irresistible influence to _Joan d' Arc_, who, from\nan ostler maid in an obscure country inn in France, by claiming heavenly\ninspirations, and pretending to see visions, and to hear divine voices\ncalling her to re-establish the throne of France, and to expel the foreign\ninvaders, rose to such surprising eminence and power, as to be the very\npivot upon which the destinies of the whole nation turned!--as to be\ninvested with the military conduct of the French army,--directing and\nraising sieges,--inspiring the troops with invincible courage, and\nspreading disaster and defeat through all the ranks of the British army, so\nthat the Duke of Bedford, after all the previous success and triumph of the\nEnglish arms at Verneuil and Orleans, and with all his tact and ability,\ncould scarcely keep any footing in France? What but this deep-rooted\npropensity could have prepared men to have received the dreams, and\nreveries, and pretended revelation of Emanuel Swedenborg, or of Ann Lee; or\nto have yielded up their reason to a belief in the clairvoyance of animal\nmagnetism? And not to multiply instances abroad, what but such a propensity\nas the one to which we have now referred, attracted the New Jerusalemites\naround _Jemima Wilkinson_, and gave her so much power over a large\ncommunity of men and women? What but this, opened the way for the monstrous\nclaims set up by the execrable _Mathias_, who drew after him, as by the\npower of enchantment, and subjected to his dictum, whole families,--persons\nof education and refinement, and among the number, several men of\nintelligence, respectability and fortune? It is to this same principle,\nthis anxious desire to look deeper into the hidden mysteries of the\ninvisible world, than any mortal has hitherto been privileged to do, that\nthe originators of this \"cunningly devised fable\" of Mormonism have\nappealed. While they admit the truth and credibility of the sacred\nScriptures, they profess to have obtained an additional revelation, by\nwhich new illumination is shed over every page of the sacred word,--all\ncontroversies settled, and the obscurity that hitherto hung over many\nreligious subjects dispelled. They profess to bring to light a historical\nand religious record, written in ancient times, by a branch of the house of\nIsrael that peopled America, from whom the Indians are descended. This\nrecord, which, engraven upon metallic plates, lay deposited in the earth\nfor many centuries, not only corroborates and confirms the truth of holy\nwrit, but also opens the events of ancient America, as far back at least as\nthe flood. They pretend that this record \"pours the light of noon-day upon\nthe history of a nation whose mounds and cities, and fortifications, still\nrepose in grand but melancholy ruins, upon the bosom of the western\nprairies.\" The Mormons not only claim this new revelation, but profess to\nhave still among them the gift of prophecy and miracles. They contend that\nmiracles and revelations from heaven, are as necessary now, and as\nimportant to the salvation of the present generation, as they were in any\nformer period, and that they alone possess this privilege of immediate and\nconstant intercourse with heaven.\n\nBut that which has given vastly the greatest strength to Mormonism is the\nviolent persecution which its disciples have suffered in the West, and\nespecially in Missouri. Nothing can be more impolitic, or unjust, or\nfarther removed from the spirit of the gospel, than to oppress and\npersecute any set of men on account of their religious tenets; and\ncertainly nothing can give them more strength or rapid growth than such a\nprocedure.\n\nThe Mormons first located themselves, as a body, in Kirtland, Geanga Co.,\nOhio. Some difference arose among their leaders on account of certain\nbanking operations which they attempted, and they separated, and a portion\nof them went to Independence, Jackson Co., Mo. The people in the\nneighbourhood of that location became unfriendly to them, and drove them\naway by force, subjecting them to great sufferings and loss of property.\nThey were at last entirely and forcibly expelled from the state of\nMissouri. They afterward purchased the town of Commerce, said to be a\nsituation of surpassing beauty, at the head of the lower rapids on the\nIllinois shore of the Mississippi river. The writer to whom I have already\nreferred, and who has revisited these western Mormons this present summer,\nremarks:--\"The name of the place where they now reside, they have recently\nchanged to Nauvoo, the Hebrew term for fair or beautiful. Around this\nplace, as their centre, they are daily gathering from almost every quarter:\nand several hundred new houses, erected within the last few months, attest\nto the passing traveller the energy, industry, and self-denial with which\nthe community is imbued. They have also obtained possession of extensive\nlands on the opposite side of the river, in that charming portion of Iowa\nTerritory, known as the 'Half Breed Reservation;' and there upon the\nrolling and fertile prairies they are rapidly selecting their homes and\nopening their farms. As the traveller now passes through those natural\nparks and fields of flowers which the hand of the Creator seems to have\noriginally planted there for the inspection of his own eye, he beholds\ntheir cabins, dotted down in most enchanting perspective, either on the\nborders of the timbers, or beside the springs and streams of living water\nwhich are interspersed on every hand.\"\n\nThe other portion that remain in Ohio, have erected a stone temple in\nKirtland, of splendid appearance and singular construction. The first floor\nis a place of worship, with four pulpits at each end; each pulpit\ncalculated to hold three persons. These pulpits rise behind and above one\nanother, and are designed for different grades of ministers according to\ntheir rank in office. These are the two principal settlements of these\npeople, although there are small societies of them found in almost every\npart of the United States. In some instances not only members but ministers\nof orthodox churches have been led to leave their own churches, and\nidentify themselves with the Mormons.\n\nIt is time that I should acquaint you with some facts that came to my\npersonal knowledge full thirteen years ago, connected with the rise of this\nimposture.\n\nIt was early in the autumn of 1827 that Martin Harris called at my house in\nPalmyra, one morning about sunrise. His whole appearance indicated more\nthan usual excitement, and he had scarcely passed the threshold of my\ndwelling, before he inquired whether he could see me alone, remarking that\nhe had a matter to communicate that he wished to be strictly confidential.\nPrevious to this, I had but very slight acquaintance with Mr. Harris. He\nhad occasionally attended divine service in our church. I had heard him\nspoken of as a farmer in comfortable circumstances, residing in the country\na short distance from the village, and distinguished by certain\npeculiarities of character. He had been, if I mistake not, at one period, a\nmember of the Methodist Church, and subsequently had identified himself\nwith the Universalists. At this time, however, in his religious views he\nseemed to be floating upon the sea of uncertainty. He had evidently quite\nan extensive knowledge of the Scriptures, and possessed a manifest\ndisputatious turn of mind. As I subsequently learned, Mr. Harris had always\nbeen a firm believer in dreams, and visions, and supernatural appearances,\nsuch as apparitions and ghosts, and therefore was a fit subject for such\nmen as Smith and his colleagues to operate upon. On the occasion just\nreferred to, I invited him to accompany me to my study, where, after having\nclosed the door, he began to draw a package out of his pocket with great\nand manifest caution. Suddenly, however, he stopped, and wished to know if\nthere was any possibility of our being interrupted or overheard? When\nanswered in the negative, he proceeded to remark, that he reposed great\nconfidence in me as a minister of Jesus Christ, and that what he had now to\ncommunicate he wished me to regard as strictly confidential. He said he\nverily believed that an important epoch had arrived--that a great flood of\nlight was about to burst upon the world, and that the scene of divine\nmanifestation was to be immediately around us. In explanation of what he\nmeant, he then proceeded to remark that a GOLDEN BIBLE had recently been\ndug from the earth, where it had been deposited for thousands of years, and\nthat this would be found to contain such disclosures as would settle all\nreligious controversies and speedily bring on the glorious millennium.\nThat this mysterious book, which no human eye of the present generation had\nyet seen, was in the possession of Joseph Smith, jr., ordinarily known in\nthe neighbourhood under the more familiar designation of _Jo Smith_; that\nthere had been a revelation made to him by which he had discovered this\nsacred deposit, and two transparent stones, through which, as a sort of\nspectacles, he could read the Bible, although the box or ark that contained\nit, had not yet been opened; and that by looking through those mysterious\nstones, he had transcribed from one of the leaves of this book, the\ncharacters which Harris had so carefully wrapped in the package which he\nwas drawing from his pocket. The whole thing appeared to me so ludicrous\nand puerile, that I could not refrain from telling Mr. Harris, that I\nbelieved it a mere hoax got up to practice upon his credulity, or an\nartifice to extort from him money; for I had already, in the course of the\nconversation, learned that he had advanced some twenty-five dollars to Jo\nSmith as a sort of premium for sharing with him in the glories and profits\nof this new revelation. For at this time, his mind seemed to be quite as\nintent upon the pecuniary advantage that would arise from the possession of\nthe plates of solid gold of which this book was composed, as upon the\nspiritual light it would diffuse over the world. My intimations to him, in\nreference to the possible imposition that was being practiced upon him,\nhowever, were indignantly repelled. He then went on to relate the\nparticulars in regard to the discovery and possession of this marvellous\nbook. As far as I can now recollect, the following was an outline of the\nnarrative which he then communicated to me, and subsequently to scores of\npeople in the village, from some of whom in my late visit to Palmyra, I\nhave been able to recall several particulars that had quite glided from my\nmemory.\n\nBefore I proceed to Martin's narrative, however, I would remark in passing,\nthat Jo Smith, who has since been the chief prophet of the Mormons, and was\none of the most prominent ostensible actors in the first scenes of this\ndrama, belonged to a very shiftless family near Palmyra. They lived a sort\nof vagrant life, and were principally known as _money-diggers_. Jo from a\nboy appeared dull and utterly destitute of genius; but his father claimed\nfor him a sort of second sight, a power to look into the depths of the\nearth, and discover where its precious treasures were hid. Consequently\nlong before the idea of a GOLDEN BIBLE entered their minds, in their\nexcursions for money-digging, which I believe usually occurred in the\nnight, that they might conceal from others the knowledge of the place where\nthey struck upon treasures, Jo used to be usually their guide, putting into\na hat a peculiar stone he had through which he looked to decide where they\nshould begin to dig.\n\nAccording to Martin Harris, it was after one of these night excursions,\nthat Jo, while he lay upon his bed, had a remarkable dream. An angel of God\nseemed to approach him, clad in celestial splendor. This divine messenger\nassured him, that he, Joseph Smith, was chosen of the Lord to be a prophet\nof the Most High God, and to bring to light hidden things, that would prove\nof unspeakable benefit to the world. He then disclosed to him the existence\nof this golden Bible, and the place where it was deposited--but at the same\ntime told him that he must follow implicitly the divine direction, or he\nwould draw down upon him the wrath of heaven. This book, which was\ncontained in a chest, or ark, and which consisted of metallic plates\ncovered with characters embossed in gold, he must not presume to look into,\nunder three years. He must first go on a journey into Pennsylvania--and\nthere among the mountains, he would meet with a very lovely woman,\nbelonging to a highly respectable and pious family, whom he was to take for\nhis wife. As a proof that he was sent on this mission by Jehovah, as soon\nas he saw this designated person, he would be smitten with her beauty, and\nthough he was a stranger to her, as she was far above him in the walks of\nlife, she would at once be willing to marry him and go with him to the ends\nof the earth. After their marriage he was to return to his former home, and\nremain quietly there until the birth of his first child. When this child\nhad completed his second year, he might then proceed to the hill beneath\nwhich the mysterious chest was deposited, and draw it thence, and publish\nthe truths it contained to the world. Smith awoke from his dream, and,\naccording to Harris, started off towards Pennsylvania, not knowing to what\npoint he should go. But the Lord directed him, and gained him favour in the\neyes of just such a person as was described to him. He was married and had\nreturned. His first child had been born, and was now about six months old.\nBut Jo had not been altogether obedient to the heavenly vision. After his\nmarriage and return from Pennsylvania, he became so awfully impressed with\nthe high destiny that awaited him, that he communicated the secret to his\nfather and family. The money-digging propensity of the old man operated so\npowerfully, that he insisted upon it that they should go and dig and see if\nthe chest was there--not with any view to remove it till the appointed\ntime, but merely to satisfy themselves. Accordingly they went forth in the\nstillness of the night with their spades and mattocks to the spot where\nslumbered this sacred deposit. They had proceeded but a little while in the\nwork of excavation, before the mysterious chest appeared; but lo! instantly\nit moved and glided along out of their sight. Directed, however, by the\n_clairvoyance_ of Jo, they again penetrated to the spot where it stood, and\nsucceeded in gaining a partial view of its dimensions. But while they were\npressing forward to gaze at it, the thunder of the Almighty shook the spot,\nand made the earth to tremble--a sheet of vivid lightning swept along over\nthe side of the hill, and burnt terribly around the place where the\nexcavation was going on, and again, with a rumbling noise, the chest moved\noff out of their sight. They were all terrified and fled towards their\nhome. Jo took his course silently along by himself. On his way homeward,\nbeing alone and in the woods, the angel of the Lord met him, clad in terror\nand wrath. He spoke in a voice of thunder: forked lightnings shot through\nthe trees, and ran along upon the ground. The terror which the appearance\nof the divine messenger awakened, instantly struck Smith to the earth, and\nhe felt his whole frame convulsed with agony, as though he were stamped\nupon by the iron hoofs of death himself. In language most terrific did the\nangel upbraid him for his disobedience, and then disappeared. Smith went\nhome trembling and full of terror. Soon, however, his mind became more\ncomposed. Another divine communication was made to him, authorizing him to\ngo alone by himself and bring the chest and deposit it secretly under the\nhearth of his dwelling, but by no means to attempt to look into it. The\nreason assigned by the angel for this removal, was that some report in\nrelation to the place where this sacred book was deposited had gone forth,\nand there was danger of its being disturbed. According to Harris, Smith now\nscrupulously followed the divine directions. He was already in possession\nof the two transparent stones laid up with the GOLDEN BIBLE, by looking\nthrough which he was enabled to read the golden letters on the plates in\nthe box. How he obtained these spectacles without opening the chest, Harris\ncould not tell. But still he had them; and by means of them he could read\nall the book contained. The book itself was not to be disclosed until\nSmith's child had attained a certain age. Then it might be published to the\nworld. In the interim Smith was to prepare the way for the conversion of\nthe world to a new system of faith, by transcribing the characters from the\nplates and giving translations of the same. This was the substance of\nMartin Harris' communication to me upon our first interview. He then\ncarefully unfolded a slip of paper, which contained three or four lines of\ncharacters, as unlike letters or hieroglyphics of any sort, as well could\nbe produced were one to shut up his eyes and play off the most antic\nmovements with his pen upon paper. The only thing that bore the slightest\nresemblance to the letter of any language that I had ever seen, was two\nupright marks joined by a horizontal line, that might have been taken for\nthe Hebrew character He. My ignorance of the characters in which\nthis pretended ancient record was written, was to Martin Harris new proof\nthat Smith's whole account of the divine revelation made to him was\nentirely to be relied on.\n\nOne thing is here to be noticed, that the statements of the originators of\nthis imposture varied, and were modified from time to time according as\ntheir plans became more matured. At first it was a gold Bible--then golden\nplates engraved--then metallic plates stereotyped or embossed with golden\nletters. At one time Harris was to be enriched by the solid gold of these\nplates, at another they were to be religiously kept to convince the world\nof the truth of the revelation--and, then these plates could not be seen by\nany but three witnesses whom the Lord should choose. How easy it would be,\nwere there any such plates in existence, to produce them, and to show that\nMormonism is not a \"cunningly devised fable.\" How far Harris was duped by\nthis imposture, or how far he entered into it as a matter of speculation, I\nam unable to say. Several gentlemen in Palmyra, who saw and conversed with\nhim frequently, think he was labouring under a sort of monomania, and that\nhe thoroughly believed all that Jo Smith chose to tell him on this subject.\nHe was so much in earnest on this subject, that he immediately started off\nwith some of the manuscripts that Smith furnished him on a journey to New\nYork and Washington to consult some learned men to ascertain the nature of\nthe language in which this record was engraven. After his return he came to\nsee me again, and told me that, among others, he had consulted Professor\nAnthon,[2] who thought the characters in which the book was written very\nremarkable, but he could not decide exactly what language they belonged to.\nMartin had now become a perfect believer. He said he had no more doubt of\nSmith's commission, than of the divine commission of the apostles. The\nvery fact that Smith was an obscure and illiterate man, showed that he must\nbe acting under divine impulses:--\"God had chosen the foolish things of the\nworld to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the mighty; and\nbase things of the world, and things which are despised--yea, and things\nthat are not to bring to nought--things that are--that no flesh should\nglory in his presence:\" that he was willing to \"take of the spoiling of his\ngoods\" to sustain Smith in carrying on this work of the Lord; and that he\nwas determined that the book should be published, though it consumed all\nhis worldly substance. It was in vain I endeavoured to expostulate. I was\nan unbeliever, and could not see afar off. As for him, he must follow the\nlight which the Lord had given him. Whether at this time Smith had those\ncolleagues that unquestionably afterwards moved, unseen, the wheels of this\nmachinery, I am unable to say. Even after Cowdery and Rigdon were lending\nthe whole force of their minds to the carrying out of this imposture, Jo\nSmith continued to be the ostensible prominent actor in the drama. The way\nthat Smith made his transcripts and translations for Harris was the\nfollowing. Although in the same room, a thick curtain or blanket was\nsuspended between them, and Smith concealed behind the blanket, pretended\nto look through his spectacles, or transparent stones, and would then write\ndown or repeat what he saw, which, when repeated aloud, was written down by\nHarris, who sat on the other side of the suspended blanket. Harris was told\nthat it would arouse the most terrible divine displeasure, if he should\nattempt to draw near the sacred chest, or look at Smith while engaged in\nthe work of decyphering the mysterious characters. This was Harris's own\naccount of the matter to me. What other measures they afterwards took to\ntranscribe or translate from these metallic plates, I cannot say, as I very\nsoon after this removed to another field of labour where I heard no more of\nthis matter till I learned the BOOK OF MORMON was about being published. It\nwas not till after the discovery of the manuscript of Mr. Spaulding, of\nwhich I shall subsequently give some account, that the actors in this\nimposture thought of calling this pretended revelation the BOOK OF MORMON.\nThis book, which professed to be a translation of the golden Bible brought\nto light by Joseph Smith, was published in 1830--to accomplish which Martin\nHarris actually mortgaged his farm.\n\nIn addition to the facts with which I myself was conversant in 1827 and\n1828, connected with the rise of Mormonism, I have been able to lay hold of\none or two valuable documents, and to obtain several items of intelligence,\nby which I shall be enabled to continue this sketch of the rise and origin\nof this singular imposture. To my mind there never was a grosser piece of\ndeception undertaken to be practised than this.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[2] In the following chapter the reader will find an account of this\ninterview.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nA LETTER WRITTEN BY PROFESSOR ANTHON.\n\n     The circumstances that led to this letter--Martin\n     Harris--His visit to New York--Interview with Dr.\n     Mitchell--Professor Anthon.\n\n\nA few months subsequent to the publishing of the foregoing letter, the\nauthor saw in the columns of the _Church Record_ a letter from Professor\nAnthon which singularly corroborated the statement that Martin Harris made\nto him in relation to his having had an interview with that gentleman, when\non his first mission to New York in quest of some interpreter who should be\nable to decipher the mysterious characters of the golden Bible. The cause\nwhich drew forth the letter from the learned professor is thus stated. The\nRev. Dr. Coit, Rector of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, West Chester county,\nN. Y., hearing that the Mormons in that place--for there is scarcely a town\nor village where some of them are not found, \"were claiming the patronage\nof Professor Anthon's name, in behalf of their notions, took the liberty to\nstate the fact to him, and ask in what possible way they had contrived to\nassociate him with themselves.\" In reply to this inquiry, Professor Anthon\nwrote the letter above referred to--which we here insert:\n\n\n                              _New York, April 3d, 1841._\nREV. AND DEAR SIR:\n\nI have often heard that the Mormons claimed me for an auxiliary, but, as no\none, until the present time, has ever requested from me a statement in\nwriting, I have not deemed it worth while to say any thing publicly on the\nsubject. What I do know of the sect relates to some of their early\nmovements; and as the facts may amuse you, while they will furnish a\nsatisfactory answer to the charge of my being a Mormon proselyte, I proceed\nto lay them before you in detail.\n\nMany years ago, the precise date I do not now recollect, a plain looking\ncountryman called upon me with a letter from Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell\nrequesting me to examine, and give my opinion upon, a certain paper, marked\nwith various characters which the Doctor confessed he could not decypher,\nand which the bearer of the note was very anxious to have explained. A very\nbrief examination of the paper convinced me that it was a mere hoax, and a\nvery clumsy one too. The characters were arranged in columns, like the\nChinese mode of writing, and presented the most singular medley that I ever\nbeheld. Greek, Hebrew, and all sorts of letters, more or less distorted,\neither through unskilfulness, or from actual design, were intermingled with\nsundry delineations of half moons, stars, and other natural objects, and\nthe whole ended in a rude representation of the Mexican zodiac. The\nconclusion was irresistible, that some cunning fellow had prepared the\npaper in question, for the purpose of imposing upon the countryman who\nbrought it, and I told the man so without any hesitation. He then proceeded\nto give me a history of the whole affair, which convinced me that he had\nfallen into the hands of some sharper, while it left me in great\nastonishment at his own simplicity.\n\nThe countryman told me that a _gold book_ had been recently dug up in the\nwestern or northern part (I forget which), of our state, and he described\nthis book as consisting of many _gold plates_, like leaves, secured by a\ngold wire passing through the edge of each, just as the leaves of a book\nare sewed together, and presented in this way the appearance of a volume.\nEach plate, according to him, was inscribed with unknown characters, and\nthe paper which he handed me, a transcript of one of these pages. On my\nasking him by whom the copy was made, he gravely stated, that along with\nthe golden book there had been dug up a very large _pair of spectacles_! so\nlarge in fact that if a man were to hold them in front of his face, his two\neyes would merely look through one of the glasses, and the remaining part\nof the spectacles would project a considerable distance sideways! These\nspectacles possessed, it seems a very valuable property, of enabling any\none who looked through them, (or rather through one of the lenses,) not\nonly to decypher the characters on the plates, but also to comprehend their\nexact meaning, and be able to translate them!! My informant assured me that\nthis curious property of the spectacles had been actually tested, and found\nto be true. A young man, it seems, had been placed in the garret of a\nfarm-house, with a curtain before him, and having fastened the spectacles\nto his head, had read several pages in the golden book, and communicated\ntheir contents in writing to certain persons stationed on the outside of\nthe curtain. He had also copied off one page of the book in the original\ncharacter, which he had in like manner handed over to those who were\nseparated from him by the curtain, and this copy was the paper which the\ncountryman had brought with him. As the golden book was said to contain\nvery great truths, and most important revelations of a religious nature, a\nstrong desire had been expressed by several persons in the countryman's\nneighbourhood, to have the whole work translated and published. A\nproposition had accordingly been made to my informant, to sell his farm,\nand apply the proceeds to the printing of the golden book, and the golden\nplates were to be left with him as security until he should be reimbursed\nby the sale of the work. To convince him more clearly that there was no\nrisk whatever in the matter, and that the work was actually what it claimed\nto be, he was told to take the paper, which purported to be a copy of one\nof the pages of the book, to the city of New York, and submit it to the\nlearned in that quarter, who would soon dispel all his doubts, and satisfy\nhim as to the perfect safety of the investment. As Dr. Mitchell was our\n\"Magnus Apollo\" in those days, the man called first upon him; but the\nDoctor, evidently suspecting some trick, declined giving any opinion about\nthe matter, and sent the countryman down to the college, to see, in all\nprobability, what the \"learned pundits\" in that place would make of the\naffair. On my telling the bearer of the paper that an attempt had been made\nto impose on him, and defraud him of his property, he requested me to give\nhim my opinion in writing about the paper which he had shown to me. I did\nso without any hesitation, partly for the man's sake, and partly to let the\nindividual \"behind the curtain\" see that his trick was discovered. The\nimport of what I wrote was, as far as I can now recollect, simply this,\nthat the marks in the paper appeared to be merely an imitation of various\nalphabetical characters, and had, in my opinion, no meaning at all\nconnected with them. The countryman then took his leave, with many thanks,\nand with the express declaration that he would in no shape part with his\nfarm or embark in the speculation of printing the golden book.\n\nThe matter rested here for a considerable time, until one day, when I had\nceased entirely to think of the countryman and his paper, this same\nindividual, to my great surprise, paid me a second visit. He now brought\nwith him a duodecimo volume, which he said was a translation into English\nof the \"Golden Bible.\" He also stated, that notwithstanding his original\ndetermination not to sell his farm, he had been induced eventually to do\nso, and apply the money to the publication of the book, and had received\nthe golden plates as a security for repayment. He begged my acceptance of\nthe volume, assuring me that it would be found extremely interesting, and\nthat it was already \"making a great noise\" in the upper part of the state.\nSuspecting now that some serious trick was on foot, and that my plain\nlooking visitor might be in fact a very cunning fellow I declined his\npresent, and merely contented myself with a slight examination of the\nvolume while he stood by. The more I declined receiving it however, the\nmore urgent the man became in offering the book, until at last I told him\nplainly, that if he left the volume, as he said he intended to do, I should\nmost assuredly throw it after him as he departed. I then asked him how he\ncould be so foolish as to sell his farm and engage in this affair; and\nrequested him to tell me if the plates were really of gold. In answer to\nthis latter inquiry, he said that he had never seen the plates themselves,\nwhich were carefully locked up in a trunk, but that he had the trunk in his\npossession. I advised him by all means to open the trunk and examine the\ncontents, and if the plates proved to be of gold, which I did not believe\nat all, to sell them immediately. His reply was, that if he opened the\ntrunk the \"_curse of heaven would descend upon him and his children_.\"\n\"However,\" added he, \"I will agree to open it, provided you will take the\n'curse of Heaven' upon yourself for having advised me to the step.\" I told\nhim I was perfectly willing to do so, and begged he would hasten home and\nexamine the trunk, for he would find he had been cheated. He promised to do\nas I recommended, and left me, taking his book with him. I have never seen\nhim since.\n\nSuch is a plain statement of all that I know respecting the Mormons. My\nimpression now is, that the plain looking countryman was none other than\nthe prophet Smith himself, who assumed an appearance of great simplicity in\norder to entrap me, if possible, into some recommendation of his book. That\nthe prophet aided me by his inspiration, in interpreting the volume, is\nonly one of the many amusing falsehoods which the Mormonites utter relative\nto my participation in their doctrines. Of these doctrines I know nothing\nwhatever, nor have I ever heard a single discourse from any one of their\npreachers, although I have often felt a strong curiosity to become an\nauditor, since my friends tell me that they frequently name me in their\nsermons, and even go so far as to say that I am alluded to in the\nprophecies of Scripture!\n\nIf what I have here written shall prove of any service in opening the eyes\nof some of their deluded followers to the real designs of those who profess\nto be the apostles of Mormonism, it will afford me a satisfaction,\nequalled, I have no doubt only by that which you yourself will feel on this\nsubject.\n\nI remain very respectfully and truly, your friend,\n\n                              CHAS. ANTHON.\n_Rev. Dr. Coit_, New Rochelle, N. Y.\n\nIt will be seen that in the main this tallies exceedingly well with what\nHarris told the author, in relation to the fact of his interview with\nProfessor Anthon. He kept back in his account of the interview all allusion\nto the discouragements which the Professor threw upon his enterprise. There\ncan be no doubt but that the person who waited upon Professor Anthon in the\nmanner above stated, was Martin Harris.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nTHE MORMON, OR GOLDEN BIBLE.\n\n     The origin of the Book of Mormon--The statement of Mr.\n     Isaac Hall, father in law of the Mormon Prophet--Rev.\n     Mr. Spaulding's Historical Romance--Mrs. Davison's\n     statement--The blindness of Martin Harris--Testimony of\n     the three witnesses--The eight witnesses.\n\n\nThe communication which follows is the second in the series of letters\nreferred to in a former chapter.\n\n\n                              _Fairfield, August 31, 1840._\n\nAccording to the intimation given in my last, I proceed to furnish you with\nsome further facts in relation to the origin and history of Mormonism. In\ndeveloping the history of this imposture, and showing the several steps by\nwhich it has won its way to the regard, and gained the confidence of\nthousands, it may seem desirable to furnish some account of what is\ndenominated THE BOOK OF MORMON--a volume containing 588 duodecimo pages,\nconsisting of fifteen different books, purporting to be written at\ndifferent times, and by different authors, whose names they respectively\nbear. The period of time which these historical records profess to cover,\nis about a thousand years--commencing with the time of Zedekiah, king of\nJudah, and terminating with the year of our Lord 420.\n\nThis volume, as I have already intimated, has exerted a most important\ninfluence in giving some plausibility to the claims set up by the\noriginators of the Mormon imposture. I am quite confident there never would\nhave been any permanent converts to Mormonism, had not this volume been\nushered into existence. The story of the GOLDEN BIBLE, like a thousand\nprevious and no less marvellous tales told by Jo Smith, would have long\nsince sunk into oblivion but for the publication of this book. The origin\nof this volume--how it came into being--is a grave question. The general\nimpression is that neither Jo Smith nor Martin Harris had intelligence or\nliterary qualification adequate to the production of a work of this sort.\nOf the correctness of this impression, however, I am not quite confident.\nThe subsequent career of Smith has shown that he possesses great tact, and\ncunning. The authorship of this volume is a question of some interest. The\nMormons say that it is a revelation from God. They claim for it a divine\ncharacter. They say that the successive narratives spread upon the pages of\nthis volume, are the identical records engraven upon the metallic plates to\nwhich we have already referred, and which, like the leaves of a book, were\ndeposited in a box and hid in the earth; that the writing on these plates\nwas in \"_the Reformed Egyptian language_:\" that Joseph Smith was directed\nby an angel to the spot where this sacred deposit lay; and subsequently\ninspired to interpret the writing, by putting two smooth flat stones, which\nhe found in the box, into a hat, and then putting his face therein. This is\nthe claim set up for the BOOK OF MORMON, and which has seduced many\nunstable souls.\n\nHad the originator of this fabulous history, called the BOOK OF MORMON,\nkept entirely behind the scenes up to the present period, and had there\nbeen no clue by which the authorship of this figment of the imagination\ncould be traced, it would still have been abundantly evident to every\nintelligent person, that it was the product of some shrewd and designing\nmind, who calculated to find his advantage in gulling the credulous and\nsuperstitious. The people of Palmyra, at the commencement of the printing\nof this book, only laughed at the ridiculousness of the thing, and wondered\nat the credulity of Harris. As the publication progressed, and the contents\nof the book began to be known, the conviction became general that there was\nan actor behind the scene, moving the machinery, of far higher intellectual\nqualifications than Smith or Harris. Suspicion in some degree rested upon a\nman by the name of Cowdery, who had formerly been a school teacher, if I\nmistake not, and was now known to be in some way connected with Smith in\npreparing this volume for the press.\n\nI will here insert a document which I have in my hands, and which may tend\nto throw some light upon the origin and authorship of the Book of Mormon,\nwhich I found in a little work, entitled \"RELIGIOUS CREEDS AND STATISTICS.\"\nThe author gives a brief sketch of Mormonism, and among other things\ninserts a letter or statement written by Isaac Hale, the father-in-law of\nJo Smith, giving some account of his first acquaintance with Smith. I had,\npreviously to meeting with this letter, felt anxious to obtain some facts\nin relation to Smith's marriage, in order to ascertain how those facts\nwould agree with the statements made by him to Martin Harris, which I\nnoticed in my last letter. While at Palmyra, I met with a respectable\nclergyman of the Episcopal Church, who had formerly belonged to the\nMethodist connection, that was acquainted with Mr. Hale. He represented him\nto be a distinguished hunter, living near the _Great Bend_ in Pennsylvania.\nHe was professedly a religious man and a very zealous member of the\nMethodist Church. The letter to which I have referred, is accompanied with\na statement, declaring that Mr. Hale resides in Harmony, Penn.: appended to\nthe letter also is Mr. Hale's affirmation or affidavit of the truth of the\nstatement there made, taken before _Charles Dimon, Justice of the Peace_;\nand there is also subjoined the certificate of William Thompson and Davis\nDimock, Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in the County of\nSusquehanna, declaring that \"they have for many years been personally\nacquainted with Isaac Hale of Harmony Township, who has attested the\nforegoing statement, or letter, and that he is a man of excellent moral\ncharacter, and of undoubted veracity.\"\n\nThe letter or statement above referred to, is as follows:\n\n\"I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr., in Nov. 1825. He was at\nthat time in the employ of a set of men who were called \"_money-diggers_;\"\nand his occupation was that of seeing, or pretending to see, by means of a\nstone placed in his hat, and his hat closed over his face. In this way he\npretended to discover minerals and hidden treasure. His appearance at this\ntime, was that of a careless young man, not very well educated, and very\nsaucy and insolent to his father. Smith and his father, with several other\n\"money-diggers,\" boarded at my house while they were employed in digging\nfor a mine that they supposed had been opened and worked by the Spaniards,\nmany years since. Young Smith gave the \"money-diggers\" great encouragement\nat first, but when they had arrived in digging to near the place where he\nhad stated an immense treasure would be found, he said the enchantment was\nso powerful that he could not see. They then became discouraged, and soon\nafter dispersed.\n\n\"After these occurrences, young Smith made several visits at my house, and\nat length asked my consent to marry my daughter Emma. This I refused, and\ngave him my reasons for so doing; some of which were, that he was a\nstranger, and followed a business that I could not approve. He then left\nthe place. Not long after this, he returned: and while I was absent from\nhome, carried off my daughter into the State of New York, where they were\nmarried without my approbation, or consent. After they had arrived at\nPalmyra, N. Y., Emma wrote to me, inquiring whether she could have her\nproperty, consisting of clothing, &c. I replied that her property was safe,\nand, at her disposal. In a short time they returned, bringing with them a\nPeter Ingersol, and subsequently came to the conclusion that they would\nmove out, and reside upon a place near my residence.\n\n\"Smith stated to me that he had given up what he called \"glass-looking,\"\nand that he expected to work hard for a living, and was willing to do so.\nSoon after this, I was informed they had brought a wonderful book of plates\ndown with them. I was shown a box, in which it is said they were contained,\nwhich had, to all appearance, been used as a glass box, of the common sized\nwindow glass. I was allowed to feel the weight of the box, and they gave me\nto understand, that the book of plates was then in the box: into which,\nhowever, I was not allowed to look. I inquired of Joseph Smith, Jr., who\nwas to be the first that would be allowed to see the book of plates? He\nsaid, it was a young child.\n\n\"After this, I became dissatisfied, and informed him, that if there was any\nthing in my house of that description, which I could not be allowed to see,\nhe must take it away; if he did not, I was determined to see it. After\nthat, the plates were said to be hid in the woods.\n\n\"About this time, Martin Harris made his appearance upon the stage: and\nSmith began to interpret the characters or hieroglyphics, which he said\nwere engraven upon the plates, while Harris wrote down the interpretation.\n\n\"It was said that Harris wrote down one hundred and sixteen pages, and lost\nthem. Soon after this happened, Martin Harris informed me that he must have\na _greater witness_, and said that he had talked with Joseph about it;\nJoseph informed him that he could not or durst not show him the plates, but\nthat he, (Joseph,) would go into the woods where the book of plates was,\nand that after he came back, Harris should follow his track in the snow,\nand find the book, and examine it for himself. Harris informed me\nafterwards, that he followed Smith's directions, and could not find the\nplates, and was still dissatisfied.\n\n\"The next day after this happened, I went to the house where Joseph Smith,\njr., lived, and where he and Harris were engaged in their translation of\nthe book. Each of them had a written piece of paper which they were\ncomparing; and some of the words were--\"My servant seeketh a greater\nwitness, but no greater witness can be given to him.\" There was also\nsomething said about \"three that were to see the thing;\" meaning, I\nsupposed, the book of plates; and that \"if the three did not go exactly\naccording to orders, the thing would be taken from them.\" I inquired whose\nwords they were, and was informed by Joseph or Emma, (I rather think it was\nthe former,) that they were the words of Jesus Christ. I told them then,\nthat I considered the whole of it a delusion, and advised them to abandon\nit. The manner in which he pretended to read and interpret, was the same as\nwhen he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, and his\nhat over his face, while the book of plates was at the same time hid in the\nwoods!\n\n\"After this, Martin Harris went away, and Oliver Cowdery came and wrote for\nSmith, while he interpreted, as above described. This is the same Oliver\nCowdery whose name may be found in the book of Mormon. Cowdery continued a\nscribe for Smith, until the book of Mormon was completed, as I supposed,\nand understood.\n\n\"Joseph Smith, jr., resided near me for some time after this, and I had a\ngood opportunity of becoming acquainted with him, and somewhat acquainted\nwith his associates; and I conscientiously believe, from the facts I have\ndetailed, and from many other circumstances, which I do not deem it\nnecessary to relate, that the whole \"Book of Mormon,\" (so called,) is a\nsilly fabrication of falsehood and wickedness, got up for speculation, and\nwith a design to dupe the credulous and unwary, and in order that its\nfabricators might live upon the spoils of those who swallowed the\ndeception.\n\n                              \"ISAAC HALE.\"\n\nI shall have occasion hereafter to refer to the loss of the one hundred and\nsixteen pages mentioned in the preceding letter, and to the manner in which\nthey were lost; as this fact will not only tend to illustrate Harris'\ncharacter, but to throw some farther light upon the sinuous track which\nwas pursued to palm off the BOOK OF MORMON as a divine revelation. Whether\nSmith and Cowdery were acting alone at the time referred to by Mr. Hale, or\nwere then deriving their illumination from Rigdon, I have no means of\ndetermining. It is highly probable, however, that they then had access to a\ncopy of the manuscript written by Mr. Spaulding, of which we shall soon\nspeak, and this copy was undoubtedly obtained through the agency of Rigdon.\nThe true authorship of what constitutes the basis of the BOOK OF MORMON,\nunquestionably belongs to Mr. Spaulding. I cannot think, however, that the\nBook of Mormon is an exact copy of Mr. Spaulding's \"_Historical Romance_,\"\nas Mrs. Davison very properly denominates it. No intelligent or well\neducated man would have been guilty of so many anachronisms and gross\ngrammatical errors as characterise every part of the Book of Mormon. While\nMr. Spaulding's _Historical Romance_ is unquestionably the ground-work of\nthis volume, the christianized character of the work--the hortatory clauses\nabout salvation through the blood of Christ--and the adaptation of the\nwhole to meet the peculiar religious views of Martin Harris, and to tally\nwith the pretended discovery of Jo Smith, are evidently parts of the work\nadded to Mr. Spaulding's manuscript. In farther corroboration of this idea,\nI will just advert to two facts. _First_, in this record, some portions of\nwhich were professedly written six hundred years before the appearance of\nour Saviour, the various _dramatis personae_ seem as familiar with the\nevents of the New Testament and all the doctrines of the gospel, as any\npreacher of the present day. Now no intelligent and well educated man\nwould be guilty of such a solecism as that of putting into the mouth of a\nJew who lived four hundred years before the birth of Christ, a flippant\ndiscourse about things as though they were then familiarly known, when they\ndid not occur till some five hundred years afterwards. Hence I infer that\nthese parts were added to the original document of Mr. Spaulding by Jo\nSmith, Cowdery, Rigdon, or some of the fraternity.--_Another_ reason,\nleading me to the opinion that considerable alterations were made in the\ndocument referred to, stands in connection with the fact to which I have\nalready adverted--the loss of the one hundred and sixteen pages, which were\nnever replaced. These pages were lost in the following way. Harris brought\nhome the manuscript pages and locked them up in his house thinking them\nquite safe. But his wife, who was not then, nor ever afterwards became a\nconvert to Mormonism, took the opportunity, when he was out, to seize the\nmanuscript and put it into the hands of one of her neighbours for safer\nkeeping. When the manuscript was discovered to be missing, suspicion\nimmediately fastened upon Mrs. Harris. She, however, refused to give any\ninformation in relation to the matter, but simply replied: \"If this be a\ndivine communication, the same being who revealed it to you can easily\nreplace it.\" Mrs. H. believed the whole thing to be a gross deception, and\nshe had formed a plan to expose the deception in the following manner.\nTaking it for granted that they would attempt to re-produce the part she\nhad concealed, and that they could not possibly do it verbatim, she\nintended to keep the manuscript until the book was published, and then put\nthese one hundred and sixteen pages into the hands of some one who would\npublish them, and show how they varied from those published in the Book of\nMormon. But she had to deal with persons standing behind the scene, and\nmoving the machinery that were too wily thus to be caught. Harris was\nindignant at his wife beyond measure--he raved most violently, and it is\nsaid actually beat Mrs. H. with a rod--but she remained firm, and would not\ngive up the manuscript. The authors of this imposture did not dare to\nattempt to re-produce this part of the work; but Jo Smith immediately had a\nrevelation about it which is inserted in the preface of the Book of Mormon\nas follows: \"As many false reports have been circulated respecting the\nfollowing work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil designing\npersons to destroy me, and also the work; I would inform you that I\ntranslated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written _one\nhundred and sixteen pages_, the which I took from the book of Lehi, which\nwas an account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon;\nwhich said account, some person, or persons, have stolen and kept from me,\nnotwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it again: And being\ncommanded of the Lord that I should not translate the same over again, for\nSatan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord their God, by altering\nthe words, that they did read contrary from that which I translated and\ncaused to be written, and if I should bring forth the same words again, or,\nin other words, if I should translate the same over again they would\npublish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up the hearts of\nthis generation that they might not receive this work: but behold, the Lord\nsaid unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design\nin this thing: therefore thou shalt translate from the plates of Nephi,\nuntil ye come to that which ye have translated, which ye have retained;\nand behold ye shall publish it as the record of Nephi: and thus I will\nconfound those who have altered my words. I will not suffer that they shall\ndestroy my work: yea I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than\nthe cunning of the devil.\"\n\nThis was the expedient to which they resorted in order to avoid replacing\nthe lost pages. Had those pages, however, been transcribed verbatim from\nMr. Spaulding's manuscript, they would undoubtedly have re-produced them,\nand urged the fact of their being able to do so as a still further proof of\ntheir divine inspiration. But on the supposition that there was\nconsiderable new matter mingled up with Mr. Spaulding's sketches, it would\nbe impossible for them to produce the one hundred and sixteen pages just as\nthey were before, and they would therefore naturally devise some expedient\nto relieve themselves from the necessity of re-producing those pages. In\nall probability Cowdery, and Smith, and Rigdon, had all more or less to do\nin combining these additional parts with Mr. Spaulding's work.\n\nThe origin of this work of Mr. Spaulding, to which I refer, and which\nunquestionably forms the entire ground-work of the BOOK OF MORMON, is thus\ndescribed by Mrs. Davison, formerly the wife of Mr. Spaulding. This\nstatement of Mrs. Davison was published some time last winter in the Boston\nRecorder, to the editors of which it was sent by the Rev. John Storrs, the\nCongregational minister in Hollistown, accompanied with a certificate from\ntwo highly respectable clergymen, the Rev. Mr. Austin and the Rev. A. Ely,\nD. D., residing in Monson, Mass., the present place of residence of Mrs.\nDavison,--stating that Mrs. Davison, the narrator of the following\nhistory, was formerly the wife of Rev. Solomon Spaulding, and that since\nhis decease she had been married to a second husband by the name of\nDavison, and that she was a woman of irreproachable character, and a humble\nChristian, and that her testimony was worthy of implicit confidence.\n\n\"As the 'BOOK OF MORMON' or 'GOLDEN BIBLE' has excited much attention, and\nhas been put by a certain new sect in the place of the Sacred Scriptures, I\ndeem it a duty which I owe to the public, to state what I know touching its\norigin. That its claims to a divine origin are wholly unfounded, needs no\nproof to a mind unperverted by the grossest delusions. That any sane person\nshould rank it higher than any other merely human composition, is a matter\nof the greatest astonishment; yet it is received as divine by some who\ndwell in enlightened New England, and by those who have sustained the\ncharacter of devoted Christians. Learning recently that Mormonism had found\nits way into a church in Massachusetts, and has impregnated some with its\ngross delusions, so that excommunication has been necessary, I am\ndetermined to delay no longer in doing what I can to strip the mask from\nthis mother of sin, and to lay open this pit of abominations.\n\n\"Rev. Solomon Spaulding, to whom I was united in marriage in early life,\nwas a graduate of Dartmouth College, and was distinguished for a lively\nimagination and a great fondness for history. At the time of our marriage\nhe resided in Cherry Valley, N. Y. From this place we removed to New Salem,\nAshtabula county, Ohio; sometimes called Conneaut, as it is situated on\nConneaut creek. Shortly after our removal to this place his health sunk,\nand he was laid aside from active labors. In the town of New Salem there\nare numerous mounds and forts, supposed by many to be the dilapidated\ndwellings and fortifications of a race now extinct. These ancient relics\narrest the attention of the new settlers and become objects of research for\nthe curious. Numerous implements were found, and other articles evincing\ngreat skill in the arts. Mr. Spaulding being an educated man and\npassionately fond of history, took a lively interest in these developments\nof antiquity; and in order to beguile the hours of retirement, and furnish\nemployment for his lively imagination, he conceived the idea of giving a\n_historical sketch of this long lost race_. Their extreme antiquity of\ncourse would lead him to write in _the most ancient style_, and as the Old\nTestament is the most ancient book in the world, he imitated its style as\nnearly as possible. His sole object in writing this _historical romance_\nwas to amuse himself and his neighbours. This was about the year 1812.\nHull's surrender at Detroit occurred near the same time, and I recollect\nthe date well from that circumstance. As he progressed in his narrative the\nneighbours would come in from time to time to hear portions read, and a\ngreat interest in the work was excited amongst them. It claimed to have\nbeen written by _one of the lost nation_, and to have been _recovered from\nthe earth_, and assumed the title of \"Manuscript Found.\" The neighbours\nwould often enquire how Mr. Spaulding progressed in deciphering \"the\nmanuscript,\" and when he had a sufficient portion prepared he would inform\nthem, and they would assemble to hear it read. He was enabled from his\nacquaintance with the classics and ancient history, to introduce _many\nsingular names_, which were particularly noticed by the people, and could\nbe easily recognised by them. Mr. Solomon Spaulding had a brother, Mr. John\nSpaulding, residing in the place at the time, who was perfectly familiar\nwith the work, and repeatedly heard the whole of it read.\n\n\"From New Salem we removed to Pittsburgh, Pa. Here Mr. Spaulding found a\nfriend and acquaintance, in the person of Mr. Patterson, an editor of a\nnewspaper. He exhibited his manuscript to Mr. Patterson, who was very much\npleased with it, and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it for a long\ntime, and informed Mr. Spaulding that if he would make out a title page and\npreface, he would publish it, and it might be a source of profit. This Mr.\nSpaulding refused to do, for reasons which I cannot now state. Sidney\nRigdon, who has figured so largely in the history of the Mormons, was at\nthat time connected with the printing office of Mr. Patterson, as is well\nknown in that region, and as Rigdon himself has frequently stated. Here he\nhad ample opportunity to become acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript,\nand copy it if he chose. It was a matter of notoriety and interest to all\nconnected with the printing establishment. At length the manuscript was\nreturned to its author, and soon after we removed to Amity, Washington\ncounty, Pa., where Mr. Spaulding deceased in 1816. The manuscript then fell\ninto my hands and was carefully preserved. It has frequently been examined\nby my daughter, Mrs. McKenstry, of Monson, Mass., with whom I now reside,\nand by other friends. After the \"Book of Mormon\" came out, a copy of it was\ntaken to New Salem, the place of Mr. Spaulding's former residence, and the\nvery place where the \"Manuscript Found\" was written. A Mormon preacher\nappointed a meeting there, and in the meeting read and repeated copious\nextracts from the \"Book of Mormon.\" The historical part was immediately\nrecognised by all the older inhabitants, as the identical work of Mr.\nSpaulding, in which they had all been so deeply interested years before.\nMr. John Spaulding was present, who is an eminently pious man, and\n_recognised perfectly_ the work of his brother. He was amazed and afflicted\nthat it should have been perverted to so wicked a purpose. His grief found\nvent in a flood of tears, and he arose on the spot, and expressed in the\nmeeting his sorrow and regret that the writings of his sainted brother\nshould be used for a purpose so vile and shocking. The excitement in New\nSalem became so great that the inhabitants had a meeting, and deputed Dr.\nPhilastus Hurlbut, one of their number, to repair to this place, and to\nobtain from me the original manuscript of Mr. Spaulding, for the purpose of\ncomparing it with the Mormon Bible, to satisfy their own minds, and to\nprevent their friends from embracing an error so delusive. This was in the\nyear 1834. Dr. Hurlbut brought with him an introduction, and request for\nthe manuscript, which was signed by Messrs. Henry Lake, Aaron Wright, and\nothers, with all whom I was acquainted, as they were my neighbours when I\nresided at New Salem. I am sure that nothing would grieve my husband more,\nwere he living, than the use which has been made of his work. The air of\nantiquity which was thrown about the composition, doubtless suggested the\nidea of converting it to purposes of delusion. Thus an historical romance,\nwith the addition of a few pious expressions and extracts from the sacred\nScriptures, has been construed into a new Bible, and palmed off upon a\ncompany of poor, deluded fanatics as divine. I have given the previous\nbrief narration, that this work of deep deception and wickedness may be\nsearched to the foundation, and the author exposed to the contempt and\nexecration he so justly deserves.\n\n                              \"MATILDA DAVISON.\"\n\nThe whole mystery of the origin of this book seems to be cleared up by this\nstatement, and I have seen no attempt made to gainsay or deny its truth.\nThe farther, however, Martin Harris went into this delusion, the more he\nseemed to become infatuated. He had already embarked a large portion of his\nproperty in bringing out the publication of the book of Mormon, and though\nmany things had occurred that we should think would have convinced any\nrational man that he had been made the subject of a deep laid scheme of\ndeception, he still seems to have shut his eyes, and gone on in the dark.\nAs I have already mentioned, at first, Martin Harris was assured that the\ngolden plates, on which this record was engraven, would be his, and that it\nwould be perfectly lawful to subject them to public inspection,--but as the\nmanagers of this imposture proceeded they found it necessary to advance\nwith more caution, lest they should put into the hands of others the very\nelements which would contribute to their own utter explosion. Hence it was\nrevealed to Jo Smith, that he would be authorized to show them only to\nthree individuals who should assist in bringing forward this work, this was\na lure to secure the continued co-operation of Harris. To convince Harris\nthat he would be highly privileged, it was foretold in the book of Ether,\nwritten by Moroni,[3] that he that should find the plates should have the\nprivilege of showing them to three persons. The passage referred to is as\nfollows, \"Behold ye may be privileged that ye may shew the plates unto\nthose who shall assist to bring forth this work; and unto three shall they\nbe shewn by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that\nthese things are true. And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these\nthings be established; and the testimony of three and this work, in the\nwhich shall be shewn forth the power of God, and also his word, of which\nthe Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost beareth record; and all this\nshall stand as a testimony against the world, at the last day.\"\n\nIn order to satisfy Harris, and those whom they hoped to delude, it became\nnecessary that three witnesses should see the plates. And accordingly we\nfind appended to the book of Mormon the following certificate, headed with\nthis caption:--\n\n     THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.\n\n     \"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and\n     people, unto whom this work shall come, that we,\n     through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus\n     Christ, have seen the plates which contain the record\n     which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of\n     the Lamanites, his brethren, and also of the people of\n     Jared, which came from the tower, of which hath been\n     spoken; and we also know that they have been translated\n     by the gift and power of God, for his voice has\n     declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety,\n     that the work is true. And we also testify that we have\n     seen the engravings which are upon the plates, and\n     they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and\n     not of man. And we declare with words of soberness that\n     an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought\n     and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the\n     plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it\n     is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus\n     Christ, that we beheld, and bear record that these\n     things are true; and it is marvellous in our eyes:\n     nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we\n     should bear record of it; wherefore to be obedient unto\n     the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these\n     things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ,\n     we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and\n     be found spotless before the Judgment seat of Christ,\n     and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And\n     the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the\n     Holy Ghost, which is one God.--Amen.\n\n                              \"OLIVER COWDERY,\n                              DAVID WHITMER,\n                              MARTIN HARRIS.\"\n\nTo know how much this testimony is worth I will state one fact. A gentleman\nin Palmyra, bred to the law, a professor of religion, and of undoubted\nveracity, told me that on one occasion, he appealed to Harris and asked him\ndirectly,--\"Did you see those plates?\" Harris replied, he did. \"Did you see\nthe plates, and the engravings on them with your bodily eyes?\" Harris\nreplied, \"Yes, I saw them with my eyes,--they were shown unto me by the\npower of God and not of man.\" \"But did you see them with your\nnatural,--your bodily eyes, just as you see this pencil-case in my hand?\nNow say _no_ or _yes_ to this.\" Harris replied,--\"Why I did not see them as\nI do that pencil-case, yet I saw them with the eye of faith; I saw them\njust as distinctly as I see any thing around me,--though at the time they\nwere covered over with a cloth.\"\n\nThis was the way that Harris saw the plates, Cowdery, another of the\nwitnesses, was one of the prime actors in getting up this \"cunningly\ndevised fable.\" Whether Whitmer, the third witness, was a deceiver, or one\nof the deceived, I am unable to say, but he and four of his brothers were\namong the earliest avowed converts to Mormonism. And as he was thus\nprivileged because he assisted to bring forth the work, there can be but\nlittle doubt that he bore the same relation to it that Cowdery did. The\ndeclaration in the testimony \"that an angel of God came down from heaven,\nand he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates,\nand the engravings thereon,\" show but too well what sort of jugglery to\nblind people's eyes, this certificate is. They seem themselves not to have\nbeen satisfied with the testimony; and therefore, although it was expressly\nrevealed that only three should see the plates, and that it should be\nestablished by the witness of three,[4] yet they immediately subjoin the\ntestimony of eight additional witnesses in the following words: \"Be it\nknown unto all nations, kindreds and tongues, and people, unto whom this\nwork shall come, that Joseph Smith Jr., the author and proprietor of this\nwork has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the\nappearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has\ntranslated, we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engraving\nthereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work and of curious\nworkmanship. And thus we bear record, with words of soberness, that the\nsaid Smith have shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a\nsurety, that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And\nwe give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we\nhave seen: and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.\" This is signed by\nHiram Page, Jo Smith's father,--two of his brothers, and four of the\nWhitmers, brothers of the Whitmer, who was one of the three witnesses. They\nwere all persons deeply interested in the success of this imposture, and\nexpecting to make their fortunes by it. As I have before taken occasion to\nremark, Harris was ready to be duped by any thing which these jugglers were\ndisposed to tell him. He seemed to think at length that he himself was\ninspired, and that revelations from heaven were made to him in reference to\nthe most minute affairs in life. After the BOOK OF MORMON was published it\nwas revealed to him that he should sell it for one dollar and fifty cents\nper copy. But as it did not sell very briskly at that price, he declared\nthat another revelation was made to him from heaven, and that he was\nordered to sell the book for one dollar per copy. No matter where he went,\nhe saw visions and supernatural appearances all around him. He told a\ngentleman in Palmyra, after one of his excursions to Pennsylvania, while\nthe translation of the Book of Mormon was going on, that on the way he met\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, who walked along by the side of him in the shape of\na deer for two or three miles, talking with him as familiarly as one man\ntalks with another. With a knowledge of the facts that have now been\nstated, the existence of the Book of Mormon can well be accounted for, and\nalso the success of this imposture.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[3] See Book of Mormon, page 548.\n\n[4] See Book of Mormon, page 548.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nMORMON JESUITISM.\n\n     Denial of Mrs. Davison's statement in reference to the\n     origin of the Mormon's Bible--The truth of her\n     statement corroborated by a letter from the Rev. John\n     Storrs--By another from the Rev. D. R. Austin.\n\n\nUp to the period, in which the preceding sketch was published in the\ncolumns of the Episcopal Recorder, no attempt was made, as far as our\ninformation extends, to contradict the statement of Mrs. Davison, or in any\nway to invalidate her testimony. Shortly after the appearance of the sketch\nabove referred to, a small pamphlet was issued by one of the Mormon\nministers, who, we understand, bears the relation of Pastor to one of the\nsocieties of that people, established in Philadelphia, who call themselves\n\"The church of the latter day saints.\"\n\nAlthough we do not think, that the truth, or falsehood of Mormonism, in any\ndegree turns upon the correctness, or incorrectness of the foregoing\nstatement of Mrs. Davison, for deceit and imposture are enstamped upon\nevery feature of this monster, evoked by a money digger and a juggler from\nthe shades of darkness--still if her statement be correct and is to be\nrelied upon, the facts brought out by Mrs. Davison would seem to be one of\nthose singular developments of divine Providence, by which impostors are\nconfounded, and their devices brought to nought; and therefore it may be\nwell to look for a moment at the arguments that are offered to disprove,\nwhat the writer of the pamphlet just referred to denominates \"THE SPAULDING\nSTORY.\" The pamphlet itself abounds with low and scurrilous remark--just\nsuch as we should think would be likely to emanate from a Mormon leader.\nThe principal points upon which the writer rests his argument, are,\n\n_First._ The worthless character of Dr. P. Hurlbut--who was deputed by a\nmeeting called at New Salem to visit Mrs. Davison and obtain from her the\nmanuscript written by her husband, Rev. Mr. Spaulding.\n\n_Secondly._ That Mrs. Davison neither wrote nor signed the letter published\nin the Boston Recorder, but that it was the production of the Rev. Mr.\nStorrs.\n\n_Thirdly._ That Sidney Rigdon did not join the Mormons nor have any\nconnection with them, till after the Book of Mormon was published: and did\nnot reside at Pittsburgh at the time he was supposed to have done so by\nMrs. Davison.\n\n1. In reference to the first point: this writer depicts the character of\nDr. Hurlbut, as made up of dissoluteness, depravity, and crime. He was for\na considerable period a zealous Mormon, was ordained an elder, became a\ndistinguished preacher among them, and continued so, until they could\nendure his vices no longer and cast him out--then he turned against them,\nand endeavoured to expose their deception and imposture. Whether this be a\nslander or true testimony, we have no means of ascertaining. But we do not\nsee, that in either case it makes any thing for Mormonism, or in the least\naffects the truth of Mrs. Davison's statement. We can readily believe that\na system of imposture like that of Mormonism, would have charms for just\nsuch a man as Hurlbut is described.\n\n2. The assertion that Mrs. Davison did not write nor subscribe the letter\npublished in the Boston Recorder, furnishes a fair specimen of the\nJesuitical tricks resorted to, to keep up this imposture. A letter is\ninserted in the pamphlet above referred to, written by Mr. John Haven, in\nwhich a conversation is related, said to have taken place between Mrs.\nDavison and the brother of the writer, and which is calculated and\nevidently designed to carry the impression that Mrs. Davison utterly\ndisavowed the authorship of the letter, published in her name in relation\nto the Spaulding manuscript. To satisfy myself on the truth of this point,\nI addressed a letter to the Rev. Mr. Storrs, an extract from which I will\nsubjoin:\n\n                           \"_Hollistown, June 28th, 1841._\n\n     \"The results of my inquiries from Dr. Ely and from Mr.\n     Austin confirm me in the opinion the Spaulding\n     manuscript was the foundation of the foolish affair\n     called the Mormon Bible. This is my opinion though we\n     may not be able to prove it directly. I have never\n     supposed, I have never said that they were one and the\n     same thing. Only that it was the _foundation_ of the\n     Mormon Bible: supposing that its story, its incidents,\n     and names, gave the Mormon leaders the idea of their\n     own book, and supposing that from it they manufactured\n     the book about which so much has been said. _So_ then\n     in using the word '_identical_' in relation to the\n     manuscript and Smith's book, it must be understood in a\n     modified sense.\n\n     \"We may never be able to prove by direct testimony that\n     such was the foundation of the Mormon Bible. But we\n     have circumstantial evidence enough. The communication\n     made to the world by Mrs. Davison, it seems to me\n     settles the question.\n\n     \"And then this testimony is not at all invalidated by\n     the letter written from this town by Mr. John Haven,\n     and published in the pamphlet you sent me, entitled\n     \"the Origin of the Spaulding Story concerning the\n     manuscript found.\" And here observe the sophistry of\n     this communication. The questions and answers from the\n     letter are as follows: 'Did you, Mrs. Davison, write a\n     letter to John Storrs, giving an account of the origin\n     of the Book of Mormon? _Ans._ I did not. _Ques._ Did\n     you sign your name to it? _Ans._ I did not; neither did\n     I see the letter till I saw it in the Boston Recorder:\n     the letter was never brought to me to sign. _Ques._\n     What agency had you in having this letter sent to Mr.\n     Storrs? _Ans._ D. R. Austin came to my house and asked\n     me some questions, took some minutes on paper, and from\n     these wrote the letter. _Ques._ Is what is written in\n     the letter true? _Ans._ In the main it is.' The\n     quibbling here is palpable. It is very true Mrs.\n     Davison did not write a letter to me, and what is more,\n     of course she did not sign it. But this she did do, and\n     just what I wrote you in my former letter I supposed\n     she did: she did sign her name to the original copy as\n     prepared from her statement by Mr. Austin. This\n     original copy is now in the hands of Mr. Austin. This\n     he told me last week. But again, mark another and\n     important thing in this catechism. It is the distinct\n     avowal after all, and published by the Mormons\n     themselves that what she had said was true. \"Is what is\n     written in the letter true? _Ans._ \"_In the main it\n     is._\" It is just as you or any other honest man under\n     similar circumstances would affirm such a production\n     to be the truth. In fact she does not as I understand\n     from the questions and answers disavow a single\n     statement made in the communication to which her name\n     was affixed. But she affirms it all as a verity. I must\n     confess my wonder that the Mormons should ever have\n     published the above quotations. It must be that they\n     thought their quibble about Mrs. D. not signing the\n     identical piece of paper sent to me, would cover up the\n     great and important fact that, she affirmed that all\n     that was sent to me was the truth. So then the\n     circumstantial evidence contained in the communication\n     published in the Recorder some few years ago that the\n     Spaulding manuscript was the origin of the golden Bible\n     remains sound.\n\n     \"But another thing: I expect we shall never be able to\n     lay our hands on the identical manuscript, and thus\n     prove by comparison in the sight of all that one was\n     the foundation or origin of the other. But be this as\n     it may, the very fact that it is lost, is evidence in\n     my mind that the manuscript was the foundation of the\n     Mormon book. Dr. Hurlbut took the manuscript. It is\n     reported in Missouri, that he sold it for four hundred\n     dollars; that the manuscript is not to be found. I must\n     confess that my suspicions are, that a deep laid plot\n     has been consummated to obtain possession of the\n     manuscript, and thus preclude all possibility of its\n     ever being compared by competent men with the Book of\n     Mormon. At least my suspicions will not be removed\n     until the manuscript--and the _whole_ manuscript--is\n     returned to the hands of its owner. I am suspicious\n     that a deep and long game has been played by the\n     Mormons to obtain and destroy the manuscript. Some one\n     has got that manuscript and has got it secreted from\n     the public eye. And if that manuscript cannot be found,\n     in my mind will be proved that the Mormons have\n     conveyed it away. The burden of proof is on the\n     Mormons. To them it belongs to produce the manuscript.\n     If they have got the manuscript and will not produce\n     it, it is plain they fear its publication to the world\n     will destroy their pretended revelation.\n\n                              \"Your brother in the Lord,\n                              JOHN STORRS.\"\n\nI also wrote to the Rev. Mr. Austin for information, who returned me an\nanswer from which I make the following extracts.\n\n                \"_Sturbridge, Mass., June 28th, 1841._\n\n     \"The circumstances which called forth the letter\n     published in the Boston Recorder in April 1839, were\n     stated by Mr. Storrs in the introduction to that\n     article. At his request I obtained from Mrs. Davison a\n     statement of the facts contained in that letter, and\n     wrote them out precisely as she related them to me. She\n     then signed the paper with her own hand which I have\n     now in my possession. Every fact as stated in that\n     letter was related to me by her in the order they are\n     set down. (There is one word mis-printed in the\n     published letter--instead of \"woman preacher,\" on the\n     second column, it should be _Mormon preacher_.)\n\n     \"That the pamphlet published to refute the letter\n     should contain false statements is not surprising. A\n     scheme got up in falsehood must be sustained by lies.\n     But the truth of the statements contained in that\n     letter of Mrs. D. will remain unshaken, notwithstanding\n     all the Mormons can do. It gives a very clear,\n     consistent and rational account of the origin of that\n     abominable piece of deception and fraud.\n\n     \"Mrs. Davison is now living about twelve miles from\n     this place; is an aged woman and very infirm. Dr.\n     Hurlbut was an entire stranger to her, and obtained her\n     confidence by means of the letters of introduction\n     which he brought from gentlemen in New-Salem. He\n     promised to return the manuscript in a short time. Mrs.\n     D. would only consent to lend it to him. He stated some\n     time after he had received the manuscript that he had\n     made $400 out of it. Mrs. D. has not the least doubt\n     now but that he obtained it in order to sell it to the\n     Mormons. If Dr. H. can be found, I have no doubt but\n     that the manuscript may be traced into the hands of the\n     Mormons--which would be about as satisfactory as to\n     find it. If they purchased it of him, (of which there\n     is no doubt) and refuse to present it, the reason is\n     obvious. I can give no information with respect to the\n     present residence of Dr. H. I suppose light on this\n     point may be obtained at New Salem.\n\n     \"It is really wonderful how this most palpable delusion\n     has spread. The foundation of it is the most weak and\n     absurd of any delusion ever palmed upon the world. It\n     is remarkable how these manias all tend to one point.\n     Perfectionism, Unionism, and Mormonism, as they have\n     been developed in this region, have all aimed directly\n     at licentiousness. They feed and fatten upon one base\n     passion. Mormonism will doubtless have its day and then\n     die. Something quite as absurd will spring up in its\n     place. There is an appetite in the community which\n     craves such food. If it can be garnished with the name\n     of religion, it will go into more extensive use.\n\n     \"This is one of the deepest plots of the devil. He has\n     placed his golden hook under the name of a \"golden\n     book\" in the nose of these miserable fanatics, and is\n     leading them in the direct way to destruction.\n\n     \"Yours in the bonds of christian fellowship,\n\n                              \"D. R. AUSTIN.\"\n\n3. In relation to the assertion, that Sidney Rigdon did not embrace\nMormonism till after the publication of the Book of Mormon; and that he did\nnot reside in Pittsburgh at the time stated by Mrs. Davison, we have some\nremarks to offer in a subsequent chapter.\n\nIf Rigdon did not reside there at the time, still in accordance with Mrs.\nD's suggestion, a copy might have been made of Mr. Spaulding's manuscript,\nwhich subsequently came into his hands. This copy, even if Rigdon had no\nhand in preparing the Book of Mormon, and was wholly ignorant of the\nexistence of Mr. Spaulding's manuscript, might have reached Smith in some\nother way. It is enough to know that the one was the foundation of the\nother, no matter who the agents in the imposture are. Even if it could be\nproved that Rigdon had no knowledge of the manuscript, and no hand whatever\nin preparing the Book of Mormon, this would in no respect invalidate Mrs.\nDavison's testimony, or show that Mr. Spaulding's historical romance was\nnot the foundation of that book. Mrs. Davison merely conjectures that\nRigdon must have been the agent--and that from circumstantial evidence--but\nshe _knows_ that the outline of her husband's historical romance is\nactually the basis--the manifest substratum of the Mormon Bible.\n\nThis point is made very clear by her testimony, that, in some way or\nother, Smith and his coadjutors obtained a copy of Mr. Spaulding's\nmanuscript, which evidently forms the basis of this pretended bible, and\nfastens upon it the undoubted mark of imposture.\n\nBut were not this the case--had Smith and those associated with him no such\nbasis, on which to build the scheme developed in the Book of Mormon, this\nwould in no way strengthen the claims which this volume sets up for a\ndivine origin. The book itself is full of internal evidence of imposture\nand fraud.\n\nIf the reader can have patience to follow us we will endeavour in the two\nsubsequent chapters to furnish him with an outline of the principal topics\ncontained in the Book of Mormon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\n\nAccording to the intimation given in the last chapter, we proceed to\nfurnish our readers with a brief outline of the contents of that mysterious\nvolume whose origin and history we have already given, and which, as we\nhave seen, has exerted no small influence in imparting a degree of\nplausibility to the claims set up by this sect, and in gaining for them\namong the superstitious and the credulous, hosts of converts. I have before\nme a copy of the BOOK OF MORMON, which I have read through in order to\nfurnish the following analysis. Since reading this volume of nearly six\nhundred pages, I am more than ever convinced that there were several hands\nemployed in its preparation. There are certainly striking marks of genius\nand literary skill displayed in the management of the main story--while in\nsome of the details and hortatory parts there are no less unequivocal marks\nof bungling and botch work.\n\nAs I have already stated, this volume consists of fifteen separate books,\nwhich profess to have been written at different periods, and by different\nauthors, whose names they respectively bear: all these authors, however,\nbelonged to the same people, and were successively raised up by Jehovah,\nand by him inspired to carry on the progress of the narrative, and deposit\nthe record when made upon metallic plates in the same ark of testimony\nwhich contained the plates handed down by their predecessors. The first\nbook in the volume is called the Book of Nephi: it contains seven distinct\nchapters, and opens with an account of Lehi, the father of Nephi. Nephi,\nthe writer of this first book, appears to be the grand hero of this epic.\nHis father, Lehi, resided in Jerusalem--was a devout man, and one that\nfeared God. His mother's name was Sariah--and the names of his three\nbrothers were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam. The narrative commences with the\nfirst year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. During this year the\nprophets of the most high God came and uttered such fearful predictions in\nrelation to the destruction of Jerusalem, that Lehi became greatly alarmed\nfor the city and for his people. He was so impressed with the messages\nwhich the Hebrew seers proclaimed, that he was led to go and pray with\ngreat fervency before the Lord. While in this solemn act of prayer, there\ncame down a pillar of fire and rested upon a rock before him, blazing forth\nin awful majesty, and speaking to him out of the flames. Awed and terrified\nby this divine manifestation, he went home and cast himself upon his bed\noverwhelmed with anxious thoughts and fearful forebodings. While he lay\nthere thus meditating upon what he had seen, he was suddenly carried away\nin a vision, and saw the heavens opened, and God sitting upon his throne,\n\"surrounded by numberless concourses of angels.\" \"And it came to pass,\" I\nhere use the language of Nephi, (page 6,) \"that he saw one descending out\nof the midst of heaven. And he beheld that his lustre was above that of\nthe sun at noon day; and he saw twelve others following him, and their\nbrightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament; and they came\ndown and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and\nstood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he\nshould read. And it came to pass as he read, he was filled with the Spirit\nof the Lord, and he read, saying, Wo, wo unto Jerusalem! for I have seen\nthine abominations; yea and many things did my father read concerning\nJerusalem--that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof, many\nshould perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into\nBabylon.\" Lehi, after this vision, became himself a prophet, and predicted\nthe overthrow of the Holy City; on account of which he was persecuted by\nthe Jews. While they were plotting to destroy him, he had another vision,\nby which he was instructed to take his family and depart into the\nwilderness. He immediately obeyed, leaving his house and land and gold and\nsilver and precious things behind. In his journeyings he came near the\nshore of the Red Sea, and at length pitched his tent in a valley beside a\nriver of water. His two eldest sons were quite unbelieving, and thought it\nabsurd that their father should leave all his comforts behind, and come to\ndwell in a tent in the wilderness. But Nephi who was the third son, was\npiously disposed, and being led to seek the face of the Lord in prayer, had\na revelation from God--that he should be led to a _land of promise_, and\nbecome a teacher and ruler over his brethren.\n\nAfter this, Lehi also had another vision, in which he was commanded to send\nNephi and his brethren back to Jerusalem to obtain \"_the record of the\nJews, and also a genealogy of his forefathers, engraven upon plates of\nbrass._\" This was a mission attended with great danger, and replete with\nsundry adventures of a marvellous character. After the three brethren had\nreached Jerusalem, they cast lots to decide which should go to Laban, who\nseems to have been the keeper of these sacred deposites, and ask for the\nrecords. The lot fell upon Laman. He was received very roughly by Laban,\nand had to flee from his presence for his life, without attaining the\nobject of his wishes. The two elder brothers now determined to abandon the\nobject of their mission and go back to their father; but Nephi, full of\nfaith, wished still to persevere, and therefore proposed that they should\ngo to their former residence and collect together the gold and silver and\nprecious things belonging to their father, and endeavour to make an\nimpression upon Laban's mind by the offer of all these, if he would give\nthem \"the plates of brass.\" Laban was pleased with the exhibition of their\ntreasures, and determined to slay them, in order to possess their wealth.\nThey fled, however, into the wilderness, and hid themselves in the cavity\nof a rock. The two elder brothers now became utterly indignant with Nephi,\nand smote him with a rod, because he had led them into such an adventure.\nAn angel of God, however, appeared, and rebuked them--enjoining it upon\nthem to go up to Jerusalem again, and not to give over the enterprise upon\nwhich they had embarked--assuring them that the Lord would deliver Laban\ninto their hands. Notwithstanding this divine reproof, the two elder\nbrothers felt rather sorely towards Nephi, and went up again towards\nJerusalem quite reluctantly. When they reached the walls of the city, they\npositively refused to go any farther. Nephi, however, offered to go again\nto the house of Laban. He proposed that they should hide without the walls,\nand wait till his return. It was night; and Nephi stole carefully into the\ncity, directing his steps towards the house of Laban. As he drew near his\nresidence, however, he found a man stretched out on the ground, drunk with\nwine. Upon examination, he found it was Laban himself. He was armed with a\nsword, the hilt of which was \"of pure gold, and the workmanship exceeding\nfine.\" Nephi drew the sword from its scabbard, and as he held it up, he\nfelt constrained by the Spirit to kill Laban. He had to struggle some time\nwith the natural tenderness of his feelings, but his desire to obey God\nprevailed, and he therefore \"took Laban by the hair of the head, and smote\noff his head with his own sword.\" He then stript off the garments of Laban,\nand put them on himself, and girded himself with his armour, and \"went\nforth towards the treasury of Laban,\" and as he went, \"he saw the servant\nof Laban that had the keys of the treasury.\" This servant mistook Nephi,\nwho tried to imitate the voice of Laban, for his own master, and readily\ntook out \"the engravings which were upon the plates of brass\" and carried\nthem without the walls. When the servant discovered the mistake, he was\nvery much frightened--but at length was prevailed upon to accompany these\nadventurers into the wilderness: therefore having obtained the object of\ntheir wishes, they returned to the tent of their father.\n\nLehi now examined, at his leisure, the records engraven upon the plates of\nbrass, and found that they contained the five books of Moses, \"and also a\nrecord of the Jews from the beginning even down to the commencement of the\nreign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies spoken by the mouth of\nJeremiah.\" He also found a genealogy of his fathers, from which he learned\nthat he was a descendant of Joseph.\n\nHere I cannot but remark that it is astonishing that he had not found out\nbefore this to what tribe he belonged; and it is not a little remarkable\nthat as the sons of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manassah, were appointed to\nrepresent two tribes, in the place of Joseph and Levi, he had not told us\nfrom which of these descendants he sprang. We were all along at a loss to\nknow what sort of officer Laban was, but here we are told at this stage of\nthe narrative: \"Thus my father Lehi did discover the genealogy of his\nfathers. And Laban also was a descendant of Joseph, wherefore he and his\nfathers kept the records.\" This seems to us quite a _non sequitur_.\n\nBut to proceed. Upon obtaining these plates of brass, Lehi began to be\n\"filled with the spirit, and to prophecy concerning his seed; that these\nplates of brass should go forth unto all nations, _kindreds_, tongues, and\npeople, which were of his _seed_. Wherefore, he said that these plates of\nbrass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time.\"\n\nSoon after this Nephi had a very wonderful vision, which he told to his two\nsons, by way of warning the two elder, Laman and Lemuel, of whom he had\ngreat fears--as they were disposed to be unbelieving and rebellious. This\nvision presented an allegorical representation. Lehi declared that he saw a\nman dressed in a white robe, who came and stood before him, and then bade\nhim follow him. He did so. The white robed guide led him through a long,\ndark, and dreary waste. After travelling on for many hours in darkness he\nbegan to pray unto the Lord; and the Lord then led him into a large,\nspacious field, in the midst of which he saw \"a tree whose fruit was\ndesirable to make one happy.\" He partook of this fruit, which was intensely\nwhite, \"exceeding all the whiteness he had ever seen.\" As soon as he had\npartaken of the fruit, \"his soul was filled with exceeding great joy.\" This\nled him to wish that his family should come and partake of the same. While\nlooking around to see if he could discover his family, he beheld a river of\nwater, which ran along near the tree of whose fruit he had been partaking.\nAt a short distance he beheld the head of this stream, and near it his wife\nand two younger sons, and they stood as if they knew not whither they\nshould go: and he called out unto them with a loud voice to approach the\ntree and partake the fruit thereof, and they came. And then his anxieties\nwere awake for his two elder sons, whom at length he discovered in the\ndistance, near the head of the stream, but he could not induce them to come\nto him or approach the tree. And then he beheld a rod of iron extending\nalong the bank of the river, leading to the tree by which he stood: and\nalso \"a straight and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron to\nthe tree. And it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and\nspacious field, as if it had been a world, and he saw numberless concourses\nof people: many of whom were pressing forwards, that they might obtain the\npath which led unto the tree by which he stood.\" As soon as those who were\nadvancing entered this narrow path they encountered \"an exceeding great\nmist of darkness,\" so that many lost their way, while others caught hold of\nthe end of the rod of iron, and pressed forward through the mist, clinging\nto the rod, and following it until they came into the light amid which the\ntree stood, and partook of its fruit. The persons who thus approached the\ntree, after they had partaken of the fruit, looked around and some of them\nseemed ashamed. \"Lehi also cast his eyes round about, and beheld on the\nother side of the river of water, a great and spacious building: and it\nstood as it were in the air: and it was filled with people both old and\nyoung, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceeding fine;\nand they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards\nthose which had come at, and were partaking of the fruit.\" This was what\ncaused some who had come to the tree to be filled with shame, and to fall\naway. He saw continual multitudes pressing forward towards the tree, and\nothers towards the great, and spacious building. With all his persuasion\nLehi could not induce his two eldest sons to come and partake of the fruit\nof the tree, therefore he had great fears in relation to them.\n\nAfter relating this vision, Lehi began to prophecy in relation to the\nSaviour, and told very distinctly what is related in the New Testament\nabout him. Nephi, however, became very anxious to see the tree of which his\nfather had told, and at length he was gratified. The same vision was\nrepeated to him, and he obtained also from the spirit of the Lord the\ninterpretation thereof. The spirit commanded him to look. He did so, and\nfirst he beheld Jerusalem--then Nazareth--and \"in the city of Nazareth, a\nvirgin exceeding fair and white.\" And then he saw the heavens open, and an\nangel came down, and stood before him, and said, \"the virgin which thou\nseest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh.\" She was\ncarried away in the spirit, and after awhile she returned bearing a child\nin her arms, and the angel said to him, \"Behold the Lamb of God, yea even\nthe eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father\nsaw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, _it is the love of God_.\" Afterwards\nhe looked and saw the son of God going forth among the children of men. He\nthen saw in succession all the miracles of Christ--all the events of his\nlife--the scenes that followed his crucifixion--and the whole history of\nthe Christian Church up to the _present_ time--_beyond which_ the deponent\nNephi sayeth not.\n\nThe tree was the love of God in Christ--the rod of iron leading to it was\nthe word of God--the mist and darkness, that blinded the eyes of those\ngoing to the tree, were the temptations of the devil--the large and\nspacious building was the pride and vain imaginations of the children of\nmen.\n\nAfter this protracted vision, Nephi returned to the tent of his father, and\nfound his brethren disputing about the allegorical sense of the vision of\ntheir father Lehi. He of course was now prepared to enlighten them. They\nasked him \"what meaneth the river of water which our father saw?\" and he\nreplied, \"The water was filthiness. So much was my father's mind swallowed\nup in other things, that he beheld not the filthiness of the water, and I\nsaid unto them, that it was an awful gulf which separateth the wicked from\nthe tree of life, and also from the saints of God--a representation of\nhell.\"\n\nI have neglected to mention that previous to Lehi's vision, Nephi and his\nbrethren were commissioned to go up to Jerusalem the second time, to\npersuade Ishmael and his five daughters to join his father in the\nwilderness. The fifth chapter opens with a tender scene, in which Nephi\nand his brethren are married to the daughters of Ishmael. Immediately\nafter, Lehi received a command to strike his tent and journey on into the\nwilderness. And when he arose the next morning and went forth to the tent\ndoor, \"to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of\ncurious workmanship, and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two\nspindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the\nwilderness.\" They travelled on \"for the space of four days nearly a south\neast direction.\" Various trials occurred in their journey. The elder\nbrothers uniformly murmured, and Nephi was uniformly submissive. When in\nextremity the brass ball was their guide, pointing out the way, and\nexhibiting, inscribed on its sides, the various intelligence they needed\nvisible at proper times. Ishmael died in the wilderness, where they\nsojourned for the space of eight years. At length they pitched their tents\nby the sea shore. Here Nephi was called to ascend a high mountain. There\nthe Lord met him, and commanded him to construct a ship to carry his people\nacross the waters to the promised land. He commenced the construction of\nthis ship in the face of much opposition, and of many difficulties, being\nquite ignorant of the art of ship-building, and his brethren at the same\ntime ridiculing and opposing him. But the Lord helped him, so that\nultimately his brethren not only desisted from their opposition, but united\nin assisting him to complete it; and then they embarked with all their\nstock of seeds, animals, and provisions. During the voyage Nephi's elder\nbrothers began again to be rebellious. They bound him with cords, and\ntreated him with great cruelty. They, however, soon encountered a terrible\ngale, and were driven back from their course. The brazen ball which had\nmiraculously guided them through the wilderness, and which was now a\ncompass to steer by, ceased to work, and they were in the most awful peril.\nFor a long time their fate seemed suspended, and their destiny doubtful;\nbut the power of God at length softened the hearts of Laman and Lemuel, who\nreleased Nephi from his confinement, and then again every thing went on\nsmoothly, and they soon reached the land of promise, which of course was\nAmerica, where \"they found beasts of every kind in the forest, both the\ncow, and the ox, and the ass, and the horse, and the goat, and the wild\ngoat, and all manner of wild animals for the use of men.\" And \"all manner\nof ore, both of gold and silver, and copper.\" Nephi by the command of the\nLord made metallic plates soon after his arrival in America of this ore, on\nwhich he recorded their peregrinations, adventures, and all the prophecies\nwhich God gave him concerning the future destinies of his people and the\nhuman race. These plates were to be kept for the instruction of the people\nof the land, and for other purposes known to the Lord.\n\nThe second book of Nephi consists of fifteen chapters. It opens with an\naccount of Lehi's death, who, previous to his decease, calls all his\nchildren around him and their descendants, and reminds them of God's\ngoodness in having brought them to the promised land, and gives each a\npatriarchal blessing, uttering sundry predictions in reference to their\nfuture destinies. After the death of Lehi, Laman and Lemuel undertook to\ndestroy Nephi, who thereupon fled into the wilderness, taking along with\nhim his own family, his brother Sam, and his younger brothers, Jacob and\nJoseph, who were born after his father went out from Jerusalem, and their\nfamilies. He also took along with him the plates of brass, and the ball\nthat guided them in their former wanderings in the wilderness by the Red\nSea, and was their compass to steer by across the ocean. Being thus\nseparated they became the heads of separate tribes. The Nephites soon grew\ninto a numerous people, and built a temple \"like unto Solomon's.\" They,\nlike their father Nephite, for many generations were good christians,\nhundreds of years before Christ was born, practising baptism and other\nchristian usages. Nephi here accounts for the color of the aborigines. It\nwas the curse of God upon the descendants of his elder brothers on account\nof their disobedience. \"Wherefore as they were white, and exceeding fair\nand delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people, therefore\nthe Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.\" A curse was\nalso pronounced upon intermarriages with them. Nephi also declares that on\naccount of the curse of God upon them \"they did become an idle people, full\nof mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of\nprey.\"\n\nIn this book is also introduced \"the words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi,\nwhich he spake unto the people of Nephi.\" He predicts the coming of Christ,\nand the return of the Jews from dispersion upon embracing the gospel. Nephi\nthen takes up the subject, and transcribes several chapters from Isaiah by\nway of corroboration. This is followed by a long harangue, setting forth\nall the peculiar theology of the New Testament. He then predicts the\nappearance of a great prophet, and a marvellous book which he shall bring\nto light. The book of course is the golden Bible, and the prophet Jo Smith.\n\"Wherefore,\" continues he, \"at that day when the book shall be delivered\nunto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of\nthe world, _that the eyes of none shall behold it, save it be that three\nwitnesses shall behold it by the power of God, besides him to whom the book\nshall be delivered_: and they shall testify to the truth of the book, and\nthe things therein.\" This would seem to be directly in the teeth of what\nactually happened, for as we have seen in a former number there were eight\nother witnesses besides the three, who declared that they saw these\nmysterious plates. To elude this difficulty a saving clause is thrown into\nthis chapter to this effect. \"And there is none other which shall view it,\nsave it be a few, according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his\nword unto the children of men.\" The reason is also here assigned why the\nplates are not spread before the learned--it is to teach them humility! An\nunlearned man is chosen to transcribe the hieroglyphics, or words of the\nbook, that the learned may read them. The learned refuse to read the\nhieroglyphics, unless they can see the plates whence they are taken. This\nGod will not permit. He has no need of learned men. He is able to do his\nown work. He will therefore make use of the unlearned to bring these hidden\nthings to light. The prophet, though an unlearned man, will be competent\nthrough the power of God, not only to transcribe but to translate the book.\n\nNephi discards altogether the idea that our present revelation is complete,\nor that our sacred books contain the whole canon of Scripture. He predicts\nthat the Book of Mormon will meet with opposition,--that many of the\nGentiles would say upon its appearance,--\"A Bible, a Bible, we have got a\nBible, and there cannot be any more Bible. Thou fool, that shall say, a\nBible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a\nBible save it were by the Jews? Know ye not that there are more nations\nthan one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God have created all men, and\nthat I remember _they_ which are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule\nin the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word\nunto the children of men, yea even upon all the nations of the earth?\nWherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye\nnot that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God,\nthat I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore I speak the same\nwords unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run\ntogether, the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. And I\ndo this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday to-day and\nforever, and that I speak forth my words according to my own pleasure. And\nbecause that I have spoken one word, ye need not suppose that I cannot\nspeak another; for my work is not yet finished, neither shall it be until\nthe end of man; neither from that time henceforth and forever. Wherefore\nbecause ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words;\nneither need ye to suppose that I have not caused more to be written; for I\ncommand all men both in the east and in the west, and in the north and in\nthe south, and in the Islands of the sea, that they shall write those words\nI speak unto them. Behold I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write\nit,--unto the Nephites, and they shall write it,--unto the other tribes of\nthe house of Israel which I have led away, and they shall write it; and\nunto all the nations of the earth and they shall write it. And the Jews\nshall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites the words of the\nJews. And the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes\nof Israel, &c.\" This we consider one of the most pernicious features of\nthis HISTORICAL ROMANCE,--that it claims for itself an entire equality in\npoint of divine authority with the sacred canon. It is not only calculated\nto deceive and delude the credulous, and marvel loving, but to strengthen\nthe cause of infidelity.\n\nThe only remaining thing worthy of note in this second Book of Nephi, is\nthe prediction of the ultimate conversion of the Indians, who are a part of\nthe lost tribes of Israel, or descendants of Nephi, to Christianity,\nthrough the influence of Mormonism, and that soon after this event they\nwould change their colour, and become \"a white and delightsome people.\" The\nperiod occupied by the events related in this Book of Nephi, is fifty five\nyears.\n\nThe next book in course is the Book of Jacob, one of the younger brothers\nof Nephi; which contains five chapters. This book gives an account of the\nordaining of Jacob by Nephi, to be priest over the people, and the\nparticulars of Nephi's death. It also relates the circumstance of Jacob's\nconfounding a man who rose up among them and sought to overthrow the\ndoctrine of Christ; and contains a specimen of Jacob's preaching. One of\nthe arguments by which he endeavoured to reclaim the Nephites from certain\nprevailing sins, was that if they did not repent, the curse of God would\nlight upon them and they would become as dark coloured as the Lamanites.\nSundry efforts were made by the benevolent Nephites \"to reclaim and restore\nthe Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth.\" But it was all to no purpose.\nThey continued to delight in wars and bloodshed, and cherished an eternal\nhatred against their brethren. To ward off their incursions, the people of\nNephi had to fortify and protect their land with a strong military force.\n\nJacob, who had brought up his son Enos \"in the nurture and admonition of\nthe Lord,\" when he saw his own decease approaching, gave him the plates and\nleft him successor in office over the people of Nephi.\n\nThe Book of Enos is short, as is also the two following books of Jarom and\nOmni, containing little except an account of the transmission of the plates\nfrom one generation to another till the time of king Benjamin, about 320\nyears after the flight of Lehi from Jerusalem. During the latter part of\nthis period, many wars took place between the people of Nephi and the\nLamanites; so that Mosiah, then king, was warned to emigrate into a new\nregion, or district of the wilderness--into a land called Zarahemla. After\nreaching there they discovered that the people of Zarahemla were also Jews\nwho came from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was\ncarried away captive into Babylon, and that they were also brought by the\nhand of the Lord across the great waters. The Lamanites at this period are\ndescribed as \"a wild, ferocious, and blood-thirsty people, wandering about\nin the wilderness with a short skin girded about their loins, and their\nheads shaven, and their skill was in the bow and the scimitar and the axe.\nAnd many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat.\"\n\nBut I must stop. I fear the reader is already wearied with these foolish\nvagaries of the imagination, which the Mormon prophet palms off upon his\nfollowers as the revelation of the Most High. To redeem our pledge in\ngiving an analysis of the Book of Mormon, we shall be obliged to occupy\nanother chapter with these details. If the reader cannot make up his mind\nto follow us, he can skip over the next chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON CONTINUED.\n\n\nThe question has been frequently asked, why the sect whose history we have\nbeen attempting to sketch, are called Mormons? The answer to this question\nwill be readily suggested to any one who has patience to wade through Mr.\nSpaulding's historical romance. From the account that we have already given\nof the Book of Mormon we are led to see the mode by which it is pretended\nthat the records of one generation of the Nephites were transmitted to\nanother, and how the history of each preceding age was preserved. These\nrecords were engraven upon plates, and the plates, handed down from one\nprophet to another, or from one king to another, or from one judge to\nanother--the Lord always having raised up some one to receive these plates,\nwhen the person in whose hands they had been previously placed was about to\ndie. Mormon, who lived about four hundred years after the coming of Christ,\nwhile yet a child received a command in relation to these sacred deposites.\nThe metallic plates which contained the record of all the generations of\nhis fathers, from the flight of Lehi from Jerusalem to his own time,\nultimately came into his hands. From these plates he made an abriged\nrecord, which, taken together, in connection with the record of his own\ntimes, constitutes the BOOK OF MORMON. Thus we see why the book bears this\ntitle. For Mormon was a sort of Ezra, who compiled the entire sacred canon\ncontained in this volume. He lived at a very eventful period, when almost\nall his people had fallen into a fearful apostacy, and he lived to see them\nall destroyed, except twenty-four persons. Himself and these sole survivors\nof his race were afterwards cut off with a single exception. His son\nMoroni, one of the survivors, lived to tell the mournful tale, and deposite\nthe plates under the hill where Jo Smith found them. Mormon took his name\nfrom a place where the first American church was founded, of which we shall\nhear directly, and where the first candidates for admission into the church\nwere baptized, some two hundred years before the commencement of the\nChristian era. He was very distinguished in his way, and quite worthy to be\nthe founder of this new sect, who have brought to light his records, and\nrescued from oblivion such a bundle of marvels, as no one ever heard the\nlike before.\n\nI am sorry to say I must ask you to follow me through a _labyrinth_ of\nhistory, if I carry out the plan of furnishing an analysis of the Book of\nMormon.\n\nWe have already traced the history of the Lamanites and Nephites down to\nthe period of King Benjamin, between three and four hundred years from the\nperiod of Lehi's flight from Jerusalem. The father of Benjamin was Mosiah,\nwho was warned of the Lord to migrate to Zarahemla with all his people,\nthat he and they might not be destroyed by the Lamanites. Zarahemla was\nsubsequently the scene of much that is interesting in this history. It now\nbecame the dwelling place of the Nephites. Benjamin was the king of the\nland. He was a sort of David. He not only fought nobly, but took great\npains to establish true religion among the people. He assembled them\ntogether, and addressed to them powerful exhortations, preaching to them\n\"repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.\" The people were so much\naffected that they fell to the earth--were converted, and became firm\nbelievers in Christ. Benjamin then thoroughly instructed them in the\ndoctrines of Christianity, and finally died about four hundred and seventy\nsix years after Lehi's flight. His son, Mosiah, reigned in his stead, who\nwas no less eminent in kingly power and righteousness than his father. All\nthese facts are given us in what is termed the Book of Mosiah, which\ncontains thirteen chapters.\n\nIn the fifth chapter we have quite an episode introduced. As we have before\nnoticed, the Nephites had left their first residence and gone to dwell in\nthe land of Zarahemla.--Some of their number, however, desired to go back\nto the land where they formerly dwelt. The first party that went out for\nthis purpose were unsuccessful, having had much dissension among\nthemselves. The second attempt, made under a leader by the name of Zeniff,\nresulted in their making a settlement in that land, and building a city\ncalled Lehi-Nephi. No intercourse, however, having been kept up by this\ncolony with their parent country, the result of their enterprise remained\nunknown in Zarahemla. In the reign of Mosiah, however, a number of\nindividuals determined to go out on an exploring excursion, and to\nascertain what had been the fate of their brethren, who had thus gone up\nto the land of Nephi. The leader of this exploring party was Ammon, a man\nthat afterwards became famous among the Nephites. This party travelled a\nlong way through the wilderness. I suppose the wilderness, as the term is\nused in the book of Mormon in reference to America, means woods or forests.\nAt length they approached the land of Shilom and Nephi. They had not\nproceeded far before an armed band fell upon them, and having taken them\nprisoners, bound them and brought them before the king of the land. His\nname was Limhi, and, as it appeared in the sequel, he was a descendant of\nZeniff. As soon as Limhi learned Ammon's origin and the errand on which he\ncame, he released him and his company from their bands, treated them with\ngreat hospitality, and invoked his and his country's aid to assist them in\nextricating themselves from the oppressive power of the Lamanites. Limhi\nalso assembled his people together, and announced to them the character of\nthese visiters. He then brought out the records of his people, and\nexhibited them to Ammon and his company. Ammon read the engravings upon the\nplates, which in substance were as follows:--Zeniff, the founder of this\npeople, after leaving Zarahemla, travelled a long way through the\nwilderness, where he encountered various trials, and at length came to the\nland of Lehi-Nephi and Shilom. They found this country in possession of the\nLamanites. From the king of Laman, however, he obtained by treaty the\nprivilege of occupying this land. The Lamanites, the old enemies of his\nnation, allowed his people to go on and build cities, and make improvements\nfor many years, and then rose up and sought to bring them under their\ndominion, that they might bear the relation of serfs or vassals to them.\nThis attempt was rigorously resisted by Zeniff and the colony he had\nestablished. During the whole life of Zeniff, who now became their king,\nthe Lamanites were invariably repulsed, and driven off. After his death the\nkingdom was conferred upon his son Noah, who proved to be a very bad and\ndepraved man. Iniquity soon began to abound every where in the land, and\nvice to stalk shamelessly abroad with brazen front. Just at this time the\nLord raised up among them a prophet by the name of Abinadi. He was very\nvaliant for the truth. He reproved the people for their sins, and denounced\nthe judgments of God openly against them. This fearless denunciation on the\npart of the prophet awaked the displeasure of the people, who determined\nand sought to slay the man of God. But Abinadi fled and escaped out of\ntheir hands. After about two years, however, he returned in disguise, so\nthat they did not know that it was Abinadi. But as he continued to reprove\nthem, and denounce heaven's wrath against them they determined to kill him.\nHe however was not at all intimidated, but enforced his bold reproofs by\nrepeating to them each one of the commands contained in the decalogue. This\nexasperated them the more, and they sought to destroy him at once; but he\ndefied their efforts, declaring to them they could have no power over him\ntill he had finished his message. Accordingly he went on, and preached unto\nthem the coming of Christ, exhibiting the whole plan of salvation as laid\ndown in the gospel. His preaching seemed to make some impression upon the\nmind of the king, but the priests of the land, who were wicked and who\nderided the idea of the coming of Christ--succeeded in getting him put to\ndeath. He was accordingly led forth and burned at the stake.\n\nAmong those who were present, and heard Abinadi testify in reference to the\ncoming and power of Christ, was a young man by the name of Alma, whose\nheart was touched by the words of the prophet. Though Abinadi perished in\nthe flames, his spirit lived in Alma, who now became not only a firm\nbeliever, but a preacher of the doctrines which Abinadi taught. He, of\ncourse, became obnoxious both to the king and priests of Lehi-Nephi.--He,\nhowever, persevered in preaching, though he was obliged to do it in a\nprivate way. His preaching was attended with great effect. And now it was,\nthat those who believed on him resorted to a place called MORMON for\nbaptism. The record thus states the matter. \"As many as did believe him,\ndid go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name\nfrom the king, being in the borders of the land, having been infested, by\ntimes, or at seasons, by wild beasts. Now there was in Mormon a fountain of\npure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a thicket\nof small trees, where he did hide himself in the day-time from the searches\nof the king.\" Here the people came secretly to hear him. And Alma\ninstructed them in the doctrines of Christ, and baptized them by immersion\nin the waters of Mormon. About two hundred and four souls were thus\nbaptized. The record having recounted these facts, proceeds to say, \"This\nwas done in Mormon: yea, by the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon,\nthe waters of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there\ncame to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, how blessed are they, for\nthey shall sing to his praise for ever.\" It was from this place, and these\nwaters, that the individual took his name, from whom the sect of the\nMormons derives their appellation.\n\nAlma and his operations at Mormon, however, soon became known, and created\na great sensation. He and his followers were denounced as rebels, and a\nmilitary force was sent out to cut them off. They had now increased to\nnearly five hundred souls. Apprized of the designs of King Noah, they\nimmediately fled into the wilderness.\n\nThe Lord did not allow the wickedness of the people of Lehi-Nephi to go\nunpunished. The Lamanites soon came upon them, and reduced them to a state\nof vassalage.--They were still allowed, however, to keep up the shadow of a\ngovernment, and Limhi succeeded Noah in the kingdom. They were not only\nmade tributary to the Lamanites, but repeated efforts were made on the part\nof the Lamanites to cut them off, and this led them to be always in a\nwarlike posture. They were also exposed to assaults continually from a\nbanditti that at times came up from the wilderness, and fell upon them.\nWhen Ammon and his party were seized by the armed forces of Limhi they were\nsupposed to be one of these marauding bands. This explains the cause of the\ntreatment which they at first received.\n\nLimhi, having thus explained matters to Ammon, proceeded to tell him that a\nshort time before, a small party, having been sent out by him to search for\nthe land of Zarahemla, missed the object of their search, but stumbled upon\na country, filled with the ruins of ancient buildings, the remains of\ndecayed and rust-cankered armour, and the bones of men and beasts. Here,\nalso, were found the records of this extinct race, \"engraven upon plates of\nore.\" These plates, which were twenty-four in number, and of pure gold,\nthey brought away with them, but the writing was in a language which\nneither Limhi nor any of his people understood. They applied therefore, to\nAmmon to see if he could translate it, but he could not. Ammon, however,\ntold them that he knew one who could interpret these engravings, \"even the\nking of the people which is in the land of Zarahemla.\" He remarked, \"he\nhath wherewith he can look and translate all records that are of ancient\ndate, and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters;\nand no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for\nthat he had not ought, and he should perish.\" I suppose these must have\nbeen the spectacles handed down with the plates through which Joseph Smith\nlooked to read and translate the book of Mormon. Ammon, in his discourse to\nLimhi, greatly magnified the office of such a looker: \"whosoever is\ncommanded to look in them, the same is called seer. A seer is a revelator,\nand a prophet also. A seer can know of things which has past, and also of\nthings which is to come: and a gift which is greater can no man have.\" The\npreceding quotation will give an idea of the grammatical correctness and\nstyle of this book.\n\nLimhi of course was very happy at the idea of having the historic facts\nveiled under these mysterious characters, constituting the written language\nof an extinct race, brought to light. In this he was gratified, as we shall\nsubsequently see.\n\nBut the great matter, which just at this time weighed most upon Limhi's\nmind, was, how he could extricate himself from the iron meshes of the net\nwhich the Lamanites had cast over his people. Ammon, however, devised an\nexpedient, by which the whole people could flee secretly from Lehi-Nephi.\nThey watched the opportunity and took their flight and found a secure\nasylum in Zarahemla, where they were received by Mosiah with joy, who also\nreceived their records, and the record which they had found in the country\nof the extinct people before noticed. Here this episode should end. But\nappended to this is a sub-episode in relation to the people, which were\ndriven into the wilderness by the people of king Noah.--The followers of\nAlma, who were organized into a church at Mormon, and fled for their lives,\ntravelled eight days through the dense forests, till at length they came to\na very beautiful and pleasant country. Here they pitched their tents, and\nbegan to till the ground and erect buildings. They offered to make Alma\ntheir king, but he declined the honour, and dissuaded them from the idea of\nhaving a kingly government. He was already the founder of their Church, and\nfilled among them the office of high priest. No irregularities were allowed\nin ecclesiastical discipline, as we are expressly informed that \"none\nreceived authority to preach, or to teach except it were by him from God.\nTherefore he consecrated all their priests and all their teachers.\" The\ndeep secluded glen which they inhabited was at length discovered by the\nroving tribes of the Lamanites, who immediately subjected them to a bondage\nthat was peculiarly oppressive. They soon contrived, however, to escape\nfrom their hands, and fled to the land of Zarahemla, which was now becoming\na refuge for the oppressed. They were there kindly received by Mosiah,\nshortly after the arrival of Limhi and his people. Thus ends this episode.\n\nAll the people of Nephi were now assembled together, and also the people of\nLimhi and Alma, and in their hearing Mosiah read the records both of Zeniff\nand of Alma; and the Nephites were filled with amazement and joy.--Alma was\ncalled out to address the mighty concourse of these gathered tribes. King\nLimhi and all his people at once became converts to the doctrines of Alma,\nand desired baptism. And we are told: \"That Alma did go forth into the\nwater, and did baptize them; yea, he did baptize them after the manner he\ndid his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did\nbaptize, did belong to the church of God; and this because of their belief\non the words of Alma. And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto\nAlma that he might establish churches throughout all the land of Zarahemla;\nand gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church. Now\nthis was done because there was so many people that they could not all be\ngoverned by one teacher; neither could they all hear the word of God in one\nassembly; therefore they did assemble themselves together in different\nbodies, being called churches, every church having their priests and their\nteachers, and every priest preaching the word according as it was delivered\nto him by the mouth of Alma; and thus notwithstanding their being many\nchurches they were all one church; yea, even THE CHURCH OF GOD!!\" The\npeople had generally, especially those who had lived in the land of king\nBenjamin, become very pious Christians. But many of the children, who were\nnow growing up to man's estate, being still unregenerate, were full of\nunbelief; and some of them became awfully depraved. Among the number were\nthe sons of the king, and also a son of Alma, who bore the name of his\nfather. They were not only profligate in their lives, but bitter and\nscoffing infidels. While this young Alma, like Saul of Tarsus was laying\nwaste the church of God, an angel of God appeared to him by the way, and\ndescending in a cloud spoke to him in a voice of thunder which caused the\nearth to shake upon which they stood. He instantly fell to the earth, being\nstruck dumb and entirely senseless. He continued in this state for two days\nand two nights and then rose up a perfectly changed and converted man, and\nbecame a most zealous preacher of righteousness. Four of the sons of Mosiah\nwere also converted, and became preachers. These sons of the king were so\nzealous, that they embraced the idea of going on a mission to see if they\ncould not convert the Lamanites. The plan having been approved by their\nfather, they set off. We shall in due time hear what was the result of\ntheir efforts. But years passed away without any intelligence being\nreceived of them. Their father was growing old, and he had no one on whom\nto confer the kingdom. He therefore committed the records of his people for\ntransmission to young Alma, who had now become so pious. He did not do this\nhowever, till he had translated the records of the extinct nation found by\nthe people of Limhi, engraven upon twenty-four plates of gold.\n\nThese records form what is called the book of Ether, in the BOOK OF MORMON,\nwhich is placed by Mormon nearly at the end of this volume. The substance\nof this record is as follows: The people who inhabited these regions, were\ndescendants of Jared and his brother, who were among those that were\nengaged in building the tower of Babel. When Jared and his brother saw that\nGod was confounding the language of all the builders, they cried unto him\nthat he would have compassion on them and not confound their language. He\ndid so. They also besought him to show them into what part of the earth he\nwould have them go. He gave them a satisfactory response, guided them a\nlong way through the wilderness, and instructed them to build barges to\ncross the sea. These were made air tight. A breathing hole was made in the\ntop. To dissipate the darkness, they were instructed to obtain sixteen\nmolten stones, which were touched by the finger of God, and thus these\nmolten stones became in the dark barges like so many stars to enlighten the\npassengers. They embarked in these barges and were miraculously conducted\nover mountain waves to the promised land--which was America. Here they\nbecame mighty nations--built cities--cultivated the arts--and finally on\naccount of their wickedness became exterminated by dreadful wars between\nthemselves.\n\nThe following description is the account given of Mosiah's mode of\ntranslating these records: \"He translated them by the means of those two\nstones which was fastened into two rims of a bow. Now these things was\nprepared from the beginning, and was handed down from generation to\ngeneration for the purpose of interpreting languages; and they have been\nkept and preserved by the hand of the Lord; and whosoever has these things\nis called seer.\"--The same spectacles, as we have seen, came down as an\nheir loom to Jo Smith.\n\nWe have now reached the five hundred and ninth year after the flight of\nLehi. Here the book of Mosiah ends giving an account of the termination of\nthe reign of the kings, and the commencement of a sort of republican\ngovernment, or what is called the reign of the judges.--This change was\nbrought about because none of the sons of Mosiah would accept the kingdom.\nAlma was made the first chief judge. The book of Alma here follows, which\ncontains twenty-nine chapters, and occupies nearly two hundred pages of the\nBOOK OF MORMON. It is principally filled with details of the events that\nhappened under the reign of the early judges of the wars and contentions\namong the people, of the efforts of Alma and others to establish the\nchurch, and an account of a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites. One\nof the first cases brought before Alma after he sat upon the judgment-seat,\nwas that of Nehor, a very large man, and noted for his great strength. He\npreached strange doctrine to the people, declaring \"_that every priest and\nteacher had ought_ to become popular; and they ought not to labour with\ntheir own hands, but that they _had ought_ to be supported by the people.\"\nThis was one of his heresies. The other was the doctrine of the\nuniversalists, \"he testified unto the people that all mankind should be\nsaved at the last day and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that\nthey might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all\nmen, and had also redeemed all men; and in the end all men should have\neternal life.\" Gideon opposed him, and thereupon Nehor became wroth and\nslew him. He was accordingly brought before the judgment seat and doomed\nto die. After about five years Amilici, a cunning shrewd man, of similar\nsentiments with Nehor, rose up, and tried to lead away the people. He at\nlength was so successful that he proposed himself as the king of the\nnation. The question whether he should be king, was decided by popular\nvote, and he was defeated. His adherents however still clave to him, and\nanointed him king, and immediately hereupon there commenced a civil war.\nThe insurgents were defeated in battle, and fled to the Lamanists, who now\ncame in like an inundation upon Zarahemla. But the people of Zarahemla\ncried unto the Lord, and went forth in his strength and utterly defeated\nthem. The grotesque appearance of the Lamanites at this time is thus\ndescribed. \"The heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked,\nsave it were a skin which was girded about their loins, and also their\narmor, which was girded about them, and their bows and their armour, and\ntheir stones and their slings. And the skins of the Lamanites were dark,\naccording to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse\nupon them because of their transgression, and their rebellion against their\nbrethren.\"\n\nA season of universal prosperity to the church followed this expulsion of\nthe Lamanites, three hundred and fifty persons having been baptized by Alma\nduring the seventh year of the reign of the judge. At the end of the eighth\nyear there was a sensible decline in spiritual things. So alarming was the\nstate of things, that Alma, who had hitherto held the office of chief judge\nand high priest, laid down altogether the ermine, and took up the crozier,\ndevoting himself wholly to the business of preaching, with a view to\nrevive and establish the churches. We have sundry specimens of his sermons,\nwhich show that he was a perfect _Boanerges_, a real son of thunder, with\nwhich few modern preachers, however versed in the doctrines of\nChristianity, or skilled in the tactics of Arminian theology, would venture\nto compete. Great effects attended his preaching generally in the various\ncities he visited, but when he reached the city of Ammonihah he could make\nno impression upon the minds of the people. He therefore gave them up in\ndespair; but as he was departing an angel of God met him and told him to go\nback, and make another effort. He did so, and Amulek, a young man of some\ndistinction, was converted, who laboured with him in the ministry. But the\nlawyers opposed them, and tried to stir up the people against them. Alma,\nhowever, waxed mighty in spirit, and confounded, and perfectly silenced\nZeezrom, the most distinguished of the lawyers. Zeezrom himself was\nultimately converted, and suffered much persecution for his new faith. Alma\nand Amulek were imprisoned, abused and every way insulted, but their prison\ndoors were broken open, and they delivered in the sight of all the people.\nAmong the most prominent topics of Alma's preaching was the speedy coming\nof Christ. He declared he would appear in this land in America after his\nresurrection. Before dismissing the subject of Alma and his preaching, who\nis one of the most distinguished characters in the book, I cannot refrain\nfrom transcribing a passage from his address to the people of Ammonihah.\n\"And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye _had ought_\nto be beloved, and ye _had ought_ to bring forth works which _is mete_ for\nrepentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the\nword of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.\"\n\nWe have next an episode, giving an account of the missionary adventures of\nthe sons of Mosiah, in their attempts to evangelize the Lamanites. These\nfour sons most unexpectedly made their appearance in the land of Zarahemla\nafter an absence of fourteen years. After they first reached the land of\nthe Lamanites, they were seized and made slaves in the service of several\nprinces that reigned there. Ammon, whose adventures are related with the\nmost minuteness, was a perfect Guy of Warwick. He could encounter and\novercome by his single arm, hundreds of men, all trying at the same time to\noverpower him. He gave a specimen of his prowess in this way, in protecting\nthe king's flock, which he was leading to water, against the efforts of a\nband of hostile shepherds who tried to scatter and disperse the flock. The\nfame thereof came to the king. He was called into his presence. This opened\nthe way for him to preach the Gospel to him. While he was speaking the\npower of the Holy Spirit was displayed in such a way that the king fell to\nthe ground, and his wife and servants. They were, of course, all converted.\nAmmon now became a great man, and though he encountered much opposition,\nand many trials, he and his brethren succeeded in converting all the Kings\nand Queens, and most of the people of the Lamanites. They seem, generally,\nprevious to their conversion, to have had, what in modern times is called\nthe _power_. They were most generally struck down under the word, and after\nremaining insensible awhile, they rose up and began to shout praises to\nthe Most High, being perfectly transformed. These converted people were\ncalled Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Soon the more fierce tribes of the Lamanites who\nstill remained unconverted, made war upon these; and as they seem with\nthese new views to have adopted the doctrine of non-resistance, they were\nin danger of being exterminated. Hence by the suggestion of the four\nmissionaries, they determined to emigrate to Zarahemla. They had already\nreached the border of the land, and when the king's sons met Alma, their\nprincipal errand was to ask permission for this people to dwell in the land\nof the Nephites. This request was of course granted.\n\nAlma gave very long lectures or charges to his sons, and especially to\nHelaman, to whom he committed all the sacred plates, the interpreters, and\nthe director which guided Lehi through the wilderness. To him he also\nuttered this prediction, \"Behold I perceive that this very people, the\nNephites, according to the spirit which is in me, in four hundred years\nfrom the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall\ndwindle in unbelief; yea, and then shall they see wars, and pestilences,\nyea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become\nextinct.\"\n\nAlma, after uttering this prophecy, disappeared in the same mysterious way\nthat Moses did, and no man knoweth his grave unto this day. At this period\nall who believed in Christ took upon them the name of Christians. Various\nwars now raged between the Lamanites and Nephites. The people of Nephi\nerected many forts and high mounds to secure themselves from the invasion\nof their enemies.\n\nThe Book of Helaman, which consists of five chapters, opens with the\nfortieth year of the reign of the Judges. It details sad accounts of\ndissensions and war, and strange alternations of prosperity and adversity\nto the church. A man by the name of Nephi, who was now chief judge,\nimitated Alma, and laying down his civil office, became a great preacher\nand prophet, performing miracles and mighty wonders. He went even to the\nLamanites, and was so successful in converting them, that he arrested the\ntide of war and restored peace to the land. The earth shook, the heavens\nwere opened, and angels came down at his voice. After Nephi, rose up\nSamuel, a Lamanite, who predicted that Christ would come in five years, and\nthat on the day he was born, though the sun would go down as usual, there\nwould be no night, it would continue as light as day. This was to be the\nsign. Another sign to attend his death, which was to take place in the\nthirty-fourth year after his birth, was three whole days of darkness, in\nwhich there were to be thunderings and lightnings, and earthquakes, and the\nrending of rocks and cleaving of hills. According to the testimony in the\nnext book, at the end of five years the sign of his birth occurred, two\ndays succeeding each other without any intervening night. The Nephites,\ntherefore, knew that Christ had come. They accordingly reckoned their time\nfrom this period, regarding it as the commencement of a new era. The\nLamanites that were converted now became white as the Nephites. At the end\nof thirty-three years, the signs that were foretold would accompany the\ndeath of Christ, appeared. There was a great tempest, and terrible thunder;\nthe earth shook, as though about to divide asunder. Vivid lightning ran\nalong on the ground, cities were overturned and buried in the midst of the\nsea--a terrible darkness came over the land for three days--and a great\nmourning and howling and weeping among the people. The voice of Christ was\nheard, amid the awful tempest, denouncing woes upon sinners, and offering\ngrace and salvation to all who would repent and believe. After this Christ\nmade his personal appearance on the earth, coming down from heaven with\ngreat glory. There were several occasions on which he appeared, at which\ntimes he delivered to the assembled thousands all the instruction, and\nperformed nearly all the miracles recorded in the New Testament, and then\nhe was again taken up out of their sight. He ordained twelve apostles and\ngave them singular gifts. He instituted baptism and the Lord's supper,\nblessed the children and healed the sick, but I am obliged to pass over all\nthe details of these, as this chapter is already so long. Now all were\nbaptized in the name of the Trinity. All the Nephites, and nearly all the\nLamanites, became converted. For about fifty years the earth was almost a\nperfect paradise. But then the love of many began to wax cold, and iniquity\nto abound. Terrible wars ensued. The Nephites apostatized more and more\nfrom the faith, till at the end of four hundred years after Christ they\nbecame entirely destroyed, and Mormon, as we have said, was one of the last\nof his race, who committed the records of this people to his son, Moroni,\nwho deposited them in the hill, where Joseph Smith found them. This is an\noutline of this historical romance, which the deluded Mormons now regard as\na revelation from God. In this brief sketch we have been obliged to omit\nmany things that attracted our attention; but I suppose that our readers\nare exceedingly glad we have reached the end, as the writer certainly is.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nFARTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN RELATION TO THE MORMON IMPOSTURE.\n\n\nSince preparing the preceding chapters for the press, there have come into\nthe author's hands several documents, that seem to throw additional light\nupon the origin and authorship of the Book of Mormon. These documents\nconsist of statements made by Mr. John Spalding, now residing in Crawford\ncounty, Pa., the brother of Rev. Mr. Spalding--by Mrs. Martha Spalding, the\nwife of Mr. John Spalding--by four gentlemen, residing in Conneaut,\nAshtabula county, Ohio, the very spot where Mr. Spalding's historical\nromance was originally written, and by several others acquainted with the\nfacts in reference to Mr. Spalding's manuscript. From these statements we\nmake the following extracts:\n\nMr. John Spalding, having given an account of the education of his brother,\nhis preparation for the ministry, his subsequent relinquishment of its\nduties, and his engagement in mercantile business, says, \"In a few years he\nfailed in business, and, in the year 1809, removed to Conneaut, in Ohio.\nThe year following, I removed to Ohio, and found him engaged in building a\nforge. I made him a visit in about three years after; and found that he had\nfailed, and become considerably involved in debt. He then told me he had\nbeen writing a book, which he intended to have printed, the avails of which\nhe thought would enable him to pay all his debts. The book was entitled the\n'Manuscript Found,' of which he read to me many passages. It was an\nhistorical romance of the first settlers of America, endeavouring to show\nthat the American Indians are the descendants of the Jews, or the lost\ntribes. It gave a detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by land\nand sea, till they arrived in America, under the command of Nephi and Lehi.\nThey afterwards had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two\ndistinct nations, one of which he denominated Nephites and the other\nLamanites. Cruel and bloody wars ensued, in which great multitudes were\nslain. They buried their dead in large heaps, which caused the mounds so\ncommon in this country. Their arts, sciences and civilization were brought\ninto view, in order to account for all the curious antiquities, found in\nvarious parts of North and South America. I have recently read the Book of\nMormon, and to my great surprise I find nearly the same historical matter,\nnames, &c. as they were in my brother's writings. I well remember that he\nwrote in the old style, and commenced about every sentence with 'and it\ncame to pass,' or 'now it came to pass,' the same as in the Book of Mormon,\nand according to the best of my recollection and belief, it is the same as\nmy brother Solomon wrote, with the exception of the religious matter. By\nwhat means it has fallen into the hands of Joseph Smith Jr., I am unable to\ndetermine.\"\n\nMrs. Martha Spalding's testimony is very similar. She says, \"I was\npersonally acquainted with Solomon Spalding, about twenty years ago. I was\nat his house a short time before he left Conneaut; he was then writing a\nhistorical novel founded upon the first settlers of America. He represented\nthem as an enlightened and warlike people. He had for many years contended\nthat the aborigines of America were the descendants of some of the lost\ntribes of Israel, and this idea he carried out in the book in question. The\nlapse of time which has intervened, prevents my recollecting but few of the\nleading incidents of his writings; but the names of Nephi and Lehi are yet\nfresh in my memory, as being the principal heroes of his tale. They were\nofficers of the company which first came off from Jerusalem. He gave a\nparticular account of their journey by land and sea, till they arrived in\nAmerica, after which, disputes arose between the chiefs, which caused them\nto separate into different lands, one of which was called Lamanites and the\nother Nephites. Between these were recounted tremendous battles, which\nfrequently covered the ground with the slain; and their being buried in\nlarge heaps was the cause of the numerous mounds in the country. Some of\nthese people he represented as being very large. I have read the Book of\nMormon, which has brought fresh to my recollection the writings of Solomon\nSpalding; and I have no manner of doubt that the historical part of it, is\nthe same that I read and heard read, more than twenty years ago.\"\n\nMr. Henry Lake, residing at Conneaut, gives the following statement: \"I\nleft the state of New York, late in the year 1810, and arrived at this\nplace, about the 1st of January following. Soon after my arrival, I formed\na co-partnership with Solomon Spalding, for the purpose of rebuilding a\nforge which he had commenced a year or two before. He very frequently read\nto me from a manuscript which he was writing, which he entitled the\n'Manuscript Found,' and which he represented as being found in this town. I\nspent many hours in hearing him read said writing, and became well\nacquainted with its contents. He wished me to assist him in getting his\nproduction printed, alleging that a book of that kind would meet with a\nrapid sale. I designed doing so, but the forge not meeting our\nanticipations, we failed in business, when I declined having any thing to\ndo with the publication of the book. This book represented the American\nIndians as the descendants of the lost tribes, gave an account of their\nleaving Jerusalem, their contentions and wars, which were many and great.\nOne time, when he was reading to me the tragic account of Laban, I pointed\nout to him what I considered an inconsistency, which he promised to\ncorrect; but by referring to the Book of Mormon, I find to my surprise that\nit stands there just as he read it to me then. Some months ago I borrowed\nthe Golden Bible, put it into my pocket, carried it home, and thought no\nmore of it. About a week after, my wife found the book in my coat pocket,\nas it hung up, and commenced reading it aloud as I lay upon the bed. She\nhad not read twenty minutes till I was astonished to find the same passages\nin it that Spalding had read to me more than twenty years before, from his\n'Manuscript Found.' Since that, I have more fully examined the said Golden\nBible, and have no hesitation in saying that the historical part of it is\nprincipally, if not wholly taken from the 'Manuscript Found.'\"\n\nMr. John N. Miller, residing in Springfield, Pa., who was then in the\nemploy of Mr. Lake, and boarded in the family of Mr. Spalding, corroborates\nthe preceding statement. After having mentioned being introduced to the\nmanuscript of Mr. Spalding, he says, \"It purported to be the history of the\nfirst settlement of America, before discovered by Columbus. He brought them\noff from Jerusalem, under their leaders; detailing their travels by land\nand water, their manners, customs, laws, wars, &c.\n\n\"I have recently examined the Book of Mormon, and find in it the writings\nof Solomon Spalding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with Scripture and\nother religious matter, which I did not meet with in the 'Manuscript\nFound.' Many of the passages in the Mormon Book are verbatim from Spalding,\nand others in part. The names of Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, and in fact all the\nprincipal names, are brought fresh to my recollection, by the Golden\nBible.\"\n\nMr. Aaron Wright, of Conneaut, remarks, \"I first became acquainted with\nSolomon Spalding in 1808 or 9, when he commenced building a forge on\nConneaut creek. When at his house, one day, he showed and read to me a\nhistory he was writing, of the lost tribes of Israel, purporting that they\nwere the first settlers of America, and that the Indians were their\ndescendants. Upon this subject we had frequent conversations. He traced\ntheir journey from Jerusalem to America, as it is given in the Book of\nMormon, excepting the religious matter. The historical part of the Book of\nMormon, I know to be the same as I read and heard read from the writings of\nSpalding, more than twenty years ago; the names more especially are the\nsame without any alteration. He told me his object was to account for all\nthe fortifications, &c. to be found in this country.\"\n\nMr. Oliver Smith, of Conneaut, gives the following statement: \"When Solomon\nSpalding first came to this place, he purchased a tract of land, surveyed\nit out and commenced selling it. While engaged in this business, he boarded\nat my house, in all nearly six months. All his leisure hours were occupied\nin writing a historical novel, founded upon the first settlers of this\ncountry. He said he intended to trace their journey from Jerusalem, by land\nand sea, till their arrival in America, give an account of their arts,\nsciences, civilization, wars and contentions. In this way, he would give a\nsatisfactory account of all of the old mounds, so common to this country.\nDuring the time he was at my house, I read and heard read one hundred pages\nor more. Nephi and Lehi were by him represented as leading characters, when\nthey first started for America. Their main object was to escape the\njudgments which they supposed were coming upon the old world. But no\nreligious matter was introduced, as I now recollect. When I heard the\nhistorical part of the Book of Mormon related, I at once said it was the\nwritings of old Solomon Spalding. Soon after, I obtained the book, and on\nreading it, found much of it the same as Spalding had written, more than\ntwenty years before.\"\n\nMr. Nahum Howard, of the same place, gives a similar statement. We will\ndetain the reader only by a single additional statement. Mr. Artemas\nCunningham, of Perry, Geauga county, relates the following facts: \"In the\nmonth of October, 1811, I went from the township of Madison to Conneaut,\nfor the purpose of securing a debt due me from Solomon Spalding. I tarried\nwith him nearly two days, for the purpose of accomplishing my object, which\nI was finally unable to do. I found him destitute of the means of paying\nhis debts. His only hope of ever paying his debts, appeared to be upon the\nsale of a book, which he had been writing. He endeavoured to convince me\nfrom the nature and character of the work, that it would meet with a ready\nsale. Before showing me his manuscripts, he went into a verbal relation of\nits outlines, saying that it was a fabulous or romantic history of the\nfirst settlement of this country, and as it purported to have been a record\nfound buried in the earth, or in a cave, he had adopted the ancient or\nScripture style of writing. He then presented his manuscripts, when we sat\ndown and spent a good share of the night, in reading them, and conversing\nupon them. I well remember the name of Nephi, which appeared to be the\nprincipal hero of the story. The frequent repetition of the phrase, 'I\nNephi,' I recollect as distinctly as though it was but yesterday, although\nthe general features of the story have passed from my memory. The Mormon\nBible I have partially examined, and am fully of the opinion that Solomon\nSpalding had written its outlines before he left Conneaut.\"\n\nWith such a cloud of witnesses, commentary seems quite unnecessary.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\nORGANIZATION OF THE MORMONS, AND THEIR REMOVAL TO OHIO.\n\n     Steps leading to the Mormon emigration to the\n     West--Conversion of Parley P. Pratt--Mission to the\n     Lamanites--Sidney Rigdon--His avowed\n     conversion--Fanatic scenes at Kirtland--Dr. Rosa's\n     letter--Mr. Howe's statement--Smith's removal.\n\n\nJo Smith, who aspired to the high character of a prophet of God, was far\nmore successful in gathering early disciples than Mahomet. His own family,\nand numerous coadjutors, being in the secret with himself, and hoping to\nbuild up their fortunes by this scheme, became very zealous converts to the\nMormon imposture.\n\nThere was not much ground for Smith to hope to make converts in the\nneighbourhood where this fabrication was got up. In addition to his own\nfamily, Harris, Cowdery, Whitmer, and those whom they could personally\ninfluence, a few converts were obtained in the neighbouring towns, by the\nmarvellous pretensions which the prophet set up. These, however, were\neither mere adventurers, or the firm believers in ghosts and hobgoblins.\nSoon after the Book of Mormon was issued from the press, a person by the\nname of Parley P. Pratt, passed through Palmyra, and hearing of the \"golden\nBible,\" sought an interview with the prophet, and immediately became a\nconvert. This individual resided in Lorrain co., Ohio, and was very\nintimate with Sidney Rigdon. Rigdon was professedly a Campbellite Baptist\npreacher. He resided in the county of Geauga, and but a few miles from\nKirtland, which afterwards became the head-quarters of the Mormons. About\nthe time that Pratt visited the prophet, and gave in his adhesion to the\nMormons, an expedition was fitted out for the Western Country, under the\ncommand of Cowdery, to convert the Lamanites, as the western Indians were\ncalled by them. The persons sent on this mission were Cowdery, Pratt,\nPeterson, and Whitmer. Under the guidance of Pratt, they reached the\nresidence of Rigdon in Mentor, Ohio, the last of October, 1830.--Rigdon at\nfirst received them apparently with suspicion, and objected to the Mormon\nscheme, and the authority of the prophet, but in the course of two days,\nhis objections gave way, and he avowed his conversion to the Mormon faith.\nHe very soon started off in order to have a personal interview with the\nprophet. Smith of course was prepared to receive him, and declared there\nhad just been made to him a revelation from the Lord in relation to this\nnew convert. This pretended heavenly communication uses such language as\nthe following--\"Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I\nhave looked upon thee and thy works; I have heard thy prayers, and prepared\nthee for a greater work--thou art blessed for thou shall do great things.\nBehold thou wast sent forth even as John to prepare the way before me, and\nElijah which should come, and thou knewest it not--thou didst baptize by\nwater unto repentance, but they received not the Holy Ghost; but now I give\nunto you a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and fire of the\nHoly Ghost, by laying on of hands, even as the Apostles of old.\"\n\nThere is great reason to believe that this meeting of Smith and Rigdon was\npreconcerted--and that the pretended mission to the Indians was devised to\nform a plausible pretext for Rigdon, to come out openly in favour of the\nMormons--and thus to conceal more effectually the hand which he might\npreviously have had in concocting this scheme of imposture.\n\nCertain it is \"their plans of deception appear to have been more fully\nmatured and developed after the meeting of Smith and Rigdon. The latter\nbeing found very intimate with the Scriptures, a close reasoner, and as\nfully competent to make white appear black, and black white, as any other\nman; and at all times prepared to establish, to the satisfaction of great\nnumbers of people, the negative or affirmative, of any and every question,\n_from Scripture_, he was forthwith appointed to promulgate all the\nabsurdities and ridiculous pretensions of Mormonism, 'and call on the Holy\nProphets to prove' all the words of Smith.\" A revelation was soon received,\n\"that Kirtland, the residence of Rigdon and his brethren, was to be the\neastern border of the 'promised land,' 'and from thence to the Pacific\nOcean.' On this land the 'New Jerusalem, the city of Refuge,' was to be\nbuilt. Upon it, all true Mormons were to assemble, to escape the\ndestruction of the world, which was soon to take place.\"\n\nThose sent on the mission to the Lamanites having spent some time at\nKirtland, succeeded in making a number of converts. After Cowdery and his\nassociates, began to develope the peculiarities of their system, we are\ntold that scenes of the most wild, frantic and horrible fanaticism ensued.\n\"They pretended that the power of miracles was about to be given to all\nthose who embraced the new faith, and commenced communicating the Holy\nSpirit, by laying their hands upon the heads of the converts, which\noperation, at first, produced an instantaneous prostration of body and\nmind. Many would fall upon the floor, where they would lie for a long time,\napparently lifeless. They thus continued these enthusiastic exhibitions for\nseveral weeks. The fits usually came on, during or after their\nprayer-meetings, which were held nearly every evening. The young men and\nwomen were more particularly subject to this delirium. They would exhibit\nall the apish acts imaginable, making the most ridiculous grimaces,\ncreeping upon their hands and feet, rolling upon the frozen ground, go\nthrough with all the Indian modes of warfare, such as knocking down,\nscalping, &c. At other times, they would run through the fields, get upon\nstumps, preach to imaginary congregations, enter the water, and perform all\nthe ceremony of baptizing. Many would have fits of speaking all the\ndifferent Indian dialects, which none could understand. Again, at the dead\nhour of night, the young men might be seen running over the fields and\nhills in pursuit, as they said, of the balls of fire, lights, &c., which\nthey saw moving through the atmosphere.\"\n\nThree of the young converts pretended to have received commissions to\npreach from the skies, after having first jumpt into the air as high as\nthey could. All these transactions were believed to be from _the Spirit of\nGod_. They very soon numbered in this region a hundred converts. To these\nconverts Rigdon, soon after joining Smith at Manchester, wrote a letter,\ndisclosing among other things that Kirtland was to be the seat of\nempire--and that they were dwelling on their eternal inheritance, and that\nthe land of promise extended from that place to the Pacific ocean.\n\nThe facts above stated are principally taken from a volume entitled\n\"MORMONISM UNVEILED,\" sent the author by a most estimable clergyman of the\nEpiscopal Church, residing at Ashtabula, Ohio, with the information that\nthis volume is regarded by all candid and respectable people in the\nneighbourhood of the Mormon settlement, as a correct and fair statement of\nfacts. It may tend to throw some new light upon some of the actors in this\ngrand drama of deception to insert a portion of the correspondence that led\nthe clergyman just referred to, to forward this volume to the author. The\nRev. Mr. Quinan, who now resides in Philadelphia, having formerly lived in\nthe neighbourhood of Kirtland, was requested by the author to open a\ncorrespondence with some intelligent person in that neighbourhood, who\nwould be able to give some account of the first emigration of the Mormons\nto Kirtland, and the line of operations which they had there pursued. Mr.\nQuinan's letter was addressed to Dr. A. Hawley. Dr. H---- put this letter\ninto the hands of the clergyman above alluded to, who having obtained the\nfollowing communication from Dr. Rosa, forwarded it to the author, with a\npostscript of his own appended, as will be seen in the insertion below. Dr.\nRosa's letter is dated _Painesville, Ohio, June 3d, 1841_, from which we\nmake the following extract.\n\n     * * * I think the history of Mormonism as published by\n     E. D. Howe--a copy of which can be obtained in our\n     place--contains all the material truths connected with\n     the rise and progress of that miserable deception.\n     There are occasionally new doctrines introduced and\n     incorporated with their faith, such as _being baptized\n     for the dead_. This is a common custom here. When a\n     member is satisfied that his father, mother, or\n     brother, or any other friend is in hell, he steps\n     forward and offers himself to the church in baptism for\n     that individual, and when properly baptised the\n     tormented individual will instantaneously emerge from\n     his misery into perfect happiness. There are many such\n     follies which the simple hearted are ready and willing\n     to believe. There is no permanent separation in the\n     society. There were a few seceders a few years since,\n     some of whom left them entirely, and became infidels,\n     and others held to the original purity of the doctrines\n     as they termed it.\n\n     As to Martin Harris--of late I have heard but little of\n     him. My acquaintance with him induces me to believe him\n     a monomaniac; he is a man of great loquacity and very\n     unmeaning, ready at all times to dispute the ground of\n     his doctrines with any one. He was one of the seceders,\n     and for a time threatened the Mormons with exposure, as\n     I have been informed; but where he is now I cannot say.\n\n     Jo Smith is regarded as an inspired man by all the\n     Mormons.\n\n     Sidney Rigdon is at the western settlement; he embraced\n     the Mormon religion in the latter part of October,\n     1830. See page 102 of the book as published by E. D.\n     Howe, above referred to.\n\n     In the early part of the year--either in May or June--I\n     was in company with Sidney Rigdon, and rode with him on\n     horseback a few miles. Our conversation was principally\n     upon the subject of religion, as he was at that time a\n     very popular preacher of the denomination calling\n     themselves '_disciples_' or Campbellites. He remarked\n     to me, that it was time for a new religion to spring\n     up; that mankind were all rife and ready for it. I\n     thought he alluded to the Campbellite doctrine--he said\n     it would not be long before something would make its\n     appearance--he also said that he thought of leaving for\n     Pennsylvania, and should be absent for some months. I\n     asked him how long--he said it would depend upon\n     circumstances. I began to think a little strange of his\n     remarks, as he was a minister of the Gospel.\n\n     I left Ohio that fall, and went to the state of New\n     York, to visit my friends, who lived in Waterloo--not\n     far from the mine of golden Bibles. In November I was\n     informed that my old neighbour, E. Partridge, and the\n     Rev. Sidney Rigdon were in Waterloo, and that they both\n     had become the dupes of Jo Smith's necromancies: it\n     then occurred to me that Rigdon's new religion had made\n     its appearance, and when I became informed of the\n     Spalding manuscript I was confirmed in the opinion that\n     Rigdon was at least accessary if not the principal in\n     getting up this farce. Any information that I can give\n     shall be done cheerfully.\n\n                         Respectfully, your obedient servant,\n                         S. ROSA..\n                         REV. MR. HALL.\n\n\n                              _June 5th, 1841._\n     REV. JOHN A. CLARK, D. D.\n\n     DEAR SIR:\n\n     The above letter I have obtained in answer to several\n     questions respecting Mormons and Mormonism, transmitted\n     by the Rev. Mr. Quinan to Dr. A. Hawley, of _this\n     county_, from you. This letter of Dr. Rosa's, together\n     with the book, \"Mormonism Unveiled\" which accompanies\n     it, I send as the best answers to your questions, and\n     the best expositions of Mormonism which can be\n     obtained. It is believed by candid and respectable\n     people in the vicinity of the Mormon Temple, that Mr.\n     Howe's book--\"Mormonism Unveiled\"--is very correct. As\n     to the deponents in reference to Spalding manuscript,\n     at New Salem (now Conneaut), I have been acquainted\n     with them for thirty years (excepting Miller), and\n     believe them to be credible and respectable persons.\n\n     It is indeed astonishing that so low an imposture\n     should ever have been countenanced at all; much more so\n     that hundreds of English converts should recently have\n     come over to it, and that four hundred more should now\n     be daily expected to take shipping at Buffalo, in order\n     to pass up our Lakes to join the Western Mormons!\n\n                              JOHN HALL,\n                         _Rector of St. Peter's, Ashtabula, Ohio_.\n\nIn the conclusion of Mr. Howe's book--referred to in the preceding\nletter--we were particularly struck with the following statement, which\nseems to account perfectly for Rigdon's easy faith, and to identify him\nwith this scheme of imposture from its very origin. The reader will\nrecollect that Mrs. Davison states that the manuscript was lent to Mr.\nPatterson, the publisher of a newspaper in Pittsburg, with whose office\nRigdon was connected. The author of the volume above referred to,\nsays:--\"It was inferred at once that some light might be shed upon this\nsubject, and the mystery revealed, by applying to Patterson & Lambdin, in\nPittsburg. But here again death had interposed a barrier. That\nestablishment was dissolved and broken up many years since, and Lambdin\ndied about eight years ago. Mr. Patterson says he has no recollection of\nany such manuscript being brought there for publication, neither would he\nhave been likely to have seen it, as the business of printing was conducted\nwholly by Lambdin at that time. He says, however, that many manuscript\nbooks and pamphlets were brought to the office about that time, which\nremained upon their shelves for years, without being printed or even\nexamined. Now, there is the strongest presumption that Spalding's\nmanuscript, (or a copy of it) remained there in seclusion, till about the\nyear 1823 or '24, at which time _Sidney Rigdon_ located himself in that\ncity. We have been credibly informed that he was on terms of intimacy with\nLambdin, being seen frequently in his shop. Rigdon resided in Pittsburg\nabout three years, and during the whole of that time, as he has since\nfrequently asserted, abandoned preaching and all other employment, for the\npurpose of _studying the Bible_. He left there, and came into the county\nwhere he now resides, about the time Lambdin died, and commenced preaching\nsome new points of doctrine, which were afterwards found to be inculcated\nin the Mormon Bible. He resided in this vicinity about four years previous\nto the appearance of the book, during which time he made several long\nvisits to Pittsburg, and perhaps to the Susquehanna, where Smith was then\ndigging for money, or pretending to be translating plates. It may be\nobserved also, that about the time Rigdon left Pittsburg, the Smith family\nbegan to tell about finding a book that would contain a history of the\nfirst inhabitants of America, and that two years had elapsed before they\nfinally got possession of it.\n\n\"We are, then, irresistibly led to this conclusion;--that Lambdin, after\nhaving failed in business, had recourse to the old manuscripts then in his\npossession, in order to _raise the wind_, by a book speculation, and\nplaced the \"Manuscript Found,\" of Spalding, in the hands of Rigdon, to be\nembellished, altered, and added to, as he might think expedient; and three\nyears' study of the Bible we should deem little time enough to garble it,\nas it is transferred to the Mormon book. The former dying, left the latter\nthe sole proprietor, who was obliged to resort to his wits, and in a\nmiraculous way to bring it before the world; for in no other manner could\nsuch a book be published without great sacrifice. And where could a more\nsuitable character be found than Jo Smith, whose necromantic fame and arts\nof deception, had already extended to a considerable distance? That Lambdin\nwas a person every way qualified and fitted for such an enterprise, we have\nthe testimony of his partner in business, and others of his acquaintance.\nAdd to all these circumstances, the facts, that Rigdon had prepared the\nminds in a great measure, of nearly a hundred of those who attended his\nministration, to be in readiness to embrace the first mysterious _ism_ that\nshould be presented--the appearance of Cowdery at his residence as soon as\nthe Book was printed--his sudden conversion, after many pretensions to\ndisbelieve it--his immediately repairing to the residence of Smith, three\nhundred miles distant, where he was forthwith appointed an elder,\nhigh-priest, and a scribe to the prophet--the pretended vision that his\nresidence in Ohio was the \"promised land,\"--the immediate removal of the\nwhole Smith family thither, where they were soon raised from a state of\npoverty to comparative affluence. We, therefore, must hold out Sidney\nRigdon to the world as being the original 'author and proprietor' of the\nwhole Mormon conspiracy, until further light is elicited upon the lost\nwritings of Solomon Spalding.\"\n\nWe proceed, however, with our narrative. Rigdon tarried with Smith in\nManchester about two months, receiving revelations, preaching in that\nvicinity, and trying to establish the truth of Mormonism. But meeting with\nlittle success, he returned to Kirtland, being followed in a few days by\nthe prophet and his connections. This happened early in 1831. \"From this\npoint in the history of this delusion, it began to spread with considerable\nrapidity. Nearly all of their male converts, however ignorant and\nworthless, were forthwith transformed into 'Elders,' and sent forth to\nproclaim, with all their wild enthusiasm, the wonders and mysteries of\nMormonism. All those having a taste for the marvellous, and delighting in\nnovelties, flocked to hear them. Many travelled fifty and an hundred miles\nto the throne of the prophet, in Kirtland, to hear from his own mouth the\ncertainty of his excavating a bible and spectacles. Many, even in the New\nEngland States, after hearing the frantic story of some of these 'elders,'\nwould forthwith place their _all_ into a wagon, and wend their way to the\n'promised land,' in order, as they supposed, to escape the judgments of\nHeaven, which were soon to be poured out upon the land. The State of New\nYork, they were _privately_ told, would most _probably_ be sunk, unless the\npeople thereof believed in the pretensions of Smith.\n\n\"On the arrival of Smith in Kirtland, he appeared astonished at the wild\nenthusiasm and scalping performances, of his proselytes there, as\nheretofore related. He told them that he had enquired of the Lord\nconcerning the matter, and had been informed that it was all the work of\nthe Devil. The disturbances, therefore, ceased. Thus we see that the\nDevil, for the time being, held full sway in making converts to\nMormonism.\"[5]\n\nWe have already stated that Sidney Rigdon, previous to his conversion to\nthe Mormons, was a preacher among the Campbellite Baptists, and enjoyed\nconsiderable popularity. After his return to Kirtland, with his new\ncompanions and new faith, Elder Campbell, the founder of the sect to which\nhe had previously belonged, sent him a challenge for a public debate, in\nwhich he would undertake to show the foolish absurdities, shameless\npretensions, and manifest imposture of the whole Mormon scheme. This\nchallenge, however, Rigdon very prudently declined accepting.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[5] Mormonism Unveiled.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\nMORMON EMIGRATION TO MISSOURI.\n\n     Mission to Missouri--Cause that led to\n     emigration--Settlement at Independence--Change in\n     operations--Gift of tongues--Rule for speaking and\n     interpreting.\n\n\nCowdery and those connected with his mission, after having made the\nconverts we have noticed at Kirtland in the autumn of 1830, proceeded on\nstill farther to the west, in order to convert the Indians. They at length\nset down in the western part of Missouri.\n\nThe following extract from the volume already referred to, will explain the\ncause that led the Mormons to think of emigrating to Missouri.\n\n\"The Mormons soon began to assemble in considerable numbers at and about\nKirtland, the supposed 'eternal inheritance,' and those who were able,\nbought land; but the greater part of their dupes had thus far been the poor\nand needy, and came there with a view of enjoying all things 'in common,'\nas such doctrine had gone forth. Many, however, found out their mistake\nafter their arrival; and the revelation appeared to be only that the\nprophet and some of his relations should be supported by the church. In\nconsequence of their inability to purchase lands adjoining head-quarters,\nthey were scattered about in several townships, much exposed to 'wild\nbeasts,' and subject to have their faith shaken by the influence of reason.\nSeveral renounced it. They were daily running to the prophet with queries\nand doubts which were constantly arising upon their minds. He generally\nsatisfied them by _explaining_; nevertheless, they annoyed him much and the\nnecessity of withdrawing them from the influences which surrounded them\nbecame apparent; hence, their removal to Missouri, where they could, in\ntime, purchase all the land which they should need at a low rate, and\nbecome a 'distinct people.'\n\n\"As before noticed, Cowdery and his companions, proceeded on to the west,\nwith the avowed intention of converting the Indians, under a command of the\nLord. On their way they tried their skill on several tribes, but made no\nproselytes, although their deluded brethren at home could daily see them,\nin visions, baptising whole tribes. They finally arrived at the western\nline of the State of Missouri, late in the fall of 1830, with the intention\nof proceeding into the Indian country, but were stopped by the agents of\nthe general government, under an act of Congress, to prevent the white\npeople from trading or settling among them. They then took up their winter\nquarters in the village of Independence, about twelve miles from the State\nline. Here they obtained employment during the winter. In the following\nspring, one of them returned to Kirtland, with a flattering account of the\ncountry about Independence. About the first of June, the prophet assembled\nall his followers, for the purpose of a great meeting, at which time it was\ngiven out that marvellous events were to take place. Here many new attempts\nwere made by Smith to perform miracles and otherwise to deceive his\nfollowers. Previous to this time, it should be remarked, nearly all the\nMormonites had arrived from the State of New York, under a revelation, of\ncourse, to take possession of the 'promised land.' There were in all about\nfifty families. At the above mentioned meeting a long revelation was\nmanufactured, commanding all the leading men and Elders to depart forthwith\nfor the western part of Missouri, naming each one separately, informing\nthem that only two should go together, and that every two should take\nseparate roads, preaching by the way. Only about two weeks were allowed\nthem to make preparations for the journey, and most of them left what\nbusiness they had to be closed by others. Some left large families, with\ntheir crops upon the ground, and embarked for a distant land, from which\nthey have not yet returned.\n\n\"On arriving at the village of Independence, they proceeded to purchase a\nlot of land, upon which the prophet directed Rigdon and Cowdery to perform\nthe mock ceremony of laying the corner stone of a city, which he called\nZion. Of the future prosperity and magnificence of this city, many\nmarvellous revelations were had by the prophet and many more marvellous\nconjectures formed by his disciples. Among others, it was said that it\nwould in a few years exceed in splendor every thing known in ancient times.\nIts streets were to be paved with gold; all that escaped the general\ndestruction which was soon to take place, would there assemble with all\ntheir wealth; the ten lost tribes of Israel had been discovered in their\nretreat, in the vicinity of the North Pole, where they had for ages been\nsecluded by immense barriers of ice, and became vastly rich: the ice in a\nfew years was to be melted away, when those tribes, with St. John and some\nof the Nephites, which the Book of Mormon had immortalized, would be seen\nmaking their appearance in the new city, loaded with immense quantities of\ngold and silver.\n\n\"The prophet and his _life-guard_ of Elders, stayed in their city about two\nweeks. Revelations were had for a part of them to return to Ohio, a part to\nstay and take charge of the city, and a part to commence preaching 'in the\nregion round about.' Much dissatisfaction was manifested by some as to the\nselection of the site, and the general appearance of the country. Smith,\nRigdon and Cowdery returned to the old head-quarters in Kirtland. Their\nfollowers immediately commenced selling their lands, mostly at a great\nsacrifice, and made preparations for emigrating up the Missouri. All were\nnow anxious to sell, instead of buying more land in Ohio. A special command\nwas given to seventeen families, who had settled in one township, some\nthree months previous, to depart forthwith to the promised land, who obeyed\norders, leaving their crop to those who owned the land. Besides a great\nvariety of special revelations relating to individuals, and other matters,\na general one was given to the proselytes to sell their lands and other\nproperty and repair to Missouri as fast as possible, but not in haste.\nAccordingly, many went during the year, making sacrifices of property,\n(those few of them who had any,) in proportion to their faith and their\nanxiety to be upon their 'eternal inheritance.' In the mean time, thirty or\nforty 'Elders,' were sent off in various directions in pursuit of\nproselytes. This year passed off with a gradual increase, and considerable\nwealth was drawn in, so that they began to boast of a capital stock of ten\nor fifteen thousand dollars.\n\n\"Their common stock principles appear to be somewhat similar to those of\nthe Shakers. Each one, however is allowed to 'manage his own affairs in his\nown way,' until he arrives in Missouri. There the Bishop resides; he has\nsupreme command in all pecuniary matters, according to the revelations\ngiven by the prophet.\n\n\"The next year commenced with something like a change of operations.\nInstead of selling their possessions in Ohio, they again began to buy up\nimproved land, mills and water privileges. It would seem that the Missouri\ncountry began to look rather dreary to the prophet and his head men,\nsupposing that they could not enjoy their power there as well as in Ohio.\nThey could not think of undergoing the hardships and privations incident to\na new country. Besides, the people there were not much disposed to\nencourage the emigration of such an army of fanatics--and their \"Lamanite\"\nbrethren, under Gen. Black Hawk, were about that time commencing a war upon\nthe whites.\n\n\"They therefore, continued to extend their impositions by sending abroad\nevery thing that could walk, no matter how ignorant, if they had learnt the\ntales and vagaries of their leaders. All that were so sent, were dubbed\n_Elders_ or _High Priests_, and furnished with a commission, purporting to\nhave been dictated by the Lord to the prophet. These requisites being added\nto their credulity, they were of course inspired with all necessary\nself-sufficiency, zeal and impudence. They were thus prepared to declare\nthat every thing which they stated or imagined, was absolutely true--for\nthe _Spirit_ had so informed them.\n\n\"During the year 1832, considerable progress was made in writing out, and\nrevising the Old and New Testaments, which the prophet pretended to do by\ninspiration, or by the guidance of the Spirit. In this business, most of\nhis leisure hours were occupied, Rigdon acting as scribe. They say that the\nScriptures in their present form, retain but little of their original\npurity and beauty, having been so often copied and translated by unskilful\nhands. The whole of the old Bible is now said to be ready for the press, in\nits amended form, and will be forthcoming, as soon as the state of their\nfinances will permit.\n\n\"On the opening of the year 1833, the 'gift of tongues' again made its\nappearance at head-quarters, and from thence extended to all their branches\nin different parts. Whether the language now introduced differed materially\nfrom those practised two or three years previous, (and pronounced to be of\nthe Devil,) we have not been informed. It appears that this last device,\nwas all that was then lacking to make the system perfect. They had long\nbefore professed to be fully endowed with the power of healing all manner\nof diseases, discerning spirits, and casting out devils. But a succession\nof failures had rendered them rather stale, and given distrust to many of\nthe faithful. A new expedient was therefore indispensably necessary, in\norder to revive the drooping spirits of the deluded, and at the same time,\ninsure a new crop of converts. The scheme proved eminently successful.\nHundreds were soon convinced of the truth of the whole, by hearing of and\nseeing the manner in which the 'tongues' were performed, although the trick\nwould seem more susceptible of discovery than any previous one. This gift\nwas not confined to the elders and high priests, who, in other respects,\nwere supposed to have a superabundant share of 'the spirit;' but nearly all\nthe proselytes, both old and young, could show their faith by speaking with\n'tongues.'\"\n\nOne would think from the following account that the Mormons had been taking\nsome hints from the school of Edward Irving.\n\nMr. Kilby, who was an elder among the Mormons, but afterwards came to his\nsenses and renounced the delusion, relates some very curious facts in\nrelation to their pretended gift of tongues. Two distinguished Mormon\npreachers, Mr. Cahoon and Patton, gave a rule for speaking in unknown\ntongues, and also for interpreting what was spoken by others.\n\n\"This rule, they said, was perfect--that as long as we followed it we could\nnot err. And so I believe; it was a perfect rule to lead men astray. The\nrule, as given by Cahoon, is this: rise upon your feet and look and lean on\nChrist; speak or make some sound; continue to make sounds of some kind, and\nthe Lord will make a correct tongue or language of it. The interpretation\nwas to be given in the same way.\" Subsequent to this there was a still\ngreater emigration to Missouri. Soon disturbances of various kinds arose.\n\nWe had prepared two chapters containing such facts as we were able to\ncollect, to exhibit the history of the Mormons in their residence in\nMissouri, and the two wars in which they were engaged. But upon looking\nover the pages which we had prepared we cannot make up our mind to tax the\nreader with the details of these belligerent operations. The result of\ntheir last resort to arms was their expulsion or emigration from Missouri\ninto Illinois, and the founding of their new city at Nauvoo where at\npresent is the principal Mormon settlement. There are some few remaining\nfacts to which we shall call the attention of the reader, in order to\nillustrate still further the folly, and depraved character of some of the\nprominent actors in this grand imposture.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\nMORMON BANKING.\n\n     The prophet's attempt at financiering--Mr. Smalling's\n     letter.\n\n\nAllusion has been made to the attempts at financiering in which the Mormon\nprophet and his coadjutors embarked, before leaving Kirtland. The facts\nconnected with this are presented in a clear light by Mr. Smalling, of\nKirtland, in a letter addressed to Mr. Lee, of Frankford, Pa. An effort\nhaving been made at that village to establish a Mormon society, the Mormon\npreacher at the close of his lecture invited any one, who chose, to ask\nquestions, or offer remarks. Mr. Lee being present arose, gave his views of\nthe new sect, which were not very complimentary, and among other facts\npresented before the audience a ten dollar bank note issued by Smith and\nRigdon, which he declared was a gross fraud, as they had never obtained a\ncharter for a bank, and did not pretend to redeem their notes. Mr. Lee was\nquite brow-beaten by the Mormon preacher. To satisfy himself and the\npublic, Mr. Lee wrote to Kirtland, and obtained a letter in reply from Mr.\nSmalling, from which we make the following extracts:\n\n                  _Kirtland, Ohio, March 10th, A. D. 1841._\n\n     DEAR SIR:\n\n     By request, and the duty I owe to my fellow-man, I\n     consent to answer your letter, and your request as to\n     Joseph Smith, Jr., and the Safety Society Bank of the\n     Latter Day Saints, as they call themselves at the\n     present, or Mormons. The followers of Smith believe him\n     to be a prophet, and he had a revelation that the\n     church must move to the Ohio, which they did, selling\n     their possessions and helping each other as a band of\n     brothers, and they settled in this place. The Smith\n     family were then all poor and the most of the church. I\n     visited them in 1833, they were then building a temple\n     to the Most High God, who, Smith said, would appear and\n     make his will known to his servants, and endow them\n     with power in their last days that they might go and\n     preach his gospel to all nations, kindred tongues, and\n     people. For this purpose they wrought almost night and\n     day, and scoured the branches in the east for money to\n     enable them to build. The people consecrated freely, as\n     they supposed for that purpose, for they supposed they\n     were to be one in the church of Christ, for so Smith\n     had told them by his revelations, and that they must\n     consecrate all for the poor in Zion. Thus many did\n     until they finished the temple, and in the meantime the\n     building committee built each of them a house, Sidney\n     Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jr. By this time the leaders\n     of the church, Smith, Rigdon, Carter and Cahoon, I may\n     say, all the heads of the church, got lifted up in\n     pride, and they imagined that God was about to make\n     them rich, and that they were to suck the milk of the\n     Gentiles, as they call those that do not belong to the\n     church, or do not go hand in hand with them. From this\n     you can see they have a great desire for riches, and to\n     obtain them without earning them. About this time they\n     said that God had told them, Sidney and Joseph, that\n     they had suffered enough and that they should be rich;\n     and they informed me, that God told them to buy goods\n     and so they did, to some thirty thousand dollars, on a\n     credit of six months, at Cleveland and Buffalo. In the\n     spring of 1836 this firm was, I believe, Smith, Rigdon\n     & Co. It included the heads of the church. In the fall,\n     they formed other companies of their brethren, and sent\n     to New York as agents for them, Hiram Smith and O.\n     Cowdery, and they purchased some sixty or seventy\n     thousand dollars worth, all for the church, and the\n     most of them not worth a penny, and no financiers. At\n     this time the first debt became due and not any thing\n     to pay it with, for they had sold to their poor\n     brethren, who were strutting about the streets in the\n     finest broadcloth, and imagining themselves rich, but\n     could pay nothing: and poverty is the mother of\n     invention. They then fixed upon a plan to pay the debt.\n     It was, to have a bank of their own, as none of the\n     then existing banks would loan to them what they wanted\n     and the most refused them entirely. They sent to\n     Philadelphia and got the plates made for their Safety\n     Society Bank, and got a large quantity of bills ready\n     for filling and signing; and in the meantime, Smith and\n     others, collected what specie they could, which\n     amounted to some six thousand dollars. The paper came\n     about the first of January, 1837, and they immediately\n     began to issue their paper and to no small amount: but\n     their creditors refused to take it. Then Smith invented\n     another plan, that was to exchange their notes for\n     other notes that would pay their debts, and for that\n     purpose he sent the elders out with it to exchange, and\n     not only the elders, but gave large quantities of it to\n     others, giving them one half to exchange it, as I am\n     informed by those that peddled for him. Thus Smith was\n     instrumental in sending the worthless stuff abroad, and\n     it soon came in again. There was nothing to redeem it\n     with, as Smith had used the greater part of their\n     precious metals. The inhabitants holding their bills\n     came to inquire into the Safety Society precious\n     metals: the way that Smith contrived to deceive them\n     was this: he had some one or two hundred boxes made,\n     and gathered all the lead and shot that the village had\n     or that part of it that he controlled, and filled the\n     boxes with lead, shot, &c., and marked them, one\n     thousand dollars, each. Then, when they went to examine\n     the vault, he had one box on a table partly filled for\n     them to see, and when they proceeded to the vault,\n     Smith told them that the church had two hundred\n     thousand dollars in specie, and he opened one box and\n     they saw that it was silver, and they hefted a number\n     and Smith told them that they contained specie. They\n     were seemingly satisfied and went away for a few days,\n     until the elders were sent off in every direction to\n     pass their paper off: among the elders were Brigam\n     Young, that went last, with forty thousand dollars;\n     John F. Boynton, with some twenty thousand dollars;\n     Luke Johnson, south and east, with an unknown quantity.\n     I suppose if the money you have was taken of those, it\n     was to Smith's and their profit; and thus they\n     continued to pass and sell the worthless stuff until\n     they sold it at twelve and a half cents on the dollar,\n     and so eager to put it off at that, that they could not\n     attend meeting on the Sabbath,--but they signed enough\n     at that price to buy one section of land in the\n     Illinois. There was some signed with S. Rigdon,\n     cashier, and J. Smith, Jr. president, for the purpose,\n     as it was then said, that if they should be called upon\n     when they could not well redeem, that they would call\n     them counterfeit, but they had no occasion to call any\n     counterfeit, for they never redeemed but a very few\n     thousand dollars, and there must be now a great many\n     thousands of their bills out. There was some which\n     others signed _pro. tem._ that were genuine too, the\n     name of F. G. Williams, N. K. Whitney, and one\n     Kingsbury, all those are genuine.\n\n     The church have not now nor never had any common\n     stock,[6] all that has been consecrated, Smith and the\n     heads of the church have got, and what they get now\n     they keep, for to show this I send you a revelation\n     which is as follows:--Revelation given July 9th, 1837,\n     in far west, Caldwell county, Missouri,--O Lord, show\n     unto us, thy servants, how much thou requirest of the\n     properties of thy people for a tything? Answer: Verily,\n     thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus\n     properties to be put into the hands of the bishop of my\n     church of Zion, for the building of mine house, and for\n     the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the\n     priesthood, and for the debts of the presidency of my\n     church, and this shall be the beginning of the tything\n     of my people, and after that, those who have been\n     tythed, shall pay one-tenth of all their interest\n     annually, and this shall be a standing law unto them\n     forever, for my holy priesthood saith the Lord: Verily,\n     I say unto you, it shall come to pass, that all those\n     who gather unto the land of Zion, shall be tythed of\n     their surplus properties, and shall observe this law,\n     or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you;\n     and behold, I say unto you, if my people observe not\n     this law to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the\n     land of Zion unto me that my statutes and my judgments\n     may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy; behold:\n     Verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion\n     unto you, and this shall be one example unto all the\n     states of Zion, even so. Amen. They left here in a\n     great hurry, as there was many debts against them, for\n     the principal part that Smith had was borrowed, as also\n     the heads of the church in general, and they had to\n     keep the poor brethren lugging their boxes of silks and\n     fine clothes from place to place, so that they should\n     not be taken to pay their just debts, and mostly\n     borrowed money, until they succeeded in getting them\n     off in the night. They were pursued, but to no effect,\n     they had a train too numerous, so the people could not\n     get their pay, and thus they have brought destruction\n     and misery on a great many respectable families, that\n     are reduced to distress, while they live in splendour\n     and all kinds of extravagance. These statements are\n     well known here, and I presume will not be contradicted\n     there, unless by some fanatic that has no knowledge of\n     things as they do exist, or those deeply interested in\n     the frauds of the saints themselves.\n\n                         I am yours, &c.,\n                         CYRUS SMALLING, _of Kirtland, Ohio_.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[6] Instead of the stock being common, it appears the intention of the\nringleaders is to monopolize it, and leave their poor dupes at last to\nshift for themselves.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\nTHE MORMON PROPHET AND HIS THREE WITNESSES.\n\n     An interesting public document--The Danite\n     band--Testimony of Dr. Avard--Paper drafted by Rigdon.\n\n\nWe insert the following communications, published in a most highly\nrespectable religious journal.\n\nFrom the New York Baptist Advocate.\n\nMORMONISM.\n\nMR. EDITOR:\n\nA rare public document of a most interesting character having fallen into\nmy hands, I propose to furnish you several communications in reference to\nit, and likewise in relation to the people to whom it relates.\n\nThe Mormons have been generally regarded as a harmless sect of deluded\nfanatics, unworthy of any particular notice; and the common impression\nseems to be, that they have been wronged and persecuted by the state of\nMissouri. For my own part, having had occasion to become better acquainted\nwith their principles and history than many others, I have for a long time\nbeen endeavouring, as opportunity offered, to open the eyes of the\ncommunity to their character, and to show that mischief lurks beneath this\ncover of apparent insignificance, and that there are two sides to the story\nof the Mormon war in Missouri.\n\nNear the close of the recent session of Congress, a pamphlet was printed by\norder of the United States' Senate, for the use of the members of Congress,\nentitled a \"Document showing the testimony given before the judge of the\nfifth judicial circuit of the state of Missouri, at the court-house in\nRichmond, in a criminal court of inquiry, begun November 12th, 1838.\" A\nlist of fifty-three individuals is given, as being charged with the crimes\nof high treason against the state, murder, burglary, arson, robbery, and\nlarceny. Among the number are Joseph Smith, jr., Hiram Smith, Sidney\nRigdon, and Parley P. Pratt. A copy of this document I succeeded in\nobtaining, after considerable difficulty, it not having been printed for\ngeneral distribution.\n\nThe first witness produced on behalf of the state was Dr. Sampson Avard,\nwho had been a special teacher among the Mormons. He testifies that a band\nat first denominated the Daughters of Zion, but afterwards the Danite band,\nwas formed by the members of the Mormon church, the original object of\nwhich was, to drive from the county of Caldwell all who dissented from the\nMormon church. Joseph Smith, jr., blessed them, and prophesied over them,\ndeclaring that they should be the means, in the hands of God, of bringing\nforth the millenial kingdom. The covenant taken by this band was as\nfollows, (holding up the right hand:) \"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son\nof God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to conceal, and never to reveal\nthe secret purposes of this Society, called the Daughters of Zion. Should I\never do the same, I hold my life as the forfeiture.\" This band felt\nthemselves as much bound to obey Joseph Smith, jr., and his two\ncounsellers, Hiram Smith and Sidney Rigdon, as to obey the supreme God.\nJoseph Smith, jr., in a public address, told them that they should stand by\neach other, right or wrong. He declared on another occasion, that all who\ndid not take up arms in defence of the Mormons of Daviess, should be\nconsidered as tories, and should take their exit from the county. In\nreference to taking the property of others, in their expeditions to Daviess\ncounty, he told them that the children of God did not go to war at their\nown expense. He said it was high time they should be up, as the saints of\nthe most high God, and protect themselves, and take the kingdom. On some\noccasions, he said, that one should chase a thousand, and two put ten\nthousand to flight; that he considered the United States rotten; that the\nMormon church was the little stone spoken of by the prophet Daniel; and\nthat the dissenters first, and the state next, was part of the image that\nshould be destroyed by the little stone. In an address to the forces at Far\nWest, about the time that Gen. Lucas appeared in that quarter with the\nmilitia, Smith told them, that for every one they lacked in number of those\nthat came out against them, the Lord would send angels, who would fight for\nthem, and that they should be victorious.\n\nThis witness (Dr. Avard) received orders from Smith and his counsellors to\ndestroy the paper containing the constitution of the Danite Society,\ninasmuch as if it should be discovered, it would be considered treasonable.\nThis order he did not obey, but kept the paper in his possession; and after\nhe was made prisoner by General Clark, he delivered it up to him. The\nMormon preachers and apostles were directed to instruct their followers to\ncome up to the state called Far West, and to possess the kingdom, and that\nthe Lord would give it to them.\n\nA paper was draughted by Sidney Rigdon against the dissenters from\nMormonism, and signed by eighty-four Mormons. It was addressed to Oliver\nCowdery, David Whitmer, William W. Phelps and Lyman E. Johnson. Of these,\nOliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were two of the three witnesses that\ntestified to the truth of the Book of Mormon. This will therefore serve to\nshow how much credit is to be attached to their testimony. These\neighty-four Mormons, in the letter, say to the dissenters, (Cowdery,\nWhitmer, &c.) that they had violated their promise, and disregarded their\ncovenant; that Oliver Cowdery had been taken by a state warrant for\nstealing, and the stolen property was found in the house of William W.\nPhelps, Oliver Cowdery having stolen and conveyed it; that these dissenters\nhad endeavoured to destroy the characters of Smith and Rigdon by every\nartifice they could invent, not even excepting the basest lying; that they\nhad disturbed the Mormon meetings of worship; that Cowdery and Whitmer had\nunited with a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars and blacklegs of the\ndeepest dye, to deceive, cheat and defraud the Mormons out of their\nproperty, by every art and stratagem which wickedness could invent,\nstealing not excepted; that they had attempted to raise mobs against the\nMormons; that Cowdery attempted to pass notes on which he had received pay;\nthat Cowdery, Whitmer and others, were guilty of perjury, cheating, selling\nbogus money, (base coin,) and even stones and sand for bogus! that they\nhad opened, read and destroyed letters in the post-office: and that they\nwere engaged with a gang of counterfeiters, coiners, and blacklegs.\n\nThere, Mr. Editor, is the character of two of the three witnesses who\ntestified that they had seen the plates of the Book of Mormon; that God's\nvoice declared to them that they had been translated by his gift and power;\nthat an angel of God laid the plates and engravings before their eyes; and\nthat the voice of the Lord commanded them that they should bear record of\nit. This is the character of two of the three witnesses, according to the\ntestimony of eighty-four _Mormons_, and not _opposers_ of Mormonism. To how\nmuch credit these two witnesses are entitled, you can judge for yourself.\nIn the course of my communications on this subject, I shall exhibit the\ncharacter of the other witness, (Martin Harris,) and likewise of Prophet\nSmith himself.\n\n\nFrom the Baptist Advocate.\n\nFROM OUR LATE WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT.\n\nMR. EDITOR:\n\nIn my first communication on the subject of the Mormon war in Missouri, I\nshowed, by Mormon evidence itself, that two of the three witnesses that\ntestified to the truth of the Book of Mormon, viz: Oliver Cowdery and David\nWhitmer, are utterly unworthy of any credit whatever. In pursuance of my\nproposal in the same letter, I now proceed to exhibit the character of the\nremaining witness, Martin Harris; and likewise the character of Smith\nhimself, over and above what has already been shown in relation to him.\n\n\nSTATEMENT OF LUCY HARRIS, WIFE OF MARTIN HARRIS.\n\n                              _Palmyra, Nov. 29, 1833._\n\nMartin Harris is naturally quick in his temper. At different times while I\nlived with him, he has whipped, kicked, and turned me out of the house. In\none of his fits of rage, he struck me with the butt end of a whip, which I\nthink had been used for driving oxen, and was about the size of my thumb.\nHe beat me on the head four or five times, and the next day turned me out\nof doors twice, and beat me in a shameful manner. His main complaint\nagainst me was, that I was always trying to hinder his making money. One\nday, while at Peter Harris's house, I told him he had better leave the\ncompany of the Smith's, as their religion was false; to which he replied:\n\"If you would let me alone, I could make money by it.\"\n\nThere is the character of the third witness of the trio, on whose testimony\nthe Book of Mormon depends for support. Let us now look a little further at\nthe character of Prophet Smith himself.\n\nFifty-one of Smith's old acquaintances in Palmyra, declare him destitute of\nthat moral character which ought to entitle him to the confidence of any\ncommunity, spending much of his time in money digging, and being addicted\nto vicious habits.\n\nPeter Ingersol, of Palmyra, testifies, that Smith acknowledged that he\ncould not see in a stone, as he had pretended.\n\nWilliam Chace, of Manchester, Ontario county, N. Y., testifies, that Smith\nacknowledged he had no Book of Mormon, and never had any.\n\nParley Chace, of Manchester, states, that Smith was entitled to no credit\nwhatever; that he was lazy, intemperate, worthless, and very much addicted\nto lying, boasting of his skill in it, digging for money, and scarcely ever\ntelling two stories alike in relation to the Golden Bible matter.\n\nDavid Stafford, of Wayne county, testifies, that Smith used to get\nintoxicated, on which occasions he would quarrel and fight.\n\nBarton Stafford, of Manchester, testifies, that Smith was very much\naddicted to intemperance, even after he professed to be a prophet; and when\nintoxicated, he frequently made his religion his theme.\n\nHenry Harris, of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, testifies, that such was Smith's\ncharacter for lying, that the jury did not believe him when under oath.\n\nRev. Nathaniel C. Lewis, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a relative\nof Smith's wife, testifies, that Smith's general character was that of an\nimpostor, hypocrite, and liar.\n\nAlva Hale, brother-in-law of Smith, testifies, that Smith told him, that\nhis gift in seeing with a stone and a hat, was a gift from God; but at\nanother time he told him, that this \"_peeping_\" was all nonsense. He\nfurther testifies, that he knows Smith to be an impostor and liar.\n\nLevi Lewis testifies, that he has heard Smith and Harris both say, that\nadultery was no crime. Lewis further testifies, that he knows Smith to be a\nliar; that he saw him intoxicated at three different times, while composing\nthe Book of Mormon; that he has heard him use the most profane language;\nthat he has heard him say he was as good as Jesus Christ; that it was as\nbad to injure him as it was to injure Jesus Christ; and that God had\ndeceived him with regard to the plates, which was the reason he did not\nshow them.\n\nLet this suffice on this point. And now we have before us the character of\nthis false prophet, and of his three supporters, on whose credibility the\nfate of the Book of Mormon depends. Not one word of commentary is\nnecessary, after such an exhibition of their worthlessness and vileness;\nand I shall, therefore, leave it as it is to speak for itself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\nCONCLUDING SKETCH IN RELATION TO MORMONISM.\n\n\nThe following letter is the last in the series, originally written for the\ncolumns of the Episcopal Recorder.\n\nAlthough I have occupied your attention so long with the history of the\norigin and rise of Mormonism, I have a few words more to add before closing\nthe subject. Several facts which have come to my knowledge, since\ncommencing these sketches, lead me to apprehend, that the developments we\nhave been attempting to make are not ill-timed. Is there any one who would\nhave formed so low an estimate of the Christian intelligence of this land,\nas to have concluded _a priori_ that a deception so barefaced, and, withal,\nso ridiculous, as the pretended disinterment of the Mormon Bible from one\nof the hills of Western New York, and _this_--set on foot by an illiterate\nvagrant hanging on the skirts of society, and of exceedingly doubtful moral\ncharacter, and backed by the pecuniary means of a man of the most credulous\nand superstitious cast of character, whose sanity of mind was greatly\nquestioned by all his acquaintance, should have gained in a period of ten\nyears such dominion over human belief, as to be received as the undoubted\ntruth of God by more than sixty thousand persons. We are surprised to hear\nof the success of this imposture in the Great Valley of the West, although\nthere is material there for almost every erratic conception of the human\nmind to act upon. But what shall we say of the success of Mormonism in the\nAtlantic states,--gathering its converts from orthodox and evangelical\nchurches? Will it not fill intelligent Christians with surprise to learn\nthat the Mormons are establishing themselves not only in many parts of New\nEngland, but that they are spreading through Pennsylvania, and that they\nalready have two churches formed in Philadelphia, and that a portion of the\nmembers of these churches, have been regular communicants in the Methodist\nand Presbyterian Churches? Such, however, is the fact. And we shall not be\ngreatly surprised, if this \"mystery of iniquity\" continues to work, and\nthat those who have dared to \"_add to the words_\" of God's finished\nrevelation, shall receive the threatened curse. We shall not be surprised\nif \"God shall send upon such, strong delusion, that they should believe a\nlie,\" and that they \"wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.\"\n\nOne thing however is distinctly to be noted in the history of this\nimposture. There are no Mormons in Manchester, or Palmyra, the place where\nthis Book of Mormon was pretended to be found. You might as well go down\ninto the Crater of Vesuvius and attempt to build an ice house amid its\nmolten and boiling lava, as to convince any inhabitant in either of these\ntowns, that Jo Smith's pretensions are not the most gross and egregious\nfalsehood. It was indeed a wise stroke of policy, for those who got up this\nimposture, and who calculated to make their fortune by it, to emigrate to a\nplace where they were wholly unknown. As soon as they had arranged their\napparatus for deceiving weak, and unstable souls--as soon as the Book of\nMormon was printed and their plans formed, the actors in this scene went\noff _en masse_ to a part of the country where their former character and\nstanding were unknown, and where their claim to divine inspiration could be\nset up with a little more show of plausibility than it could have been any\nwhere in the state of New York. Mormonism had to grow a number of years in\na western soil, and there acquire a sort of rank and luxuriant growth,\nbefore it could be transplanted with any success to a point near its\nbirth-place. And even now it keeps very much in the background its grand\npecularities. The Mormon preachers, I am told, in this region, generally\ndwell upon the common topics of Christianity, rather than upon the\npeculiarities of their system. The object of this is manifest. They wish to\nstrengthen themselves by a large accession of converts, before they stand\non the peculiarities of their system. But all Christians should beware of\ntheir devices. Their whole system is built upon imposture. They believe\nJoseph Smith to be a prophet of God, when there is not a man in our\nPenitentiary, that might not with just as much plausibility lay claim to\nthat character. They believe the BOOK OF MORMON to be a divine revelation,\nwhen it can be proved, that the whole ground-work of it was written by Mr.\nSpalding as a Religious and Historical Romance. They believe that they have\nthe power among them to work miracles, when even \"Satan with all\" his\n\"power and signs and lying wonders,\" and with all his deceivableness, has\nnot been able to sustain their claim to in a single instance.\n\nMartin Harris, after he went to Kirtland, Ohio, where, as we have seen, the\nfirst Mormon settlement was formed, used occasionally to return to\nPalmyra. As one of the three witnesses, he claimed divine inspiration, and\nis, I believe, to the present day regarded by the Mormons, as one of the\ngreatest and best among \"_the latter-day saints_.\" In these visits to the\nplace of his former residence he not only endeavoured to proselyte his old\nacquaintances to his new faith, but used sometimes to edify them with very\nsolemn prophecies of future events. I was informed by Judge S---- of\nPalmyra, that he came to his office so much and uttered his prophecies so\nfrequently that he at length told him, that he would not consent to his\nuttering his predictions any more orally, but that he must write them down\nand subscribe his name to them, or else seek some other place for the\nexercise of his prophetic gift. Harris instantly wrote down two\npredictions, attaching his signature to each.\n\nThe one was a declaration that Palmyra would be destroyed, and left utterly\nwithout inhabitants, before the year 1836. The other prediction was that\nbefore 1838 the Mormon faith would so extensively prevail, that it would\nmodify our national government, and there would at that period be no longer\nany occupant of the presidential chair of the United States. To these\npredictions he subjoined the declaration that if they were not literally\nfulfiled, any one might have full permission to cut off his head and roll\nit around the streets as a foot-ball. Bear in mind that this was one of the\npretended chosen witnesses of God, to testify to the truth of the Book of\nMormon. I need not say that both these prophecies in their entire failure\nof fulfilment, convicted him of falsehood, and show how little is the value\nof his testimony.\n\nAnother fact worthy of note in this connection is, that as Harris, Smith,\nRigdon, &c., all expected to make their fortune out of this scheme. The\nbanking enterprise in which they engaged, as we have seen, liked to have\nproved a ruinous operation to them all. Ultimately this speculation\ncontributed to sever Harris from Smith and Rigdon, who went farther west,\nand commenced operations in Missouri. Harris, in one of his late visits to\nPalmyra, remarked to a friend of mine, that Jo Smith had now become a\ncomplete wretch, and that he had no confidence either in him or Rigdon.\nRecollect that this is the testimony of one of the three chosen witnesses\nby which the truth of the Book of Mormon is to be established.\n\nOne fact more. You recollect that it was mentioned in a former No. of these\nsketches, that Martin Harris' wife could not be induced to come over to the\nMormon faith. He consequently abandoned her, visiting her only once or\ntwice a year. She at length declined in health, and was evidently sinking\ndown to the grave. A gentleman of undoubted veracity in Palmyra told me\nthat a few days before her death, Harris returned, and on one occasion\nwhile sitting in the room with her, appeared to be very much occupied in\nwriting. She inquired what he was writing? He replied that he was writing a\nletter to a female to whom he was going to be married when she was dead!\nAnd according to his words he was married to her in a very few weeks after\nhis wife's death. What are we to think of Mormonism, when we remember that\na man of such feelings and such morality was one of the chosen witnesses to\nattest its truth.\n\nI have already said, that the Mormons in this region cautiously keep out of\nsight the peculiarities of their system, and principally dwell upon the\ncommon topics of Christian faith and practice. One proof of this is, the\nvery few copies of the Book of Mormon, that are found among them. I am told\nthat among all the members of the two Churches established in Philadelphia,\nthere are not more than twenty copies of the Book of Mormon. This book I\nsuppose is only for the initiated--for those whose faith is well\nestablished.\n\nAnother fact in proof of the foregoing position is the effort they use to\ndrop the name of Mormons, and to assume the more taking one of \"Latter day\nSaints\"--and when called upon to state their creed, instead of declaring\nboldly that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon\nis his word, they rather dwell upon those points of faith which all\nChristians hold in common.\n\nIn illustration of this last remark, I will here insert a written statement\ngiven by Joseph Young, of Kirtland, Ohio, an elder of the Mormon Church,\nwhile on a visit to Boston to establish his faith in that city.\n\n\"The principal articles of the Latter-day Saints, vulgarly called\n_Mormons_, are\n\n\"1. A belief in one true and living God, the creator of the heavens and the\nearth, and in his Son Jesus Christ, who came into this world 1800 years\nsince, at Jerusalem; was slain, rose from the dead, ascended on high, and\nnow sits on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens; that through the\natonement thus wrought out, all men may come to God and find acceptance;\nall of which they believe is revealed in the holy Scriptures.\n\n\"2. That God requires all men, wherever his gospel is proclaimed, or his\nlaw known, to repent of all sins, forsake evil, and follow righteousness;\nthat his word also requires men to be baptized, as well as to repent; and\nthat the direct way pointed out by the Scriptures for baptism, is\nimmersion. After which, the individual has the promise of the gift of the\nHoly Spirit; that this divine communication is absolutely promised unto all\nmen, upon whom \"the Lord our God shall call,\" if they are obedient unto his\ncommandments. This gift of the Holy Spirit, was anciently bestowed by the\nlaying on the apostle's hands: so this church believes that those who have\nauthority to administer in the ordinances of the gospel, have this right\nand authority, through prayer; and without this authority, and this gift,\nthe church is not _now_ what it _anciently_ was; consequently, cannot be\nrecognised as the true Church of Christ.\n\n\"3. That God will, in the last days, gather the literal descendants of\nJacob to the lands, anciently possessed by their fathers; that he will lead\nthem as at the first, and build them as at the beginning. That he will\ncause his arm to be made bare in their behalf; his glory to attend them by\nnight and by day. That this is necessary to the fulfilment of his word,\nwhen his knowledge is to cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. And\nthat, as men anciently saw visions, dreamed dreams, held communion with\nangels, and converse with the heavens, so it will be in the last days to\nprepare the way for all nations, languages and tongues, to serve him in\ntruth.\n\n\"4. That the time will come when the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven,\naccompanied with ten thousand of his saints; that a mighty angel will lay\nhold on the dragon, bind him, cast him into the pit, where he will be kept\nfrom deceiving the nations for a thousand years; during which time, one\ncontinued round of peace will pervade every heart. And,\n\n\"5. They believe in the resurrection of the body: that all men will stand\nin the presence of God and be judged according to the deeds, or works, done\nin this life; that the righteous will enter into eternal rest, in the\npresence of God, but the wicked be cast off, to receive a just recompense\nof reward; and that, to ensure eternal life, a strict obedience to all the\ncommandments of God, must be observed, to the end.\"\n\nYou see there is not even a remote allusion to what constitutes the gist of\ntheir whole system. But I will here leave the subject for the present.\n\n\nTHE END.","title":"Gleanings by the Way","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":96264}