a crown of twelve stars; the twelve stars being her twelve apostles, who with the second dozen of believers make up her four-and-twenty elders In her visitation it was told her, that the angels rejoiced at her birth, because she was born to deliver both men and angels from the insults of the devil. Let it be lawful for me to repeat these blasphemies, holding them up to merited abhorrence. The scheme of redemption, ske says, is completed in her, and without her would be imperfect; by woman came the fall of man, by woman must come his redemption; woman plucked the evil fruit, and woman must pluck the good fruit; if the tree of knowledge was violated by Eve. the tree of life is reserved for Joanna. Eve was a bone from Adam, she is a bone from Christ the second Adam. She is the bride, the promised seed who is to bruise the serpent's head; she it is who claims the promise made at the creation, that woman should be the helpmate of man, and by her the Creator fulfils that pro mise, and acquits himself of the charge of having given to man the woman in vain. The evening star was placed in the armament to be her type. While she arrogates so much to herself, she is proportionately liberal to her followers; they have been appointed to the fourand-twenty elderships: and to one of them, when he died, a higher character was more blasphemously attributed; she assur d his relations that he was gone to plead the promises before the Lord; that to him was to be given the key of the bottomless pit, and that the time was at hand when he should be seen descen..ing in the air,-for they knew not the meaning of our Saviour's words when he said, "Ye shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds, in power and great glory?" The immediate object of her call is to destroy the devil: of this the devil was aware, and that it might not be said he had had foul play, a regular dispute of seven days was agreed on between him and Joanna, in which she was to be alone, and he to bring with him as many of the Powers of Darkness as he pleased: but he was not to appear visibly; for, as he did not choose to make his appearance on a former occasion when some of her elders went to give him the meeting, but had disappointed them, he was not to be permitted to manifest himself bodily now. The conditions were, that if she held out with argument against him for seven days, the woman should be freed and he fall; but if she yielded, Satan's kingdom was to stand, and a second fall of the human race would be the consequence. Accordingly, she went alone into a solitary house for this conference. Joanna was her own secretary upon this occasion, and the process-verbal of the conference has been printed, as literally taken down; for she was ordered to set down all his blasphe mies, and show to the world what the language of hell is. It is by no means a polite language; indeed the proficiency which Satan displays in the vulgar tongue is surprising. Of all Joanna's books this is the most curious. Satan brought a friend with him, and they made up a story for themselves which has some inge. nuity. "It is written," said they, "Be still, and know that I am God;" this still worship did not suit Satan; he was a lively cheerful spirit, full of mirth and gaiety, which the Lord could not bear, and therefore cast him out of heaven. This, according according to Apollyon's account of heaven, could have been no great evil. Thou knowest," he says, "it is written of God, he is a consuming fire, and who can dwell in everlasting burnings? Our backs are not brass, nor our sinews iron, to dwell with God in heaven." The heaven therefore which men mistakingly desire, is in its nature the very hell of which they are so much afraid; and it is sufficient proof of the truth of all this, that the devil invites them to make them. selves happy and lead a gay life, agreeably to his own cheerful disposition, whereas religion enjoins selfdenial, penitence, and all things which are contrary to our natural inclinations. Satan accounted to Joanna for her inspiration by this solution: an evil spirit had loved her from her youth up, he found there was no other access to her heart than by means of religion; and, being himself able to foresee future events, imparted this know. ledge to her in the character of a good spirit. This spirit, he said, was one which she had been well acquainted with; it was that of one Mr. Follart, who had told her if she would not have him for a husband he should die for her sake, and accordingly he had died. But this deception had now been carried so far that Satan was angry, and threatened, unless she broke her seals and destroyed her writings, he would tear her in pieces. The conference terminated like most theological disputes. Both parties grew warm. Apollyon interfered, and endeavoured to ac commodate matters, but without effect, and Joanna talked Satan out of all patience. She gave him, as one, and allowed him no time to speak. All men, he said, were tired of her tongue already, and now she had tired the devil. Thi was not unreasonable; but he proceeded to abuse the whole sex which would have been ungracious in any one, and in him was ungrateful. He said no man could tame a woman's tongue-the sand: of an hour-glass did not run faster -it was better to dispute with a thousand men than with one woman. After this dispute she fasted forty days; but this fast, which is re garded by her believers as so miraculous, was merely a catholic lent, in which she abstained from fish as well as flesh. as Herod had The moon which is under her feet in the Revelations, typifies the devil: for the moon, it seems, having power to give light by night but not by day, is Satan's kingdom, and his dwelling-place; he, I conclude, be ing the very person commonly called the man in the moon, a conjecture of my own, which, you must al low, is strongly confirmed by his horns. Once, when the Lord made her the same promise done to Herodias, she requested that Satan might be cut off from the face of the earth, as John the Bap tist had been. This petition she was instructed to write, and seal it with three seals, and carry it to the altar when she received the sacrament! and a promise was returned that it should be granted. Her dreams are usually of the devil. Once she saw him like a pig with his mouth tied, at another time skinned his face with her nails after a fierce battle; once she bit off his fingers, and thought the blood sweet, and once she dreamt she had fairly killed him. he truly complained, ten words for But neither has the promise of his destruction destruction been as yet fulfilled, nor the dream accomplished. This phrensy would have been speedily cured in our country; bread and water, a solitary cell, and a little wholesome discipline, are specifics in such cases. Mark the difference in England. No bishop interferes; she therefore boldly asserts that she has the full consent of the bishops to declare that her call is from God, because, having been called upon to disprove it, they keep silent. She who was used to earn her daily bread by daily labour, is now taken into the houses of her wealthy believers, regarded as the most blessed among women, carried from one part of England to another, and treated every where with reverence little less than idola. try. Meantime dictating books as fast as her scribes can write them down, she publishes them as fast as they are written, and the Joannians buy them as fast as they are published. Nor is this her only trade. The seals in the Revelations furnished her with a happy hint. She calls upon all persons "to sign their names for Christ's glorious and peaceable kingdom, to be established and to come upon earth, and his will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and for Satan's kingdom to be destroyed, which is the prayer and desire of Joanna Southcott." They who sign this are to be sealed. Now if this temporal sealing, which is mentioned by St. John in the Revelations, had been understood be. fore this time, men would have begun sealing themselves without the visitation of the Spirit; and if she had not understood it and explained it now, it would have been more fatal for herself and for all mankind than the fall of Eve was. The mystery of sealing is this: whosoever signs his name receives a sealed letter containing these words: The Sealed of the Lord, the Elect, Precious, Man's Redemption, to inherit the Tree of Life, to be made Heirs of God, and Joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Signed Jounna Southcott. I know not what the price of this initiation is; but she boasts of having sealed above eight thousand persons, so that the trade is a thriving one. And these things are believed in England! in England, where Catholic Christians are so heartily despised for superstition; in England, where the people think themselves so highly enlightened,—in this country of reason and philosophy and free inquiry! It is curious to observe how this age in which we live is denominated by every writer, just as its temper accords with his own. views: with the Infidel, it is the Age of Reason; with the Churchman, the Age of Infidelity; with the Chemist, the Age of Philosophy; with Rulers, the Age of Anarchy; with the People, the Age of Oppression,-every one beholding the prospect through a coloured glass, and giving it sunshine or shade, frost or verdure, according to his own fancy, none looking round him and seeing it fairly as it is. Yet surely if we consider the ignorance of the great majority of the English, the want of anchorage for their faith, the want of able directors for their souls, the rapidity with which novelties of any kind are circulated throughout the country, the eager ness with which the credulous listen to every new blasphemy, the contemptuous indifference of the clergy to any blasphemy, provided it does not immediately threaten themselves, the the unlimited toleration shewn to Jews, Gentiles, and tieretics of every description, above all if we remember that every person has the power of comparing these delusive books with the Bible, of which they are instructed to consider themselves competent expounders.-we must acknowledge that there never was any country so favourable to the success of imposture and the growth of superstition, as this very age and this very England. I have to add concerning Joanna, that she prophecies how she and her believers are to be tried in the ensuing year, and that this awful trial will be only second to that of our blessed Lord at Pilate's bar! What new juggle is in preparation I pretend not to divine. Thus much is certain, that her believers are proof against conviction, and you will agree with me in think. ing no further trial necessary to prove that she and her abettors ought either to be punished as impostors, or silenced as lunatics. The translator has been curious enough to inquire the event of this trial, which may be related in few words. None but her believers assembled; they provided an attorney to give their proceedings some of the ceremonials of legality, examined witnesses to prove the good character of the prophetess, signed a profession in belief of her, and after. wards published an account of all this folly under the title of The Trial of Joanna Southcott, Joanna had predicted that at this trial she was to be cast into a trance; not think ing this convenient when the time appointed came, she had a revelation to say, that if any of her judges required it, the Lord would still en trance her, but that it would cer tainly be her death: and thus throw. ing herself upon the mercy of her own accomplices, it will easily be guessed that none among them issisted upon the proof. One of the company inquired whether Satan knew he was cast by this trial; as, in that case, it was to be presumed he would rage against her and her friends with the utmost of his fury. This gentleman would have been a good subject for a night-mare. D. Manuel might well say that nothing but literal transcript could convey an idea of this woman's vul garity and nonsense; witness the passages which he has selected.-T So, learned men, no more contend, Till you have seen all clear, A wonder to you here. As Adam did at first, The woman there was placed. Did cast the woe on man; sick as though she would have fainted away. She could not keep in her bed, but laid herself on the floor in agy nies, and said she knew not whether to pity or condemn him; but at last got up in a rage against the Devil, and said her revenge would be sweet to see the Devil chained down, and she should like, with a sharp sword, to cut him in pieces. She then got into bed, exclaiming against the clergy, and asked for a glass of wine; but she brought it up immediately. Soon after the bason was set upon the bed, she took it up and dashed it violently across the room, After that and broke it to pieces. This is from a book with the following curious title: MR. JOSEPH SOUTHCOTT, THE BROTHER OF JOANNA SOUTHCOTT, WILL NOW COME FORWARD AS DINAH'S BRETHREN DID, AS THEY WOULD WITH A HARLOT, FOR SO THEY ARE NOW DEALING WITH HER. AND NOW HE WILL EXPEND ALL THAT HE HAS A few flowers of infernal eloquence should be added from The Dispute with the Powers of Dark ness. Satan says to her, "Thou infamous b-ch! thou hast been flattering God that he may stand thy friend. Such low cunning art I despise.-Thou wheening devil! stop thy d--mn'd eternal tongue; thou runnest on so fast all the Devils in Hell cannot keep up with thee.God hath done something to chuse a b-ch of a woman that will downargue the Devil, and scarce give him room to speak."-It may truly be said, in Joanna's own words, "If the woman is not ashamed of herself, the Devil cannot shame her." If the language of Joanna herself is grovelling in the very mud and mire of baseness and vulgarity, one of her elders has soared into the sublime of frenzy. The passage is long, but deserves insertion, as, perhaps, there does not exist elsewhere so complete a specimen of a prophet rampant. The gentleman begins in some plain prose reflections upon the Fall, and goes |