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taken place upon the nation, to prove the threatenings which I ordered thee to put in the papers. Because I tell thee, it is not thy spirit, but it is my SPIRIT that he hath so wrongly condemned: and though I have borne with him these twelve years, I shall now bear with him no longer; for he shall find thy character is the most sacred; because thou standest between GoD and MAN; and therefore thy innocence I shall clear. And now let his words appear, which he spoke to thee in Taylor's house."

Mr. Pomeroy said, in January, 1802, that I was born for his ruin; because I had put his name in print. He would sooner I had set his house on fire: and from the letter I sent to the coffee-house, to vindicate him, he said I could do nothing more to disgrace his character, than for me to take his part; and to see his name stand with mine was a disgrace to him. But he then desired me to sign my name to what he had said, that it was the de vil ordered me to put his name in print. I said, then my name must stand with yours, sir. Mrs. Taylor said the same. But he answered-" this is in a different light: it is to clear me from joining with you in the prophecies." As he said he was so persecuted, that he could not go into any company, and that I did not know how he was situa ted through persecution; and this made me sign my name to what he had said: not that the writings were from the devil, but that he had said my being ordered to put his name in print was from the devil; and this paper I signed, as he said it would free him from the persecution. And since that evening, when I signed the paper in Mr. Taylor's house, in 1802, I do not recollect that I ever saw Mr. Pomeroy afterwards.

But as some unbelievers have said, that we are agreed, and there is a collusion between Mr. Pomeroy and me, because I have appealed to him

as my judge; and the spirit that visits me hath explained the manner of his fall, to pity his weakness and forgive the past, if he repent of what he hath done; this people have looked upon as a designed thing by me, to make him a judge in my behalf; and that we are agreed together.

Now, to such judgment I answer, that they do not know me; neither do they know Mr. Pomeroy; for, like his former words, when he fell back, would be the language of his heart now, if the Lord were not to work upon his heart to convince him of his errors: for the same indignation men and devils would work upon him now, as they did at that time, if the Lord were to leave him to their working. This I have been answered. Then what confidence could I put in a man who hath shewed such indignation against me? And which may be further proved in his letters, which he sent to my friends in 1804, as he would not condescend to answer my letters to me; for he never wrote a letter to me in his life, but hath treated my name with scorn and contempt, as though I were really led by the devil; and that it was a disgrace to his character to say that he ever received my letters of prophecies from me. And though I was ordered to send him the book with the sign I have put into the hands of the bishops, respecting him; and the book containing the letters I had sent him copies of before; yet he remains silent, and hath given no answer, either to me or my friends. Therefore I can prove to the world that there is no agreement nor any league between him and me, though I have appealed to him as my judge; because I was ordered so to do.

But some have even said, that I should bribe Mr. Pomeroy to judge in my favour. In this they do not know him. Were I wicked enough to attempt doing such a thing, he would soon say, as a judge said at Exeter, when a lady was going to

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take her trial for the murder of her maid; she offered the judge five hundred pounds to be favourable to her. He said, "If you will bribe the judge, you will surely bribe the jury; and of all women, you ought to be hanged." And perfectly so would be Mr. Pomeroy's answer; he would say, "Out of your own mouth will I condemn you, that yours is not confidence in the Lord, that your visitation is from him, to rely upon his words and promises; but your trust is in the arm of flesh; and now I can prove my former assertions right, that you are under the influence of an evil spirit, which you have proved by this offer."

So, like the woman, I should soon be cast, if I were another such as man, through ignorance, hath judged me. He must be a knave and a fool, who can talk of bribery in spiritual things. If the Lord cannot keep up his own work, and fulfil his own works, by his own power and wisdom, in the time to come, as he hath in the time that is past; then let it fall to the ground; for it never can stand by the wisdom or power of men; neither do I wish to deceive mankind, or deceive myself. For were the whole nation to come forward and say they believed my visitation was from the Lord, if I had not clear and sure ground to believe it from the truth of his words, and the manner of his visitation to me, to know in whom I had believed, to rely upon the Lord; I never could rely upon the wisdom of men; for I should no more rely upon their faith, through their wisdom, than I relied upon their unbelief, when, by their judgment, they thought the visitation of the Lord would not come to a woman; and therefore they would not believe it was come to me. But in that the Lord made me a judge for myself at first, and so he will make me a judge for myself at last. But were this a temporal cause, instead of a spiritual one, I should never have appealed to Mr. Pomeroy

atomy judge; looking upon his conduct, for these last twelve years; neither should I have troubled him on any occasion whatever; but it is the Lord who hath called him to be my judge, as the events were put into his hands: and no. man can be a judge of the truth but himself. But as he complained of the persecution he had suffered on my account, I of myself should never have troubled him more and it is Mr. Pomeroy's own conduct that hath compelled me to trouble him now; for had he returned the letters delivered to him with the signs of the events, which were put in his hands; then the letters would have appeared, for every one to judge of the truth; but, as he destroyed them, I am compelled to write to him again; because I am answered, that the Lord will never give him up till he acknowledges the truth of what I was ordered to send to him. And therefore he may say with David,

Psalm cxxxix." Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me; such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain unto it: whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I fly from thy presence? If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me; yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

The wisdom of man may baffle the wisdom of the Most High; but he cannot overcome it, to conquer in the end; and therefore it is fruitless for man to contend with his Maker. And, however marvellous it may appear in Mr. Pomeroy's eyes, he will find the hand of the Lord is in it, which he cannot shun.

But I can assure them, who say I shall bribe him, that he will have no reward from me, if he comes forward and proves my visitation is from the

Lord; for then to the Lord he must look for his reward, as I have done; but, on the other hand, if he comes forward and proves that my visitation is from the devil; that what I am ordered to lay before him produces no conviction of conscience to him, that it is from the Lord: then I own I must be deceived by a wrong spirit; and in that case, I must say, it would be but justice in me to pay his expenses: for, if I am a fool, I ought to pay for my folly, and be prevented going on any further, -either to be deceived myself, or to deceive others.

Thursday, December 30th 1813. When I awaked in the morning I began to meditate on what I had put in the newspaper, how I had been forty years wearied with the perverse hearts of men, because I thought upon none but my enemies, and had forgotten my friends. So that I had wrongfully condemned the innocent with the guilty; but in this I saw my error; for though I have reason to complain against the conduct of men, on the one hand; yet there is no woman upon earth who hath more reason to justify the conduct of mankind than I have; because, owing to the persecution of my enemies, I have, on the other hand, experienced the sincerest friendship in men who have acted towards me as fathers and brothers; and the greater the persecution hath been from my enemies, the greater I have seen the warmth and zeal in my friends to come forward in my behalf. So that I can by no means condemn the conduct of men in general, because my enemies in mankind against me have proved the friendship in others the greater. Thus I reflected how I had forgotten my friends, when I thought only upon my enemies; but the true and sincere friendship I have met with in my friends nade me say that I could die a martyr for their sakes:

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