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THE REV. MR. POMEROY.

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sisters to be united together? Ought not brotherly love to continue? Doth not my Brother know the manner of my life, from my youth up to this day, better than you do? My Brother knoweth I should bring no lies before him; he knew he could depend upon the truth of all I told him, and the unjust manner that you had dealt with me, my Brother knows I should never have laid it before him, if it was not true. Then how can you judge my Brother a Christian, a man of tender feelings for his Sister, as a Brother ought to have, if he would not support my cause when he saw me so unjustly dealt with, knowing I had no Father living, nor no husband, to protect me? And now I must call to your remembrance your own behaviour to Mrs. Symonds, when you bid her go out of your house, in my presence, because you said, her husband had offended Mrs. Pomeroy, and said, you would sooner forgive an offence done to yourself, than one that was done to Mrs. Pomeroy, as you could put harm from yourself, but she could not. Then how can you justify in yourself a principle you condemn in another? Can you prove to the world, that Mr. Symonds's affront to Mrs. Pomeroy was a quarter so great as your's has been to me? I tell you, No; and your own conscience must condemn you. Your offence against me is ten thousand times greater than Mr. Symonds's was against Mrs. Pomeroy: for though Mr. Symonds might use harsh words, yet his offence was only to have her stand to her bargains she had made. Then where was the offence? Only you may say in harsh words, and what harsh words have used of my Brother, when he acted in my princihat you thought right to justify yourself in? But ible for you to justify your cause, as much my Brother to justify my cause. So, if weigh these things together, with all

the conduct that you have acted since you said my writings were from the Devil, you would see there was more reason for you to fear that the powers of darkness had deceived you by temptations, than it was to believe that I, in all things, was obedient to the Devil, doing every thing that he commanded me. Does not our Saviour say, the tree is known by the fruit? Now, what fruit can you condemn in me? My life and character will bear the strictest scrutiny; and I have feared sin more than death from my youth up unto this day. And now I may say with Samuel, here I am before the Lord and before his anointed; witness against me, whose ox have I taken? whose ass have I taken? or from whose hands have I received a bribe, to blind my eyes therewith? But the Lord is my judge, and is witness against you: and as wrong as Pilate condemned our Saviour, much wronger you have condemned me; because Pilate confessed he was innocent; but he that tempted you to this evil has the greater sin. And now I tell you, as all your conduct is in public print, and the manner of your keeping back my letters, there is no way you can clear your honour, unless you come forward with the truth, and acknowledge every letter that was put in your hands, and the truth they contained; and assign your reasons why you burnt and destroyed them. The reasons you assigned to Mr. Taylor were, that you was persuaded to it. Then I answer, the person that persuaded you to burn them, persuaded you to injure your honour and a good conscience, as the world has tried to persuade me; but blessed be God, I never took their advice and it would have been happy for you, if you had never neither; but went on as you began, till you could justify yourself before God and man; and shew it plain to the whole world, that you was lear in judging before you condemned. But you

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THE REV. MR. POMEROY.

53

burnt my letters, as you say, because you knew, if they appeared, you could not justify yourself in what you have done; but they being from the Devil, you would readily have produced them before the ministers, and said, I had never put any truths in your hands, and shewed the letters to prove it. But as you did not then let the truth appear, you must let the truth appear now; for it is not to say I am troubling you, but the Lord hath commanded me to trouble you till you acknowledge the truth. When I received your answer from Mr. Jones, the day following, I was as sick as death, which continued all the day; and was deeply answered, the Lord was as sick of your conduct and the clergy, as I was that day; but my sickness he would never remove, till my Brother had written to you a second te time; and as soon as my brother had written, the Lord removed my sickness from me. sickness from me. Three months the Lord has taken my appetite from bread, or any thing made of the produce of wheat; and deeply are the words said to me, that if you and the clergy go on, as they are going on, three years the Lord will take bread from the nation, by bringing a total famine in the land; and my appetite he will never restore more to wheat, till I have demanded the truth from you. So must beg a satisfactory answer to this letter.

e,

Taken from Joanna Southcott's mouth.

Witnesses,

Dated, Sept. 17, 1804,

JANE TOWNLEY,
FRANCES TAYLOR,
ANN UNDERWOOD,

COPY OF THE REV. J. POMEROY'S LETTER TO THE REV. STANHOPE BRUCE.

REV. SIR,

After near a fortnight's absence, I have found on my return a most extraordinary letter from that deJuded woman Joanna Southcott, who is now, I presume, with you. Be so good as to assure her again of what I assured her about two years since, (that except her laft) I have no letters, writings, or papers whatsoever of, or belonging to her; if I had I would certainly send them to her. Indeed I know nothing of her, but from the insulting letters I receive, wherein I am treated with the most virulent abuse, for not doing what it is impossible for me to do. The scandalous reflections she has made; the misrepresentations of my conversation with her; the false accusations and charges she has made in her publications; the irreparable injury she has done to my character; and returning the good advice I gave her with so much evil; confirm me more than ever in my former opinion, that she is under the influence of a deranged state of mind, or the evil Spirit; for you must allow, that such injurious, ungrateful, and malicious conduct, cannot proceed from the holy and benevolent Spirit of God. Surely, Sir, such behaviour cannot meet with the approbation of yourself, or her other friends; therefore I hope, that you and they will endeavour to convince her of the impropriety and sinfulness of it, and will prevail on her to desist from troubling me with any more letters, and from persevering in the diabolical practice of traducing my character in print; for which illegal, as well as unchristian conduct, God will certainly bring her into judgment. Not having time to answer the

THE REV. MR. POMEROY.

many letters I receive respecting her, they must be returned unopened, especially as I have nothing further to say on this subject.

I remain, Reverend Sir,

Your humble servant,

Oct. 1, 1804.

J. P.

BWRE

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TO THE REVEREND MR. POMEROY,

REV. SIR,

BODMIN, CORNWALL.

Oct. 8th, 1804.

I cannot pen my astonishment on hearing the letter read, that you sent to Mr. Bruce, concerning me, which I am bound in duty to turn back upon your own head. If you have so far stifled conscience, as to let it come as a swift witness against you, I have living witnesses of all the letters I put in your hand. Reflect how many letters Mrs. Boucher hath delivered to you from me; how many letters Miss Bird hath carried you, six sheets of paper at once at the end of 1797; consider how many letters Mrs. Taylor hath sent you by her servant; and how many Mrs. Symonds's children. Now I have living witnesses, as it is known to you, hands; that copied off the letters that I put in and of a particular instance in 1796, the perfect truth of1797, of Italy and England; the truth of the harvests of 1799 and the 1800; and the truth of the harvest of 1801; with many other weighty and true prophecies, that are now upon the Earth. All these you promised faithfully you would return, for me or against me; and you never told me in your life you had destroyed them; but you told me they were all safe. But, when I demanded them in 1802, you told Mr. Taylor you had burnt them; and said I had written you a severe letter for doing it. And

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