TREATISE  
ON THE  
MILLENIUM,  
SHEWING ITS NEAR APPROXIMATION, ESPECIALLY BY THE ACCOM- 
PLISHMENT OF THOSE EVENTS WHICH WERE TO  
PRECEDE IT ;  
THE SECOND ADVENT OR COMING OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS  
CHRIST J AND THE RESTORATION OF A STATE  
OF PARADISE UPON EARTH.  
He that prophesieth edifieth the Church 1 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER  
XIV. VERSE 4. ' S  
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book,  for the time is at  
hand.—REVELATION, CHAPTER XXII. VERSE 10.  
BOSTON:  
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR:  
1838.


CONTENTS.  
£thJ 1 li J  
Page.  
Preface, • 5  
Signs of the Times, 8  
War, . 47  
Temperance, . 75  
Increase, 98  
Boston, . Hi 
The Prophecies, 123  
The Second Advent, 156  
The Millenium, 176  
On the Nature of Man, 207  
Conclusion, 235  
Appendix, ........ 267


PREFACE.  
THE prospect of happiness is at all times a  
source of gratification to the human mind. To  
be informed that the period is approaching when 
a better order of things shall be established on  
this earth;—when, instead of sorrow we shall  
experience pleasure, and instead of want there  
shall be plenty, is surely welcome intelligence,  
if it be only truly announced. The expression  
of Scripture naturally occurs to us, " How  
beautiful are the feet of him that bringeth glad 
tidings upon the mountains,"1 and with rever- 
1 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that  
bringeth good tidings, that published) peace,  that bringeth good  
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion  
thy God reignelh.—Isaiah,chapter  LII.  verse 7.  
2


vi  
ence be it said, that the present is very similar 
to that occasion which originally excited it.  
With what degree of authenticity such informa- 
tion is now promised, the reader will determine  
on a perusal of the work. The writer is de- 
sirous that others should participate in the feel- 
ings which he himself Has experienced in con"  
templating a world emancipated from a state  
of sin,—of moral servitude and bondage, and its  
restoration to a state of primitive virtue and  
happiness,—such as, we are led to believe, exist- 
ed previous to the {all of man. It.is this prospect 
which cheers him in many a lonesome and te- 
dious hour,—gladdens his whole heart, and an-
imates all his hopes. May it have a similar ef- 
fect upon those whose views on this subject are  
like his, and who believe with the sincerity of  
his belief. But he is impelled by a higher mo- 
tive than the mere desire of contributing to im- 

part true comforj; to the minds, and to inspire  
the hopes, of his fellow Christians. His aim is  
to subserve the cause of science,—to promote  
useful knowledge,—to assist in the diffusion of  
correct principles, such as may lead us aright in 
the path to immortality,—to induce converts to 
become the willing disciples of the doctrine and  
practice of Jesus Christ,—and moreover to for-
ward the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom  
upon earth.  
With these views he commits the results of  
his reflections to the press,—in the humble hope  
that to such ends his. spiritual labors may con-
tribute to be useful.  
4th July, 1838.


H'Yr  MILLENIUM.  
CHAPTER I.  
Signs of  the Times.  
THE term Millenium is derived from the latin  
word Mille, which signifies a thousand, and is  
usually applied to the period of time mentioned in  
the following words contained in  the Book of  
Revelation of St.  John the Divine : " And I saw  
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment  
was given unto them; and I saw the souls of 
them that were beheaded for the witness of Je-
sus, and for the word of God; and which had  
not worshipped the beast, neither his image,  
neither had received his mark upon their fore- 
heads, or in their hands; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years." Reve-
lation, chapter xx. verse 4.  
2*


10  
And again : " Blessed and holy is he that  
hath part in the first resurrection ; on such the  
second death hath no power, but they shall be  
priests  of God and of Christ, and shall reign  
with him a thousand years." Revelation, chap- 
ter xx. verse 6.  
That the Millenium, so understood, is a time  
near at hand, we have the authority of St. John  
the Divine himself for believing. He says : 
" The revelation of Jesus Christ which God  
gave unto him, to shpw unto his servants things 
which must shortly come to pass." Revelation,  
chapter I. verse 1.  
And also: " Blessed is he that readeth  
and they that hear the words of this prophecy,  
and keep those things which are written there-
in ; for the time is at hand." Revelation, chap- 
ter i. verse 3.  
The apostle St. Paul, in a remarkable man- 
ner, couples the idea of the necessity of tem- 
perance with that of our salvation when it is  
near, by saying, " Now is our salvation nearer  

11  
than we believed; let us therefore walk honest- 
ly, not in rioting and drunkenness." Romans,  
chapter XIII. verses 11, 13.  
And the apostle St. Peter, inculcating the  
same doctrine, observes, " The end of all things  
is at hand; be ye therefore sober." 1 Peter,  
chapter iv. verse 7.  
From these expressions of the evangelists as  
well as other signs of the times, we may regard 
the recent exertions in favor of temperance, and  
the diffusion of Temperance  Societies, as one  
of the many omens of the near approach of a  
state of virtue and its reward happiness, upon  
the earth. The subject of Temperance and of  
Temperance Societies,—which may be regard-
ed as among the harbingers, the forerunners, the 
precursors of the coming of Christ,—will be  
treated of more at length in the course of the  
following work, but it is here noticed as indis- 
solubly connected with a serious change in the  
moral condition and welfare of mankind, and as


n  
calculated to prepare the way for so desirable  
an event.  
Another argument in favor of the near ap- 
proach of the Millenium, and of the coming of  
Christ, is to be found in the extraordinary mild- 
ness of the last winter. There is an ancient  
tradition, revived about the year 1819, viz: 
" And the winters shall be mild in those days."  
The past winter in America, which on many  
accounts may be regarded as the Land of Prom- 
ise, and the inhabitants as the chosen people of  
God, has been, it is well known, an unusually,  
mild one. Certain it is that it has been an un- 
common season. So wonderfully has it oper- 
ated in the western part of the United States,  
that the rivers and canals which usually have  
been covered with ice during the months of 
December and January,  have been crowded, all  
the last season, with canal and flat boats, con- 
veying to market thousands and thousands of 
barrels of flour and other produce. In the vi- 

1 0  o  
cinity of Boston, none of the severer symptoms  
of winter were experienced until the month of  
February, whereas heretofore January used to  
be accounted the coldest month of the whole  
year. The steam boats on a certain ferry which  
connect the nor-thern part of the city with the  
road leading to Salem,2 and which were every  
year obstructed by ice so as to cause them to 
cease plying for several weeks and even months,  
this year have not been prevented for a single  
day during the whole season. The coming win- 
ter will no doubt be still milder, as the approxi- 
mation goes on, until ultimately perpetual spring 
and summer will reign throughout the year. It 
may be asked, why in America should the cli- 
mate have become milder during the past win- 
ter, whilst in England it has been very severe ?  
It is. sufficient to observe that the country of  
America  appears to be that destined to become  
the theatre of the great events about to take  
2 Salem is a holy name mentioned in Scripture, and signifies  
the city of PEACE.


10  
place in the world,—that many circumstances 
concur to point out the people of America as  
peculiarly favored by divine providence,—and  
that " the wilderness," meaning America,  the  
western part of which is still emphatically such,  
it is prophesied in Scripture, "the wilderness and  
the solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the  
desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It  
shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with  
joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon3 shall  
be given unto it: the excellency of Carmel and  
Sharon." Isaiah, chapter xxxv. verses 1, 2.  
These blessings are promised to America,  
where " they shall see the glory of the Lord  
and the excellency of our  God; " but no allu- 
sion of this kind is made to England. In St,  
Petersburgh and other parts of Europe, it is un- 
derstood, a similar effect has been observable  
3 The cedars of Lebanon are the most beautiful of trees.  
There are admired specimens in the botanic garden of the Socie- 
ty of Apothecaries at Chelsea, near London. They and the rose  
of Sharon are destined to flourish in the country of the west.  
Carmel was celebrated for its honey,  

15  
as in America. The comparative mildness of  
the winter season will continue no doubt to in- 
crease, until the north shall have attained all 
the permanent warmth of a more southern  
clime, when the tropical fruits may ripen in it,—  
the foliage of the trees become evergreen, and  
the flowers perennial.  
The book of the prophet Amos contains an  
allusion to this very time, in the following 
words, viz : " Behold the days come, saith the  
Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the  
reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sow- 
eth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet  
wine, and all the hills shall melt." Amos, chap- 
ter ix. verse 13. Or in other words signifying  
that spring-time shall immediately succeed har- 
vest, and that consequently there will be no 
winter.  
This state accords well with the mild char- 
acter, the genial heart and the diffusive good- 
ness of our beneficent Redeemer, at whose  
presence all  nature must rejoice, and even the


10 16  
mountains, it is said, in the allegorical language  
of Scripture, will leap with joy. No wonder  
then that the poor should already have occasion  
to bless his name, inasmuch as in consequence  
of the extraordinary alteration in the tempera-
ture of the seasons, the price of fuel has been  
reduced more than one half from what it was  
only a few months before, and all America to  
confess that the abundance of the late and  
coming harvests has been such as to relieve them 
from the high prices to which the article of 
flour and  other necessaries of life had attained,  
and /rom the enhanced rates paid on importa-
tions. Truly, as we are told in Scripture, he 
comes " with healing in his wings."4 As a 
people we ought to be truly grateful for the 
blessings which we have received thus far, and  
endeavor to do all that lies in our power to de-
serve the countenance, the protection and the  
favor of heaven. In this way we shall merit  
4"The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his  
wings."—Malachi,  chapter iv. verse 2.  

the continuance of those blessings, and may  
reasonably hope for a still greater furtherance  
of the same.  
Another indication of the probability that ex- 
ists of a greater degree of warmth to be ex- 
pected in the seasons in future, is the attention  
which of late years has been paid to the grow- 
ing of silk,—to its more general introduction  
into this climate which will become, before long,  
particularly well adapted to it,—and the exten- 
sion of the system of companies in different  
parts of New England for the purpose of rear-
ing Silk Worms, and the cultivation of the  
Morus Multicaulis, or Mulberry tree, on the  
leaves of which they subsist. The wearing of  
silk is desirable in a warm climate, such as this  
will no doubt shortly become. If it were not  
so, we should have heard less said, and there  
would have been less written and recommended  
upon the subject. Attention would in that case  
have been confined to the production of wool,  
as a protection against the cold of winter, but  
3


10  
we find that it is otherwise, and hence we may  
collect that Divine Providence always adapts the  
means to the occasion, and in this instance has  
awakened public attention to an article because  
the use of it will soon be more extensively re-
quired. From this fact, we may deduce anoth-
er argument in favor of the speedy change in  
the temperature of the seasons, such as we may  
expect on the arrival of the state called Millen- 
ium, when Christ is to reign upon earth; and  
hence the approach of the second advent or  
coming may be inferred.  
To every intelligent  observer the great in- 
crease in the number and facility of communi- 
cations by means of steam, whether by steam- 
boats on rivers and on the ocean, or by means  
of rail-roads on the land, must have suggested 
some definite object of all these improvements,  
—some end to be attained,—some reason, which  
has called for their more frequent introduction,  
improvement, adoption and use. Now, may it  
not be with a view to prepare the way for the  

19  
coming of Christ—to render the person of our  
Saviour more easily accessible from different  
parts of the world, so that those situated at a 
distance who are desirous  of seeing and com- 
municating with him may be enabled the better  
so to do ? It is reasonable to suppose that his 
presence will become a source of great attrac-
tion, and it is important that whithersoever he  
goes, his position may be reached with facility  
and communicated with as a central point, from  
which the diverging rays of intelligence may  
be at all times spread with ease and rapidity.  
St. John the Baptist appears to foretel the pre- 
sent successful accomplishment of rail-roads, 
when he says, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord,  
make straight in the desert a highway for our  
God." "Every valley shall be exalted, and  
every mountain and hill shall be made low; and  
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough 
places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall  
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;


10 20  
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."—  
Isaiah chapter XL. verses 3, 4, 5.  
And again: " Prepare ye the way of the  
Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley  
shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall  
be brought low; and the crooked shall be made  
straight, and the rough ways shall be made  
smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation  
of God." St. Luke, chapter HI. verses 4, 5, 6.  
Although this language is no doubt to be read  
allegorically, and signifies the abasement of the  
proud and the elevation of the humble, yet it 
also admits of being literally understood. It is  
well known that the track of a rail-road is re- 
quired to be straight, or the vehicles used on  it  
would be liable to accident, and that in the for-
mation of that species of road mountains have 
to be lowered or cut through, and valleys to be  
filled up, so that the resistance of an in- 
clined plane may be avoided as much as possible.  
The rough places have to be made smooth and  

even, and all impediments obviated before the  
travel on such a road can be considered either  
rapid or secure. This being done, it follows as  
a sequel, in the words of Scripture, that tljen 
" the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and  
all flesh shall see the salvation  of God."  
Celerity of movement and of execution ap- 
pear to be distinguishing features in this age of  i  
improvement, and we may thence conclude that 
they are both desirable and necessary. Witness  
the numerous labor-saving and consequently  
time-saving machines which have been invent- 
ed of late years. The steam engine; the hat-
making machine; the last-making machine; the 
wool-combing machine; the mortising machine;  
the sawing machine ; the block-making ma- 
chine ; a machine exhibited at the Mechanics*  
fair in the city of Boston, which at one opera-
tion has the property of making tenons, mortis- 
ing and boring;—together with innumerable  
others, by which the labor of mankind is abridged  
and their progress towards ultimate perfection  
3*


accelerated. Incidentally may be noticed the  
recent invention and improvement in the man-
ufacture of steel pens, whereby the delay and  
tedious process of mending are entirely obvi- 
ated, so that an amanuensis can in one day per- 
form, in a superior manner, as much labor as it  
would previously have required three days at  
least to have accomplished ; also the discovery 
of a speedier mode of ignition by means of fric- 
tion matches dipped in chloride of potash, which  
has the merit of saving some time and much  
trouble in the slower and more difficult  process  
of the use of flint and steel.  
From an attentive consideration of these va- 
rious improvements, it must be perceived that  
a great amelioration has of late years taken  
place in the condition of mankind. The move- 
ments of both males and females have been  
quickened, so as to be assimilated more to those  
of angels, to whom dispatch, it may be observed,  
is altogether natural; and it is but reasonable to  
imagine, that the time may come when man- 

23  
kind may be restored to the use of wings, such  
as like those superior beings they once possess- 
ed, but of which not a solitary trace has been  
discovered ever since the fall of our first parents.  
" Pennis non homini datis." As we are re- 
turning to a state anterior to the fall of man,  
when all was paradise, it is but likely that we 
may be reinstated in the privileges belonging to  
it, of which we can only form a very inadequate 
conception, yet thus much we may venture to  
assert, that as we acquire a greater degree of ra- 
pidity in locomotion, it is probable, when in  
course of time we shall have attained our max- 
imum, that ultimately we may fly.  
In proof of the attempts which have of late  
years been made to travel with a greater degree  
of speed, may be instanced the use of bal-
loons, by means of which a great distance is pass- 
ed over in a very short space of time ; but since, 
with all our knowledge on the subject of pneu- 
matics, no means have yet been discovered of  
giving to them a precise direction, their available


10 24  
use for the purpose of certain and speedy com-
munication remains among the desiderata of sci- 
ence.—On this subject  it may be observed that  
encouragement should be given for attaining the  
greatest possible degree of altitude, in order to 
solve, if possible, the phenomena of cold and hail  
being hitherto experienced on attaining a cer- 
tain degree of elevation.  »  
Swiftness of motion is an attribute of angels,  
who are represented as  standing around the  
throue of God, ever ready  to  execute his divine  
commands, and some portion of it, as we have  
already seen, has been accorded to the use of  
man. In the heathen mythology the god Mercury  
is termed the quick, the swift' Mercury, the 
nimble-footed,winged messenger of the gods.  
About twenty-four or twenty-five years ago,  
there lived a remarkable woman, a female  
preacher, named Joanna Southcote, a native of  
the county of Devon, England. This lady was 
accustomed to address a very numerous congre-
gation worshipping at a sort of tabernacle which  

was called " the House of God," situated in the  
Newington road, near London. It is said that  
she was accustomed to give to her hearers what  
were denominated seals, which it was represent-
ed, were considered as passports to heaven.—  
Probably by seals was meant something having  
allusion or  affinity in, some way to " the seals"  
mentioned in the book of Revelation of St. John  
the Divine. This personage suffered a long  
time under some internal malady, for which she  
was placed under the care of the most skilful of  
the medical faculty. By her followers it was  
t asserted that she was destined to give birth to  
the promised Messiah. Accordingly crowds of  
people used to resort to her house, at which nu- 
merous presents were delivered, and many val- 
uable articles were sent thither, among which 
was a superb cradle for the expected babe.—  
Shortly after Joanna Southcote died, and to  
satisfy the public, her body was opened by  four  
surgeons, all of acknowledged eminence in the  
profession. They published a certificate stating


10  
that they had discovered an accumulation of fat  
in the region of the omentum, which probably.  
was the cause of her death. Certain it is, that  
Joanna Southcote was accustomed to visit a 
holy family, one of the members of which is sup-
posed to be nearly allied to the Redeemer,—a  
circumstance that may go some way to account 
for the supernatural belief which  was supposed  
to attach to the character of that female, who, - 
there is no doubt, was a very pious woman.  
At or about the same time, an assemblage of  
men and youths paraded the streets of the east- 
ern part of the metropolis with trumpets and 
banners, and gave out that they were proclaim- 
ing the. coming of the Messiah. The principal  
persons engaged were carried before the sitting  
alderman, who upon a hearing of the parties,  
dismissed the complaint, contenting himself with  
an admonition to those concerned.  
A religious lady, of whom the world has heard  
much, lady Esther Stanhope, and who, from  
motives of piety, has separated herself from her  

27  
family connections, which are of the first dis- 
tinction in Great Britain, has for some years 
past taken up her abode in the Holy Land.—  
There it is understood she devotes an ample  
fortune to purposes of charity, and has attached  
to her many Arab and other followers in the  
east. Her residence, it is stated, is not far from  
the convent of Mount Athos, with the Greek  
monks of which she holds occasional interviews.  
These monks are believed to be particularly  
learned and well versed in the legendary lore of  
scriptural records and traditions. Her ladyship  
possesses a remarkable horse which was foaled  
with a natural saddle on its back, and which she  
has pampered, fed, and attended with particular  
care by her faithful Arabs, because as she has  
been led to believe, the animal is destined to be  
that which is to carry the Saviour.  It is to  
be observed that on this animal never man rode  
—a circumstance which evidently has reference  
to the verse in Scripture describing that on  
which our Saviour sat on his entrance in-


10 28  
to Jerusalem. It is as follows: " And he 
saith unto them, Go your way into the village  
over against you, and as soon as ye be entered  
into it, ye shall find a colt tied whereon never 
man sat; loose him and bring him to me." St.  
Mark, chapter xi. verse 2.  
By many it will no doubt be thought that this  
notion of lady Esther Stanhope5 is a mere super- 
stitious delusion of the fancy, and deserving of  
no sort  of attention, but it is to be remembered  
that the time is come when Christ will be re- 
vealed, and this establishes its possibility not to  
say its feasibility. As an evidence of the pop-
ular opinion entertained respecting the coming  
of Christ, it is here introduced, in connection  
with the foregoing incidents, and as calculated  
to shew  the state of public expectation on the  
subject, grounded as it is on the most undenia- 
able prophecy. Some too may discover an  
analogy between these facts and the following  
passage in Scripture, viz: " And as he sat  
5T-his lady is supposed to be queen Esther of old*  

upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came  
unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall  
these things be ? And what shall be the sign  
of thy coming, and of the end of the world ?  
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take 
heed that no man deceive you, for many shall 
come in my name, saying,  I am Christ, and  
shall deceive many. Then if any man shall say  
unto you, lo here is Christ, or there, believe it  
not, for there shall arise false Christs, and false  
prophets, and shall shew great signs and won- 
ders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they 
shall deceive the very elect. Behold I have 
told you before ; wherefore if they shall say  
unto you, Behold he is in the desert, go not  
forth ; behold he is in the secret chambers,  
believe it not." St. Matthew, chapter xxiv.  
verses 4,5„23, 24,  25, 26.  
It is a remarkable fact that the Jews to this  
day, whenever it thunders and lightens, invari-
ably throw open all their windows and look out,  
in earnest expectation, in every direction for the  
4


so  
coming of the promised Messiah. They aie 
taught to believe that he has  never yet appear- 
ed upon earth, and that when he does come, it  
will be in great pomp and environed with much 
glory. This shews also the state of expectation  
on the subject, even at this day, among the Jews.  
The Roman poet Virgil, by many is supposed  
to allude to the coming of the Messiah in the  
following passage :  
" veniet lnstris labentibus annurri»  
Cum domus As?araci Pthiam claraeque Mycenas  
Servitio pre met; at victis dominabitur Argis,  
Nascetur pulclua Trojanus origine Caesar, 
Imperium oceano, famam qui terrninet Astris, 
Hunc tu olim ccelo, spoliis orientis onustum 
Acpipies secura, vocabitur hie quoque votis.  
Aspera turn positis mitcscent stecula bellis  
Claudeutur belli portse " * ,  
JEneid, lib. ]. verses 283 to 293.  
In these lines it is. predicted, amongst other  
things, that a ruler of the JULIAN stock shall 
arise, whose empire shall be bounded only by  
the ocean ; that his fame shall extend unto the  
stars; that, rewarded as a conqueror with the  
spoils of the East, he shall be received up into  
heaven, and that he shall be called by the  

31  
wishes of the people. Finally, that the age  
shall grow milder, and that faith, justice and  
peace shall universally prevail.  
The Rev. Dr. Ward, of Serampore, a minis- 
ter who has distinguished himself very much in  
the cause of. missionary labors, in a sermon de-
livered in the city of Philadelphia a few years ,  
aSo, characterized the Saviour as " the Desire  D '  
of all Nations."  
When we reflect upon the general alteration  
and improvement that has taken place in the  
state of society, and particularly within the last  
half century, we shall have ample reason to be- 
lieve that the cause of the Redeemer has been .  
for some time maturing, and his reception pre- 
paring in different parts of the globe. The  
light which beamed on the patriots who brought  
about the American Revolution in 1776, un- •  
doubtedly was from heaven, than which no  
earthly event, it may be safely affirmed, has  
since had a more important influence on the af- 
fairs and condition of mankind in general.


10  
Without it, Europe would have remained in a  
state of comparative darkness and barbarity,  
and the cause of the Redeemer, which is the  
cause of liberty, could never have been devel- 
oped. From its example sprung the French  
Revolution in 1792, out of which arose the  
mighty power and fall of Napoleon Buonaparte, 
and whereby certain prophecies were lit- 
erally fulfilled.6 Still later, in point of date,  
we may notice ^he Emancipation of the Ro- 
man Catholics in Ireland from the thraldom  
under which they so long labored,—the removal  
of the disabilities of those denominated Dis- 
senters from the form of government and wor-
ship of the Church of England, on the principle  
established by the Constitution of the United 
States of America, viz : " Congress shall make  
no law respecting an establishment of religion,  
6 " And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the  
witness of J esus and for the Word of God." Revelation, chap- 
ter xx. verse 4. This undoubtedly alludes to the many who  
were beheaded under the Guillotine by order of Panton,  Marat^  
and Robespierre,  during the French Revolution, jn J79&  

33  
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thereby  
leaving every man free to worship his Creator  
in the manner most agreeable to* his own con- 
science ;—and the great measure of Parlia- 
mentary Reform—a measure by which the rep- 
resentation of the people of England was res-
cued from the control of the oligarchy of that  
country, tind lodged where it should be, in the  
hands of the people themselves. This right  
had long been demanded, but as long opposed,  
until the example of America displayed its bea- 
con fire not only upon the principle of repre- 
sentation, but also on the measure now agitating  
in the same parliament, viz., the all-important 
principle of the ballot at elections. From this  
we may form.some idea of the providential wis-
dom of the ways of God, who " out of evil still  
educes good," for had it not been for the re- 
form of this parliament, the series of liberal  
measures' which has been, as it were, just be- 
gun, could never otherwise have been brought 
about. It was this and this alone that paved  
4*


34  
the way for those exertions in favor of the  
Jews, called for alike by a regard to humanity  
and justice, and the propriety of which may be  
said to have been first derived from American  
example.7 To the same reform we may at- 
tribute the entire Abolition of Slavery through- 
out the British Dominions, together with the  
decisive step of immediate emancipation. As  
scions of the same stock, are the endeavors ex-
tensively using to effect the same object on this  
continent. America, it is to be observed, first  
led the way, in point of time and of fact, to the 
Abolition of the Slave Trade, by declaring, be-
fore any other nation had done so, the traffic in  
slaves to be piracy by law. And if she has  
been tardy in effecting the total abolition of  
7 "It is the right, as well as the  duly of all men in society,  
publicly,  and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being,  
the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no sub- 
ject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty,  
or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most  
agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his re- 
ligious profession or sentiments."—Declaration  of Rights  of the  
Inhabitants of the  Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  

slavery within her own territories, there must  
be some cause, some reason, for giving the pre- 
cedence to Great Britain in this respect which  
is not generally known or understood. It can- 
not be denied that the cause itself has awaken- 
ed the sympathies and the understandings of  
the most enlightened of her population to a  
sense of its importance as well as of its neces- 
sity,—many of them confessing that the work is 
of God, and that as such, sooner or later, it  
must every where prosper. It cannot but be 
admitted that there is a great light stalking  
abroad upon this interesting subject, which  
must, ere very long,  illumine the minds even of  
the veriest of its opposers, and convince the  
most prudent, from that experience which they  
have perhaps been waiting for, of the working  
of the system in the neighboring colonies of  
Great Britain, that there is no danger whatso- 
ever, but, on the contrary, much benefit to  
themselves and to their property to be expected  
from even immediate emancipation. If there is


114  
still any delay in the accomplishment of this  
great work, what can we impute it to, but that 
it is reserved for Christ himself, at his speedy  
coming, to fulfil the words of Scripture,—to  
" give liberty to the captive, to open the doors  
of the prison-house, and to set the captive  
free ? " This is a view perhaps novel, and the  
reality of which may be superseded by a still  
earlier manumission, but may it not suggest the  
exercise of charity, forbearance, and the most  
perfect brotherhood towards those whose minds  
have not yet been disabused upon the subject of  
the policy of this particular measure ? and may it  
not induce us to trust to the operation of rea- 
son, of persuasion, and of remonstrance, rather  
than that of violence, in disseminating our opin- 
ions, especially amongst our brethren of the  
South.  
Before dismissing this topic, let us notice the  
establishment of societies with a view to the  
accomplishment of this great end—the African  
Institution in London, at the head of which  

37  
was the celebrated Wilberforce—the New  
England Anti-Slavery Society in Boston; the  
American Colonization  Society at the city of  
Washington; besides many others, distributed  
more or less over the whole Union. The facts 
relative to the condition and state of  Africa,  
collected by the first of these institutions, and  
the original views struck out in the course of  
the exejtions of others, have greatly tended to 
enlighten the public  mind, and to interest its  
inquiries relative to the descendants of a  coun- 
try that in former times, we are told, sent eight  
hundred bishops to the Holy Land!  
It was reserved for the last half century to  
give birth to the establishment of Missionary 
Societies, of Bible Societies, and Religious  
Tract Societies;  all of them concurring to dis- 
seminate a knowledge of the truths of the Gos-
pel among the heathen in foreign lands, or to 
ameliorate the condition of society at home;  
—on the principle, that vice diminishes to 
give way to virtue, in proportion as the mind is


10 38  
instructed and the heart amended. The bene- 
ficial influence of Sabbath Schools, too, on the  
offspring of strictly temperate parents, cannot- 
be calculated;—it is immense.  The material  
being good, the work must 110 doubt prove to  
be excellent, uncommon, and its extent not to  
be foreseen. When listening to the astonish- 
ing performances in singing and reciting of  
children on these occasions, we cannot but 
reflect that surely these children must be- 
taught of God, who hath said by his prophet,  
« And all thy children shall be taught of the  
Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy chil- 
dren." Isaiah, chapter LIV. verse 13.  
The introduction of National Schools in Eng- 
land and Prussia is also comparatively a recent  
step answering to the universal prevalence of  
schools throughout New England, by means of  
which education is universally diffused through- 
out it. Xhe establishment of the American Board  
of Education is a striking proof of the great anx-
jety as to its due supervision, and the interest  

that is felt in searching into its minutest de-
tails. To the force of this same principle we  
may trace a sense of  the propriety of suppres- 
sing the evil of Lotteries throughout the North- 
ern States, within these few years past —  
for it is to be observed, that in those quarters  
of the Union where they are still permitted,  
there is no public system of education provided  
for by law. These improvements together with  
the extensive introduction of Savings Banks,  
calculated, as they are, by frugality and re- 
trenchment, to replace thoughtlessness and im- 
providence amongst the lower classes—of Tem- 
perance Societies, and their consequent offset or  
shoot, the Anti-Tobacco Societies—the societies  
established with a view to reform the state of  
Prison Discipline, and of which the system of  
Sabbath Schools forms a part—are all of them  
indicative of a mighty march of mind, of piety  
and of truth, which cannot be stayed, but is con- 
stantly progressive, and advances, with gigantic  
strides, in the great career of ultimate perfection.


114  
The Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt shows a  
more benignant state of feeling entertained by 
man towards his brother, whilst the salutary Re- 
vision of the Laws may have concurred to pro- 
mote a disposition lately observed to compromise  
in matters of legal controversy, whereby the num-
ber of settled actions in our courts of law has been  
greatly augmented, thereby fulfilling the words  
of Christ, " Agree with thine adversary quickly,  
lest ye perish from the way." The mitigation 
of the Criminal Code is another feature, too, 
illustrative of the benevolent spirit and increas- 
ing liberality of the age. For many years the  
crime of Forgery was invariably punished with 
death in England, without even any chance of  
pardon for  the criminal, and on the ground,  
that in so commercial a country, it was a law 
called for, and indispensable to the security  of  
transactions in the mercantile world. Now we  
find the Attorney-General himself, a principal  
officer of the Crown, moving for and obtaining  
its repeal. A commission was recently ap- 

41  
pointed for the revision of the criminal law in  
that country, by the result of whose labors the  
number of crimes punishable with death, that  
had before  been 147, was reduced down to 48.  
In Massachusetts the number is only six! and  
attempts are making to lessen it still more.  
See the excellent Report of the Hon. Robert 
Rantoul, Jr., Representative from Gloucester. 
The removal of abuses in Municipal Corpora- 
tions throughout Great Britain and Ireland,—  
the commutation of Church Rates,—the changes 
which have been introduced in the Administra- 
tion, Clothing and Equipment of the armies of  
the different powers,—the adaptation of the  
forces of the Turkish Empire to the plan and  
model of those of Europe,—and above all, the  
great modern discovery of VACCINE INOCULA- 
TION, whereby an antidote has been provided to 
the ravages of that fatal disorder, the small pox, 
and the divine countenance of man which used  
to'be marred and disfigured by its trace, is now  
5


42  
assimilated to that of his Makerall these  
ameliorations in the condition of the world, 
taken together, cannot fail to strike the mind  
as being so very wonderful, that we are tempted 
to believe some active principle having a peculiar  
sympathy with our kind, must have been at  
work,—some good and heaven-descended genius 
within the last fifty years, must have been here 
busily engaged for the benefit of our race, with  
a view to some great special event,-—and cap he  
possibly be any other than the Creator himself?  
Be this as it may, they present a body of facts 
auspiciously prognosticating a very different  
state of society from that which has heretofore  
existed, and as preparing the way, making  
" smooth the path," and ushering in the promised  
coming of the blessed Messiah !  
The favored exertions of missionary societies  
deserve particular notice here, as we learn from 
Scripture that before Christ can be again re- 
vealed there is one condition pending,—6ne  

114  
pre-requisite to be fulfilled, which is that " the  
Gospel must first be published among all na-
tions." St. Mark, chapter xm. verse 10.  
And also that " this Gospel of the Kingdom  
shall be preached in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations, and then shall the end come."  
St. Matthew, chapter xxiv. verse 14.  
The Gospel accordingly has, through the  
praiseworthy efforts of the societies before  
named been preached, very nearly, unto all na- 
tions. Unremitting endeavors are now using  
to perfect the same work; and whoever has  
looked into the history of the different missions8 
established and set on foot by the pious and  
well disposed in different countries, must ac- 
knowledge the working of a superior agency,  
and the special interposition of Divine Provi- 
dence, in several instances, especially by crown-
ing their labors with a wonderful efficacy.  
8 See " History of Missions," a work recently published, by  
Rev. John Choules, A. M.


44  
The countries of the heathen have been pene- 
trated by missionaries in every direction. Where  
is there a single island in the Indian or Pa- 
cific oceans that has not been visited by the  
heralds of the  cross? Even the Empire of  
China,9 which was so long barred against the  
introduction of Christianity, has been recently  
opened to its reception, and this was a country 
long looked to with considerable anxiety and 
solicitude as to the result. The Baptist Mis-
sions in particular, have been well supplied and  
supported, and have been the means, it is un- 
derstood, of producing extensive good whither- 
soever they have been directed. Let us there- 
9 We learn from Pekin, where a mission jrom the Greek  
Church of Russia has existed from the time of Peter the Great,  
that upwards of 300,000 Chinese have embraced Christianity,  
and there is every reason to believe that all persecution of  
Christians is on the point of ceasing. The Emperor himself  
is said to have studied Christianity, and to hold it in respect;  
while at his accession to the throne, Christian blood was fre- 
quently made to flow. Tbe rigorous laws against Christians  
now exist only on paper, and their execution is entrusted to  
such mandarins alone as are favorable to the Christians.  

45 .  
fore hope  that the great pre-requisite is about  
being completely answered and fulfilled, when 
there will be no obstacle, we may be certain, to  
delay that event which is made to depend pri- 
marily and necessarily on the accomplishment  
of the prophecy. ' »  
A further argument in support of the same  
grand position may be deduced from the fact  
that it has been remarked of late, in the city of  
Boston and its vicinity, that there has been  
a very sudclen, unexpected, and extensive 
awakening of large numbers of people on the  
subject of Christianity,—on the part of those  
especially who have wliat is called, "acquired or  
gotten religion," that is, who have been inspired  
by the Holy Spirit.,' and m<my who have made ap- 
plication to be admitted to the ceremony of  
baptism. We read in the Gospel that Christ  
was baptized with water by St. John, hence  
called St. John the Baptist, and it is also writ- 
ten that " he that believeth and is baptized shall  
be saved." St. Mark, chapter xvi. verse 16.  
» ' 5 *


46  
An affinity of the principle would seem to  
betoken an affinity of the period. At all events,  
it has been regarded by many as one of the nu- 
merous omens which are so clearly observable  
in our times, of the near approach of this very 
great and very desirable event.  
wfor« >• jlvr^jU^bc  
. ,  t ..  it/} • jy>)  „  
> '  
a Hi .1)1 .}>:  

CHAPTER II.  
War.  
BUT though the blessings consequent upon  
the arrival of the Saviour of mankind are no  
doubt very great,- it cannot be concealed that  
there is every reason to believe it will be at- 
tended with a state of warfare Upon earth, and  
that hostilities may  be expected to take place  
in no very long time as a prelude to that' event.  
The passages of Scripture which lead to this  
impression are numerous, and are stated in words  
so plain that they cannot possibly be mistaken.  
" Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0 most  
Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And  
in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of  
truth and meekness and righteousness ; and thy  
right hand shall te^h thee terrible things.—  
Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's


100  
enemies, whereby the people fall under thee."  
Psalms, XLV. verses 3, 4 and 5.  
" He shall subdue the people under us, and  
the nations under our feet." Psalms, XI/VII.  
verse 3.  
" He shall judge the poor of the people ; he  
shall save the children of the needy, and shall  
break in pieces the oppressor. He shall have  
dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river  
unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell 
in the wilderness shall bow before him; and  
his enemies shall lick the dust." Psalms, LXXII.  
verses 4, 8 and 9r g gjg| jfltf  
" The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength  
outofZion ; rule'thou in the midst of thine  
enemies. The Lord at thy right hand shall 
strike through kings in the day of his wrath.  
He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill 
the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound  
the heads over many countries." Psalms, ex.  
verses 2, 5 and 6.  

49  
" The Lord hath a controversy with the na- 
tions ; he will plead with all flesh; he will  
give them that are wicked to the sword, saith  
the Lord. And the slain of the Lord shall be  
at that day from one end of the earth even unto  
the other end of the earth; they shall not be  
lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they  
shall be dung upon the ground." Jeremiah,  
chapter xxv. verses 31 and 33.  
" The kings of the earth set themselves, and  
the rulers take counsel together against the  
Lord, and against his anointed. Thou shalt 
break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash  
them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Psalms,  
n. verses 2 and 9.  
" When the enemy shall come in like a flood,  
the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard  
against him." Isaiah, chapter LIX. verse 19.  
From these passages of Scripture, as well as  
many others, it is clear that the  war of the Lord,  
—a war more extended than any of which we  
have had any former  experience, when " the  
Z


100 50  
slain shall be from one end of the earth even 
unto the other end of the earth," is yet to take  
place. The germs of it may be found in the  
unsettled state of the  question between the  
United States and Great Britain relative to the  
North Eastern Boundary of the former, and a  
dissatisfaction coeval it may be remarked,  
with the act of confederation'of the United  
States themselves.10 Justice, it is conceived, is  
altogether on the side of America in this con- 
troversy, which being the case, it is not difficult  
10 Art. 11. "Canada, acceding to this confederation and  
joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted  
into and entitled to all the advantages of this union; but no  
other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such ad- 
mission be agreed to by nine States."  
Articles of confederation and perpetual union between the  
States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode-Island  
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New- 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-
Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia.  
From this special exception in favor of Canada, over all the  
other colonies of the British crown, we are led to surmise that 
there must have been some secret understanding,—some im- 
plied covenant existing between the United States and Canada  
at the period of the Declaration of Independence on the part  
of the former,—some compact agreed upon but yet unexecuted,  
and sealed with the blood of our Montgomery.  

to perceive the concordance between the present  
position of that country and its future destiny  
as elucidated in sundry portions of Holy Writ. 
The cause of liberty is a holy one, which soon- 
er or later, must prevail over every portion of  
the civilized world. Let us see what people it  
is that seems intended by Divine Providence to  
become its most active supporters.  
" Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound  
an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the in- 
habitants of the land tremble : for the day of  
the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand ; a day  
of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds 
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread 
upon the mountains: a great people "and a  
strong; there hath not been ever the like,  
neither shall be any more  after it, even to the  
years of many generations. A fire devoureth  
before them; and behind them a flame burneth:  
the land is as the garden of Eden before them,  
and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, 
and nothing shall escape them. The appear-


52  
ance of them  is as the appearance of horses; and  
as horsemen, so shall they run. .Like the noise  
of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they  
leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that de- 
voureth the stubble, as a strong people set in  
battle array. Beforp their face the people shall 
be much pained : all faces shall gather black- 
ness. They shall run like mighty men ; they  
shall climb the wall  like men of war ; and they  
shall march every one on his ways, and they  
shall not break their ranks: neither shall one  
thrust another; they shall walk every one in  
his path: and when they fall upon the sword,  
they shall not be wounded. They shall run 
to anil fro in the city ; they shall run upon the  
wall, they shall climb up upon the houses;  
they shall enter in at the windows like a thief..  
The earth shall quake before them; the  
heavens shall tremble: the  sun and the moon  
shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw  
their shining: and the Lord shall utter his  
voice before his army; for his camp is very  

great: for he is strong that executeth his  
word : for the day of the Lord is great and  
very terrible; and who can abide it ? Joel,  
chapter 11. verses 1 to 11.  
To any one acquainted with the American  
character, it must immediately occur that this  
applies precisely to the people of the United  
States. In their feats they are peculiarly  
nimble and alert; they have a quickness of mo- 
tion, and a celerity of operation most accurately  
described in the allusion to their mode of warfare.  
That the great  contest is to take place about  
the period of the latter end of the world, we  
may collect from th$ following: " I will gather  
all nations, and will plead with them there for  
my people and for my heritage Israel, whom  
they have scattered among the nations [that is, 
caused to emigrate to various parts] and parted  
my land. Proclaim ye this, prepare war, wake  
up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw  
near, let them come up. Beat your plough- 
shares into swords, and your pruning hooks  
6


100  
into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. 
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe, the  
wickedness is great." Joel, chapter HI. verses 
2,9, 10, and 13.  
/ The army of Canada is supposed to be al- 
luded to by the same prophet, when  he says,  
" I will remove far off from you the northern  
army, and will drive him  into a land barren and  
desolate, with his face toward the East Sea,  
and his hinder part towards the Utmost Sea;  
and his ill savor11 shall come up, because he  
hath done great things." Joel, chapter n. 
verse 20.  
That the new world is 'destined to exert a  
very material influence over the old, has long  
been the opinion of many enlightened philoso- 
phers who have maturely considered the rela- 
tive circumstances and resources of the re- 
spective hemispheres. That the claim of the  
n Signifying that they shall be defeated With disgrace. The  
words " because he hath done great things," allude to their  
having formerly conquered at Lincelles, on the Peninsula, and  
at Waterloo*  

55  
United States has justice for its foundation is  
the opinion of the ablest and most experienced  
legislators of the Western continent; and that  
it will prosper, may be reasonably inferred from  
a review of both these considerations. The  
prophecy of Virgil, therefore, may yet be real-
ized in the Canadas, and the victorious career  
by him spoken of, is in all probability to com- 
mence in that country; for as the American  
army is  already shown to be alluded to, (and  
its recent increase is to be regarded as an  
omen,) the banner of the Lamb may ere long  
be expected to wave upon the capitulated  
walls of Montreal and Quebec. " God shall  
wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy  
scalp of him that trespasseth." Psalms LXVIII.  
verse 20. This alludes to the employment of  
Indians, who it is well known always take the  
scalp of their enemies. t»  
" Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way  
in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters, 
which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the


114  
army and the power; they shall lie down to- 
gether, they shall not rise; they are extinct,  
they are quenched as tow." Isaiah, chapter  
XLIFI. verses 16 and 17.  
From this expression, as well as some others,  
and particularly that " there shall be a highway  
amongst the nations," it is to be inferred, that  
after making a conquest of the Canadas, a 
road will be opened to the victor across the 
ocean, and that by it he will proceed to Europe,  
after the manner of the Israelites of old, who  
were enabled to pass over the Red Sea dry 
shod, and to reach the opposite shore in  
safety.  
" And the Lord shall utterly destroy the  
tongue of the Egyptian12 Sea, , and with his  
mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the  
river, and shall smite it in the seven streams,  
make men go over dry shod. And there  
shall be a highway for the remnant of his peo- 
12 Under the figure of the Egyptian Sea is meant the Euro- 
pean;  

57  
pie which shall be left from Assyria, like  as it  
was to Israel in the day that he came out of the 
land of Egypt." Isaiah, chapter xi. verses  
15 and 16.  
" In that day shall there be a highway out  
of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall  
come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into  
Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the  
Assyrians. Isaiah, chapter xix. verse 23.  
The allegorical style of diction in the sa- 
cred writings has been a theme for numerous  
commentators on which to exercise their utmost  
powers of critical acumen. Amongst these we  
may favorably notice the able treatise " on the  
figurative language of scripture,'-' by William  
Jones, Esq., professor of oriental languages in  
the university of Oxford. In the two last  
quoted passages from Isaiah,  \t is supposed that  
under the type of Egypt, Europe is alluded to,  
and by Assyria, symbolically speaking the coun- 
try of America, which at the time of the proph- 
ecy was not named;—because in preceding  
6*


100  
verses it is stated that one of the cities in Egypt  
shall be called the " City of Destruction," by  
which is to be understood the modern London,  
v \  
and that is in Europe ;—that " the waters shall  
fail from the sea ; "—and that" a Saviour and a  
great one shall deliver such of them as cry unto 
the Lord," both which refer to circumstances in  
the situation of America at the latter end of the  
world. According to this reading, therefore,  
we are to learn that there shall be a highway  
between America and Europe, and that many  
Europeans shall serve in the American army.  
"And I will strengthen the house of Judah,  
and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will  
bring them again to place them; for I have  
mercy upon them : and they shall be as though  
I had not cast  them off: for I am the Lord  
their God, and will hear them. And they of 
Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their 
heart shall rejoice as through wine : yea, their  
children shall see it, and be glad; their heart  
shall rejoice in the Lord. I will  hiss for them,  

59  
and gather them; for 1 have redeemed them :  
and they shall increase as they have increased:  
and 1 will sow them among the people: and  
they shall remember me in far countries; and  
they shall live with their children, and turn  
again. I  will bring them again also out of the  
land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria;  
and I will bring them into the land of Gilead13  
and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for  
them. Jnd he shall pass through the sea with  
afflictjgn, and shall smite the wavesNin the sea,  
and all the deeps of the river shall dry up : and  
the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and 
the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And  
I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they  
shall walk up and down in his name, saith the  
Lord. Zechariah, chapter x. verses 6 to 12.  
So the prophet Habakkuk, speaking of a vision  
of things at the latter end, says: " Thou didst  
walk through the sea with thine horses, through  
13 The balm of Gilead is typical of comfort and consola- 
tion.


60  
the heap of great waters." Habakkuk, chapter  
HI. verse 15.  
" An east wind shall come, the wind of the  
Lord shall come up from the wilderness  
and his spring shall become dry, and his  
fountain shall be dried up, He shall spoil the  
treasures of all pleasant vessels." Hosea,  
chapter xm. verse 15.  
By vessels is meant ships conveying treasure.  
Under the name of Babylon the Great, men- 
tioned in the Book of Revelation of St| John  
the Divine, is understood to be intended a cer- 
tain metropolis, the means of reaching which  
we are led to interpret from the foregoing pas- 
sages. A few years ago Mr. Trimble, a Mem- 
ber of Congress from Kentucky, and who had  
been a lieutenant-colonel in the United States  %  
army during the late war, in a speech delivered  
in the hall of the House of Representatives at 
Washington, threatened England with the  
" besom of retribution " for her attack upon the  
capital of the United-  States in 1814. His  

114  
threat was by no means an empty or a vain one, 
but uttered in the true spirit of prophecy. Jus-
tice,—it may be regarded as an axiom in the  
moral government of the world—-justice is, and  
must be the foundation of the universe. The 
defeat of the French army under the Emperor  
Napoleon at Waterloo was but the repayment  
of old debts standing ever since the Trojan war.  
On the same principle America must, one day or  
other, invade and lay waste the capital of the  
British Empire. In nature every  thing pro- 
ceeds upon the principle of immutable justice, to  
which even the Godhead, it is understood,  
yields a ready assent. In the same way Divin-
ity itself, if angels are to be believed, had to be  
scourged by Pontius Pilate, as a youth at Eton, in 
return for having doomed the Saviour to be sim- 
ilarly scourged, and by the same Pilate.  
The destruction of Babylon the Great, fore- 
told in the 17th and 18th chapters of the  
Apocalypse, is so described that it is certain  
it applies to a city the fate of which is yet to he


62 >  
accomplished,—" that great city which reign- 
eth over the kings of the earth."  
« MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,  
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF  
THE EARTH." Revelation, chapter XVII. verse 5.  
And again: " Babylon the great is fallen, is  
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,  
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of  
every unclean and hateful bird. For all  nations  
have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her for- 
nication, and the kings of the earth have  
committed fornication With her, and the mer- 
chants of the earth are waxed rich through  
the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard  
another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of  
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her 
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God  
hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her 
even as she rewarded yon, and double unto her 
double according to her works : in the cup 
which she hath filled fill to her double. How  

63  
much she hath glorified herself, and lived deli- 
riously, so much torment and sorrow give her :  
for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am  
no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore  
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and  
mourning, and famine ; and she shall be utterly  
burned with fire : for strong is the Lord God 
who judgeth her. And the kings of  the earth  
who have committed fornication and lived deli- 
riously with her, shall bewail her, and lament  
for her, when they shall see the smoke of her  
burning, standing afar off for the fear of her tor- 
ment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, 
that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy judg-
ment come. And the merchants of the earth  
shall weep and mourn over her; for no man 
buyeth their merchandize any more : the mer- 
chandize of gold, and silver, and precious stones,  
and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and  
silk, and  scarlet, and all thyme wood, and all  
manner vessels of most precious wood, and of  
brass, and iron and marble, and cinnamon, and


100  
odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and  
wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and  
beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and 
slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that 
thy soul lustest after are departed from thee, 
and all things which were dainty and goodly  
are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them  
no more at all. The merchants of these things, 
which* were made rich by her, shall stand afar 
off for the fear of her torment, weeping and 
wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city,  
that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and  
scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious 
stones, and pearls! for in one hour so great  
riches is come to nought. And every shipmas-
ter, and all the company in ships, and sailors,  
and as many as trade  by sea, stood  afar off, and  
cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,  
saying, What city is like unto this great city! 
And they cast dust on their heads, and cried,  
weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that  
great city, wherein were made rich all that had  

65  
ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for  
in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over  
her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and  
prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 
And a mighty angel stood up a stone like a 
great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying,  
Thus with violence shall ,that great city Baby- 
lon be thrown down, and shall be found no  
more at all. And the voice of harpers, and mu- 
sicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be  
heard no more at all in thee ; and no craftsman,  
of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any  
more in thee ; and the sound of a mill-stone  
shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the  
light of a candle shall shine no more at all in  
thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the  
bride shall be heard no more at all in thee : for  
thy merchants were the great men of the earth;  
for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.  
And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of  
saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."  
Revelation, chapter xvm. verses 2 to 24.  
7


100  
But to elucidate this subject still further let  
us consult other passages: " Woe be unto thee  
Babylon and Asia! " 2 Esdras, chapter xvi.  
verse 1.  
" And from the land of the Assyrians shall  
the enemy besiege them. They shall go stead- 
fastly unto Babylon, and make her afraid. They  
shall come to her and besiege her, the star14 and  
all wrath shall they pour out upon her. And  
thou Asia, that art partaker of the hope of Bab- 
ylon, and art the glory of her person. Woe be  
unto thee, because thou hast made thyself like un- 
to her; and hast decked thy daughters in whore- 
dom, that they might please and glory in thy 
lovers, which have always desired to commit  
whoredom with thee !" 2 Esdras, chapter xv.  
verses 33, 43, 44,46 and 47.  
The connection between the great emporium  
in Europe and the dominions of the English  
East India Company in Asia, is here evidently  
14 This refers to the " American  Star."  

67  
pointed at, and the state of society in the east  
accurately pourtrayed.  
There is but one city that now answers in all  
its details to the description already given,  
from which we are led to conclude that it must  
be the same that is spoken of by St. John the  
Divine in the book containing his Revelation of  
things which were to happen about the time of  
the latter end of the world.  
By a reference to the fourteenth verse of the  
seventeenth chapter of the same book, it will  
be perceived that the allies of the great city are  
to " make war with the Lamb." The descrip- 
tion that follows will convey some idea of  
the nature of the contest that is then to take  
place. " And I saw heaven opened, and behold 
a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was  
called Faithful and True; and in righteousness  
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were 
as a flame of fire, and on his head were many  
crowns; and he had a name written, that no


114  
man knew but he himself. And he was clothed  
with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name  
is called The Word of God. And the armies  
/ which were in heaven followed him upon white  
horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  
And out of his mouth' goeth a sharp sword, that  
with it he should smite the nations: and he  
shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he 
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and  
wrath, of Almighty God. Aud he hath on his  
vesture and on his thigh a name written,  
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF  
LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the 
sun ; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to  
all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,  
Come and gather yourselves together unto the  
supper of the great God ; that ye may eat the 
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and  
the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses,  
and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of  
all men, both free and bond, both small and  

69  
great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of  
the earth, and their armies, gathered together  
to make war against him that sat on the horse,  
and against his army. And the beast was  
taken, and with him the false prophet that  
wrought miracles before him, with which he  
deceived them that had received the mark of  
the beast, and them that worshipped his image.  
These both were cast  alive into a lake of fire  
burning with brimstone. And the remnant  
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon  
the horse, which sword proceeded out of his  
mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their 
flesh." Revelation, chapter xix. verses 11 to 21.  
The British power is alluded to in the seventh  
chapter and twentieth verse of the prophet  
Daniel, as the horn speaking great things, and  
having: a look more stout than his fellows; and  
" I beheld, aud the same horn made war with  
the saints and prevailed against them, until the  
ancient of days came." Daniel, chapter vn.  
verse 21, 22. By the ancient of days is meant  
7 *


100  
General Armistead, of the U. S. Army,—  
a very old Mason, and as his name implies  
himself a host.  
Many of the scenes related in the Book of  
Revelation have already taken place, and it is  
to be expected that the Armageddon of Scrip- 
ture, and the Tenth Avater of the Poet Camp- 
bell are destined to be speedily realized :  
" He comes, dread Brama shakes the sunless sky  
With murmuring wrath and thunders from on high.  
Heaven's fiery horse, beneath his warrior form, *  
Paws the bright clouds and gallops on the storm ;  
Wide waves his flickering sword, his bright arms glow  
Like summer suns, and light the world below!  
Earth, and her trembling isles in ocean's bed  
Are shook, and nature rocks beneath his tread !  
******#*##*####  
To pour redress on India's injured realm,  
The oppressor to dethrone, the proud to whelm ;  
To chase destruction from her plunder'd shore, ' 
With arts and arms that triumphed once before,  
The tenth AVATER comes!"  is  
The last passage in the Book of Revelation  
is corroborated very minutely in that of the  
15 According to the Hindoo mythology the person alluded to  
is to appear on a white horse; a Jove for India is to actuate  
his deeds in favor of that country, and by his means wisdom  
and peace are to be established ;-a prophecy very similar, let  
it be observed, to that of Virgil.  

71  
prophet Ezekiel, as follows : " And thou, Son  
of man, speak unto every feathered fowl, and 
to every beast of the field, Assemble your- 
selves and come, that ye may eat the flesh  
of the mighty and drink the blood of the  
princes of the earth. Ye shall be filled at 
my table with horses and chariots, with mighty  
men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord  
\  
God." Ezekiel, chapter xxxix. verses 17, 
18, 20.  
But should any friend to the great blessing  
of peace feel opposed in his own mind to the  
reception of - the truths which have been here  
unfolded, we may call his attention to the au- 
thority of the Very Rev. Father Dubuisson, a  
Jesuit Missionary, conveyed in a sermon to  
which we happened to listen, delivered a few  
years since in Trinity Church, Georgetown,  
wherein after recounting some of the wonders 
of creation, and stating that to ministers of  
religion this world appeared as one vast plain,


100  
marked out as it were into different stages or  
divisions,—he concluded by remarking on the  
prospects before us, and observed, " but there  
must be fighting, otherwise there would be no 
merit" Here the preacher showed a profound 
acquaintance with the laws of nature—and even 
of the providence of nature's God, by whom 
we have been assured that all things, however  
inexplicable to us they may appear, unquestion-
ably are ordered for the best. He touched the 
root of the great doctrine of the utility of evil,  
— of the origin of glory which, without oppo- 
sition could never have had either an existence  
or a name,—and of  the necessity that some- 
times exists of thinning the overgrown popula- 
tion of the more ancient States, (especially in  
the thickly settled countries of the old world,)  
when for that purpose God has wisely, from  
time to time, through a long series of ages,  
•sent wars upon the earth.  
Of this truth at all events we may rest per- 

73  
fectly well assured, that whatever incidents  
may occur in the history of the world, not a 
blow will be struck that is either not already 
due and requires to be repaid, or that will not  
be settled, as in strict and impartial justice it  
ought to, be settled, in some manner or at some 
period or other. " Behold, saith the Lord, I  
will call together all the kings of the earth to  
turn themselves one against another, and repay  
the things that they have done to them 
2 Esdras, chapter xv. verse 20.  
The circumstance of so many mechanics and  
other people being at present out of employ  
throughout the United States is regarded as a  
symptom preparatory to a great change in the  
situation of this nation as one of the<powers of  
the earth. The case was very similar, it has  
been observed, just previous to the last struggle  
in 1812, when many were reduced to such an  
extremity as to be obliged to resort to soup- 
houses for a support. In the present improved


74  
state of society, may we hope and fervently 
pray that though prosperity may be denied,  
the evils of poverty and of famine may be  
far removed from us.  CHAPTER III.  
Temperance.  
To the sufferings of omnipotence, it has been  
revealed, that we are indebted for the discovery  
of the use and efficacy of Temperance Socie- 
ties,—those important moral levers first ori- 
ginated in Boston in the year 1830—since which  
time they have spread extensively over the  
world, and may now be' found established in  
every quarter of the globe. The great plea  
originally advanced in favor of Temperance was  
that it is most conducive to health, and it was  
supported mainly on the ground of morality and  
religion, as well as with a view to the preven- 
tion of crime. To these motives may be  added  
the advantage of abstinence to the pocket of the  
individual, and the fact that he who is temper- 
ate is always more or less prosperous,—besides  
the reflection that by temperance the welfare of


100  
the community at large is promoted,—it being  
certain that the blessings we enjoy of an abun- 
dant harvest and a favorable season have been  
earned and deserved by the change which has  
taken place throughout the country on the sub- 
ject of this particular species of reform ; for it  
is to be observed that providence bestows its  
blessings only when they have been duly merit- 
ed. If for example the people abstain from the  
juice of the grape or the spirit of the grain, they  
will no doubt be, as they are, rewarded with  
the native produce of the earth 110 longer misap- 
plied ; and by refraining  from unnecessary  
and hurtful superfluities, will have been found  
deserving of a greater abundance of the fruits  
of the soil which they have shown] themselves  
capable and worthy of appreciating. Sup- 
posing the quantity of land required to produce  
grapes and to grow grain sufficient for the sup-
ply of the State of Massachusetts with wine and  
ardent spirit  to be one hundred thousand acres,  
and by the abstinence of the people, this amouut  

77  
of land is no longer applied to such pur- 
poses, it will assuredly return to them in bread  
corn, and a greater plenty will be the natural  
result. But the reward does not stop here.  
The very fact of their abstinence is productive  
of so much good in various wrays, that abund-
ance will be increased ten fold,—every act they  
perform will be prosperous, and every seed they  
sow will thrive and multiply under their hands.  
It is a property well worthy of observation, as  
attaching to persons who practise entire ab- 
stinence from ardent spirits, wine, or malt liquor,  
that they are peculiarly favored in all their con-
cerns ;—that the work of their hands is made to  
prosper;—and that  all their undertakings are  
crowned with success. In like manner, there is 
no doubt but that the great reform on the sub- 
ject of Temperance which has taken place  
throughout this commonwealth, has been the  
principal  cause of the blessings it now enjoys of  
bountiful crops, warmer weather suited to the 
ripening and perfection of corn, and an abund-


78  
ant harvest, both of grass and grain. It de- 
pends upon the State of Massachusetts itself,  
whether these blessings shall be continued and  
improved,—whether in short its territory shall  
become a perfect garden, adorned with all  
the smiles of paradise upon earth, or whether  
it shall relapse into its former state,—sterile, un- 
productive, dependent upon southern  ports al- 
together for its supplies, and instead of the due  
degree of warmth, visited with summers too  
cold to ripen, and therefore unfit for the produc- 
tion of corn.  
There are some facts on the subject of Tem- 
perance which hitherto have escaped the atten- 
tion of medical philosophers, and which it is  
proper to notice here. Malt liquor we may be 
assured, has a peculiarly unholy effect upon the  
individual, as ascertained by the spirits of the  
universe to whom, these things are familiar. In  
like manner, and for the like reason, they de- 
precate the use of strong drink of every descrip- 
tion by those who pretend to purity of life. It  

79  
has been observed moreover, that the children of  
a father begotten at a time when that father  
was in the habit of indulging in spirituous li- 
quors, have turned out to be unholy in their 
conduct and conversation, and unseemly in their  
persons, whereas children of the same father, 
born at a time when that father abstained to- 
tally from strong drink of every description, 
have proved to be not only holy and good, but 
beautiful in their countenances, and exemplary  
in their conduct. They voluntarily seek their 
church, whilst their brethren before spoken of  
neglect it. One of them is a most ingenious  
mechanic, the other is yet young; whilst their 
brothers are careless and listless in what they  
undertake. On sait que dans 1' acte de la pro- 
creation, les essences les plus subtiles se melent  
dans Tuterus pour la formation du foetus.  
How important it is therefore that wine or strong 
drink should on no account enter into the  
composition of the future infant, or the  parent  
might reasonably be accused of entailing upon


• 80  
his progeny the most baneful propensities and  
qualities of disposition.  
Considering the extensive spread of temper- 
ance principles, particularly in the New Eng-
land States, it may reasonably be anticipated that^  
the succeeding generation will, for the reason  
and upon the ground above stated, become more  
holy and better favored in their persons and  
countenances than their sires, which will be  
the state probably contemplated tyy Ovid when  
he says:  
"Jam nova progenies coelo demittitur alto."  
See a new progeny from heaven descend.  
There is also another view which has not  
hitherto suggested itself to society in general,  
and that is the necessity of temperance to the 
successful accomplishment of passages in Scrip- 
ture. Much has been written and said of late 
on the subject of Animal Magnetism, and not  
without some foundation ; for the  same proper- 
ty of magnetic attraction by which it is pro- 
posed to bring into use a new power whereby  
steam-boats and steam-carriages are to be im- 

81  
pelled without fuel,16 is found to reside in the  
animal system. The principle of attraction and  
cohesion has been long known to natural phi- 
losophers, but it has not been equally long or  
well known that ATTRACTION AND COHESION ,IS 
THE TRUE PRINCIPLE OF THE CONSTITUTION  
OF THE UNIVERSE. It may be observed that  
those who practise entire abstinence from  
strong drinks  are insensibly drawn together;  
they have a principle of attraction in them by  
which they are, as it were, known to each  
other;17 whilst in persons who are addicted to  
them, it is totally extinct.,—it exists in them no 
more than in the inanimate trunk of a dead 
tree. This distinction it is of importance to  
attend to, as it will go far to account for the  
obstructions which prevent all mankind from  
16 A machine of this description, possessing a power equal  
to that of raising fifty pounds weight, was exhibited last year at  
the Mechanics Fair in the city of Boston, and also in New-York.  
17 h is a singular fact, that upon this very principle of mag- 
netic attraction, a temperance man can generally distinguish  
whether a person near him is in the habit of using spirituous  
liquors or not.  
8*


100  
being " knit together in love," and oppose the*  
state contemplated by the apostles, when it is  
said:  
" In Christ all the building fitly framed to- 
gether, groweth unto a holy temple in the  
Lord." Ephesians, chapter n. verse 21.  
" The head, from which all the body by  
joints and bands having nourishment ministered,  
and knit together, increaseth with the increase 
of God." Colossians, chapter n. verse 19.  
"From Christ, the whole body fitly joined  
together, and compacted by that which  every  
joint supplieth, according to the effectual  
working in the measure of every part, maketh  
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself 
in love." Ephesians, chapter iv. verse 16.  
" Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a  
spiritual house,  an holy priesthood, to offer up  
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus 
Christ." 1 Peter, chapter n. verse 5.  
If the whole world were temperate, it is easy  
to conceive how the figure of the frame-work  

83  
of which the apostle St. Paul speaksr  
might be realized and brought about; but 
whilst some persist in obstinately pursuing their  
previous habits of indulgence, it cannot be per- 
ceived how, under such circumstances, such a  
spiritual building as is anticipated can be ex- 
pected to be accomplished. This suggests a  
line of distinction between the temperate and  
intemperate,  which ultimately there is reason  
to believe will, as to nations, necessarily be  
drawn by the sword. In Europe, the practice 
of dining at a very late hour, and of drinking  
during and after dinner until midnight, is very  
general, and on Europe accordingly the calam- 
ity of war may be expected to fall with peculiar  
violence. The cause of temperance, which is  
the cause of holiness, brings us to this result, 
for what concord hath Christ with Belial ?18—  
unless we suppose, which there is no reason to  
18 "What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  
Wherefore come out from among them, be ye separate, and 
touch not the forbidden thing." 2 Corinthians, ciiapter vi. 
verses 15 and 17.


100  
do, that its prevalence will first become uni- 
versal. " In that day shall there be upon the 
bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD."  
Zechariah, chapter xiv. verse 20.  
The contrast which the United States pre- 
sent to European countries in this respect is  
very striking. In the former, the practice is to  
dine at two o'clock, P. M., and at half past  
three  to return to business for the afternoon.  
In some of the latter, the hour of dinner, which  
used to be four o'clock is now rarely before 
five, sometimes very much later,—so much so 
that it had of late years become a maxim, " the 
later the hour the more fashionable the meal."  
During dinner, Sherry and Madeira wines are  
drank to the amount perhaps of a pint, and 
afterwards Port wine, sometimes a little Claret,  
to the extent of at least a quart. The com- 
pany drink each glass to the healths of persons  
whom they are severally called upon to propose,  
and after being sent for by the ladies, (who 
have retired earlier,) three or four times, with  

85  
a view to partake of tea or coffee,—about  
twelve perhaps adjourn to the drawing-room.  
Nothing, it is to be observed, is done after din- 
ner.  
Now what shall we temperate Christians  
be inclined to think of this very dissipated  
mode of life ? Is it not reasonable to suppose  
that Providence approves of the rigid temper- 
ance of the one, whilst it frowns upon the  
vicious habits and propensities of the other ?  
Can agreement therefore be expected long to  
continue between them ? Will not the people  
who are in such a case, and who obstinately  
persevere in it notwithstanding all remonstrance,  
be likely to be cut off by the chosen people of  
God,—those who follow his precepts and obey  
his commandments ? " Be ye temperate in all  
things," is the language of the New Testament;  
yet to the disgrace of the . prelacy be it ob- 
served, that they insist that large incomes are  
necessary, that is, to enable them to be hos- 
pitable, to entertain with wine their distil


86  
guished guests, and to do as the world does.  
The passage in Joel may therefore be par- 
ticularly applied to them, where he says, " The  
meat offering and the  drink offering is cut off  
from the house of the Lord, the priests, the 
Lord's ministers, mourn. Gird yourselves and  
lament, ye priests; howl ye ministers of the 
altar, come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye min- 
isters of-my God." Joel, Chapter i. verses  
9 and 13.  
The whole of the first chapter of Joel, indeed,  
may be considered as a prophecy of the success  
of the cause of temperance and as alluding to  
America, the country where it first originated, 
and where it has most prospered.  
" Hear-this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye  
inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your  
days, or even in the days of your fathers ?19 Tell  
ye your children of it, and let your children tell  
19 Such a thing ns Temperance generally, anil the Temper- 
ance cause certainly, is altogether unprecedented. The proph- 
et therefore asks, and with truth, if any thing like it has been  
before knowu ?  

'87  
theft children, and their children another gener- 
ation. That which the palmer worm hath left,  
hath the locust eaten; and that which the lo- 
cust hath left, hath the cankerworm eaten; and  
that which the cankerworm hath left, hath the  
caterpiller eaten.20 Awake ye  drunkards, and  
weep ; and howl all ye drinkers of wine ; for it  
is cut off from your mouth. For a nation21 is  
come up upon my land, strong, and without  
number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion,  
and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.22 
He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig  
tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it  
away ; the branches thereof are made white.23  
Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for  
the husband of her youth. The field is wasted,  
20 Destructive judgments sent  for intemperance, wherefore  
let us awake.  
America, and the disciples of its temperance.  
22 The great Lion here alluded to is the Lion of the tribe of  
Judah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation.  
23 White, that is, holy. The vine is holy, if applied to holy  
uses. Temperance wine, as it i s temrd, is that which is der-
ived from the grape by expressing the juice, and not allowing  
it to ferment. When the juice is not fermented, the vine that  
produces it may be said to be holy.


100  
the land mourneth ; for the corn is wasted : the  
new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be  
ye ashamed, 0 ye husbandmen; howl, 0 ye  
vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley ;  
because the harvest of the field is perished.—  
The vine  is dried up, and the fig tree languish- 
eth ; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also,  
and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field,  
are withered : because joy is withered away  
from the sons of men. Sanctify ye a fast, call a  
solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the  
inhabitants of the land, into the house of the  
Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for  
the day !  for the day of the Lord is at hand, and  
as a destruction from the Almighty shall it  
come. Is not the meat cut off before your eyes, 
yea, joy and gladness from the  house of our  
God ? Joel, chapter i. verses 2 to 16.  
The Book of the prophet Isaiah contains a  
severe denunciation against drunkards, and  
points out wine as the cause of the calamity  
that is to befal both statesmen and min- 
\  

89  
isters of religion. He says, " Woe to the  
crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, 
whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which  
are on the head of the fat valleys of them that  
are overcome with wine ! The crown of pride,  
the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden un- 
der feet. They also have erred through wine, 
and through strong drink are out of the way ;  
the priest and the prophet have erred through  
strong drink ; they are swallowed up of wine ;  
they err in vision ; they stumble in judgment."  
Isaiah chapter XXVIII. verses 1 to 7.  
Here the prophet very distinctly points out  
the stumbling-block of the hierarchy of the  
Church, and also of rulers, viz. in their use of  
wine. If they had not indulged in drinking it,  
they would not have fallen into the fatal error  
which they have committed.  
" Both prophet and priest are profane; yea  
in my house have I found their wickedness, saith  
Lord. Wherefore their way shall be unto them  
as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be  
9


100 90  
driven on, and fall therein, for I will bring evil  
upon them, even  the year of their visitation saith  
the Lord." Jeremiah, chapter xxm. verses 11  
and 12.  
There is in the Book of Revelation a remark- 
able expression indicating, as it would appear,  
the origin and the course of Temperance So- 
cieties. It is this, " And see thou hurt not the  
oil and the wine." Revelation, chapter vi.  
verse 6. By the words hurt not are signified 
touch not. It is therefore to be understood  
thus, "And see thou touch not the oil and the  
wine." The word " oil" however has a differ- 
ent signification from that in which it is used in  
general, meaning the distilled spirit of the grain.  
The art of obtaining ardent spirits was un- 
known at the time this book was written, (not 
being discovered until an Arabian chemist in  
the process of distillation, invented it about  
nine hundred years after the birth of Christ;)  
there  was no mode of conveying what was  
meant therefore, but by expressing the word  

" oil" instead of the spirit of the grain.—  
Chemists inform us that most substances ex- 
hibit a greater or less portion of oil—even win- 
dow glass is not without it. Rye and barley  
contain a considerable quantity,—by which  
oil, in modern days, we understand spirit,  
—a species of liquid totally unknown in for- 
mer times. On the subject of Temperance  
therefore, we have the testimony of St. John  
the Divine, that wine and spirits ought not to 
be touched.  
But why, it may be asked, why all this for- 
bearance, all this self-denial and privation ? If  
there was no recompense to be expected for  
such abstinence, we should be the last to re- 
commend it; but it is firmly to be believed, that  
a better substitute will hereafter be provided.  
Ovid has represented nectar as the fabled drink 
whereon the gods were accustomed to regale  
themselves, and from which they were accus- 
tomed to draw their purest inspirations. What- 
ever the nature of the discovery maybe, of this


92  
much we may be certain, that it will not be  
deleterious in its effects. It may inspire pleas- 
ure, but assuredly will not, as in the case of in- 
toxication, be followed either by sickness, stu-
pefaction or pain. Milton in his poem of  
" Paradise Regained," has said, describing the  
excellencies of such a state :  
" Rivers of Nectar flow from sapphire founts,  
Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold."  
To which we would simply observe, and why  
not ? Why should not these things be, if by 
perseverance in virtue we could only attain to 
such a state ?  
The government of the United States, yield- 
ing to the general impulse on the subject of the  
temperance reform, has very wisely abolished  
the whiskey part of the ration, which used to 
be allowed in the land service, and commuted  
it for coffee, tea, or chocolate. The causes of  
this measure many people perhaps are not 
aware of, because the wonderful effects of so- 
briety have not been sufficiently understood or  

93  
appreciated. Ceteris paribus, the- perfectly  
temperate soldier will always be more than a  
match for him who makes use of spirituous  
liquor. Temperance, in a word, will always  
overcome and subdue intemperance, as surely  
and as effectually as good overcomes and sub- 
dues evil. In the North American colonies 
Jamaica rum, and in the West India islands  
strong beer, if we mistake not, are still issued  
to the troops of the British "army. During the  
late war,  before the new light had dawned  
upon this nation which has since guided it so 
auspiciously, the American army stationed on  
the lines of Canada were sometimes supplied  
with potatoe whiskey,—a very deadly potion,—  
which being new, and called for on the spur of  
the moment, without the advantage of age to  
ripen it, produced the most ruinous conse- 
quences to the health and efficiency of the  
troops. The poisonous qualities of the Solarium 
tuberosum,24 may be said to have slain a greater  
24The common Potatoe, which should always be cooked,  
never distilled.  
9 *


100 94  
number of victims even than the sword, as the  
hospitals at Greenbush near Albany, in the  
State of New-York, can sufficiently attest.  
Since the peace, rye whiskey alone supplied its  
place, and the effects though not so extensively 
fatal, have been almost as lamentable. To it  
may be traced the swollen sick list, besides in- 
numerable crimes and offences against good dis- 
cipline,—desertions,—and consequent impris- 
onments and courts-martial, to the great  
annoyance and vexation of all good officers.  
In a word, facts have shown that a man  
troubled with delirium tremens, afflicted with  
what is called the horrors, and unable to do any  
thing without his morning dram, is for purposes  
of duty, worse than a child ; whereas he who is  
influenced by a due sense of religion, correct,  
" temperate in all things," and armed in a  
righteous cause, is when brought into action,  
more than a man.  
With this experience before their eyes, will  
not the Congress of the United States perceive  

the necessity of legislating also with a view to  
the militia, so that when called into active ser- 
vice, as they have been of late, their discipline  
may be strengthened, and their efficiency pro- 
moted by a general sobriety in the walks of civil  
life ? By such means only can the principle of  
good be successfully brought to bear upon and 
to triumph over that of evil; and let it he re- 
membered that if such should be the dilemma  
in which this nation is hereafter placed, it must  
be through the agency of the strictest temper- 
ance alone that so desirable a result can possi-
bly be accomplished.  
The apostle St Paul in his first Epistle to  
the Corinthians says, " Be ye not deceived, fos  
neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor idolaters,  
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor extortioners, nor  
drunkards, shall inherit the kingdom of God."  
1 Corinthians, chapter vi. verses 9 and 10.  
From this it would appear,  at first view7, that  
drunkards will have their portion in a state of  
utter perdition in outer darkness, where " there


100 96  
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." ' But  
it is not to be so read. All are the creatures 
of God, and all must ultimately be saved ; but 
before Christ can come, drunkards must be re- 
formed—the drunkard must become no longer a 
drunkard. This is the true cause, this the rea-
son why temperance societies have been so ex- 
tensively established, and explains the earnest- 
ness, the energy, and the zeal of their exer- 
tions, as well as the resolution with which even  
legislative measures have been carried, with a  
view to this very end.  
The decided step taken by the legislature of  
Massachusetts in favor of the cause of temper- 
ance during its last session—the repeal of the  
license laws, and the abolition of the retail svs- « 7 "  
tem, have evinced its wisdom, and redounded  
greatly to its honor. These measures are cal- 
culated to produce extensive good, and to put  
an end to much—very much evil. At the same  
time, it is to be hoped that the remaining point  
in this great question will engage the attention  

of the legislature at its next session ; as if it be  
impolitic to allow the sale of a part, it must also  
be impolitic to allow the sale of the whole.  
The-voice of Congress too, it is to be de- 
sired, will ere long be raised in prohibition of 
the importation of wine or ardent spirits into  
our ports.  Then shall we have shown our- 
selves to be a holy people,—then, and then 
only may we expect to merit the blessing—the  
countenance and the protection of Heaven upon  
this nation.


CHAPTER IV.  
Increase.  
THE two most remarkable omens of the ap- 
proaching state which is the subject of this "lit- 
tle treatise, are the mildness of the past winter,  
and the warmth, the favorableness to vegetation  
of the present summer. So astonishing a  
change has been wrought in the temperature of  
the seasons in this climate, that persons  have  
been induced to risk the sweet water grape vine 
all winter, which it was supposed it could not  
survive; and to set out peach, apricot, and  
other tender  fruit trees, which it was thought  
the climate of New England was too cold to  
ripen, or at least to be calculated upon with up- 
on with any degree of certainty. It was this  
approaching change, no doubt, that induced a  
public functionary, Dr. Henry Perrine, late  
American Consul at Campeachy, to propose to  

99  
Congress the encouragement of the cultivation 
of certain articles of tropical produce, which at  
first sight by many were thought to be altogeth- 
er unsuited to this climate. Little attention 
was paid at the time to this application.25 The 
fact is, the idea altogether was a prospective  
one, and as such its value could be but faintly es-
timated by those to whom it was addressed. It  
contemplated a great change in the nature of  
our climate, such as has but just commenced,  i  
and was proposed at a time when the usual  
fluctuations of the seasons had been customarily 
experienced, and when the remembrance of the  
recent severe winter during which most of the  
orange groves in Florida were destroyed by the  
frost, was yet fresh in the memory of all per-
sons throughout the United States. But now  
the prophecy of mildness in the winter season  
25 An act of  Congress afterwards passed at the last session  
of that body, granting to this gentleman a township of land in 
Florida, for the purpose of instituting his experiments relative 
to the culture of tropical fruits and productions within  the  
limits of the United States.


100  
has been realized : now the ease is entirely al- 
tered ; and certainly the abundance, the exu- 
berance of all kinds of produce in the gardens  
and fields must'have impressed t he mind of the  
intelligent observer with a sense as it were of a 
mighty change,—of returning paradise.  
The consideration of the question of encour- 
aging the growth of wheat in the States of  
Massachusetts and Maine, by awarding boun- 
ties for the greatest quantity produced, presents  
also another evidence of the approaching change 
in the condition of nature as fitting the land in  
these States for its successful culture now, af- 
ter it had been viewed for many years as a crop  
not by any means to be depended upon, even  
supposing the raising of it in any considerable  
quantity to be at all practicable. The follow-
ing facts will shew whether this is the case at 
present or not. In 1837, seventeen settlers in  
the Fisk Township, on the Aroostook, raised six 
thousand bushels of good, clean, merchantable  
Wheat. This is but a fraction short of three  

101  
hundred and fifty-three bushels for each man.  
The wheat yielded between thirty-one and  
thirty-two bushels to the acre, and this too in 
the northerly State of Maine ! Twelve hun- 
dred bushels were produced on one farm  
alone in the same State, during the last sea- 
son, for which the grower has been so well re- 
warded by the result of his crop that it is his in-
tention to lay down another farm in the same  
manner during the present. Indian corn, with  
which, our farmers are apt to plant all their 
spare land, it is to be observed, is particularly  
exhausting to the soil, requiring the  richest pa- 
bulum to supply, and leaving the land in a state  
of great destitution and impoverishment. Any 
measure therefore by which wheat  can be sub- 
stituted for corn, will have a beneficial effect up- 
on the general condition of the country.  
There is no doubt but that all the Northern  
States, being situated in the same parallels of  
latitude as those of Europe, will ere long be- 
come wheat growing countries; that the fields  
10  
Center for Adventist Research  
Andrews University  
Berrien Springs, Michigan


100  
will soon wave with the golden ears of harvest,  
and that plenty will be found in all our borders.  
It was a measure of wisdom therefore in the  
legislature of Massachusetts to encourage, as 
much as possible, attention to this most impor- 
tant item of rural economy, seeing that the State 
hitherto has been considered altogether depend- 
ent for its supplies of wheat flour upon importa- 
tions, and consequently has been annually sub- 
ject to a heavy tax attending the expense of  
purchasing and of freighting it from the ports of  
the Southern States. To save this tax is a  
principal object of the present measure.  
By many it was doubted at the time of the  
bounty being provided for by law, whether it  
would be practicable to have whe&t (triticum  
(estivum, Linn.) grown to any extent in this  
State, or at all events in that of Maine; and  
also whether it would be possible to render its  
soil so productive as to enable it to become in- 
dependent of the south for a supply. The for- 
* mer of these propositions, there is every pros- 

103  
pect will soon be realized, considering the  
change in the general temperature of the cli- 
mate ; and with respect to the latter, we may 
remark that with men it is impossible, but not  
with God, for with God all things are possible.  
He has promised " corn and wine20 and oil,"  
and that the nation " shall be satisfied there-
with. Fear not, 0 land; be glad and rejoice,  
for the Lord will do great things. Be not  
afraid, ye beasts of the field, for the pastures of  
the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth  
her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their  
strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion,  
and rejoice in the Lord your God ; for he hath  
given you the former rain moderately,27 and he  
26Meaning the juice of the grape expressed and not fer- 
mented,—that is, Temperance Wine.  
27 This signifies that rain has formerly been withheld;—the  
consequence was, that vegetation suffered and crops were de- 
ficient. To those acquainted with the nature of a garden, the  
value of frequent rain will be immediately obvious. By water-
ing, vegetables may be kept alive, though their growth be not 
promoted, but the wonderful effects of rain are most experi- 
enced after a smart shower. The plants may then be seen to  
erect their leaves, as if to meet it, and the growth for a short  
time afterwards never  fails to be most rapid and observable,


100  
will cause to come down for you the rain, the  
former rain, and the latter rain in the first 
month. And the floors shall be full of wheat,  
and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.  
And I will restore to you the years that the 
locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the  
caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great  
army which I sent among you. And ye shall  
eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the  
name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt  
wondrously with you; and my people shall 
never be ashamed." Joel, chapter n. verses  
19 to 27.  
" Then shall he give the rain of thy seed,  
that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and  
bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall  
be fat and plenteous. Isaiah, chapter xxx.  
verse 23.  
It is understood that we are now arrived at  
that period of time mentioned in the Book of 
Revelation of St. John the Divine, when there  
shall be « a measure of wheat for a penny, and  

105  
two measures of barley for a penny;" see  
Revelation, chapter vi. verse 6,—signifying  
that grain shall become very reasonable upon  
earth. This very desirable result has in a  
measure already come to pass. The blow 
which the banking institutions throughout the  
country have received, and even the suspension  
of specie payments, by paralyzing the resources  
of monopoly, may both be considered as instru- 
ments in the hands of Divine Providence for  
accomplishing this end, and the prOpitiousness  
of the season has completed it. Flour that 
was held only a year or two since at twelve  
dollars per barrel, is now sold at seven, and  
may in course of time be had for five. This  
state of plenty is no doubt the one alluded to  
by the prophet Esdras in his second book, as  
follows: "Behold, victuals shall be so good  
cheap upon earth, that they shall think them- 
selves to be in good case, and even then shall 
come the sword and great confusion." 2 Es- 
A  
dras, chapter xvi. verse 21.  
10*


100  
This may almost literally be said of Michi- 
gan, where the crops of wheat of the present  
season will exceed in quantity the total amount  
raised for the three last years. Corn and oats  
are equally abundant. This year Michigan  
will export to the East, in lieu of purchasing  
half a million from Ohio. Still troops, accord-
ing to a late order of the commanding general,  
have to be collected on her borders.  
The promise of abundance is also to be found  
in the following passages, viz : " I will cause  
the shower to come down in his season; there  
shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of  
the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth  
shall yield her increase." Ezekiel, chapter  
xxxiv. verse 26 and 27.  
" Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it:  
thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God,  
which is full of water: thou preparest them  
corn when thou  hast so provided it. Thou  
waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou  
settlest the furrows thereof: thou makes't it  

107  
soft with showers; thou blessest the springing  
thereof. -Thou crow7nest the year with thy 
goodness, and the little hills rejoice on every  
side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; 
the valleys also are covered over with corn:  
they shout for joy, they also sing." Psalms,  
LXV. verses 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.  
" Let the people praise thee, 0 God ! let all  
the people praise thee. Then shall the earth 
yield her increase, and God even  our own God  
shall bless us." Psalms, LXVII. verses 5 and 6.  
" And it shall come to pass in that day, that  
a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep :  
And it shall come to pass,  for the abundance  
of milk that  they shall give, he shall eat butter ;  
for butter and honey shall every one eat that 
is left in the land." Isaiah, chapter VII. verses 
21 and 22.  
" But now I will not be unto the residue of  
this peopl-e as in the former days, saith the  
Lord of hosts. For the seed shall be prosper- 
ous: the vine shall give her fruit, and the


108  
ground shall give her increase, and the heavens  
shall give their dew; and I will cause the  
remnant of this people to possess all these 
things. So will  I save you, and ye shall be a  \  
blessing: fear not, let your hands be strong."  
Zechariah, chapter VIII. verses 11, 12 and 13.  
" I will plant in the wilderness the cedar,  
the myrtle, and the oil tree. I will set in the  
desert the fig tree, and the pine, and the box 
tree together." Isaiah, chapter XLI. verse 19.  
From an attentive consideration of these va- >•  
rious passages of Scripture we may rest assured  
that the promises of the Lord are very good,—  
that the land shall be blessed with plenty and  
with cheapness,—and that the country of the  
west, as it now exhibits  many wonders, shall  
hereafter be adorned with all the beauties of a  
better paradise.  
But we must not rest satisfied with what we  
have already done, as candidates for the divine 
favor, or expect an uninterrupted career of 
abundance to be poured  into our laps, without  
v /  . ...  

109  
striving by all means in our power to earn and to  
deserve it. In the first place, we must appropri-
ate the soil strictly to its legitimate and intended 
purposes, viz., the supplying of the body with  
necessary food to satisfy hunger, whilst we con- 
tent ourselves with what the limpid stream af- 
fords to satiate thirst; Next, we must endeavor  
to convert the unyielding portion of our breth- 
ren, many of whom still persevere in the error 
of their ways, by exhibiting to them the con- 
sequences of their exception.  
Can we, situated as we at present are, expect  
any other than that we shall sometimes meet 
with checks and drawbacks in the withholding  
of rain,28—the ravages of destructive agents, as  
alluded to by the prophet Joel already quoted,—  
28 It is remarkable that the late drought has been experienced  
most sensibly in those quarters of tlie Union where temperance  
is not enjoined by societies for that purpose; and that the wheat  
should have been spared, whilst the corn crop has been ruined.  
It is, as before observed, a crop that tears the heart out of the  
soil, and should be substituted as much as possible by wheat..  
In Europe, where corn is riot cultivated, the horses are fed 
upon oats, whilst the swine are fattened on peas.


110  
or the visitation of occasional calamities, all the 
time that a portion of the people, however in- 
considerable, oppose themselves to the progress 
of good principles, and contend against the dis- 
semination of truth and reason throughout the  
State ? It is what we have no right to look for.  
Let it therefore be instilled into the minds of all,  
and inculcated from our highest places, that we  
must first practise and uphold a strict degree of  
temperance, before we can either reasonably 
hope for, or expect to enjoy the uninterrupted  
blessings of an abundant increase.  

CHAPTER V.  
Boston.  
MANY circumstances concur to point to Bos- 
ton as a place peculiarly singled out by Divine  
Providence for the commencement and accom- 
plishment of those all-wise ends which the sa- 
cred prophets have foretold, and the fulfilment  
of which mankind have every reason to look  
for and to expect. In the first place, it is to be  
noted that Boston is sometimes denominated  
Tri-Mountain, whence the word Tremont, sig- 
nifying its actual character,—that is, it is situ- 
ated on three several hills. The number three  
we know is a holy number, being that of the  
Trinity, which consists of three persons, viz :  
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. So much as to  
its formation in a natural point of view.  
Next it is to be borne in mind that Boston,  
when it was first founded, is said to have been


100  
built originally by sacred hands, and that it was  
settled by the Puritans, a sect whose very name  
indicates favorably the complexion of  the tenets  
of their religious doctrine, principles and be-
lief. Here was instituted the first Freema- 
son's Lodge ever established or introduced in  
America,—here too was the Cradle of Liberty  
in 1775,—for here the American Revolution,  
on which so many subsequent points have since  
depended, and from which so many important  
consequences have since flowed, both here and  
in other countries, first commenced. Here, in  
this immediate vicinity, was fought the cele- 
brated battle of Bunker's Hill, still frequently  
talked  of in Europe, as one in which the Amer- 
icans from their use and practice with the fowl-
ing piece and rifle, gained the advantage over  
/  
the regular British troops, and in which to this 
day, and from this very circumstance, the Brit- 
ish acknowledge to have lost an unprecedented  
number of officers.  
Boston has the credit of giving birth to sev- 

113  
eral distinguished individuals, among whom may  
be mentioned one of its benefactors, the present  
British Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin ; Lieutenant- 
General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, Knight of the  
Bath, the captor of the city of Buenos Ayres in  
South America,29 and of the Dutch Island of Ja- 
va in the East Indies; and also the Right Hon- 
ourable Baron Lyndhurst, for some time Lord  
High Chancellor of Great Britain.  
To these names it is sufficient to add those of  
Channing, of Warren, and of Dixwell. Of the  
first it may be observed that the Rev. Dr. Chan- 
ning is favorably known in Europe as a pious  
and eminent divine. When the-British auxil-
iary troops were about to embark at Plymouth 
for the coast of S^ain, his admirable sermon on  
War was read aloud to them. The second is  
confessedly at the head of the medical faculty  
in New England, and grandson of Major-Gen- 
eral Warren, who fell in the battle of Bunker's  
Hill. The writings of Dr. Warren, and espe- 
29 See page 120.  
11


114  
cially his Standard Treatise on Tumours, are  
quoted as works of the first authority at that  
great Medical School,—the University of Edin-
burgh. The third was a physician of eminence,  
lately deceased, and lineally descended from the  
celebrated Dixwell, one of the three judges who  
condemned King Charles 1. of England to be be-
headed. On  the restoration of monarchy in  
England, and the accession of Charles II.  
to the throne, these judges fled to America, 
and Dixwell, the ancestor of Dr. John  Dixwell,  
settled in this part.  
To Boston belongs the credit of having ori- 
ginated the first " Peace Society," the first  
" Prison Discipline Society," the first " How-
ard Society," the first " Anti-Slavery Society,"  
and the first " Temperance Society," the latter  
of which  promises to be attended with the most  
beneficial results,—no less than the salvation  
and regeneration of the country. The first  
" Health Society " too, was instituted in Bos- 
ton, under the auspices of Dr. Graham. Here  
/  

115  
also the idea of " Primary Schools" we be- 
lieve first had its origin, as we are certain had  
that of "Infant Schools," instituted with a  
view to the earliest possible development of  
the mental faculties, and of their guidance to  
proper objects of pursuit. But there is still an- 
other and a singular trait that remains to be  
noticed. A few years ago a " Free Debt So- 
ciety" was instituted in this city, by the dissem- 
ination of whose principles, (as the writer un- 
derstood it when the subject was first present-
ed to his mind,) a person going on business or  
pleasure to a remote part of the union, might  
do so without incurring any debt. This affords  
some faint glimpse, some foretaste of the arri- 
val of the wished for Millenium, when the use  
of money, which is said in Scripture to be the  
root of all evil, will no doubt be dispensed with;  
—a state for which, let it be remembered, it  
was the object of the twelve Apostles to prepare  
the world, and who held it as a sacred principle a-
mongst themselves, to enjoy in holiness all things


100  
in common ! The same we are told prevailed  
amid the multitude consisting of three thousand 
souls who became holy, being filled with the  
Holy Ghost, and were baptized: " And they 
continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine  
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in 
prayers. And all that believed were together, 
and had all things common." Acts, chapter n. 
verses 41 to 45. And again : " They were  
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and the multi-
tude of them that believed were of one heart  
and of one soul; neither said any of  them that  
aught of the things which he possessed was  
his own; but they had all things common."—  
Acts, chapter iv. verses 31, 32.  
Nothing strikes a stranger more forcibly than  
the circumstance of meeting with so many 
Scriptural names in  Boston, and indeed gener- 
ally throughout the New England States, such  
as Eliphalet, Seth, Enos, Abel, Nathan, Reu- 
ben, Israel, &c.  kc. This may be readily ac- 
counted for on the supposition that they are  

117  
branches of the separated tribes alluded to in 
the second book of Kings. [See Appendix.]  
The fact at all events betokens the piety and  
Biblical reading of the people in general—qual- 
ities which increase the probability that they  
are the direct descendants of the patriarchs  
whose names they bear, and whose virtues they  
certainly do inherit.  
Boston possessed, no doubt, many of the char- 
acteristic virtues of a holy city. Its exemp- 
tion from the cholera at a time when the rava-»  
ges of that fatal disorder were so unsparing in  
other places,  is to be borne in mind as some- 
thing peculiar. It may be accounted for by the  
fact, that at the time it was the seat of a very  
great and important spiritual work, and as such 
it was specially protected from the usual visita- 
tion that befel in its turn almost every other  
portion of the globe.  
To the ancient " ON" in the year 1815 was  
specially consigned the " May-flower," a vessel 
bearing the same name as that which original-*  
11 *


V  
ly conveyed the pilgrims to New England.  
This we conceive to be a type signifying that 
the wilderness may flower or blossom as the 
rose, whilst from the word " ON" we should be  
disposed to interpret that the work might pro- 
ceed. And the " New Galen" or New Phy- 
sician, was the name of the vessel which bore  
the miraculous woman30 mentioned in the Book 
of Revelation as the mother of " a man child, 
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron,"  
—to Boston in 1816. The same female, after  
an absence of some years in Philadelphia, the  
city of Washington, and other parts, returned  
to Boston in 1828, in the neighbourhood and to  
the north of which she nowr resides.  
It was at Boston that the Archangel Michael  
appeared in the spirit in the same year.31 On  
Castle Island, in Boston harbor, the opening of 
the Sixth Seal mentioned in the Book of Reve- 
30 By the words " And the woman fled into the wilderness,"  
Revelation, chapter xn. verse 6, we are to understand came  
over to  America.  
31 Daniel, chapter XII. verse 1.  

222 119  
lation, and the redemption therein spoken of,  
both took place.  
In the Book of the prophet Malachi there is  
an expression worthy of remark, viz : " Behold  
I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the  
coming of the great and dreadful day of the  
Lord." Malachi, chapter iv. verse 5.  
The prophet Elijah is said to have been no  
other than the late Dr. James Mann, of the U.  
S. army, and it is worthy of observation that it  
was to Boston that he was sent. Cornelius the  
devout centurion, and Luther besides many  
others, have been builders in the same work.  
From these facts we are led to conjecture  
that this city is the point at which the great  
movement is to commence that is to revolution- 
ize the globe,—that it is a peculiar spot, a 
chosen tabernacle,32 where Christ is in due time  
to be revealed,—ever distinguished for its piety,  
32 « ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy  
nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should shew forth the praises  
of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvel- 
ous light." 1 Peter, chapter n. verse 9.


194  
its morality, and its patriotism, and destined evi-
dently to become the parent of some great and  
interesting work, as the recent stirring exertions 
on the subject of Temperance, and the extensive  
awakening on that of religion, plainly portend.  
As therefore Boston is emphatically denom- 
inated the birth place and the " Cradle of the 
Revolution" as regards the liberty of America,  
so will it no doubt hereafter be entitled to the 
appellation of " Regenerator of the Universe,"  
as applied to the Millenium or promised state  
of happiness and of paradise upon earth.  
The wonder-working ways of heaven are in  
no respect more remarkable than  in the adapta- 
tion of remote and  occult means to the ac- 
complishment of subsequent great and palpa- 
ble ends. The capture of Buenos Ayres in  
1805, by the expedition under the command of  
Brigadier-General Auchmuty, a Bostonian, and 
the subsequent attack under Lieutenant-Gen-
eral Whitelocke, had the effect of calling into ac-
tion the resources of General Liniers, a French- 

121  

> \  
man in its defence, and of impressing the in- 
habitants with a sense of the necessity of an 
increased attention to military discipline. In  
1828, the Angel of Buenos Ayres appeared in  
a vision at Fort Washington, Maryland, when 
it was signified that the system of the United  
States' army in respect to its accountability,  
which is supposed to be most perfect, was  
adopted as the model of that of Buenos Ayres.33  
Should Mexico unhappily be instigated to take  
up arms against the United States, the govern- 
ment of Buenos Ayres may be depended upon  
for operating a diversion in their favor. It is  
remarkable that Boston should have given the  i  
first impulse to this ramification of the plan,  
taken in connection with an arrival in the New  
Galen in 1816,—the assembling of distinguish- 
ed individuals in and about that city,—and its 
destiny as ^bove adverted to; presenting alto-
gether a concatenation of events, which though  
33See chapter on the prophecies.


122  
ingenious, seems as natural to those concern- 
ed, as to the philosopher is the necessary  
connection between cause and effect.  
" I DO; and who shall let it ? saith the  
Lord."  
I  

CHAPTER  VI.  
The Prophecies.  
THE faculty of predicting or foretelling with  
certainty futdre events, being a peculiar inspi- 
ration, is given to comparatively but very few; 
wherefore our wonder is proportionably excited  
whenever we meet with it amongst mankind.  
The ancient Seers derived their name from the 
fact of their seeing things long before the time  
of their occurrence; and the credit due to  
prophecy  became established by the literal  
fulfilment of that which was foretold. The  
most remarkable instance of this description of  
which we have any account in the heathen  
ages of the world, anterior to the genuine 
prophecies contained in the Old and New Tes- 
taments, is that of the Sybilline Leaves,—a  
theme which formed the subject of an exercise  
at the University of Cambridge a few years


V 222  
ago. The history of this curious document is  
somewhat singular. A woman in strange at-
tire made her appearance at Rome in the time  
of Lucius Tarquinius, and repairing to the pal- 
ace, offered to sell nine books, which she said 
were of her own composing. Not knowing the 
abilities of the composer, or that she was in fact  
one of the Sybils, whose prophecies were never 
known to fail, the king refused to purchase  
them. Upon this she went away, and burning  
three  of her books, returned again demanding  
the same price for the remaining. Being once 
more refused a compliance with her offer, she  
again departed, and burning three more of the  
books, she returned with the remaining three,  
still asking the same price as at the first. The  
king thinking this strange conduct must have 
some meaning in it of which he was not fully 
aware, consulted his augurs, who informed him  
that the books related to events of a most in- 
teresting character, and that they professed to  
reveal the secrets of futurity. He ordered his  

125  
secretary instantly to comply with the sybil's  
demand, and to offer her ANY PRICE whatsoever  
for all that she had on the same subject. The  
books were purchased, deposited in a stone  
chest, and lodged in the capitol under the care  
of persons expressly appointed for that purpose  
named Quindeceinviri. In this way the pre- 
cious document was preserved, which under  
the name of the Sybilline Leaves is understood  
to foretel many important public events, and  
amongst others the time when the mildness of  
the seasons, an improved condition of mankind,  
and the coming of the Messiah may be expect- 
ed on earth. The woman, says the historian, 
after thus selling and delivering the three pro- 
phetic books, and advising Tarquin to have a  
special attention to what they contained, van-
ished from before him, and was never seen af- 
terwards.  
It is somewhat remarkable that a very large  
ship, named the Tarquin, was built at South  
Boston a few years since ;—that South Boston  
12


V 222  
should be the place where a principal person  
alluded to in the Sybilline Leaves was at the  
time residing,—and that they should be des- 
tined to meet. The ship belonged to Mark  
Healy, Esq., an eminent merchant of Boston. 
To read these things cabalistically, we should 
be disposed to interpret them thus, viz: that 
he who arrived in the New Galen, or " the new  
physician, mark! heal ye :—vide the books of  
Tarquin."  
"But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,  
Unhurt amid the strife of elements,  
The wreck of matter, and the  crush of worlds!"  
The book of the prophet Daniel, of all the  
inspired prophets whose writings are contained  
in the Old Testament, has more immediate  
reference to recent and present times perhaps  
than any other. His seventh, eighth, ninth,  
tenth, eleventh, and twelfth chapters are all of  
them replete with direct allusions to events 
fresh in the memory of most persons of obser- 
vation and intelligence, and may be read to 
great advantage simultaneously with this work.  

127  
We shall proceed to notice in regular order  
the various points to which these prophecies  
relate ; and first, there is mention in the seventh  
chapter of the Ancient of Days,who is accurately 
described as wearing a " garment white as snow,  
and the hair of his head like the pure wool."  
This alludes, as before stated, to General Ar- 
mistead, at the time referred to, viz., the year  
1827, having his head-quarters at Fort Wash- 
ington, situated on the eastern bank of the river  
Potomac, in the State of Maryland, about eight- 
een miles below the city of Washington. The  
spot is named Mount Ararat, in Arsareth, i. e,  
America, where the ark of Noah first rested in  
the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of  
the month. Oyster shells, being antediluvian re- 
mains, may be seen and are frequently dug out  
of the bank pn the side of the hill to this day.  
For convenience, the general used to be clad in a  
sergeant's roundabout, which in summer is of  
fine white cotton, and was accustomed to wear a  
wig, answering to the description of " pure


128  
i  
wool." Next, " his wheels " are described as 
of " burning fire," this alludes to the pieces of  
artillery which were manoeuvred, wheeled and  
discharged under his immediate inspection.  
The words " a fiery stream issued and came  
forth before him," refer to the artillerymen of  
the garrison, among whom were the patriarch  
.Jacob, kings Hezekiahand Herod, all exorcised  
in the spirit, and ever ready to execute his  
commands. "Thousand thousands ministered  
unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand 
stood before him." This describes the number  
of angels that surrounded Fort Washington at  
the time spoken of, crowding all the neighbor- 
ing shores of Maryland and Virginia, and being  
the number mentioned also in the book of Rev- 
elation, chapter v. verse 11. The same scene  
was afterwards transferred to Castle Island, and  
the same number of angels surrounded the har-
bor of Boston in 1828. The "books were  
opened." By these are meant the regimental  
books of the general's command, which were  

129  
perfected, so as to present the most complete 
model for the administration and economy of a  
regular force. The plan is supposed to possess  
superior advantages over every other; so much 
so, that distinguished persons from South 
America came expressly with a view to make 
themselves acquainted with its details, and the  
system, it is understood, is now pursued in the 
army of Buenos Ayres in particular. It is a  
fact that the " son of man " was brought before  
the Ancient of Days, and acted under him. The 
following words apply to the emperor Napole- 
on : " And he shall speak great words against 
the most high, and shall wear out the saints of  
the most high, and think to change times and  
laws, and they shall be given into his hand  
until a time and times and the dividing of 
time." To " change times and laws," alludes  
to the introduction of a different nomenclature  
into the French calendar, by which the months  
were named anew according to their several  
peculiarities,—Ventose standing for February  
12 *


V  
or the month of wind,—Pluviose for January  
- 
or the month of rain, Fructidor for August or  
the month of fruit, Nivose for December or  
that of snow ;—and also of another system of  
legislation known as the Code Napoleon. He 
is characterized as "a king  of fierce counte- 
nance and understanding dark sentences." jNa- 
poleon it is well known consulted fate in many  
of his transactions, and, like the Romans, al- 
ways selected a lucky day to fight a battle. 
" He shalLalso stand up against the prince of  
princes." This personage was in England at  
the time of the preparations for a meditated in- 
vasion of that country by Napoleon.  
The Archangel Gabriel, the same who was  
formerly slain by Satan, it was who shewed to  
the prophet this vision;—this Archangel was  
present on Castle Island, Boston harbor, in  
1828. " And he said, Behold I will make thee  
know what shall be in the last end of the indie:- o  
nation: for at the time appointed the end shall  
be." It is remarkable that this has been veri- 

222 131  
fied to the letter, the prophet Daniel having  
lived in this latter time to witness the downfall  
of Napoleon, and the realization of what he had  
foretold.  
" And there shall stand up in his estate a  
raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom ; but  
within few days he shall be destroyed, neither  
in anger nor in battle." This alludes to the  
celebrated Neckar, who flourished at the time 
of the French revolution, accounted a very skil- 
ful financier, of which his treatise " On Fi-
nance" bears internal evidence. He is sup-
posed to have been poisoned. " And in his es- 
tate shall stand up a vile person to whom they  
shall not give the honor of the kingdom, but he  
shall come in peaceably, and obtain the king- 
dom by flatteries." This has reference to Na- 
poleon, the son of a butcher, and a Corsican  
by birth ;—who was at first publicly recognized  
only as General Buonaparte, but afterwards,  
as it is expressed, obtained the kingdom by  
flattering his colleagues. " And with the arms


V 222  
of a flood shall they be overflown from before  
him." The rapid conquests of Napoleon are  
here alluded to; his triumphal entry into Italy,  
and his successes in Germany. " He shall  
scatter among them the prey and spoil, and rich- 
es." This alludes to the manner in which  
Napoleon rewarded the Marshals of his armies,  
viz., by distributing amongst them large estates 
and titles of the countries which they conquered. 
" But the people that do know their God shall  
be strong, and do exploits." Here the British 
nation meant, who by reason of the religious 
disposition of the people, were to defeat their 
adversaries, because among them, especially at  
the period of the French revolution, atheism  
and impiety prevailed to a great extent.  
Throughout the passage between the  twen- 
ty-first and the forty-fifth verses of the 
eleventh chapter, the reader will find a de- 
tail of the doings and ultimate fate of the em- 
peror Napoleon, which if he have lived in those  
times when the rival powers of France and  

133  
England were engaged in a long, bloody and  
expensive warfare, involving all the nations of  
allied Europe in a contest of nearly five and  
twenty years' duration, will present to him allu- 
sions at once fresh and familiar to his recollec-
tion.  
" Both these kings' hearts shall be to do mis- 
chief, and they shall speak lies at one table, but 
it shall not prosper, for the end shall he at the  
time appointed." This alludes to the negotia-
tion of the treaty of Tilsit between the emper-
ors Napoleon and Alexander, on a raft in the  
Vistula. • The words " yea they that feed of  
the portion of his meat shall destroy him," im- 
ply the well known fact that Major-General  
Sir Robert Wilson, of the British army, at the 
time of the negotiation of that treaty, being 
a confidential agent or spy of the British 
government, acted as a waiter at the table  
where the tw^o monarchs dined, and thus  
made himself acquainted with the secret article 
in the treaty, which was that Napoleon, coun-*


V  
tenanced by Russia, should seize the fleet of  
Denmark and convert it into the means of in- 
vading England. Of this intention Sir Robert  
immediately apprised liis government, who 
forthwith despatched a powerful armament, 
known as the Copenhagen expedition, by which  
the whole Danish fleet was secured and brought 
away to England; so that, as Daniel observes,  
it did " not prosper." " He shall not regard 
the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, 
but in his estate shall he honor the god of  
forces." Napoleon kept the Pope a prisoner at  
Avignon, whilst the other traits in his character 
are known to be accurate. " And at the time  
of the end shall the king of the south (Ferdi- 
nand VII. of Spain) push at him ; and the  
king of the north, (the emperor Alexander of  
Russia,) shall come against him like a whirl-
wind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and 
with many ships, (the fleet of Britain,) and he  
shall enter into the countries, and shall ovei>  
flow and pass over," This alludes to the in- 

222 135  
vasion of France by the Anglo-Spanish army in  
the south, and the Russian army from the  
north, in 1814, which led to the capitu- 
lation of Paris. " He (speaking of one of  
the kings) shall also set his face to enter  
with the strength of his whole kingdom, and  
upright ones with him: thus shall he do,  
and he shall give him the daughter of women,  
corrupting her; but she shall not stand on  
his side, neither be for him." This is in  
allusion to the Emperor of Austria, who gave  
his daughter Maria Theresa in marriage to the  
Emperor Napoleon. The Emperor of Austria 
was twice married, so that Maria Theresa may 
truly be said to be the daughter of women.  
" The land of Egypt shall, not escape." This  
expression has reference to the French expedi- 
tion to Egypt under General Buonaparte in  
1801, before he became emperor. " The Lib- 
yans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."  
This alludes to the fact of Napoleon being al-
ways attended by a guard of Mamelukes, ever


212  
•since his Egyptian campaign. "But tidings  
out of the east and out of the north shall  
trouble him. He shall plant the taberna- 
cles of his palace between the seas in the glo- 
rious holy mountain ;" (that is he shall aim at the  
possession of Windsor Castle, seated on a beau-;  
tiful eminence arid between the seas,) "yet  
he shall come to his end, and none shall help  
him," predicting his final downfall and fate on  
the rock of St. Helena, from which accordingly 
all attempts to rescue him proved unavailing.  
The twelfth chapter opens with a remarka- 
ble expression. " And at that time shall Mi- 
chael stand up ; the great prince which stand- 
eth for the children of thy people." The in- 
terval between the death of Napoleon in 1821,  
and the appearance of the Archangel, who stood  
up for the people  in 1828, accordingly was but  
seven years, and here we have occasion to re- 
mark the perfect harmony of the Gospels. The  
beauty of prophecy is seen in nothing more  
distinctly than in this, that the smallest ex- 

137  
pressions are fulfilled to  the very letter, and the  
event is verified even in the minutest partic- 
ulars.34  
Thus far the prophet Daniel,—a prophet who  
has done more than any other to enlighten us  
as to the identity of the times spoken of with 
our own; and who living in this latter time,  
and residing in London, has had ample oppor- 
tunity of verifying in detail the prophecies he 
has written.  
The truth of the following prediction can be  
attested by many persons, if we mistake not,  
at this moment residing at or in the neighbor- 
hood of the city of Washington : " And I will  
encamp about mine house, because of the army,  
and no oppressor shall pass through them any  
more, for now have I seen with mine eyes."  
Zechariah, chapter ix. verse 8. The encamp- 
ment stated in this prophecy was actually es- 
tablished at Upperville, in Loudon county, Vir- 
34 See a treatise on the " Harmony of the Gospels," by the  
Rev. Thomas McKnight, D. D., of Edinburgh.  
13


V 222 138  
ginia, in the year 1827, and it was there re- 
marked as a singular occurrence, that one even- 
ing a number of quails were sent into the midst  
of the camp, reminding those present of a simi- 
larcir cumstance that happened to the children  
of Israel in the wilderness on their journey out  
of Egypt into the promised land, when to satis- 
fy their hunger in the evening the Lord sent  
quails into their camp. " And it came to pass  
that at even the quails came up, and covered  
the camp." Exodus, chapter xvi. verse 13.  
These instances are the more striking, because  
quails usually retire to their roosts at an early  
hour. Let it not be doubted then that Ameri-
ca is indeed the seat of some very holy and mo- 
mentous work ! -This brings us to the seventh  
chapter of the prophet Micah, and fifteenth 
verse, " According to the days of thy coming  
out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him 
marvellous things ;" from which we are left to  
infer that when placed in a similar situation  
to that of the Israelites of old who passed  

over the Red Sea under the special pro- 
tection of God, we shall experience many  
wonders, such as the appearance of the angel  
before them,—a cloud by day and a pillar of  
fire by night,—a regular supply of manna in the  
wilderness,—water gushing'from the rock of  
Horeb at the stroke of Moses' rod,—and the  
supply of quails before adverted to,—which were  
all marvellous things in their eyes; and were  
they to occur to us, should  arouse all our virtue,  
by convincing us that we must be, as there is  
every reason to believe we are, the chosen  
people of the Lord!  
The second book of the prophet Esdras con- 
tains some direct allusions to the time  of the  
latter end, among which are the following :—  
" The day of doom shall be the end of "this time.  
Intemperance is  at an end, infidelity cut off,  
righteousness is grown, and truth is sprung  
up;"  which should operate as an incentive  
to sobriety, the parent of many virtues. " The  
Lion which thou sawest rising up out of


V  
the wood, speaking to the Eagle and rebuking  
her for her unrighteousness. This is the anoint- 
ed, and he shall reprove them." This refers to  
things spoken in America by him who is known  
as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The thirteenth  
chapter abounds * with the most interesting  
prophecy  relative to what has occurred and is  
now occurring there. The man that " waxed  
strong with the thousands of heaven," is  
the same who was brought before the Ancient  
of Days. " He graved himself a great mountain  
and flew up upon it." This alludes to the hill 
on which Fort Washington is built. The proph- 
et says he would have seen it, but " could not."  
And the reason is, because America was not  
then discovered. Being exorcised, the figura-
tive effect mentioned in the tenth verse was pro-
duced.35 In the twelfth and thirteenth verses 
the transfer of the scene from Fort Washington  
35 " He sent out of bis mouth as it had been a blast of fire,  
and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of bis tongue he 
cast out sparks and tempests." 2 Esdras, chapter xm. verse 10.  

222 141  
to Castle Island is noticed.36 " And he shall  
come to the astonishment of them that dwell  
upon the earth." That is, they shall be as- 
tonished beyond measure when they find that  
he has been a person of such humility and so 
little imagined. The adventures of the sepa-
rated tribes of Israel are then supposed to be  
noticed,—how they were carried over the 
waters and went forth " into a further country,  
where never mankind dwelt." It appears that  
" through that country there was a great way to  
go, namely of a year and a half; and the  same  
region is called Arsareth," that is America.—  
" Then dwelt they there until the latter time ;  
and now when they shall begin to come, the  
highest shall stay the springs of the stream again,  
that they may go through." This corroborates  
what has been already said on the subject of  
an overland communication between America  
36 " Afterward I saw the same man come down from the  
mountain; and call unto him another peaceable multitude ; and  
there came much people unto him." 2 Esdras, chapter XIII.  
verses 12 and 13.  
13 *


V 222  
and Europe. " Now when he destroyeth the 
multitude of the nations that are gathered to- 
gether, he shall defend his people that remain.  
And then shall he show them great wonders."  
This refers to the great contest with Europe, 
and the preservation of America. The fifteenth 
chapter describes the fate  of the world as  
already predicted. " Woe to the world and 
them that dwell therein. For the sword and 
their destruction draweth nigh, and one people 
shall stand up to fight against another, and  
swords in their hands. They shall smite one 
another, and they shall smite down a great  
multitude of stars upon the earth, even their  
own star; and blood shall be from the sword  
unto the belly ; and dung of men unto the  
camels' hough." In the sixteenth chapter 
however we find consolation in the following 
verses : " For yet a little, and iniquity shall be  
taken away out of the earth, and righteousness  
shall reign among you. Then shall they be  
known who are my chosen ; and they shall be  

143  
tried as the gold in the fire. Be ye not afraid, 
neither doubt; for God is your guide."  
The Book of Revelation of St. John the Di- 
vine professes to reveal more particularly the 
events which were to take place about the  
period of the latter end of the world. Some of  
those events have already been, and others re- 
main to be accomplished. It is a book highly  
prophetic in itself, but abounding with so much 
metaphor, and enveloped in so much mystery, 
that it is scarcely intelligible to any but those  
who have been called upon to bear a part in the  
scenes to which it relates. The following are 
some of the most remarkable passages, which  
may be included under the head of prophecies.  
" Behold he'cometh with clouds." That is, the  
fact of his appearance shall be obscured and  
not.to be discernible by the multitude, so that 
in truth most people  will not be aware of it.  
" And round ab'out the throne were four  and  
twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four 
and twenty elders sitting." This alludes to


144  
the spiritual representation of one senator from 
each of the twenty-four United States of  
America, being the number of which the 
Union consisted in 1828, at the time alluded 
to. " And 1 saw and behold a white horse,  
and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown  
given unto him, and he went forth conquering 
and to conquer." This refers to the victo- 
ries of the Duke of Wellington, who is no other  
than the Apostle St. Matthew ; a fact which  
should convince the most sceptical of the tri- 
umph of the Christian religion over all the ef- 
forts of infidelity. By some commentators  
Prince Ferdinand has been conjectured to be  
the person intended.  " And I looked and be- 
hold a pale horse,37 and his name that sat on  
him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  
And power was given unto them over the fourth  
part of the earth to kill with sword and with  
37 It is worthy of remark, that the great picture of" Death  
on the Pale Horse," is by our countryman West, and that the  
spirit Death proceeded from the West.  

145  
hunger and with death and with the beasts of 
the earth." This explains the cause of the 
cholera extending all over the world, of the  
famine in the East Indies, the Indian war, and  
the fatal disease among animals, lately experi- 
enced in different parts of the country. " And  
• the number of the army of the horsemen were  
two hundred thousand thousand. And thus I  
saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat 
on them, having breastplates of fire and of ja- 
cinth and brimstone, and the heads of the 
horses were as the heads of lions ; and out of  
their mouths issued fire and smoke and brim- 
stone." Here St. John alludes to the carbines 
fired in modern battles by the dragoons over the  
heads and between  the ears of their horses,  
which have the appearance as it were of fire  
and smoke issuing figuratively out of the horses'  
mouths. Our wonder is naturally excited on  
perusing this passage, when we reflect and con- 
sider how St. John the Divine  could possibly  
have foretold the present use of fire arms by the


V  
cavalry, so many ages before the invention of  
gunpowder, or any thing resembling it!  
" And there was war in heaven: Michael  
and his Angels fought against the Dragon,  and  
the Dragon fought and his Angels, and prevail- 
ed not." This alludes to a spiritual contest 
the seat of which was Fort Washington, known  
by the name of the " Angel War." The fol- 
lowing verse, in language highly  metaphorical,  
alludes to the " wonder in heaven," that of the  
mysterious woman who crossed the ocean to  
America. " And the serpent cast out of his  
mouth water as a flood after the woman, that  
lie might cause her to be carried aw ay of the  
flood. And the earth helped  the woman." It  
also refers to a narrow escape she experienced  
when the vessel in which she arrived being taken  
aback, was at one time all under water, but the  
earth, that is America, (being in an American  
ship,) helped the woman and prevented the 
flood from destroying her. The seven Angels  
who came out of the temple clothed in pure and  

222 147  
white linen and having their breasts girded with 
golden girdles, are  represented by members of  
the garrison of Fort Washington clad in the  
summer uniform of the United States' Army,  
viz: white cotton, and shining belt-plates re- 
sembling golden girdles.  
The thirteenth chapter commences with a  
review of the power of Napoleon, already dis- 
cussed ; and the person meant in the description  
contained from the the eleventh to the eight-
eenth verse of the same chapter is George IV.,  
who when Napoleon was brought a prisoner on  
board a British man-of-war into Plymouth har- 
bor, it is understood, went privately down to  
the ship in order to have an interview  with  
him to whom he " made an image."  
The following verses explain the intense heat  
of the present summer, by which men are said  
to be scorched. " And the fourth Angel poured  
out his vial upon the sun, and power was given  
unto him to scorch men with fire. And men  
were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed


212  
the name of God which hath power over these  
plagues, and they repented not to give him  
glory."  
The twelfth verse of the sixteenth chapter  
foretells the drying up of the river Euphrates,  
so that the " way of. the kings of the east  
might be prepared,"—that is, that their destiny  
may be fulfilled. As rivers flow into the ocean, 
and go to constitute its mass of waters, so the  
vacuum produced by the drying up of the Eu- 
phrates will naturally cause a portion of the sea  
to fail, and leave a channel in it open.  
The twenty-first chapter commences with the  
revelation that there shall be a new heaven and 
a new earth, and that there shall be no  more  
sea ; and proceeds to describe the New Jerusa- 
lem. On this subject we would refer the read- 
er to the works of Baron Emanuel Sweden-
borg, founder of the sect of Swedenborgians, or  
followers of the New Jerusalem, in which it is  
certain there is much truth, notwithstanding  
there may be some mystery.  

149  
The following alludes to the state of exorcism  
of the spirit in which the world was placed39  
from 1819 to 1832, a time now happily elapsed.  
" In those days shall be affliction, such as was  
not from the beginning of the creation which  
God created unto this time, neither shall be;  
and except that the Lord had shortened those  
days, no flesh should be saved: but  for the elect's  
sake whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened  
the days." St. Mark, chapter xm. verses 19  
and 20.  
" Then shall be great tribulation, such as  
was not since the beginning of the world to this  
time, no, nor ever shall be." St. Matthew, chap- 
xxiv. verse 21.  
The effect was so trying that many are said  
to have wandered into distant countries, and to  
have concealed themselves in order to avoid, if  
possible the horrors of this Baskalon. All the  
energies of the spirit were exorcised or sum- 
moned up to their utmost stretch, and the in- 
38 By command of the Witch of Endor—" Be it Exorcism."  
14


V  
most thoughts of the mind uttered by an invol- 
untary compulsion, frequently in the dead of  
the night.  
The Book of Genesis contains a remarkable  
prophecy in the forty-ninth chapter and tenth  
verse, viz: " The sceptre shall not depart  
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the 
gathering of the people be." The Jews have a  
tradition among them that when this same Shi- 
loh shall be on a certain island, their restora-
tion to the Holy Land39 will soon follow. Gov- 
ernor's island in the harbor of New York, and  
Castle island in Boston harbor, are both islands  
on which he has been a resident.  
In the time of the Romans, the ancient Arus- 
pices or Soothsayers were invariably consulted  
relative to the lucky and unlucky nature of cer- 
tain omens, the flight of birds, the number nine,  
the croaking of  the raven, or the nature of the  
entrails of animals slain for sacrifices. Comets  
39 By the Holy Land we should understand it to be in a  
* new earth."  

222 151  
and eclipses were regarded by them as portend- 
ing great and awful calamities to mankind. On  
this subject we would observe that during the  
present year a remarkable eclipse of the sun  
takes place on the eighteenth of September,—  
remarkable, because it is visible only on the  
continent of America and a small portion of the  
North East part of Asia ; whilst in the course  
of next year Encke's comet is looked for by  
the English astronomers. A short time previ- 
ous to the last American war that began in 1812,  
a very conspicuous meteor of this description  
was for some months distinctly visible in both  
hemispheres, and there is every reason to be- 
lieve, from the nature of the circumstances  
stated in the second chapter of this Book, as  
well as from  the Revelation of St. John the Di- 
vine, that these two phenomena are the imme- 
diate presages of some great and momentous  
events40;—we should be disposed to say, that  
40 The memorable Eclipse of 1806 was followed by the Em- 
bargo and Non-intercourse Acts in America,


V 222 152  
America will be the subject of some special  
revelation—whilst England will be involved in  
war.  
The occurrence of the solar eclipse, and also  
the singular phenomenon of the falling of the  
stars, annually visible in the month of Novem- 
ber, are foretold in the following passages of  
Scripture : " And I will shew wonders in the  
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and 
pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into  
darkness, and the  moon into blood, before the  
great and the terrible day of the Lord come."  
Joel, chapter n. verses 30 and 31. " In those  
days, after that tribulation, (meaning the gen- 
eral exorcism before described,) the sun shall 
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her 
light; and the stars of heaven shall fall." St. 
Mark, chapter XIII. verses 24 and 25. " And 
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; and 
the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as  
a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she  
is shaken  of a mighty wind." Revelation,  
chapter vi. verses 12 and 13.  

By these annunciations, clearly predicting  
what has already come to pass, the present pe- 
riod was meant to be identified as the one that  
has been just' spoken of, and as immediately  
preceding the coming of Christ and the end of  
the world. The calculation of eclipses no  
doubt may be considered, in one sense, as a sub-
stitute for prophecy ; but it is to be recollected  
that this revelation was written long before such  
method of calculation was either introduced or  
known, and that its peculiar use is to enable  
mankind to recognize the signs of the latter  
time mentioned in the word of God, as those  
which they are experiencing at this particular  
season.  
We have now noticed the principal and most  
material prophecies that have come down to  
our times, and in some degree or other relating  
to them, the accomplishment of most of which 
was to precede the period of the second coming  
of Christ. The rise and fall of the mighty power  
of the Emperor Napoleon, and the events foretold  
14 *


V 222 154  
as taking place in the course of it, have all been  
fulfilled. The Ancient of Days spoken of by 
the prophet Daniel has appeared, and the books  
have been opened, preparatory as it would  
seem to the due organization of forces in the 
United States. The Archangel Michael has 
stood up, and the very time alluded to by  
the prophet Daniel when " many shall run to  
and fro, and knowledge shall be much in- 
creased," has come to pass. There remains  
only the preaching of the Gospel in all heathen  
lands to complete the series of unbroken  
prophecies, by the accomplishment of which  
we may safely conclude that the coming of the  
Saviour is not only to be expected, but an event  
near at hand. Certain it is that we  have been  
in the state alluded to in the Book of Revela- 
tion of St. John the Divine for some time 
past; and in it Christ is distinctly promised.  
Whether or not we agree in the interpretation  
of these prophecies in whole or in part, we 
cannot but admit their truth, in so far as it is  

conveyed in the actual passages of Scripture 
wherein they are recorded. To all true believ- 
ers we would recal the words of the Israelite  
having a son with a dumb spirit, addressed to  
our Saviour who healed him: " Lord I believe, 
help thou mine unbelief." St. Mark, chapter  
ix. verse 24. And to the unbelieving we  
* would merely add in the words of St. Paul,  
" Despise not prophesyings." 1 Thessalonians, 
chapter v. verse 20.


CHAPTER VII.  
The Second Advent,  
THE second Advent  or coming of our Lord  
and Saviour Jesus Christ is an event devoutly  
anticipated by all true Christians throughout the  
world. Even the Jewish people, unbelieving  
as they are, agree in this point—that their Sa-
viour is yet to appear,—that their King, their 
Ruler is still expected, and that their restoration  
to the Holy Land is destined to be coeval with  
it. Truly such an event is fervently to be de-
sired by all. The founder of the most divine  
system of morals that ever was imparted to  
our race,—the mediator between God and man,  
—the pattern of perfection in his own person,  
and the author of the most wonderful miracles 
ever known or heard of in all the ages of the  
world, is an object of our most profound adora- 

157  
tion, our most unbounded attachment, and our  
most holy wishes.  
The assurances of our Lord and Saviour as  
to the certainty of his second coming to judge  
the world, are amply confirmed by sundry pas- 
sages in various parts of Holy Writ, both in the  
Old and New Testament.  
" Behold I will send my messenger, and he  
shall prepare the way before me : and the Lord  
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his tem-
ple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom  
ye delight in : behold he shall come, saith the  
Lord of Hosts." Malachi, chapter in verse 1.  
" "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is  
given; and the government shall be upon his  
shoulder: and his name shall be called WON- 
DERFUL, Counsellor, the mighty God, the ever- 
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the  
increase of his government and peace there  
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and  
upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish  
it with judgment and  with justice, from hence-


V  
forth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of 
Hosts will perform this." Isaiah, chapter ix.  
verses 6 and 7.  
" A governor that shall rule my people Is- 
rael." St. Matthew, chapter  n. verse 6.  
" With righteousness shall he judge the poor,  
and reprove with  equity for the meek of the  
earth : and he shall smite the earth with the rod  
of his mouth,  and with the breath of his lips  
shall he -slay the wicked. And righteousness  
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness 
the girdle of his reigns." Isaiah, chapter xi.  
verses 4 and 5.  
" The  extortioner is at an end, the spoiler  
ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the  
land. And  in mercy shall the throne be estab- 
lished ; and he shall sit upon it in truth in the 
tabernacle of David,4'judging and seeking judg- 
41 The tabernacle of David is in America, the present cap- 
tain David H. Vinton, of the third regiment of U. S. Artillery, 
being no other than King David of old. That the army of  
the United States is connected with the second appearance qf  
Christ is accordingly left to our inference,  

222 159  
ment, and hasting righteousness." Isaiah, chap- 
ter xvi. verses 4 and 5.  
" Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a  
son, and shall call his  name Immanuel.42 But- 
ter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to  
refuse the evil and choose the good : for be- 
fore the child shall know to refuse the evil and  
choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest  
shall be forsaken of both her kings." Isaiah, 
chapter VII. verses 14, 15, and 16.  
The name of Immanuel here given, would  
seem to refer more particularly to his relative  
position to us  at the time of his second coming,  
when " the land that thou abhorrest shall be  
forsaken of both her kings." This is signifi- 
cantly addressed to an individual, and distinctly  
points to two monarchs of his country, George  
IV. and William IV. of England, by which the  
time is very plainly indicated.  
" Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine  
elect in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my  
42 Signifying God with us.


V 222 160  
Spirit upon him ; he shall bring forth judgment  
to the Gentiles. He shall not fail nor be dis- 
couraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: 
and the isles shall wait for his law." Isaiah,  
chapter XLII. verses  1 and 4.  
And the office of Christ is expressed to be :  
" to open the blind eyes, to bring out the pris- 
oners from the prison, and them that sit in  
darkness out of the prison-house." Isaiah, 
chapter XLII. verse 7.  
" To preach the Gospel to the poor, to  heal  
the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the  
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind;  
to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach  
the acceptable year of the Lord." St. Luke,  
chapter iv. verses 18,19.  
" The  Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because  
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good  
tidings unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind  
up the broken-hearted ; to proclaim liberty to 
the captives, and the opening of the prison to  
them that are bound. To proclaim the accept- 

able year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance  
of our God ; to  comfort all that mourn ; to ap- 
point unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto  
them beauty for ashes, the oil  ofjoy for mourn- 
ing, the garment of praise for the spirit of heav-
iness ; that they might be called trees of right-
eousness, the planting  of the Lord, that he  
might be glorified." Isaiah, chapter  LXI. verses  
1, 2, 3.  
At his coming " the eyes of the blind shall  
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un- 
stopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an  
hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Isaiah,  
chapter xxxv. verses 5, 6.  
'St. Athanasius in his Belief known as the  
Athanasian creed, and the Holy Litany used in  
the religious services of the Church of England,  
unite in representing the Deity as the Trinity  
in Unity and the Unity in Trinity ; and in  
them Jesus Christ is worshipped as " God  
of God, light of light, very God of very God,  
begotten not made, being of one substance with  
15


V 222  
the Father by whom all things were made, who  
for us men and for our salvation came down 
from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy  
Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."  
All the elements which originally went to form  
organic matter therefore, proceeding as it were  
from his nature, whilst in him reside all the Al-
mighty attributes of perfection, any derangement  
in the system  of which he forms a controlling  
part, must of course be subject to his power,—a 
fact which  may account for his sovereign com- 
mand over all diseases, and even death itself.  
Hence we may well conclude that his influence  
over all animated beings, and even universal na- 
ture must necessarily be very great; and that  
such influence exerted over the condition of this  
mundane sphere must tend very materially to  
its improvement and ultimately to its perfec- 
tion. Not only the infirmities of our kind then,  
but also the imperfection of material objects,  
may be expected to be healed and remedied  
through his presence.  

163  
The reliance of Christians upon what are  
termed the promises contained in Scripture is  
material, inasmuch as they are considered the  
ground work of their hope, and imply a solemn  
covenant between God and man. Amongst  
them we find the following:  
" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that  
I will perform that good thing which I have  
'promised unto the house of Israel, and to the  
house of Judah. In those days, and at that  
time will I cause the Branch of  Righteousness  
to grow up unto David43; and he shall execute  
judgment and righteousness in the land. In  
those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem 
shall dwell safely : and this is the name where-
with she shall be called,—THE LORD OUR  
RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jeremiah, chapter xxxin.  
verses 14, 15, 16.  
" And he shall judge among the nations, and  
shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat  
their swords into ploughshares, and their spears  
43 This promise has been literally fulfilled.


V 222 164  
into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up  
sword against nation, neither shall they learn  
war any more."44 Isaiah, chapter n. verse 4.  
" He shall be great and shall be called the  
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall  
give unto him the throne of his father David.  
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for-
ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end."  
St. Luke, chapter i. verses 32 and 33.  
Esaias prophesied as follows, viz: " Behold  
my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in  
whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my 
spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment 
untoi the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor  
cry : neither shall any man hear his voice in the  
streets. A bruised reed shall he not  break, and  
smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send  
forth judgment unto victory. And in his name  
<4 This passage in Scripture corroborates the quotation from  
Virgil, "Claudentur Belli porta-," the  gates  of war shall  
be shut; and establishes that ultimately  universal peace shall  
prevail.  

shall the Gentiles trust." St. Matthew, chap- 
ter XII. verses 18, 19,20, 21.  
" 0 let the nations be glad and sing for joy;  
for thou shalt judge the people righteously and 
govern the nations upon earth. Selah." 
Psalms, LXVII. verse 4.  
The proofs of the certainty of the coming of  
Christ again upon earth are so numerous, and 
the arguments in favor of the near approach of  
the time when he shall be revealed it is con- 
ceived are so conclusive, that it will be needless 
to expatiate upon either; but some curiosity 
will naturally be entertained as to the time and  
manner of that coming. Christ in reply to an 
inquiry as to the former, observed to his disci- 
ples, " Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of  
wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these  
things must come to pass, but the end is not 
yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and  
kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be  
famines and pestilences and earthquakes in di- 
vers places: All these are the beginning of  
15 *


V  
sorrows." St. Matthew, chapter xxiv. verse 
6, 7, 8.  
In this extract from St. Matthew, the Sa- 
viour refers to the wars which have desolated '  
Europe during the last half century more par- 
ticularly, and seems to denote his coming as at- 
tended with slaughter; for as he observes, 
" wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles  
be gathered together."45 This was uttered in  
reply to a question as to the sign of his coming, 
and where he might be looked for on that oc- 
casion. It is also supposed to have some allu- 
sion to America, as the part where he shall be  
revealed,—the eagle, it is known, being the  
symbol of that country." "As the lightning  
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto  
the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of  
Man be." St. Matthew, chapter xxiv. verse  
27. From this verse we are led to understand4  
that his origin shall be from Europe, but  that  
he shall be revealed in this country.  
45 St. Matthew, chapter xxiv. verse 28.  

222 167  
"" Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall  
say, 4 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord.'" St. Matthew, chapter xxm. verse  
39.  
In this verse Christ very clearly announces  
not only that he shall appear clothed with all the 
power and possessed of all the authority of the 
Godhead, but that these words shall stand for  
a sign, viz : that at his second coming he will  
be found bearing the name of his earthly father  
at the time being; for this is one sense, and a 
very material one, in which it is to be under- 
stood. The value of prophecy demands that  
its particulars should hold true in every signifi- 
cation of which they are susceptible, and such 
alone is consistent with the wisdom of a God, 
whose intelligence pierceth, as the Psalmist ob- 
serves, even to the dividing asunder of marrow 
and spirit. The same remark may be applied  
to the following verse :  
" Now learn a parable of the fig-tree : when  
her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth


V 222 168  
leaves, ye know that summer is near ; so  ye in  
like manner, when ye shall see these things  
come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the  
doors." St. Mark, chapter xm. verses 28 and  
29.  
By this we understand, that at the time when  
the seasons shall have become so mild that fig- 
trees will blossom in the open air, we may know 
that the great event " is nigh, even at the  
doors." The character of Christ is mild, and  
so must be the climate. All nature must feel  
the effect of his influence, because from him all  
good proceeds, which is proved by his remark  
made to his disciples when the woman in a  
crowd came behind him,and touching the border  
of his garment in an instant  was made whole,  
viz., that he perceived some virtue to have gone  
out of him.46 When we recal this, and other ex- 
traordinary traits in his character, we are na- 
46 See also St. Luke, chapter vi. verse 19. " And the whole  
multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of  
him, and healed them all."  

turally led to take a more than ordinary interest  
in the person of the Redeemer, heightened in- 
deed when we reflect upon all that he suffered  
for our sakes. Who does not feel his sympathy  
excited by the reflection that it was for us he  
hungered and fasted—withstood the cold of 
midnight air, and- prayed in long and nocturnal 
vigils ?—that it was to establish this same re-
ligion which is our great holdfast, he endured 
scoffings, revilings, buffetings and mockings;  
and that to emancipate us from the power of 
death, he underwent all its pangs in his immor- 
tal crucifixion! The Roman Catholics, who  
to do them justice have never failed to render  
homage due for merits such as these, have in  
their orisons introduced an apostrophe to the  
wounded side of our Saviour, as pierced by a  
spear upon the cross. And who but feels  
touched by this incident, when he regards its  
almighty object, and considers that it was  
peace on earth and good will towards men that  
dictated this and other sufferings. Hail Jesus!


V  
we may well say : when I forget thee, may my  
right hand forget her cunning.46 Psalms,  
CXXXVII. verse 5.  
There remains one caution, of which it is  
important for all sincere believers to be duly ap- 
prized and to bear carefully in mind, lest they  
should over-rate the reality of what is to come  
to pass; and that is that they do not expect the  
pomps and vanities of this wicked world to re- 
ceive any countenance from the manner of the  
coming or revelation of our Lord, but rather a  
strong contrast to all such to be afforded by the  
circumstances of his birth, the adversities of his  
family, and the general humility and level of his  
bearing to the condition of persons in the ordin- 
ary walks of life. St. Paul has admirably des- 
cribed this view of the subject in his first epis- 
tle to the Corinthians, chapter first, when he  
47 It is said of Polycarp  that when brought before the judge,  
and commanded to abjure and blaspheme Christ, he firmly  
answered, "Eighty and six years have T served him. and he  
never did me wrong; how then can I abjure and blaspheme  
my King who hath saved me ?" Polycarp fell a martyr to  
persecution in the early ages of the Church.  

222 171  
says: " For Christ sent me to preach the gos- 
pel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of  
Christ should be made of none effect: for the  
preaching of the cross is to them that perish  
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is- 
the power of God. For it is written, I will  
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring 
to'nothing the understanding of the prudent.  
Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ? where 
is the disputer of this world ? hath not God 
made foolish the wisdom of this world ? For  
after that in the wisdom of God the world by  
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the 
foolishness of preaching to save them that be- 
lieve. For  the Jews require a sign, and the  
Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach  
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling- 
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but  
unto, them which are called, both Jews and  
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wis- 
dom of God, Because the foolishness of God  
is wiser than men; and the weakness of God


172 '  
is stronger than men. For ye see your calling  
brethren, how that not many wise men  
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many  
noble, are called: But God hath chosen the  
foolish things of the world to confound the wise ;  
and God hath chosen the weak things of the  
world to confound the things which are mighty;  
and base things of the world, and things which  
are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things 
which are not, to bring to nought things that  
are: That no flesh should glory in his pres- 
ence. 1 Corinthians, chapter i. verses 17 to 29.  
And in the  third chapter of the same we  
read : " Let no man deceive himself. If any 
man among you seemeth to be wise in this  
world, let him become a fool, that he may be 
wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolish-
ness with God. For it is written, He taketh 
the wise in their own craftiness. And again, 
the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, 
that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory  
in men. For all things are your's; whether  

173  
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or  
life, or death, or things present, or things to  
come ; all are yours; and ye are Christ's;  
and Christ is God's." 1 Corinthians, chapter  
III. verses, 18 to 23.  
The manner of the coming of our Saviour  
too, indicates the humility of his character, as  
we read: " Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zi-
on; shout 0 daughter of Jerusalem. Behold  
thy king cometh unto thee. He is just, and  
having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass,  
and upon a colt the foal of an ass.  He shall  
speak peace unto the heathen ; and his domin- 
ion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river  
unto the  ends of the earth." Zechariah, chap- 
ter ix. verse 9 and 10.  
Whoever has been made acquainted with the  
nature of the mighty sacrifice to justice which 
the Deity has made ill his own person, and the 
many important ends which have been attained  
through that same sacrifice—ends which could  
16


V 222 174  
not possibly have been brought about by any  
other means,—will perceive at once the objects  
of so extraordinary an humiliation, and how by  
it many who otherwise would have been des- 
titute of consolation and of hope, will now find  
themselves justified unto salvation, and render- 
ed co-heirs with him of his eternal glory and  
happiness. If the poor had no fellow-sufferer,  
they would be devoid of comfort; and had sin- 
ners no justifying principle,—1-no countenance  
from their Lord,—what would be  the condition  
of their immortal souls ?—without a plea of sal-
vation,—without one solitary pledge of redemp- 
tion,—they would be considered by the Angels  
of heaven as irretrievably lost. But happily the  
work is otherwise ordered. Christ himself has  
said that he came not'to call the righteous but  
sinners to repentance. In like manner, a  sym- 
pathy for all mankind has dictated that there  
should be an extraordinary suffering in the flesh,  
•—a direct participation in the body in this  

world of sin,—in a word, that as the Lamb of  
God obedience should be made, in order to ex- 
piate and to cancel the evil consequences of  
the offences of our race.


CHAPTER VIII.  
The Millenium.  
THE popular opinion respecting the Mil- 
lenium is, that it is to endure only for a thous- 
and years, during which Satan is to be bound;  
and that after the thousand years are expired,  
" Satan shall be loosed  out of his prison."  
This idea detracts somewha't from the unmixed  
satisfaction which we should otherwise desire 
to feel for the continuance of this blessed and 
happy state, and reminds us of the comparison  
of our present existence to " a drop of honey  
in a cup of gall." It is gratifying to be enabled  
to state however, that the contrary has been  
asserted by angels entitled to all possible credit;  
and that there is every reason to believe the re- 
turning state of Paradise will be subject to no  
interruption,—no interval whatsoever, but be  

177  
perpetual and endure for ever and ever. In  
order to explain this more thoroughly, it is  
necessary to observe that the world, it is under- 
stood, has existed a priori  before its present  
state; that the prophet Esdras accordingly speaks  
of the " elder world." 2 Esdras, chapter VIK  
verse 13 ; that it was once destroyed, and  
that this is the second term of its existence;  
which may throw some light upon the passage  
in the Book of Revelation, " This is the first  
resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath  
part in the first resurrection; on such the second  
death hath no power. Revelation, chapter xx.  
verses 5 and 6. That the present Millenium  
is to be perpetual we may be assured, for in 
the twenty-second  chapter of the same book jt  
is stated that the servants of God " shall reign  
for ever and ever," verse 5; and that this is the 
true reading will be apparent'if we consider  
that the prophecy of what was to take place  
after the thousand years were expired, has  
been already accomplished and fulfilled : for at  
16 *


,178  
the . expiration of the thousand years, which  
must have elapsed before the creation of this  
present world anew, we find that " Satan shall  
be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to  
deceive the nations which are in the four quar- 
ters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather  
them together to battle, the number of whom is  
as the sand of the se^. And they went up on  
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the  
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city;;  
and fire came down from God out of heaven and  
devoured them." Revelation, chapter xx.  
verses 7, 8, 9.  
Before proceeding farther, it will be necessa- 
ry to furnish an exposition of the meaning and  
allusion, as well as of the allegory contained in  
these verses. " And shall go out to deceive the  
nations which are in the four quarters of the 
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together  
to battle." Truly it may be said that the na- 
tions are deceived when they engage in warfare  
against each other, but it is by the grand arch- 

179 ' •  
master of deception, the devil, .that it is effect-
ed, and it is to be borne in mind that the Scrip-
tures have to be fulfilled. The effigies of the 
two giants Gog and Magog, were to be  seen in  
Guildhall, in the city of London, at the time  
when England was carrying on operations in 
the four quarters of the globe;—witness the  
victories in Portugal and Spain underlie Duke 
of Wellington, in Europe ; the battle of Delhi,  
won by General Lord Lake, in Asia ; the bom- 
bardment of Algiers by Adm'iral Lord Exmouth,  
in Africa; and the hostilities on the lines of  
Canada under Lieutenant-General Sir Geonre  o  
Prevost, in America.  
• " And they went up on the breadth of the  
earth." Meridian Hill, Washington, long the  
residence of Commodore David  Porter, of the  
United States Navy, is supposed to be  the true  
Meridian, or the breadth of the earth here men-
tioned, and the capture of the city of Washing- 
ton by the British army in 1814, is the event  
alluded to in the passage. " And compassed


V  
the camp of the saints about." The character  
of saints particularly applies to the religious or- 
der of Jesuits, who have a coll-ege at George-
town adjoining Washington, and other holy  
persons in Maryland, whom they compassed or  
got the advantage of. By the words " the be-
loved city," is meant the city of Washington, 
which may well be termed beloved or delighted 
in of the Lord. It formerly was a part of the  
State of Maryland, and like it is remarkable for  
its saintly quiet, good order and holiness. " And  
fire came down from God out of heaven, and  
devoured them." This passage in highly fig-
urative language, points to an incident that oc- 
curred at the time of the occupation of Washing- 
ton by a detachment from the British army un- 
der Major-General Ross. One wing of the  
85th regiment (light infantry) together with a  
party of seamen and marines, and a few of the  
royal artillery, were sent to take possession of  
the U. S. Arsenal, at Greenleaf's point, sit- 
uated on a tongue of land in a distant part of  

222 181  
the city, where there had been ordnance stores  
deposited, but which were mostly removed. By  
order of the American officer in command, pre- 
vious to the re Great of his small force, all the  
barrels of gunpowder  from the magazine wrere  
thrown into a well situated on the parade  
ground. A corporal of the British artillery, not  
aware of this, soon after the detachment got  
possession of the place, leaning over the well,  
happened in order to clear the ashes from  
his slow-match, to strike it against the side.  
The consequence was, the fire communicating  
to the powder a terrible explosion ensued, in  
which many of the British were blown into the  
air, so that the next morning their heads and  
limbs were found all black, and scattered by the  
force of the shock over on the further shore of  
the Eastern Branch. This the reader may be  
assured, is the true explanation of the meta- 
phorical expression " and fire came down from  
God out  of heaven, and devoured them," and  
no other;—from which we may form some


212  
idea of the highly allegorical nature of the 
writings of St. John the Divine. Satan ac- 
cordingly has already been loosed out of his 
prison ; the term of one thousand years as the  
time limited for the Millenium, must have pre- 
ceded that event, and the invasion of the city of 
Washington, the beloved city, which was to oc- 
cur after he had been so loosed, has as we have  
seen, in its order of time duly taken place.  
Satan therefore having been heretofore loosed,  
and the events that were to come to pass in 
consequence of it having been consummated, 
there is now no end—no interruption to be  
feared to the state of Paradise which already  
commencing with us, will improve and increase 
every year in proportion as the people, by ad-
vancing in a state of holiness, shall have mer- 
ited this new condition of things. What we 
have further to remark therefore, will be ap-
plied not to the limited state called Millen- 
nium, but to a state of Paradise upon this earth.  
In what the particular joys of Elysium  

183  
consist, it would be difficult precisely to enu- 
merate, since we are told by St. Paul that  
« Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither  
hath it entered into the mind of man to con- 
ceive the wonderful things that are prepared by  
God for those who love him and keep his com- 
mandments." 1 Corinthians, chapter n. verse  
9. Milton the immortal author of " Paradise  
Lost," in  his subsequent poem entitled " Par- 
adise Regained," is admitted to have totally  
failed in the attempt, and for the obvious rea- 
son that he could not be expected to describe  
that of which he was unable to form any ade- 
quate conception ; it being a state  too, to use  
his own expression of  
-"Beatitudepast utterance."  
In like manner the apostle St. Paul, at the be- 
ginning of the twelfth chapter of his second  
epistle to the Corinthians observes, "I will  
come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I  
knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago,


V  
(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether  
out of the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth ;)  
such an one caught up to the third heaven. And 
I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or  
out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth ;) 
how that he was caught up into Paradise, and 
heard unspeakable words,  which it is not lawful  
for a man to utter." 2 Corinthians, chapter  
XII. verses 1, 2, 3 and 4.  
The Mahometan Paradise has been often- 
times alluded to in the works of the poets, as  
well as other writers in the East. The Mos- 
lem believers in the Koran47 entertain the idea 
that in that blessed state, the faithful followers 
of the prophet will be rewarded with  the com- 
pany of Houris, those bla?ck-haired virgins who  
present the idea of female perfection in all the  
charms of romance:  
"passing fair  
As the noon-sky, more like to goddesses  
Than mortal creatures, graceful and divine."—Milton.  
47 One of the most remarkable of its tenets is, abstinence from  
wine.  

222 185  
That there is some foundation for this belief;  
—that  
"connubial happiness,  
The only bliss of Paradise that has survived the fall,"  
will form a part, and a very material part of the  
joys of the blessed hereafter, there is no reason  
to doubt,* seeing that love is the chief charm  
of our existence,—the great principle which  
binds individuals and communities together ;— 
and that it was the divine love for man  
that first sent Jesus Christ upon earth. The Lo- 
tio Saturni is a particular draught known to An- 
gels, who shake the spheres, and used only  
in heaven, the semblance of the effects of which  
alone have been revealed. It produces the  
highest possible state of bliss, with a nearer af- 
finity than any thing else to the coupling of the 
winged tribe. It supposes however a conver- 
sion of the aliment into a source of supply, and  
the total absence of any thing like a residuum, 
which would infallibly detract from it. It is 
the present mortal existence of this drain upon  
the system which limits fruition to a very brief  
17


V  
period, whereas its duration will hereafter be 
extended to hours. The force of the masculine  
principle may be judged of by the interpretation  
of.the name of Major-General Coote Manning- 
ham, who first raised the British 95th or Rifle  
Regiment, of which he was colonel, since called  
the Rifle Brigade. The importance of training  
an arm true to the sticking point, will be apparent  
from the fact that he was manning Ham,—  
which will furnish some idea of the nature of  
the work. The society of "  Angels ever bright  
and fair," amid verdant lawns, cooling shades and  
purling streams, will constitute but a part of the  
enjoyments of such a state. The friendship of  
the holy Archangels and Angels, of Michael,  
Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Uzziel, and many oth- 
ers, must transcend any thing earthly that we 
have ever experienced in our intercourse with  
human kind. Our dwellings will be in palaces  
embosomed in woods, with terraced walks, taste- 
ful parterres and refreshing fountains. Birds of  
the rarest plumage will mingle  their notes of  

222 187  
love in the groves, and the most delicious fruits  
be produced, ready to be plucked at all times  
and at all seasons. Milton pourtraying the  
abode of Adam, gives us some idea of the nature  
of a retreat in Paradise:  
" A happy rural seat of various views,  
Groves whose rich trees wept odoroi»s gums and balm,  
Others whose fruit burnished with golden rind,  
Hung pendant, as Hesperian fables tell,  
If true, here only, and of delicious taste;  
Betwixt them lawns, or level down, and flocks 
Grazing the tender herb, stand interposed,  
Or palmy hillock, or the flow'ry lap  
Of some irriguous valley spread her store;  
Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose.  
Another side, umbrageous grots and caves  
Of coolrecess, o'er which the mantling vine  
* Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps  
Luxuriant, meanwhile murmuring waters fall  
Down the slope hills, dispersed or in a lake  
That to the fringed bank with myrtle crowned  
Her crystal mirror holds unto their streams.  
The birds their quire supply, airs vernal airs,  
Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune 
The trembling leaves."  
The following description of a banquet may  
convey some idea of the mode of living in such  
a state:  
« A table richly spread in regal mode,  
With dishes piled and meats of noblest sort,


V  
And savory beasts of chase, or fowls of game,  
In pastry built, or from the spit or boil'd,  
Gris-amber steam'd : all fish from sea or shore,  
Freshet or purling brook, of shell or fin, 
And exquisitest name, for which was drained  
Pontus and Lucrine bay and Afric coast;  
With fruits and flowers from Amalthea's horn,  
On citron tables48 and Atlantic stone ; 
And all the while harmonious airs were heard  
Of chiming strings, or charming pipes, and winds  
Of gentlest gale Arabian odors fann'd  
From their soft wings, and Flora's earliest smells."  
Millon.  
All this too, it is to be remembered, without  
cost, the auri sacra fames or accursed love of  
lucre, being totally unknown in that state of  
primitive innocence to which we are to be re- 
stored.  
The golden grain will wave on the hills and  
in the vallies, and the hedges will produce food 
that does not require the tedious and laborious  
process of kneading or of baking. The purest  
water will be supplied to our dwellings, in such  
manner that it will be found whenever and  
wheresoever it is needed. The magnetic prin- 
48 Citron trees grew only on Mount Atlas, the wood of whieh  
was accounted by the Romans as valuable as gold.  

222 189  
ciple of attraction and cohesion being univer- 
sally established, families and communities will  
be united together in love. It is on this same  
principle that we may expect the accomplish- 
ment of desiderata which have never yet  
been fulfilled,—the iEolian harp giving out har- 
mony ;—and the construction of vessels that shall  
not leak, a result that depends upon the so- 
lution of that great problem, viz. the perfection 
of the mechanism of the universe, and must be  
produced by the true adhesion of the timbers to 
each other. Let us conceive, in order to aid  
our ideas on this subject, the glorious excellence  
of this fair orb, in the construction of the minutest  
parts of wrhich not a single flaw shall exist to 
mar, not a speck be found to detract from, the  
beauty and harmony of the whole ! And why 
should he doubt this for a moment, when we  
consider that the poet speaking of the stars ob- 
serves,  
" The hand that made them is divine."  
If the mighty work on which we have all  
17*


V  
been engaged, performing our respective parts  
on this vast theatre of existence, should come  
out right at last, of which there is no reason to  
despair, who can doubt but that the greatest  
possible good in every department of excellence  
will be attained ? Perfection is the attribute of  
the Godhead, and it is reasonable to suppose  
that all his works will, in his own good time, be 
found to partake of it. Improvement is pro-
gressive, and where shall it stop ? In order to 
answer this question, it is only necessary to look 
into infinity, to be certain that it has no bounds.  
In the same way, the greatest  enjoyments of  
which we can form any conception,—the most  
exquisite delights of the body or mind which 
we could deiine, fall far short of the reality,  
and for the same reason. If we doubt this at  
all, it may be asked, why not ? Why should  
not these things be ? Why should we not ex-
pect the greatest possible exercise of those ca- 
pacities for enjoyment which we undoubtedly 
possess? If  this were not intended by the  

222 191  
Creator, we should not originally have derived  
them, as we have, from him. He made all 
things for his pleasure, as we read, and he also  
made us with a capacity to enjoy all things in a  
similar manner; does it not follow that the sarpe  
desires, the same tastes, the same enjoyments, 
and the same gratified appetites, we shall par- 
ticipate equally with him ? We are assured  
that he will make his tabernacle with us, and  
we shall be his people, and God himself shall be 
with us, and be our God. See Revelation, chap- 
ter xxi. verse 3. And is it not reasonable  to  
conclude that our portion will be equally mani- 
fested in realizing the infinite delights of sanc- 
tified spirits ?  
Youth, immortal and unfading youth, is the  
form we shall assume, as being the most agree- 
able both to ourselves and to others in such a  
state, reminding us of the description in Lalla  
Rookh of the oriental scene  
.—.—" Where the young people meet:"  
—a poem abounding throughout with deserip-


V 222 192  
tion of a nature savouring of Paradise, and like  
some other works on similar subjects, supposed 
to be introductory to it.  
Our first parents were innocent previous to  
the fall, and needed no clothing, because  
they were unconscious of the object in wearing  
it, which was the concealment of the person. 
The heat  of the climate will probably at first  
induce the general use of silk,49 but after some  
time, when restored to the use of wings in our  
49 The power of electricity over the body is well known ; wa  
can never enjoy health or comfort without a proportion of it in  
the system. When this portion is deficient, we feel languid  
and heavy, and are apt to ascribe it to the blood, while we nev- 
er suspect the damp atmosphere of robbing us of our electrici- 
ty. Yet so it is, in dry weather whether it be warm, cold or  
frosty, we feel light and spirited, because dry air is a slow con-
ductor of electricity, and leaves us to enjoy its luxuries. In 
moist or rainy weather, we feel oppressed and drowsy, because 
all moisture greedily absorbs our electricity, which is the buoy-
ant cordial of the body. To remedy this inconvenience, we  
have only to discover a good non-conductor of electricity, and  
that we have in silk, which will be found the most power-
ful of all cordials. And why is it a non-conductor of the elec-
tric fluid ? Because it supposes a state of happiness and of in- 
dependence in the wearer, and a degree of caloric in the at- 
mosphere belonging only to halcyon days, when the shaft  of  
lightning will be innocuous.  

immortal state, it is not probable they will be  
covered with clothes.  
To attempt a minute description of the pleas- 
ures of Paradise cannot be expected, seeing  
that the world is totally without experience of  
any thing of the kind; but we have assurances  
in the gospel on which we may rely with im- 
plicit confidence, and from which we may infer 
that positive blessings will accompany it. We 
read that when that time arrives, " the wolf  
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall  
lie down with the kid, and the calf and the  
young lion and the fading together; and a little  
child shall lead them. And the cow and the  
bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down  
together: and the lion shall eat straw like the  a  
ox. And the sucking child shall play on the 
hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put 
his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not  
hurt nor destroy in all ' my holy mountain : for  
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the


194  
> \  
Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah,  
chapter xi. verse 6 to 9.  
" The  redeemed of the Lord shall return, and  
come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting  
joy shall be upon their head : they shall obtain  
gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning  
shall flee away." Isaiah, chapter LI. verse 11.  
" Nation shall not lift up a sword against na- 
tion, neither shall they learn war any more; but  
they shall sit every man under his vine and  
under his fig tree; and none shall make them  
afraid." Micah, chapter iv. verses 3, 4.  
The "prophet Joel before quoted, says that*  
" the mountains shall drop down new wine, and  
the hills shall  flow with milk," and in other  
parts of Scripture we find that the land shall  
" flow with milk and honey."  
From the following passage we may infer  
that the present things are to be counted as tri- 
fling and light indeed, when weighed in com- 
parison with what they may be  expected to be- 

195  
come when the curse which fell upon our first  
parents snail be removed.50  
" When the spirit is poured upon us from on  
high, the wilderness shall be as a fruitful field, 
and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.—  
Then judgment shall dwell  
in the wilderness,  
and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.— 
And the work of righteousness shall be peace ; 
and the effect of righteousness, quietness and 
assurance for ever." Isaiah, chapter xxxii.  
verses 15, 16, and 17.  
" They shall come and sing in the height of  
Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of •  
the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil,  
and for the young of the flock, and, of the herd ; 
and their souls shall be as a watered garden;  
and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then  
shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young  
men and old together: for I will turn their  
50 " Cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou  
eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall  
it bring forth to thee ; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat  
bread." Genesis, chapter in. verses 17,18 and 19. •


212  
mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and  
make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I 
will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, 
and my people shall be satisfied with my good-
ness, saith the Lord." Jeremiah, chapter xxxi. 
verses 12, 13, and 14.  
" And he shewed me a pure river of water of  
life, clear as crystal, proceeding out.of the throne  
of God and the Lamb. In the midst of the 
street of it, and on either side of the river, was  
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner 
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and  
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the  
nations. And there shall be no  more curse : but  
the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in  
it; and his servants shall serve him. And they  
shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their  
foreheads. And there shall be no night there,  
and they need no candle, neither light of the  
sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and  
they shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation,  
chapter xxii. verses 1 to 5.  

197  
" And I saw a new heaven and a new  
earth; for the first heaven and the first earth are  
passed away, and there was no more sea. And  
I John saw the  holy city, New Jerusalem, com- 
' ing down from God out of heaven, prepared  
as a bride adorned for her husband. And I  
heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Be- 
hold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he  
will dwell with them, and they shall be his peo- 
ple, and God himself shall be with them, and be  
their God." Revelation, chapter xxi. verses 1  
to 3.  
Previous to the .fall of man, it is understood,  
that his faculties were unclouded,—his percep- 
tion of truth immediate,—and like the Angels of  
heaven whose knowledge is intuitive, he could  
discover at a  glance that which it takes us by a  
tedious process of arithmetical calculation, or al- 
gebraical analysis, to arrive at. There is no doubt  
that in a future spiritual state the capacities  
• of our minds will become greatly enlarged, and


V  
rendered capable of enjoying those intellectual  
treasures of heaven and earth which it has been  
the great object of all this suffering to form, and  
the constant endeavor of Angels to accumulate  
and preserve. In order to understand this more  
thoroughly, we must look into some of the phe- 
nomena of human nature as developed in the  next  
chapter, on the nature and condition of our race.  
We shall there discover the traces of all our  
knowledge, whether of books or of researches in  
science or art, to be evolved from our own be- 
ing,—to have a gratifying first spring in the  
pleasures of taste, and to be indebted to the in- 
dulgence of our natural appetites for their pro- 
duction. It is plain for what reason then, man  
was endowed with a power of discriminating  
between that which is palatable or otherwise,  
since he is led to choose those objects which  
most conduce to the development of his own  
acquisitions in point of power or of information;  
but the penalty has to recompense the enjoy- 
ment. #n like manner the labour of our waking  

222 199  
hours has to balance the indulgence of sleep;  
pain follows pleasure, and life brings death.  
Deeply meditating upon the points presented  
to us, we shall belled to obtain a glance at the  
ineffable wisdom that originally dictated all  
creation,—especially of our own formation; and  
to acknowledge the necessity, as well as the 
object and end, of the doctrine known amongst  
theologians as the divine permission of evil—  
Wherefore the reader will at once acknowledge  
the perfect propriety of the following passage:  
" I form the light, and create darkness: I make  
peace and  create evil; 1 the Lord do all these  
things." Isaiah, chapter XLV. verse 7. Be-
sides, without the existence of evil, life would 
have been without an object, an aim or an end.  
It would have remained a perfect blank; and it 
is a well known fundamental principle with  na- 
tural philosophers, that all nature abhors a vac- 
cuum. Without evil, there would have been  
no contrast, no distinguishing principle,—in a  
Word no good. Satan the great parent of


212  
wickedness, it is to be remembered, is one of 
the sons of God.50 So Michael the Archangel, 
we are told in the general epistle of Jude, and  
at the ninth verse, " when contending with the 
Devil, (he disputed about the body of Moses,)  
durst not bring against him a railing accusation,  
but said, the  Lord rebuke thee." And we  
read that " the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh:  
Even for this same purpose have I raised thee  
up, that I might shew my power in thee, and  
that my name might be declared throughout all 
the earth." Romans, chapter ix. verse 17.  
Thus when we shall have assumed the more  
pleasing form of youth, to which we are des- 
tined, the necessity and the value of the trials  
which we have passed through in this life will 
become apparent, and every misdemeanor com- 
mitted upon earth, will be repaid in a manner  
suited to that state of youth, and which is best  
50 " Now there was a day when the sons of God came to  
present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also  
among them." Job, chapter i. verse 6,  

201  
understood by those only who are wise unto  
salvation^  
It is the impression of this truth that has  
given rise to the spreading of certain sects in this  
country, termed Universalist, from the circum- 
stance of their maintaining .the doctrine of the  
universality of ultimate happiness; and who have 
this merit certainly, that whilst they believe  
there will be no eternal damnation for the sinner  
in a future state, have never relaxed the obliga- 
tions of morality, of  good order and religion in  
the present. From these considerations, we may  
be induced to entertain a greater degree of char-
ity for mankind, and to rest  perfectly well as- 
sured that all Christian denominations, whatev- 
er may be the particular points on which they  
insist, or about which they differ, are to be con- 
sidered as collective instruments of one Divine  
Being, working together for good.  
There have been within these few years  
past, many works written which may be consid- 
ered as in some degree preparatory to the state  
18 *


V 222  
above faintly alluded to; amongst them may be  
mentioned the Vision of Judgment, by Robert 
Southey, Esq., poet laureat; the Loves of the  
Angels, by Thomas Moore, Esq., author of Lal- 
la Rookh; the World before the Flood, by James  
Montgomery, Esq.,; Armageddon, by the Rev.  
D. Townsend, A. M. prebendary of Durham ;  
Sabbath, a poem by James Grahame, Esq., ad- 
vocate, Edinburgh ; and Samor, or the Lord of  
the Bright City, by the Rev. H. H. Millman,  
i  
A. M., prebendary of Westminster. From the  
fact of the period of their appearance we may  
infer that the time is drawing near when the  
scenes to which they allude will be unfolded to  
our view ; whilst an examination of their con- 
tents will serve to enlighten us as to the nature  
of the great spiritual topics of which they treat.  
It is stated to be amongst the pleasures of heav- 
en, that we shall have leisure and light to peruse  
and relish the most approved writings of ancient  
and modern times,—the productions of Scott,  
Byron, Moore, Campbell, Southey, and of the  

203  
innumerable multitude of writers, both in poet-
ry and prose, who have flourished both before  
and after the invention of printing, in this our 
world ; with many others the number and value  
of which is to us unknown, derived from an infin- 
ity of worlds, of which each star, it is supposed,  
constitutes an unit.51 There is no doubt that all  
works of whatsoever nature, are carefully pre-
served high up, and that there are duplicates in 
existence of all the books in the great Alexan-
drian library, formerly destroyed by fire, the  
loss of which has frequently been lamented as  
an irreparable blow to letters and to mankind.  
Some, good and sufficient cause must have ex- 
51 The earth, astronomically considered, is a very small plan- 
et, being greatly exceeded in point of magnitude by others, 
as Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus ; and filling an inconsiderable  
space in comparison with the thousands and millions and 
myriad of worlds of which the universe consists. That these  
are all inhabited may be inferred from the  following passage in  
St. John, " And other sheep I have which are not of this fold : 
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there 
shall be one fold and one'shepherd." St. John, chapter x.  
verse 16.


212  
isted for such a calamity, or it would not have  
been permitted to occur; but of this we may be 
certain, that the works contained in it have  
not altogether perished, or it would follow as 
a consequence that many had lived in vain,—  
equivalent it may be considered to a reductio ad  
absUrdum.  
Let it be observed of Paradise, that it is a  
state in which our pleasures are. illimitable, our  
desires unutterable, and our happiness incon- 
ceivable ; so much so, that there is reason to be- 
lieve we entertain not even a remote sus-
picion of the nature of the joys which there  
await us.  
The poets of antiquity, speaking of the com- 
mencement of the history of mankind, depict it  
as the Golden Age,—an age in which all were  
happy, when justice universally prevailed,  
and the use of money was unknown,—qualities 
which we are assured by the more certain voice  

205  
of prophecy shall shine forth with unclouded  
lustre towards its close,  
"Jam redit et virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna."— Virgil.  
"The last great age foretold by sacred rhymes,  
.Renews its finished course, Saturnian times!"  
Drydtn.  
The world is fast approaching a period in its  
destinies, when the array of nation against na- 
tion, and the desolation occasioned by former 
usurpations, will be regarded as the geologist  
contemplates the terrible indications of past  
convulsions, which during the course of unre-
corded cycles may have shaken to its centre  
the ponderous mass of the globe he inhabits,  
but have now no longer a place in the list of  
existing phenomena. The increasing liberality 
of the present age is one favorable symptom of  
the approximation of that time when favors 
will be granted without the intervention of the  
precious metals as an equivalent ;52 when the  
53 The late extraordinary crisis in the financial situation of  
the United States is supposed to exemplify, in a remarkable  
manner, the truth of the text.


206  
rich and the poor will all be treated alike—the  
smallest cherub faring equally in heaven with  
the mightiest seraph, and justice requiring the  
same law to be universally observed.  
That this period is now very near at hand we  
have many warnings, clearly and unequivocally  
symptomatic of its approach. The general 
stagnation in the*concerns of the community  
which has been so lately experienced, and the 
consequent want of employ among the working  
classes, are to us plain indications of the inten- 
tions of Divine Providence with respect to this  
nation, whilst the leisure afforded by a relaxa-
tion of the usual bustle of trade and business, in  
serving to wean us from the cares and concerns  
of sublunary occupation, and to direct our  
thoughts to matters more immediately connect-
ed with our eternal interests, affords some pro-
totype of that state of rest which is destined  
ultimately to be the portion of the people of  
God.  

CHAPTER IX.  
On the Nature of Man.  
THAT man was created by a very wise and  
glorious Being, will be apparent from an atten- 
tive consideration of his own nature, as ap-
plicable in its construction and aim to  very wise  
and glorious purposes. Our capacities for the  
enjoyment of gratification and of happiness, im- 
ply that we were destined originally to partake  
of them ; and the gleams which we sometimes  
obtain of real glory, suppose that  it is yet to be  
attained. The discipline however to which the  
soul of man is required to submit, in order to 
mount ultimately to its destined eminence, is  
necessarily very severe, and almost inconceiva-
ble except by those  to whom these things have  
been specially revealed. It is a settled princi- 
ple amongst heavenly beings, that they whose


V 222  
sufferings are the more intense, are really and in  
point of fact the most meritorious; that they  
who, in the language of Scripture, " sow in  
tears, shall reap in joy;" and that  this most  
favored of all other spots,—this earth,—in 
which there is reason to believe is sustained  
more pain, mental and bodily, more sorrow, 
and more trouble than in all the other planetary  
regions of the vast universe put together, is in  
fact the chosen seat, the selected theatre, on  
which is working the most extraordinary and  
wonderful problem that has ever been attempt- 
ed from all eternity, or that ever will be at- 
tempted in all the future ages of existence.  
To be convinced, and consoled on the subject of  
what we have ourselves endured here, it is only  
necessary to look to the example of Jesus  
Christ himself, whose sufferings on the cross  
constitute, it is well known, his greatest glory  
as well as form the ground-work of his pro- 
foundest worship ; and to bear in mind that this  

209  
same earth was preferred to be the witness of  
what he underwent for our salvation.  
The pilgrimage of man in this world is not  
confined, as many suppose, to a single life-time,  
but by the laws of nature is made to consist of  
many stages of division ; and it is a mistake to  
suppose that after we have run our race here,  
happiness is the next infallible reward of a well-
spent life. " For David," that good king, we  
are told, " is not ascended into the heavens."  
Acts, chapter n. verse 34. So also Christ,  
giving a parting admonition to his disciples, ob- 
served : " Lo, I am with you alvvay, even unto  
the end of the world." St. Matthew, chapter 1  
xxvui. verse 20. This brings us to the prin- 
ciple of the transmigration of souls,—a prin- 
ciple by which it is understood that when  
the spirit has departed from out of the body, it  
is immediately kindled in the womb of some  
female, and thus in due time the same indi- 
vidual is  born again, and re-appears though in  
another form, under a different name and under  
19


V  
a different planet, to run a fresh race in the  
great career  of earthly probation. Pythagoras,  
the Grecian philosopher, caught but an imper-
fect glimpse of the actual destiny of man when  
he supposed that his soul, when detached from  
the body on his demise, enters that of some  
animal—a cat, a dog, or a horse, to which 
the deceased was particularly attached during  
his or her life-time. Such no doubt is the fate  
of all other animals save man, but not at all is 
it the case with human  kind.  
"Nine times have Brama's wheels of lightning hurl'd  
His awful presence o'er the alarmed world ;  
Nine  times hath guilt through all his giant frame,  
Convulsive trembled as the mighty came ;  
Nine times hath suffering mercy spared in vain, 
But heaven shall burst her starry gates again."  
This passage in the " Pleasures of Hope,"  
by the poet Campbell, alludes in highly meta- 
phorical fiction, to the fact of Brama,  the "Teat  
founder of the Hindoo system of religion, having  
come nine times upon earth;.that is, having 
lived and died, being born again into the world  
nine several times anterior to the last of his  

222 210  
coming;—in each life-time under a different  
name, and pursuing another and distinct voca-
tion in society. This will serve to explain the  
otherwise apparent inconsistency between the  
fact of the appearance of persons on earth, such 
as Queen Esther,  the prophet Daniel and oth- 
ers, who flourished many ages ago, and their  
existence in a future state.  
But this species of servitude, if we may so  
express it, is but a part of the system of disci- 
pline which the soul of man is destined to un- 
dergo upon earth. It is a supreme and fixed  
condition of our existence, that all deeds done  
in the body should in like manner be repaid in  
the body, at some time or other, that is, in  
some life-time or other, and in some way or  i  
other; all outstanding and unsettled debts,  
however long since they may have been con- 
tracted or due, have to be acquitted; all obliga-
tions cancelled, and the law of " measure for  
measure " to be folly satisfied. The goddess  
Justice, in the heathen mythology, is represented


212  
as seated blindfold, in token of her impartiality,  
and holding in her hands a pair of scales ex- 
actly and evenly balanced. This symbol ac-
curately conveys the truth, that mankind are  
treated alike by the decree of heaven in respect 
to their accountability for all their actions; that  
all dues have to be settled, an(d that all that is  
coming to us has to be received, whether it be  
of good or of ill, at some period or other of our 
existence, and that in the body upon earth. 
" He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into  
captivity : he that killeth with the sword, must  
be killed with the sword. Here is the patience 
and the faith of the saints." Revelation, 
chapter xm. verse 10. From all this it will 
appear that the belief in the doctrine of a fu-
ture state of rewards and punishments is found-
ed in reason as well as in Scripture, whilst the  
creed of the infidef, viz: that the existence of the  
spirit does not survive the dissolution of the  
body, is destitute of justice for  its basis.  
In order to form some conception of the na- 

213  
ture of the trials through which the soul of man 
is necessarily doomed to pass, let us look at the 
number of times that Adam must have died and  
been born again into the world, taking the aver- 
age of life at seventy years, and the vicissitudes  
to which he must necessarily have been subject 
in the course of all that period ; and we may  
thence form some adequate idea of our own  
situation as well as that of our fellow beings 
in this world of trouble.  
It is upon this principle of strict and impar- 
tial justice, that many individuals who were for- 
merly kings and princes in their day, have since 
become beggars;—whilst others who were of  
old in menial capacities, have subsequently been  
called to fill high places and to rule over em- 
pires. Some females who were once mistress-
es of respectable families, are now hired to the  
very same persons who previously served them ; 
—in order to cancel the obligation ; while the  
domestic upon  the same principle has in many  
instances been elevated  to be lord over his for- 
19 *


V 222  
mer master. The relative fate of Field-Mar- 
shal His Grace the Duke of Wellington, and of  
Major-General Warren, who fell in the battle  
of Bunker's Hill, will still further illustrate the  
same position very forcibly. The former, about  
eighteen hundred years ago was a cobler by  
pursuit; whilst the latter is now a young man  
apprenticed to a respectable housewright in  
Boston. The difference in their respective lots  
at the present time consists in this : that the  
former having much due to him, became enti- 
tled to receive large  arrears; whilst the latter,  
either on a balance of previous accounts must 
have been found indebted, and has a something  
to make up, or else is reserved for still greater  
glory hereafter: which explains the diversity  
of their present positions in society.  
Aware then that  
" Such is the hard condition of our birth,"  
let us not repine at the decrees of divine prov- 
idence, whose ways as expressed by a pious 
poet, " though dark are just;" but let us rath- 

215  
er acknowledge the equity of that dispensation  
which regards the universal race of man, in its 
generic sense, as entitled to the strictest recog- 
nition of all privileges and immunities alike !  
The superiority which the male being is  
sometimes apt to assume over the female, as  
the inferior or weaker vessel,  has in like man- 
ner to be conceded and requited by the con-
version of sex,  at some period or other of his  
birth, during the several ^stages of his natural  
existence,—a process which, mutatis mutandis, 
is also deemed necessary to the perfectioning  
of their natures as operative and rational crea- 
tures. By this balancing of the principle of  
our being, woman is placed, as she was intend- 
ed to be, on a perfect level of equality with  
man, so that on a summing up of all things, 
were it possible to suppose her for a moment  
inferior to him in any one respect, such de-
ficiency would instantly have to be made up.  
" So absolute, so equally she seems,  
And in herself complete, so well to  know


V 222  
Her own, that when she wills to do or say  
Seems wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best;  
Ml higher  knowledge  in  her presence falls  
Degraded, wisdom in discourse with her  
Loses discountenanc'd, and like folly shows;  
Authority and reason on lier wait  
As one intended first, not after made, 
Occasionally, and to consummate all  
Greatness of mind and nobleness their seat  
Build in her loveliest, and create an awe  
About her as a guard angelic placed."— Milton.  
With a view to this equality, or balancing of  
the principle of our nature, the greatest of men 
have at some period or other of their existence  
become women, and have borne children as  
such, whilst females might be named in the 
present day who in olden time were amongst 
the most remarkable of men, of whom we may  
mention Goliath the giant slain by King Da- 
vid, as the present Marchioness of Donegal, (a 
very large woman,) and the immortal Homer, 
now both of them mothers of families.  
But repugnant as this doctrine may appear to  
some who may possibly feel their dignity to be  
lowered by the reflection, it is but a necessary  
part, and that a small part, of the trials which  

217  
await the soul in its passage through this long,  
dark, and dreary state of pilgrimage upon earth.  
Every human being has to be what is termed  
christianized, that is tamed by a process of love,  
without which  we should only be indomitable  
and unruly members of society. By this mys- 
tical union of the spirit, the whole man is ren- 
dered more valuable in a natural and productive 
point of view; whilst his disposition, that was  
before unyielding and intractable, becomes com- 
placent, placable and kind. Its necessity will  
be apparent when we consider the relative ef- 
fect upon the natures of those who are the sub- 
jects of it. Juxtapositis, infra naturd mitior  
evenit, supra intractabilior. It is understood  
that St. John was the favorite disciple of our  
Lord, and he is represented in modern prints as 
a beautiful youth, engaged in admiring the cross  
of Christ. It is the glory of all true Christians,  
in imitation of their Divine Master, to take up- 
on themselves the cross, and to suffer all things  
for the kingdom of heaven's sake ; and to those


218  •  
who are already suph it matters not to be told  
that the penalty is proportioned to the deed,  
which it is remarked is always revenged, and  
that most commonly by stripes. St. John was be-
beheaded in prison at the request of King Herod's  
daughter, whilst Christ was afterwards scourged  
by Pontius Pilate. Subsequently the like pun- 
ishment was inflicted on the Archangel Michael, 
by Plutarch, and on the same ground ; but the  
consequences are incalculable to the benefit of  
knowledge, and the peace and safety of the world  
in general, for until this work had become tho- 
roughly dovetailed as it were, if we may use  
such an expression, there were nothing but  
wars upon the earth.  
From a consideration of the preceding views,  
we shall be led to perceive the absolute ne- 
cessity of females having, at some former pe- 
riod of their existence, been of a different sex;  
so that the work of souls might  be complete as  
to them, whilst their feminine character in the  
present state is a guarantee of that placidity of  

219  
disposition which it is the great object of Chris- 
tianity to bring about.  
Wherever there is much suffering,  there is al- 
ways great good to be expected to be derived.  
Without it, there would assuredly be no merit ;  
whilst the greater its intensity,  the more valua- 
ble the result. In order to comprehend the full  
extent of this doctrine, it will be necessary to 
consider the intention and objects of our own  
formation. Man was formed with natural appe- 
tites, which were designed, under due regula-
tion, to be freely indulged. The pleasures of  
taste were not less wisely adapted to the end, 
than to their enjoyment. Nature has as yet re- 
vealed but an inferior portion of her secrets, yet  
is she daily, nay hourly, yielding to the inquisi- 
tive solicitations of man. To the processes of  
mastication and of digestion we are altogether 
indebted for our knowledge of books, and of  
useful inventions and improvements in general.  
From production springs reproduction, of wrhich 
it is the object of innumerable spirits to avail


V 222  
themselves, in order to obtain from universal  
matter, when rayed, the truths which it was o-
riginally destined to disclose. To what else  
can we attribute the Principia of Sir Isaac New-
ton, the invention of the steam engine, or the  
discovery of the safety lamp ?  
Superior beings when of late they saw,  
A mortal man unfold all Nature's law;  
Admired such wisdom in a mortal shape,  
And viewed a NEWTON as we view an ape.—Pope.  
And the reason why they thus viewed him was,  
because they were perfectly well acquainted  
with the sources of his knowledge.  
Creation may thus be considered as intended  
by its Divine Author to work out or to develop 
itself, and through the medium of the gratifica- 
tion and enjoyment of the appetites of his crea-
tures, exerted upon the choicest productions of 
this prolific globe, to solve by degrees its own  
great proposition, viz: the BEAUTY,  HARMONY,  
AND ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE ! Who does not  
glow with rapture at the contemplation of such  
apian? Who does not glory in the wisdom  

221  
and benevolence of its all-wise Founder, and  
admire the profound bounty of such a de-
sign ? Let us pour out a tribute of gratitude  
and of praise then to HIM, the divine parent of  
our existence, the giver of every good and per- 
fect gift, for his unspeakable love to man when  
he ordered all things to minister unto us  for our  
pleasure and for our benefit:  
Omnipotent, immutable, immortal, infinite,  
Eternal King!  
and confess, in the pious language of the poet,  
« Him first, him last, him midst, and without end."  
Young.  
It has been already stated that the greater the  
pains endured by the individual, the more highly  
they are to be valued. To the trials of the Re- 
deemer on the cross it is said we owe the Apoca- 
lypse of St. John the Divine ; and to the writh- 
ing of a maniac confined in Bedlam, are to be  
ascribed the sublimest passages in " Paradise  
Lost." This is further explained by the fact  
that from those who perish on the gibbet much  
20


V 222  
valuable matter is always extracted. In this  
we speak spiritually, the orders of intelligence  
being well aware that no individual thing, how- 
ever it may appear to mortal sense, ever was  
created or ever will be created in vain. Were  
the inhabitants of Europe not to mingle malt  
liquor with their food, there is no doubt but that 
our advances in knowledge would be attended  
with much more success,53 and the same observa- 
tion may  be applied to all intoxicating drinks.  
We know not to what holy heights in this res- 
pect we might attain, were people to agree in  
abstaining from liquids of this description. In- 
dependent of the great moral revolution in the 
state of society, which would be effected by 
withdrawing the thinking part of mankind from  
indulgence in sensual objects, and diverting this  
leisure to a concentration of their faculties in  
devising means for the attainment of public  
53 This consideration will explain the object of the " Health  
Society," in Boston, whose aim it is to prescribe the diet and  
regimen best adapted to promote it.  

223  
good, the increased value of discovery would  
soon be sensibly ^perceived, and we should un-
doubtedly have approximated much nearer to  
the desired state of perfection, both as respects  
the moral and material world.  
The importance of the functions of our kind,  
and their agency in the improvement of our 
condition, will be obvious when we consider  
how immediately the nature of the food taken  
into the system conduces to the proper develop- 
ment of truth, and when it is known why the 
location of the " Smithsonian Institute for pro- 
moting knowledge among men," was fixed at  
the city of Washington rather than in Europe,  
although the design of the founder, an Europe- 
an, was only to establish it in a country most  
likely to give due effect to the very praisewor- 
thy object which he had in view. The reason  
then is, because the advantage to science and  
to residents in this country connected with  
it, is altogether much greater than in any 
other, on account of the nature of their subsist-


V  
ence, the virtues of flour manufactured out of  
wheat raised on a virgin soil, being of unspeak-
able value in their use to the cause of human  
improvement"; and that which  is produced ac- 
cordingly in the newly reclaimed portions of the  
western wilderness being of far greater efficacy 
to that end, through the medium of its disposi-
tion in the human frame, than the crops raised  
on the old, worn out and highly manured lands 
of more ancient countries, in which the quantity  
of horse and other matter used in fertilizing 
them for ages past, has so accumulated on the  
surface and intermingled with the native quali- 
ties of the soil, as to produce a more or less 
brutifying effect;—insensibly transmitting a 
portion of the finer essences of animal life, 
more or less, into the systems of the peo- 
ple in those countries who subsist upon  the  
grain so raised,—and thus operating disadvan- 
tageous^ to the cause of science.  
It was on this account too, that the extensive  
introduction of rail-roads has been so greatly  

222 224  
favored, with the view amongst other things  
of superseding the necessity of the use of  
horses. These are matters to be accounted  
amongst the arcana of nature, but nevertheless  
not the less worthy of our vigilance or our belief.  
Man is endowed with faculties of the noblest  
description, and functions calculated to impart  
and to receive pleasure. The very fact of his  
possessing them, presupposes the due exercise of  
both. The former will teach him that this ob- 
ject admits of indefinite extension ; and the  
very fact of his forming the conception, argues 
that it is within the scope of his attainment.—  
1 But like knowledge which is acquired by slow  
' degrees, so pleasure is to be obtained only after  
a lengthened and patient perseverance in the  
pursuit of virtue. A life of holiness is of all 
others the best preparative for such a state. By  
holiness we are to understand piety,—devotion  
to God,—a readiness to hearken unto his voice 
—and a due regulation of our appetites, so that  
no unclean or forbidden thing, either as to- 
20*


V  
bacco or as drink, be allowed to enter into 
and defile our bodies, which as St. Paul ob- 
serves, are the temples of  the Lord. " The  
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."  
1 Corinthians, chapter HI. verse 17.  
We have now taken a review of the original  
condition of man, as destined to pass through  
numerous trials in a long series of stages of ex- 
istence. We have pointed out the doctrine 
of the transmigration of souls, which explains  
the destiny of the  spirit after death, and shews  
in what manner it re-appears upon the earth, 
—its discipline requiring  that it should serve a  
long apprenticeship to many masters. We have  
remarked that all the deeds done in the body,  
have to be repaid in the body ; that previous in- 
digence is sure to be rewarded with a compen- 
sating affluence, and that former opulence is  
as certainly requited by a subsequent state of  
poverty. That by virtue of the same principle, 
in the course of ages, males become females, 
whilst females in their turn are converted into  

222 226  
males, a change of sex taking place at the peri- 
od of regeneration. In this way the equality of  
the female to the male is wisely contrived,  
whilst the process of .Christianization is thus pro- 
vided for in both. That this step is invariably  
productive of suffering, and expressly with a view  
to obtain a due result; for this stripes, tortures,  
imprisonments, crucifixions, stabbings, behead- 
ings, poisonings, sufferings in the pillory and the  
stocks, cropping of ears, cutting off noses,  
scalpings, devouring by wild beasts,  sawings  
asunder,54 impalings, stranglings, shootings, pen- 
ance, burnings, brandings, hangings, drownings,  
drawings asunder by horses, suffocations, stand- 
ings, wounds, bruises, and to crown all DEATH  
came into the world. That through these 
means, in their effect upon the human body,  
however unpleasant may be the reflection, have  
been obtained the most precious materials of all  
the knowledge we possess whether of books or  
54 We learn from St. Paul that many of the early Christians,  
amongst other persecutions, were literally sawn asunder.


V  
of useful discoveries and improvements in gen-
eral. It is a source of great consolation how-
ever, to reflect that this protracted and pain- 
ful course of trial to which all souls are subject,  
—which has endured through so many ages,  
and may be said, if we go back to first princi- 
ples, to have had its origin and commencement 
from all eternity, is now drawing to a close. 
The object of it we are enabled to appreciate,  
viz: the accomplishment of our nature as Chris- 
tian beings, and the progress and development  
of creation through its several stages until the  
attainment of its ultimate end.  
It was the opinion of Baron Emanuel Swe- 
denborg that the purpose of the constitution of  
the visible universe is the formation of a heaven  
out of the human race ; our natures becoming so  
perfected that God will take pleasure in the  
work of his creation,—in this new heaven,  
inasmuch as we shall have attained to so 
great blessedness, and the tabernacle of God 
being with men. This opinion is justly  

222 228  
founded in an anticipation of that state of ulti- 
mate perfection at which all animate and inan- 
imate things were evidently destined to arrive.  
That the trials of mankind in the present stage of  
existence as preparatory thereto, are approach-
ing their termination, we deduce from one very  
striking]circumstance which will be conclusive to  
every enlightened mind, viz : the perfection of  
our language. Whoever has traced the  history  
of the English tongue from its first rudiments 
amid our Saxon ancestors, down to the age of  
Queen Elizabeth, cannot fail to perceive that  
its improvement has been a wOrk of gradual  
and progressive  development. Judging from  
the writings even of that period we should infer  
that it must then have been very inferior to  
what it is at present. How different  for exam- 
ple the stanzas of the "Fairy Queene" of  
Spenser from the Odes of Gray, or the poetry 
of the moderns! What a contrast do the quaint  
reports of Sir Thomas Raymond in the time of  
King Charles II. make beside the modern tomes


V  
of East and of Pickering ! It is little more than  
one hundred years since, that the expletive 
vowel e, sometimes preceded by  a consonant as  
in the word sonne, was used where it is now  
omitted, viz : in the same word—son ; and  
doubtless the intonation formerly used would  
sound equally barbarous to present ears. It was  
not until the reign of Queen Anne that the  
dawn of the present polished, language which 
we make use of may be said to have com- 
menced, but look at its improvement and perfec- 
tion in our day! What a compass and rich va- 
riety of expression it embraces! How capable  
of giving due effect to every thought or idea,  
however ingenious or intricate, whether it be in  
the lucubrations of the philosopher, the imagery  
of the poet, the tropes of the orator, or the nice  
distinctions of the philologist! Truly it may be  
said to have attained its great perfection ;—all  
attempts at innovation have by the purest  
writers been uniformly rejected, and it stands, 
as it was intended that it should, a model  

222 230  
of imitation to all succeeding ages ! This truth  
it is which furnishes the most conclusive of all  
/  
arguments, if any were wanting, that we have  
approximated that goal for which mankind  
have been contending ever since the creation of  
the world ; that we have run our race ;  that we  
have fought the good fight; and may we add,  
that we have kept the faith.  \  
This end then being accomplished, we are as- 
sured that finally, and the time is near at hand  
when, " God shall wipe away all tears from our  
eyes; and there shall be no mofe death, neither  
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any  
more pain, for the former things are passed a- 
way." Revelation, chapter xxi. verse 4. And  
in the twenty-second chapter of the some book,  
and at the third verse we find that " there shall  
be no more curse." The earth was cursed ori- 
ginally for our sakes, as we are told by God  
himself, and we read that the curse causeless  
shall not come. The object and good design of  
the Creator in having originally so ordered it,


232  
with a view that we should work out our own 
redemption, has accordingly been made apparent.  
That man may be considered as a constituent  
ray of universal light, deriving his nutriment,  
his power, and his knowledge from his position 
as such, is established by the researches of the  
celebrated French astronomers Mm. Biot and  
Arrago, in their Theory of the Decimalization of  
the Universe ; or why is it we would ask that 
he has five fingers on each hand, and five toes 
on each foot, if he was not formed out of and in  
express reference to it ? And does it not re- 
quire two hands, or two feet before the number  
can be squared F55 It will be easy to perceive then  
why man is formed with two hands, two feet, 
and two eyes,—the necessity of the social posi- 
tion of our kind requiring two bodies to per-
fect a spirit, to write a book or invent a dis- 
covery, and to raise a family, as well as to  
55 The quadrature of the circle is a proposition that has only  
been approximated, but never yet completely solved, and re- 
mains amongst the desiderata  of science.  

233  
quadrate their principle ; the Creator in his  
wisdom, having laid in the reciprocal necessi-
ties of individuals, the firmest ground-work of  
human society.  
Why further should the decimal principle  
particularly, be observed in our calculations—in  
our coinage, and as was proposed a few years  
since by the then Secretary of State at Wash- 
ington, in our weights and measures r5q It is be- 
cause it is the true principle of universal nature.  
According to the popular system of Chinese  
philosophy, the heavens and earth, together with  
all animate and inanimate things are but one  
principle, which is as universally diffused through  
nature as water through the -ocean. And can  
we account but on such a theory, for the fact 
that in certain machines the number of cogs to  
50 See the  Report to Congress on this subject by Hon. John  
Q. Adams. Weights and measures were totally unknown in ihe  
ages of innocence, when all the wants of man were supplied  
to the fullest extent of his desires and without limit! As an  
antagonist principle, the hundred weight is now fixed at 112  
pounds instead of 100 which its name implies, because forsooth  
the latter would be a decimal number!  
21


234  
revolve a wheel is required to be accurately  
decimal, or the revolution would not be com- 
plete ? From all which it is reasonable to con- 
clude that this principle is an inherent settled  
law of organic matter, modified it is true in a  
number of particulars, but entering into our be-
ing, our employment, our intercourse, our deal-
ings, and our pursuits. And further we may  
collect from an attentive survey of our own 
shape, that we bear, in many particulars, the  
most demonstrative evidence of this truth, as 
well as of our participation in the vast form, 
property arid characters of the universe,—of our  
situation as " fellow-workers"  with God  in the  
solution of its mysteries,—and of our rank as  
co-heirs with him and with his Christ of the 
unspeakable riches of his everlasting kingdom.  
How rich, how poor, how abject how august,  
How complicate, how wonderful is man !  
How passing wonder HE who made him such!  
Young's Night  Thoughts.  

CHAPTER X.  
f'i '; 4§ . Jr ' ' x  Conclusion.  
FROM the foregoing premises, it is but a rea- 
sonable consequence, and that warranted by the  
rules of just induction, that we deduce the fol- 
lowing corollaries, viz: That the signs of the 
times are numerous, concurring to establish the  
position of the near approach of the second ad- 
vent or coming of Christ, as promised and fore-
told, and the Millenium and end of the world, 
as prophesied in the Book of Revelation of St.  
John the Divine.- That seeing the awful na- 
ture of some of the events by  which that period  
is to be accompanied, the warnings of the apos- 
tles when our salvation is near, are peculiarly  
yvell timed, and should admonish us to walk so- 
berly and honestly. That the reduction in the


V 222  
price of fuel  and of flour57 are blessings by which  
the approach of that time has been ushered in.  
That the peculiar mildness of the past winter,  
operating a material change in the aspect of 
nature throughout the western world, is a fea- 
ture of halcyon days, to be expected on the ar-
rival of the Saviour of mankind. That the  
attention paid to the raising of silk with a view 
to its general introduction and use, is indicative  
of the approach of warmer seasons, of which  
the past summer may be considered as the com- 
mencement. That the introduction of rail-
roads and of steam navigation, by promoting  
speedy communication between central and 
remote points may be regarded as having in  
view some definite object and end, requiring a  
greater facility and rapidity of transit,—and that 
object,  Christ. That the abridgement of labor  
57 The visitation of Divine Providence upon England has  
since varied the fact, but not the reasoning, as the time had cer- 
tainly come when grain was cheap upon earth. Besides  
which the next season will, if  prophecy holds true, be much  
more abundant than the past.  

237  
by new discoveries and inventions, and the  
quickened  communication with Europe, by  
greatly reducing time and space, may be regard- 
ed as exponents of most powerful changes here- 
after. That the history and fate of Joanna  
Southcote, viz : as indicated by a morbid state of  
the omentum, from the word omen, (the ancient  
priests  prophesying from an inspection of this  
viscus,) may be regarded as a singular token of  
this latter age, in which accordingly the seals  
mentioned in the Apocalypse are opening to the 
world.  
That the great events which have occurred  
within the memory of the present generation,—  
the American revolution,—the French revolu-
tion,—and the emancipation of the South Am- 
erican colonies of Spain, have manifestly tend-
ed to develope the cause of the Redeemer, and  
to realize those prophesies which were to be 
fulfilled antecedently to his second coming  upon  
earth. That the various ameliorations in  the  
state of Society,—the measure of Parlia- 
21 *


V  
mentary. Reform—of Roman Catholic eman- 
cipation,—the relief of the dissenters,—the  
exertions in favor of the Jews,—the total  
abolition of slavery in the British colonies,— 
the exertions of Missionary, Bible, Tract,  
Anti-Slavery and Prison Discipline Socie- 
ties,—the introduction of Sabbath Schools, of  
Primary and of Infant Schools,—the establish- 
ment of the American Board of Education,—  
of Temperance and Anti-Tobacco Societies,—  
of Savings Banks,—the Abolition of Imprison-
ment for Debt,—the salutary Revision of the  
Laws,—the mitigation of the Criminal Code,—  
the correction of abuses in Municipal Corpora- 
tions,—the commutation of Church Rates,—  
the improvements in the Administration, Cloth- 
ing and Equipments of the Armies of the differ- 
ent powers,—the assimilation of the Turkish  
Janissaries to the forces of Europe,—and espe- 
cially the great modern discovery of VACCINE 
INOCULATION,—exhibit an unexampled career of  
improvement within the last half century more  

222 238  
particularly, and have wonderfully contributed 
to the same end. That these are to be regard- 
ed as special preparatives for the approach of  
the blessed state called Millenium we can-
not doubt, especially when we consider the pe- 
culiar nature of some'of them,—the spreading 
of the Gospel as indispensable to the coming of  
our Lord, and the reform of drunkards, who  
as such, we are told, cannot see God.—  
That considering the sources of our knowl- \  
edge, the inference is plain, viz \ that extraor- 
dinary means must have been at work upon this  
earth, expressly with a view to the benefit of  
the human family, and to prepare the world  
for the development of those scenes  which are  
about to be disclosed. That the benevolence and 
liberality of the present age may be regarded as  
indicative of a great change in  the temper of  
mankind, fitting them for the reception of a 
Divine Ruler; whilst the introduction of Chris- 
tianity into the empire of China, and the re- 
cent awakenings on the subject of religion, are  

W


240  
more immediate symptoms of the near approach  
of so very desirable an event.  
That the war with the Lamb mentioned in  
the Apocalypse, supposes the existence of hos-
tilities upon earth, and that the fall of Babylon  
the great, implies the fate of a city remaining  
to be accomplished. That on the principle of  
all-pervading justice, America must one day or  
other invade and lay waste the capital of the 
British empire, (which is the city alluded to,) in 
return for a similar act perpetrated by a British  
expedition in 1814, on the city of Washington,  
the capital of the United States,—a measure of  
retribution that may be expected to follow as 
certainly as the occupation of Moscow7 by the  
French army in 1812, under the Emperor Na- 
poleon, was repaid by the capitulation of Paris  
and its possession by the Russians in 1814.  
That the Lamb being revealed in the taberna- 
cle of David, implies a connection with the ar- 
my of the United States ; and that in the  pro- 
gress of the war, the Canadas will acknowledge  

M \ / - 1  
241  
the sacred Banner of the Cross, inasmuch as  
" the kingdoms of this world are to become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." That  
from sundry passages of Scripture, we have  
reason to believe1 a highway will be opened  
across the ocean, in order .that the destiny of  
the kings of the east may be prepared, and the  
means of reaching the modern Babylon facili- 
tated. That the Hindoo system of belief in- 
duces the expectation that the victories of  
the Lamb will be extended over the east, and  
the corroborating prophecy of Virgil, spoliis  
orientis onastum, exactly fulfilled. That the 
kings of the earth, the allies of the great city, 
will assemble together to battle, and that the fate  
of the world may be expected to be sealed in 
the field of Armageddon,  
That by the extensive spread of Temperance  
principles, there is good reason to believe this  
nation, in many respects peculiarly favored by  
Divine Providence, has invoked the blessing of  
plenteous harvests. That these principles are


V 222  
essential to the perfection of our race—to the  , #  
accomplishment  of passages of Scripture—to  
that degree of holiness which alone can be ex- 
pected to overcome evil; and if it should please  
Divine Providence that the cause of America be  
maintained and asserted with success, Tem-
perance must be the agent through which  
it is to be accomplished. That before Christ  
can come, the reformation of drunkards must  
be complete; and that with a view to these  
several objects, the State of Massachusetts has 
a duty to perform, and the Congress of the  
United States a wise and a holy policy to  
adopt.  
That the period has arrived when  " the earth  
shall give forth its increase," as promised ; that  
the change in the temperature of the seasons 
may be expected to favor the introduction  of  
tropical fruits and other productions among us ;  
that a wise economy has been consulted by  
bestowing a bounty on the production of wheat,  
which may be expected ere long to wave on ev- 

243  
ery hill and valley, and that grain, from the exu-
berance of the crops, may be calculated as fore- 
told to become very reasonable upon earth ; but  
that sobriety, it is observed, is essential to the 
uninterrupted enjoyment of its abundance.  
That the city of Boston,  as being the seat of  
a very important spiritual work, must possess  
certain characteristics which entitle it to this 
special distinction, and we may here mention  
that the reason why the prophet Elijah was  
stationed near Boston in 1828 in the capacity of  
a surgeon wag, because when the son of the  
woman of Sarepta died, he requested that to  
him might be given  the key of the resurrection  
of the dead. Accordingly his services were ac- 
tually connected with this very subject, when  
« the sea gave up the dead which were in it,"  
at the scene on Castle Island. That this city 
is in many respects distinguished, particularly  
by its exemption  from the cholera, at a time  
when raging in other places ; that it was the  
spot appointed for the residence of the woman


244  
mentioned in the Book of Revelation as bring- 
ing forth " a man child who was to rule all na- 
tions with a rod of iron," and that it is sup- 
posed to contain within itself elements preg-
nant with unspeakable consequences to man- 
kind.  
That the time has arrived when the predic- 
tions contained  in the Sybilline Leaves are to be  
fulfilled ; that the minute and in many respects  
remarkable prophecies of Daniel have been ac- 
complished to the very letter. That the ap- 
pearance of Neckar in France—the orHn  to  
and successes of the Emperor Napoleon—his  
invasion of Egypt, the treaty of Tilsit,—the ad-
vance of the Spaniards against him,—and the  
victorious march of the Russians into the heart  
of France—together with his ultimate downfall  
and unassisted fate, have severally come to pass.  
That the Archangel Michael has stood up at  
that time ; that the works connected with the  
appearance of the Ancient of Days have been  
revealed; the encampment mentioned in the  

• \ ' • 'f 1  
245  
Book of the prophet Zechariah has been estab- 
lished ; and many of the transactions detailed 
in the Second Book of  the prophet Esdras com- 
pletely verified. That the " time of trouble" 
mentioned by the prophet and also by the evan- 
gelists, refers to the state of exorcism in which 
the world was placed from 1819 to 1832.  
That from an attentive examination of the  
Book of Revelation58 it appears that the prophe- 
cies contained in it are those the fulfilment of  
which the world has been and is now experi- 
encing, as the vision of the four and twenty  
elders, pointing in 1828 to a spiritual represent-
ation of the senate of the United States—like  
that of ancient Rome the most august delib- 
erative assembly in the known world, and  
connected with events of the highest moment at  
58 A Key to tho Revelation was published at the city of  
Washington, in 1825, by Major-General Smyth, then a member  
of Congress from Virginia. To those who look into the sin- 
gular coincidences manifested in the works of Divine Provi- 
dence. it will appear remarkable that this gefieral officer should  
be the same who during the late war issued a proclamation  
threatening the conquest of the Canadas and the occupation of  
Montreal. See page 55.  
22


\  
V 222  
the latter end of the time. That the triumphs  
of the Gospel are to be seen in the victories of  
St. Matthew ; that the period of the late eclipse,  
the approaching comet, and the annual falling of  
the stars in  the month of November are dis- 
tinctly alluded to, and intended to be identified, so  
that the time spoken of should be compared.and  
recognized as the same we are now experienc- 
ing, with a view to our amendment. And that  
the great prophecies with one main exception, 
viz : the preaching of the Gospel unto  all nations,  
having been accomplished antecedent to the ap- 
pearance of the Saviour, the second advent  
may now very soon  be expected to take place.  
That the coming of the Messiah is an event  
promised of the Lord, foretold by Christ him- 
self, and mentioned in sundry passages of Holy  
Writ. That the period is described, as that  
when England shall be deprived of both her  
kings, viz : George IV. and William IV. That  
the winters shall be mild in those days; that  
many miracles will mark his progress ; that he  
will cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the  

247  
lame to walk, and the dumb to speak; and that  
all nature may be expected to be very sensibly 
benefited by his presence. That his origin  
shall be from Europe, but that he shall be re-
vealed in America ; that his coming will be at- 
tended with slaughter, which is highly probable,  
by reason of unbelief, his origin being lowly  
and attended with so much humility as scarce- 
ly to be credited, but admitting of dispute.—  
That there is a paramount reason for this mod- 
eration, viz : that the poor should be comforted,  
and sinners justified.  
That the invasion of the city of Washington  
in 1814, is distinctly alluded to after the expira- 
tion of the thousand years, when Satan was 
loosed out of his prison; and that it is to be  
concluded the returning state of Paradise will  
be subject to no future interruption, but endure  
as prophesied forever and ever. That though  
V  
the world is to be destroyed by fire,59 yet it is  
59 The earth  also and the works that are therein, shall be  
burnt up. 2 Peter, chapter JII. veise 10.


V 
stated there shall be a new  heaven and a  
new earth, and that consequently all the fears  
connected with the belief that the world is  to  
come to an end, or that the world is to be des- 
troyed by fire, are groundless so far as the des- 
tiny of the good is concerned, although the sup- 
position may operate as a terror to evil doers.60  
That the joys which belong to Paradise are in- 
describable, as acknowledged by Milton and ad- 
mitted by St. Paul, being such as are not to be  
adequately conceived ; and that the utmost ex- 
tent of our defined wishes or hopes, falls far  
short of the reality, inasmuch as they are infi-
nite.  
That youth is the form we shall hereafter as- 
sume in our immortal state, when the value of  
evil will be fully unveiled, and our sins will be  
requited in a manner best appreciated by the  
love of Angels.  
60 Behold I create new heavens'and a new earth :  
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind,  
chapter LXV. verse 17.  

and the  
Isaiah,  

222 248  
That the appearance of certain works of late,  
such as the Vision of Judgment, Armageddon,  
and the Lord of the Bright City or the New-
Jerusalem, may be considered as an omen of,  
and an introduction to, the return of a state of 
Paradise upon earth, and that the prophecy of  
Saturnian times is about to be fulfilled, to  
which the present relaxation of the usual ac- 
tivity of trade and business is supposed to be  
preparatory.  
That the discipline to which the soul of man  
j is subject is necessarily very severe,—that the  
principle of the transmigration of souls61 is alone  
compatible with the doctrine of a state of fu-
ture rewards and punishments, and together  
with the mutation of sex, indispensable to the 
due Christianization of both males and females.  
That castigation is generally the consequence  
61 A work called " Jlrmatasignifying  armed men, was pub- 
lished a few years ago, attributed to the late Lord Erskine. We  
would only remark on this point, that the present danger of  
Great Britain proceeds from the revolutionary struggle in this  
country, the slain of that time appearing again, on the principle  
that " blood will have blood."


V 222  
of this step,  or else punishment of some des- 
cription, whence the long catalogue of human  
sufferings; but the greater the torture of the  
body, the more the merit spiritually considered, 
and the more valuable the result; and that to 
this result we are indebted for all our know- 
ledge of books and of discoveries in science and 
art. That our food, after contributing to the  
gratification of the palate, undergoes the pro-
cess of mastication and digestion, whence it  
becomes a part of universal matter; that after  
being duly rayed by spirits for that purpose, it  
contributes, as wisely ordered by the Creator, to  
the power and information of man, thus ena- 
bling him  to solve, by degrees, through the me- 
dium of the gratification of his natural appetites, 
the vast and interesting problem of his own and  
this world's existence.  /  
" A mighty maze, but not without a plan."  
That the original cause of all  the sufferings  
we experience is founded in the necessity of  
the social position of our kind in society,—a  

251  
necessity demonstrated by a reference to our  
own frame, which partaking also of the decimal  
character of the universe, shows that we are a  
constituent part of it, and " fearfully and won- 
derfully made." That a conclusive argument in  
favor of the near approach of the consummation  
of all things, is to be found in the perfection of  
our language—from which it is reasonable to  
infer that this object being attained, the neces- 
sity of any farther suffering in the present state  
of existence, must soon be superseded.  
The expectation of mankind on the subject  
of the second coming oPChrist, and of a state  
of universal happiness on earth, is becoming very  
general in our day. The practise of the Jews  
whenever it thunders and lightens, in opening  
their windows and watching in every direction  
the slightest symptom of the approach of their 
Messiah, has been already alluded to. Other in- 
dications there  are besides those which we have  
already noticed, shewing the interest that is felt  
in all particulars connected with this soul-stir-


252  
ring subject. The pencil of the artist has been  
employed to give effect to Scriptural  scenes sup- 
posed to be more or less applicable to the time,  
among which we may mention the " Opening of  
the Sixth Seal," recently exhibited in this city ;  
" the Witch of  Endor," by Sir David Wilkie,  
R. A. ; " Christ Healing the Sick in the tem- 
ple at Jerusalem," by our countryman Sir Ben- 
jamin West, President of the Royal Academy,  
and which is now in the Pennsylvania Hospital;  
" Christ Rejected," by the same hand ; also  
" Death on the Pale Horse," to which Spirit it  
is remarkable that Lacfy West was destined to  
become a victim, having died of the cholera in  
London a few years ago. The « Court of  
Death," is a picture that was exhibited some 
time since in this city. Hayden's picture of  
" the Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem," is de- 
servedly celebrated, and another on the same  
subject was painted a few years after by Colo- 
nel Sargent, a poet  whose productions were fa- 
miliar to many under the signature of the Bos- 

V /  
253  
ton Bard. To which may be added " Adam 
and Eve," by Duboufe, and " Cain and Abel." 
From these striking exhibitions, we are led 
to conjecture why all this curiosity is felt  
in relation to the matters of which they  
treat, and to augur still more, when we look  
at the intentions of Divine Providence in direct- 
ing the public attention to such objects.  
- Mention has already been made of the exer- 
tions in favor of the Jews in the British parlia-
ment. A proposition for the purchase of the  
site of the modern city of Jerusalem, including  
the circumjacent country, with a view to the  
restoration of the Jewish people to the Holy  
Land, was made a few years since by Baron  
Rothschild, the rich Hebrew banker in London, 
but proved unsuccessful, and that for a reason  
to be found in page 150.  
It may also be remembered that a project  was  
set on foot by Major Noah, of New York, 
who is no other than the patriarch Noah of old,  
for the purchase of Grand-Island, situated on


254  
Lake Erie, with a view to the establishment  
of a city of refuge, to be inhabited by Jews,—  
supposed to have been in consequence of the  
importance attached to the tradition relative  
to the appearance of a Jew upon a certain isl-
and in the new world.  
These circumstances, like the instance of La- 
dy Esther Stanhope, are noticed more with a  
view to shew the state of the public feeling, 
than as any direct evidences of the coming of  
Christ, or the approach of the Millenium—  
events however of which ministers of religion,  » b , '  
who are instant in prayer, declare that they  
perceive many and sure prognostics.  
If, notwithstanding all this body of testimo- 
ny, the reader should still feel unconvinced 
in relation to the purpose for which we origin- 
ally set out, viz : to establish the near approx- 
imation of the Millenium, especially by the ac- 
complishment of those events which were to  
precede it; the second advent or coming of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the restor- 

255" - 
ation of a state of Paradise upon earth, let him 
look abroad upon universal nature and seriously  
put to himself these questions :—If he does not 
feel the approach of a Millenium even in the state  
of the seasons ? if he sees it not in the compar- 
tive leisure and rest which pervade all society ?  
and if he does not expect it from the signs of  
Revelation? May the Spirit of God inspire  
our hearts with holy wisdom in this season of  
our probation ; awake our minds to a due sense  
of the sacred promises of the Gospel, and enlight- 
en our understandings as to the proper import of  
their truths. Then shall we be best prepared  
for our entrance upon such a state ; —then shall  
we have obeyed the divine summons " Be ye  
also ready."  
There is one great inference to be drawn from  
all that has been advanced in the course of the  
preceding remarks, of the truth of which the  
most indifferent spectator of the events trans- 
piring in the world at large must we think be  
satisfied, and that is the conviction that Amer- 

y


V 222  
ica is destined by Divine Providence to be the 
theatre, in our day, of some very great, striking 
and extraordinary events. The eyes of all  
Europe,—of the world, have long been fixed 
upon this country as one in which a form of  
government securing to the people the great- 
est possible enjoyment of rational liberty is in- 
terestingly conducted ; whilst the Christian 
never fails to recal the labors of Wesley and of  
Whitefield in their transatlantic fold, as inspiring 
an ardent sympathy for the Church of Christ 
distributed over every quarter of this Gospel 
land. In addition to which, the most intense  
interest is felt on the part of the people abroad,63 
and of England particularly, from whom we 
sprung, in all the doings of their American  
brethren; and though narrowed by jealousy,  
62 An European gentleman of property, resident at Madras,  
in the East Indies, soon after the American.revolution, avow- 
ed it to be his highest object of ambition in this life to be-
come a member of the Congress of the United States. He  
repaired to America, became an American citizen, and ob- 
tained a seat accordingly. The representative in question  
was a bachelor, and of a retired contemplative turn of mind.  

257  
yet a perception of the intelligence and consider- 
ation properly to be ascribed to their fac  similes  
of the new world,—a world speaking the same 
language and eminently distinguished in the same  
career of improvement with themselves, prompts  
them to look with the most lively curiosity up-
on, and to open the cordial heart of hospitality  
to, an American citizen. We could say more,  
but suffice it to observe the impression is gen- 
eral, that America is rising deservedly high in  
the estimation of the nations of the earth,—  
that it contains within itself all the elements of a  
great and wonderful country, inhabited by a peo-
ple eminently blessed and peculiarly favored by  
Divine Providence ; and that as such, its mi- 
nutest developments are deserving the liberal  
attention of the enlightened in every portion of  
the globe.  
And now when we review the gospel testi- 
mony of the works which have occurred, or are  
occurring, and yet remain to be accomplished  
in this latter time ;—when we contemplate the  
23  
#


V  
prospect of a speedy realization of all known 
prophecy  in our day, we are naturally led to re- 
flect upon our own condition as distinguished  
from that of our predecessors in all former his-
tory. If we look back through the different  
ages of the world from the present period up  
to the Christian era,  we shall find that our posi- 
tion is indeed a very singular one,—being no  
less than this, that out of so many myriads and  
chiliads of chiliads of beings who have existed  
in all long time, we alone are the surviving few  
who are appointed to be present at these scenes. 
Races of our fellow creatures have lived and 
died,—generation after generation has passed  
away in ages of comparative darkness, sustain-
ed it is true by the promises of the Gospel, but 
cheered only by that hope which attends a real- 
ity in the distance : whereas to us is unfolded  
a nearer and more intimate view of these eter-
nal objectsblessings which should inspire our  
hearts with thankfulness to the Supreme Dis-
poser of all events for his loving-kindness and  
©  

222 258  
mercy in having spared our lives to be the  
witnesses of his glory, and to bear testimony to  
the perfection of his Almighty works. We  
thank thee, heavenly Father, that thou hast so  
ordered it that we should be of the number of  
those who stand upon the earth at this latter  
time; that we are enabled to see with our eyes,  
and to hear with our ears, the wonderful things  
that thou hast purposed, and of which thou hast  
spoken by thy servants the prophets of old.—  
We would pour forth our tribute of praise and  
of gratitude to thee, in that our lot is cast in a  
season of light,  of religion, and of the accom- 
plishment of the objects of the immortal gos- 
pel of thy Son Jesus Christ; that we are en- 
abled to testify to the truth of those prophecies  
which have been handed down to our times, and  
to be the living evidences of the fulfilment of  
thy holy word. Grant we beseech thee, if it  
shall be thy good pleasure, that our lives may  
be prolonged unto the issue of that eventful pe- 
riod which is now impending over the world,—


V 222  
that having experienced the protection of thy 
saving arm, and the tokens of thy Almighty  
love, we may be enabled to say with the devout  
Simeon : " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant  
depart  in peace, according to thy word, for mine  
eyes have seen thy salvation." St. Luke,  
chapter n. verses 29  and 30.  
When we review the several topics dis- 
cussed in the foregoing pages, and awake to a  
certainty of the near approach \)f the coming of  
Christ, we are naturally led to weigh within  
ourselves whether we are duly prepared to 
meet his presence, and what steps are best to  
be adopted in contemplation of that event.—  
Let us then inquire whether in our own hearts  
we stand right'with God ?—that is, whether we  
are habitually impressed with a due sense of  
his omnipotence, attributes and perfections ?—  
Whether we form a proper estimate of Christ,  
and look up to him as the Great Author and 
Finisher of our faith,—the blessed Mediator,  
the Divine Redeemer of mankind ? If we  

261  
feel a holy zeal on these two subjects, we  may  
be assured that our heart is in the right place,  
—that we are piously and religiously disposed, 
which is a very  material point. Let us next  
proceed to compare our lives with the great  
standard of the Gospel, as furnishing the most 
accurate test to which they can possibly be  
submitted. Let us begin by asking ourselves, 
Do we  in obedience to its injunctions, love  
our neighbor as ourself, and endeavor to do 
unto others as we would they should do unto  
us P Do we observe the precept " owe no  
man any thing ? " Do we walk soberly and  
honestly,—that is conscientiously ? Are we  
given to charity, according to our means ? Do  
we feel commiseration  for the wrongs of Af- 
rica, and for her children yet in a state of bon- 
dage in our land ? Do we abound in good  
works ? Do we follow the commandments ?  
Do we keep holy the Sabbath day ? Do we  
see that our man-servant, our maid-servant, and  
23 *


V 222  
our cattle63 do no  manner of work on that day ?  
Have we set our house in order ?—that is, have  
we rendered it the abode of peace,—of holi- 
ness,—of regularity,—and seen that no forbid-
den thing be allowed to enter therein .which  
may go to counteract these virtues ? Do we  
assist by our endeavors in bringing about  
the Redeemer's kingdom upon earth ? Are we 
by our inquiries, our conversation, our influence,  
and our exertions active in promoting it ? If  
wealthy, do we visit the sick, clothe the naked, 
and feed the hungry ? Desirous of facilitating  
011 our parts the approach of the Saviour, do we 
have a concern for, and contribute to, the cause  
of Missionary exertions ? Do we make it our  
business to inquire what nations have as yet 
been unvisited by the cheering revelation of the  
Gospel, and ascertain and desire to remove the  
63 Medical persons having occasion to travel in the way of  
their profession, are understood to be exempt from this injunc-
tion, on the ground that Christ himself healed the sick on the  
Sabbath day.  

263  
obstacles which impede it ? Furthermore, do  
we search the Scriptures with a view to un- 
derstand our duties, and having ascertained  
in what they consist, do we faithfully and per- 
severingly perform them ? In this work of self- 
examination,64 let us seriously ask ourselves  
these questions, and if when fairly answered at  
the bar of our own conscience, any object 
should appear remaining unfulfilled, let us  
earnestly apply ourselves to remedy that 
which is deficient, so that at the coming of  
Christ, whenever it shall take place, we may  
not be found wanting. May the spirit of our  
Divine Redeemer direct us in our endeavors,— 
allay all jealousies,—and guide the hearts of 
his followers to the accomplishment of those ob- 
jects which may forward his arrival upon earth;  
may every good work be favored by the aus- 
pices of his grace, and matured by the influ- 
64 The reader, if he need instruction, will find it in a work  
entitled " The Convert's Guide," by Rev. T. Merritt, author of  
the " Christian's Manual."


264  
ence of his blessing; and may we be deemed  
an acceptable ^people in his sight, not only as  
followers of the Word but doers of it also,—a  
people worthy of that vocation wherewith we  
are called.  
Now TO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON,  
AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST, BE ASCRIBED AS IS  
MOST DUE, ALL HONOR, PRAISE, GLORY, MIGHT, 
MAJESTY AND DOMINION, HENCEFORTH AND  
- FOREVERMORE. AMEN.  
APPENDIX.


\  
APPENDIX.  
DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST.—What- 
ever relates to the person of Christ must be deemed  
of more than ordinary interest at this particular season ;  
the attention of the reader is therefore requested to the  
following extract from JOSEPHUS, the Jewish historian,  
whose accuracy is universally admitted, as furnishing,  
with the document annexed to it, the most minute descrip- 
tion of the Saviour any where extant.  
" Now there was about this time, (while Pontius Pilate  
was Procurator of Judea,) one JESUS, a wise man, if it be  
proper to call him a man, for he performed many wonder- 
ful works, and a teacher of those who receive the truth 
with pleasure. He drew after him many bpth of the  
Jews and Gentiles. He was supposed by some to be the 
CHRIST. When Pilate at the instance of the Jewish ru- 
lers and priests condemned him to the cross, those who  
loved him did not forsake him. He appeared to them  
alive again the third day, as the Holy Prophets had fore- 
told." JOSEPHUS.  
Letter from Publius Lentulus to the Senate of Rome  
concerning Jesus Christ.  
" There appeared, in these days, a man of great virtue  
named Jesus Christ, who is yet living among us, and of  
the Gentiles is accepted for a prophet of truth, but his


V 222  
disciples call him the Son of God. He raiseth the dead,  
and cureth all manner of diseases. A man of stature  
somewhat tall, and comely, with a very reverend coun- 
tenance, expressing both love and fear. His hair is of the  
color of a chesnut fully ripe, plain to the ears, whence  
downward it is more orient, curling and waving about his  
shoulders. In the midst of his head is a seam or partition  
of his hair, after the manner of the Nazarites. The fore-
head plain and very delicate. His face without a spot or-
wrinkle, beautiful, with a lovely red. His nose and  
mouth are formed as nothing can be reprehended. His  
beard thickish, in color like his hair, not very long, but  
forked. His look innocent and natural. His eyes grey,  
clear and quick. In reproving he is terrible, in admon- 
ishing very courteous, and fair spoken. Pleasing in con- 
versation, mixed with gravity. It cannot be remember-
ed that any have seen him laugh, but many have seen 
him weep. In proportion of body most excellent. His  
hands and arms most delectable to behold. In living  
very temperate, modest and wise. A man for his singu- 
lar beauty, surpassing the children of men."  
So in Psalms XLV. verse 2 we find " Thou art fairer  
than the children of men, grace is poured into thy lips."  
Publius Lentulus at the time when this letter was written  
was President of Judea, and Tiberius Csesar, Emperor of  
Rome; hence the Latin saying, Imperante Avgusio natus  
est Christus, Imperante Tiberio est c/ ucijixus.  
EMIGRATION OF THE LOST TRIBES TO AMERICA.—The  
first peopling of America is supposed to have had its ori- 

269  
gin in the migration of certain tribes of Israel, who sep- 
arated themselves from their brethren, and whose doings  
have been already alluded to as described in the Second 
Book of the prophet Esdras. The following is the pas- 
sage in question, and remarkably confirms this belief, as  
well as some of our previous lights on the subject  of their  
destiny:  
" And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another  
peaceable multitude unto him; those are the ten tribes  
which were carried away prisoners out of their own  
land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the  
king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them  
over the waters, and so came they into another land.— 
But they took this counsel among themselves, that they  
would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth  
into a further country, where never mankind dwelt,—  
that they might there keep their statutes, which they  
* never kept in their own land. And they entered into  
Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river. For the 
Most High then shewed signs for them, and held -still the  
flood, till they were passed over. For through that coun- 
try there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a  
half: and the same region is called Arsareth, [America.]  
Then dwelt they there until the^latter time; and now 
when they shall begin to come, the Highest shall stay 
the springs of the stream again, that they may go  
through, therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace."  
2 Esdras, chapter xm. verses 39 to 47.  
Upon reading this passage, we are induced to infer that  
by a special intervention of Divine Providence, they  
' . 24


V 222  
were enabled to cross from Asia to a " further country,"  
and as it would appear, on dry land. That this country 
must have been America there is little doubt, because it  
is described as a land where never mankind dwelt, where- 
as all the countries of Asia from which they came were 
known to be inhabited. The distance too, namely of a  
year and a half, renders it still more probable, and finally 
the region being called Arsareth, is the same appellation  
which the Angels give to this country, in speaking of  
America.  
In a marginal note upon the above quotation from  
the prophet Esdras we find a  reference to the seventeenth  
chapter of the Second Book of Kings, which for the sake 
of connection we will partly introduce:  
" In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Ho- 
shea the son of Elali to reign in Samaria over Israel nine  
years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of  
the Lord, but not as the  kings of Israel that were before  
him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria;  
and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.  
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Sa- 
maria, and carried Israel away into Assyria. For so  
it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the  
Lord their God, which had brought thefn ify out of the  
land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of  
Egypt, and had feared other gods. And walked in the  
statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from be- 
fore the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel,  
which they had made, and went after the heathen that  
were round about them. And they left all the com- 

271  
mandments of the Lord their God, and made them mol- 
ten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and  
worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. So  
they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the  
lowest of them65 priests of the high places, which sacrificed  
for them in the houses of the high places. They feared  
the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of  
the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto  
this day they do after the former manners: Neither 
do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances,  
or after the law and commandment which the Lord 
commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named  
Israel. So these nations feared the Lord, and served  
their graven images, both their children, and their chil- 
dren's children : As did their fathers, so do they unto this  
day"  
In this chapter we are made acquainted with the idol- 
atry of the Jews, and learn of the tribes who were carri- 
ed away captive, that" unto this day they do after the for- 
mer manners, and not after their statutes, or after their or- 
dinances, or after the law and commandment which the 
Lord commanded the children of Jacob whom he named  
Israel." That is, they do not observe the Jewish rites  
and ceremonies. " So these nations feared the Lord,  
and served their graven images, both their children and  
their children's children, as did their fathers, so do they  
unto this day." This doubtless refers to the aborigines  
65 It is a remarkable fact that in the Convent of the Visitation at  
Georgetown, to inculcate humility, the youngest Nun is always the Lady  
Superior.


V 222  
of America, who worship the Great Spirit, and " serve  
graven images," still continuing to do so to this day as  
heathens in the country to which their forefathers, the  
Jews, first emigrated,—an opinion corroborated by that 
of Major Noah, of New York, whose judgment on  
the subject is entitled to very great respect. He states  
his belief that the lost tribes of Israel must have found  
their way to this country, and that the Indians of North  
America are the descendants of these very tribes.  
A publication appeared a few years ago from the pen of  
Captain William Burney, R. N. shewing that from cer- 
tain indications in the aspects of the respective continents  
of Asia and  America, there existed strong ground for  
belief that they must, at some period or other, have been  
joined together by a narrow isthmus or strait. This will  
serve to explain the method of communication, and the 
route by which the separated tribes of Israel were con- 
ducted hither by the hand of the Almighty.  
Subsequently they appear to have been followed by  
successive adventurers across the Pacific ocean,—an ocean  
as its name implies, so little subject to storms as to admit of  
the passage being made in open canoes; a fact which we  
infer from the following circumstance: Providence direct- 
ed to these shores during the late war with Great Britain  
the footsteps of a general officer—Brigadier-General John  
P. Boyd, who had formerly served in the campaigns  
against HyderAli and his son Tippoo Saib, in the East  
Indies, and who readily met with employment on the 
ground that none so proper, having experience and  
understanding of the Indian character, to contend  with  

273  
the enemy in the west, as one who had been accustomed  
to Indian warfare against the wily Asiatics of the east, 
of whom a poetical  writer has said ." the eye must  
mark every contorsion of the serpent, and the hand be  
ever fixed on the sword." The battle of Tippecanoe,  
in the present State of Indiana,66—a battle in which he  
proved himself a match for the cunning and duplicity of the 
Indian foe, established the fame of the general, and indi- 
cated by its name the purpose for which he was sent,  
viz: to meet with other Tippoos in the western world,  
who crossing in their canoes from Asia, transmitted the  
same qualities, the same complexion, and the same heath- 
enism into their descendants of the forest.  
EVANGELIZATION  OF CHINA.—Since the foregoing pages  
were committed to the press, a work has reached this coun- 
try written by an agent of the London Missionary Society, 
in which is held out the gratifying prospect of the speedy  
evangelization of the empire of China,—that country in  
which only a few years ago the Rev. Dr. Morrison, a Mis-
sionary sent out by the English East India Company, was  
shut up in an iron cage and exhibited about, from town to  
town, for the amusement of the native populace. The re- 
pugij^nce hitherto of the Chinese to the reception of Chris-
tianity is plausibly supported by a reference to the discrep- 
ancy subsisting between the doctrine and the example of  
6G This name containing within itself that of India, throws some light  
on the former services of General Boyd, and gives the origin of the 
name of " Indian."


274  •  
some of its followers; on which account it behoves the na- 
tions of Christendom to see that their principles and their  
practice keep strictly in unison with e'ach other. For 
what shall we think of a people whose religion professes 
to impart eternal benefit'to its believers, and whose cu- 
pidity at the same time leads them to demoralize the  
heathen, by clandestinely introducing amongst them the  
intoxicating drug of opium ? Tlie English in this res-
pect have much, very much, to answer for.  
THE LAW OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.—Christ, it is well  
known, over-ruled the severity of the Mosaic law in the  
case of the woman taken in adultery, and is an example to  
us of the superior beauty and wisdom of a spirit of chari- 
ty. In his judgment on that occasion we know not which  
most to admire—the profound wisdom of the understanding 
of our Saviour, or the divine benevolence of his heart.  
The law of Moses has been often quoted as an au- 
thority for our existing statute in cases of murder; but 
though well enough adapted to the early stages of Jewish  
society, yet its mitigation in our day seems to be called for  
by the more improved and conciliatory spirit of the age.  
What ! legalize murder—for we can view capital punish- 
ment in  no other light than as murder authorized-% hen  
the labors of the criminal (clearly forfeit for life) might  
be usefully and profitably employed in hammering or  
sawing stone for the benefit of that society whom he hath  
offended ? It appears by the returns of the Warden of  
the prison at Charlestown, that the work of the in- 

275  
mates, of that institution annually produces a consider- 
able profit to the State. This however is but a second- 
ary consideration compared with others, such as the  
adaptation of punishment to the prevention of crime, the  
slow growth of man, the youth of the country, and the  
necessity of preserving all souls to labor in its defence.  
That incarceration for life is more an object of dread  
than a summary execution on the gibbet, is found in 
the unbiassed confessions of the convict himself; and 
how much wiser and more humane to afford him an oppor- 
tunity to atone, and leisure to repent, than cruelly to revenge  
ourselves upon the life of erring man ! " Vengeance is  
mine, I will repay, saith the Lord."  
But there is another reason for this legislation in  
cases of murder, and that is, from what does it spring ?  
Providence has told us if we could only read it, in 
the fact that, Basil Montagu, Esq., an eminent chan- 
cery counsel, was at the head of a society for abolish- 
ing capital punishment in England. This gentleman  
is the son of the late Earl of Sandwich, by a lady pos-
sessing great personal charms, of which a rival lover  
became so deeply  enamoured, that despairing in his hopes  
he was driven to the desperate step of taking her life by  
shooting her with a pistol. Now w hat was the origin of  
this extraordinary act of murder but LOVE ? And if we  
could only understand the whole subject thoroughly, we  
should be satisfied that the most atrocious murders may 
ultimately be ascribed to the self-same object. See pages 
200 and 243. Heaven selects the fittest instruments for


276  
the designation and accomplishment of its mysterious ends;  
and in this instance has remarkably illuminated the path  
of justice. Let us then with this more exalted knowl- 
edge revealed before our eyes, proportion the punishment  
to the intrinsic character of the deed, discard the odium  
of the law, and prove ourselves to be Christians in mercy  
as well as in wisdom.  
APOLOGY.—With a simple apology for the foregoing  
work, we will now conclude, entirely coinciding in the  
view of God's Providence made manifest in the occa- 
sional revelations of his word, viz : The Rev. Mr. Robin- 
son the transatlantic pastor of the Puritans, charged them  
that if God should reveal any thing to them by any other  
instrument of his, to be as ready to receive it as they were 
to receive any truth from him; for he was confident that  
the Lord had more truth and light yet to break out\of his  
holy word.



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