then prepared for the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and was made a fit vessel to receive the true Spirit of Christ, and to revive and bring to light his perfect law of righteousness for the direction and salvation of all souls who were willing to obey her testimony; and here commenced the real manifestation of Christ's second appear

ance.

From this time the light and power of God revealed in Ann, and through her administered to those who received her testimony, had such sensible effect in giving them power over all sin, and filling them with visions, revelations and other gifts of God, that she was readily acknowledged as their spiritual Mother in Christ. Hence she received the title of Mother* and hence those of the society who received and obeyed her testimony, found a great increase in the power and gifts of God; while on the other hand, those who rejected it, lost all their former light and power, and fell back into a state of darkness, and into the common course of the world.

By the immediate revelation of Christ she henceforth bore an open testimony against the lustful gratifications of the flesh, as the source and foundation of human corruption; and testified, in the most plain and pointed manner, that no soul could follow Christ in the regeneration, while living in the works of natural generation, or in any of the gratifications of lust. Her testimony was often delivered with such mighty power of God, accompanied with such a heart-searching and soul-quickening spirit, that it seemed to penetrate every secret of the heart. By this means the most hidden abominations were often brought to light; and those secret acts of wickedness, which had been deceitfully covered under a fair outside profession of sanctity, were many times brought to view in such a manner as to make every guilty soul fear and tremble in her pre

sence.

Here it may be proper to notice that, notwithstanding all Mother Ann's inward sufferings and tribulation, her outward afflictions and persecutions were often very severe and cruel. The powerfultestimony which she maintained against all sin, together with the wonderful operations of the Spirit of God which prevailed in the meetings of her little society, through her ministration, excited public tention, and stirred up the malignant feelings of many, both professors and profane, of almost every class and description, to such a degree of enmity that, by formal opposition and tumultuous mobs, open persecution and secret malice, her very life seemed many times in great jeopardy. She was often shamefully and cruelly abused, and a number of times imprisoned. To state,

* It has been asserted by some writers that she styled herself the Elect Lady; but this îs a groundless charge: that title was given by her enemies in derision.

circumstantially, the many instances of her sufferings and impris onment, would swell this volume beyond the limits prescribed. We shall only notice the following.

Her enemies, after seeking in vain for some plausible pretext to take her life, finally brought an accusation of blasphemy against her. They told her she must have her tongue Bored through with a hot iron; and brought her before four ministers of the established church, with a view to obtain judgment against her. But these men, being desirous to hear her own testimony, gave her liberty to speak for herself. Accordingly she spoke, and manifested such evident power of God, that they thought proper to dismiss her; and admonished her accusers to let her alone, and not abuse her. Enraged and disappointed at not being able to enlist these ministers against her, her persecutors were determined to take the power of judgment into their own hands, and become at once her judges and executioners, and agreed to stone her to death as a blasphemer.

Accordingly they led her down into a valley, without the town, where she was followed by four of her brethren, namely, William Lee, James Whittaker, Daniel Whittaker and James Shepherd.* Her persecutors having provided themselves with a sufficient quantity of stones, suitable for their purpose, they placed themselves on the side of the hill, at a convenient distance, and began to throw their stones; but not being able, after repeated trials, to hit her or any of her companions, (except Daniel Whittaker, who received a slight wound on one of his temples,) they fell into contention among themselves, and finally abandoned their design. Mother Ann, in relating these circumstances to some of the believers, said, "While they were throwing their stones, I felt myself surrounded "with the presence of God, and my soul was filled with love. I "knew they could not kill me, because my work was not done; "therefore I felt joyful and comfortable, while my enemies felt "distress and confusion.”

At another time an attempt was made upon her life; but it does not appear that this was done by any legal process, but rather, as is supposed, by the connivance of some of the officers of the stone prison with the designs of her enemies. She was taken and confined in a small cell of the prison, with an intention of starving her to death. Here she was kept fourteen days without any kind of sustenance, excepting what was conveyed to her privately, through the keyhole of the door, after the first two days, once in twenty-four

* This was not the James Shepherd who afterwards came to America with her; but another man of the same name, who was considered a faithful believer.

This man afterwards fell away.

hours. This was done by one of the believers,* who found access to the door of her prison, and inserted the stem of a pipe through the keyhole, into the bowl of which he poured a small quantity of milk, mixed with a little wine, which was her only temporal support during the whole time of her imprisonment. At the end of fourteen days, the door was unlocked with the expectation of finding her dead; but to the great surprise of her enemies, she was not only alive, but as well as before. Some who were present at the time, and saw her walk off in perfect health, remarked that it must be owing to a supernatural power which attended her, and that they did not believe it was right to confine or oppress her.

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The last imprisonment which she suffered, while in England, was done under pretence of her having profaned the sabbath. This appears to have been a preconcerted plan of her enemies, to prevent her and her little family from worshipping God on the sabbath, according to their custom. A number of spies had been previously placed in the streets, under a pretence of preventing people from profaning the sabbath. The believers assembled that morning at the house of John Lee, and began their worship, as usual, by singing and dancing. This was discovered by the spies, and a mob was soon raised, headed by the principal warden, who surrounded the house, burst open the doors, and ascended the stairs into the third loft, where the believers were assembled. They were all seized without any ceremony, and immediately dragged down stairs; Mother Ann herself was dragged down by her feet, and very much abused. They were all, excepting one man and two children,† immediately hurried off to the stone prison, and put into close confinement. The next morning they were all released excepting Mother Ann and John Lee, her father, who were removed to the house of correction, where they were kept confined several weeks, and then discharged.

These are but a part of the outward afflictions which Mother Ann endured from her enemies in England. Besides many circumstances of less note, there were several other instances of abuse which must inevitably have deprived her of life, had she not been protected by that Almighty Being in whom she always trusted; and it is worthy of remark, that nothing short of Divine Power could have supported her through all these trying scenes, and enabled her to maintain her testimony in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. But in consequence of the sudden and untimely death of some of her most bitter persecutors, and the conviction of others, these cruel abuses finally ceased. Her enemies saw that she was evidently protected and supported, and her life

*James Whittaker, who was then a youth

† One of these children was Mary Hocknell, now living at Watervliet.

preserved, by some interposing power, notwithstanding all their attempts to destroy it; and hence, for more than two years previous to her leaving England, she and her little band enjoyed their faith in peace. And tho there was no important addition to their number, yet the faith and substance of the gospel continued to increase in the hearts of the faithful. But their public testimony ceased in England about a year before they embarked for America. Mother Ann, whose mind was ever intent on the work of God, and who always stood ready to obey any call of God to her, was at length, by a special revelation, directed to repair to America; and at the same time, she received a divine promise, that the work of God would greatly increase, and the millenial church would be established in that country. This revelation was communicated to the society, and was soon confirmed by signs, visions and extraordinary manifestations, to many individual members; and permission was given for all those of the society to accompany her, who were able, and who felt any special impressions on their own minds so to do. Accordingly those who became the companions of Mother Ann, in her voyage to America, and who were all, at that time, professedly members of the society, were Abm. Stanley, her husband, Wm. Lee, her brother, James Whittaker, John Hocknell, Richard Hocknell, son of John Hocknell, James Shepherd, Mary Partington, and Nancy Lee, a niece of Mother Ann. These eight were all that accompanied Mother Ann in her voyage to America.

Having settled their affairs, and made arrangements for the voyage, they embarked at Liverpool, on board the ship Mariah, Captain Smith, of New-York, and sailed on the 19th of May, 1774. Before they embarked, Mother Ann told the captain that he should not have whereof to accuse them, except it were concerning the law of their God. While on their passage, they went forth, in obedience to their inward feelings, to praise God in songs and in dances. This offended the captain to such a degree, that he threatened to throw them overboard, if they attempted the like exercise again. But as Mother Ann had put her trust in God, whom she feared, she was not willing to be restrained in her duty by the fear of mortals; she therefore chose to obey God rather than man, and ́ accordingly went forth again, in obedience to the divine influences which she felt.

At this the captain became greatly enraged, and attempted to put his threats in execution. But that God in whom they trusted, and who had sent them to do his will, had power to protect them. This he did in a marvellous manner. It was in the evening, in time of a storm; and the ship suddenly sprung a leak, occasioned →→ by the starting of a plank between wind and water. The water now flowed in so rapidly that, notwithstanding all their exertions

C

at the pumps, it gained upon them so fast, that the whole ship's crew were greatly alarmed. The captain turned pale as a corpse, and said they must all perish before morning; for he saw no possible means to save the ship from sinking.

But Mother Ann maintained her confidence in God, and said, "Captain, be of good cheer; there shall not a hair of our heads perish; we shall all arrive safe to America. I just now saw "two bright angels of God standing by the mast, through whom I' "received this promise." She then encouraged the seamen, and she and her companions zealously assisted at the pumps. Shortly after this, a large wave struck the ship with great violence, and the loose plank was instantly closed to its place.

Whether this remarkable incident was effected by the violent force of the wave against the plank, or by some other unaccountable means, it was then viewed by all on board, as a miraculous interposition of Divine Providence in their favor. They were soon in a great measure released from the pumps; and the captain, after this, gave them free and full liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and promised that he would never molest them again. He was faithful to his promise, and treated them with kindness and respect during the remainder of the voyage, and was afterwards free to declare, that had it not been for these people, he should have been sunk in the sea, and never reached America.

Thus, after enduring the storms and dangers of the sea, in an old leaky ship, which had been condemned as unfit for the voyage, and which came very near foundering at sea, they all arrived safe in New-York on the 6th of August following.

CHAPTER III.

Circumstances connected with the settlement of Mother Ann and her little society in America: Religious revival at New-Lebanon: Commencement and progress of the testimony, followed by persecution: Decease of Mother Ann, &c.

AFTER Mother Ann and her little family arrived in this country, they passed through many scenes of difficulty, of a temporal nature. Being strangers in the land, and without any means of subsistence, excepting the daily labor of their own hands, they were obliged to seek employment where they could find it without hazarding the free enjoyment of their faith: for Mother Ann chose rather to rely upon the mercy of God for support and protection, than to court the friendship of the world, or to solicit their favor for the sake of any temporal advantages which she might obtain at the expence of her religious freedom, which was dearer to her than her life,