CHAP. III.

ABOUT the beginning of the year 1785, the Society procured from Sweden that interesting Posthumous Work of the Author, entitled Apocalypsis Explicata, secundum Sensum Spiritualem, &c. This was neatly written for the Press, and, as it appears by the title-page, intended to be printed in London. Some doubts, however, being entertained by several gentlemen, whether the Explanations given in this Work might not be supposed by some readers, to clash with those contained in the Apocalypse Revealed, in consequence of the latter being a very general, while the former is a more particular elucidation of the internal sense of the book of Revelation, it was thought advisable by the Society in their aggregate capacity, to decline the printing and publishing of the Work in question. Several members of the Society, however, were not satisfied with this conclusion; rightly judging, that no possible injury, but much real benefit, would accrue from the publication of such an invaluable production. Four of them immediately volunteered to print and publish the Work at their own joint expense. The names of these four persons were HENRY PECKITT, WILLIAM SPENCE, GEORGE ADAMS, and ROBERT HINDMARSH. To this list of Editors was added the name of BENEDICT CHASTANIER, a French Surgeon, resident for more than forty years in London, who was distinguished for his extra-ordinary zeal in promoting the cause of the New Church, though unable to assist with his purse in any undertaking of magnitude.* The Work was then put to press without further delay, and was printed by me in 4 quarto volumes, bearing date from 1785 to 1789, though not finished till the later end of the year 1790. The resolution thus taken, and acted upon, by the Editors, was evidently in conformity with the original design and intention of the enlightened Author, who, as before observed, had marked on the Title-page the word “LONDINI,” as the place where he wished it to be printed, and also the date “1759,” though the actual Printer of it was only born in that year. {31} That the undertaking was a judicious and happy one, has long since been proved by the great satisfaction it has given to the New Church at large, and even to those very persons who at first objected to its appearing in print, and by the extraordinary benefits, which its numerous illustrations of the Four Gospels, and other parts of the Word, have conferred upon the public. The Work itself in the Manuscript, having been left incomplete by the Author, it reaching only to the middle of the 10th verse of the 19th Chapter, as may be seen in n. 1229 of the Original, it was deemed advisable to continue the Explications to the end of the Revelation; and this I undertook to do myself, as Printer and one of the Editors, by extracting from the Apocalypsis Revelata all that was necessary to complete the Work. A notice to this effect was therefore written, and subjoined to the aforesaid number 1229, of which the following is a copy, to be found in p. 143 of the fourth volume of the Latin edition.
* Mr. Chastanier, it appears, met with his death some years afterwards in the following unfortunate manner. Having gone to Scotland on some particular business, he designed to have returned to London by the Packet, and went on board with that intention. But the wind at that time being unfavourable, the Captain delayed sailing till a change should take place. On this Mr. Chastanier told the Captain, that he would in the meantime visit a friend at a little distance, and return to the vessel the next day. He accordingly quitted the Packet, leaving his bundle behind him, but never returned. It was cold, snowy weather; and it is supposed he either lost his way, or was overtaken with drowsiness, and sat down on the road-side to rest himself, where he was found the next day frozen to death. The Captain sailed when the wind was fair, and brought his bundle to London, which was afterwards delivered into the hands of Mr. Sibly, of Goswell Street.
“Annotatio ab Editoribus infra scriptis.

“Has suas Explicationes super Apocalypsin hac usque porrexerat EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, quas, ut nobis videtur, ipse Autor intermisit, propterea ut tentamina de Sapientia Angelica cum aliis argumentis in hoc Opere inceptis, distincte` et plenius ageret; tum eo ut Libri Apocalypseos breviorem Explicationem, nuncupatam APOCALYPSIN REVELATAM, in lucem proferret; quod Opus, anno 1766, vel juxta nonnullos codices 1764, Amstelodami excusum est. Hujus attamen Libri, nempe APOCALYPSEOS EXPLICATAE, Editores, ut Operi fastigium imponeretur, deficientia Capita ex APOCALYPSI REVELATA desumpserunt; seduIo observantes numeros Articulorum in uno Opere citatos, cum correspondentibus numeris in altero commutare, et nonnullos alios silentio praetermittere.
“Ad finem Explicationum sequitur Continuatio de Divino Amore et Divina Sapientia prius susceptis, quae, inter alia fragmenta manuscripta, post mortem Autoris reperta sunt.

“HENRICUS PECKITT,
“GULIELMUS SPENCE,
“GEORGIUS ADAMS,
“BENEDICTUS CHASTANIER,
“ROBERTUS HINDMARSH.”

Londini, Jun. 17, 1790.”

TRANSLATION of the preceding NOTICE, for the use of those who do not read Latin.

“Note by the under-written Editors.

“The Author, EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, had extended his Explications of the Apocalypse thus far, and then discontinued them, for the purpose, as it appears to us, of giving, separately and more fully, his Essays on Angelic Wisdom, together with other subjects begun in this Work; and also that he might publish a shorter Explication of the Apocalypse, under the title of the APOCALYPSE REVEALED; which last Work was printed at Amsterdam in the year 1766, or, according to some copies, in the year 1764. But the Editors of this Work, namely, of the APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED, have thought it advisable, in order to render it more complete, to take the Explications of the remaining Chapters from the APOCALYPSE REVEALED; and in doing this they have been careful to alter the numbers cited in one Work, so as to make them answerable to those in the other, and in some cases to omit a few numbers as unnecessary.
“At the end of the Explications follows a Continuation concerning the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, already begun in this Work, which, with other fragments in Manuscript, were found after the Author’s death.

“HENRY PECKITT,
“WILLIAM SPENCE,
“GEORGE ADAMS,
“BENEDICT CHASTANIER,
“ROBERT HINDMARSH.” “London, June 17, 1790.” {32}

As Printer and one of the Editors of this important work, I had occasion to make a variety of emendations or alterations of the text, in those places where verbal inaccuracies were discoverable. These inaccuracies did not in the least affect the sense, but were evidently mere slips of the pen, which any reader at all acquainted with the Latin language might easily have corrected for himself. Nevertheless it was thought expedient, for the satisfaction of future readers, to annex at the end of Vol. 2, 3, and 4, a List of all such variations from the Author’s Manuscript, as had been made in the course of printing the work.
It may be proper to remark, that, some time after the Apocalypsis Explicata was published, Mr. Peckitt, being desirous of possessing the whole property in the printed Work, paid over to each of the other Editors the sums which they had advanced as their respective shares. Accordingly, after the Subscribers had been supplied with the copies ordered, the remainder of the impression was delivered to Mr. Peckitt, together with the original Manuscript volumes. These Manuscripts, after the death of Mr. Peckitt, came of course into the hands of his son, the present Mr. Henry Peckitt, who has since presented them to The Society for Printing and Publishing the Writings of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg, which was instituted in London, in the year 1810.* The Latin edition consisted of two hundred and fifty copies, a number perfectly sufficient, in the first instance, to secure this great treasure to the New Church for ever.
* These MSS. were returned to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, from whom they had been borrowed, in 1842. The letter of acknowledgment from Von Brinkman, President of the Society, and Jacob Benzelius, the Secretary, was printed in the Intellectual Repository for 1843, p. 74.- ED.
A remarkable circumstance, worthy of being recorded, took place while I was printing the first volume of this same Work in 1785. Mr. Peckitt, as one of the Editors, had in his possession the Manuscript of the second volume, containing from the 7th to the 11th chapters inclusive. By some accident a fire broke out in his neighbourhood at midnight, which soon extended its ravages to his house. In the alarm and confusion common in such cases, the firemen and others endeavoured to save whatever property came first to their hands; but while in the act of performing so dangerous an office, the house fell in, and covered them with its ruins; from which, however, they were afterwards extricated without much injury. Mr. Peckitt himself, who assisted in the removal of his goods, till the flames compelled him to quit the house, narrowly escaped with his life; and it was not till the next morning, when the agitation of his mind was somewhat abated, that he bethought himself of the Manuscript Volume of the Apocalypsis Explicata, which he now concluded must have been burnt, with the immense multitude of other books, which were consumed. What added to his distress on the occasion was the recollection, that the Manuscript was in his desk in the parlour, and that desk was destroyed. {33}
Early on the next morning he visited the ruins, yet with slender hopes of recovering what he now considered as the most valuable jewel which had been in his possession, and consequently as the most serious loss which had befallen him. But his search was vain; neither desk nor book was to be found. Soon after, one of the neighbours (Mr. William Yarnold, a Coal-Merchant, of No. 16, Soho Square,) informed Mr. Peckitt, that he had picked up several books in the street in the course of the preceding night, and had taken them to his own house, in order to preserve them in safety. Entertaining a faint hope, that the Latin Manuscript was among the books so preserved, Mr. Peckitt immediately accompanied him to his house, where he actually found the very Volume in question, which did not appear to have sustained the smallest injury.* On inquiry it was ascertained, that one of the firemen, in the midst of the general confusion, finding the desk too heavy to be easily removed, had opened it, and thrown its contents at random into the street, where the Manuscript was taken up, and secured, as before observed.
* Except being singed at one of the corners.- ED.
These particulars I had from Mr. Peckitt himself, who communicated the information in a very affecting manner. The Society was holding its usual meeting in the Temple a few evenings after the fire, and conversing on the calamity, which had been permitted to fall on one of the worthiest members of its body, when Mr. Peckitt entered the room with the lost and recovered Volume under his arm, and throwing it on the table, burst into a flood of tears, being unable for a few moments to give any other kind of utterance to his feelings. When restored to his self-possession, “There,” said he, “the greatest treasure which I had in my house, is preserved in safety; and for the sake of that, I willingly submit to my great loss.” He then gave the particulars, as above related. His library consisted of many thousand volumes in every branch of science, which had been accumulating for some years; besides a rare collection of mystical books, to which he was known to be very partial, before his acquaintance with the Writings of Swedenborg. But these latter had already considerably weakened his attachment to the mystic authors; and the loss which he now sustained by the fire, had the happy effect of weaning his mind still more from their abstruse and erroneous sentiments. The books consumed on this occasion could not have been less, it is said, than a full waggon-load. {34}
What renders the preservation of this Manuscript Volume the more remarkable, is the circumstance, that the 11th Chapter of the Revelation, which it contains, particularly treats of the Two Witnesses, (the Two Essentials of the New Church, viz., the Doctrine concerning the Lord, and the Doctrine of Life,) against whom the beasts ascending out of the bottomless pit made war, and whom for a time he overcame, and apparently destroyed; though afterwards they revived, and stood upon their feet; denoting that those Essentials, however opposed and rejected by men at their first publication, would hereafter be received and acknowledged in the Church. See the Memorable Relation, n. 531, of the Apocalypse Revealed. It is further stated in n. 543 of the same Work, that, while writing the Explication of the 12th Chapter of the Apocalypse, where the birth of the Male Child is treated of, by which is signified the first appearance of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, the Author was beset by the spirits of the Dragon in the spiritual world, who endeavoured by all the means in their power to extinguish or destroy his writing. Their efforts, however, were unavailing, being frustrated by the Divine Providence of the Lord, which has been abundantly exemplified in the protection of his rising Church. The reader may also consult n. 711 of the Apocalypse Explained; and n. 312 of the True Christian Religion, where he will find a further account of the hostility of the spirits of the Dragon against the doctrines of the New Church.
I know not whether the preceding anecdote may be thought by the reader worthy of preservation. At any rate it can have no bad effect. It gives some countenance to the idea, that what are called accidents and misfortunes in the natural world, are brought about by the presence and sphere of spirits in the spiritual world, whose agency, when extended to nature, is directed and controlled by Infinite Wisdom and Goodness, according to the laws of divine permission. For if a sparrow cannot fall on the ground without our heavenly Father; if even the very hairs of our head are all numbered, Matt. x. 29, 30; in short, if nothing can happen by chance, every event, however casual or fortuitous it may appear, must have a certain cause, from which it derives its existence; and that cause must be ascribed to spirit, and not to matter, or the accidental arrangement of matter.

———

The members of the Society, in their aggregate and individual capacity, being now supplied with a considerable stock of printed books, opened a correspondence, through the medium of their Printer, with booksellers and others in various parts of England, who were each furnished with a small assortment on sale or return. Advertisements were also from time to time inserted in the public papers, announcing the various works, as they passed through the press. {35} Printed copies were likewise forwarded to correspondents in Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland, North and South America, the West India Islands, the East Indies, and other distant parts of the globe.
About this time information was received of the existence of a Society of readers of the writings at Moscow, in Russia, which was begun in 1783 by two young gentlemen, who had been favoured with a sight of the treatise on Heaven and Hell, and who were so deeply interested in its contents, that they scarcely, knew how to contain themselves on the occasion. They began reading it together one evening, and never rose from their seats till they had gone through the whole. Being astonished beyond measure, and at the same time gratified with the prospects laid before them of a state of being hereafter, of which they had till then not the slightest idea, worthy of being called an idea, they at once came to the resolution of endeavouring to spread among their friends and neighbours, according to the utmost of their ability, yet with a zeal tempered with prudence and discretion, the knowledge of those wonderful truths, which had so powerfully operated upon their own minds, and which they doubted not must produce similar effects upon the minds of others. Meetings were accordingly instituted for reading the Writings; and though little was heard of them for some years afterwards, books were occasionally forwarded to them, when opportunities offered.
Among the various persons, in different parts of the world, with whom I now corresponded, in consequence of its being pretty generally known, that I was the Printer of Swedenborg’s Writings, was an English gentleman at the Hague, William Gomm, Esq., Secretary to the British Ambassador at that place, and brother-in-law to the late Lord Malmesbury.* He was a most zealous and cordial approver of the New Jerusalem doctrines, and took an active part in disseminating them in the higher circles of society. He translated into the French language such of the proceedings of our Society, as he thought were likely to interest foreigners in favour of the New Church; and wherever he met with opposition to the truth, or heard of reports injurious to the character and writings of Swedenborg, he exerted himself most strenuously in their defence, as will in part appear from the following Letter, which he addressed to me on a particular occasion.
* See Servante’s Letters to Glen, in The Monthly Observer for 1857, p. 420 and note. – ED.

Extract of a LETTER from WILLIAM GOMM, Esq., at the Hague, to Mr. ROBERT HINDMARSH, of London, concerning a Report, that Baron Swedenborg had in his last moments retracted his Writings.

“My dear Sir,

“I am now to trouble you upon an important and interesting subject to us both, and indeed to all real admirers of Baron Swedenborg. {36}

“A Mr. Vosman, (Keeper of the Prince of Orange’s Museum, or Chamber of Natural Curiosities,) who was personally acquainted with the Baron, and who received a volume of his Writings in which I have read these words in the Baron’s own hand writing ‘Dono miss ab Autore,’ asserts in the most positive manner, that a Swedish Nobleman (I think a Baron or Count Rosenberg, whom he had desired, upon his leaving him here in his way to London, to give him the most circumstantial and authentic account what he could collect of Baron Swedenborg’s behaviour in his last hours,) had informed him, (and he declares it in the most unreserved manner,) that he had been assured, that a few hours before his death, Baron Swedenborg had retracted all he had written.’
“I need not tell you how truly afflicting such a report is to all true recipients; nor (however improbable it seems to most of us) how very prejudicial it is to Baron Swedenborg’s reputation. I therefore know you will think no pains a task, which you can possibly take to enable me to destroy what I take to be so palpable, as well as disengenuous and illiberal, a falsehood.
“Consult everybody you can think of, my dear friend, who is likely to be assistant in clearing it up. I shall use every endeavour in my power, in consequence of yours, to destroy this prejudice, if it be in our power; and therefore wish the lines you may favour me with, in answer to these, may be written apart from any other matter whatever, as I shall be able to make the better use of them in that shape.
“I need not say, I am sure, how anxious I shall be to receive them. Your zeal in so good a cause makes all further apology, I well know, entirely superfluous.
“I beg you will continue to believe me,
“Dear Sir, affectionately years,
“WILLIAM GOMM.”
Hague, Oct. 14, 1785.

“P.S.- A part of the Swedish Nobleman’s information is said to have come from the people of the house, where Baron Swedenborg lived and died. This being so near at hand, may possibly be cleared up by yourself, Dear Sir, (at least to the satisfaction of candid people,) by what you may be able to collect from these living witnesses, upon proper queries; as, Who visited the Baron in his last hours? What language did they speak with him in? What questions did they ask him? and, What do they recollect to have heard, at the time, of his answers? &c., &c.”

As soon as I received this letter from Mr. Gomm, I called on my friend Mr. Thomas Wright, of the Poultry, Watchmaker to the King, and consulted with him on the measures most proper to be taken to meet the occasion; and we came to the resolution, in the first instance, of waiting upon Mr. Shearsmith, at his house in Great Bath Street, Cold Bath Fields, Clerkenwell, to ascertain from his own mouth the truth or falsehood of the report alluded to. Accordingly we immediately proceeded to Mr. Shearsmith’s house, and, after stating to him the cause of our visit, requested that he would openly and candidly declare, whether to his knowledge or belief, there was any foundation in truth for the report in question. His answer was prompt and satisfactory: he assured us, in the most positive terms, and in a manner which bespoke the sincerity of his heart, that the report was altogether destitute of truth, and that it must have originated with, and proceeded from, some malicious person, whose enmity to Swedenborg’s Writings had suggested such a falsehood. His wife, who was present, and who had constantly attended Swedenborg until the time of his decease, corroborated her husband’s testimony; and they both freely offered to make an affidavit before a Magistrate, that the report, which had been raised and circulated to the prejudice of Swedenborg, was altogether false and groundless. {37}
Satisfied with this information, and anxious to give it publicity in an authentic shape, Mr. Wright and I proceeded to the house of Mr. Prichard, a Proctor, in Doctor’s Commons, who, on hearing the particulars, prepared an Affidavit in legal form, the contents of which were sworn to and signed by Mr. Shearsmith and his wife, on the 24th of November, 1785, before the Lord Mayor of London, whose name also was Thomas Wright, though no relation of my friend the Watchmaker. A copy of this Affidavit, together with a Letter inclosing the same, was then forwarded to Mr. Gomm, at the Hague; which were as follows.

Copy of a LETTER from Mr. ROBERT HINDMARSH, of London, to WILLIAM GOMM, Esq., at the Hague.

“Dear Sir,

“I am in possession of the most authentic proof of the falsehood of the report you mention to have gained credit in Holland, regarding Baron Swedenborg’s having disowned or retracted his doctrines and communications, when he was drawing near his end. The persons, in whose house he lived, and where he died, upon being told this circumstance, freely offered, of their own accord, to take their oaths before a Magistrate, that the whole of the said report is totally void of foundation, to the best of their knowledge. You will see this accordingly confirmed by the inclosed document, sworn to in the presence of the Lord Mayor of this city, and of which you are at full liberty to make whatever use you may think proper, in order to destroy the influence of so malevolent an insinuation.
“Allow me to add here what I have further learnt from Mr. Springer, a Swedish gentleman residing here, and a very intimate friend, as you may have heard, of Baron Swedenborg’s.
“When the deceased found his end approaching, and expressed a wish to have the communion administered to him, somebody present at the time proposed sending for Mr. Mathesius, the officiating Minister of the Swedish Church. This person was known to be a professed enemy of Baron Swedenborg, and had set his face against his Writings: it was he that had raised and spread the false account of Baron Swedenborg’s having been deprived of his senses. The Baron therefore declined taking the Sacrament from him, and actually received it from the hands of another ecclesiastic of his own country, named Ferelius, who at that time was a reader of Baron Swedenborg’s Writings, and is said to have continued to do so ever since, at Stockholm, where he is now living; and I have been assured, that on this occasion Baron Swedenborg expressly exhorted him ‘to continue steadfast in the truth.,
“Mr. Mathesius is said to have become insane himself, a short time after this; and becoming thereby incapable of his function, has existed ever since, in that melancholy state, upon the bounty of the King of Sweden.
“Mr. Springer further says, ‘That a short time before his death, Baron Swedenborg had his spiritual or internal sight withdrawn from him, after having been favoured with it during so long a course of years: that he was under the greatest tribulation of mind on that account, calling out, ‘O my God! hast thou then at last abandoned thy servant?’ This seems to have been the last of his trials. He continued several days in that deplorable condition; but at length recovered his spiritual or internal sight. He was then comforted again, and became happy as before.’
“Mr. Springer received this assurance from Baron Swedenborg’s own mouth: and what I write now is from an exact copy of part of a letter written by Mr. Springer himself.
“I remain, dear Sir, your’s, &c.
“ROBERT HINDMARSH.”

“London, Nov. 28, 1785.”

COPY of the AFFIDAVIT by RICHARD SHEARSMITH, and ELIZABETH his Wife, referred to in the preceding Letter.*
* This Affidavit has been strangely mutilated and misrepresented, first by the Editors Of the New Jerusalem Magazine, published in 1790, p. 225, and since that time by almost all the writers, who have had occasion to quote it; although it was correctly printed in the Magazine of Knowledge for 1791, p. 300, from the original document, which is still in my possession. {38}
“Richard Shearsmith, of Cold Bath Fields, London, Peruke Maker, and Elizabeth Shearsmith, formerly Reynolds, his present wife, jointly and severally make oath and say, That the late Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg came to lodge a second time to his this deponent’s house, No. 26, Cold Bath Fields aforesaid, in the month of July or August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one, and continued to lodge there until his death, which happened the twenty-ninth of March following. That a short time before Christmas, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one, he had a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of his speech, and occasioned his lying in a lethargic state for three weeks and upwards, during the whole of which time he took no sustenance whatever, except a little tea without milk, and cold water occasionally; and once about two tea-spoonfuls of red currant jelly. That about the expiration of three weeks from the time he was so struck, he recovered his speech and health a little, and ate and drank toast, tea, and coffee, as usual. That from that time to the time of his death, he was visited but by a very few friends only, and always seemed unwilling to see company. That about a month before he died, he told this deponent, then Elizabeth Reynolds, spinster, who was then a servant to her fellow-deponent, and Mrs. Shearsmith her then mistress, that he should die on a particular day, which to the best of her re-collection and belief happened on the day he had foretold. That about a fortnight or three weeks before he died, he received the sacrament in bed from the hands of a foreign clergyman, and enjoyed a sound mind, memory, and understanding, to the last hour of his life. That about five o’clock on Sunday, the twenty-ninth day of March he asked her, this deponent, and her then mistress, who were sitting by his bed-side what o’clock it was? and upon their answering him that it was about five o’clock, he replied, ‘Dat be good, me tank you, God bless you,” or to that effect; and in about ten minutes after, he heaved a gentle sigh, and expired in the most tranquil manner. And these deponents jointly and severally on their oath declare, that to the best of their recollection and belief, no person whatever visited him either the day before, or the day on which he died. And these deponents positively declare, that they never did, either directly or indirectly, say or assert to any person or persons whatsoever, that the said Emanuel Swedenborg had a few hours before his death retracted or contradicted any part of his Writings, as hath been falsely reported; nor did they ever hear him, nor do they believe he ever did say a word that expressed or implied such an idea; nor were these deponents ever asked a question relative to that circumstance, by any person or persons whatsoever, until the twenty-second day of October last, when Mr. Thomas Wright, of the Poultry, London, Watchmaker, and Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, of Clerkenwell Close, Printer, called upon them to inquire into the truth or falsehood of such report, which these deponents then declared to them, and now again on their oaths declare, to be a false and groundless report.

“RICHARD SHEARSMITH.
The Mark of
X
“ELIZABETH SHEARSMITH.”

Sworn at the Guildhall, London, }
the 24th day of November, 1785,
before me, }
“T. WRIGHT, Mayor.” }

Mr. Gomm, on receipt of this affidavit, translated it into French, and caused it to be printed at the Hague; by which means the false report, that had gained credit there, was completely refuted, and the enemies of truth on this occasion were effectually silenced.
Besides the proof, above adduced, of the falsehood of the report of Swedenborg’s having recanted his writings, another arises from the evidence of Count Hopken, who in a letter to General Tuxen, dated Schenninge, the 21st of May, 1773, expressly says, {39} “The late Swedenborg did not, on his death-bed, recant what he has written; of which I have particularly informed myself.” This letter may be seen in the Appendix to the first New Jerusalem Magazine, p. 270. But indeed we have positive evidence, that so far from denying the truth of his writings, he did in his last days most solemnly confirm the whole of them. His intimate friend, the Rev. Thomas Hartley, visited him a few days before his death, and addressed him in the following manner: “In the name of God, in whose presence you are soon going to appear, and in the name of sacred friendship, declare to me, I beseech you, if all you have written is truth itself?” To this Swedenborg answered, “The doctrine I have set forth to the world is true; it has been revealed to me; and from and after the year 1780 it will spread very much.” Mr. Benedict Chastanier, a French Surgeon, residing in London, adds to this testimony, that Mr. Hartley informed him in the year 1788, that “three or four days before Swedenborg’s death he waited on him with Dr. Messiter, and in the Doctor’s presence earnestly pressed him openly to declare whether all he had written was strictly true, or whether any part or parts thereof were to be excepted?” “I have written (answered Swedenborg with a degree of warmth) nothing but the truth, as you will have it more and more confirmed hereafter all the days of your life, provided you always keep close to the Lord, and faithfully serve him alone, in shunning evils of all kinds as sins against him, and diligently searching his Sacred Word, which from beginning to end bears incontestible testimony to the truth of the doctrines I have delivered to the world.” The truth of this account was afterwards repeatedly affirmed by Dr. Messiter, and cannot now be disputed. See the first New Jerusalem Magazine, p. 226.
With respect to Mathesius, who appears to have been a great enemy to the writings of Swedenborg, and the inventor of those false reports which were so injurious to the character of one of the best and wisest of men, I shall only add to what has been already stated, the remarks of the Rev. S. Noble, who, in his excellent Appeal in Behalf of the Doctrines of the New Church, 3rd edit., p. 243, observes as follows:- “We are by no means prone to assume the distribution of divine judgments; but it really is difficult to avoid thinking that we behold one here. All must allow it to be a remarkable coincidence, that the man who first imputed insanity to Swedenborg, and was the chief cause of its being believed by others, should himself have experienced the deplorable visitation; which happened, also, soon after he gave the information to Mr. Wesley. The Abrege des Ouvrages d’Em. Swedenborg, which was published at Stockholm, in 1788, states in the Preface, that Mathesius had become insane, and was then living in that state in that city. {40} The same is affirmed in the New Jerusalem Magazine; one of the Editors of which was Mr. C. B. Wadstrom*, a Swedish gentleman of great respectability, well known for his efforts in the cause of the abolition of the slave trade, and who must have had ample means of knowing the fact. In a MS. minute, also, in my possession, of a conversation held by Mr. Provo, May 2nd, 1787, with Mr. Bergstrom, master of the King’s Arms (Swedish) Hotel, in Wellclose Square, the latter says as follows: ‘Mr. Mathesius was an opponent of Swedenborg, and said that he was lunatic, &c.; but it is remarkable, that he went lunatic himself; which happened one day when he was in the Swedish Church, and about to preach. I was there, and saw it. He has been so ever since, and was sent back to Sweden, where he now is. This was about four years ago.’ All the accounts agree: and thus evident it is, that into the pit, which this unhappy man digged for another, did he fall himself.”
* Author of An Essay on Colonization, &c. See full title in the Monthly Observer for 1857, p. 418.- ED.
The Rev. Jacob Duche*, Chaplain to the Asylum for Female Orphans, in St. George’s Fields, and one of the most eloquent and popular preachers in London, had for some time embraced the doctrines of the New Church, and in all his discourses from the pulpit gave evident proofs of his attachment to them, though at first with great caution lest it should be generally known, that his sentiments were opposed to the doctrines of the Established Church, of which he was an avowed member. To a new translation of the Doctrine of Life, made by one of the members of our Society, he was prevailed upon to write the Preface, which does credit both to his head and his heart.
* For an account of Mr. Duche, see The Monthly Observer, for 1857, p. 79. He was the author of two volumes of Discourses, published 1779, with Frontispieces from West, engraved by Sharp, in one of which is represented, a male and female angel. He died at Philadelphia in 1797.- ED.
As public worship had not as yet been established in the New Church, many of our friends attended his Ministry on the Sundays, and were highly delighted at the prospect, which they fondly hoped was opening to their view, of the introduction of the new doctrines gradually and insensibly into the service of the Church of England, by means of such able and pious preachers as Mr. Duche, and some others of the Clergy in different parts of the kingdom, who like him were now become receivers of the truth. But these hopes, after many years’ experience, proved to be abortive. Several of these reverend divines, when it was known to their superiors in the Church, that they had embraced the doctrines contained in the Writings of Swedenborg, and were endeavouring to spread them among the people, were called to an account, and privately admonished on the subject. Others moved cautiously; and among these Mr. Duche is to be reckoned as one. He, however, afterwards opened his house at the Asylum for a number of his friends to meet in, for conversation on the doctrines. {41} These meetings continued for several years; and I have been present, when upwards of thirty persons, male and female, have spent the Sunday evening together in a truly delightful manner, receiving from his lips the most impressive lessons of instruction, and mutually interchanging sentiments of pure affection for the truth, and for one another.
In the year 1786 the Society was visited by a Polish Nobleman, under the assumed name of Sutkowski, though his real name was Grabianka. He said he came from a Society at Avignon, in France, of which he was a member. That Society, it appears, had been formed in the North of Europe, in the year 1779; some individuals of which professed to have received orders from heaven to go to the South. These were to be followed in due time by the rest, who, after being dispersed in different countries, and having passed through their appointed trials and difficulties, were to re-assemble in a given place, at a time fixed upon by the general body.
On what principle this Society was formed, or for what purpose the individuals belonging to it were separately to remove from one part of the Continent to another, we could not exactly learn. An air of mystery hung over the whole account given of this Society by the Count; and strong suspicions were entertained, that he came to England with the view of making proselytes to some peculiar tenets of his Society, which were to be unfolded when he perceived a disposition among us to receive, with implicit faith, whatever he had to communicate. In the mean time, being a man of great ability and most engaging manners, he wonderfully succeeded in gaining the good opinion of those with whom he conversed. In answer to questions respecting his Society, he assured us, that its members were actuated by a sincere desire to promote the happiness of mankind, by disseminating the truths of Christianity, and especially the principles of love and charity, among the professors of religion, of every denomination. Hearing of the establishment of our Society in London, and being desirous of opening a correspondence with us, they had commissioned him to visit us in a friendly way, to ascertain the number of individuals of which our Society consisted, their character, situation in life, and probable tendency of the measures adopted to form a religious Community in the Christian world, under the name of the New Jerusalem Church.
The Count attended all our meetings, joined in familiar conversation with each of us, and expressed the utmost satisfaction with all our proceedings. He appeared to be well acquainted with the leading doctrines of the New Church, and spoke in glowing terms of the personal character and the Writings of Swedenborg. {42} At Mr. Duche’s he was a frequent and welcome visitor: his conversation was always interesting and animated: and when he communicated the religious sentiments and feelings of his Society, he seemed to speak the very language of the New Church. All were delighted with his company: all were anxious to shew him tokens of their affection and esteem. He was particularly desirous of eating bread, and drinking wine, (as if in commemoration of the Lord’s Supper,) at each of our houses, or at least at the houses of those whom he esteemed the leading members of the Society; when, after this light repast, it was his custom to embrace each individual of the company present, and (after the manner of many foreigners) to give to each three kisses, first on the right cheek, then on the left, and lastly on the lips of the mouth. I have seen him administer this friendly salutation at different places, and on one occasion to more than thirty persons collected together, male and female, high and low, rich and poor, without discrimination; though in general he chose to take his bread and wine in the company of gentlemen only. I believe the ladies of the New Church, who were witnesses to, and sharers in, this display of spiritual affection and esteem, both to male and female, must have considered those days, when such scenes took place, to be rare days of the New Church indeed very unlikely to occur again, at least in our times!
The Count Grabianka was also a man of observation. After having become familiar with many individuals of the Society and remarked which of them acted the most prominent parts at the various meetings, which he attended, he distinguished twelve from the rest, and marked them, in his own mind, as resembling in character, person, or manner, the twelve apostles of the Lord. One he called Peter; another, James; a third, John; and so on with the rest. I do not exactly recollect all his assimilations and if I did, I certainly would not be so rude and discourteous as to name which of us came in for the character and name of Judas Iscariot. But this I well remember, that my father, James Hindmarsh, was Peter, perhaps from his elderly and portly appearance, and a forehead that seemed to betoken courage an sincerity: Mr. George Adams, from his warm- hearted an generous nature, was well entitled to the appellation of James: and myself, probably from my juvenile aspect, being the youngest of the Society, he named John. Whether these, or any of the others, truly answered to the characters and names given them by this foreign Nobleman, or whether they did not, is of little consequence, and certainly cannot be known by any man living. The circumstance is mentioned only for its singularity, and as a mark whereby the character of the Polish Count himself may in some small degree be ascertained.
It was remarkable, that in almost all the meetings, which Count Grabianka attended, he gave us to understand, that he and his Society were in possession of some grand secret, which he was not then at liberty to divulge, because the time proper for its disclosure was not yet arrived. {43} But he assured us, that it was fast approaching; and he was in hopes, before he quitted England, of perceiving the state of our Society to be such, as to authorise him to open his mind fully to us upon the unknown subject. Many months passed away; and many minds were anxious to know all about this great secret, which, when revealed, was to do more for us, than we could possibly anticipate: but still the time was not come. It was to enlighten the understanding beyond all former discoveries of truth; not excepting even the writings of Swedenborg himself: it was to be the crown and summit of all mysteries; the key to all wisdom; and the perfection of all revelation. In short, it was in a manner to supersede all that was heretofore known, to eclipse all former dispensations, and to enrich the human mind with the last and best treasure of heaven.
“Well, what can this secret be?” said one. “I should like very much to know it,” said another. “A fig for all your secrets,” exclaimed a third: “I’ll venture to prophesy, that, when it comes out, it will be found a mere hoax, a bagatelle, unworthy of the serious attention of a member of the New Church, who is already in possession of the pearl of great price, heaven’s first and last best treasure, the knowledge of the Lord, of the internal sense of his Word, and of the great realities of another life. This is the secret most worthy of being known, hidden indeed from the ages that are past, but now happily revealed to all who have ears to hear it, and widely published to the world at large in the Writings of that great and ever-to-be honoured servant of the Lord, Emanuel Swedenborg; whose pages are open to the inspection of all, to the simple as well as the wise, to the unlearned as well as the learned, to the poor as well as the rich; and where the streams of living water from the divine fountain, the Holy Word itself, are continually flowing, to fertilize and enrich the heretofore dreary wastes of the Church, or of the human mind, which is the seat of the Church and of all true religion. What can we know of the Lord more, than that he is the only and everlasting God of heaven and earth, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one adorable person, the Creator, Redeemer, and Saviour of mankind, the Bridegroom and Husband of his Church, the Friend of sinners, and the Word made Flesh, dwelling in and amongst us, raising us continually nearer and nearer to himself, that we may enjoy the felicities of heaven and eternal life for ever and ever? Can any secret equal this, no longer now a secret, but a divine revelation and manifestation of mercy to all the inhabitants of the earth? I fear,” continued this speaker, “that some imposition is attempted under the mask of friendship and a superior degree of illumination; some Jesuitical scheme of gaining proselytes to a faith that shelters itself in mystery, seeing that the Count himself and the whole of his Society, still profess themselves to be members of the Church of Rome.” {44}
These fears and suspicions afterwards appeared to be too well-founded: for though the Count did not, during his stay in London, find himself at liberty to reveal his great secret to the Society as a body, the constant excuse for which being, that the time was not yet arrived – in other words, because the generality of us were too independent in spirit, and too well satisfied with the doctrines of the New Church, as contained in the writings of Swedenborg, to suffer ourselves to be duped by any Romish emissaries, yet to a few individuals he at length divulged it. And what can the reader surmise it to be? He has already heard, often enough, of the great mystery, which both Catholics and Protestants proclaim, as forming the first and most essential part of their respective creeds, namely – the existence of Three Divine Persons in the Godhead. But never, perhaps, till now, did he hear of this Polish Mystery – this Grand Secret, which leaves at a distance all other Enigmas which have hitherto been presented, not to the human understanding, but rather to the frailty of man’s nature, and which it is impossible for any one but a Jesuit or rank enthusiast seriously to entertain. Long had we been expecting according to promise, a disclosure of it from the Polish Count; and at last out it came, to the surprise and derision of many. It was no less than “That there are actually Four Divine Persons in the Godhead; the Virgin Mary, having, in consequence of giving birth to the Saviour Jesus Christ, been ultimately Deified herself, and associated with the other Three Persons as an equal participator in Divinity!”*
* This absurd and impious opinion reminds me of a circumstance, which I will here relate. About the period when the Polish nobleman above alluded to, visited our Society, I accidentally fell in company with a person residing in Kingsland Road, near Shoreditch, whose religious (or rather irreligious) frenzy had induced him to believe, and to assert in the most positive terms, that there was no God in the universe but man; that he himself was a God, in common with others; and that though few men were aware of this their dignity and power, yet there was a society of such as professed themselves to be Gods, and he was one of their number. When I remonstrated with him on the wickedness and blasphemy of such a sentiment, as destructive of all rationality, and highly offensive to the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, he the more strenuously insisted on his insane notion, contending, That if there were such a supreme and omnipotent God, as I and others supposed, he must be a very cruel Being: or why, said he did he place the sun in the firmament at such an immense distance from the earth, that the heat proceeding from it was incapable of yielding him any comfort or benefit? This cruelty, he said, had been sensibly felt by him that very morning; for taking an early walk about sun-rise, he said he had reason to complain of the severe cold, which a merciful God, if there be such a one, might easily have prevented, by placing the sun nearer to the earth. “Besides,” continued he, “I am terrified and distracted every night in my dreams; and how could a kind and beneficent Being inflict such misery upon one who never offended him? I am therefore constrained to deny his existence, or else to conclude, that he delights in punishing and tormenting his creatures.” To this I replied, that his own infirmity and sufferings ought at least to have convinced him, that he was himself no God; and that perhaps his disorderly state of life, while waking, might be the occasion of his alarm and distress while sleeping; and that he would do well to humble himself, and pray to be delivered from his infatuation, before it was too late.
The case of this man somewhat resembles that of another, in the West of England, who, after fancying himself at one time to be Adam, and at another time Jesus Christ, at last declared himself to be God Almighty! Yet, on the appearance of some clouds gathering in the sky, being asked whether it would rain or not, he replied, like a simpleton as he was, “Indeed I do not know!” thus giving the lie to his own vain pretensions, and in an unguarded moment acknowledging his ignorance, so incompatible with the character he had previously assumed, of being God Almighty.
Both these cases may be regarded as actual confirmations in the natural world, of the account given by Emanuel Swedenborg of a scene witnessed by him in the spiritual world. Two devils ascended from below, and informed him, that they belonged to two different societies in hell, – one consisting of two hundred, in which all are styled Emperors of Emperors, Kings of Kings, Dukes of Dukes, and Princes of Princes; the other consisting of three hundred in number, who are all called Gods; but the devil, who was their spokesman on this occasion, called himself God of Gods. The whole relation is edifying, and shews the sad consequences of cherishing the love of dominion and pre-eminence, grounded either in self- love or in the love of the world, from which are generated the most dreadful phantasies and delusions, such as are above described. – See True Christian Religion, n. 661. – R. H. {45}

After this the Society needed no further information or instruction from that quarter; being perfectly satisfied, that a very high degree of illumination of the understanding, discoverable on many occasions in the conversations of the Polish nobleman, is yet no security against a person’s entertaining secret designs of making proselytes to an enormous faith, and thus withdrawing the simple-minded from the true and exclusive worship of the One Only Lord. If such was the secret purpose or end, for which the Count visited the Society of the New Church in London, he certainly did not succeed in his mission: for not an individual could be found among us so weak and so extremely besotted, as to give countenance for a moment to such a visionary, impious, and atrocious creed.
About the end of the year 1786, the Count, after taking a
most affectionate leave of the Society assembled at Mr. Duche’s, returned to France. In the course of a few months after, we received a letter from his Society, signed by himself and five others. This letter appeared to be written in a most excellent spirit, but contained some mysterious allusions to the formation of the society abroad, as if by supernatural means, and to the objects which it had in view. After all, whatever was the real character of the society in question, or of the individual members it comprised, it does not by any means appear, that they associated together on the sound principles of the New Church: and though the conversations of the Count, when in London, were highly interesting, and the letter to us after his departure, was couched in terms of uncommon friendship and affection, there was still something about the whole of their communications, which was not altogether satisfactory; and therefore no further correspondence was maintained between the Society at London and that of Avignon. But the reader shall judge for himself, on perusing the following:- {46}

———

COPY of a LETTER from a SOCIETY in FRANCE, to the SOCIETY for promoting the HEAVENLY DOCTRINES of the NEW JERUSALEM, in LONDON.

“To the Children of the New Kingdom in London.

“Very dear and well-beloved Brethren,

“After having returned the most sincere thanks to the Lord our God, that he hath been pleased to permit our very dear brother Count GRABIANKA (who was known to you by the name Of SUTKOWSKI) to come amongst us – a circumstance that we have long desired – we hasten to join him in returning you the most sincere thanks for the civil and distinguished manner with which you treated him while he dwelt amongst you.
“We thank you equally for the inestimable present you made him of several of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, to be delivered to our Society as a pledge of the union, which the Lord is about to form between us. We have received them with transports of the most lively joy, and will take that care of them which they deserve, and also present them to the rest of our brethren, as the precious mark of your friendship for us.
“Long before we were acquainted with the writings of this author, Heaven had condescended to reveal to us the great truths which they contain, and to assure us in a very particular manner, that the voice of JESUS CHRIST descended into his heart, and endowed him with his knowledge. We know further, that his works contain, under the veil of the most simple diction, a depth and a sublimity, which puts them out of the reach of those who are not advanced in the spiritual life; and consequently that no one can flatter himself, that he can obtain the true sense of them, if he be not assisted by the light from above.
“To the representation, which our very dear brother GRABIANKA has given us of the desire of knowing the truth, which animates all the members of your Society; of the eagerness and ardour shewn by each of you in his researches after it; of the constant emulation which directs and supports you in this pious and holy study; he has added the particulars of what he had communicated to you relative to us. Though we are persuaded you have given an entire confidence to what he told you, we think it our duty to confirm his assertions.
“Yes, very dear brethren, there exists a society, which the Lord JESUS CHRIST has formed. It was in the year 1779, and in the North of Europe, that he was pleased in his mercy to lay the foundations thereof. Some of those who were first favoured by his choice, received afterwards orders to go to the South. Five of this number being re-united, expected for sometime past, their very dear brother GRABIANKA, Who, notwithstanding his desire to be with them, has not been able to gratify it till now, because he has been obliged to pass through the thorny path pointed out to him by Heaven. The rest, who are dispersed in different countries, earnestly expect to obtain the same order. We know already, that one of them, who has nearly finished his first course, will very soon join us. The ensuing spring will bring back fifteen, and we expect many more brethren and sisters that we know will be called in the course of this year.
“The Spirit of God, which breathes in the souls of all men, selects indiscriminately from all nations. Those that the love of truth raises and directs constantly towards its sanctuary, by receiving continually the divine influences of this Holy Spirit, will no doubt contribute the most to constitute this new people of the Lord. Dear Englishmen, very dear and well-beloved brethren, if you knew the favours that Heaven already bestows upon many amongst you, how would your hearts be penetrated with holy joy! Happy nation! thou shalt tread falsehood under thy feet; and when the arms of truth have ascertained thy triumph, peace will take refuge in thy bosom, and thou shalt acquire immortal glory by placing thyself under the banners of JESUS CHRIST.
“The time not yet being arrived for mysteries to cease, we pass rapidly over this subject, in expectation of the moment of a complete manifestation. But in passing through the interval which will conduct us to this period, we will employ every moment to unite ourselves with you in heart and mind to adore the Lord, and through the aid of his Holy Spirit to practise every Christian virtue. In acting thus, we shall fulfil the orders, which Heaven has given us relative to you: and as we have received the same orders with respect to several other societies, who, like you, walk in the paths of CHRIST, we hasten to fulfil them also in obedience to the command. For the will of God is his Word, the Word of God is his powerful virtue, and his powerful virtue is the light of the world.
“Eight successive years (passed away in the obscurity and silence imposed upon the greater part amongst us) have at last brought us to this happy day, wherein we are to open our hearts to our brethren, and draw from theirs that reciprocation of fraternal friendship, which we bear towards them in JESUS CHRIST. {47} After this we hope, that in receiving from us these first ideas, you will desire to form one and the same soul with us, to praise, to bless, and to adore the Lord; and that
your love towards him will make you ardently desire to be of the number of those that he shall deign to choose, to labour towards dissipating the thick darkness which covers the earth; to annihilate the fatal errors which keep the truth in captivity, by subjecting the minds of men thereto; to endeavour to bring back the wanderers from the broad roads of iniquity, and lead them into the paths of righteousness; in a word, to dispose them to receive revealed truths, and prepare the way for his new people. For, very dear brethren, the angel that stands before the face of the Lamb, is already sent to sound his trumpet on the mountains of Babylon, and give notice to the nations that the God of heaven will soon come to the gates of the earth, to change the face of the world, and to manifest his power and glory.
“We hope also that you will pray to the Lord for us, as we ask of him for you, the spiritual assistances we stand in need of, in order to serve him with fidelity; for the glory of God being the sole end, which we are to propose to ourselves in our labour, and the good of our brethren the fruit of it, we contribute to both while we mutually assist and support each other in the ways of JESUS CHRIST.
“Let us then unite our hearts to give glory to the Most High, who calls upon us; for if we hear him we shall understand him; and if we understand him we shall be blessed.
“Let us remain full of the love of our Lord; he will open to us the path of his mysteries; and this mighty God becoming our glory will make us become his, and by him we shall live in him and for him.
“Prosperity, joy, happiness to those who desire to follow his Word, because they will become his children.
“May you, very dear brethren, be all of this number; we desire it most sincerely; and it is with these sentiments that we beg of you to accept the testimonies of the most fraternal affection and particular esteem, with which we are,
“Very dear and well-beloved Englishmen,
“Your brethren in JESUS CHRIST,
(Signed by Count) GRABIANKA,”
Feb. 12, 1787. And FIVE OTHERS.

Some time after the receipt of this letter, two individuals, William Bryan*, of London, and John Wright, of Leeds, not members of our Society, but who had become acquainted with the circumstances above related, in consequence of Count Grabianka’s visit to this country, and the publication of his letter to us after his return to France, came to the resolution of travelling on foot, (excepting the passage over the water) from London to Avignon, a distance of above 700 miles. This journey they undertook for the sole purpose of joining the Society in the last-mentioned place, and to obtain further information concerning the objects it had in view, as well as the mysteries or hidden secrets of which it professed to be in possession, by a direct revelation from heaven. {48} Without pecuniary means sufficient to defray a third part of the expenses likely to be incurred by travelling even in the humble style of pedest- rians they started from London in high spirits, leaving their families behind them in nearly a destitute condition.
* Of Bryan’s enthusiasm the reader may judge from the following anecdote. Walking with him one day in the streets of London, and conversing with him on the subject of some extraordinary powers to which he pretended, beyond those of his fellow-mortals, I desired him to state what these were; when he declared, that he was possessed of a faith sufficient to demolish and remove everything that opposed any obstacle to his wishes. “For example,” said he, “were I now disposed to exert my faith, and the power inseparable from it, I could, with a single blast of wind from my mouth, overthrow the buildings on either side of the street, and scatter them in all directions.” I smiled at the idea, and told him, I hoped he would have the goodness to keep his faith in check for a while, at least until I had an opportunity of securing a safe retreat from the possible danger. He consented to this, and we both walked on, he without blowing up the street by the intensity of his faith, and I without witnessing the dreadful effects of his vaunted power.- R. H.
After arriving in France, their small stock of money was soon exhausted; unexpected privations and difficulties pressed upon them; and long before they reached the end of their journey, they had to beg their bread on the road by their miserable gestures and appearance, neither of them having the least knowledge of the language of the country in which they were travelling. At Paris they found a third person, (Mr. Boosie) who, on learning the nature of their expedition, readily agreed to accompany them. The latter, collecting what little property he could, made common stock of it; and without further delay, they all marched together from Paris, and after encountering many hardships, at length safely arrived at Avignon, the place
of their destination.
Here they soon found the Society they were in search of; and they were received with a hearty welcome by the various members, to whom they were introduced. After a certain process of examination, probation, and injunction of secrecy, they were finally initiated into the mysteries of their order. Of what nature these mysteries were, may be collected from the following particulars, which transpired soon after the return of the travellers. It was given out, that the members of this Society had immediate communication with heaven; that at certain seasons they assembled at the top of a mountain, where an angel met and conversed with them; that this angel once presented each of them with a glass phial (cork and all) filled with a red liquid; which he told them was the dew of heaven, and which, if carried in their bosoms, would be a continual protection to them against enemies, and would moreover enable them at all times to perform miracles, provided they had sufficient faith in its virtues. On one occasion our travellers were most solemnly introduced to what was called the actual and personal presence of the Lord; which, it appears, was effected by the agency of a comely and majestic young man, arrayed in purple garments, seated on a kind of throne or chair of state, in an inner apartment decorated with heavenly emblems, who thus dared to personate the Lord, and was waiting to receive from these newly-initiated devotees that homage or worship, which is alone due from a creature to his adorable Creator.
That any number of Christians, in modern times, should be associated together with principles and practices like these, is indeed an extraordinary phenomenon; and perhaps can only be accounted for by tracing the existence of such a Society to some Jesuitical scheme and contrivance, to extend the dominion of the Romish priesthood over the souls and bodies of men. {49} For of all the institutions hitherto formed among professors of the Christian religion, none have united so much craft, wickedness, and just of power, to the finest expressions of piety, humility and disinterested love of their neighbour, as that known by the name of the Society of Jesus, the members of which are usually called Jesuits. Whether the Society at Avignon was, or was not, of the character suspected, is now of little consequence, as no result of any moment took place as the effect of the Polish Count’s visit to England; nor did the correspondence, thus begun, appear necessary or even desirable to be continued. Some expressions and sentiments, contained in their letter to the London Society, have a very doubtful and suspicious look, notwithstanding the many endearing terms with which it abounds.
It is remarkable of the city of Avignon on the banks of the Rhone, that it was once the seat of 7 Popes in succession, viz., from 1308 to 1377, and dependent on them till it was united to France; that it contained 7 monasteries, 7 hospitals, 7 colleges, 7 palaces, 7 markets, and 7 gates; with a cathedral, very stately churches, and surrounding avenues of delightful appearance.
When the first vessel sailed with convicts from this country to Botany Bay, under the care of Governor Phillip, in 1787, Mr. John Lowes, a surgeon, who was employed by the government in that expedition, and with whom I was particularly intimate, was entrusted with a large assortment of books, as a present for the use of the new colony. As he was himself favourable to the writings, it was reasonable to expect that he would take care to distribute them in the most judicious manner, both among the officers, his companions, and among such of the crew and convicts as he might think most capable of profiting by them. I had reason afterwards to believe that he discharged the trust reposed in him with care and punctuality: for in a letter received from him after his arrival at Botany Bay, he informed me, that several of the officers approved of the writings, and cordially embraced their contents. But the clergyman, who was appointed chaplain to the expedition, and to the new colony, was much opposed to them, because they were not in agreement with the doctrines of the Established Church. My friend, however, succeeded in distributing them in such a way, as gave hopes of much future good. The wise man says, “Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” Eccles. xi. 1.
On another occasion I sent a small packet of the books to the Dey of Algiers, by an Algerine Captain who had been shipwrecked, and who applied to me in London for assistance to enable him to return to his own country. I interrogated this man pretty closely concerning his misfortune at sea, as well as concerning the state of society in Algiers. {50} He told me that English people were to be found there, and indeed men of almost all nations. I asked him whether he could have access to the Dey, and whether he would undertake to deliver a small parcel of books to him, if I entrusted them to his care. He answered, that, as captain of a vessel, he could without difficulty gain access to his Highness, and that he would faithfully deliver the books, or whatever else I might choose to send, into his own hands. I then gave him what little assistance I could, to increase the sum that had been contributed by other friends, to enable him to return home; and made up a small parcel of English books, which I charged him to deliver to the Dey himself. This opportunity I embraced, though with little hopes or expectation of a favourable result. Yet, as it was impossible to foresee the effects of such a venture, or into whose hands the books might ultimately fall, either at sea, or elsewhere, I committed them to the care of a Mahometan or avowed Infidel, and left the event to the Divine Providence.