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

REV. SIR,

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

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

I remain, Reverend Sir,

Your humble servant,

Oct. 1, 1804.

:

J. P.

TO THE REVEREND MR. POMEROY,

REV. SIR,

BODMIN, CORNWALL.

Oct. 8th, 1804.

I cannot pen my astonishment on hearing the letter read, that you sent to Mr. Bruce, concerning me, which I am bound in duty to turn back upon your own head. If you have so far stifled conscience, as to let it come as a swift witness against you, I have living witnesses of all the letters I put in your hand. Reflect how many letters Mrs. Boucher hath delivered to you from me; how many letters Miss Bird hath carried you, six sheets of paper at once at the end of 1797; consider how many letters Mrs. Taylor hath sent you by her servant; and how many Mrs. Symonds's children. Now I have living witnesses, as it is known to you, that copied off the letters that I put in your hands; and of a particular instance in 1796, the perfect truth of 1797, of Italy and England; the truth of the harvests of 1799 and the 1800; and the truth of the harvest of 1801; with many other weighty and true prophecies, that are now upon the Earth. All these you promised faithfully you would return, for me or against me; and you never told me in your life you had destroyed them; but you told me they were all safe. But, when I demanded them in 1802, you told Mr. Taylor you had burnt them; and said I had written you a severe letter for doing it. And when Mr. Taylor reproved you, you said you were persuaded to do it. Now you say I desire of you what is impossible for you to do. I grant it is impossible for you to return the letters, if you have burnt them. But is it a thing impossible for you to act as an honest, upright man; to acknowledge your fault in burning the letters, and betraying the trust that was put in you; and to act with honour, to acknowledge the truth they contained? Have you given yourself up so far to the powers of darkness, to have such influence over you, that it is impossible for you to act with honour and honesty? Then I have more reason to say your senses are deranged, and that you are led by an evil spirit, than you have to say I am deranged, or that an evil spirit leads me. Know what is said, the 12th chapter of Proverbs, 19th verse-" The lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment." And the letter you have sent to Mr. Bruce is full of lies: as you say I have published false accusations and charges against you. Now, Sir, I can bring forward ten living witnesses, that I have published nothing concerning you but the truth; and your own conscience is witness against you. For if I had published any thing that was false, the law is open, and you would appear to clear your own honour, if you could; but you know that is impossible, unless you come forward to acknowledge your faults. Trying to conceal them only brings you deeper and deeper into them. Now, as to your saying mine is malicious conduct, to contend for the truth, you must put your Bible out of doors; but I think you have acted with injurious and malicious conduct towards me: First, to advertise me as a woman being led by the Devil; and said nothing else would free you from trouble; then to burn all the letters I had put in your hands, because the truth should not appear for me. Now where could a man act

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with greater malice and unjust principles than that? Now you say it is not consistent with a merciful and benevolent God, to visit you as I do, for your unjust dealing to me. Then what do you make of the prophecies of Jeremiah, 36th chapter 23d verse ? where Jehoiakim-" had read three or four leaves he cutit with a pen-knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire. Yet they were not afraid."-But know what the Lord said to Jeremiah, in the 28th verse: "Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him, and his seed, and his servants, for their iniquity." Now did the unbelief of Jehoiakim prevent the evils that the Lord, had threatened against him? And did not the Lord command Jeremiah to warn Jehoiakim again, of the evil that he had done in burning the roll? Yet, when he did it, I suppose he judged Jeremiah as deluded a man as you judge me a deluded woman; but his judgment did not prevent the Lord from ordering Jeremiah to trouble him again; nor prevent the judgments that were threatened against him. Now the ridiculous judgment you have drawn of me, as being a deranged woman, does not make me so, no more than the unbelief of Jehoiakim made Jeremiah a false prophet; or the unbelief of Lot's sons proved their father an old fool; or the unbelief of the Jews

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proved that our Saviour was not the Messiah that was prophesied of. I do not tell you what my judgment is of you; neither do I ask you what your judgment is of me; I only ask for equity, justice, and truth; and that you have denied me. So I do not marvel at the ridiculous manner you have spoken of me; for people often hate those they have injured. And now the words of the Lord concerning you, are like the words of the Lord to Jeremiah, concerning Jehoiakim. In three things you have provoked the Lord to anger against you: in turning me from the sacrament, in betraying your trust, in burning the roll wherein the words of the Lord were contained; and so you have done despite to the Spirit of God. Now judge for yourself; if you say your honour is gone, who robbed you of that honour, but your own wrong conduct? Why have you not done in the first place, as you now say you would do, if you had got them now, you would return them? But why did you not return them when you had got them? Why did you burn them? Your saying what you would do now, is like a man that has committed murder, and when he is called to take his trial, say if the man were now alive I would not kill him; and so I hope the judge will forgive me; because it is impossible for me now to bring the man to life and so I know it is impossible for you to recal the wrong principles that you have acted with; but if you have any regard for the glory of God, or any regard for your own honour as a minister, you would now come forward to clear up every truth. I would not lie under the slander of your letter without coming forward to clear myself if you would give me a million of money. If I were to do so, I must disgrace my God and Saviour, whose servant I profess to be; and to know his will and obey it is the study and practice of my life: and the advice you gave me, in your