How all the substance will appear,
For the death warrant's hastening here:
Unto the shepherds this will be,
And their convulsions you will see
To be much greater than the child's;
For now the learned will be foil'd.
For here's a mystery none do see,
How the Tenth Year these things must be,
To have thy letters blaz'd abroad,
A way that may be er understood;
But judg'd the letters sent before *
Did in like manner so appear;
But then thy letter could not be,
'Thou publish'd then the mind of me
In public letters for to send;
But now I tell thee, by thy friend
Thy letter is publish'd all abroad :
And all the others will be know'd
To Ay abroad to man the same;
For here's the letters I did namet,
That I should make to fly abroad;
And now their conduct will be know'd,
For different roads they now will take,
Until they find the truth to break.
But from what shadows you don't discern
The way or manner I to you do warı;
It was a private letter blazd abroad,
When in November every truth was know'd :
And now to make the likeness all agree,
It is the private letter I tell thee,
That by the public now must fly abroad;
For like the shadows must the truth be knowd;'
For so the substance in the end must burst,
You ne'er discernd the manner of the first,
Nor how the shadow it did first appear:
When Pomeroy read his name in public there,
That thou didst put in print by my Command,
But now the substance all may understand."

(signed,)

JOANNA SOUTHCOTT.

Dear Miss TOWNLEY,

May 23d, 1804, In answer to the Letters being returned, you say, the day the child was buried, and the Letters sent the

Jo au

* Parliament Letters,
† See page 82 of Joanna's Six Books of Prophecies.

day he was designed to be buried, I was answered in the following manner:

" As this day was designed for the child's funeral, and this day the letters are sent, it will be for their funerals if the living do not lay it to heart. But as the child was buried the day before, and the letters did not go that day, if they come forward like the letters, the funeral is gone before them; and by the child's death they may have life. If they do as these have done, to improve their time for the future,' and be strict to obey my Commands; then I shall change my Threatenings into Blessings, as thy Brother changed his 'funeral; and my sunshine sh ll rise upon them. If they now tuțn unto me, I will now turn unto them. And now I will tell thee why I have made thee a prisoner: Because I know the weakness of thy nature, mind, and heart. I put thee to the trial by Pomeroy, and saw the weakness of thy heart: thou hadst no fortitude to withstånd one man, but signed thy name, to please him, to what he never said but once ; and that was by putting his name in print, which he said was from the devil; but he never said thy writings were*. But as he complained to thee, thou hadst no fortitude to dispute with him. Therefore, now I have made thee a prisoner, to see no one before it is disputed by those that have more strength and fortitude than thou hast got; and not to give up to any before they give their strong reasons, why they judge thy prophecies come from the Devil; and how they can prove such types and shadows were first placed by him; and how the substance came in such manner, in the tenth year, wherein thou sawest the light of the candles; and how thy Brother should have a Son in that very ycar, that had nought but daughters before : but he said he had a Son dead-born before the time. And now I tell thee, like dead-born

the living children shall appear. Here thy heart beginneth to ponder : Will the living children die, like the child ? To this I answer: the living chil.. dren, that are to die before my Kingdom is establish, ed on this Earth, shall die as innocent as the child did; , for I will not impute any more sin to them than I imputed to the child, that had committed no sin. But as the child's name shall stand for ever in remembrance, and dying in convulsions is left.on record, so shall their names, for ever-, stand, in honour ta them; and their virtues be recorded, like the child's convulsions, for the pains they have taken to bring in a guilty land. So here I have compared my living children to the dying child, if, they die before my Kingdom is established. But, as the other was living, all will not die before the time ; 'but the child, that standęth as a type I compared of my Death, must die before the time, to shew the shadow of thy Writings, which I ordered as a sign to put as in the grave *; and so, by the child's death, I ordered my Shepherds to be warned, to bring them forth by the death of the child. Now let the learned answer, how Satan should place the writings first as a shadow of death, and how death should come to thy Brother's Son in the tenth year of the Vision , and in the month of May to die in conyulsions; a month that I threatened a fatal month for man? Let these things be answered by the learned, before I permit thee to appear : for well I know thy weakness; and as Satan cannot overcome thee in any form he can come himself, I know he will try, as an angel of light, ta come in man. Therefore I will not leave thee to Man, as Adam left Eve to the Serpent. Thou hast trusted to my protection, and my protection tho' shalt have: for I myself have made thee a prisoner;

! A vault under the High House at Paddington.

See page 17 of the first six Books of Prophecies, 1794.

and it would be fatal for any man to seek to find thee out, to break my prison doors, before they have brought thee to a fair Trial, then thou shalt appear; and as my guardian angels have guarded and kept thee from all the arts and power of hell, now let my friends, brothers, mother, and sister, keep thee from all the arts, and power of men; for there will Satan try to work, to prevent the truth from being tried and proved; as he knoweth, if the truth is tried ang proved, they will prove the calling from the Lord; and then MY' KINGDOM must come in :

As men's desire will daily come
To wish my Kingdom to appear;
And then he knows I'll bring it here,
And then his Kingdom it not fall.
And now I tell you ope and all, .

That'men's desire must fi st appear
Before I bunsiny kin doni here;
Audithe desires I soon shall know
When I have prov'd my writings truci
Because thy writings are from ME,
That every soul shall know and see;
Tor so I'll prove them in the end.
But first with man I shall contend,
To see what in them all do lye,
And then they'll find I'm come in the
So strong in power for to appear,
That all hall know their Lord is here,

That in the end I said should come;
. In marvellous things appear to man;

o man; ,
And so mankind may marvel here
The way that I in thee appear,
To keep thee secret at the first,
Before men's judgment it is cast;
And then in wonders to appear,
The sacred Truth then in all to clear.
And this to Townley thou must send,
And tell her, as a faithful friend,
Where thou residest no man must know,
Before their judyinent they do shew,
To tell from whence thy writings came,
And then they'll surely know my Name.

6. Now let Townley answer all that enquire for thee, the Lord has commanded her not to tell ; for she will not tell them; and it is fruitless for the Serpent to come in man to her, and tell her that it is the

Lord's command to conceal thee. She must tell them, they must convince her, from strong arguments and just reasons, how this is all brought round by the Devil, before she will disobey the command of the Lord.”

Here, my dear Miss Townley, you see what a strict charge is given to you, not to discover my abode ; neither must you let my friends in London know what place you have taken for me, or where my abode is. I am very comfortable, and hope to have the happiness of seeing you soon. I am sure of the pleasure of seeing Underwood every day, to bring me all the news, and to receive the directions. I have another communication to write you to-morrow; but you know I must have my secretary. The Lord bless you, and strengthen you to stand the fiery trial with men. The people in this house are very quiet and civil. Accept my kind love; and am yours sincerely in heart and mind.

(Signed,) JOANNA SOUTHCOTT.

Another communication added, May 24th, morning, in answer to the wind and rain that came on soon after the letters were gone out of town by the mail; and condeyed in the same letter.

-:" As the wind and rain arose when the coach was carrying the warning to mankind, and the cup is now held out to man, they may drink it which way they will : for Townley hath wisely discerned, to weigh the past with the present. Therefore I told thee at Leeds, that were she called forward to give account of her faith, she could give a clearer judgment than man; because she hath discerned what is fulfilled, and what is not. Therefore I have chosen her to warn the shepherds; and if they take not the warn