"Here is WISDOM: let him who hath greater answer it; but let it not be answered by a Fool: for, in so doing, he will expose his Folly."

LONDON:

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HANN'S remarks on the history of my life. He begins with saying, "Joanna Southcott was "born at Getsham, a small town in Devonshire, "in the year 1753. According to Joanna's own

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account, at a very early period her mind was susceptible of religious impressions, and was "much influenced by the truths of the Gospel. "This is her own account: "From my early age, "the fear of the Lord was deeply placed on my "mind and heart; reading the Gospel of Christ, "and all the persecution he went through, made

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me love him, and fear to offend him; and I "felt my heart burn with indignation against "his accusers; and that as I grew in years I. grew in grace, and in the fear of the Lord."

Under these impressions, we may naturally suppose, that Joanna exercised herself very "much in reading the Bible; and the more so as her mind was not diverted from it by other pursuits; for it is evident that she received but "" a very illiberal education. Thus given up to "the reading and study of the Scripture, she of course became very conversant with the Bible, "and retained a great deal of it in her memory. "This was a good beginning; and, when I compare such a beginning with the present

"state of her religious pursuits, and the history thereof, since her religious phrensy took pos"session of her mind, it fills me with surprise, "with pity, with indignation, and with horror. "To Joanna may fitly be applied St. Paul's ad"dress to the Galatians: "Ye did run well; "who did hinder you, that ye should not obey "the Truth?" It was in the year 1792 that "Joanna first gave herself up to the spirit of "delusion."

I answer: as he began without knowledge where I was born, or what year I was born in, so without knowledge he hath went on in every thing concerning me, from his own suppositions. I do not understand the meaning of his words, saying I had a very illiberal education; without he means, that I had not a learned education; and this is true. I was not brought up to learning; yet I was brought up in the strictest religion, to be taught my duty towards God and

But as Hann hath simply supposed, that I spent my time in reading the Bible, not having other pursuits, he is greatly mistaken; for I was brought up to industry, from my early age; and had so much employment, that I had but little time for reading; neither did I give my mind to study the Scriptures. But the love of God in Christ Jesus, set forth in the Gospel, made a deep impression on my mind and heart, in my early age; and which was deeply explained to me from my mother; so that what I did not understand myself, I was instructed by her, as to what belonged to my own salvation; and that was all my knowledge, or thoughts concerning the Scriptures, and what I set my mind and heart upon as to what I should do to be saved. For the thoughts of death were always before me when I saw the young die, I thought I might be cut off, as well as them; and when I

saw the aged die, though they had lived to a great age, yet their sands ran out at last; so that whether I was cut off a flower in its bud, or whether I lived to old age, I well knew death must put a stop, sooner or later, to my life in this world. As this is no continuing city, therefore my heart was fixed on a better world, where joys will never end, and where sorrow can never come. If I had a building with God, eternal in the heavens; these were my pondering thoughts, without having much time to read the Scriptures, which I meditated upon in my employment, and made me earnest in prayer to the Lord for some assurance, that I had found favour with the Lord. My petition and answer may be seen in the 205th page of the Strange Effects of Faith. This was in the year 1772; and from that time I had always directions for myself, in every time of trouble and difficulty, which is already published. So that the visiting Spirit, which Hann calls a delusion, that came to me in ninety-two, had been my guide and guard from the year 1772 to that time; but then it came with power, to warn me of what was coming upon the whole earth; and from the past, that I have mentioned, never being deceived by the Spirit, and the holy fear that seized me, when the visitation came with power to call all the past to my remem brance, it fully assured me, that the visitation was from the Lord. But as many religious people strove to persuade me, that none of the things I was warned of would take place, and that Satan was come as an angel of light to deceive me, and that I myself was not ignorant of his devices, this filled me with fear mixed with my faith, fearing that Satan might deceive me; therefore my earnest prayer was to the Lord, that he would be my guide, guard, and keeper, and not suffer the devil to deceive, by coming