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An eminent man once said he could offer five reasons for drinking, and being asked to give them, did so as follows :—

"Good wine, a friend, or being dry,

Or lest you should be by and bye,
Or any other reason why."

But Mr. Joe Smith has, upon a very original ground, added to the number.

And this is the "Bishop of Zion!" to whose " episcopal superintendence" it is said a hundred thousand converts have abandoned their souls. Of course, in so extensive a charge, he has need of the "suffragan bishops" and "elders" with whom Mr. Caswall found him surrounded:

"For his name is a passport to let in older sinners."

With such a character for their "prophet" and episcopalian, it is to be expected that the whole system of Mormonism, religious and civil, is a cunningly devised imposture. The deluded "knight of the temple," whose conversation with Mr. Caswall is above mentioned, spoke to him, it will be remembered, of "a divinely appointed ministry," as amongst the virtues of the "Latter-day Church."

On this head, Mr. Caswall says

"For the continuance of the fraudulent scheme, they proceed to enact a mock ordination, choosing out of the whole body of converts certain individuals, who are deemed the most trustworthy. These assume their blasphemous calling, on the pretended sanction of the Deity-immerse converts after dark, confirm the parties next day, and administer, in the course of two or three days at the farthest, a mock sacrament, to individuals who, in the bewildered state of their minds, scarcely know their right hand from their left."

The services of a "ministry" thus "appointed" are, it may be supposed, wholly deficient in dignity and spirituality. The morning of Mr. Caswall's arrival at Nauvoo was Sunday, and,

"The temple being unfinished, about half-past ten o'clock a congregation of perhaps two thousand persons assembled in a grove, within a short distance of the sanctuary. Their appearance was quite respectable, and fully equal to that of Dissenting meetings generally in the western country..... The officiating elders not having yet arrived, the congregation listened for some time to the performances of a choir of men and women, directed by one who appeared to be a professional singing-master."

......

Probably this gentleman had received a certificate from Messrs. Hullah, Mainzer, and Co. After the hymn had been sung, one of the elders began to pray, and a more awful taking

in-vain of the name of GOD cannot be imagined. The worldly spirit and real designs of the impostors looked out, even in their "prayer;" for this impious petition concluded by calling on the Almighty to bring his sons from far, and his daughters from the ends of the earth, "and let them (continued this new devil's chaplain) bring their silver and their gold with them!" A discourse was then delivered extempore by "an elder, in a green baize jacket," which he threw aside on beginning to address the congregation. This preacher, after some miserable sophistry, intended to show that the Bible did not furnish a complete revelation, concluded by saying

"The work of God is prospering in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; in Australia, and at the Cape of Good Hope; in the East and West Indies; in Palestine; in Africa; and throughout America : thousands, and tens of thousands, are getting converted by our preachers, are baptized for the remission of sins, and are selling off all they have, that they may come to Nauvoo. The great and glorious work has begun, and I defy all earth and hell to stop it."

A hymn was next sung; and a New England Yankee then spoke with great volubility:

:

"He said that his office required him to speak of business. They were all aware that God had, by special revelation, appointed a committee of four persons, and had required them to build a house unto his name, such a one as his servant Joseph should show them......... The speaker proceeded as follows:- Now, brethren, the Lord has commanded this work, and the work must be done. Yes; it shall be done-it will be done.........But only a small amount of stock has hitherto been taken; and the committee appointed by the Lord have had to go on borrowing and borrowing until they can borrow no longer.

.. The committee have made great personal sacrifices to fulfil the commandment of the Lord: I myself came here with seven thousand dollars, and now I have only two thousand, having expended five thou sand upon the work of the Lord. But we cannot go on in this way any longer. I call on you, brethren, to obey God's command, and take stock, even though you may not dress so finely as you do now, or build such fine houses. During this address (continues Mr. Caswall), I noticed some of the English emigrants whom I had seen a few days previously on board the steam-boat at St. Louis. They were listening with fixed attention, and, doubtless, considering how many of their hard-earned sovereigns should be devoted to the pious work of building a fine hotel for the prophet and his posterity. The thought arose in my mind, that these earnest appeals for money were designed mainly for the ears of the three hundred green saints who had just arrived."

The "service" concluded without any stock being taken, and with announcements, by members of the congregation, of petty larcenies that had been committed upon them. Mr. Caswall

pithily remarks on this miserable abortion of preaching and worship, that

"There was no Bible-there was no Lord's Prayer-there were no motives presented to humiliation, self-commination, or any branch of devotion; nothing but senseless speculations on the character of God, idle assertions of special revelations and miraculous gifts, and disgraceful advertisements of stolen goods."

But enough of this disgusting profanation of the name and offices of religion. It is refreshing to turn to the passages in Mr. Caswall's interesting narrative descriptive of the neighbouring race of Indians, who, although heathens, practice honesty and good faith, and are considered by a gentleman in habits of intercourse with them as superior in morality, as well as common sense, to the "Latter-day Saints :"

"Keokuk (says Mr. Caswall) is the present chief of the Sacs and Foxes, having succeeded to the jurisdiction on the demise of the venerable Black Hawk, who died of grief at the age of eighty, in consequence of the treatment experienced by his nation at the hands of the United States. The residence of Keokuk and the chief village of his tribe are situated near the Des Moinès river, and about a day's journey westward of Montrose. The tribe consisted, before the war, of about nine thousand persons, who are now reduced to three thousand. The two sons of Black Hawk still survive, and are noble and princely, both in person and in character. The Indians have the greatest possible contempt for Joseph Smith, and denominate him a Tshe-wál-lis-ke, which signifies a rascal. Nor have other false prophets risen more highly in their estimation. A few years since that notorious deceiver, Matthias, made his appearance one evening at the door of Keokuk's 'waikeop,' or cabin. He wore a long beard, which was parted on each side of his chin; a long gun was on his shoulder, and a red sash around his waist. Keokuk demanded who he was; to which question Matthias replied, that he was Jesus Christ, the only true God, and that he was come to gather the Indians, who were of the seed of Israel.' 'Well (said Keokuk, who is a very dignified man), perhaps you are Jesus Christ, and perhaps you are not. If you are Jesus Christ, you cannot be killed; if you are not Jesus Christ, you are a rascal, and deserve to be shot. Look at these two fine rifle pistols; they were made in New York; they never miss their aim. Now see me sound them with the ramrod. They have a tremendously heavy charge. Now, I point them at you-now, I am going to fire.' At this Matthias suddenly bolted, being unwilling that his claims should be tested by so novel and so striking a mode of theological argument."

6

Mr. Caswall states circumstances which appear to reflect on the common honesty of some of the Mormons. A gentleman resident at Montrose mentioned to him that he had lived five years among heathen Indians, and had never been robbed by them of the most trifling article; but during the three years

which had passed since the Mormons settled there and at Nauvoo, fourteen robberies, to the amount of two thousand dollars, had been committed upon his property. The Mormon Gazette contains an account of two unlucky Mormons, who, being "officers of the Nauvoo legion," were tried by court martial for theft, found guilty, and sentenced to be cashiered, of which sentence Joseph Smith formally approves; and about the same time five more saints are gazetted as being excommunicated from "the Church" for larceny. Joseph Smith and the elders are monopolists in this particular themselves; they of course cannot admit free trade in robbery. So much for the saints.

Mr. Caswall further informs us that

"The sufferings experienced by many of the English emigrants at Nauvoo were described as truly appalling. Nauvoo is one of the most unhealthy spots on the Mississippi, between New Orleans and the falls of St. Anthony. This insalubrity is produced by the low islands adjoining the city, which are frequently overflowed.........I was informed again and again in Montrose, that nearly half of the English who emigrated to Nauvoo, in 1841, died soon after their arrival. Far from the graves of their fathers, remote from the ministers of the true faith, they ended their days in want and wretchedness.

In his sermon of 9th May, 1841, the following words of most Christian consolation were delivered by the prophet to the poor deluded English: Many of the English who have lately come here have expressed great disappointment on their arrival. Such persons have every reason to be satisfied in this beautiful and fertile country: if they choose to complain. they may, but I don't want to be troubled with their complaints. If they are not satisfied here, I have only to say this to them-don't stay whining about me, but go back to England and be d-d.'"

Having regard to the strides which Mormonism has made among the illiterate and uneducated classes in England, and to the treatment which the unfortunate dupes of Smith's zealous missionaries may expect when they have sacrificed their substance and means of existence, to follow and sustain this cruel delusion, it becomes the duty of all persons, whose situation enables them, to counsel their less educated brethren; and of the newspaper press especially, to raise a warning voice, and to diffuse, particularly in the rural districts, where the preachers of Mormonism are the most successfully active, a knowledge of its wickedness and fraud. Mr. Caswall makes the following just remarks, with which we shall conclude the present notice :

"It remains (under God) for Christians of the present day to determine whether Mormonism shall sink to the level of those fanatical sects which, like new stars, have blazed for a little while, and then sunk into obscurity; or whether, like a second Mahometanism, it shall extend itself, sword in hand, until, throughout Western American, Chris

tianity shall be levelled with the dust. And how shall Christians effectually avert the calamity? I reply, by encouraging the feeble and infant Christian institutions already existing in that wonderful land, which Mormonism even now claims as its own......Where are the means which should be provided for the support of the learned clergy in the rising cities of the West?...... Why is the venerable Bishop of Illinois permitted to labour almost alone, while the missionaries of Joseph Smith, with a zeal worthy of the true Church, perambulate his diocese, and plant their standard in every village? If the Churches of England and America possessed the activity of the Mormons, questions like the above would soon be needless. Churchmen would contribute from their poverty, as well as from their riches; churches would be erected, missionaries maintained, and colleges, in which a learned clergy would be educated, could be liberally endowed. Fanaticism, no longer rampant, would hide itself in the darkest recesses of the forest; while pure and genuine religion would be the comfort of the weary emigrant, and the faithful guide of the fifty millions who, doubtless, before another century, will occupy the valley of the Mississippi. How present exigencies shall be met, is a question worthy of the careful consideration of all, both in England and America, who are solicitous for the advancement of truth and piety."

ART. IV.—The City of the Magyar. By Miss PARDOE. London: Virtue. 1841.

Its

2. The Hungarian Castle. By Miss PARDOE. London: Boone. FOR no country in Europe has Nature done more than for Hungary, the land of the Magyar. Almost everything, which requires not the heat of a tropical sun, can be abundantly produced here. Countless acres of rich pasture land need little assistance from man to feed thousands of sheep and oxen. hills and valleys drink enough of sunshine to foster the choicest vines; tobacco grows luxuriantly in its fertile soil; and its majestic mountains are vast storehouses of mineral wealth. With such advantages, and a great river for a highway for its commerce, Hungary, except in name, is little known, and has no rank in the scale of nations, being only a portion of the Austrian empire. Through all changes, and even with the loss of its independence, it has presented strong traces of nationality, and much of its ancient constitution; and from such elements will its regeneration be produced.

It is of no small importance to the spirit of the people that they can still boast of a monarch of their own, the Austrian "kaiser" being duly invested with their ancient crown before his authority is acknowledged. Unfortunately for the progress of Hun

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