1016 
till he had got the evil spirits out of 
them; that there never was a man 
$0 highly favoured of God as him- 
self; that he would not thank God 
to make him any thing, unless he 
made him greater than any man upon 
earth, and gave him power above all 
men; and he boasted, upon hearing 
the death of one who had censured 
him, that he had fasted and prayed 
three days and three nights, beseech- 
ing God to take vengeance upon 
that man and send him to eternity. 
Where such impious bedlamites as 
this are allowed to walk abroad, it 
is not to be wondered at that mad- 
ness should becomeepidemic. Joanna 
Southcott lived in a house which this 
man frequented, and where, not- 
withstanding his infamous life, his 
pretensions to supernatural gifts 
were acknowledged, and he was ac- 
customed to preach and pray. The 
servants all stood in fear of him. Sie 
says, he had no power over her, but 
she used to think the room was full 
of spirits when he was in prayer ; 
and he was so haunted that he never 
could sleep in a room by himself, 
for he said his wife came every night 
to trouble him: she was perplexed 
about him, fully believing that he 
wrought miracles, and wondering 
by what spirit he wrought them. 
After she became a prophetess her- 
self, she discovered that this San- 
derson was the false prophet in the 
Revelations, who is to be taken 
with the Beast, and cast alive with 
him into a lake of burning brim- 
Stone. 
Four persons have written to 
Joanna upon the subject of ber pre- 
tended mission, each calling himself 
Christ! One Mr. Leach, a methodist 
preacher, told her to go to the Lord 
in his name, and tell the Lord that 
he said her writings were inspired 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806. 
by the devil. These circumstances 
show how commonly delusion, blas-— 
phemy, and madness are to be found — 
in this country, and may fessen our 
wonder at the phrensy of Joanna 
and her followers. Her own ca- 
reer began humbly, with prophecies 
concerning the weather, such as the © 
popular English almanacks contain, 
and threats concerning the fate of 
Europe, and the successes of the 
French, which were at that time the 
speculations of every newspaper, 
and of every alehouse politician. 
Some of these guesses having chanced 
to be right, the women of the family 
in which she then worked at the up- 
holstering business, began to Jend 
ear to her, and she ventured to sub. 
mit her papers to the judgment of 
one Mr. Pomeroy, the clergyman 
whose church she attended in Ex- 
eter. He listened to her with timid 
curiosity, rather wanting courage 
than credulity to become her dis- 
ciple; received from her certain 
sealed prophecies which were at. 
some future time to be opened, 
when, as it would be.seen that they 
had been accomplished, they would 
prove the truth of her inspiration ; 
and sanctioned, or seemed to sanc- 
tion, her design of publishing her 
call to the world, But in this pub- 
lication his own name appeared, and 
that in such a manner as plainly to 
imply, that if he had not encou- 
raged her to print, he had; not en. 
deayoured to prevent her from so 
doing. His cyes were immediately 
opened to his own imprudence, 
whatever they may have been to the 
nature of her call, and he obtained 
her consent to insert an advertise- 
ment in the newspaper with her sig- 
nature, stating that he had said it 
was the work of the devil. But 
here the parties are at issue: as the 
; advertisé~ 
