society, and prosecute her to recover his due. But this wily actress so managed as to retain this wealthy member in her ranks, and, what was more to her purpose, to keep the money which she then had in her possession. After some altercation, they agreed to have the society so organized as that the property of all should be put into a general fund, and held as common stock for the benefit of the whole; and that he should be appointed overseer and manager of the temporal, while she should devote herself wholly to the spiritual, concerns of the society. As a large majority of her followers had little to give up, and therefore expected to better their condition, at least in this world, by a ready compliance, this plan was no sooner proposed, than adopted by the society. But the project was illy relished by those who possessed wealth, and did not choose to place it in the hands of an individual, over whom they had no control, and who could not be made accountable for the manner in which she might dispose of it; and Jemima, finding herself in danger of losing some of her most wealthy friends and supporters, so modified her decree, as that the members might put into the common stock whatever they pleased.This condescension of the Friend, removed all difficulties, and made those who did not think it pru'dent to part with their fortunes, extremely liberal in their donations.

In order to secure herself against want, Jemima adopted and carried into effect, one of the most bold and impious expedients, perhaps, ever practiced in modern times: whenever she wanted any

thing which she saw in the possession of any of her followers, she would send for them and say, "the Lord hath need of this thing," and strange as it may appear, it is not less true, that several persons, who have in latter years abandoned her society, have repeatedly declared that this demand had frequently been made on them, and that they had immediately complied with it, because they, at the time, verily believed in the divinity of her character, and dared not, on any occasion, disobey her commands. Jemima continued this practice, and almost uniformly enforced obedience, during the remainder of her life; and sometimes with such avaricious severity, that those upon whom these predatory requisitions were made, were constrained to part with articles which were extremely necessary to the comfort of their families.

She continued to travel about the country, and to preach wherever she could obtain an audience, and attempted to establish societies, but for a considerable time met with poor success. She at length, however, succeeded in forming a small congregation at South Kingstown, and another somewhere in Connecticut, who erected meeting houses for her accommodation when she sojourned among them. She was always extremely jealous of the fidelity of her followers, and in continual fear of their falling off, especially the wealthy; accordingly every shift was resorted to for the purpose of securing their continuance in the faith. When her society in Connecticut erected their meeting house, she induced them to enter into a covenant by which it was provided, that those who left the society should forfeis

their rights in the building, (which she denominated the "Temple of the Lord,") and that it should remain the property of those who continued faithful unto the end. In process of time, the members became scattered and fallen off, all but two individuals, to whom the property fell, by the conditions of the association, and they, it is said, sold the building to another society at a handsome speculation. But the poor, she was under no apprehension of losing; the common-stock doctrine was sure to retain those whose adhesion was not so necessary to the advancement of her ultimate objects, and whom she always considered rather as a burthen than otherwise.

Jemima had negociated matches for all her sisters except Deborah, the youngest, and in some instances much above their rank. In this business she was so great an adept, that she found but little difficulty, even with respect to two of them who had previously become mothers without the sanction of those forms, which by the common consent of mankind, are deemed indispensible. The juggling of the Friend overcame all objections, and convinced the dupe of her hypocricy that it was his duty to become her sisters husband. She undoubtedly intended by similar means to provide for herself, whenever a suitable opportunity should occur, but the unpropitious result of her attempt upon Major, and the inconveniencies to which she had been thereby subjected, checked her ambitious hopes on the subject of matrimony, and being now somewhat advanced, having no one among her followers who would answer her purpose,

and seeing no great prospect of splendid additions, she gave up the idea of marriage altogether.

Among the most important and useful of all Jemima's proselytes in Rhode Island, was Mr. P. a gentleman of handsome fortune and high standing in his neighbourhood. He was very much devoted to the interests of Jemima, held her in the highest veneration, and entertained her with the greatest kindness and hospitality whenever she visited his family, a part of whom also became members of the society. Jemima finding his residence an agrecable one, so managed as to obtain his invitation to make it her home, which she very modestly accepted, and remained with him the principal part of the time for three years. During this period, and shortly after giving up her intended journey to England, Jemima secluded herself altogether from company, confined herself entirely to her apartments, and interdicted the approach of every one excepting two of her confidential female friends, who remained with her. At the end of about seven months, she again made her appearance in public, but so wan and feeble, as to leave no doubt, on the minds of those who did not choose to be deceived, as to the nature and necesity of her confinement. About this time, Jemima, at the instigation, and with the assistance of one Sarah Richards, who had recently joined the society, introduced into her creed a new point of doctrine, prohibiting matrimony among her followers, as unlawful and an "abomination unto the Lord." Ske preached this doctrine vehemently, and in the most positive manner required her unmarried disciples

to suppress every inclination which tended to the commission of such an awful crime. Nay, she attempted to extend this tenet so far as to separate those who had entered into wedlock before she had discovered the great iniquity of marriage, and while she was yet negociating matches for her sisters. But having been deceived and injured by her dear Major, and becoming disgusted with the idea of wedlock, her mind had now undergone an entire change on this subject. Her own disappointments had engendered the most bitter resent:nent, which she was illy able to conceal, while her envious temper tormented her jealous bosom at seeing others enjoy that felicity of which she had been cheated. There were also other reasons which undoubtedly operated strongly on her mind, and had their full share of influence in bringing her to an open declaration of war against matrimony. The greatest part of her unmarried adherents were poor, and she did not wish to see that description of followers multiply on her hands, as they must necessarily be, in some measure, assisted from the common stock, which was at no time sufficient to satisfy her own avarice. She enforced, to the utmost of her authority, a rigid observance of her injunctions on this subject, and such was the unrelenting and tyrannical temper of this destroyer of human happiness, and so strong the delusion which she had already fastened upon her too cre dulous people, that few of her devoted followers dared to disobey her unhallowed mandates.Wives abandoned their husbands, and husbands their wives, in almost all cases where only one of