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    case * a « # h 0 t $ d appear as dead for three or fo 4 ir * iay « 5 no--ferae should be used to extricate tha ^^ ld , but * o leave her according-4 otbe < iireetfons given by the Spirit , to be Itept as -warm as possible till there is a visible change taken place either in life , or that actual deatfh has taken place to the -f ilii -satisfaction of he r friends . *'

    In this state of mind , wavering between hope and despair , she appears to have lingered till the day of her death . For a few hours before this awful event she was insensible though with some lucid intervals . During these she appeared conscious of her approaching dissolution , which her disciples regarded as a prelude to that

    birth which they so-eagerly and so blindly expected . She now dictated a Will , in which she expressed her conviction that $ he had ibeen visited by some good or evil spirit . Hoping- that she should soon revive , * vbich she was satisfied would be the

    case if- she Jiad been visited foy the Lord , she . desired she might be preserved with every tender care for ^ owr days after dissolution , the fourth being that on which , under Providence , she expected she should be / restored to life and delivered . If . that

    period expired without any symptoms of re-animation , she directed that her ] body might be submitted to skilful operators . Soon after she had thus made known her pleasure she expired - No painful feelings were excited by this event in the minds . of Joanna ' s proselytes . One < of them said that u her soul would

    return , . having only gone to heaven to legitimate the child wjiich would be born . ' * They proceeded to wrap the corpse in warm blankets , to apply bottles of hot water to the fet , and to keep the room warm in which she lay , hoping by these means to prepare the body for the return of the spirit , which they considered a * merely" gone

    for a while . " The news of peace with America arrived on . the day of bar death , a circumstance which inspired her followers with fresh confidence . ; U If you do not < see that God is about to do-a great work , you must be blind indeed , exclaimed one of them . Two days after her death , although putrefaction had evidently b « gun to take

    place , still their confidence was unabated . Of the revival of Joanna . they had no doubts , and all their anxiety was , that the world might be convinced she was really dead . Nine medical gentlemen were called * n to have ocular demonstration of this fact , and a declaration was published in the daily Papers , from which we extract the

    following remarkable passage . 4 i Her friend * know her to be dead , but the arm of the Lord . is not shortened , and if he is about to do a gceat work upon the earth , as tliey 4 rmly believe he is , they know that ne . caa as easily mine the dead to jiife ^ owakea person out of a trance . Mrs . SoutheotVt worilo always have been . Sthat death

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    or life would end the strife ; ' and om that ground her believers rest the question . " This infatuation continued the third and even the fourth day , and the medical gentlemen who were appointed to open the body , were not permitted to touch it till the expiration of the last minute of the appointed time : crowds assembled before the door , and the inquiries respecting her reanimation were made with the most

    anxious hope , and the most eager expectation . The expiration of four days and nights brought not with it Ihe destruction of the ^ e hopes , and when her followers were forced to relinquish all expectation that the life of the mother would be restored , they still expected the birth of the promised child . " Their disappointment

    ( says Dr . Reece ) on the opening of the body , may be better conceived than described . It was strong-ly depicted in every countenance . They had all pictured to themselves many happy days , the enjoyment of heaven on earth . This unexpected change , so suddenly coming upon them , was too much to bear . None however

    condemned her as an impostor . One declared that he would ever revere her memory , and once a month visit the spot where she was laid with pious and reverential awe !" On Monday , Jan . 1 st , her remains were

    interred with the greatest privacy . The corpse was accompanied by three or four friends in disguise ; and the few spectators whom curiosity attracted around the grave , had not the slightest suspicion that the coffin before them contained the

    body of Joanna Southcott . Thus ended a delusion which has at once surprised and disgraced our age and country . In going over the particulars above stated , we have doubted whether Joanna herself was not in some measure one of its dupes . Two of her physicians have published accounts of her illness and

    death , and they both agree that " she was more infatuating than infatuated ? " * But for the honour o » f human nature , we hope that to persist in imposture when in the prospect of approaching death , and even to die with it falling from the lips , is a height of wickedness impossible to be attained . On this question opinions will

    vary , and we must leave her in the hands of the merciful Judge of all the earth , who in the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed , will do right . Whether 7 c 5 Joanna was deluded or not , it is plain from the published accounts that she was exceedingly ignorant : and it is surprising

    that without any attractions of body or mind , she should have made such an impression on the religious world . Surprising as this appears , it may be accounted for , and we do not blaipe bat pity thecredulity . of her followers . The blame must attach to the popular system t > f religion

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    Death of Joanna Smttiwolf , 53

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1815, page 59, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1756/page/59/