The days are short and the nights are long,
The houses are cold as a Yankee's barn—
The smoky chimneys, and open doors
Are nicely matched by damp stone floors.
Kindle the fire, but it will not blaze
Unless you open the door a ways.
Shut the door, and the crack above
Is broader than a Christian's love;
Or, if tight above, then the gap below
Is as wide as the hole where sinners go.
Turn it over, twist it around.
It is all the same, whether up or down—
A rainy, smoky, foggy England.
Saturday, December 8th, we returned to Cheltenham and remained a week, visiting among the people. I wrote:
"Mrs. M. A. Tippetts, Dear Sister: Your kind letters and view cards are safe in hand. I thank you for them. Yesterday we mailed a 'Voice of Warning' to your uncle. It is as you say, a most excellent book for circulation, and I hope in this case it will do good. We are much pleased to see the faith you manifest in your works and words. May the Father bless you, and make you a savior to your husband and your dear children.
"The Latter-day Saints—and they alone, as far as I have seen—feel today as the people of God in days of old felt, when men were blessed with visions and visitations of angels, and often held communion with God Himself. See the blessing on the head of Rebecca,—Gen. 24:60; also Rachel's desires as recorded in Gen. 30; also Hannah's thanksgivings, Samuel 1-2 chapters. These are the feelings that inspire the hearts of the Latter-day Saints; feelings which give strength to our sisters to share with each other the protection and affection of a worthy husband; and which inspire our brethren to assume the responsibilities of providing for large families, to the end that virtue may be sustained, and every woman enjoy the blessing of motherhood, without committing sin.
"A person must be a fool who cannot see that it requires more toil and care to support two families than it does to support one. Hence, if the Saints were wicked and sensual, as the world say they are, they would seek pleasure where it could be purchased most cheaply, as men of the world do. But the principles of the Gospel, including celestial marriage, lead to a purity of life, that those who know not God are strangers to.
"I hope your husband will continue to read my letters. They are poorly written, which I cannot help; but they speak the truth. They are not the emanations of a person paid for his labor. I am not working for 'bread and butter.' The little education I have was acquired in the midst of severe toil—often acquired while lying on the ground by the camp fire. Those who love the truth, however, will pass these imperfections by, and rejoice in the testimonies of God's humble servants; and realize that their words, like the holy scriptures, bear the impress of the spirit of Jehovah upon them."
On Monday, December 17th, I parted with President Jacobs, walking to Tewksbury, nine miles. Farmers were busy plowing and sowing grain; and gardeners were transplanting as if it were spring. As I was passing through Taunton, Mrs. Evans hailed me, asking if I was a Mormon Elder, and invited me to dinner.
I soon learned the motive—there were five Church of England ministers visiting with them. I consequently spent the afternoon in a lively discussion. I was surprised at the wisdom given me, for I had the best of the argument, and three of the ministers left, in a rage. Mrs. Evans was pleased, and invited me to call again.
In the evening after the discussion, I walked eight miles to Pendock Cross, and stayed all night with Thomas Newman. The family being poor, had but one bed, so I sat up all night in a wooden-bottomed chair. Yet I slept, and had a dream, in which I saw an old lady, then a stranger to me, give me the gold to pay her fare to Zion.
The next day I walked fifteen miles, and found Mother Jaynes. She had not seen an elder for nine years, and was living on the parish. Yet she gave me her passage money; and when I came home, I brought her with me, thus literally fulfilling the dream.