1709. ‘Dear Brother: The Lord is dealing bountifully with his chosen people. Brother Barnes admitted to the church forty-nine last Sunday, and Brother Parker thirty-four to-day. Brother Converse has had the cholera, and Brother Fairchild has grown so fleshy as scarcely to be recognised. Our friend Mr. Tarr has buried his wife. She died of consumption. E. Tarr is married. Brother Mahu, being suddenly inspired last Sunday, spoke so eloquently and so loud, and used such majestic action, as to be quite done up for a while. He broke a blood-vessel. Old Tiers has gone crazy, and is shut up in a mad-house, or, rather, a hospital. The H-—- s have gone into the country to spend some time. That’s all the news.
‘Your faithful brother in Christ,
‘R. A.’
1710. ‘Dear Brother: The millennium truly is coming. The day of the Lord is at hand. We are adding countless numbers to the altar of the Lord. Brother A-—- became inspired last Sunday to such a degree, that his soul took its flight to the regions above, and has not yet returned. The Catholic churches, St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s, were burned down; St. Peter’s, also—I believe that is a Catholic church. Brother Mahu was preaching from the text, ‘Resist the devil,’ &c., when he was suddenly overturned by an invisible power, which frightened him so that his hair turned white in five minutes.
1711. ‘Brother Barnes, to render his church more attractive, is going to have opera-singing and dancing every Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Alexander Tower, old Mr. Tiers, Brother Fairchild, and Mrs. Somerville are going to dance. I think they will find it a very lucrative employment. Jane and Martha still progress in Hebrew.
‘Your affectionate brother, M. R.’
1712. On Sunday, April 27th, 1851, on returning from church, the family found strange characters written on the last leaf of a writing-book, lying on the hall floor, although it was known to be in the nursery previous to their going away. None of the family had any knowledge of how the book got into the hall.[38]
1713. H. C. Gordon, a clairvoyant, interpreted the characters as follows: The first line, 95th Psalm, 2d verse; second line, 3d and 6th verse; and the third line, the 10th verse.
1714. Certain characters were found on the wall in the east chamber, on Sunday morning, May 4th, 1851. They were made with a candle on the wall near the south window.
1715. These were translated to be, ‘Spirits of a higher order desire to communicate with you soon.’