MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV), FREDERICK MARRYAT [easy novels to read .txt] 📗

While He Would Reap A Golden Harvest, And Quietly Retire Before

The Coming Of A Storm. But, As Is Often The Case, He Reckoned without

His Host; For It So Happened that, In searching For A Tool Of This

Description, He Found In joe Smith One Not Precisely What He Had

Calculated upon. He Wanted a Compound Of Roguery And Folly As His Tool

And Slave; Smith Was A Rogue And An Unlettered man, But He Was What

Rigdon Was Not Aware Of--A Man Of Bold Conception, Full Of Courage And

Mental Energy, One Of Those Unprincipled, Yet Lofty, Aspiring Beings,

Who, Centuries Past, Would Have Succeeded as Well As Mahomet, And Who

Has, Even In this More Enlightened age, Accomplished that Which Is

Wonderful To Contemplate.

 

 

 

When It Was Too Late To Retract, Rigdon Perceived with Dismay That,

Instead Of Acquiring a Silly Bondsman, He Had Subjected himself To A

Superior Will; He Was Now Himself A Slave, Bound By Fear And Interest,

His Two Great Guides Through Life. Smith Consequently Became, Instead Of

Rigdon, "The Elect Of God," And Is Now At The Head Of Thousands, A Great

Religious And Political Leader.

 

 

 

From The Same Gentleman, I Also Learned the History Of Joseph Smith; And

I Will Lay Before The Reader What, From Various Documents, I Have

Succeeded in collecting Concerning This Remarkable Impostor, Together

With A Succinct Account Of The Rise And Progress Of This New Sect, As It

Is A Remarkable Feature In the History Of Nations.

Chapter XXXVIII

My Readers Have Already Been Made Acquainted with The History Of The

"Book," Upon Which The Imposture Of Mormonism Has Been Founded, And Of

The Acquaintance Which Took Place Between Rigdon And Joe Smith, Whose

Career I Shall Now Introduce.

 

 

 

The Father Of Joe Was One Of A Numerous Class Of People Who Are Termed,

In The West, "Money Diggers," Living a Sort Of Vagrant Life, Imposing

Upon The Credulous Farmers By Pretending That They Knew Of Treasure

Concealed, And Occasionally Stealing Horses And Cattle. Joseph Smith Was

The Second Son, And A Great Favourite Of His Father, Who Stated

Everywhere That Joe Had That Species Of Second Sight, Which Enabled him

To Discover Where Treasure Was Hidden. Joe Did Certainly Turn Out Very

Smart, And It Was Prophesied by The "Old Ones" That, Provided he Was Not

Hung, Joe Would Certainly Become A General, If He Did Not Gain The

Office Of President Of The United states. But Joe'S Smartness Was So

Great, That Palmyra, Where His Father Usually Resided, Became Too Small

For The Exercise Of His Talents, And Our Hero Set Off On His Travels.

 

 

 

Some Time Afterwards Joe Was Again Heard Of. In one Of His Rambles, He

Had Gone To Harmony (Pennsylvania), And There Formed an Acquaintance

With A Young Woman. In the Fall Of 1826, Being Then At Philadelphia, He

Resolved to Go And Get Married to Her, But, Being Destitute Of Means, He

Now Set His Wits To Work To Raise Some Money And Get A Recommendation,

So As To Obtain The Fair One Of His Choice. He Went To A Man Named

Lawrence, And Stated that He Had Discovered in pennsylvania, On The Bank

Of The Susquehanna River, A Very Rich Mine Of Silver, And If He,

Lawrence, Would Go There With Him, He Might Have A Share In the Profits;

That It Was Near High Water Mark, And That They Could Put The Silver

Into Boats, And Take It Down The River To Philadelphia, And Dispose Of

It. Lawrence Asked joseph If He Was Not Deceiving Him.

 

 

 

"No," Replied joe, "For I Have Been There And Seen It With My Own Eyes,

And If You Do Not Find It Is So When We Get There, I Will Bind Myself To

Be Your Servant For Three Years."

 

 

 

By Oaths, Asseverations, And Fair Promises, Lawrence Was Induced to

Believe In joe'S Assertion, And Agreed to Go With Him; And As Joseph Was

Out Of Money, Lawrence Had To Defray The Whole Expenses Of The Journey.

When They Arrived at Harmony, Joseph Was Strongly Recommended by

Lawrence, Who Was Well Known To The Parents Of The Young Woman; After

Which, They Proceeded on Their Journey To The Silver Mine, Made A

Diligent Search, And Of Course Found Nothing. Thus Lawrence Had His

Trouble For His Pains, And Returned home With His Pockets Lighter Than

When He Started, Whilst Honest Joe Had Not Only His Expenses Paid, But A

Good Recommendation To The Father Of His Fair One.

 

 

 

Joe Now Proposed to Marry The Girl, But The Parents Were Opposed to The

Match. One Day, When They Happened to Be From Home, He Took Advantage Of

The Opportunity, Went Off With Her, And The Knot Was Tied.

 

 

 

Being Still Destitute Of Money, He Now Again Set His Wits To Work To

Contrive To Get Back To Manchester, At That Time His Place Of Residence,

And He Hit Upon The Following Plan, Which Succeeded. He Went To An

Honest Old Dutchman, By The Name Of Stowel, And Told Him That He Had

Discovered on The Banks Of The Black River, In the Village Of Watertown

(Jefferson County, N.Y.), A Cave, In which He Found A Bar Of Gold As Big

As His Leg, And About Three Or Four Feet Long; That He Could Not Get It

Out Alone On Account Of Its Great Weight; And If Stowel Would Frank Him

And His Wife To Manchester (N.Y.), They Would Then Go Together To The

Cave, And Stowel Should Share The Prize With Him. The Good Dutchman

Consented.

 

 

 

A Short Time After Their Arrival At Manchester, Stowel Reminded joseph

Of His Promise, But He Coolly Replied that He Could Not Go Just Then, As

His Wife Was Amongst Strangers, And Would Be Very Lonesome If He Quitted

Her. Mr. Stowel Was, Like Mr. Lawrence, Obliged to Return Without Any

Remuneration, And With Less Money Than He Came. I Mention These Two

Freaks Of Joe Smith, As They Explain The Money-Digger'S System Of Fraud.

 

 

 

It Would Hardly Be Believed that, Especially Among The Cunning Yankees,

Such "Mines And Treasures" Stories Should Be Credited; But It Is A

Peculiar Feature In the U.S. That The Inhabitants, So Difficult To

Over-Reach In other Matters, Will Greedily Take The Bait When "Mines" Or

"Hidden Treasure" Are Spoken Of. In missouri And Wisconsin, Immense Beds

Of Copper Ore And Lead Have Been Discovered in every Direction.

Thousands Of Poor, Ignorant Farmers, Emigrants From The East, Have

Turned diggers, Miners, And Smelters. Many Have Accumulated large

Fortunes In the Space Of A Few Years, And Have Returned "Wealthy

Gentlemen" To Their Own Native State, Much To The Astonishment Of Their

Neighbours.

 

 

 

Thus Has The "Mining Spirit" Been Kept Alive, And Impostors Of Every

Variety Have Reaped their Harvest, By Speculating Upon The Well-Known

Avidity Of The "_People Of America!_"

 

 

 

It Was In the Beginning Of 1827, That Joe, In a Trip To Pittsburg,

Became Acquainted with Rigdon. A Great Intimacy Took Place Betwixt Them,

And They Paid Each Other Alternate Visits--Joe Coming To Pittsburg And

Rigdon Going To The Susquehanna, _For Pleasure Excursions, At A

Friend'S_. It Was Also During The Year That The Smith Family Assumed a

New Character. In the Month Of June, Joseph Smith, Sen., Went To A

Wealthy, But Credulous Farmer, And Related the Following Story:--

 

 

 

"That Some Years Ago, A Spirit Had Appeared to Joe, His Son, And, In a

Vision, Informed him That In a Certain Place There Was A Record On

Plates Of Gold, And That He Was The Person Who Must Obtain Them, And

This He Must Do In the Following Manner:--On The 22Nd Of September, He

Must Repair To The Place Where These Plates Of Gold Were Deposited,

Dressed in black Clothes, And Riding a Black Horse, With A Switch Tail,

And Demand The Plates In a Certain Name; And, After Obtaining Them, He

Must Immediately Go Away, And Neither Lay Them Down Nor Look

Behind Him."

 

 

 

The Farmer Gave Credit To Old Smith'S Communication. He Accordingly

Fitted out Joseph With A Suit Of Black Clothes, And Borrowed a Black

Horse. Joe (By His Own Account) Repaired to The Place Of Deposit, And

Demanded the Plates, Which Were In a Stone Box, Unsealed, And So Near

The Surface Of The Ground That He Could See One End Of It; Raising The

Lid Up, He Took Out The Plates Of Gold; But Fearing Some One Might

Discover Where He Got Them, He Laid Them Down, To Replace The Top Stone

As He Had Found It; When, Turning Round, To His Surprise, There Were No

Plates To Be Seen. He Again Opened the Box, And Saw The Plates In it; He

Attempted to Take Them Out, But Was Not Able. He Perceived in the Box

Something Like A Toad, Which Gradually Assumed the Appearance Of A Man,

And Struck Him On The Side Of His Head. Not Being Discouraged at

Trifles, Joe Again Stooped down And Attempted to Take The Plates, When

The Spirit Struck Him Again, Knocked him Backwards Three Or Four Rods,

And Hurt Him Very Much: Recovering From His Fright, He Inquired of The

Spirit, Why He Could Not Take The Plates; To Which The Spirit Made

Reply, "Because You Have Not Obeyed your Orders." He Then Inquired when

He Could Have Them, And Was Answered thus: "Come One Year From This Day,

And Bring With You Your Eldest Brother; Then You Shall Have Them."

 

 

 

"This Spirit," Said The Elder Joseph Smith, "Was The Spirit Of The

Prophet Who Wrote This Book, And Who Was Sent To Joe Smith, Jun., To

Make Known These Things To Him. Before The Expiration Of The Year, The

Eldest Brother Died; Which," The Old Man Said, "Was A Decree Of

Providence." He Also Added--

 

 

 

"Joe Went One Year From That Day To Demand The Plates, And The Spirit

Inquired for His Brother, And Joe Replied that He Was Dead. The Spirit

Then Commanded him To Come Again In one Year From That Day, And Bring a

Man With Him. On Asking Who Might Be The Man, He Was Answered that He

Would Know Him When He Saw Him."

 

 

 

Thus, While Rigdon Was Concocting His Bible And Preaching New Doctrines,

The Smith Family Were Preparing The Minds Of The People For The

Appearance Of Something Wonderful; And Although Joe Smith Was Well Known

To Be A Drunken Vagabond, He Succeeded in inspiring, In hundreds Of

Uneducated farmers, A Feeling Of Awe Which They Could Not Account For. I

Must Here Stop In my Narrative, To Make A Few Observations.

 

 

 

In The Great Cities Of Europe And America, Civilization, Education, And

The Active Bustle Of Every-Day Life, Have, To A Great Degree, Destroyed

The Superstitious Feelings So Common Among The Lower Classes, And Have

Completely Removed the Fear Of Evil Geniuses, Goblins, And Spirits. But

Such Is Not The Case In the Western Country Of The United states, On The

Borders Of The Immense Forests And Amidst The Wild And Broken Scenery Of

Glens And Mountains, Where Torrents Roll With Impetuosity Through Caves

And Cataracts; Where, Deprived of The Amusements And Novelties Which

Would Recreate His Imagination, The Farmer Allows His Mind To Be

Oppressed with Strange Fancies, And Though He May Never Avow The

Feeling, From The Fear Of Not Meeting With Sympathy, He Broods Over It,

And Is A Slave To The Wild Phantasmagoria Of His Brain. The Principal

Cause Of This Is, The Monotony And Solitude Of His Existence.

 

 

 

At These Confines Of Civilization, The American Is Always A Hunter, And

Those Who Dwell On The Smaller Farms, At The Edges Of Forests, Often

Depend, For Their Animal Food, Upon The Skill Of The Male Portion Of

Their Community. In the Fall Of The Year, The American Shoulders His

Rifle, And Goes Alone Into The Wilds, To "See After His Pigs, Horses,

And Cows." Constantly On The Look-Out For Deer And Wild Bees, He Resorts

To The Most Secluded spots, To Swamps, Mountain Ridges, Or Along The

Bushy Windings Of Some Cool Stream. Constant Views Of Nature In her

Grandeur, The Unbroken Silence Of His Wanderings, Causes A Depression Of

The Mind, And, As His Faculties Of Sight And Hearing