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1 Vol. II No. 45.]
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THE ENTRANCED FEMALE.
i»«R, TUB REMARKABLE DtBCLOSCRES OF A LADY CON-;
CERNINU ANOTHER WORLD.
By the Ree. Robert Young, Wesleyan Minister.
England.
RECOMMENDATORY NOTICES.
From the twenty-fourth London Edition.
JSxtract *J a letter to the Author from the Rev.
f Hickard Trejfrty, dated Institution-House,
F Hoxien, June 1 9th, 1841.
I think you will do well in publishing
* the narrative which you kindly submitted
to my perusal. It is altogether of an
Extraordinary character; and while it
intakes a large demand on our credulity,
it can scarcely fail to awaken serious
•thoughts and devout desires in the minds
f)f all who read it with attention. Infidel
y is fearfully prevalent ; and the opin
ion that the whole of man dies with his
Miody is so widely disseminated, that every
**neans to check its progress, and to con-
Igviijce men of the existence of another
world, should he called into requisition.”
mLExtracl of a letter from the Rev. John CroJ’ts,
doted Manchester, August 3d, 1811.
“ Being a few days since in company
s where your interesting little book, “The
''Entranced Female,” was the subject of
so, -conversation, a remark was made which
S J<-<1 me to mention (but I was in the place
| where the young person resided, alwiit the
f time when tin; extraordinary occurrence
took place; and not only recollected the
-excitement it produced, hut some addi
tional circumstances not slated by you.”
ADVERTISEMENT.
Tho disclosures of Miss D. , con
tained in the following pages, are thus
-made public by the repeated and urgent
request ofseveral valued friends. Il’they !
labould excite a more diligent attention to ’
eternal things, the writer will greatly re- ;
jjjoice, and the design of their publication i
gbe fully accomplished. R. Y. i
j London July, 1841.
PREFACE OF TIIE TWELFTH EDITION. 1
Miss D. , whose disclosures have
excited considerable interest and inquiry ;
was not at all imaginative ; hut possessed
inuch sobriety of mind, and had, for some 1
time previous to the period of being en- 11
tranced, lived according to the gospel of 1
Christ. Nor did she ever vary her state- 1
«nents of what she had heard and seen in !
the spiritual world; for, although closely ‘
catechized by different persons on the !
subject, she invariably gave the same ‘
testimony, and in a short time before her J
death solemnly attested its truth to the au- *
thor in the presence of several witnesses. 1
J Her attendants, to whom she first made ‘
1 the disclosure, were also persons ofestab- f
Jished religious character, well known to 5
the writer; and so far from being a party 1
to an imposture, they evinced very great *
\ reluctance to have Miss D com-
W munication made public, knowing, as *
jpthey did, that such communications could £
but deeply' affect some parties with 5
tvhom they were on terms of friendship, *
•bnd whose feelings they manifestly wished 1
Jjp spare. For the same reason this small 1
■Work has not appeared sooner. c
It is possible that some persons may c
; jfeel an educational prejudice against the) t
disclosures of Miss D.- , they hav- ;i
lying, from their infancy, being taught to v
■■regard as superstitious all belief in super- t
fpatural manifestations; but the preju- t
ipice of education, however popular and 1
’ influential, is not always on the side of d
IpjPtMih , for it led the Jews, in opposition £1
so the clearest evidence of the Messiah- ii
•hip of Jesus, to reject and crucify their c
Ipwly King. Incredulity in other per- a
pons may, probably, arise from the influ- n
ence of philosophy which dogmatically r
*ays, that such an event as the following h
narrative details could not have taken P
. place; but human philosophy is not a sure s
||guide; for it led the Greeks to despise ~
Ifhe preaching of the cross, and to regard t j
vps foolishness what was the wisdom of n
AUGUSTA, GA. SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1844.
God, It is readily admitted that the
event involves mysteries not to be ex
plained by man, whatever be the culture
of his mind, or the grasp of his intellectu
al faculties; but if we are not to believe
anything which we cannot comprehend,
we must sink into atheism and universal
unbelief. Nor is it improbable that
other individuals may' skeptically inquire,
“What object is to be accomplished by
such an event?” But this inquiry, very
properly, assumes that short-sighted man
is capable of seeing the end from the be
ginning, and of fully understanding all
the mind of God. Objects of the great
est moment may be accomplished by it,
although, from our limited powers of com
prehension, we may' perceive them not.
The present is a day of popular skepti
cism on the subject of supernatural mani
testations, both in the world and in the
[church. It is now considered weak and
| superstitious to give credence to such
[things; and some of the followers of Wes
| ley do not hesitate to laugh at what they
are pleased to call his “proneness to su
perstition,” because he believed in them.
I think, therefore, that I can perceive an
important end to be promoted by the dis
closures of Miss D. , and I shall
not be astonished if similar occurrences
be permitted to rebuke the infidelity of
the present age.
The author is happy to state that, al
though some have perused his pamphlet
with skeptical minds, and laid it down
with a sneer, others, by the blessing of
God, have derived from it much spiritual
good; for he had heard of many persons
in different parts of the country who have
on reading it, been awakened and ulti
mately led to the Saviour; so far there
iqre, has the design of the publication
Seen happily accomplished.
In the present edition the author has
added the case of Ann Atherton, who
was entranced in 1669, and made dis
closures very similar to those of Miss
D. .
London Dec. 1841.
The word trance, as explained in the
London Encyclopaedia, signifies a tern
porary absence of the soul; a rapture; a
state in which the soul is rapt into visions
of future or distant things. And accor
ding to the learned Parkhurst, the word
means a sacred ecstasy, when, the use of
the external senses being suspended,
God reveals something in a peculiar
manner to his servants, who are then ta
ken or transported out of themselves.”
This is a phenomenon full of mystery,
and the reality of which some persons
have doubled ; but I think, without due
consideration. Balaam is said to have
been in a trance; and having had “his
eyes opened” therein, we are told that he
*sa*v the visions of the Almighty, and
knew the knowledge of the Most High.”
Peter was also in a trance upon the house
top, to which place he had retired for
prayer, and received symbolical instruc
tions relative to his future proceedings
with the Gentiles. And Paul is supposed
to have been in a trance, “ but whether
in the body or out of the body he could
not tell; God only knew;” but he ‘was
caught up into paradise, and heard un
speakable words, which it was not lawful
for a man to utter.’ Since that period
there have been well attested instances
of individuals who have been in a similar
state; some of which are on record in
several highly respectable publications;*
and the following singular relation is in
tended to add to their number.
While residing in a British colony, as a
Christian missionary, I was called one
evening to visit Miss I) , who was
said to be dying. Mrs. Young, by whoso
she was met weekly for religious instruc
tion, feeling a deep interest in her spirit- (
ual welfare, accompanied me to her resi- ;
dence. We found her in the chamber 1
of a neat little cottage, exceedingly ill, (
but confiding in the merits of Jesus; and j
after spending some time with her in con- |
versation and prayer, we commended her i
to God, and took our departure without !
the least hope of seeing her again in this i
life. Soon alter we left she seemed to <
die; but as the usual signs of death, (
which so rapidly developed themselves [
in that country, did not appear, her friends 1
concluded that she was in a trance, and f
anxiously waited to see the end. She re- (
mained in this state for reveral days, du- (
ring which period we repeatedly visited 1
her ; and the only indications we could t
perceive that life was not extinct were a t
slight foaming at the mouth, and a little t
‘See the well known account of the trance of
;hc Rev. William Tennent, a learned and emi- 3
lently pious minister of the Presbyterian Church. 3
warmth about the region of the heart. I
She was watched, with great interest both i
night and day; and after being in this
state for nearly a week, she opened her
eyes and said, “ Mr. C is dead.”
Her attendants, thinking that she was
under the influence of delirium replied
that she was mistaken, as he was not
only alive, but well. “O no !*’ said she;
“he is dead ; for a short time ago, as I
passed the gates of hell, I sa\* him des
cend into the pit, and the blue flame cover
him. Mr. B—- is also dead, for he
[ arrived at heaven just as I was leaving
■ that happy place, and I saw its beautiful
, gates thrown wide open to receive him ;
• and heard the host of heaven shout,
. ‘ Welcome weary pilgrim !’ Mr. C
. was a neighbour, but a very wicked per
• son; and Mr. B , who lived at no
; great distance, was a good old man, and
1 lor many years had been a consistent and
i useful member of the Church of God.
- The parties who heard Miss D’s
’ startling and confident statements, im
. mediately sent to make inquiries about
, the two individuals alluded to, and found
i to their utter astonishment, that the for
• mer had dropped down dead about half-
I an hour before, while in the act of tying
s his shoe; and that about the same time
f the latter had suddenly passed into the
eternal world. For the truth of these
• facts Ido solemnly vouch. She then
t went on to tell them where she lad been
i and what she had seen and heard.
r
Alter being sufficiently recovered to
leave the house she paid up a visit; and
’ Mrs. Young, as well as myself, hfard from
her own lips the following account of
what she had passed through. She in
formed us that, at the time she i'as sup
-1 posed to die, a celestial being cinducted
her into the invisible world, and mysteri
-5 ously unveiled to her the realitieiof eter
’ nity. He took her first to hcavfcn ; hut
‘ she was told that as she yet bclobged to
5 time, she could not be permitted ko enter
into that glorious place, but only 5 to be
hold it; which she represented ns infi
' nitely exceeding in beauty and splendour
• the most elevated conceptions of mortals,
and whose glorv no language could de
; scribe. She told us that she beheld the
Saviour upon a throne of light and glory,
•surrounded by four and twenty elders,
and a great multitude which no man
could number; among whom she recog
nised patriarchs, and prophets, and apos-j
ties, and martyrs, and all tho mijsionariesj
who had died in that colony, besides
many others whom she mentioned; and j
although those parties were not named
by the angel that attended her, yet she
said that seeing them was to know them.
She described those celestial spirits as
being variously employed; and although
she felt herself inadequate to convey any
definite idea of the nature of that employ
ment, yet it appeared to bo adapted to
their respective mental tastes and spirit
ual attainments'. She also informed us
that she heard sweet and most enraptu
ring music, such as she had never heard
before; and made several attempts to
give us some idea of its melodious char
acter, but found her notes too earthly for
that purpose. While thus favoured, the
missionaries already referred to, and
other happy spirits, as they glided past
her, sweetly smiled, and said they knew
whence she came, and, if faithful to the
grace of God, she would in a short time
he admitted into their delightful society.
All the orders of heaven were in perfect
and blessed harmony, and appeared to be
directed in all their movements by a
mysterious influence proceeding from the
throne of God.
She was next conducted to a place
whence she had a view of hell, which she
described in. the most terrific language;
and declared that the horrid shrieks of
lost spirits still seemed to sound in her
ears. As she approached the burning
pit a tremendous effort was made to draw
her into it; but she felt herself safe under
the protection of her guardian angel.
She recognised many in the place of tor
ment whom she had known on earth, and
even some who had been thought good
Christians. There were princes and
peasants, rich and poor, learned and un- '
learned, writhing together in one dread
ful unquenchable fire, where' all earthly ’
distinctions and titles where forever at an (
end. Among them she beheld a Miss .
W— , who had occupied a promi- ,
nent station, but had died during the (
trance of this young woman. She said!
that when Miss W ■ • saw her ap. .
proach, her shrieks were appalling be- ■
yond the power of language to describe, ‘
and that she made a desperate but unsuc-
Icessful effort to escape. The punishment
of lost souls she represented 0.1 symboli
zing the respective sins which had
occasioned their condemnation. Miss
W », for instance, was condemned i
for her love of money, which I had every <
reason to believe was her besetting siu ; i
and she seemed robed in a garment of i
gold, all on fire. Mr. O , whom i
she saw, was lost through intemperance ; s
and he appeared to be punished by devils, t
administering to him some boiling liquid. «
i She said there was no sympathy among 1
; these unhappy spirits, but that unmixed ,
hatred, in all its frightful forms, prevailed j
in every part of the fiery regions. She s
i beheld parents and children, husbands :
• and wives, and those who had been com- (
■ panions in sin, exhibiting every mark of |
> deep hatred to each other’s society, and i
1 heard them in fiendish accents upbraid- i
I ing and bitterly cursing one another, i
. She saw nothing in hell but misery and
s despair; and heard nothing there but the
■ most discordant sounds, accompanied
i w'ith weeping, and wailing, and gnashing
lof teeth. While she gazed upon this
revolting scene, many souls arrived from
• earth, and were greedily seized by innu
merable devils of monsterous shape,
; amidst horrid shouts of hellish triumph,
i and tortured according to their crimes,
s This fearful view of the state of the
i lost agrees with the testimony of 3. T.,
i whose case is on record in Mr. Wesley’s
Journal.* She tells us that while in her
, trance, the place of the condemned was
j unveiled, and she “saw a vast number
, who stood up cursing and blaspheming
I God, and spitting at each other. And
. many were making balls of fire, and
, throwing them at one another.” She
I also “saw many others who had cups of
, fire, out of which they were drinking
. down flames; and others who held cards
t of fire in their hands, and seemed to be
, playing with them.”
From the gates of hell Miss D was
. conducted to another position, whence
. she had a view of heaven and hell, and
r earth ; and she described earth as appear
ing like a vast stage crowded with hu
. man beings, and full of confusion and
blood. irorn this stage persons wort
continually stepping off; and other.-
were rapidly approaching its edge, and
, would very soon disappear, amongst
whom was Mrs. L , an intimate i
friend of ours, who died a fortnight as
. terward. Other persons whom she
. named, were represented ns near the I
edge of the stage; and although quite i
well when she made this communication, |
did in every case shortly afterward leave I
this probationary state. 1
One of the days in which MissD i
lay entranced was the holy Sabbath, and 1
she told us that she knew where I and s
my colleague preached on that day; t
from each chapel she perceived holy in- i
cense rise which she described as min- <
gling together and corning up before the i
throne; then taken by the Saviour and f
presented to the Father, while angels ;
and all the company of heaven rejoiced i
together. She also stated, that during
one of Mrs. Young’s visits to the house s
where she lay entranced, she saw her '
sitting by her bed-side, reading the fami- i
ly a chapter out of St. John’s Gospel, i
and then saw her kneel down and pray
with them. She likewise gave us to un- i
derstand, that matter , under none of its l
forms or modifications, is any interrup- i
tion to the vision or movements of spirit- j
ual beings.
She was next taken to a place where i
she saw the moral state of the world sym- 1
bolized. A female, holding a prominent I
situation in the church was represented |
as sitting under a tree of most luxuriant i
and beautiful foliage, with a long tube in i
, her mouth, by which she was drawing 1
people to her, and the conducting angel i
informed Miss D that the tube indi- 1
cated the power of this female’s persua- I
sive language, the foliage of the tree her <
religious profession, and its trunk the {
state of her heart. On looking at the 1
trunk, she beheld that its core was rotten, c
and full of venomous reptiles. Miss i
D told this to the female in question ; c
,and from the unchristain temper she
(manifested on the occasion, and her sub- v
[sequent conduct, she fully proved the s
jcorrectness of the representation. An- p
other female, a professor of religion, i
highly respected for her apparent piety, t
was represented to her as having yielded b
to temptation, and withdrawn her heart ii
from God; and when her backsliding was t
announced in the world of spirits, Miss g
D looked towards the Saviour and I
♦Vol. iii. pp. 374-376, Amer. Edit. 1831.
[One Dollar a Year.
thought she perceived the appearar-e of
blook trickling from his wounds, as if
“crucified afresh.”—[Heb. vi. 6.]* —
VVhen Miss D was at our house, she
sent for this female, and, in the presence
of Mrs. Young and myself) told her the
above; and, according to her penitential
acknowledgment, but to our utter aston
ishment, it was a correct view of her
spiritual state. Miss D had likewise
the moral condition and perilous circum
stances of a young man brought before
her. He was in possession of religion,
was represented as assailed by a very
plausible temptation, and would make
shipwreck of faith if he did not resist it.
She made this disclosure to him also in
our presence; and after some evasion pn
the subject he appeared greatly agitated,
and declared that such was his tempta
tion, although he had not mentioned it to
any one. For some time he resisted, but
finally fell into the snare; and his expe
rience proved the correctness of Miss
D ’s communication. A lady whom
she named was represented to her as at
tired in the purest white, and surrounded
by a number of little children, whomshe
was striving to wash in pure water, that
they too might be white and clean; and
the angel told her that the lady’s robe was
indicative of her purity of heart, and her
holiness of life, and that her employment
symbolized the nature and effects of her
exertions in the church of God. I was
well acquainted with this lady, and could
bear witness to the correctness of this
picture ; for she was, in my opinion, one
of the holiest of women, and was ex
ceedingly useful to children and young
people ; indeed the honoured instrument
of bringing many of them to God. An
other lady she described as standing at
the entrance of the path leading to eter
nal life, with a book in her hand, and
crying to the giddy multitude,
“ Come back, this is the way,
Come back, and walk therein.”
This lady, who was well known to the
writer, had made many sacrifices for the
cause of Christ, and was, I believe, doing
what she could to bring poor wanderers
back to God.
Many other things were mentioned by
her, but which I cannot now so distinct
ly remember as, to warrant my making
any record of them here. There was a
strange uncarthliness about this young
woman, after this remarkable event.
Previously, her disposition was rather sul
len, and there was an impression of sour
ness on her countenance; but the change
produced by this occurrence was mani
fest to all that knew her. Her temper
became the most amiable, and her
countenance was lighted up with more
than ordinary joy. But, strange to
say, in a few months she allowed herself
to be exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelation, and conse
quently lost much of her glory, but the
rod of affliction led her to recover her
forfeited enjoyment, and in about three
years after this trance she died happily
in the Lord.
No person is perhaps more disposed to
scrutinize and to reject the disclosures of
what are called trances and visions than
myself; yet, when they furnish so many
marks of genuineness as those of Miss
D ,1 think they should be allowed
their proper weight and influence in con
firming and illustrating the doctrines of
revelation. There is nothing in Miss
D ’s disclosure inconsistent with that
Book which is to be a light unto our feet,
and a lamp unto our paths, and by which
we are to regulate our faith and practice;
but on the contrary, there is the most
perfect accordance. The Word of God
informs us that there is a world of spirits,
into which men enter on quitting this
life, and are happy, or otherwise, accord
ing to their moral character; and if the
Lord should, in some cases, for reasons
best known to himself, lift the veil which
conceals from our view that spiritual re
gion, we ought not to reject the light thus
let in upon us, but rather avail ourselves
of its assistance for the better understand
ing of the word of God, and the realities
of another state of existence.
With respect to the locality of the
world of spirits, conjecture has been bu
sily and fruitfully employed. Some sup
pose that it is in the sun; others that it is
in the centre of the vast universe, at
tracting and governing all the celestial
bodies in their revolutions; but the opin
ion which to me appears most plausible is
that of its being in the atmospheric re
gion, and consequently all around us.
It is true wo perceive it not, because our
* She was now in the place of symbols.