"Her gentle spirit then saluted me and withdrew. I came to myself. The noise of the guards again grated on my ears, but heaven and hope were in my soul. "Next morning I related the whole circumstance of my vision to my two fellow-prisoners, who rejoiced exceedingly. This may seem to some like an idle dream, or a romance of the imagination; but to me it was, and always will be, a reality, both as it regards what I then experienced and the fulfillment afterwards." The famous escape from Richmond jail forms one of the romantic chapters of Mormon history, but it belongs rather to the acts of the apostles than to the lives of the sisters. CHAPTER XXIII. A DISTINGUISHED CANADIAN CONVERT--MRS. M. I. HORNE--HER EARLY HISTORY--CONVERSION TO MORMONISM--SHE GATHERS WITH THE SAINTS AND SHARES THEIR PERSECUTIONS--INCIDENTS OF HER EARLY CONNECTION WITH THE CHURCH. Among the early fruits of the Canadian mission, perhaps the name of no other lady stands more conspicuous for good works and faithful ministrations, than that of Mrs. Mary I. Horne. It will, therefore, be eminently proper to introduce her at this time to the reader, and give a brief sketch of her early career. From her own journals we quote as follows: "I was born on the 20th of November, 1818, in the town of Rainham, county of Kent, England. I am the daughter of Stephen and Mary Ann Hales, and am the eldest daughter of a large family. My parents were honest, industrious people; and when very young I was taught to pray, to be honest and truthful, to be kind to my associates, and to do good to all around me. My father was of the Methodist faith, but my mother attended the Church of England. As I was religiously inclined, I attended the Methodist Church with my father, who was faithful in the performance of his religious duties, although he never became a very enthusiastic Methodist. "In the year 1832, when I was in my thirteenth year, there was great excitement in the town where I lived, over the favorable reports that were sent from Van Dieman's Land, and the great inducements held out to those who would go to that country. My father and mother caught the spirit of going, and began to make preparations for leaving England. Before arrangements had been completed for us to go, however, letters were received from Upper Canada, picturing, in glowing terms, the advantages of that country. My father changed his mind immediately and made arrangements to emigrate to the town of York, afterwards called Toronto. Accordingly, on the 16th day of April, 1832, our family, consisting of my parents, five sons, myself and a younger sister, bade adieu to England. We had a tedious voyage of six weeks across the ocean, and my mother was sick during the entire voyage. During the passage across there were three deaths on board--one of the three being my brother Elias, whom we sorrowfully consigned to a watery grave.