Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Legends -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Miscellanea
Notwithstanding these checks, which in Jonathan's description strongly
remind the reader of the sufferings of Mawworm, he continued his
exhortations in and out of the shop, and if we are to believe his own
account, two hundred persons were converted by him.
From Hull he was driven by this treatment by his carnally-minded
shopmates, and went to Norton, where his old master, Mr. Page, having
obtained the consent of the magistrates that Martin should not be again
consigned to the asylum, employed him as a tanner. But he soon after (in
1822) removed to Darlington, where he also worked at his trade, and
spent his evenings in preaching to and praying with those who would hear
him. He boasts that through his labours in seven weeks "two hundred
precious souls were set at liberty." He remained at Darlington
apparently till 1827, and here he pretends to have had some remarkable
visions.
"I should inform my readers how I was taken to the seaside in a vision,
and beheld a countless army of men arising from the waves. As I stood
gazing thereon a man advanced towards me, and said, 'Where shall we find
bread for so great a multitude?' He quickly answered, 'Where they can.'
They then advanced with great fury, and covered, as it were, the whole
earth, and I thought England fled before them. This dream made great
impression on my mind after I came to Darlington, and I determined to
make known the things that will befall England, unless we all turn to
the Lord with full purpose of heart, for I dreamed of a great battle
between Newcastle and Sunderland; and again, that the son of Buonaparte
came and conversed with me, and having a musket, said he would shoot
through the door of an Englishman. He tried three times, and the third
was successful.
"I then left him, and was soon overtaken by some baggage waggons; all
the French fired their muskets in the air. I was taken prisoner, and
they shut me up with the Word of God and a Wesley hymn-book in my hand.
In the prison the sun shone upon me with all its splendour, and I
rejoiced to see the mercy of God towards me."
He then bursts out into the following denunciation against clergymen:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account