been very awkwardly placed had the
prophet before he died not given instructions to issue the necessary
proclamation of the death of his colleague Warden, and the consequent
need for the appointment of some member of the community in his place.
Had this not happened, it was more than probable that the last surviving
representative of the Trinity would have arrogated supreme power to
himself, and declined to co-operate with anyone else, and he being as
universally despised, as his father had been respected and as Ishmael
Warden had been hated, a revolution would in all probability have
resulted, by which the remnant of the latter day Saints would have
suffered more severely than ever. To his friend the officer Grenville
could not help remarking that he was surprised to find a people so
intelligent as the Saints allowing themselves to be guided and led by
the nose by their false prophets through the medium of their
superstitious fancies.

The officer, however, grew quite stern, and ordered him not to
blaspheme; then unbending again, "Come," said he, "you are to die, so I
don't mind convincing you before you go of the genuineness of the power
conferred upon our Holy Three;" and leading Grenville along, still in
chains, he brought him to the top of the hill overlooking the city, and
upon which stood the signal of the Fiery Cross, fixed above a curious
pepper-box-shaped wooden house.

Entering the door, the Mormon signed to Grenville to follow him, which
our hero did, wondering to find himself in a darkened room containing a
tables surrounded by wooden seats, upon one of which last his guide,
whispering in awe-struck tones, instructed him to place himself.

This done, the Mormon gave muttered utterance to a doggerel rhyme of
some kind, the words of which Grenville could not catch, but which was
evidently supposed to act the part of a spell or incantation; he then
pressed a knob in the woodwork, which admitted a dim religious sort of
light through some aperture apparently in the roof, and reverently
withdrawing a cloth from the table, motioned to Grenville to look
thereon. This he did, and had much ado to restrain his laughter at the
utter simplicity of the fraud thus foisted--as a holy revelation--upon
grown and intelligent men.

The place our friend sat in was _neither more nor less than a very
poorly contrived "camera obscura_," such as can be seen in so many
seaside and other places of holiday resort any day of the