that I may do so, I asked
for a dream, vision, or any way that was consistent with his will to
instruct me. The next thing, as near as I can now recollect, was the
following

Dream.

A great tumult behind me, with corresponding commotion in the
heavens, so fully confirmed me that the Lord Jesus was coming,
that I began to sing and rejoice; very soon the people began to
assemble around me. They wanted to hear my opinion about the
coming of the Lord. I felt no spirit of communication; my work
seemed to be done, except to answer a few questions put to me by
one or two out of a great number of backslidden adventists that
seemed to be engaged in almost _any_ thing but the work of God.
This scene soon changed, and I was in meeting with a large
assembly of worshippers. The speaker arose and pointed to a man
that he said was under _conviction_; he seemed very anxious that I
should see him. The congregation seemed to have a oneness with the
speaker looking at him and myself. I looked, and although the
man's head was resting on the railing of the seat, I perceived
that it was an old neighbor of mine, who had lived and _died_ a
Universalist, several years ago. The preacher's theme, and whole
labor, was, look! behold! this man is under _conviction_! I
thought if they knew the man as well as I did, their wonder would
soon cease. No other effect was produced, by this effort, other
than to remind me of the extra exertions that had been made by the
leading professed adventists since the spring of 1845, to prove
that God was converting souls under their labors. Here the scene
changed again, the house was cleared, and the seats laid away. The
room now appeared very large, with a high stage at one end, on
which I was standing with an instrument like a mallet in my hand,
knocking off the top of a large box. A few spectators on one side,
and a large fleshy man, the owner of the box, on the other,
apparently very unwilling for me to open it. But it seemed a clear
duty that I was fully authorized to examine all contraband goods,
and therefore there was no resistance. As the top of the box flew
off, this man eagerly seized two or three bottles apparently
filled with water and hugged them close to him, silently waiting
the result of the examination. The box was about one-third full of
what appeared to