to come regularly to his
house of a Monday morning, to her task of cleansing the family linen. He
was then but a little lad, yet he remembers her quite well, with her
stout, robust frame, and buxom and rather attractive countenance, and
her queer ways. Even then she was beginning to invite attention by her
singular manners and discourse, which led many to believe her demented.

It was at Exeter that Joanna became religiously impressed, and joined
the Wesleyan Methodists, as a strict and extreme believer in the
doctrines of that sect. During her attendance upon the Wesleyan rites,
she became intimate with one Sanderson, who, whether a designing rogue,
or only a very fanatical believer, pretended that he had discovered in
the good washerwoman a Bible prodigy; and it was not long before the
poor creature began literally, to "see sights" and dream dreams of the
most preternatural description, for which Sanderson always had ready
some very telling interpretation. Her visions were of the most
thoroughly "mixed" character withal, sometimes transporting her to the
courts of heaven, and sometimes to a very opposite region, celebrated
for its latent and active caloric. When she ranged into the lower world,
she had a very unpleasant habit of seeing sundry scoffers and
unbelievers (in herself) belonging to the congregation, in very close
but disadvantageous intercourse with the Evil One, who was represented
as having a particular eye to others around her, even while they laid
claim to special piety. Of course, such revelations as these could not
be tolerated in any well regulated community, and when some most
astounding religious gymnastics performed by Joanna in the midst of
prayers and sermons, occurred to heap up the measure of her offences, it
became full time to take the matter in hand, and the prophetess was
expelled. Now, those whom she had not served up openly with brimstone,
agreeing with her about those whom she had thus "cooked," and delighted
in their own exemption from that sort of dressing, seceded in
considerable numbers, and became Joanna's followers. This gave her a
nucleus to work upon, and between 1790 and 1800, she managed to make
herself known throughout Britain, proclaiming that she was to be the
destined Mother of the Second Messiah, and although originally quite
illiterate, picking up enough general information and Bible lore, to
facilitate her publication of several very curious, though sometimes
incoheren