brother Jesse passed through Monson, where he saw Mrs. Davison and her daughter, Mrs. McKinstry, and also Dr. Ely, and spent several hours with them, during which time he asked them the following questions, viz.:

Question.—'Did you, Mrs. Davison, write a letter to John Storrs, giving an account of the origin of the Book of Mormon?'

Answer.—'I did not.'

Q.—'Did you sign your name to it?'

A.—'I did not, neither did I ever see the letter until I saw it in the Boston Recorder, the letter was never brought to me to sign.'

Q.—'What agency had you in having this letter sent to Mr. Storrs?'

A.—'D. R. Austin came to my house and asked me some questions, took some minutes on paper, and from these minutes wrote that letter.'

Q.—'Have you read the Book of Mormon?'

A.—'I have read some in it.'

Q.—'Does Mr. Spaulding's manuscript and the Book of Mormon agree?'

A.—'I think some few of the names are alike.'

Q.—'Does the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a religious people?'

Q.—'An idolatrous people.'

A.—'Where is the manuscript?'

A.—'D. P. Hurlburt came here and took it, said he would get it printed and let me have one half of the profits.'

Q.—'Has D. P. Hurlburt got the manuscript printed?'

A.—'I received a letter stating that it did not read as he expected, and he should not print it.'

Q.—'How large is Mr. Spaulding's manuscript?'

A.—'About one-third as large as the Book of Mormon.'

Q.—To Mrs. McKinstry: 'How old were you when your father wrote the manuscript?'

A.—'About five years of age.'

Q.—'Did you ever read the manuscript?'

A.—'When I was about twelve years old I used to read it for diversion.'

Q.—'Did the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a religious people?'

A.—'An idolatrous people.'

Q.—'Does the manuscript and the Book of Mormon agree?'

A.—'I think some of the names agree.'

Q.—'Are you certain that some of the names agree?'

A.—'I am not.'

Q.—'Have you read any in the Book of Mormon?'

A.—'I have not.'

Q.—'Was your name attached to that letter, which was sent to Mr. John Storrs, by your order?'

A.—'No, I never meant that my name should be there.'

'You see by the above questions and answers, that Mr. Austin, in his great zeal to destroy the Latter-day Saints, has asked Mrs. Davison a few questions, then wrote a letter to Mr. Storrs in his own language. I do not say that the above questions and answers were given in the form that I have written them, but these questions were asked, and these answers given. Mrs. Davison is about seventy years of age, and somewhat broke.'

"This may certify that I am personally acquainted with Mr. Haven, his son and daughter, and am satisfied they are persons of truth. I have also read Mr. Haven's letter to his daughter, which has induced me to copy it for publication, and I further say, the above is a correct copy of Mr. Haven's letter.

A. BADLAM."

Notwithstanding the above refutation and expose the opponents of "Mormonism" have continually from the time of its publication, copied, re-published and harped upon this forged affidavit of Mrs. Davison. Their ears have been ever deaf and their eyes blind when the refutation of the slander has been presented to them. They did not then, and do not now want it; they prefer the lie which one of their number has concocted and spread broad-cast through the world.

We must now turn to Sidney Rigdon who by many is regarded as the agent or go-between by and through whom Joseph Smith came into possession of the "Manuscript Found," and who was, in fact, the chief instrument in converting that romance into the Book of Mormon. It is urged that Joseph had neither the learning, ability nor industry to perform so arduous a literary work, but that Rigdon had the audacity, cunning and education necessary to perpetrate such a fraud, and that Joseph Smith was his willing tool, whom he used as a screen to protect himself from public observation and through whom he palmed his imposture on the world. None of those who accept this theory have yet been able to explain what possible motive Rigdon could have had in taking such a course, were such an arrangement possible; but we have most trustworthy and reliable testimony that it could not be so for two altogether sufficient reasons:

First: Sidney Rigdon never was at Pittsburg or any other place at the same time as Mr. Spaulding's manuscript was there and therefore he could not have seen or read it, it being remembered that it never was out of the possession of the author's family only during the short time it is said to have been in the hands of Mr. Patterson.

Second: Sidney Rigdon never saw Joseph Smith until years after the latter received the sacred plates, indeed, not until after the Book of Mormon had been printed and the Church of Jesus Christ organized.

Let us consider the first of the above propositions. Mr. Spaulding resided in Pittsburg only for a short time between 1812, when he lived at Conneaut, and 1816 when he died a Amity. The general opinion is that he moved to the last named place in 1814. It was then, between 1812 and 1814, that, if ever, the manuscript was in the hands of Mr. Patterson; Sidney Rigdon was then a youth of not more than twenty years of age, residing on and working his deceased father's farm at St. Clair, Pennsylvania. To make this point more clear, we will here give a short sketch of Rigdon's early life:

Sidney Rigdon was born in St. Clair township, Alleghany Co., Pa., on the 19th of February, 1793. In his twenty-fifth year he connected himself with a society, which in that country was called Regular Baptists. In March, 1819, he received a license to preach in that society, and in the following May he left Pennsylvania and went to Trumbull Co., Ohio, where he was afterwards married. In 1821 he was called to the pastoral charge of the first Baptist church of Pittsburg, which invitation he accepted early in the following year, and soon became a popular minister. After ministering in that position for two and a half years he withdrew from that sect, because he considered its doctrines were not altogether in accord with the scriptures. With Mr. Alexander Campbell he founded the "Campbellite" or "Disciples" church; but having retired from the ministry he for two years worked as a day laborer in a tannery; after which he removed to Bainbridge, Geauga Co., Ohio, where the people solicited him to preach. He complied with their request and soon grew quite popular. He advocated the doctrines of repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and baptized numbers from all the country round. During this time he removed from Bainbridge to Mentor, some thirty miles distant, and it was there that Parley P. Pratt and other Elders found him, in the Fall of 1830.

We will now give the testimony of a number of persons who were most intimately acquainted with Sidney Rigdon during his youth. These testimonies we copy from a work lately published by Mr. Robert Patterson, of Pittsburg, son of Mr. Patterson, the printer, to whom the Spaulding romance is said to have been taken. He is the person called "the present writer" in these extracts, which in his work follow a short account of Sidney's early life:

"1. Rigdon's relatives at Library, Pa., Carvil Rigdon (his brother) and Peter Boyer (his brother-in-law), in a written statement dated Jan. 27th, 1843, certify to the facts and dates as above stated in regard to his birth, schooling, uniting with the church, licensure, ordination and settlement in Pittsburg in 1822. Mr. Boyer also in a personal interview with the present writer in 1879 positively affirmed that Rigdon had never lived in Pittsburg previous to 1822, adding that they were boys together and he ought to know. Mr. Boyer had for a short time embraced Mormonism, but became convinced that it was a delusion and returned to his