JOSEPH BRINGS HOME THE BREAST-PLATE-MARTIN HARRIS AND HIS WIFE INTRODUCED THE TRANSLATION COMMENCES-MRS. HARRIS BEGINS TO OPPOSE THE WORK.

After bringing home the plates, Joseph commenced working with his father and brothers on the farm, in order to be as near as possible to the treasure which was confided to his care.

Soon after this, he came in from work, one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his great coat, and left the house. I was engaged at the time, in an upper room, in preparing some oil-cloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come down stairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet, upon his urgent request, I finally con- ' cluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breast-plate spoken of in his history.

It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could feel its proportions without any difficulty.

It was concave on one side, and convex on the other, and extended from the neck downwards, as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the

:

same material, for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers, (for I measured them,) and they had holes in the end of them, to be convenient in fastening. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.

Shortly after this circumstance, Joseph came to the house in great haste, and inquired, if there had been a company of men about. I told him, not a single individual had come to the house since he left. He then said, that a mob would be there that night, if they did not come before that time, to search for the Record, and that it must be removed immediately.

Soon afterwards, a man by the name of Braman came in from the village of Livonia, a man in whom we reposed much confidence, and who was well worthy of the same. Joseph told him his apprehensions of a mob being there that night, and that they must prepare themselves to drive them away; but that the first thing to be attended to, was to secure the Record and breast-plate.

In view of this, it was determined that a portion of the hearth should be taken up, and that the Record and breast-plate should be buried under the same, and then the hearth be relaid, to prevent suspicion.

This was, done as speedily as possible, but the hearth was scarcely relaid when a large company of men well-armed came rushing up to the house. Joseph threw open the doors, and taking a hint from the stratagem of his grandfather Mack, hallooed as if he had a legion at hand, in the meanwhile, giving the word of command with great emphasis; while all the male portion of the family, from the father down to little Carlos, ran out of the house with such fury upon the mob, that it struck them with terror and dismay, and they fled before the little Spartan band into the woods, where they dispersed themselves to their several homes.

In a short time Joseph received another intimation of the approach of a mob, also of the necessity of removing the Record and breast-plate from the place wherein they were secreted, consequently he took them out of the box in which they were placed, and wrapping them in clothes, carried them across the road to a cooper's shop, and laid them in a quantity of flax which was stowed

"3

in the shop loft. After which he nailed up the box again, then tore up the floor of the shop, and put it under the same.

As soon as night came, the mob came also, and commenced ransacking the place. They rummaged round the house, and all over the premises, but did not come into the house. After making satisfactory search, they went away.

The next morning we found the floor of the cooper's shop torn up, and the box which was laid under it shivered in pieces.

In a few days afterwards, we learned the cause of this last move-why their curiosity led them in the direction of the cooper's shop. A young woman by the name of Chase, sister to Willard Chase, found a green glass, through which she could see many very wonderful things, and among her great discoveries she said that she saw the precise place where "Joe Smith kept his gold Bible hid," and, obedient to her directions, the mob gathered their forces and laid siege to the cooper's shop.

Notwithstanding their disappointment in not finding the plates in the shop, their confidence was not in the least shaken in Miss Chase, for they still went from place to place by her direction, determined to get if possible, the much desired object of their search.

Not long after the circumstance of the mob's going into the cooper's shop, and splitting in pieces the box, Joseph began to make arrangements to accomplish the translation of the Record. The first step that he was instructed to take in regard to this work, was to make a facsimile of some of the characters, which were called reformed Egyptian, and to send them to some of the most learned men of this generation, and ask them for the translation thereof.

The reader will here observe, that on a preceding page of this volume, I spoke of a confidential friend to whom my husband merely mentioned the existence of the plates, some two or three years prior to their coming forth. This was no other than Martin Harris, one of the witnesses to the book subsequent to its being translated.

With the view of commencing the work of translation, and carrying it forward as speedily as circumstances would permit, Joseph came to me one afternoon and requested me to go to this

Mr. Harris, and inform him that he had got the plates, and that he desired to see Mr. Harris concerning the matter. This, indeed, was an errand which I much disliked, as Mr. Harris's wife was a very peculiar woman, one that was naturally of a very jealous disposition; besides this, she was rather dull of hearing, and when anything was said that she did not hear distinctly, she suspected that it was some secret, which was designedly kept from her. So I told Joseph that I would rather not go, unless I could have the privilege of speaking to her first upon the subject. To this he consented, and I went according to his request.

On arriving at Mr. Harris's, I cautiously detailed the particulars with regard to Joseph's finding the plates, so far as wisdom dictated and necessity demanded, in order to satisfy Mrs. Harris's curiosity. However, she did not wait for me to get through with my story, before she commenced urging upon me a considerable amount of money, that she had at her command. Her husband always allowed her to keep a private purse, in order to satisfy her singular disposition, and it was this private money that she wished me to receive. She also had a sister living with her who desired me to receive an amount of money, I think some seventy-five dollars, to assist in getting the Record translated.

I told her that I came on no such business, that I did not want her money, and that Joseph would attend to his own affairs; but, that I would like to talk to Mr. Harris a moment, and then return home, as my family would soon be expecting me. Yet, notwithstanding all this, she was determined to assist in the business, for she said she knew that we should want money, and she could spare two hundred dollars as well as not.

After detaining me a few minutes, she went with me to her husband, and I told him that I wished to speak to him. He replied, that he was not going to stop his work, for he was just laying the last brick in his hearth.

"You see," said he, "this is the last work I have to do on the house, and it is the last work I shall do about the house, or on the farm, in one year. And when this is done, I am going to hire a hand to work a year for me, as I shall travel that length of time before I shall settle myself at home again."

After completing the work in which he was engaged, he left

the house, but was absent only a short time. On returning, he came to me and said, "Now I am a free man-my hands are altogether untied-I can come and go and do as I please."

He said,

I related, in short, the errand on which I had come. that he would see Joseph in the course of a few days. At this his wife exclaimed, "Yes, and I am coming to see him, too, and I will be there on Tuesday afternoon, and will stop over night."

Accordingly, when Tuesday afternoon arrived, Mrs. Harris made her appearance, and as soon as she was well seated, she began to importune my son relative to the truth of what he had said concerning the Record, declaring that if he really had any plates, she would see them, and that she was determined to help him publish them.

He told her she was mistaken-that she could not see them, for he was not permitted to exhibit them to any one, except those whom the Lord should appoint to testify of them. "And, in relation to assistance," he observed, "I always prefer dealing with men, rather than their wives."

This highly displeased Mrs. Harris, for she considered herself altogether superior to her husband, and she continued her importunities. She would say, "Now, Joseph, are you not telling me a lie? Can you look full in my eye, and say before God, that you have in reality found a Record, as you pretend?"

To this, Joseph replied, rather indifferently, "Why, yes, Mrs. Harris, I would as soon look you in the face, and say so as not, if that will be any gratification to you."

Then, said she, "Joseph, I will tell you what I will do, if I can get a witness that you speak the truth, I will believe all you say about the matter, and I shall want to do something about the translation-I mean to help you any way."

This closed the evening's conversation. The next morning, soon after she arose, she related a very remarkable dream which she said she had had during the night. It ran about as follows: She said that a personage appeared to her, who told her, that as she had disputed the servant of the Lord, and said his word was not to be believed, and had also asked him many improper questions, she had done that which was not right in the sight of God.