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Source: Church History Vol. 2 Chapter 15 Page: 307 (~1839)

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307 on every side. In the meantime we wrote the following toast, which was read at their public dinner, with many and long cheers:-

"'The patriotic and hospitable citizens of Boone County: Opposed to tyranny and oppression, and firm to the original principles of republican liberty-may they in common with every part of our widespreading country, long enjoy the blessings which flow from the fountain of American Independence.' Our dinner being ended, our two brethren took leave of us and started for Illinois (leaving Mrs. Phelps to still visit with her husband). They had proceeded a mile or two on the road and then took into the woods, and finally placed their three horses in a thicket within one third of a mile of the prison, and there they waited in anxious suspense till sundown. In the meantime we put on our coats and hats and waited for the setting sun. With prayer and supplication for deliverance from this long and tedious bondage, and for a restoration to the society of our friends and families, we then sang the following lines:-

"'Lord, cause their foolish plans to fail,

And let them faint or die,

Our souls would quit this loathsome jail,

And fly to Illinois.

"'To join with the embodied saints,

Who are with freedom blessed,

That only bliss for which we pant,

With them awhile to rest.

"'Give joy for grief-give ease for pain,

Take all our foes away.

But let us find our friends again,

In this eventful day.'

"This ended the celebration of our national liberty, but the gaining of our own was the grand achievement now before us. In the meantime the sun was setting. The moment arrived, the footsteps of the jailer were heard on the stairs. Every man flew to his feet, and stood near the door. The great door was opened, and our supper handed in through a small hole in the inner door, which still remained locked; but at length the key was turned in order to hand in the pot of coffee. No sooner was the key turned than the

(page 307)

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