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selves. In moonlight nights some Negros who
had formerly belonged to a corps of Blacks taught
their companions. The military exercise, behind
the Cornfields, & at <date>Christmas</date> when they
have 2 holidays the infernal design was to
have been executed, the signal for which was
to be the firing of the evening gun at the
fort. Providentially the plot was discovered
a day or two before, & their designs were
frustrated. Nevertheless, as we were as poor
defenceless sheep, 3 miles from any white peo-
ple <emotion>we felt extremely heavy</emotion> on <date>Christmas-day</date>.
The text for that day proved a great comfort to
us, viz- "God is my <sic>defence</sic>  <corr>defense</corr>, & the God of my
mercies. So we proved it. In the following day,
many were to ken up, tried & executed of which
we had a distant view from our windows.
We were truly thankful that none of the Ne-
gros who attended the preaching of the Gos-
pel, were accomplicies in this plot. However
the proprietors being now more suspicious
of their Negroes going out in companies, our
meetings were very thinly attended. Some few
there were into whose hearts we could believe
that the Gospel had guided entrance with
power, & that they were quickened unto
eternal life: our conversations with these
<emotion>cheered & enlivened our hearts & made us
for this time forget all trouble.</emotion> Soon after