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Testimonies for the Church Volume 1
value, as they are no real improvement. And those who are engaged in
their sale, are, with few exceptions, a class of deceivers.
And, again, some of our own people have engaged in the sale of
patented wares which they had reason to believe were not what they
represented them to be. That so many of our people, some of them after
being fully warned, will still suffer themselves to be deceived by the
false statements of these vendors of patent rights, seems astonishing.
Some patents are really valuable, and a few have made well on them.
But it is my opinion that where one dollar has been gained, one hundred
dollars have been lost. No reliance whatever can be placed on these
patent-right pledges. And the fact that those engaged in them are,
with few exceptions, downright deceivers and liars, makes it hard for
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an honest man, who has a worthy article, to obtain the credit and
patronage due him.
Brother White exhibited his Combined Washer and Wringer before
the company, including the Brethren Bourdeau, Brother Andrews, my
husband, and myself, and we could but look with favor upon it. He has
since made us a present of one, which Brother Corliss from Maine,
our hired man, in a few moments put together in running order. Sister
Burgess, from Gratiot County, our hired girl, is very much pleased
with it. It does the work well, and very fast. A feeble woman who
has a son or husband to work this machine, can have a large washing
done in a few hours, and she do but little more than oversee the work.
Brother White sent circulars, which any can have by addressing us,
enclosing postage.
Our next meeting was at Adams Center, New York. It was a large
gathering. There were several persons in and around this place whose
cases had been shown me, for whom I felt the deepest interest. They
were men of moral worth. Some were in positions in life which made
the cross of present truth heavy to bear, or, at least, they thought so.
Others, who had reached the middle age of life, had been brought up
from childhood to keep the Sabbath, but had not borne the cross of
Christ. These were in a position where it seemed hard to move them.
They needed to be shaken from relying on their good works and to be
brought to feel their lost condition without Christ. We could not give
up these souls, and labored with our might to help them. They were
at last moved, and I have since been made glad to hear from some of
them, and good news respecting all of them. We hope that the love