Thirty Years of My Life on Three Continents, Edwin De Leon (Formerly Diplomatic Agent And

Thirty Years of My Life on Three Continents, Edwin De Leon (formerly diplomatic agent and consul-general of the United States of America in Egypt)

(London: Ward and Downey, 1890)

Volume 1

[Describing a visit to Nauvoo, apparently in about May 1844, made by he and another young man during their three months' summer vacation from South Carolina University.]

pp. 55-56

"At that time the Prophet had not publicly promulgated the doctrine of polygamy, and professed to live with one wife only—'Sister Emma,' as she was called…. There were, however, several young women in the house, whom he termed his nieces, but who probably bore a closer relationship than was avowed at the time. The face of Sister Emma was not a happy one, and her treatment of the nieces that of an unhappy, soured and jealous woman."

p. 60

"At the period of our visit he had not openly avowed the plural wife system; that was one of the secrets divulged only to the initiated, to the brothers and sisters of the faith, who doubtless practiced it. For I observed that, in almost every house, the women greatly out-numbered the men. I even ventured, when I became familiar with 'the Prophet,' to comment on the curious variety among his nieces, and the want of any family resemblance among them. There was a sly twinkle in the prophetic eye, as he poked me in the ribs with his forefinger, and rebuked me, exclaiming, 'Oh, the carnal mind, the carnal mind!' and I thought it discreet not to press the subject."

p. 61

"The immorality was all under the surface, and in one respect Nauvoo was the most model community imaginable. There were no public-houses, no drinking places, no purchasing of liquor, no theatres, and no places of public amusement or immorality. They were literally a people without amusements, and the police [policing] of the place was perfect. I never heard of a crime during the period of our stay there, or even of a police report."

[I believe the above paragraph is partly quoted from an earlier source—I recognize some of the wording.]

p. 69

[Giving the reasons he and his companion left Nauvoo:]

"One of these was that the place being very dull, and the nieces of the Prophet very attractive and pleasing to look upon, some little philandering had taken place between one of them, a blonde, and myself, and I was warned by my companion that the keen eyes of the holy man had observed the fact."

p. 71 [reports that within three weeks of their leaving, the Prophet had surrendered himself to the county sheriff and been placed in (Carthage) jail.]