Important comment by Harold St John.
<< Note 2. The late Dr Bergin showed me the diary of a godly old elder at Bethesda. It had lain in a desk of for fifty years, but was given by the widow to Dr Bergin. The notes of the brethren’s meetings were carefully kept, and his statements, written a few hours after the meetings, flatly contradict Mr Darby’s account in simple matters of fact. The grossest charges are shown to be absolutely false. Which is the more likely to be trustworthy: this account by one who was present, or Mr. Darby’s, derived from others ? >>
I think it would be highly desirable to track down this Diary, if it can be unearthed. It did not surface in the archives of the Muller Homes. I don’t know who would have inherited Dr Bergin’s papers. The Diary itself would throw invaluable light upon the inner counsels of the Bethesda “oversight” at a critical time. It is a pity that Harold St John did not favour us with at least a few specific matters of fact upon which Darby was wrong in his charges against Bethesda.