diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/persistence.rst b/akka-docs/rst/java/persistence.rst
index eeda6b173e..5e7ca7a41a 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/persistence.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/persistence.rst
@@ -330,15 +330,13 @@ command, i.e. ``onPersistRejected`` is called with an exception (typically ``Uns
 Batch writes
 ------------
 
-In order to optimize throughput a persistent actor internally batches events to be stored under high load before
-writing them to the journal (as a single batch). The batch size dynamically grows from 1 under low and moderate loads
-to a configurable maximum size (default is ``200``) under high load. When using ``persistAsync`` this increases
-the maximum throughput dramatically.
-
-.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/persistence/PersistencePluginDocSpec.scala#max-message-batch-size
-
-A new batch write is triggered by a persistent actor as soon as a batch reaches the maximum size or if the journal completed
-writing the previous batch. Batch writes are never timer-based which keeps latencies at a minimum.
+In order to optimize throughput when using ``persistAsync``, a persistent actor
+internally batches events to be stored under high load before writing them to
+the journal (as a single batch). The batch size is dynamically determined by
+how many events are emitted during the time of a journal round-trip: after
+sending a batch to the journal no further batch can be sent before confirmation
+has been received that the previous batch has been written. Batch writes are never
+timer-based which keeps latencies at a minimum.
 
 Message deletion
 ----------------
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/persistence.rst b/akka-docs/rst/scala/persistence.rst
index 3551a34bc8..790c1f6549 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/persistence.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/persistence.rst
@@ -317,15 +317,13 @@ command, i.e. ``onPersistRejected`` is called with an exception (typically ``Uns
 Batch writes
 ------------
 
-In order to optimize throughput, a persistent actor internally batches events to be stored under high load before
-writing them to the journal (as a single batch). The batch size dynamically grows from 1 under low and moderate loads
-to a configurable maximum size (default is ``200``) under high load. When using ``persistAsync`` this increases
-the maximum throughput dramatically.
-
-.. includecode:: code/docs/persistence/PersistencePluginDocSpec.scala#max-message-batch-size
-
-A new batch write is triggered by a persistent actor as soon as a batch reaches the maximum size or if the journal completed
-writing the previous batch. Batch writes are never timer-based which keeps latencies at a minimum.
+In order to optimize throughput when using ``persistAsync``, a persistent actor
+internally batches events to be stored under high load before writing them to
+the journal (as a single batch). The batch size is dynamically determined by
+how many events are emitted during the time of a journal round-trip: after
+sending a batch to the journal no further batch can be sent before confirmation
+has been received that the previous batch has been written. Batch writes are never
+timer-based which keeps latencies at a minimum.
 
 Message deletion
 ----------------
diff --git a/akka-persistence-tck/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/JournalSpec.scala b/akka-persistence-tck/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/JournalSpec.scala
index 6792d9d7ef..87b4eaf49d 100644
--- a/akka-persistence-tck/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/JournalSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence-tck/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/JournalSpec.scala
@@ -46,9 +46,17 @@ abstract class JournalSpec(config: Config) extends PluginSpec(config) with MayVe
     super.beforeEach()
     senderProbe = TestProbe()
     receiverProbe = TestProbe()
+    preparePersistenceId(pid)
     writeMessages(1, 5, pid, senderProbe.ref, writerUuid)
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Overridable hook that is called before populating the journal for the next
+   * test case. `pid` is the `persistenceId` that will be used in the test.
+   * This method may be needed to clean pre-existing events from the log.
+   */
+  def preparePersistenceId(pid: String): Unit = ()
+
   /**
    * Implementation may override and return false if it does not
    * support atomic writes of several events, as emitted by `persistAll`.
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-persistence/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 07b674e475..571c3239a2 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ akka.persistence {
       # Dispatcher for message replay.
       replay-dispatcher = "akka.persistence.dispatchers.default-replay-dispatcher"
       
-      # Maximum size of a persistent message batch written to the journal.
+      # Removed: used to be the Maximum size of a persistent message batch written to the journal.
+      # Now this setting is without function, PersistentActor will write as many messages
+      # as it has accumulated since the last write.
       max-message-batch-size = 200
       
       circuit-breaker {
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
index 754f7ef578..669e1729f9 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
   private val writerUuid = UUID.randomUUID.toString
 
   private var journalBatch = Vector.empty[PersistentEnvelope]
+  // no longer used, but kept for binary compatibility
   private val maxMessageBatchSize = extension.journalConfigFor(journalPluginId).getInt("max-message-batch-size")
   private var writeInProgress = false
   private var sequenceNr: Long = 0L
@@ -232,11 +233,12 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
     sequenceNr
   }
 
-  private def flushJournalBatch(): Unit = {
-    journal ! WriteMessages(journalBatch, self, instanceId)
-    journalBatch = Vector.empty
-    writeInProgress = true
-  }
+  private def flushJournalBatch(): Unit =
+    if (!writeInProgress) {
+      journal ! WriteMessages(journalBatch, self, instanceId)
+      journalBatch = Vector.empty
+      writeInProgress = true
+    }
 
   private def log: LoggingAdapter = Logging(context.system, this)
 
@@ -291,7 +293,8 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
   def persist[A](event: A)(handler: A ⇒ Unit): Unit = {
     pendingStashingPersistInvocations += 1
     pendingInvocations addLast StashingHandlerInvocation(event, handler.asInstanceOf[Any ⇒ Unit])
-    eventBatch = AtomicWrite(PersistentRepr(event, sender = sender())) :: eventBatch
+    eventBatch ::= AtomicWrite(PersistentRepr(event, persistenceId = persistenceId,
+      sequenceNr = nextSequenceNr(), writerUuid = writerUuid, sender = sender()))
   }
 
   /**
@@ -308,7 +311,8 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
         pendingStashingPersistInvocations += 1
         pendingInvocations addLast StashingHandlerInvocation(event, handler.asInstanceOf[Any ⇒ Unit])
       }
-      eventBatch = AtomicWrite(events.map(PersistentRepr.apply(_, sender = sender()))) :: eventBatch
+      eventBatch ::= AtomicWrite(events.map(PersistentRepr.apply(_, persistenceId = persistenceId,
+        sequenceNr = nextSequenceNr(), writerUuid = writerUuid, sender = sender())))
     }
   }
 
@@ -341,7 +345,8 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
    */
   def persistAsync[A](event: A)(handler: A ⇒ Unit): Unit = {
     pendingInvocations addLast AsyncHandlerInvocation(event, handler.asInstanceOf[Any ⇒ Unit])
-    eventBatch = AtomicWrite(PersistentRepr(event, sender = sender())) :: eventBatch
+    eventBatch ::= AtomicWrite(PersistentRepr(event, persistenceId = persistenceId,
+      sequenceNr = nextSequenceNr(), writerUuid = writerUuid, sender = sender()))
   }
 
   /**
@@ -357,7 +362,8 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
       events.foreach { event ⇒
         pendingInvocations addLast AsyncHandlerInvocation(event, handler.asInstanceOf[Any ⇒ Unit])
       }
-      eventBatch = AtomicWrite(events.map(PersistentRepr.apply(_, sender = sender()))) :: eventBatch
+      eventBatch ::= AtomicWrite(events.map(PersistentRepr(_, persistenceId = persistenceId,
+        sequenceNr = nextSequenceNr(), writerUuid = writerUuid, sender = sender())))
     }
 
   @deprecated("use persistAllAsync instead", "2.4")
@@ -501,42 +507,17 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
   }
 
   private def flushBatch() {
-    def addToBatch(p: PersistentEnvelope): Unit = p match {
-      case a: AtomicWrite ⇒
-        journalBatch :+= a.copy(payload =
-          a.payload.map(_.update(persistenceId = persistenceId, sequenceNr = nextSequenceNr(), writerUuid = writerUuid)))
-      case r: PersistentEnvelope ⇒
-        journalBatch :+= r
+    if (eventBatch.nonEmpty) {
+      journalBatch ++= eventBatch.reverse
+      eventBatch = Nil
     }
 
-    def maxBatchSizeReached: Boolean =
-      journalBatch.size >= maxMessageBatchSize
-
-    // When using only `persistAsync` and `defer` max throughput is increased by using
-    // batching, but when using `persist` we want to use one atomic WriteMessages
-    // for the emitted events.
-    // Flush previously collected events, if any, separately from the `persist` batch
-    if (pendingStashingPersistInvocations > 0 && journalBatch.nonEmpty)
-      flushJournalBatch()
-
-    eventBatch.reverse.foreach { p ⇒
-      addToBatch(p)
-      if (!writeInProgress || maxBatchSizeReached) flushJournalBatch()
-    }
-
-    eventBatch = Nil
+    if (journalBatch.nonEmpty) flushJournalBatch()
   }
 
-  private def peekApplyHandler(payload: Any): Unit = {
-    val batchSizeBeforeApply = eventBatch.size
+  private def peekApplyHandler(payload: Any): Unit =
     try pendingInvocations.peek().handler(payload)
-    finally {
-      val batchSizeAfterApply = eventBatch.size
-
-      if (batchSizeAfterApply > batchSizeBeforeApply)
-        flushBatch()
-    }
-  }
+    finally flushBatch()
 
   /**
    * Common receive handler for processingCommands and persistingEvents
@@ -573,14 +554,16 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with Stash with Stas
         // while message is in flight, in that case we ignore the call to the handler
         if (id == instanceId) {
           try {
-            pendingInvocations.peek().handler(l)
+            peekApplyHandler(l)
             onWriteMessageComplete(err = false)
           } catch { case NonFatal(e) ⇒ onWriteMessageComplete(err = true); throw e }
         }
       case WriteMessagesSuccessful ⇒
-        if (journalBatch.isEmpty) writeInProgress = false else flushJournalBatch()
+        writeInProgress = false
+        if (journalBatch.nonEmpty) flushJournalBatch()
 
       case WriteMessagesFailed(_) ⇒
+        writeInProgress = false
         () // it will be stopped by the first WriteMessageFailure message
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncRecovery.scala b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncRecovery.scala
index 9648f7b6e5..3df29021c5 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncRecovery.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncRecovery.scala
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ trait AsyncRecovery {
    *
    * The `toSequenceNr` is the lowest of what was returned by [[#asyncReadHighestSequenceNr]]
    * and what the user specified as recovery [[akka.persistence.Recovery]] parameter.
+   * This does imply that this call is always preceded by reading the highest sequence
+   * number for the given `persistenceId`.
    *
    * This call is NOT protected with a circuit-breaker because it may take long time
    * to replay all events. The plugin implementation itself must protect against
@@ -55,6 +57,10 @@ trait AsyncRecovery {
    *
    * This call is protected with a circuit-breaker.
    *
+   * Please also note that requests for the highest sequence number may be made concurrently
+   * to writes executing for the same `persistenceId`, in particular it is possible that
+   * a restarting actor tries to recover before its outstanding writes have completed.
+   *
    * @param persistenceId persistent actor id.
    * @param fromSequenceNr hint where to start searching for the highest sequence
    *                       number. When a persistent actor is recovering this
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncWriteJournal.scala b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncWriteJournal.scala
index 745cae10cf..1591952f5e 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncWriteJournal.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/journal/AsyncWriteJournal.scala
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ trait AsyncWriteJournal extends Actor with WriteJournalBase with AsyncRecovery {
     {
       case WriteMessages(messages, persistentActor, actorInstanceId) ⇒
         val cctr = resequencerCounter
-        resequencerCounter += messages.foldLeft(0)((acc, m) ⇒ acc + m.size) + 1
+        resequencerCounter += messages.foldLeft(1)((acc, m) ⇒ acc + m.size)
 
         val atomicWriteCount = messages.count(_.isInstanceOf[AtomicWrite])
         val prepared = Try(preparePersistentBatch(messages))
@@ -215,11 +215,20 @@ trait AsyncWriteJournal extends Actor with WriteJournalBase with AsyncRecovery {
    * work in asyncronous tasks it is alright that they complete the futures in any order,
    * but the actual writes for a specific persistenceId should be serialized to avoid
    * issues such as events of a later write are visible to consumers (query side, or replay)
-   * before the events of an earlier write are visible. This can also be done with
-   * consistent hashing if it is too fine grained to do it on the persistenceId level.
-   * Normally a `PersistentActor` will only have one outstanding write request to the journal but
-   * it may emit several write requests when `persistAsync` is used and the max batch size
-   * is reached.
+   * before the events of an earlier write are visible.
+   * A PersistentActor will not send a new WriteMessages request before the previous one
+   * has been completed.
+   *
+   * Please note that the `sender` field of the contained PersistentRepr objects has been
+   * nulled out (i.e. set to `ActorRef.noSender`) in order to not use space in the journal
+   * for a sender reference that will likely be obsolete during replay.
+   *
+   * Please also note that requests for the highest sequence number may be made concurrently
+   * to this call executing for the same `persistenceId`, in particular it is possible that
+   * a restarting actor tries to recover before its outstanding writes have completed. In
+   * the latter case it is highly desirable to defer reading the highest sequence number
+   * until all outstanding writes have completed, otherwise the PersistentActor may reuse
+   * sequence numbers.
    *
    * This call is protected with a circuit-breaker.
    */
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/EndToEndEventAdapterSpec.scala b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/EndToEndEventAdapterSpec.scala
index bd39db7a3b..1389097b82 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/EndToEndEventAdapterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/EndToEndEventAdapterSpec.scala
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import java.io.File
 import akka.actor._
 import akka.persistence.EndToEndEventAdapterSpec.NewA
 import akka.persistence.journal.{ EventSeq, EventAdapter }
-import akka.testkit.{ ImplicitSender, WatchedByCoroner, AkkaSpec, TestProbe }
+import akka.testkit.{ ImplicitSender, WatchedByCoroner, AkkaSpec, TestProbe, EventFilter }
 import com.typesafe.config.{ Config, ConfigFactory }
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
 import org.scalatest.{ WordSpecLike, Matchers, BeforeAndAfterAll }
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ abstract class EndToEndEventAdapterSpec(journalName: String, journalConfig: Conf
     |    }
     |  }
     |}
+    |akka.loggers = ["akka.testkit.TestEventListener"]
     """.stripMargin)
 
   val newAdaptersConfig = ConfigFactory.parseString(
@@ -226,11 +227,13 @@ abstract class EndToEndEventAdapterSpec(journalName: String, journalConfig: Conf
         .withoutPath(s"$journalPath.event-adapters.a")
         .withoutPath(s"""$journalPath.event-adapter-bindings."${classOf[EndToEndEventAdapterSpec].getCanonicalName}$$A"""")
 
-      intercept[IllegalArgumentException] {
-        withActorSystem("MissingAdapterSystem", journalConfig.withFallback(missingAdapterConfig)) { implicit system2 ⇒
-          Persistence(system2).adaptersFor(s"akka.persistence.journal.$journalName").get(classOf[String])
+      withActorSystem("MissingAdapterSystem", journalConfig.withFallback(missingAdapterConfig)) { implicit system2 ⇒
+        EventFilter[ActorInitializationException](occurrences = 1, pattern = ".*undefined event-adapter.*") intercept {
+          intercept[IllegalArgumentException] {
+            Persistence(system2).adaptersFor(s"akka.persistence.journal.$journalName").get(classOf[String])
+          }.getMessage should include("was bound to undefined event-adapter: a (bindings: [a, b], known adapters: b)")
         }
-      }.getMessage should include("was bound to undefined event-adapter: a (bindings: [a, b], known adapters: b)")
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec.scala b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8ec6c24cd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.persistence
+
+import akka.actor._
+import akka.testkit._
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
+import akka.persistence.JournalProtocol._
+
+object PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec {
+
+  val config = ConfigFactory.parseString("""
+puppet {
+  class = "akka.persistence.JournalPuppet"
+  max-message-batch-size = 10
+}
+akka.persistence.journal.plugin = puppet
+akka.persistence.snapshot-store.plugin = "akka.persistence.no-snapshot-store"
+""")
+
+  sealed trait Command
+  case class Persist(id: Int, msgs: Any*) extends Command
+  case class PersistAsync(id: Int, msgs: Any*) extends Command
+  case class Multi(cmd: Command*) extends Command
+  case class Echo(id: Int) extends Command
+  case class Fail(ex: Throwable) extends Command
+  case class Done(id: Int, sub: Int)
+
+  case class PreStart(name: String)
+  case class PreRestart(name: String)
+  case class PostRestart(name: String)
+  case class PostStop(name: String)
+
+  class A(monitor: ActorRef) extends PersistentActor {
+
+    def persistenceId = self.path.name
+
+    override def preStart(): Unit = monitor ! PreStart(persistenceId)
+    override def preRestart(reason: Throwable, msg: Option[Any]): Unit = monitor ! PreRestart(persistenceId)
+    override def postRestart(reason: Throwable): Unit = monitor ! PostRestart(persistenceId)
+    override def postStop(): Unit = monitor ! PostStop(persistenceId)
+
+    def receiveRecover = {
+      case x ⇒ monitor ! x
+    }
+    def receiveCommand = behavior orElse {
+      case m: Multi ⇒ m.cmd.foreach(behavior)
+    }
+
+    val behavior: Receive = {
+      case p: Persist      ⇒ P(p)
+      case p: PersistAsync ⇒ PA(p)
+      case Echo(id)        ⇒ sender() ! Done(id, 0)
+      case Fail(ex)        ⇒ throw ex
+    }
+    val doNothing = (_: Any) ⇒ ()
+
+    def P(p: Persist): Unit = {
+      var sub = 0
+      persistAll(p.msgs.toList) { e ⇒
+        sender() ! Done(p.id, { sub += 1; sub })
+        behavior.applyOrElse(e, doNothing)
+      }
+    }
+    def PA(p: PersistAsync): Unit = {
+      var sub = 0
+      persistAllAsync(p.msgs.toList) { e ⇒
+        sender() ! Done(p.id, { sub += 1; sub })
+        behavior.applyOrElse(e, doNothing)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+object JournalPuppet extends ExtensionKey[JournalProbe]
+class JournalProbe(implicit private val system: ExtendedActorSystem) extends Extension {
+  val probe = TestProbe()
+  val ref = probe.ref
+}
+
+class JournalPuppet extends Actor {
+  val ref = JournalPuppet(context.system).ref
+  def receive = {
+    case x ⇒ ref forward x
+  }
+}
+
+import PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec._
+
+class PersistentActorJournalProtocolSpec extends AkkaSpec(config) with ImplicitSender {
+
+  val journal = JournalPuppet(system).probe
+
+  case class Msgs(msg: Any*)
+
+  def expectWrite(subject: ActorRef, msgs: Msgs*): WriteMessages = {
+    val w = journal.expectMsgType[WriteMessages]
+    withClue(s"$w: ") {
+      w.persistentActor should ===(subject)
+      w.messages.size should ===(msgs.size)
+      w.messages.zip(msgs).foreach {
+        case (AtomicWrite(writes), msg) ⇒
+          writes.size should ===(msg.msg.size)
+          writes.zip(msg.msg).foreach {
+            case (PersistentRepr(evt, _), m) ⇒
+              evt should ===(m)
+          }
+        case x ⇒ fail(s"unexpected $x")
+      }
+    }
+    w
+  }
+
+  def confirm(w: WriteMessages): Unit = {
+    journal.send(w.persistentActor, WriteMessagesSuccessful)
+    w.messages.foreach {
+      case AtomicWrite(msgs) ⇒
+        msgs.foreach(msg ⇒
+          w.persistentActor.tell(WriteMessageSuccess(msg, w.actorInstanceId), msg.sender))
+      case NonPersistentRepr(msg, sender) ⇒ w.persistentActor.tell(msg, sender)
+    }
+  }
+
+  def startActor(name: String): ActorRef = {
+    val subject = system.actorOf(Props(new A(testActor)), name)
+    subject ! Echo(0)
+    expectMsg(PreStart(name))
+    journal.expectMsgType[ReplayMessages]
+    journal.reply(RecoverySuccess(0L))
+    expectMsg(RecoveryCompleted)
+    expectMsg(Done(0, 0))
+    subject
+  }
+
+  "A PersistentActor’s journal protocol" must {
+
+    "not send WriteMessages while a write is still outstanding" when {
+
+      "using simple persist()" in {
+        val subject = startActor("test-1")
+        subject ! Persist(1, "a-1")
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-1"))
+        subject ! Persist(2, "a-2")
+        expectNoMsg(300.millis)
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+        confirm(w1)
+        expectMsg(Done(1, 1))
+        val w2 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-2"))
+        confirm(w2)
+        expectMsg(Done(2, 1))
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-1"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+      "using nested persist()" in {
+        val subject = startActor("test-2")
+        subject ! Persist(1, Persist(2, "a-1"))
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs(Persist(2, "a-1")))
+        subject ! Persist(3, "a-2")
+        expectNoMsg(300.millis)
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+        confirm(w1)
+        expectMsg(Done(1, 1))
+        val w2 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-1"))
+        confirm(w2)
+        expectMsg(Done(2, 1))
+        val w3 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-2"))
+        confirm(w3)
+        expectMsg(Done(3, 1))
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-2"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+      "using nested multiple persist()" in {
+        val subject = startActor("test-3")
+        subject ! Multi(Persist(1, Persist(2, "a-1")), Persist(3, "a-2"))
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs(Persist(2, "a-1")), Msgs("a-2"))
+        confirm(w1)
+        expectMsg(Done(1, 1))
+        expectMsg(Done(3, 1))
+        val w2 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-1"))
+        confirm(w2)
+        expectMsg(Done(2, 1))
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-3"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+      "using large number of persist() calls" in {
+        val subject = startActor("test-4")
+        subject ! Multi(Vector.tabulate(30)(i ⇒ Persist(i, s"a-$i")): _*)
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, Vector.tabulate(30)(i ⇒ Msgs(s"a-$i")): _*)
+        confirm(w1)
+        for (i ← 0 until 30) expectMsg(Done(i, 1))
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-4"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+      "using large number of persistAsync() calls" in {
+        def msgs(start: Int, end: Int) = (start until end).map(i ⇒ Msgs(s"a-$i-1", s"a-$i-2"))
+        def commands(start: Int, end: Int) = (start until end).map(i ⇒ PersistAsync(i, s"a-$i-1", s"a-$i-2"))
+        def expectDone(start: Int, end: Int) = for (i ← start until end; j ← 1 to 2) expectMsg(Done(i, j))
+
+        val subject = startActor("test-5")
+        subject ! PersistAsync(-1, "a" +: commands(20, 30): _*)
+        subject ! Multi(commands(0, 10): _*)
+        subject ! Multi(commands(10, 20): _*)
+        val w0 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a" +: commands(20, 30): _*))
+        journal.expectNoMsg(300.millis)
+        confirm(w0)
+        (1 to 11) foreach (x ⇒ expectMsg(Done(-1, x)))
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, msgs(0, 20): _*)
+        journal.expectNoMsg(300.millis)
+        confirm(w1)
+        expectDone(0, 20)
+        val w2 = expectWrite(subject, msgs(20, 30): _*)
+        confirm(w2)
+        expectDone(20, 30)
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-5"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+      "the actor fails with queued events" in {
+        val subject = startActor("test-6")
+        subject ! PersistAsync(1, "a-1")
+        val w1 = expectWrite(subject, Msgs("a-1"))
+        subject ! PersistAsync(2, "a-2")
+        EventFilter[Exception](message = "K-BOOM!", occurrences = 1) intercept {
+          subject ! Fail(new Exception("K-BOOM!"))
+          expectMsg(PreRestart("test-6"))
+          expectMsg(PostRestart("test-6"))
+          journal.expectMsgType[ReplayMessages]
+        }
+        journal.reply(RecoverySuccess(0L))
+        expectMsg(RecoveryCompleted)
+        confirm(w1)
+        subject ! PoisonPill
+        expectMsg(PostStop("test-6"))
+        journal.msgAvailable should ===(false)
+      }
+
+    }
+
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpec.scala b/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpec.scala
index 238b7947a2..59d0d6fb08 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpec.scala
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.Future
 import com.typesafe.config.{ Config, ConfigFactory }
 import akka.dispatch.Dispatchers
 import akka.testkit.TestEvent._
-import org.scalautils.ConversionCheckedTripleEquals
+import org.scalactic.ConversionCheckedTripleEquals
 
 object AkkaSpec {
   val testConf: Config = ConfigFactory.parseString("""