J. B. the task is proportioned to the measure of very many of the journals of deceased Friends, ability afforded, and when the spark is cher- but from those which I have read, there has ished by obedience, and every thing that tends been impressed upon me many an instructive to damp or check is removed, how an increase lesson. It is in such accounts that we gain in strength is experienced, and especially what that treasure of experience, which, without sweet peace is at intervals the result. "What books or writings, would be only attainable shall we render to Him," for all our blessings by the aged. We see from these narratives, and benefits; is there any thing too great to at one comprehensive view, the importance, sacrifice, or that any of us shall withhold? the value, the object, and the end of human May we become more and more learned, more life. The travellers whose pilgrimages are and more deeply taught in that best of lessons, described, seem to traverse their course again humility; for without this seasoning virtue, under our inspection: we follow them through the highest attainments in religious knowledge, their turnings and windings, through their are likely to produce nothing short of addi- difficulties, discouragements, and dangers; tional condemnation. It is the humbled and through the heights of rejoicing, and depths contrited spirit that is an acceptable sacrifice, of desolation, to which in youth, in age, in and said to be "precious in the sight of Him poverty, in riches, under all conditions and with whom we have to do." Farewell. circumstances, they have been subject. From these accounts, we learn the many liabilities which surround us, and we may, (unless Fifth month. I think I have heard a re- through wilful blindness,) unequivocally dismark, made by some amongst us, tending cover where the true rest and peace is to be rather to the injury and prejudice of them that found; and in what consists the only security, give place to the sentiment,-namely, that strength, and sure standing. How loudly do persons should not let their outward profes- the lives and deaths of these worthies preach sion and appearance outstep their inward and to us; they being dead do indeed yet speak, real condition and character. This sentiment exhorting and entreating, that we who still sounds very well, and perhaps is sound with survive, may lay hold and keep hold of those some qualifications. It is however in the things, in which alone they could derive any neighbourhood of error; and therefore should comfort in the end. I have accompanied this be cautiously received and acted upon. For, dear friend, as it were, from place to place, verily, the reason why I or any others have and from time to time; I have seen her as adopted a strict appearance in dress, address, or she passed through the changing circumstanother particulars, is not that we thought our- ces and events of each revolving year; and selves better than those who have not found cannot but observe, that while she followed this strictness expedient for them; nor is this the gentle leadings of Israel's Shepherd, givstrictness of profession among men, any cer- ing up her own to His will, she found such tain or safe mark of taking up the cross of peace, as encouraged and strengthened her Christ. The cross that we have daily to take under every distress, perplexity and darkness. up, as followers of a crucified Saviour, is a It was an unwearied, unshaken belief in the spiritual cross, a cross to our appetites, pas-being of an infinitely great and gracious Massions, affections, and wills. The crucifying ter, that enabled her, as it ever has, and as power will, no doubt, after cleansing us from it does even now, enable all who rightly emall manifest wickedness, cleanse also and purify our very thoughts and imaginations, our very secret desires and latent motives; and amongst these, will it also destroy "the lust of the eye and the pride of life," with all the fruits and effects thereof, which have crept into, and are so apparent, in the daily conduct of men of the world. Thus, no doubt remains with me, but that if we, as a society, were more universally subject to the operative and purifying power which we profess to believe in, there would be found more strictness even in minor matters than is now seen, and greater circumspection, seriousness, and a confinual standing in awe. 13th. I have been reading and have just finished the journal of the life and religious labours of Mary Alexander: I have not read brace it, to encounter the buffetings of the enemy, the perils and pains of the body, the exercises and conflicts of the soul, the uncertainties and exigencies of time, with the same calm confidence, and at seasons, even with triumphant joy. Thou, dear fellow traveller, dear to me in proportion as thou art near to Him who is very tender to us all, I do affectionately salute thee, whoever thou art that readest what is here written, whether a relation or a stranger, young or old, born in a higher or more humble station,-I affectionately entreat thee, that thou wouldst weightily lay these things to heart, whilst it is day unto thee, whilst the light, which makes manifest what things are reprovable and what commendable, shines in thine heart,—whilst the Lord is in exceeding mercy condescending to care for thee, and to plead with thee. O lay labourers may be preserved at this season, on the right hand and on the left; that they may be kept in their proper places, and in subjection to the great Master of our assem blies; that their spiritual eye and ear may be opened and enlivened by his healing hand; that their speech may be directed and their mouths filled in his own time and way, to his glory! May each one of these be kept low under his almighty hand; may that which is of the creature within them be abased, whilst that which comes from the source of life and glory, is exalted above every obstacle or op position. O! thou, who art pleased at times to favour thy poor dependent little ones, those who have no hope, or help, or happiness, but in the smile of thy benignant countenance; be pleased at this time so to refresh their hearts with the influence of thy paternal presence, so to overshadow them with a sense of thy continued protection and care, that they may be severally encouraged and confirmed to serve thee with greater diligence, to devote themselves afresh to thy service and disposal, and more sincerely and unreservedly to say and to feel, that thy will is best in all things! 16th.-In what words shall 1 express thy tender dealings, thy loving kindness, O Lord! to my poor soul? How shall I approach thee, how shall I speak of thee, or speak to thee, thou, the Giver of every good gift? Thou art far more gracious than any language can commemorate, or than any tongue can convey an adequate notion of. Thou hast wrapt me in a garment of praise; thou hast covered me with a sense of thy compassion. I am swallowed up with love of thee, with thy love towards me. Take pity upon the poor dust, which thou hast been pleased to animate with the breath of thy pure Spirit, and to make a living soul-still condescend to continue thy fatherly protection-thy very tender mercies and forbearance, hitherto vouchsafed; and enable me and all thy poor creatures, to answer yet more and more thy end and purpose in creating us, still more and more to love and adore thee, who art our all in all. May thy kingdom, thy power, and thy glory, yet more widely and triumphantly extend over every thing within us and without us;-may thy blessed will so come over all, that the period may again be known, when "the morning stars sing together, and all thy sons, O God, shout for joy!" CHAPTER V. Fifth month 20th, 1817.-O! How fervently, how earnestly have my cries and breathings ascended to Him, who is the fountain and source of all good, that all the true well-wishers to Zion's welfare, all the hearty, zealous, living Sixth month 1st.-I have attended the sittings of this yearly meeting, as well as those of its large committee on Epistles, of which I was nominated a member; and am inclined in this manner to notice it. I think I never saw the importance of our assemblies, or indeed of any system of church government, in so strong a light, as previously to this yearly meeting. For many days before it commenced, my mind seemed engrossed with a sense of the weighty act of duty, which we were going to take in hand. I was encompassed with earnest desires and great exercise of soul, that every individual attendant there, might be availingly instructed and benefited, whether it should fall to his lot to be more or less prominently engaged; and that thus whatever we might do in word or deed, we might do all to the glory of the Lord, and for the promotion of his great cause. I was favoured to continue in the same tender feeling frame of mind, with but little diminution, to the conclusion of our solemn engagement: at times, the Lord did extend his precious gathering wing over his poor dependent little ones, and enabled some to sing in their hearts to his praise;-blessed be his holy name. O! what a privilege it is, to experience preservation on every hand, to be each of us kept in our proper places, and under our own fig tree, where none can make us afraid,—each of us abiding under our particular exercises, and upon the watch-tower. *Yearly Meeting. A few lines affectionately offered and addressed to every young person whom they may concern. Sixth month 10th, 1817. Dear fellow traveller, In a little of that love which has been extended to me by Him, who "showeth mercy unto thousands," I send thee these few lines; sincerely desiring that the eye of thy soul may be so effectually opened and enlightened by the healing hand of the great physician, Christ Jesus, as to enable thee clearly to see the things which belong unto thy peace, before they are hidden from thee. which leadeth downwards; that we have taken delight to set at defiance the commandments of a great Creator; and have yielded ourselves, and all that we possess, the ready instruments of satan:-our time, our talents, our means, our youth, our health, our peace, have been freely sacrificed at the altar of our soul's enemy. Be then entreated by one who has himself trod in this path; who has hurried forward with impetuosity down this fatal current, who, borne by the rushing waters to the very brink of a tremendous precipice, has been there snatched from the very mouth of destruction. There is indeed, dear young perDear fellow traveller, dost thou not at times, son, neither help, nor hope, nor happiness, when thy mind is in some degree disengaged even in this state of existence, but in the fafrom the round of sin and folly, or when thy vour of Him, in whose favour is life; in imnatural flow of health and spirits is somewhat plicit obedience to the divine will as far as it broken, dost thou not feel within thee convic-is made known to us. It is to no purpose tions of thy wickedness, and condemnation that we reckon ourselves, or are reckoned by for the same? Hast thou not intelligibly heard at such intervals a language which whispers, 'all is not right? Hast thou not felt that the end of these things, in which thy gratification is placed, can never be peace, can never be anything short of death, eternal death to the soul that persists in them? Be assured then, that although these are thy secret feelings, thou art still the object of infinite condescension and loving kindness. He who desires not the death of the evil-doer, but the death of the evil, is still near thee, notwithstanding all thy rebellion; following thee in thy ways which are those of sin, and running after thee as a shepherd, in search of his strayed sheep. These pleadings of divine grace, these convictions of the Spirit of Christ, which in spite of thy concealment of them are pursuing thee, and in spite of thy endeavours to appease them by partial reformations are galling thy soul,-even these are the evidences of His gracious hand upon thee, who wounds only to heal, and whose very judgments are in mercy. O! that thou mayst come to see with undoubted clearness the truth of this; that thou mayst be encouraged and emboldened unreservedly to follow that, which is, as I fully believe, shown thee to be right and acceptable in the sight of the great Judge of all the earth. Assuredly, He has shown thee, what He is requiring at thy hands, and what his righteous controversy is with: He requires of thee nothing but that which has separated thee from Him, the only source and centre of true joy,-nothing but that which, if not forsaken, will embitter thy present life, and plunge thee into utter darkness after it. Dear fellow traveller, it may be that thou hast been, within these few years, Clapham, 18th of Sixth month, 1817. my companion in the walk of wickedness; Whilst thinking of writing to thee, a part of that I have taken thee by the arm, have helped a beautiful meditation of the Psalmist, on the thee forward in the broad and beaten track works and wonders of Providence, occurs to others as belonging to this sect or the other church, to this class or the other division of professing Christians-if we fall short of those unalterable marks and evidences of true Christianity, by which we shall be known and distinguished in that great day, when every gloss will be removed, and every ceremony and shadow shall fade before the eternal sun of truth. We read that at that awful crisis, there shall be but two names or classes, by which the inhabitants of the whole world shall be known; the sheep and the goats,-the good and the bad. Well, dear fellow traveller, it remains for each of us, if we have any desire that this transient state of being may terminate in an unfading inheritance, to lay aside all the false and foolish reasonings, all the vain suggestions, the cheating insinuations of an unwearied adversary; and with sincerity and simplicity of soul, to take up the holy resolution to seek and to serve the Lord our God, during the few remaining days that may be allotted us; and to this end, that we be found daily inquiring in his temple, the temple of our own hearts, and waiting upon him there, where his kingdom must come and his will be done; that so we may feel his presence and power, to direct and to guide us into the saving knowledge of himself. That thou and I, as well as all our poor brethren upon the face of the earth, may be of that gloriously happy number, who shall inherit an eternity of joy unspeakable in the kingdom of heaven, is the earnest desire of one who feels himself thy soul's true friend. TO A FRIEND. me. sence, protection, providence, and power of 24th. I think I have never felt in so re resembling the faintest glimmer of a spark of light, through all the horror and gloom which reigns. O Lord! this once help me; condescend to bless me, and be with me, and I will follow thee whithersoever thou leadest. O! Lord God of my fathers, I have read of thy goodness towards those who sought thee, towards those who trusted in thee, in times that are past; I have seen, and I have known, and am sure, that it shall ever be well with those who have no help, or hope, or happiness, but in and by and through thee, the source and centre, the spring and the river of all consolation and refreshment. After dwelling much on the variety and immensity, the order, the harmony, the excellent provision and appointment of all things both in heaven and upon the earth, the poor servant cries out, as if unequal to the task; "O Lord! how manifold are thy works! induced a condition, in so pitiable a state of wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is mind, as during some intervals of late; at this full of thy riches." I remember it is some time especially, it seems as though I were at where said, "all thy works shall praise thee, the very boundary where distress of soul ends, and thy saints shall bless thee;" and whilst and where utter darkness and desolation bewe thus see that the heavens declare his glory, gin. Still is there something like hope;-still and the firmament his handy work,-whilst is there, through the infinite mercy of Him, we see that all his works praise him, are we whose kingdom and whose power are far above not convinced that his saints should likewise the dominion of the wicked one, something bless him? Are we not abundantly persuaded, that man also,-whom we now see the only flaw, the only speck in this vast production, perverted in himself, and perverting the rest of the creation, was originally made pure and perfect in his kind, and did then glorify his Maker. Oh! how fully do I believe, how clearly do I see, that it is only as we poor creatures come to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to experience the putting on of the new man, which after the image of Him that made us, is created in righteousness and true holiness; that we can rightly worship, acceptably praise, and truly give glory to so infinitely righteous and holy a Being with 25th. I attended our quarterly meeting whom we have to do. Thus alone are we held this day, under a weight of discouragebrought inexpressibly to feel the beauty of ment, without being able to feel anything alive those scriptural or other writings, which dwell within me. It seemed to some, however, to on the works of the creation: thus also are be an open time, a time of refreshment; the the faculties of our mind opened, enlarged, and truly hungry and thirsty were shown what a quickened to examine, to perceive, and to adore, blessed condition they were in; and they were the great first cause of all. What a blessed directed to the fountain of living waters, the experience, when every thing within us and living bread from heaven, whereby they might without us, the stars above us, the dust under be nourished up into eternal life. There was our feet, seem all to join with us, and to show also a supplication put forth on behalf of some, forth that Power which has made them, and who were under discouragement and doubting which supports and sustains this system, this whether they ought not to enter upon some machinery of the universe. Surely the revo- important duty; and a desire for such, that lutions and vicissitudes to which the spiritual they might "go forth in this their strength," in as well as the natural kingdom seems subject, the deep sense of their own weakness;—which the turnings and overturnings, the storms and much reached me. The sittings for business the calms, the darkness and the brightness, the were no less trying to me, and I believe to dreary and the cheering prospects, the droop- some others, who mourn at the untempered, ing and the delightful seasons, are equally in (if I may use that expression,) or rather perthe hollow of his hand, who is said to be "all haps unleavened manner, in which these our in all." He saith to the raging winds, "peace meetings for the promotion of good order, be still," and to the foaming billow, "thus far Christian conduct and conversation, are someshalt thou come, but no further." What then times held. Oh! how little of an inwardly should be the invariable language of our hearts; gathered and retired disposition do we see; what should be the clothing of our spirits day how little of that weighty concern and exerand night, in all extremities, and under all the cise of soul-that abiding under the overshadcircumstances to which we are constantly lia-owing canopy of pure fear, which were wit ble, but "the will of the Lord be done." O! that we might be privileged to continue from day to day, and all day long, in such a prostrated, humbled, reverential frame of spirit, as would indubitably evince our belief in the pre nessed by those amongst us in former times, and spoken of in these words of William Penn: Care for others was then much upon us, as well as for ourselves, especially the young convinced. Often had we the burden of the word of the Lord to our neighbours, relations, and | have got the first place in our minds, opiniacquaintances, and sometimes to strangers ons founded or cherished by custom, example, also : we were in travail for one another's | and education in the good, and by vanity, or preservation, treating one another as those something worse, in the bad; and if we were that believed and felt God present; which coolly and calmly to listen to the silent dickept our conversation innocent, serious, and tates of best wisdom, we should clearly see, weighty. We held the Truth in the spirit of it, that the holy principle which we profess (to and not in our own spirits, or after our own use the words of John Woolman,) inevitably will and affection. These were bowed and leads those, who faithfully follow it, to apply brought into subjection, insomuch that it was all the gifts of Divine Providence to the purvisible to them that knew us; we did not poses for which they were intended.' I venture think ourselves at our own disposal, to go to say, we should then find a greater necessity where we list, or say or do what we list or laid upon us, to exercise self-denial in what when we list our liberty stood in the liberty we are apt to think little matters, than is now of the Spirit of Truth; and no pleasure, no often thought of; we should have such a tesprofit, no fear, no favour, could draw us from timony to bear against superfluity, extravathis retired, strict, and watchful frame. Our | gance, ostentation, inconsistency, and the unwords were few and savoury, our looks com- reasonable use of those things which perish with posed and weighty, and our whole deportment very observable. I cannot forget the chaste zeal and humility of that day;-oh! how constant at meetings,-how retired in them,-how firm to Truth's life as well as to Truth's principles !'* Thus far William Penn; and oh! that we could say, that anything like all this, did really and truly pervade our conduct now, as a religious body. the using, as we now profess to have, against the more flagrantly foolish customs and fashions of the world. Whatever some may think in regard to these things, I feel assured, that he, who in his outward appearance or behaviour, bears any remnant of a testimony against the customs and fashions of the world, ought to be ashamed of himself, if he belies his avowed sentiments, by a departure from simplicity in the furniture of his house and way of Clapham, 30th of Sixth month, 1817. living. Wilt thou excuse my saying a little Respected friend, Thomas Shillitoe, more, dear friend, on so important a subject Having fulfilled the object which induced as this has long felt to me? I have been me to send the preceding lines, I am inclined almost ready to blush for some, at whose to add a few more; which I am ready to be- houses I have been, where pier-glasses with a lieve I should have done well to communicate profusion of gilt carving and ornament about to thee, when last in thy company. I faintly | them, delicately papered rooms with rich borrecollect, many years past, when but very ders, damask table-cloths curiously worked young and at school, hearing thee (I think I cannot be mistaken as to its being thyself,) in a meeting for worship at Wandsworth, largely and powerfully engaged in testimony. I also remember my own feelings at that season, how ready I was to laugh thee to scorn, and to despise thee. But I have been met with, like poor Saul; and am now brought to such a pass, that I cannot find satisfaction or even safety, in any thing short of a warm and unreserved espousal of that cause, which I but lately made light of. The subjects to which thou wast concerned to call the serious attention of Friends at the last yearly meeting, have been deeply felt by me; and I may truly say, that nearly as long as I have been privileged by an acquaintance with the houses and families of Friends, which, though I was born a member, is not long, I have at times almost mourned at the great relaxation from Gospel strictness, and simplicity of living, so evident amongst us. Surely I have thought if we were to cast out the crowd of opinions, which *William Penn's Rise and Progress. VoL. VI.No. 11. and figured extremely fine, expensive cut glass, and gay carpets of many colours, are neither spared nor scrupled at. Some indeed seem to be desirous of disguising and excusing their violation of the simplicity, which their better feelings convince them they should practice, by saying, that this or the other new or fashionable vanity is an improvement on the old article,-that this gay and gaudy trumpery will wear and keep its colour better than a plainer one, or that this precious bauble was given them by their relations. Thus are they endeavouring to satisfy the inquiries of those who love consistent plainness, and to silence that uneasy inmate, the unflattering witness which is following them. I have been much exercised and troubled on my own account, and on that of others, as to these matters; and have been very desirous that we may all keep clear of these departures. Thus thou seest I have felt much freedom in addressing thee, even like that of an old acquaintance; and hope I shall never want this honest openness towards such as are examples in conduct and conversation; for 52 |