i695 1895 
 
 3i- Centennial y\nniversary 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRIBNDS' MEETING HOUSE 
 
 ERION. 
 
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IT)!) 5 1805 
 
 BI-CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 
 
 FRIE^^DS* MEETIXG HOUSE 
 
 MERTOX, 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Philaliflphia : 
 
 :ii:m>s I!«m»k association, 
 
 KII-TKKSTH AM> BACK STBEKTS, 
 

 COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 
 Joseph W. Thomas, Chairman. 
 
 Ellen D. Eamsay, 
 Samuel H. Hibberd, 
 Ella V. Conard, 
 Mary J, Walker, 
 Benedict Leedom, 
 Ruth T. Roberts, 
 William West, 
 John Leedom, 
 
 Joseph M. Truman, Jr. 
 Anna F. Levick, 
 George W, Hancock, 
 Catharine Jones, 
 Edmund Allen, 
 Laura Allen, 
 William Fussell, 
 Davis Young, 
 
 Robert M. Janney. 
 
TiiK subject of holding memorial exercises at the 
 Friends' Meeting House, at Morion, Pennsylvania, to 
 commemorate its erection in 1605, — two hundred years 
 ago, — was brought before Radnor Monthly Meeting of 
 Friends, Fourth month* 11th, 1895, wherein it was 
 duly considered and approved. A committee was 
 appointed to make the necessary arrangements for the 
 occasion, witii authority to add to their numbers. 
 With the desire that both bodies of Friends should be 
 represented in the work, an invitation was extended to 
 meml)ers of the other branch, and the preparation of 
 one of the papers and a poem assigned to them. 
 
 The celebration was held on Seventh-day, Tenth 
 mouth 5th, 1895, which proved to be a beautiful 
 autumn day, and was enjoyed by the many friends 
 assembled. The peoj)le liegan to gather several hours 
 before the time appointed for tiie exercises, to take 
 advantage of the opportunity (»f inspecting the meeting- 
 house and the many points of interest associated with 
 the place. A large tent was erected ujxin the grounds 
 to accommodate tiiose attending the exercises. At the 
 hour announced, l.i'.O p.m., an audience of one thousand 
 or more persons had met therein. Shortly after fhi< 
 
hour, the Chairman, Robert M. Janney, called the 
 meeting to order, and requested the observance of a 
 period of silence, during which prayer was offered by 
 Rufus M. Jones, which met with response in the hearts 
 of those present. 
 
 The programme as arranged by the committee was 
 soon after entered upon, being introduced by an address 
 from the Chairman, which follows, with the other 
 papers presented. 
 
INTKODrCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 RoHEiiT M. Janxey, Chairman. 
 
 If any authority were needed for such an ohservauce 
 as this among Friends, I think we have it in the in- 
 iunctiou : "Honor thy father and tliy mother; that 
 tliy days may be long upon the land which the Lord 
 thy God givcth thee." 
 
 In celebrating with simple yet sincere and appropri- 
 ate ceremonies the two hundredth anniversary of the 
 building of this meeting-house, we are desiring to honor 
 the fathers and mothers who founded it, as also the 
 long line of worthies who, through two centuries, here 
 worshiped the Father in spirit and in truth ; and in so 
 honoring them I feel that we are honoring ourselves. 
 
 I trust that it is with no improper pride or spirit of 
 self-laudation that we shall recount the past, nor with 
 boastful confidence that we shall scan the future ; but 
 that, drawing inspiration from the one, we may resolve 
 to dedicate ourselves with singleness of purpose to a 
 high fulfilment of the other. Helieving as we do in 
 the beneficent influences of Quakerism upon the world, 
 and that it has a message to the people of to-day, let 
 us keep always before us the simplicity and sufficiency 
 of the faith of our fathers, — "'Mhe faith which was once 
 for all delivered unto tiie saints," — tiie faith which, if 
 truly accepted, concerns itself not bo much with naming 
 the name, as with doing the will. For hath not the 
 Master said : " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
 Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he 
 that doeth tiic will of my Father which is in heaven," 
 
— and again : " Ye are my friends if ye do the things 
 which I command you." 
 
 How much it means to be a Friend indeed ! 
 
 Friends, it is a most pleasant privilege to welcome 
 you on the very interesting occasion which to-day has 
 drawn us as '* with one accord in one place," a place so 
 fragrant with hallowed memories and so rich in sugges- 
 tive thought. 
 
 And there are many here who are not members of 
 the Religious Society of Friends, but who gladly trace 
 their descent from an honored ancestry which once 
 worshiped here, and now sleeps in the quiet autumn 
 sunlight on the hillside nearby. Especially to these, 
 but most cordially to all, I bid welcome (using the 
 word in its best significance) as Friends. 
 
1 IMKNDS- MEETING HOUSE AT MERION, 
 PENNSYEVANIA. 
 
 AN HISTOKKAI, SKr,T(MF. 
 r.Y MaIIV J. W A I, KICK. 
 
 Ai;riit»i (ill till' tirst experience and the first settle- 
 ments of Friends in America were not in Pennsylvania, 
 yet in no other part of the New World is the interest 
 of Friends and Friendly families so deeply seated. It 
 is their own land and their own home. Pennsylvania 
 was the child of the mother conntry, protected by the 
 government and sharing the friendship of the throne. 
 
 Philadelphia is to-day the Qnaker City, and thongh 
 no peculiar religious sect now guards her interests, and 
 the Friendly garb is fast disappearing from her streets, 
 yet the inHuence exerted by the early Friends may still 
 be traced in her institutions for the increase of usefnl 
 knowledge and healthful pleasures, and in the upright 
 character of her residents. It is surprising how many 
 individuals, thongh members of a different church, and 
 atViliat«'d with interests opposed to the testimonies of 
 I'ricnds, eagerly claim a I'^riendly ancestry. 
 
 In the surrounding country where the old meeting- 
 houses stood and still stand, though the worshipers in 
 them are few, the Friendly stamp on the neighborhood 
 is yet recognised and resju'ctcd, and much regret is felt 
 that the old-timi- simplicity is disaj)pcnring. 
 
 Although desiring settlers of means, of honest pur- 
 pose, of education, settlers of his own faith, William 
 Penn ])ersuaded no man or woman to precede or follow 
 him to his wilderness. To one iind all he said : " In 
 whomsoever a desire is to be concerned in this intended 
 plantation, such should weigh the thing before the Lord, 
 and not rashly conclude on any such remove, and that 
 thev d<» not offer violence to the tender love of their 
 Uindnil and relations, i)ut soberly and conscientiously 
 
endeavor to obtain their good wills, the nnity of Friends 
 where they live, that whether they go or stay, it may be 
 of good savor before the Lord, from whom alone can 
 all Heavenly and earthly blessings come." 
 
 To Pennsylvania as early as 1G82 came the little 
 band of pioneers that founded this meeting. 
 
 In a paper on the " Early History of Merion," 
 written by Dr. James J. Levick, we learn that 5,000 
 acres of land were purchased in 1682 of William Penn 
 by John ap Thomas and Edward Jones for themselves, 
 and fifteen other Welsh families. These people had 
 been convinced of the truth of the Gospel as preached 
 by George Fox and others of the early Friends, and 
 were anxious to go where they might live as those 
 testimonies taught, in peace. They were land-holders 
 and office-holders in their native country, most of them 
 having education, and a few being persons of marked 
 ability. Their purchase was within the Welsh Tract, 
 on the west bank of the Schuylkill, in what is now the 
 counties of Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware, the 
 western boundary line of West Chester being the western 
 limit of the tract. 
 
 It was granted by William Penn as an especial home 
 for his persecuted fellow-worshipers in that small 
 mountainous part of English territory. 
 
 The love of home in these W^elsh hearts was so great 
 that before they consented to cross the seas, they had 
 bargained with the Proprietary for a separate Barony 
 of 40,000 acres, where they could attend to all their 
 duties, both temporal and spiritual, in their own way 
 and in their own language. In this manner they con- 
 tinued to live, aloof from all municipal control, con- 
 ducting their affairs in " Gospel order " for some years, 
 until the best interests of themselves and the surrounding 
 country seemed to require them to relinquish their 
 peculiar rights. 
 
 This relinquishment was only accomplished through 
 a stern sense of duty, and was done, as Friends say, 
 greatly in the cross. Griffeth Owen and other Friends 
 made an earnest, dignified appeal to the authorities 
 
9 
 
 auainst the attempt to (U-jirivo them of tlioir privilej^es, 
 c'iini;in«i; to tlieir ri^^lits as tlesc-eudants of the " Ancient 
 I^ritons," and oUiiniinfij that they had been promised in 
 this countrv ri^rhts of law and hinjz;uat:;e they had enjoyed 
 under the i-rown of Knghmd. Their petition met with 
 no favor. William Penn had returned to England to 
 struirjile for his rights and the welfare of his eulony, 
 his authority was slipping from his grasp, he could no 
 longer proteet his friends according to their desires, and 
 th'.' Welsh Tract was opened to strangers, though for 
 many years there was little iuterferouce with their 
 clannish feelings. Some of them afterwards held offices 
 of trust under the government that had so used them, 
 (iritVeth Owen himself being for some time a member 
 of the Governor's Council. 
 
 With fond hopes fixed on this far-off New Wales, 
 the little company of seventeen families, " in all forty, 
 set sail from Liverpool in the ship Lyon, John Comp- 
 ton, master, and arrived safely in the Sciiuylkill River 
 the loth day of ye Sixth month, called August, A.D. 
 
 1682." 
 
 A few davs later Edward Jones took possession of 
 his share of the purchase, and made the fii-st Welsh 
 home in Merion. His descendants still hold title to some 
 of the original grant, though this was not, as has been 
 claimed, the first British settlement made in Pennsyl- 
 vania. We have the authority of Dr. Smith for saying 
 that Robert Wade and his family from England .settled 
 at Upland (Chester) in 1076, and were the first members 
 of the Society of Friends who located permanently 
 within the limits of the Commonwealth. 
 
 The land occupied by these passengers (tn the Lyon 
 included the ground on which was erected this house, 
 (and it may bean earlier one), the building of which, two 
 hundred vears ago, we are here to-day to commemorate. 
 
 These families were the founders of Merion Meeting, 
 and, as was the custom with the early Friends, until a 
 house for sp(x-ial service was ready, the homes of the 
 memlK-rs were the meeting- pi aces of the Society. 
 
 From Merionethshire in North Wales these early 
 
10 
 
 settlers came, and like others who had broken ties in 
 the old world to begin life again in the new, they gave 
 the name of the beloved homeland they had left to w hat 
 they hoped to make into a happier home for themselves 
 and their children in this far-otf wilderness. Merion, 
 we are told, is so called from Merionethshire, a county 
 of North Wales, named from a prince who lived and 
 ruled there nearly a thousand years ago. From this 
 rugged part of the old \A'orld, where are other names 
 reproduced in this locality, came these serious, trusting 
 people. Persecuted in their own country, they sought 
 peace and freedom here, a blessing in which they were 
 not disappointed, and w^hich their descendants to this 
 day enjoy. 
 
 We are here to day to recall the good and lasting 
 work of our Welsh ancestors, for many of us link our 
 kinship with these old names, and can read our own 
 family names in the early records. It is a foolish 
 pride that boa&ts merely of a long line of ancestry, but 
 if a satisfactory thrill stirs our hearts at the recollection 
 that our fathers and mothers through several genera- 
 tions have been hearers and proclaimers of good words, 
 and practical examples of the religion they taught, and 
 we are thus encouraged to press forw'ard in a similar 
 pathway, that we leave no stain on the family and the 
 meeting record, then will this preservation of family 
 and meeting history accomplish a good work for the 
 future. 
 
 A difference of opinion exists as to the exact time ot 
 the building of this house, but it is said to have been 
 for many years the only house of worship within the 
 present county of Montgomery. 
 
 The property was held by the Society for some years 
 by deeds in the form of lease and release, the first 
 actual deed being given in 1745. In 1695 a lot con- 
 taining half an acre was conveyed by Edward Reese to 
 the trustees of Merion Preparative Meeting, for grave- 
 yard purposes. Joseph Tunis in 1763 donated a small 
 strip of land adjoining, for the like use. In 1801 and 
 1804 John Dickinson conveyed to the trustees two 
 
11 
 
 lots for the use of the incinhiTs and lor the liravc yurd, 
 adjoining tho lattor an<l ("xtmdinti; from road to road. 
 A dwi'llinir-lioiisc lor tin- cari'taktr of the niecting- 
 liouse and i^ronnds lias sinci' lu'cn erected lliereon. 
 
 Joseph (Teorjre, .lolui Georg«' and I'Mward Price, all 
 descendants of ancient settlers, have lately made liheral 
 lHH|uests tor the future preservation and protection ot 
 the house and grounds. 
 
 When this huilding was erected there were no puhlie 
 highwavs near ; eoniniunication l)etween the homes and 
 places of business and worship must have been accord- 
 ing to the pleasure and accommodating spirit tif the 
 settlers. As early as 1G78 a court at Chester had 
 ordered that every person " as far as his land reaches" 
 should make good and passable " wayes " from neighbor 
 to neighbor. A survey for a road from Merion to 
 Radnor was eonfirnud in 1713. We also hear of a 
 road from Merion meeting to Darby pas-sing by Haver- 
 ford meeting-house. The old Conestoga or Lancaster 
 road, now known as Montgomery Avenue through 
 Merion and Radnor, and passing this house, was con- 
 firmed as far as the Brandy wine in 1721, though near 
 the eitv, probably from Merion to Phila(leli)hia, it had 
 been in use much earlier than this. It extended from 
 Lancaster to the Schuylkill River at High Street ferry. 
 Tradition says in the days of the red man it had been 
 an Indian trail. When civilization took the place of 
 Indian customs, the traveled way was widened to suit 
 the traffic of the new possessors. In 17^") a road was 
 made from I^evering's ford on the Schuylkill, connect- 
 ing with the ohl Lancaster road at the north-west 
 corner of this property. 
 
 One of the highways from Philadelphia through this 
 section was marked by mile-stones, a few of which still 
 stand, having on the reverse side the coat of arms of 
 the family of William Penn. 
 
 From the minutes kept by women l->iends we have 
 "eight shillings jiaid for ehaning Merion meeting- 
 house, 12th of Twelfth month, 160."),"' and for several 
 successive years there is a similar entry. 
 
12 
 
 While it is true that tlie Monthly Meetino; minutes 
 say certain favors were granted in 1713* for finishing 
 Merion meeting-house, it is also true that as early as 
 1702 the minutes of the Preparative Meeting tell of 
 finishing and furnishing Merion meeting-house, of 
 providing hinges, locks, shutters and benches, — (they 
 seemed desirous to " secure " the meeting-house), — 
 and in 1703 Friends are requested to pay their sub- 
 scription towards building the addition to the meeting- 
 house. 
 
 "On the 19th of Third month, vulgarly called May, 
 in the year 1693, in a solemn and public assembly in 
 their [Friends'] public meeting-place at Merion " was 
 solemnized a marriage. May not this " public meet- 
 ing place " have been the temporary log structure, and 
 the present building have been commenced in 1695, as 
 the ancient stone in the gable testifies, and finally com- 
 pleted in 1713? That the most of the present building 
 was erected in 1713 is evident from a paper recently 
 found containing the names of subscribers and the 
 amounts contributed in that year for building the 
 meeting-house. 
 
 Not far away, by the roadside, on the highway that 
 passes here, is a stone dwelling-house of the early 
 Friends, a stone of which is plainly marked 1695. 
 
 If there was stone that could be used for that house, 
 may not some in this building be of like antiquity ? 
 
 Friends are a truthful people, and we are unwilling 
 to believe that they would have so misrepresented their 
 work as to proclaim to the passer-by that this house 
 was built in 1695, if it had not been erected until 1713. 
 As it now stands it differs in appearance from any other 
 ancient Friends' meeting-house, the smaller part being 
 attached to the larger in such a way as to form, archi- 
 tecturally, a cross. Small as it is it has evidently not 
 been all built at the same time, and the north end bears 
 marks of the greater age. 
 
 ♦ Different authorities claim that the meetiDg-house of 1695 was a building of 
 logs, which was replaced by this structure in 1713. 
 
/ 
 
13 
 
 The ciiimnoy is in the middle ot" tla- Imilditin;, httwceii 
 the two parts, the passage tVoin one to the other Ijeini^ 
 throiiirh what was prol)ahly at one time an ojx-n Hre- 
 phue in an outer wall. It lias heen enlarged and 
 ehanged at diH'erent times ; alterations liave bet n made 
 in thf heights of the ceiling and upper gallery. The 
 latter is very curious and interesting. 
 
 The whole building is in a good state of preservation, 
 though nuuiy regret the modern j)la&tering on the out- 
 side walls covering the original " rubble work " and 
 pointed stone. The needed improvement might have 
 been done in the form of restoration. On the grounds 
 are venerable trees and an ancient horse-block, survivals 
 of the days gone by. 
 
 With the existing evidence we feel we can justlv 
 claim that two centuries have passed since the erection 
 of a part of this house, and that the meeting here trutii- 
 fully commemorates that event. 
 
 With the estal)lishment of Merion Meeting are closely 
 connected the names of Haverfbrd and Schnylkill, and 
 a little later that of Radnor, followed by the Valley, 
 tbrming what is known as Haverfbrd or Radnor 
 Monthly Meeting. 
 
 Tlie first Monthly Meeting recorded in the minutes, 
 still preserved, was held 10th of Second month, 1G84, 
 at Thomas Duektt's house in Schuylkill ; then tbllowtd 
 one at John lievau's house in Havirfbrd, and Hugh 
 Roberts' house in Merion. Soon after the first meeting 
 a committee was a|)p<iint(d to select suitable grounds 
 fi)r burial-pla<'es near the three meetings. Of the three 
 grounds selected, those of llavertbrd and Merion, with 
 additions, are still used ; that of Schuylkill has long ago 
 been overrun and occupied by I'hiladelphia's increasing 
 business. It was on the Sehuylkiil front of Thomas 
 Ducket's farm, at what is now 'J'hirty-sect)nd and Market 
 streets, and after some time i>assed from the Society of 
 Friends into the possession of strangers. The street at 
 the west end of Market street bridge })asses through it, 
 all traces of it having now disajipeared. We have no 
 knowledge of any meeting-house ever being built at 
 this place. 
 
14 
 
 After 1688 any mention of it in connection with 
 Haverford ceases. 
 
 The minutes of Haverford Monthly Meeting from 
 the first date are preserved in order for more than two 
 years, then occurs a blank of seven years, and although 
 the record begins again before the date stone tells us 
 Merion meeting-house was built, we can find no men- 
 tion of its erection, no appointment of a committee, no 
 collection of funds. 
 
 Oar friend. Dr. George Smith, who was so deeply 
 interested in his own meeting of Haverford, as well as 
 in all the branches of Radnor Monthly Meeting, says 
 in his valuable History of Delaware County that " there 
 are undoubted facts to show that Haverford meeting- 
 house was erected in 1688 or 1689." After its erec- 
 tion all Monthly Meetings were held there. The first 
 Monthly Meeting held at Merion meeting-house seems 
 to have been in 1698. 
 
 The minute says : " At our Monthly Meeting held 
 at Haverford, the 22d of Second mouth, 1698, it is 
 concluded that the Monthly Meeting for business be 
 kept in course here, at Merion, and Radnor." Later 
 still a minute states " that for the convenience ot 
 Radnor Friends and those that settle upward, every 
 other Monthly Meeting shall be held at Haverford." 
 
 Minutes of the women Friends of Haverford, begin- 
 ning in the year 1684, are still preserved. They con- 
 sist principally of collections for the relief of the poor, 
 and were made mostly in measures of corn and wheat, 
 "what Friends can best spare," women Friends being 
 generally the contributors. The Query as to poor 
 Friends' necessities being: looked after and relief 
 afforded, could be truly answered in the affirmative. 
 
 Whatever was needed, whether it was a cow, a work- 
 ing implement, household goods, or the loan of money, 
 was promptly furnished, if not by the meeting, then 
 by a thoughtful, observant neighbor. If one family 
 was homeless, some one better provided found vacant 
 room in his own home for his less favored fellow- 
 member. The charity of those days clasped the hand 
 
16 
 
 closer tli;in ihi' [)liilaiitlin)|)y oi'tlusc. " Xor was tlicir 
 care in these respects conHiied to their own little coni- 
 niunitics. ^Vhcrcv('r sull('rin<; Imniaiiitv was lound, 
 our (Quaker ancestors were ever ready to contrilxite to 
 its relief." Ilaverford Monthly Meetinir (which name 
 stands for this wliole Welsh section) subscribed lOO, 
 14s., lid. to the relief of Friends of New Knt^land, 
 who had lost their crops and been molested bv the 
 Indians. 
 
 John ap Thomas, whose name is most conspicuous 
 in the annals of Merion, never saw the land for which 
 he nejxotiated ; he died before the arrangem(>nts for 
 eoniini; to America were completed ; but his widow, 
 Katharine Thomas, a brave Christian woman, with 
 her children, carried out the family jdan. At her 
 house and that of Hugh Roberts took place all marriages 
 of members in those early days, to prepare for which 
 seems to have been the j)rincipal business of the Monthly 
 Meeting. The children of John ap Thomas took the 
 name of John, or Jones ; they w-ere Thomas, Cadwala- 
 ^er, Robert, and Katharine Jones, the name being thus 
 ?hanged after the Welsh custom. It is still an honor 
 to the ancestry from which it came. 
 
 At the house of Hugh Roberts, which must have 
 been near here, as his land adjoined this land, on the 
 second Fifth-day in Fourth niontli, 1084, was held the 
 first meeting by Friends at ^lerion, of which there 
 remains any account. This was a Monthly Meeting, 
 and no doubt the meetings for worship had been regu- 
 larly held earlier than this at the same freely -offered 
 home. 
 
 Hugh lioberts was, says the " Early History of 
 Merion," one of the most useful of the associates of 
 William Penn in his new settlement. His Welsh home 
 was in the parish of Llanvawr, and was known bv the 
 name of C'iltalgirth, meaning " the corner at the end ot 
 the hill." The old house is now gone, but a newer 
 house on the old site commands one of the finest views 
 in Merionethshire." 
 
 His manuscript journal says he was the son <»f Robert 
 
16 
 
 ap Hugh of Llyndewydd near Bala, and was born and 
 lived in Penllyn, in Wales. 
 
 His first wife was Jane Owen, who died in 1G86. 
 He afterwards married Elizabeth John, who died in 
 1691. 
 
 Hugh Roberts died while on a religious visit to Long 
 Island at the house of John Rodman, Sixth month 
 18th, 1702, and says the memorial written of him, 
 " on the 20th was interred at Merion, after which a 
 large meeting was held, wherein the Lord's presence 
 was sweetly enjoyed, and several living testimonies 
 borne concerning his faithfulness to God and satisfaction 
 of his eternal well-being." 
 
 His descendants are among Philadelphia's most 
 useful and respected citizens. 
 
 A certificate from his home meeting was furnished 
 him and his wife on their first coming to America in 
 1683, wherein it is stated that " he is one that hath 
 both owned and received ye trueth for these fourteen 
 years past, and walked since blameless in conversation 
 and serviceable in his place upon all accounts, according 
 to his talents. His wife likewise likeminded walking 
 in the trueth and a good example to others." A letter 
 appreciative of his ministry and service was given to 
 him at the close of a visit to his native land in 1690. 
 It also certifies to the merits of his "dear wife 
 Elizabeth," and desires that they and their children 
 "shall be under the divine hand of providence, who 
 ruleth the winds and commandeth the sea at his 
 pleasure." 
 
 He must have crossed the Atlantic at least once again 
 on a religious visit, for his journal says : " In the year 
 1697 the 15th day of Twelfth month, I set from home 
 to visit Friends in England and Wales." Several 
 Friends accompanied him. They took ship at the mouth 
 of James river, " where ye fleet met, and stayed on board 
 fifteen days before we sailed, and had several meetings 
 from ship to ship, to ye great comfort and satisfaction 
 of our souls, and upon ye 7th day of ye Third month, 
 we sailed out of ye capes of Virginia. 
 
"Upon VI' 1 Uli day of yr Fuiirtli inoiitli w«' struck 
 grouiKl at ei|:;hty-riv(' t'atlionis wator. On yv ITlli day 
 we saw ye land of old England, and on ye "J'id of ye 
 said month we arrived at IMymoutli." 
 
 Shortly after his death a h»ving testimony was written 
 eoncerning his life and labors hy his friend John IJevan, 
 whieh is still kept iu the records of the meeting. 
 
 Hugh Roberts's mother died in lODU, and is buried 
 in the grave-yard at Merion. A testimony concerning 
 her is written by her son in his journal. 
 
 Amongst his pai)ers are some in the Welsh language, 
 both prose and poetry. Manuserij)t scraps of Welsh 
 poetry are also preserved by the descendants of Edward 
 Reese. These have been literally translated for the 
 ])leasure of their interested and curious possessors. 
 
 Haverford Monthly Meeting had maintained a 
 direct correspondence with the Yearly Meeting of 
 Wales. Ellis Pugh, a Welsh preacher, settled first at 
 Radnor and afterwards at Plymouth. Pie paid a 
 religious visit to his native land in 1707, and upon his 
 return a concern came upon him to write a book, " To 
 direct the unlearned Britons of low degree to know 
 God, and Christ, the life eternal." Haverford and 
 Tiwynedd united to pul)lish this Welsh book, and after 
 being carefully examined and approved, it was formally 
 recommended to the " overseers of the press " at Phila- 
 delphia. Meeting with their aj)proval. it was published 
 under the authority of the (Quarterly Meeting. It is 
 doubtless the earliest book in the Wt'lsh language 
 published in America. It was afterwards translated 
 into English bv Rowland Ellis, and so re-published in 
 1727. 
 
 h^ihvard ap Reese, who gave, or sold for a nominal 
 sum, to the Society of Friends, the ground on which 
 Meriou meeting-house stands, was born in Wales in 
 1046, and died at Merion in 1728. He was one of the 
 seventeen who came with their families in the ship 
 Lyon. He was twice marric<l. His first wife died in 
 16U0, leaving several children, one of whom was born 
 in a stone hut on the Schuylkill bank in l'')8o. His 
 
18 
 
 t-ecoud wife was Rebecca Huiuphreys, whose father aud 
 mother, Samuel Humphreys and Elizabeth E,eese, were 
 married in Wales before two Justices of the Peace, 
 Morris Wynne aud Robert Owen, " ye 20th day of 
 April 1658, " which is one of the earliest, if not the 
 first marriage on record, performed without the aid ot 
 a priest. Samuel Humphreys died in Wales, but his 
 wife and children came to Pennsylvania, where their 
 descendants still live. 
 
 His great-grandson, Joshua Humphreys, may. Dr. 
 Smith says, be considered the father of the American 
 Navy. 
 
 Edward Reese was an acceptable minister of the 
 Gospel amongst his people, and gave liis message to 
 them in the Welsh language. He made a religious 
 visit to his native land in 1721, bringing with him on 
 his return a certificate of welcome service beyond the 
 sea. In his will is a bequest of ten pounds towards 
 building a wall for the graveyard. By deed in 1747 
 land for a school-house near the meeting was transferred 
 to trustees by a sou of Edward Reese for the sum of 
 five shillings, an amount probably never paid, being 
 named only to make the title good. The name Reese 
 was changed in the second generation to Preece, and 
 later to Price, the first family name in this country 
 being still used by the descendants as a Christian name. 
 
 The last marriage that occurred in Merion Meeting- 
 house was that of Benjamin Huut and Esther Price, 
 Tenth month 16th, 1834. Esther Price Huut is a 
 descendant of Edward Reese, and is still living. 
 
 During the dark days of the Revolution the Welsh 
 Friends of this section were included in the general 
 suffering. Between the two contending armies their 
 goods and money were taken for the support of both. 
 
 Cornwallis's army, as well as that of General Wash- 
 ington, are named in our record books as taking at 
 their need the property of our meuibers. 
 
 The meeting kept a partial list of the damage done 
 as the cases were reported by the sufferers, that the loss 
 might be equally shared by the Society. Two of their 
 
19 
 
 inocting-lioust'S, Kndnor ;iih1 the N'allcy, were (tcciipicd 
 1)V the AtiKM'ican soldiers, citlu'r as lidspifals or olliccrs' 
 (|iiartrrs. 
 
 riaiiicd airainst Ix'arinjj; ai'ins and slicddiiin; a hrntli- 
 (t's 1)1(1(1(1, tlu'v son^lit in tlic main to avoid the strife, 
 tlioiiirli tiu'ir sympathies were mostly with the struggling 
 colonists. Many of their youthfid nicmhers disregarded 
 the teachings of the Society, and enlisted or otlif rwise 
 assisted the cause. Especially was this the ease while 
 the American army was in the neighhorhood. Irving, 
 in his" Life of Washington," says a niunher of yonng 
 Friends joined the patriots belore they left Valley 
 Forge. The cases of such were laid before the meet- 
 ing, and as they had violated the testimonies of Friends, 
 many memljershi})s were tluis forfeited. 
 
 We are told that many members of the Society of 
 Fri< nds, '' and among them men of higli repute for 
 their intelligence, took an active i)art in ()])posing the 
 arbitrary measures of the mother country." General 
 Anthony Wayne was of Friendly connection, and dur- 
 ing the stay of the army at Valley Forge was quartered 
 with his kinsman, who with his wife were prominent 
 members of the Society of Friends. 
 
 His intercourse with Friends, as an officer of the 
 armv, was satisfactory and just, so far as the state of 
 the times admitted, and has l)een pleasantly remembered 
 bv his posterity and theirs. 
 
 .Vlmost all of the Friends from abroad who visited 
 America under a religious concern have held meetings 
 in this old house. ^\'illiam Penn undoubtedly spoke 
 to his Welsh I'Viends collected for Divine worship on 
 this spot, if not within these walls, though traditi(m 
 says many of his hearers were unable to understand 
 the sermon which he j^reached. John Fothergill makes 
 note of a meeting here in 1727, " where a large num- 
 l)er were gathered, and the blessed (losju'l testimony 
 and humbling power greatly prevailtd that day." 
 John Churchman tells of uoing to Merion, " where we 
 met our worthy friend John Fothergill, who had great 
 and good service therein." In hi- tuiiiistry among the 
 
20 
 
 Welsh settlers here, Rowland Ellis often acted as his 
 interpreter. 
 
 Thomas Chalkley, of Philadelphia, who traveled 
 back and forth in the cause of truth continually through 
 his own country and beyond it, held a meeting at 
 Merion in 1724, which was large and satisfactory. 
 
 Again in 1737 he was there, he says, *' at the funeral 
 of Edward Jones, aged 92, one of the first settlers, a 
 man given to hospitality, a lover of good and virtuous 
 people, and was likewise beloved by them. There were 
 many hundreds of people at his funeral." 
 
 Job kScott in 1787 says: ''We had a meeting at 
 Radnor and one at Merion, both heavy, laborious sea- 
 sons for some time, but Truth rose into some dominion, 
 especially in the latter, which on the whole proved a 
 good and refreshing season, and ended in the savor of 
 life." 
 
 John Woolman also attended Merion Meeting in 
 1758. 
 
 Robert Sutcliif from England, while on business in 
 America, in the early part of the present century, so- 
 journed at Merion, and wrote of his stay while there. 
 In 1805 he says : "A couple about to be married there, 
 desiring the event to take place on Fifth, instead of 
 Sixth-day, were so accommodated, and the alteration 
 being eligible for a continuance, the day for mid-week 
 meeting was thus changed." 
 
 He speaks of a Friend living at Merion, whose sis- 
 ter told him that on William Penn's arrival in America 
 he lodged there with her great-grandfather, and that 
 her grandfather, a boy about twelve years old, curious 
 to see as much as possible of so distimjuished a guest, 
 " crept to the chamber door. On peeping through the 
 latchet hole he was struck with awe in beholding this 
 great man upon his knees, and could distinctly hear him 
 in prayer and thanksiriviug, that he had thus been j)ro- 
 vided for in the wilderness." * 
 
 * Since writing this paper we have learned that this incident may be found 
 in Watson's "Annals," and is there told as having occurred at Gwynedd. 
 Thomas Evans was a great-grandfather to Susan Jones Nancarro, who related 
 the above facts to John F. Watson as having taken place there, at the house of 
 her great-grandfather. 
 
21 
 
 Within the nu'inory of the present generation, Ann 
 Jackson, a descendant of Edward Reese, was a heloved 
 Friend and minister at Merion, and lier son, Stephen 
 Pa-chall, gave good and welcome eonnsel from the 
 gallery seat. 
 
 The former is hnried at West Chester ; the latter in 
 the adjoining yard. 
 
 Later Aaron Roberts came to reside near, and 
 attended this meeting. 
 
 His wife, a lovely " girl woman," as she is described, 
 soon felt called to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, to 
 the grateful remembrance of those who heard her. 
 
 Since their removal from the neighborhood, the 
 Friends who remained have mostly s|)ent the hour for 
 worship in silence, but the faithful still live ; one aged 
 man, deprived of his hearing, and otherwise a sufferer, 
 is still a regular, and sometimes the only attender from 
 a distance here. 
 
 Years ago, when the nation was sorrow-stricken and 
 mourning for the fall of its leader, a Friend yearning 
 for expression of sympathy such as religion alone can 
 give, would have sought it in the church, but was 
 directed here, where an afternoon meeting was to be 
 held. 
 
 Our friend, George Truman, was among those assem- 
 bled, and moved by the deep grief that shadowed the 
 land, gave forth to the gathered throng such an out- 
 pouring of eloquent sorrow in words of hope and faith 
 as are still rememl>ered by those who heard him, and 
 the Friend returned to her home comforted and satisfie<l. 
 
 A stranger, writing <»f another alternoon meeting 
 here, savs of a ministering Friend : " All who listened 
 agree in saving he had the sweetest voice that ever 
 addressed a congregation." For such ministrations 
 through the many years, and for those whose graves 
 have l)e«n made near by, is Merioii Meetiiig-hous«' en- 
 deared to the Society of Friends, endearcnl to this neigh- 
 borhood, and to nil who love the relics of an hont)rable 
 past. 
 
 Conspicuous in meeting affairs in a by-gone genera- 
 
22 
 
 tion were the Bowmans. Roger Bowman, the first of 
 the name in America, was born in Derbyshire, Eng- 
 land, where the family had lived since 1602. 
 
 In one corner of their family estate is a group of fine 
 old ash trees, and under their branches was built in 
 George Fox's time one of the first Friends' meeting- 
 houses in England, which still exists. When the seat 
 of our government was at Philadelphia, Roger Bow- 
 man lived near President Washington, whom he always 
 called " George." Though ever watchful of the natiou's 
 honor, Washington respected the conscientious principle 
 that led to such a familiarity, and the two became good 
 friends and neighbors. 
 
 Descended from the earliest settlers, and closely con- 
 nected with this house, loving it and its interests, was 
 the George family. Like so many other families of 
 Friends, this one was divided when the Separation, now 
 so much regretted by many members of both branches 
 of the Society, occurred, and like most of them so 
 divided, the ties of blood were stronger than the differ- 
 ence of religious opinion, and love unchanged lived in 
 their hearts, though the divided household worshipped 
 in separate houses. 
 
 That branch of the family that remained with the 
 members here, were regular attenders both of business 
 and other meetings, until the friends and neighbors of 
 their faith passed away by death or removal, and they 
 were left almost the remnant here, but faithful to their 
 inherited trust and to their own sense of duty, they 
 rarely missed a meeting, though sometimes uo other 
 members met with them. 
 
 One by one they too were called from labor here, 
 until a few years since the last one was laid to rest 
 beside his kindred in the adjoining yard, and the greater 
 part of his large property passed by his bequest into 
 the Society of Friends, to establish an advanced school 
 for the benefit of those of its members who had not 
 been so blessed as he in earthly possessions. This be- 
 quest is now doing good service under the name of the 
 George School. 
 
23 
 
 Of those who rctainul tlioir mcnibcrshii) with what 
 is known us the Orthodox branch of the Society, Jesse 
 Georjje and his sister Rel)e<rca are will known as Phila- 
 delphia's benefactors. The valuable contribution to 
 Fairnionnt I*ark, known as George's Hill, was their 
 gift, and many public; charities liave benelited by their 
 liberal bounty. As they sympathized with the needy 
 whom they knew not, so their gentle love was round 
 about their kindred, their friends, and all with whom 
 they mingled. One whose life had been s]ient in loving 
 service to them, asked as a favor to be laid in death at 
 their feet, a wish we iielievethat unforeseen circumstances 
 prevented being gratified. 
 
 All of the George family are buried at Merion. 
 
 There are other honorable households in this locality 
 that trace their ancestry to the purchasers of the land 
 from William Penn. There are families of this neigh- 
 borhood wfll known for their ability in the business of 
 life, that possess marriage certificates and other records 
 closely connected with the iiistory of this meeting- 
 house, but for many years their names have been miss- 
 ing from the list of its meml)ers, and those who perform 
 the j)resent work of the Society of Friends within this 
 Monthly Meeting know little of them. 
 
 Great have been the changes the two hundred years 
 have wrought. Where was for our predecessors toil 
 and privation, is now a|>parent ease and prosperity. 
 Yet let us not be unmindful that luxury has ever been 
 an opportunity for corruption, and boast not too much 
 that the present age is such an inijirovement on the 
 past. 
 
 At another ancient me<'tiug-hoiisc, in the hush of an 
 autumn twilight, I hear again in recollection the soft, 
 sweet voice of Deborah Wharton, repeating the words 
 of the Master she so earnestly worked to serve : " In 
 this world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall 
 have peace." We, too, if we live the same lives of 
 patient suffering, of self-denial, of Christian charity, 
 and of brotherly love, as did .so many of those who 
 first turned their hearts to God l)eneath this roof, will 
 
24 
 
 be an example to those who, two himdred years hence, 
 may be battling with the evils of their day and genera- 
 tion. We have but to live by the same faith and seek 
 for the same grace that made the religion of our fore- 
 fathers. It was their salvation, and it may be ours. 
 
 In the records of human greatness there are few ex- 
 amples more worthy of our study and imitation than 
 that of William Penn, the Friend, the founder of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Two hundred years have passed since he labored for 
 the benefit of his fellow-men, and walked humbly in 
 obedience to the voice of his Heavenly Father. To-day 
 his name and memory are respected and honored in 
 every civilized land. 
 
 His life was largely made up of anxiety, sorrow, and 
 suffering, yet trusting and resigned through all trials, 
 we mav see in his experience something of the truth 
 and beauty of the M^arning he gave to his people : 
 
 " No Cross, no Crown." 
 
\.C*'j ^ Oar 
 
26 
 
 r()E>r. 
 
 By .lAMh> r.. W.M.KKi:, M.D. 
 
 Stay, Time, thy rapid, ceaseless flight. 
 
 While we recall two centiiric.-s of thine, 
 And those who bravely striiirgled tor the right, 
 
 About this modest, friendly, wayside shrine ! 
 Thou art called cruel, ruthless Time, by some, 
 
 Stern Reaper, "ever with the glass and scythe; " 
 A heartless wrecker, conscienceless and dumb. 
 
 Before whom mortals e'er despairing writhe! 
 'Tis said thou touchest monuments that mark the great 
 
 Only to level them in crumbling dust ; 
 A spoiler, fierce and inconsiderate, 
 
 Unmerciful, unbridled, and unjust! 
 
 Not so, we deem thee, kind old Father Time ; 
 
 A leveler thou, but leveling to the right ! 
 Virtue and Justice, in their course sublime, 
 
 Find thee a master-builder in thy might ! 
 Full gently hast thou dealt with this old home. 
 
 Where on the First-day and amid-week too, 
 Long lines of generations here have come. 
 
 To show the world their faith, their strength renew. 
 
 When Might was right, and Force was law. 
 
 And the powers that ruled were Strife and (ireed, 
 When Church 'gainst ('hurch their forces draw, 
 
 And religious fervor meant zeal for creed ; 
 When the " Head of the Church," or Pope or King, 
 
 Knew naught of the power of Love to bless ; 
 But the torments of hell serve their purpose well 
 
 For all who a different creed confess ; 
 In this seething cauldron of hate and strife, 
 
 With devotion dwindle<l to barren form, 
 A man arose, in the strength of life, 
 
 With an olive branch in the scathing storm ! 
 
 No creed he clamored, nor outward form. 
 No blinding dogma, the truth to blight. 
 
 But he sought to lead his fellow-men 
 
 From the outward forms to the Inner Light! 
 
26 
 
 "A spirit there is in man," lie cried, 
 
 " Which the inspiration from God on high 
 Without assistance from man or creed 
 
 Giveth understanding abundantly. 
 A still, small voice, this Inner Light, 
 
 Enlighteneth Christian, Pagan, or Jew, 
 Leads the humblest soul from the darkest night 
 
 To the light of God and his blessings too ! " 
 He called from the prevalent war of creeds 
 
 Unto Love, religion's severest test, 
 For though Hope and Faith are daily needs. 
 
 Love shineth ever, brightest and best. 
 
 His voice found echo 'mong low and high ; 
 
 Right reason the hearts of many blends, 
 And the gathering band, clasping hand in hand, 
 
 Take upon them the hallowed name of Friends. 
 
 They have helped to lift from the dust their race. 
 
 Teaching man is a child of God, not of sin ; 
 That God is a Father whose loving face 
 
 Never turns to hate for His human kin ! 
 Nor the stinging lash, nor the dungeon dark 
 
 Could cool their enkindled fire of love ; 
 Nor the brutal laws by tyrants made 
 
 Could make them false to their conscience prove ! 
 
 But the merciless storm of hate, at last 
 
 Has driven some, amid great distress, 
 From the land of their sires and altar fires, 
 
 In search of Peace, to the wilderness. 
 Penn's Sylvan woods a haven prove, 
 
 Though the foi-est is dense where the savage lurks 
 But the peace of God has hallowed the sod 
 
 As their simple doctrine a miracle works! 
 For the savage foe is transformed a friend, 
 
 And the Treaty of Penn, nor sealed nor signed. 
 Is made to stand, throughout Penn's land, 
 
 Unbroken, though never an oath to bind. 
 
 Here brought they their all to stand or fall ; 
 
 Here built they hearths and homes anew ; 
 Here lived they their creed in word or deed, 
 
 "To others do as you'd have them do." 
 Their conscience, God's supremest gift. 
 
 They prove their faith in the " old, old story," 
 
27 
 
 That out of the (larkncss iiaii^'Iit can lift 
 
 But the "Christ within, the Hope of (ilory ! " 
 This house they builded of wood and stone, 
 
 Whieh their faithful live.s have consecrated, 
 As here they humbly sought the throne 
 
 Of Grace, that tliey be rejuvenated. 
 No spires toward Heaven its roof <i<) mark, 
 
 For the aspirations of its j)eople 
 Were reachini; God-ward in liglit and dark 
 
 And needed no heavenward-pointing steeple. 
 
 Old meeting-house, so plain and quaint, 
 
 Devoid of lofty spire or dome. 
 Here many a household's hallowed saint 
 
 Sought grace divine for u.se at home ! 
 The shadows are soothing on thy lawn, 
 
 Thy very atmosphere is ])eace, 
 And the silence creeping our hearts upon. 
 
 Bids doubt and discord and rancor cease. 
 The hanilsthat built tliee, heads that planned. 
 
 And hearts that thee have consecrated. 
 Long since their human lives have spanned, 
 
 Their dust to earth, their souls translated ! 
 
 They builded well this meeting-house, 
 
 But, better still, their daily record 
 Of lives which Ifight and Truth espouse ; 
 
 No evil stain their pages checkered I 
 We praise them for their earnestness 
 
 In all that counts for man's improving ; 
 Their honest faith, with special stress 
 
 On (jod's omt)ip()tence in loving I 
 We bless them that the " wrath of God " 
 
 Was seen to be of man's invention ; 
 ( )ur sinning cloudeth not His face 
 
 But blinds our human comprehension. 
 No need for priest to shrive or bless. 
 
 Nor complex scheme for man's salvation ; 
 Down, to man's utmost lowliness, 
 
 Reaches God's hand in restoration ! 
 
 Here, plainly bonneted and gowned, 
 
 With faces saintly, sweet, and j)ure, 
 Have calmly sat the sea.^ons round. 
 
 Spreading an incense heaven-born, sure, 
 Those mothers of our Israel, 
 
 Who nurtured us through childhood's prattle, 
 
28 
 
 And saved our manhood's wandering feet 
 
 From many a snare in life's rude battle ! 
 Their memories linger in our lives, 
 
 The halo deepening round their faces ; 
 We see them as we meet to-day, 
 
 All in their once familiar places. 
 We've love for all the human race, 
 
 Believing all mankind are brothers. 
 And can't help wishing all had had 
 
 Like us, good, old-time, Quaker mothers ! 
 
 Old meeting-house, so quiet thou. 
 
 Some think thy silence of the tomb ; 
 Seeing but darkness gathering now, 
 
 With bowed heads they await the doom. 
 But unto us thy silence breathes 
 
 A " peace that passeth understanding " ; 
 Thy countless hallowed memories, 
 
 To active, earnest life commanding. 
 Thou speak'st of " swords to plowshares turned," 
 
 Of war's rude blasts and visions gory 
 Transformed to nobler voice of " Peace, 
 
 Good will," the near forgotten story ; 
 Of savage warrior, robbed of hate, 
 
 His knife in sheath, his hatchet rusted ; 
 Of Treaty kept inviolate. 
 
 As each the other fully trusted ; 
 Of voices raised in Freedom's cause, 
 
 To W'hich 'twere treason e'en to barken, — 
 Brave cries against inhuman laws, 
 
 Which once our nation's fair face darken. 
 
 What though the numbers gathering here, 
 
 Are growing fewer still and fewer, 
 The influence started at this source 
 
 Is spreading outward, onward, sure ! 
 
 Nothing that's good shall perish. Out, 
 
 In circles spreading far and wide, 
 The grace extends, till reaching all. 
 
 Naught human will be found outside. 
 The nations cry for peace. War's realm 
 
 Is yearly growing small and smaller. 
 While Peace, sometime a suppliant child, 
 
 Is growing manlier and taller! 
 Its day is dawning gloriously, 
 
 And the old earth, its lessons learning, 
 
29 
 
 Is less and less in creeds concerned, 
 
 And more for righteous fruit is yenrninu 
 Black uii^ht is vanisiiini,' ! The sun, 
 
 A brilliant globe of light, is rising, 
 Its flood is streaming onward, vast 
 
 Enough for all the worM's l)aj)ti/,ing ! 
 The creeds less rigid are ; man-made, 
 
 In times when Light was showing dini, 
 Thev bind like burial cerements, 
 
 And burst they must on growing limb! 
 
 Let us not grieve if numbers fail 
 
 To fill the old familiar benches. 
 They have not gone " without the veil," 
 
 But find good work in other trenches. 
 What though our sect may dwindle more. 
 
 One fact should make us much amends. 
 The best of men, in all the creeds, 
 
 Are clasping hands as earned frieii(l-< ! 
 
30 
 
 WHAT THE FRIEND HAS DONE IN THE 
 PAST. 
 
 By Allen C. Thomas. 
 
 It is fitting that men and communities should at 
 times review past years, and ask of them what message 
 they bring of encouragement, of warning, of teaching, 
 or of strength. It is with no feelings of pride or of 
 laudation that we look back to-day at the work of our 
 fathers to glance at what they have done ; but it is to 
 bring before us in grateful remembrance their faith, 
 their earnestness, and their devotion to principle and 
 to the everlasting truth. 
 
 Two hundred years ago, except in Holland, there 
 was little or no religious liberty in Europe ; toleration 
 was almost unheard of, freedom of thought, of con- 
 science, of worship, and of doctrine was held by many 
 to be absolutely wrong. Retaliation was considered to 
 be the chief end in punishment — an eye for an eye, a 
 tooth for a tooth being the standard — and punishment 
 itself was terribly severe ; prisons the world over were 
 sinks of iniquity and vice, and foul beyond description 
 from the total lack of sanitary care. Slavery was held 
 to be lawful, and good men had no hesitation at engag- 
 ing in the slave trade or of receiving profit from the 
 dreadful traffic. Ordinary buying and selling was a 
 continual straggle between buyer and seller to see which 
 could get the advantage of the other. During the latter 
 half of the seventeenth century, particularly in Eng- 
 land, society was luxurious, artificial, and conventional; 
 laws were cumbrous, justice was too often perverted, 
 juries venial, and judges arbitrary. As between nation 
 and nation, war was, if not the normal condition, at 
 least of frequent occurrence, while but very few indi- 
 viduals questioned, even in the abstract, the lawfulness 
 
31 
 
 of war for the Christian. A careful student of the 
 aj^e cannot fail to l)e struck with the high position 
 which was accor(le<l to authority in Church and State 
 and in social life. Outward standards of life and 
 practice, particularly in church all'airs, were set up, to 
 which every one was expected, and, whenever practica- 
 l)lc, forced to conform, Knglishmen had been restive 
 under this rule and rebelled. Some few separated from 
 Church and State and betook themselves in a sad pil- 
 grimage to Holland, and thence to America. Others 
 were successful for a time in purifying the outward 
 ceremony of worship, and also in driving from the 
 English throne a king who finally sealed his belief in 
 authority with his blood. But still the lu'lief in author- 
 itv was strong, and the spirit of uniformity so ruled that 
 a lofty son of England was fain to cry out — 
 
 " New presbyter is but old priest writ large." 
 
 Like the voice of one crying in a wilderness, George 
 Fox proclaimed, with a force and clearness rarely 
 etpialled, the old truth, old but ever new, that God 
 speaks directly to every individual soul, and that with 
 this divine message comes a personal responsibility that 
 cannot be cast oif ; he taught a personal sense of divine 
 communion independent of church organization or 
 regulations, a direct communication of the will of God 
 that may not be unheeded with impunity. He placed 
 the whole life upon one plane, to be rided by the same 
 laws, to be guided by the same principles ; the loftiest 
 aspirations and the humblest duties were to be alike 
 governed by the divine law. He taught that men can- 
 not commit their consciences into the keeping of 
 another ; that " they should trust to princii)les and 
 have consefpiences to Go<l ; to confess their ideal even 
 when attainment was impossible." 
 
 It is hard for us of the present day to believe that 
 these truths were not generally accepted in I^)x's time, 
 but that in upholding them thousands suffered and 
 languished in loathsome jails, that thousands were bur- 
 dentnl with lieavv fines, some were banished from home 
 
32 
 
 and country, some sold into slavery, some condemned 
 to death, experiencing the extreme penalty. In the 
 face of all opposition, of suffering and of death, the 
 Friends held on their way, and not only that, but 
 attracted to their side others who joined heartily with 
 them. By patient endurance of grievous suffering in- 
 curred in refusing to obey the infamous " Conventicle 
 Act " in England, and unrighteous laws in America, 
 they were almost wholly instrumental in winning, not 
 only for themselves, but for all their fellow- citizens, 
 freedom for the exercise of religious thought and wor- 
 ship ; by the refusal of Friends who were tax-assessors 
 to levy taxes for the support of church ministers, a 
 refusal persevered in, despite protracted imprisonment, 
 the separation of church and State in Massachusetts 
 was definitely settled ; and by steady though passive 
 refusal to take judicial oaths they gained for all, both 
 in England and America, the privilege of affirmation. 
 Again, the value which Fox and his followers placed 
 upon the individual led to not a few remarkable results. 
 The universality of the Avork of the Holy Spirit not 
 only laid a responsibility upon each individual for his 
 own life and work, but made him ready and earnest to 
 work for others. No one was too high to be addressed, 
 no one too low or too degraded to be lifted up ; Chris- 
 tian or unbeliever, Turk or Jew, bond or free, white or 
 black, all were enlightened to a greater or less degree, 
 and therefore to them was something due from those 
 who might have greater light, and who moreover had a 
 universal message to proclaim. The Friend did not 
 stop with generalities; principles must be carried into 
 practice, doctrine must be illustrated by daily life. So 
 we find that George Fox was one of the very first to 
 raise his voice against the evils of West Indian slavery, 
 one of the first who emphatically declared that negroes 
 should be treated as men, urging that they should be 
 dealt with " mildly and gently " ; and without fear he 
 told the slave-holders of Barbadoes that if they were 
 in the condition of their slaves they would consider it 
 " a very great bondage and cruelty," and, when such a 
 
33 
 
 tliiuj; was almost luikiiowu, he urged a^ii'm and again 
 that the (iospel shotihl be ])reaehed to the negro slaves. 
 
 In lOSS, on tlie ISth of the Second month [Ai)ril], 
 (ierman Friends of ( u-rmantown drew up that ever- 
 memorable protest against " traftic in the bodies of 
 men," and against handling " men as cattle " ; a docu- 
 ment believed to be the first official protest of any re- 
 ligious body against slavery. The leaven worked 
 slowly, but through the labors of Anthony JVnezet and 
 others, above all, of John Woolmau, by the year ITS? 
 there was not a slave in the possession of an acknowl- 
 e<lged Friend. How much members of the Society 
 have since done against slavery and on behalf of the 
 slave is a matter of familiar history. 
 
 The interest taken in the American Indians by John 
 Eliot and Koger Williams, and the kindly treatment of 
 them by not a few of the early settlers is well known, 
 but no religious body in America, as a whole and as 
 individuals, except the Society of Friends, has always 
 and uniformly treated the Indian as a man and brother. 
 George Fox and his baud of missionaries preached to 
 the hulians, and urged upon the settlers kindly and 
 brotherly treatment of them. It was reserved for our 
 noble and honored predecessor, William Penn, in this 
 great commonwealth which he founded, to give a 
 practical object-lesson to the world to show that the law 
 of love, if honestly practiced toward the red man, would 
 be understood and reciprocated, and that agreements 
 made with him, though not sworn to, would never be 
 broken so long as carried out by the white man in that 
 spirit of mutual trust and understanding in which they 
 were conceived and executed. What other colony has 
 the record of not a settler killed or injured by an Indian 
 for nearly .seventy years, and that with an exposed 
 frontier, and during three colonial wars? Not the least 
 valual)le lesson then which the Friend has taught, has 
 been that the heart of even the untutored savage under- 
 stands the law of love and will reciprocate it ; a fact 
 true not only of colonial days, but illustrated in suc- 
 ceeding years bv many examples. 
 
84 
 
 William Penn in his laws for Pennsylvania removed 
 death as a penalty from the list of all crimes except 
 murder and treason, and doubtless would not have ex- 
 cepted these had it been possible to do so, and he did 
 this at a time when English laws made over two hun- 
 dred crimes punishable by death. He also, a century 
 before John Howard, strove to make the prisons of 
 Pennsylvania places where the reformation of the crim- 
 inal was to be aimed at instead of retaliation for the 
 crime committed. It was Elizabeth Fry who again 
 awakened the consciences of Englishmen to the general 
 neglect of their prisons, to the indiscriminate mixing of 
 prisoners, to the immorality of their surroundings, and 
 to their sufferings in the prisons in which they were 
 confined. 
 
 It was William Penn who placed before the world a 
 frame of government far in advance of any others then 
 in existence, and unsurpassed for its moderation, for its 
 justice, for its high ideals, for the care taken to secure 
 the rights of the governed, who were themselves, to all 
 intents and purposes, the rulers. That this " Holy 
 Experiment " was not a complete success was due, not 
 to any shortcomings in the plan, but to the interference 
 of the English government, and to the lack of faith in 
 those who lived under its laws, and enjoyed the bless- 
 ings of its free and liberal provisions. 
 
 That war is contrary to the teachings of the New 
 Testament was a logical conclusion of the position 
 taken by the early Friends, and the sufferings under- 
 gone in defense of this belief have been many and 
 severe. In Pennsylvania, again, we have the practical 
 illustration of a State founded upon the principles of 
 peace, and of a government which existed for years 
 without forts, without cannon, without any of the im- 
 plements of war, and which lived at peace with its 
 neighbors, both civilized and savage, for two genera- 
 tions. Arbitration as a means for the settlement of 
 differences was early introduced among Friends, and 
 was provided for in Penn's Frame of Government, not 
 only as between citizen and citizen, but also as between 
 
35 
 
 Iiuliaii iiiul white. So sure was the ^rcat man that 
 this princi|)k' was the true one for the settlement of 
 tlitVerenees, tiiat in KJMl he puhlished **An Essay 
 toward t\\v jtresent and future i)ea('e of Kuropc hy the 
 estahlishuu'nt of an European l)iet, Parliament, or 
 Estates," antieipatini; in this paper most of the mo(h'rn 
 arj:;uments for international arbitration. 
 
 Georjre Fox tells us that his father was called 
 " Ki^htedus (Mirister," on account of the purity of his 
 life and the justness of his dealings. His greater son, 
 more than others of his generation, more than many in 
 this our day, believed in a rigliteousness of life and 
 conduct. He taught that a man's word should be as 
 good as his l)ond, — nay, was his bond, — and that in all 
 his dealings he should be absolutely truthful. Friends 
 imprisoned for conscience' sake were trusted to march 
 from prison to prison, and from prison to trial, without 
 a guard, on a simple promise to a})pear. Their very 
 persecutors trusted them without hesitation. The same 
 principle of yea, yea ; nay, nay, was carried into their 
 l)usiness, and it was the Quaker shop-keeper who intro- 
 duced into English trade the practice of fixed j)rices 
 and strict uj)rightness in dealing. 
 
 Friends have been foremost in the position accorded 
 to woman in social life and in the church. Fox early 
 saw that the universality of the dispensation of the 
 Spirit forbade the exclusion of woman from any j)art 
 of the divine commission, and so the share nf woman 
 in the gift of the ministry of the Word was placed upon 
 an absolute equality with that of men, while in other 
 respects to woman was given a place and an authority 
 unknown at that time elsewhere. The re.«ult of this 
 righteous course is shown in the long list of women, 
 from Elizaiieth Hooton, George Fox's early convert, to 
 the |)rcsent day, — women, whose cotnisel, whose works, 
 and whose example have been such an inspiration to the 
 body, and .sooften a blessing to thecotuuuiuity in which 
 they iiave lived. 
 
 It is hardly the |)lacc to show how the prineiples 
 which have been mentioned led to de|K'ndencc upon the 
 
36 
 
 Spirit for practical guidance in matters spiritual and 
 temporal, to simplicity in worship, to the laying aside 
 of ritual, disuse of rite and ceremony, and to absence 
 of class distinction, as into clergy and laity. Nor is it 
 necessary to go further into particulars, for enough has 
 been said to show how the very constitution of the 
 Society of Friends has led those belonging to it, not 
 only as individuals, but also as a body, into the adop- 
 tion of great principles and into the carrying of them 
 out to a remarkable degree in daily life and practice. 
 
 What the Friend has done has not been so much to 
 enunciate new truths as to have been the pioneer in 
 calling attention, by precept and example, to old truths 
 sometimes forgotten, sometimes covered up by custom 
 and precedent, sometimes believed to be impracticable 
 under the present constitution of the world. Because 
 much of what the seventeenth and eighteenth century 
 Friends suffered and died to gain is now the possession 
 of all, we of the nineteenth century are apt to forget 
 their services. It is the province of such occasions 
 as the present to recall what our forefathers have done 
 in order that we may be nerved to perform the duties 
 that are before us, animated by the same faith which 
 filled their hearts. 
 
37 
 
 THK PRESENT WORK OF THE SOCIETY 
 OF FRIENDS. 
 
 By Lsaac H. Clothier. 
 
 On the occasion of the celebration of the two hun- 
 dredth anniversary of this old luceting-house, which in 
 its quaint simplicity has come down to us a relic and a 
 representative of hv-gonc days, — even the early days 
 of the Society of Friends, — it is fitting that thos-e who 
 hold the faith of the founders of that Society shoidd 
 come together on this historic ground to recall the 
 memories of those early days, to devoutly rejoice 
 together in the possession of a modest yet glorious heri- 
 tage, and to strengthen each other and dedicate them- 
 selves anew to the duty of the day and the shaping of 
 the future. 
 
 This large company composed of old and young, of 
 those who in the natural order must soon pass on to the 
 higher life, of the mature and middle-aged, now in 
 full activity, of the young, pressing ever onward to 
 take their places ; all these, the successors of the little 
 company of Friends who met here two hundred years 
 ago, — may well recall the memories which cluster around 
 these walls, and with just pride in their worthy and 
 honored ancestry, resolve that in these altered times, 
 and under new conditions, they will preserve the tradi- 
 tions of the Fathers, in their pim})le, steadfast faith, 
 their heroic devotion to principle, and in their conse- 
 cration to the duty of their day. The history of the 
 oUl house and of our worthy ancestors who worshiped 
 hencath its roof has been well given in vour hearing; 
 the part assigned me is to sketch the duty and influence 
 of the Society of Friends in the world to-day. 
 
 We are among the representatives of a Society which, 
 though one of the smallest in numbers from its founda- 
 tion until now, has yet commanded a measure of atten- 
 
38 
 
 tion and exercised au influence in the world entirely 
 disproportioned to the size of its membership. Reviled 
 and persecuted first in England, then in this country, 
 and held up to public scorn and ridicule, the Society 
 grew while persecution lasted, and not until it ceased 
 did its growth lessen. But though never large in 
 membership, and numbering to-day in England and 
 America perhaps less than one hundred and fifty thous- 
 and souls, its influence has been extraordinary in the 
 world. John Bright said : " I am a member of a 
 small but somewhat remarkable sect, a religious body 
 which had a remarkable origin, and in its early days, 
 at least, a somewhat remarkable history. It is of all 
 the religious sects the one that has most at heart the 
 equality and equal rights of men." And Gladstone 
 has lately written : " Whatever may be thought of 
 Quaker theology, the character of the Quaker has left 
 an indelible impression upon the world." 
 
 The principles of the Society scarcely need to be re- 
 stated here. At the World's Congress of Religions in 
 Chicago, two years ago, and at the Bi-Centennial of 
 the establishment of New York Yearly Meeting, the 
 present year, at Flushing, terse and admirable state- 
 ments of the faith, history, and work of the Society 
 were made by our ablest representative writers. While 
 we can hope to add but little to their presentation, it is 
 fitting that on this Anniversary occasion we too should 
 recount in our own way that which cannot be dwelt 
 upon too often, — the simplicity and sufficiency of the 
 faith of the Friends and its potent influence on man- 
 kind by reason of its very simplicity. And that has 
 been the corner stone, the essence of the faith of the 
 Friends, — simplicity of faith and of life. 
 
 Throughout all history the greatest contentious 
 among men have been in the name of religion. The 
 Protestant Reformation, brought about by the corrup- 
 tions of the Church, was a step in the direction of a 
 purer and more enlightened religion, but its great 
 apostle, Luther, evidenced the intolerant spirit of the 
 age by declining to clasp hands with the Swiss reformer, 
 
39 
 
 Zwinijli, — though l)»)tli were striving for the same rnds, 
 
 U'causf the latter could not lionostly suhsirilx' to 
 
 everv arliele of" a romplicated confession of faitli. .lolm 
 Calvin, a man of tlie liij^licst moral elevation and 
 religious fervor, caused Scrvetns to be hurned at the 
 stake because of his religious opinions. A century later 
 (leorge Fox stirred the religious world with a revival 
 t)f the simplic-ity of the religion of Christ, and William 
 Penn proclaimed that for their religious opinions men 
 are responsible to God alone. The great advance in 
 enlightenment since is evidenced by comparing the 
 intense and gloomy theology of Jonathan Edwards early 
 in the eighteenth century, or even that of Lyman 
 Beecher, nearly a century later, with that of leading 
 evangelical teachers of the present day, notably Phillips 
 Brooks and Lyman Abbott. Comjiare P^dwards's ex- 
 pressions regarding Original Sin and his " Sinners in 
 the hands of an angry God " with this recent utterance 
 of Lyman Abbott : "The bond of the Church is love ; 
 the Church is a body of loyal Christians doing Christ's 
 work in Christ's way. The flowers got into a disi)ute 
 one day as to what was a flower. The trailing arbutus 
 said : ' Nothing is a flower unless it has a vine and 
 hides itself under the leaves ; ' and the tulip said : 
 ' Nothing is a flower unless it grows out of a bulb and 
 puts its flower head a little above the ground ; ' and 
 the tulip-tree said : ' Nothing is a flower unless it has 
 a root and trunk and branches, and all the flowers Ave 
 or six feet at least above the ground.' And the spring 
 sun looked down uixm them and said : ' Whatever is 
 fragrant and whatever is beautiful is a flower.' It may 
 hide itself like the (Quaker, beneath the leaves where 
 men cannot Hud it ; and it may have the most elaborate 
 organization running down into the roots of history, 
 like the Kpiscopal Church ; and it may stand anywhere 
 between the two: — the flower is a flower, and the devout 
 soul is a devout soul, and wherever .souls are brought 
 together to do God's work in God's way there is a 
 church of the living G(k1." 
 
 In an age of theological complications and of dis- 
 
40 
 
 putations regarding religion, George Fox felt it his 
 mission to call the people away therefrom to the Inner 
 Light which lighteth every man which cometh into the 
 world, to a free gospel ministry, and to purity and sim- 
 plicity of life. Pioneers of reform, no doubt, are apt to 
 overdo or to seem to overdo, for only by strong contrasts 
 can the minds of men be awakened. Thus the early 
 Friends, protesting both by speech and practice against 
 the abuses of their time, were no doubt in some instances 
 fanatical. But the duties and methods of one age are 
 not the duties and methods of another; and the stern 
 war-cry of George Fox in the seventeenth century, 
 calling the people back to first principles of religion, 
 and the extreme simplicity of the life of John Woolman, 
 a century later, may be quite uncalled-for in the closing 
 years of the nineteenth century. 
 
 In the two hundred years which have elapsed since 
 the foundation of the Society of Friends, the Christian 
 church has had a great awakening. It has been often 
 claimed that this spiritual revival has been largely due 
 to the influence of our Society. How far this may be 
 true it is difficult to judge, and certainly a body so 
 small in number as ours, — compared with the body 
 of the Christian church, — should be careful not to claim 
 too much. But the fact remains that a great spiritual 
 development began with the time of George Fox, and 
 that his loud call to a return to the simple religion of 
 Christ, to attention to the monitions of the Inner Light, 
 was the forerunner of a religious enlightenment and 
 liberality which has since, despite many drawbacks, 
 steadily progressed in the Christian world. 
 
 Perhaps it is not too much to claim that this small 
 body of professing Christians has been the leaven which 
 has leavened the mass, and that the power and influence 
 claimed for the Friends, though not shown by increase 
 of membership or the controlling influence of numbers, 
 is indicated by the recognition to a greater or less degree 
 of the vital testimonies of the Society by nearly all 
 sects of professing Christians. It cannot be denied that 
 a recognition of the essential principle of the Inner 
 
p 
 
 
41 
 
 Light, of increased simplicity and liherality (»f faitli as 
 comjiared with hclii'f in compk'X thi'(>h)gical dogmas, 
 and a disposition to insist upon ciTtain uncomj>romising 
 i)t'liefs and religions ohstTvanccs, is now widcsprcatl 
 among the chun-lK'S. IVliot" in the Fatherhood ot'tiod 
 and the brotherhood of man, in a practical religion 
 which lives its faith, in an enlightened liherality which 
 declines to insist upon any particular creed or confession 
 of faith, but which concedes to every human being the 
 absolute right to his own belief, insisting only that the 
 life be pure and void of oft'ense, is to-day much more 
 prevalent in the Christian world than two hundred, one 
 hundred, or even fifty years ago. What })art the Society 
 of Friends has indeed had in this great spiritual and 
 practical revival of Christ's kingdom among men can- 
 not be precisely stated. But the fact that the testimon- 
 ies to which from the beginning the Society has felt 
 impelled to call the world have, despite many draw- 
 backs, taken firm root among the churches, and that the 
 Society, despite its smallness of numbers, has had an 
 influence recognized by a large portion of the Christian 
 world, is powerful testimony to the character and effi- 
 cacy of its work among men. 
 
 Friends have Ijeen from the beginning a peculiar 
 people ; peculiar in their style of dress, in their attempts 
 at |)erfect honesty of manner and of speech, in their 
 manner of silent worship, and in the conduct of their 
 business meetings. Perhaps no other religious gather- 
 ings in the world transact business in the same way, 
 arriving at decisions not by j)arliamentary usages or the 
 vote of majorities, but by the general sense and spirit- 
 ual weight of the mend)ership. I remember a quaint 
 remark (|Uoted to me long ago by one of our most 
 highly respected members : " There are two ways of 
 doing a thing, the right way and the Friends' way." I 
 did not understand this to imply that the Friends' way 
 was not the right way, but that it was a peculiar way 
 of arriving at correct results. 
 
 There is always danger in peculiarities, and indul- 
 gence in them without sound reasons, so far from In'ing 
 
42 
 
 an evidence of strength, is generally a sign of weakness 
 and shouli be most carefully guarded. And yet the 
 peculiar method of Friends in the transaction of busi- 
 ness, has been on the whole successful, and is perhaps 
 an ideal even though an unattainable system of govern- 
 ment on any extended scale. 
 
 But however great and heroic may have been the 
 work of the Society in the past, it is not on work already 
 done that any Society can repose in security and safety, 
 and it must be so especially with the Society of Friends. 
 Not on the achievements of our ancestors can we or our 
 descendants rest. The heritage which came to us can 
 only be transmitted to our descendants by our faithful- 
 ness to duty and to the work of our day. 
 
 What is the work of the Society at the present time ? 
 or, as is sometimes claimed, has its mission ceased among 
 men, and after its remarkable history shall it disappear 
 as an organization and be swallowed up by the other re- 
 ligious bodies of the day? Is its work approaching a 
 conclusion in the acceptance of its original testimonies 
 by the Christian Church, or shall it have a future of ac- 
 tivity and influence even comparable to its distinguished 
 history ? These are questions which face us to-day, and 
 the answers are not easily to be found. Shall future 
 history record that the career of the t ^iety of Friends 
 was but an incident in religious history, and that having 
 stirred the churches to a recognition of the Divine life 
 in the soul of man, and of the simplicity and spiritual- 
 ity of the religion of Jesus Christ, it passed away and 
 was seen of men no more? These may be strange 
 questions to ask on an anniversary occasion, when 
 mutual congratulations seem to be the duty of the hour. 
 But a time of rejoicing for past achievement should also 
 be a time of self-examination. 
 
 With a population perhaps exceeding seventy millions 
 in this rapidly growing nation, and a growth in mem- 
 bership of nearly all the great religious organizations 
 somewhat correspondent thereto, our own small numbers 
 have not increased, but have remained practically 
 stationary. While size of membership is not a test of 
 
4. -5 
 
 spiritual power, and "one with (iod is a inajoritv," vot 
 this peculiar ix'ople must show l»y their works a rt'asoii 
 lor thiir existence as a separate organization, or tliey 
 must soon cease to exist as a distinct body. 
 
 The atje still needs to have held up hofore it the 
 staiuhird of a j)ure and vital religit)n, unvextd hy theo- 
 loi^ical (lo<:;inas or by cumbrous outward ceremonials. It 
 still needs to have Georfjje Fox's cry " turn within," 
 rej)eated again and a»i;ain. But evangelical teachers all 
 about us have accoj)ted the call, and are holding the 
 standard up. Where, therefore, lies the separate work 
 of the Friends'.' With an earnest belief in tiie mission 
 of the Society and a no less earnest hope for its con- 
 tinuance as a religious force in the world of mankind, 
 I confess I have at times shared a sense of discourage- 
 ment which has been expressed regarding its future. 
 
 It may well be said that we have no especial mission 
 of proselytism, that we do not care to add to our num- 
 bers, but only to worship God in our own way. True : 
 but evidences of vitality and of continuance in the body 
 are much to be desired, and the want tiiereof, even the 
 smallness of numbers of our membership, would seem 
 to be indicative of weakness in the organization as it 
 exists to-day. Have we as a body outlived our useful- 
 ness V Are we ying too much upon the i)ast, upon 
 traditions handeu down from the early days, instead of 
 the inspiration which comes fresh to every age? 
 
 Let us consider a few points. " Plainness of speech, 
 behavior, and apparel." This (juaint testimony has an 
 association in our minds almost of reverence. And yet 
 care should be taken that its importance be not over- 
 estimated, and that it be not substituted for testimonies 
 which are reallv vital. Plainness of speech (the "thee " 
 and "thou "of the Friends), is indeed beautiful to hear 
 as the language of affection, but the old practice of apply- 
 ing the pronoun "you " to jjcrsons of rank, as though 
 they were individually more than one, and "thee" to 
 |)ersons of inferior rank — the common people — does 
 not now exist. Plainness of speech should be under- 
 stood to mean directne.s.s, simplicity, and truthfulness of 
 
44 
 
 speech, not adherence to an awkward peculiarity. 
 Plainness of behavior, unless perfectly understood and 
 practiced in the highest sense, is even fraught with 
 danger. It must be confessed that the charge sometimes 
 made against Friends of a want of refinement in man- 
 ner, has not been altogether unwarranted, and the charge 
 should be respectfully considered. As a protest against 
 rapidly changing fashions and extravagance of dress, 
 plainness of apparel is still a valuable testimony. Yet 
 we cannot but regard the adherence to any particular 
 style of dress as a departure from true simplicity. All 
 these testimonies are still valuable. But a rigid adher- 
 ence to a narrow formality in regard to them is not in 
 correspondence with the enlightenment of the age, nor 
 with the vital spirit of true Quakerism. 
 
 The testimony against music would seem to need 
 careful consideration. Fifty years ago almost every 
 form of melody, vocal or instrumental, was regarded 
 among Friends almost as a device of the evil one. To- 
 day music in its proper place is recognized by a large 
 portion of the Society as elevating and refining in its 
 tendency, and is profitably used in many of our homes. 
 Again, some Friends still need to be reminded of the 
 broadening and elevating influences of higher educa- 
 tion, and in some quarters there is a want of apprecia- 
 tion of the benefits which undoubtedly spring therefrom 
 and of the influence upon the future of the Society. 
 Higher education is a necessity of the age. Will Friends 
 avail of its beneficent influence under their own guarded 
 care, or shall our young people be driven to seek it in 
 other folds ? 
 
 These matters are referred to not in any spirit of 
 undue criticism, but in that of inquiry, and with a sin- 
 cere desire to aid, if possible, in strengthening the weak 
 places in our midst. But I would not dwell upon that 
 side of the picture. On the other side there are evi- 
 dences of the development of a living spirit among us, 
 which may yet bear fruit to the renewal of our life. 
 The First-day school work, a growth of the past 
 twenty-five years, and the Young Friends' Associations, 
 
i 1 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 ■ ^^'"^ 
 
 
45 
 
 of (|iiito rcivnt origin, arc most {'iicou raging evidt'iic-e.s 
 of Cliristiaii vitality among us. The study of the 
 Scriptures in the true spirit of rovorenco and of int<'lli- 
 gent research, as wi'Il as of the testimonies of Friends, 
 should be most diligently commended. 
 
 Let us ever hold up before our children the cardinal 
 testimony of our faith — the simplicity of the religion 
 of Jesus Christ, the Inner Light, the Divine Imman- 
 ence, the divinity of Christ in the soul of man. Let 
 us impress upon them the beauty and sacredness of silent 
 worship — the gathering together in a meeting ca|)acity 
 in a living silence, in the midst of which (Jod speaks to 
 the soul as never man spake. 
 
 Let us bear testimony to the value of a free gospel 
 ministry. Let us cherish it as a testimony to simplicity 
 in religious service and as a reminder of apostolic times 
 and practices. And let us live ]»lainly, not in the spirit 
 of asceticism, but in prudent accordance with our several 
 circumstances, making proper use of the comforts and 
 refinements which the age has brought us, ever re- 
 membering our duty towards those not so well situated 
 in outward circumstances as ourselves, and affording a 
 proper example to others as opposed to extravagant and 
 ostentatious living. 
 
 If we are to maintain our position and increase our 
 influence in the world, we must continue to show our 
 faith by our works. Friends in the past have in their 
 quiet wav led in Christian labor among mankind. The 
 great anti-slavery movement was antedated nearly a 
 hundretl years l)v the quiet lal)ors of John Woolman 
 and Anthony Benezet. In the cause of Peace, of the 
 Indian, of Temperance, of Prison Reform, of the equal 
 rights of women. Friends have been among the leaders. 
 S<^ great, however, is the general activity in thes(> latter 
 days, that we are certainly no more than abreast of the 
 Christian movements of the times towards the uplifting 
 of the human race. To maintain and increase our 
 vitality we must at least have nur full share in the 
 Christian movements of the age. 
 
 I beliive the Work of this periiliar people is not 
 
46 
 
 ended. On the contrary, although I anticipate no con- 
 siderable accession to its numbers, I believe there is still 
 a distinct work for it in the world. This work cannot 
 be delegated to others. It is the peculiar service of the 
 Society of Friends. It is their mission in the world. 
 Add to the fundamental doctrine of the Inner Light 
 their testimonies to silent worship, to a free gospel min- 
 istry, and to simplicity of life, surely the Society has 
 still a wondrous call to continued service in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord. 
 
 And appreciating the great heritage earned for us by 
 the fathers and mothers of our faith, first through per- 
 secution and martyrdom, then through two hundred 
 years of the highest Christian example to mankind, 
 shall we not hold it ever dear and say to our children 
 and our children's children — " This Society was founded 
 on a rock and it endures." 
 
POEM. 
 \\\ 1'i:an( IS B. (iiMMKUi:. 
 
 Tlu'V l^'ard a voice of ruiu on the wind. 
 
 And vengeful fingers Hashed about the .<ky 
 Omens of terror. " From the wrath behind, 
 
 Save us, Jehovah ! " rose our fathers' cry. 
 
 " Look, Lord, our liands are bleeding where they cling 
 Along the sharp edge of Thy mercy-seat ; 
 
 Our heads are in the dust, and still we sing 
 Amid our choking, fallen at Thy feet ! " 
 
 God rolled apart the portals of the sea, 
 
 And pointed down the long Athmtic wave : 
 
 " In yonder wilderness is peace with Me." 
 
 " Peace, then," they answered, " though it be a grave. 
 
 " Forth from the ruins of a broken dream. 
 
 Out of the shadow of memorial fear, 
 Yonder, O brother! Let the north wind scream, 
 
 The billows threaten, still the Light is clear. 
 
 "The Light that led against embattled priests, 
 Ranks girded only with the sword of love. 
 
 The Light that cheered, even when amid the beasts 
 Of Ephesus our saints and martyrs strove." 
 
 Peace in the wilderness those fathers sought. 
 Where through its vales the silent river Hows ; 
 
 Peace in the wilderne.ss they found, and taught 
 The wilderness to blossom as the rose. 
 
 ICven vet the forest, yet the dales and rills, 
 Hamlet or farmstead, all unknown to fame. 
 
 Breathe the old beauty of the Cand)rian hills 
 And bin<l us with the magic of a name. 
 
 Ah, dearer still the magic and the power 
 
 Sprung from that simple round of birth and death ! 
 
 Dearest of all they left us be the dower 
 Of virtue, honor, fearlessness, and faith! 
 
48 
 
 Strong-souled, O fathers, bred amid the shock 
 Of falling kingdoms and our new time's throe, 
 
 Wearing your robe of meekness as a rock 
 
 That fronts the storm-winds in his fleece of snow, 
 
 And ye, O nameless ones, that set the sail 
 
 In some dreamed haven God's far tryst to keep, 
 
 And with his Yi^ht upon your faces pale, 
 Clasping a virgin hope, sank in the deep, — 
 
 Breath faith upon us ! For the dusk is falling, 
 The stars ye followed vanish from our sight ; 
 
 Scarcely we hear the leader's trumpet calling : 
 So leave us not amid the gathering night. 
 
 Not like some lonely fisher whom the wars 
 Of wind and flood have left without a sail, 
 
 What time the mist has blotted all the stars, 
 And waves are chafing to the angry gale, — 
 
 He clasps the helm, he knows not where to turn ; 
 
 Behind, before, the white and sibilant foam ; 
 Vain, vain for him the harbor beacons burn 
 
 And little voices call him to his home! 
 
 But let the light that led your hero-band 
 Shine on for us, or sun or pillar of fire. 
 
 Piercing the mists that veil a promised land 
 And cheat the Spirit of its last desire, — 
 
 That we may follow where a herald beam 
 
 Shall light the coast of faith's new hemisphere. 
 
 Forth from the ruins of a broken dream. 
 Out of the shadow of memorial fear. 
 
4<) 
 
 CLOSING EXERCISES. 
 
 At the dose of tlio exercises a silence fell iijion tli<»se 
 asscnihlcd, whii-li was l)n>k('ii l)y words of prayer and 
 tluiuksgiving by Matilda E. Janney. Tlie nieetinir 
 then closed, the people scattered about the grounds or 
 returned to their homes, feeling, wo trust, that it was 
 good to have been there. 
 
 Although tlie exercises under tlie care of the com- 
 mittee ended on the afternoon of Tenth month Sth, the 
 usual First-day morning meeting was held in the old 
 meeting-house on the following day, and was a solemn 
 and impressive occasion. 
 
 In the afternoon a mcvtiui; appointed by the Visit- 
 ing Committee of lMiiladeli)liia (Quarterly Meeting was 
 held. The numl)er present being more than the meet- 
 ing-house could accommodate, the mwting was assem- 
 bled in the tent used (»u the previous day. Testimony 
 was borne, ineitiug those present to faithfidness in up- 
 liolding the ))rinciple.s and testimonies of our Religious 
 Society, especially our faith in the immediate revela- 
 tion of the Divine Will to the <-hihlren of men. 
 
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