;
 
 to
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 AND 
 
 OF 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE TRACT ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS, 
 
 No. 304 AECH STREET.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 
 
 THE TRACT ASSOCIATION OK FRIENDS, 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
 j. rAUAn EW. 
 
 STEREOTYPE FOUNDEBS, 
 
 J-UILACELPUIA. 
 *V5^ 
 
 
 
 ' 
 i . - . 
 
 : 
 
 C A X T X PRESS 07 
 SHERMAN ft CO., PHILADELPHIA.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE following pages are chiefly compiled 
 from a series of articles published in a 
 religious periodical, about twenty years since, 
 with the title, " Thomas Scattergqod, and his 
 Times." They comprise brief biographies of 
 Friends, who lived in this country in the last 
 and early part of the present century, who 
 became conspicuous for their devotion to the 
 
 -a cause of Truth. A number of incidents are 
 S 
 
 given that had not been printed before. 
 
 As the work is interspersed with numerous 
 anecdotes, and contains valuable records of re- 
 ligious experience, exemplifying the doctrines 
 and testimonies of the Society of Friends, and 
 their accordance with the Holy Scriptures, it is 
 1 hoped that it will prove interesting, and instruc- 
 
 tive to those into whose hands it may come. 
 PHILADELPHIA, Eleventh month 10th, 1870. 
 
 302249
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 DAVIE FERRIS 9 
 
 WILLTAM HUNT 33 
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN 46 
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAH . 67 
 
 REBECCA JONES . 80 
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY . . 127 
 
 WILLIAM SAVERY 149 
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN 182 
 
 ARTHUR HOWELL 227 
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON 240 
 
 PETER YARNALL 259 
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET 296 
 
 JACOB LINDLEY 305 
 
 ELI YARNALL 326 
 
 SARAH HARRISON 344 
 
 JOHN PARKER 366 
 
 NICHOLAS WALN . 381 
 
 MOSES BROWN 396
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 DAVID FEKRIS. 
 
 TN the year 1727, a lad, in the twentieth year of his 
 age, who resided at New Milford, in Connection 4 -, 
 was passing under much inward trouble for his sins. 
 He had been divinely favored in early youth, but not 
 giving heed to the Light of the Lord Jesus inwardly 
 manifested to preserve from sin, he became fond of 
 vain company and earthly delights, and gave way 
 thereto until he lost his good estate. He was often 
 reproved for his sins, and became so distressed because 
 of his condition that he fell into despair, and wished 
 that he might die. All this time he did not forsake 
 his evil habits, and concluded it was too late to return, 
 that he might repent and live. One day he concluded 
 that he should be a disgrace to his relations if he 
 remained at home, and so determined to leave his 
 native land, and go where he should not be known. 
 That very day a day of the deepest affliction and 
 
 distress he had ever known he heard, as he followed 
 
 9
 
 10 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 his plough, a still, small voice saying in his soul, "The 
 blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin." 
 Not willing to receive the consolatory declaration, he 
 replied, " It is too late ; there has been a day wherein 
 I might have been cleansed, but, alas ! I have let it 
 pass over my head forever." In the course of some 
 minutes after, as he was musing whither he should flee, 
 the same words passed through his mind, and took 
 greater hold of his thoughts than at first. Still, after 
 a time, deeming himself lost, he once more returned 
 to his meditation on the place he should go to, and, 
 his anguish increasing, he stopped ploughing. Now, 
 with great power and authority, the language was a 
 third time uttered, "The blood of Jesus Christ his 
 Son cleanseth us from all sin." A change took place 
 in his feelings, faith awakened in his heart, and he 
 thought, " If all sin, why not mine ? " Joyful emo- 
 tions stirred within him ; he saw there was still mercy 
 for him, and, penitent and tendered, a stream of thanks- 
 giving and praise arose in his heart. Now, through 
 Divine mercy, trusting in the Holy Spirit, and bow- 
 ing to the cross of Christ, he was enabled to press 
 after holiness along the narrow path of self-denial. 
 
 This young man was named David Ferris ; he was 
 born at Stratford, in Connecticut, Third month 10th, 
 1707, and was early favored with the visitations of 
 Divine Grace. He mentions a simple circumstance,
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 11 
 
 which, with reflections growing out of it, ministered 
 instruction to him when very young in life. He was 
 riding on horseback through a river, against a very 
 rapid current, and a young dog attempted to follow 
 him. On looking round, he perceived that the dog, 
 scarcely able to stem the force of the stream, was 
 unable to keep pace with the horse, and appeared in 
 great distress. David felt pity for the poor animal, 
 who seemed almost desperate, and while gazing on it 
 with concern, there opened to his mind a sense of the 
 awful amazement which a poor immortal soul must be 
 in when death is close at hand, and there appears no 
 hope of escape from everlasting punishment and woe. 
 This thought was of use to him for years. 
 
 David Ferris was brought up a Presbyterian, and 
 received a college education. Before going to college, 
 his understanding was opened to see that various points 
 of doctrine held by Calvin were not according to the 
 Truth, and he had many disputes with his -classmates 
 upon the subject. He had also a long and satisfactory 
 conversation with the head of the institution on his 
 religious views and experience. About the middle of 
 his last year at college, he met with Barclay's Apology,* 
 
 * The full title of this standard work is "An Apology for the 
 True Christian Divinity, being an Explanation and Vindication 
 of the Principles and Doctrines of the People called Quakers." 
 By Robert Barclay. It is to be had at Friends' Bookstore, 304 
 Arch Street, Philadelphia.
 
 12 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 and could not but unite with the doctrines laid down 
 therein. Believing that men could give no authority 
 for any one to enter into the exercise of the ministry 
 of the Gospel, he now felt uneasy at taking degrees. 
 This was a time of deep exercise and trial with him 
 he had been highly esteemed by those about him, and 
 he felt that should he now leave college he would be 
 despised. His father had fondly looked to him, as 
 likely to be an honor to the family but David 
 knew if he followed his convictions of duty, his at- 
 tached parent would consider him as its disgrace. 
 Besides this, he had the prospect of an immediate set- 
 tlement, a numerous congregation, and a good salary. 
 
 Having been favored with inward strength to 
 perform his duty and leave the college, fye found less 
 difficulty than he had apprehended. His father, al- 
 though he would not speak to him for some time, yet 
 at last relented, and treated him affectionately. One 
 after another of the testimonies of Friends had been 
 opened to David Ferris, and he was brought, in a 
 great cross to the natural will, into plainness of speech, 
 and into a disuse of hat-honor to man. Now he felt 
 drawn to attend the meetings of the people called 
 Quakers, and accordingly, in the latter part of the 
 Third month, 1733, he went to the public meeting 
 held at the time of the Yearly Meeting on Long 
 Island. He wished to feel whether they were a living
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 13 
 
 people. At this meeting were several Friends in the 
 ministry from Europe, both men and women. These 
 were, no doubt, Samuel Stevens, Mungo Bewley, Alice 
 Alderson, and Margaret Copeland, who were then in 
 America. 
 
 After attending this meeting, David says of the 
 Friends, " I was indubitably satisfied that their wor- 
 ship was in Spirit and in Truth; and [that] they 
 [were] such worshippers as the Father sought and 
 owned. I was convinced, beyond a doubt, that they 
 preached the Gospel in the demonstration of the 
 Spirit; and Divine authority was felt to attend their 
 ministry. They were not like the scribes, to whom I 
 had been listening all my life, who had neither com- 
 mission nor authority, except that which was received 
 from man ; being such as the Lord never sent ; and 
 therefore could not profit the people they professed to 
 teach. I now clearly saw the difference between man- 
 made ministers, and those whom the Lord qualifies 
 and sends into his harvest-field ; the difference between 
 the wheat and the chaff; and it was marvellous to me, 
 ,to reflect how long I had sat under a formal, dry, and 
 lifeless ministry." " I heard women preach the Gos- 
 pel, in the Divine authority of Truth ; far exceeding 
 all the learned rabbis I had known. This was not so 
 strange to me as it might have been to others ; for I 
 had before seen, by the immediate manifestation of 
 2
 
 14 DAVID FERRTK. 
 
 Grace and Truth, that women as well as men might 
 be clothed with gospel power ; and that daughters as 
 well as sons, under the Gospel dispensation, were to 
 have the Spirit poured upon them, that they might 
 prophesy ; and though I had never before heard a 
 woman preach, yet I now rejoiced to see the prophecy 
 fulfilled." 
 
 David Ferris found it necessary to look around for 
 some means of temporal support ; and, feeling inclined 
 to remove to Pennsylvania, he, in the Sixth month, 
 accompanied to Philadelphia three of the ministering 
 Friends from England before mentioned. In this 
 city he felt inclined to settle for the present, if he 
 could establish himself in business. When the Yearly 
 Meeting for the Provinces of Pennsylvania and New 
 Jersey, which was held there in the Seventh month, 
 was over, and he had become somewhat acquainted 
 with the Friends of the place, he concluded to open a 
 school, in which the Latin and Greek languages should 
 be taught. He says, " But, as I was a stranger, and 
 those children that were intended to be taught these 
 languages were mostly entered in other schools, I was 
 doubtful whether I should be able to get a sufficient 
 number of such scholars. I therefore agreed to teach 
 English also; and, in time, I had a school of both 
 sexes, sufficiently large for my support. Being a 
 stranger, I consequently met with trials and difficul-
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 15 
 
 ties. For a while my school was small and not likely 
 to support me ; but I endeavored to be resigned, and 
 repose with confidence in an all-sufficient Providence, 
 from whom I had often received help in times of great 
 trial. My difficulties were increased by the low state 
 of my funds. The weather was now beginning to 
 grow cold. It was customary for the teacher to find 
 wood for fuel, and for the scholars to pay a proportion 
 of the expense, when they paid for their quarter's 
 tuition ; and as I had but few scholars, and no money 
 due, and not two shillings of my own remaining, I 
 was very thoughtful how to procure wood. No one 
 knew the state of my purse, nor did I desire to make 
 it known ; and this I should do if I attempted to 
 borrow. I therefore omitted to buy as long as I well 
 could. I did not like to ask for credit, and if I did, 
 it was doubtful whether I should obtain it ; so that I 
 was closely tried. But, while I was under this exer- 
 cise, the weather was more moderate than usual at 
 that season. After I had been sufficiently tried to 
 prove my faith and confidence in Divine Providence, 
 a Friend came into my school, and privately gave me 
 twenty shillings, which, he said, had been sent by a 
 Friend, who did not wish to be known as the donor. 
 For this unexpected favor I was thankful to the Lord, 
 whose mercies endure forever. Having now the 
 means, I soon purchased some wood ; and the weather,
 
 16 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 in a short time, becoming colder, I had a renewed 
 sense of the kindness of Providence, who had so 
 seasonably relieved me. But afterward, when my 
 stock of wood was nearly exhausted, I was brought 
 into the same difficulty and trial as before, and as 
 much needed a renewal of my faith. I strove to be 
 quiet, and to have my dependence placed on Him who 
 fed a great multitude with a few loaves and little 
 fishes ; and just as I began to suifer, another twenty- 
 shilling bill was privately presented to me by an un- 
 known hand; but I received it as coming from the 
 Lord, who knew all my difficulties. Thus I was 
 again relieved, and never afterward received anything 
 more in this way ; nor did I ever need it, as I was 
 sufficiently supplied by the proceeds of my business. 
 This was a confirmation to me that I had been assisted 
 by a watchful Providence, who knows all states and 
 conditions, both internal and external, and is able and 
 willing to turn the hearts of his people, and constrain 
 them to help the needy, as, formerly, he sent the ravens 
 to feed the prophet." 
 
 There are many authentic anecdotes of the interpo- 
 sition of Divine mercy on behalf of his faithful chil- 
 dren when suffering from poverty or want of food. 
 Thomas Chalkley gives us an account of an interesting 
 incident of this kind which occurred while he was on 
 a passage from Bermuda to Philadelphia, in the year
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 17 
 
 1716. The wind proved slight, and thus the time 
 occupied in the voyage was protracted to twice its 
 usual length. With twelve persons to feed, their store 
 of provisions was at last reduced to one piece of beef. 
 Pressed with hunger, and disheartened by a head wind, 
 those on board began to relate sad and sickening ac- 
 count -i of seamen similarly circumstanced eating one 
 another. The murmurs increased, particularly against 
 Thomas Chalkley, to whom the vessel was consigned, 
 and he felt his mind clothed with inward exercise. At 
 last, after seriously considering the niatter, he told 
 them that if there should be a necessity for one to die 
 for the rest, they need not cast lots, for he was free to 
 offer his life to do them good. At this, several of those 
 addressed said they would die before they would eat 
 him. Thomas says, " I can truly say, that at that 
 time my life was not dear to me, and that I was serious 
 and ingenuous in my proposition. As I was leaning 
 over the side of the vessel, thoughtfully considering 
 my proposal to the company, and looking, in my mind, 
 to Him who made me, a very large dolphin came up 
 to the surface of the water, and looked me in the face. 
 I called to the people to put a hook into the sea and 
 take him, ' For here is one come to redeem me,' said 
 I to them. They put out a hook, and the fish readily 
 took it, and they caught him. I think it was about 
 six feet long, and the largest that ever I saw. This
 
 18 DAVID FSRSIS. 
 
 plainly showed us that we ought not to distrust the 
 providence of the Almighty. The people were quieted 
 by this act of Providence, and murmured no more. 
 We caught enough to eat plentifully of till we got 
 into the Capes of Delaware. Thus I saw it was good 
 to depend upon the Almighty, and rely upon his eter- 
 nal arm, which, in a particular manner, did preserve 
 us safe to our destined port, blessed be his great and 
 glorious Name, through Jesus Christ, forever." * 
 
 The next important movement of David Ferris was 
 that of seeking a wife. He was a man of a fine person, 
 and it would appear was at least willing to find a wife 
 with similar attractions. Near his residence in Phil- 
 adelphia, a young woman dwelt, whose family was 
 respectable, and their outward circumstances prosper- 
 ous. She was blessed with good natural talents, had 
 been educated in plainness, and was withal quite 
 comely in appearance. These circumstances drew his 
 attention to her, and friends who are generally ready 
 in encouraging matrimonial connections which appear 
 outwardly suitable, urged him to make proposals to 
 her. Taking the hint from them, and not waiting on 
 the Divine Guide for direction, he concluded to do so, 
 and for that purpose paid her a visit. After chatting 
 sociably for half an hour, he felt within him a word 
 
 * This incident is narrated in the Journal of Thomas Chalkley. 
 See also Friends' Library, edited by William and Thomas Evans, 
 Philadelphia, vol. vi., p. 32.
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 19 
 
 of reproof. The language was uttered, " Seekest thou 
 great things for thyself? Seek them not." He felt 
 the rebuke, and, confused and perplexed, he was no 
 longer fit for conversation, and so withdrew. This was 
 the first and last attempt to bring about that, to appear- 
 ance, so desirable connection. It was well for him and 
 his peace of mind that he had proceeded no further in 
 his own will before he was checked by the inward Re- 
 prover. Some have gone on even until they thought 
 themselves ready to proceed in marriage, and have 
 then discovered that they had in no wise taken counsel 
 of Him who has a right to direct the movements of 
 his children. This must bring them under great trial 
 and exercise. Some have gone on, because they could 
 not see how to withdraw, and have paid by a life of 
 discomfort for the haste with which they have run into 
 an affectionate engagement. 
 
 Some months after David Ferris had been turned 
 back from his own choice as before narrated, he was 
 sitting at table in a Friend's house, and noticed a 
 young woman sitting opposite to him. He did not 
 remember ever to have seen her before, but he says, 
 "A language very quietly and very pleasantly passed 
 through my mind in this wise, ' If thou wilt marry that 
 young woman, thou shalt be happy with her/ " David 
 believed this intimation was from the Source of all good, 
 but finding that the young woman was lame, he was
 
 20 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 much displeased at the thought of marrying a cripple. 
 He passed through many exercises before his will was 
 brought in this thing to submit to the Lord's requir- 
 ings, but in a belief that it would tend to his own hap- 
 piness, he at last gave up. When his will was made 
 subject, then everything connected with his marriage 
 seemed bright and happy. They were married Ninth 
 month 13th, 1735, and at the close of forty years he 
 said he had never repented his choice. A blessing had 
 rested upon him and on his posterity. He says, " I have 
 lived to see my children, arrived to years of under- 
 standing, favored with a knowledge of the Truth ; 
 which is the greatest of all blessings ; and some of 
 them, beyond all doubt, are landed in eternal felicity. 
 I have been blessed with plenty, and above all with 
 peace. I am, therefore, satisfied and thankful to my 
 gracious Benefactor, for his kindness to me in this con- 
 cern, as well as for all his other favors." 
 
 Thomas Ellwood gives an interesting account of the 
 manner of his proceeding in relation to marriage. He 
 found his feelings drawn toward a young woman 
 named Mary Ellis, in whom he thought he saw the 
 " fair prints of Truth and solid virtue." He was then 
 residing with Isaac and Mary Penington ; and as they 
 stood in the place of parents to him, he opened the 
 matter to them. He says, "They having solemnly 
 weighed the matter, expressed their unity therewith :
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 21 
 
 and indeed their approbation was no small confirma- 
 tion to me. Yet took I further deliberation, often 
 retiring in spirit to the Lord, and crying to him for 
 direction, before I addressed myself to her. At length, 
 as I was sitting alone, waiting upon the Lord for coun- 
 sel and guidance in this, in itself and to me, so import- 
 ant affair, I felt a word sweetly arise in me, as if I 
 had heard a voice, which said, ' Go, and prevail.' And 
 faith springing in my heart with the word, I immedi- 
 ately rose and went, nothing doubting. 
 
 " When I. was come to her lodgings, which were 
 about a mile from me, I desired the maid to acquaint 
 her mistress that I was come to give her a visit ; 
 whereupon I was invited to go up to her. And after 
 some common conversation had passed, feeling my 
 spirit weightily concerned, I solemnly opened my 
 mind unto her, with respect to the particular business 
 I came about ; which I soon perceived was a great sur- 
 prisal to her. For she had taken in an apprehension, 
 as others also had done, that mine eye had been fixed 
 elsewhere, and nearer home. I used not many words 
 to her ; but I felt a divine power went along with the 
 words, and fixed the matter expressed by them so fast 
 in her breast, that, as she afterward acknowledged to 
 me, she could not shut it out. 
 
 " I made but a short visit. For, having told her, I 
 did not expect an answer from her then ; but desired
 
 22 DAVID FERfilS. 
 
 she would, in the most solemn manner, weigh the pro- 
 posal made, and in due time give me such an answer 
 thereunto, as the Lord should give her; I took my 
 leave of Ler and departed, leaving the issue to the 
 Lord. 
 
 " I had a journey then at hand, which I foresaw 
 would take me up about two weeks. Wherefore, the 
 day before I was to set out, I went to visit her again, 
 to acquaint her with my journey and excuse my 
 absence; not yet pressing her for an answer, but 
 assuring her, that I felt in myself an increase of aifec- 
 tion to her, and hoped to receive a suitable return from 
 her in the Lord's time ; to whom, in the meanwhile, 
 I committed both her and myself, and the concern 
 between us. And indeed, I found at my return, that 
 I could not have left it in a better hand ; for the Lord 
 had been my advocate in my absence, and had so far 
 answered all her objections, that when I came to her 
 again, she rather acquainted me with them, than urged 
 them. 
 
 " I continued my visits to my best beloved friend, 
 until we married ; which was in the year 1 S69. We 
 took each other in a select meeting, of ths ancient and 
 grave Friends of that country, holden in a Friend's 
 house; where, in those times, not only the Monthly 
 Meeting for church discipline, but the public meeting 
 for worship was som ^times kept. A very solemn meet-
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 23 
 
 ing it was, and in a weighty frame of spirit we were ; in 
 which we sensibly felt the Lord with us, and joining 
 us; the sense whereof remained with us all our life- 
 time, and was of good service and very comfortable to 
 us on all occasions." 
 
 In a year or two after David Ferris was married, 
 the subject of removing from Philadelphia and settling 
 in Wilmington, claimed his attention. He took a lot 
 of ground there, and yet the way did not at once 
 appear clear for him to remove thither, and his wife 
 seemed unwilling to consent. Various exercises at- 
 tended his mind in the consideration of a change of 
 residence, and he thus notes down some general re- 
 flections on the subject : " To move from one place to 
 another, in our own time and will, I believe is a mat- 
 ter of serious consequence. A change of residence 
 appears to me next in importance to marriage, and, 
 therefore, requires the same Divine Wisdom to direct 
 us aright. We may be qualified for service in one 
 place, and by removing to a distance, unless we are 
 directed by unerring counsel, the design of Providence 
 respecting us may be frustrated, and our usefulness 
 lessened." 
 
 Most of those who have taken notice of the things 
 passing around them, have seen instances of persons 
 who have been very useful in one Monthly Meeting, 
 who yet have, on removing 1 -> another, been apparently
 
 24 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 without any qualification for rightly taking part in the 
 discipline of the church. If we are not in our places, 
 we need not expect to find the proper business of our 
 day before us; and we shall look in vain for Divine 
 aid, if we attempt to perform that which rightfully 
 belongs to others. 
 
 At last the way opened clearly for David Ferris to 
 remove to Wilmington. His wife cheerfully acqui- 
 esced, and he felt the comfortable assurance that he 
 had the approbation of his Divine Master in the pro- 
 posed change, and that the Lord's blessing would be 
 with them. He removed in the Third month, 1737, 
 and opened store in that place. Keeping closely to the 
 restraining influence of Divine grace, in his buying 
 and selling, he was directed safely, and, in time, accu- 
 mulated a competence. 
 
 Soon after he had been admitted into membership 
 among Friends, he believed he was called to appear 
 as a minister of the Gospel. This was a very solemn 
 and important call, and he had much reasoning on the 
 matter. From time to time, as he believed himself 
 required to stand up and minister in religious meet- 
 ings, he was not faithful, under the hope that at a 
 future meeting he would have more strength. During 
 a lo'iff-continued time of disobedience, David Ferris 
 
 ct ' 
 
 was favored with many warnings and incitements to 
 faithfulness. The Holy Spirit called him to obedience,
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 25 
 
 as did many of the Lord's servants, who were dipped 
 into a sense of his state ; and sometimes in visions of 
 the night, instruction was administered. He says : 
 
 " One night I dreamed that I saw a large, spacious 
 building in an unfinished state: and the master builder, 
 who appeared an excellent person, came to me, as I 
 stood at a distance, and desired me to go and take a 
 view of it, to which I agreed ; and as we were survey- 
 ing it, and examining the particular parts, I observed 
 that among the many pillars erected for the support of 
 the building, there was one lacking. I queried of him 
 what was the cause of that vacancy. He replied, it 
 was left for me, and that I was specially designed and 
 prepared for the place, and showed me how I fitted it, 
 like a mortise is fitted to its tenon. So that I saw in 
 my dream that all he said was true. But, notwith- 
 standing all this, I objected to my capacity and fitness 
 to fill the vacancy, and was, therefore, unwilling to 
 occupy it. He endeavored, by the most convincing 
 reasons, to remove' all my objections, and to demon- 
 strate that I was fitted for the place. He further told 
 me, that they had not another prepared for it, and that 
 the building would be retarded if I did not comply 
 with the design. After he had reasoned with me a 
 long time, and I still refused, he appeared to be 
 grieved, and told me it was a great pity that I should 
 be rendered useless in the house by my >wn obstinacy; 
 3
 
 26 DAVID FERdlS. 
 
 and then added, ' But it must not be so ; for if thou 
 wilt not be a pillar, thou shalt be a plank for the floor.' 
 He then showed me how I might be flatted and pre- 
 pared for that purpose. But I refused that place also, 
 on the ground that it looked too diminutive to be a 
 plank to be trod upon by all who came into the house. 
 At this the master was troubled, seeing I would accept 
 no place that was offered me ; but, after a long debate, 
 he concluded to leave the propositions he had made, 
 for my further consideration ; and so we parted. 
 
 " The next day I was at a meeting on Long Island, 
 and a concern came heavily upon me to say something 
 that was presented to my mind. The burden of the 
 M 7 ord was weighty, and more difficult to remove than 
 usual ; but I contended with it, and, at length, refused 
 to comply. I was then in company with two women 
 Friends. The following night one of them dreamed 
 that she saw me sitting by a pleasant stream of water ; 
 before me a table was spread with all manner of dain- 
 ties ; but I was chained, so that I could not reach any 
 of them, at which she was troubled, and asked the 
 master of the feast why I was deprived of the liberty 
 to partake of the good things on the table. He an- 
 swered, that the time had been, when, on certain condi- 
 tions, I might have enjoyed them to the full ; but that 
 I had refused the terms, and therefore was now justly 
 deprived of them. She inquired of him whether this
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 27 
 
 must always be my case. He answered, perhaps not ; 
 that if I would yet submit, and comply with the terms, 
 it was not too late to partake of all the good things she 
 saw. The interpretation of this dream, and of mine 
 the night before, was easy and plain. They rested on 
 my mind for several years, as cause of humbling in- 
 struction and excitement to future care, diligence, and 
 obedience." 
 
 Individuals who have been called to the work of 
 the ministry, and have refused obedience, have some- 
 times been left by their Divine Master in a state of 
 darkness, their spiritual vision has been obscured, and 
 they have fallen into the snares of the enemy. 
 
 David Ferris, after rebelling for twenty years against 
 the Divine call to the ministry, at last yielded obedience 
 to the requirings of duty . Comfort Hoag * and Elizabeth 
 Dean, from New England, in the year 1765, attended 
 the Yearly Meeting in Philadelphia, and, when that 
 was over, the meetings generally in these parts. David 
 Ferris accompanied them, and Comfort was dipped 
 into sympathy with him, and felt from meeting to 
 meeting that he was called on to 'speak. " David, why 
 didst thou not preach to-day ? " she asked him, after 
 one of the meetings. He smiled and put by the ques- 
 
 * Comfort Hoag, afterward well known as Comfort Collins, was 
 born about the year 1711, came forth in the ministry at an early 
 age, and continued faithfully laboring in the gift committed to her 
 to a very advanced period of life.
 
 28 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 tion. The next day she again addressed him in the 
 same words. He endeavored to get off without reply- 
 ing, but she told him it was useless to endeavor to 
 evade it; she was assured he ought to have spoken, 
 and his disobedience had almost prevented her service. 
 David then confessed that for twenty years he had 
 been unfaithful in this respect to apprehended duty. 
 Comfort, after expressing her wonder at the depth of 
 Divine kindness still manifest toward one so long in 
 rebellion, administered such counsel and advice on the 
 subject as she was furnished with from the Source of 
 true wisdom. The next day they were again at meet- 
 ing. Once more a call for obedience was made to 
 David. He says : " I again felt a concern to speak to 
 the people, but endeavored to evade it. A man of 
 some note was sitting before me, and this increased my 
 reluctance to speak. I supposed he would not be 
 present at the next meeting, and then I would obey 
 the call of the Lord to that service. Thus I spent the 
 greater part of an hour. At length, my Divine Mas- 
 ter, the great Master Builder, thus addressed me: 
 t Why dost thou still delay, desiring to be excused until 
 a more convenient season? There never will be a 
 better time than this; I have waited on thee above 
 twenty years ; I have clearly made known to thee my 
 will, so that all occasion of doubt has been removed ; 
 yet thou hast refused to submit, until thy day is far
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 29 
 
 spent ; and if thou dost not speedily comply with my 
 commands, it will be too late; thy opportunity will 
 be lost.' I then clearly saw that if I were forsaken, 
 and left to myself, the consequence would be death and 
 darkness forever ! At the sight of the horrible pit 
 that yawned for me, if I continued in disobedience, 
 my body trembled like an aspen-leaf, and my soul was 
 humbled within me ! Then I said, Lord, here am I ; 
 make of me what thou wouldst have me to be ; leave 
 me not in displeasure, I beseech thee. All my power 
 to resist was then suspended ; I forgot the great man 
 that had been in my way, and was raised on my feet I 
 hardly knew how, and expressed, in a clear and dis- 
 tinct manner, what was on my mind. When I had 
 taken my seat, Comfort Hoag rose, and had an open, 
 favorable opportunity to speak to the assembly. After 
 meeting she told me that during the time we had sat 
 in silence, her whole concern was on my account ; that 
 her anxiety for my deliverance from that bondage was 
 such that she was willing to offer up her natural life 
 to the Lord, if it might be a means to bring me forth 
 in the ministry ; and that, on ' making the offering, I 
 rose to speak. On which her anxiety for me was re- 
 moved, and her mind filled with concern for the people 
 present. 
 
 " At that time I was made a real Quaker, and was 
 not ashamed to be seen trembling before the Lord, 
 3*
 
 30 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 Under a sense of so great and merciful a deliverance, 
 I saw and felt ample cause for it. It was with me as 
 with Israel of old, when the Lord caused their captivity 
 to return, saying he would build them as at the first, 
 and they should fear and tremble for all his goodness, 
 and for all the prosperity he would procure for them. 
 My soul rejoiced in the Lord, and I magnified his 
 excellent name, who is worthy of all honor, glory, 
 and renown forever. 
 
 "It appeared to me wonderful that I should thus be 
 lifted out of this horrible pit of my own digging ; and 
 I was so absorbed in the love and mercy of my heav- 
 enly Benefactor, that I was filled with thankfulness 
 and praise, attended with a desire that, in future, I 
 might diligently watch and wait for the pointing of 
 his holy finger to every service he might be pleased to 
 allot me, that so no opportunity might be lost of man- 
 ifesting my gratitude by obedience to his will. My 
 feelings were like those of a prisoner who had been 
 long in bonds and was set at liberty." 
 
 David Ferris was, according to the testimony of his 
 Friends, useful in the ministry, his Gospel labors sound 
 and edifying, and tending to advance the cause of 
 truth and righteousness. Yet they believed his long 
 unfaithfulness had stunted his growth in his gift, and 
 caused him to go in measure halting all the days of 
 his life. In reference to this he says: "Having so
 
 DAVID FERRIS. 31 
 
 long rebelled, I had no reason to expect that I should 
 be so useful as I might have been had I rendered 
 early obedience to the heavenly call. However, it 
 appeared necessary, if little were committed to my 
 care, to be faithful to that little." He had some closely 
 proving dispensations to pass through. At one long- 
 extended period he had no concern to labor in the 
 ministry, and he who had refused to do the Lord's 
 work when called to it, found all ability for service 
 taken away-. He thought, and his friends thought, 
 the gift had been withdrawn. It was, however, the 
 will of his Lord once more to restore it, and to the end 
 of his days he appears to have endeavored to walk in 
 humility and faithfulness. 
 
 He was diligent in the attendance of meetings, and 
 in those for discipline was of good service. He did 
 not allow his temporal affairs to keep him from his 
 meetings, shutting up his shop that he might attend 
 there on week-days. He was religiously concerned to 
 educate his children in the fear of the Lord, and in 
 Christian simplicity and plainness. He was hospitable 
 to his friends, and charitable to the poor. He was 
 tried with bodily weakness and frequent sickness 
 during the last three years of his life, under which he 
 was preserved in much patience. His mind, in the 
 prospect of eternity, appeared tranquil and trustful, 
 and he was enabled to say, "All is well." His
 
 32 DAVID FERRIS. 
 
 Master was with him in his sufferings; and at one 
 time, when he had been sitting in silence with some 
 Friends who had gathered by his bed, he was strength- 
 ened, in the fresh feeling of life, to exclaim, " To me, 
 to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Thus sustained 
 and supported, his close was in peace. His death took 
 place Twelfth month 5th, 1779, he being seventy-two 
 years of age.
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 HUNT, of whom Richard Jordan 
 once said, he was the greatest man North Caro- 
 lina ever held, was born at Manoquacy, in Maryland, 
 in the year 1733. His parents had removed thither 
 from New Jersey. William, very early in life, was 
 made sensible of the visitations of Grace, and submit- 
 ting thereto, had, at eleven years of age, remarkable 
 openings in Divine things. His mind was unusually 
 mature, and he was enabled to perceive that the works 
 of creation and of Providence were full of wonderful 
 harmony. When about fourteen years old he received 
 a gift in the ministry, in which he labored with fer- 
 vency and heart-awakening power the short period 
 allotted him on earth. It has been the will of the 
 Lord Jesus to commit his precious gifts at times to 
 such as are very young, and to make them able min- 
 isters of his Gospel. Some such, having fulfilled their 
 portion of service in his cause on earth, have been 
 gathered home to their heavenly rest, while yet in 
 
 33
 
 34 WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 childhood ; others have been withdrawn from the con- 
 flicts of time in the dawning of manhood ; and a few 
 have remained bright monuments of the Lord's power 
 and goodness, testifying of his Grace and good Spirit, 
 to advanced age. 
 
 George Newland, in his twelfth year, was called to 
 the ministry of the Gospel by the Giver of all spiritual 
 gifts, and was favored to labor in the churches in his 
 native country, Ireland, to the comfort and edification 
 of his elder Friends. His understanding was bright, 
 his life was innocent, his conversation exemplary, and 
 his ministry sound. Six years of labor for his Divine 
 Master were soon over, and then a lingering illness 
 came upon him. He said he had passed through 
 much inward exercise, known only to the Lord and 
 he did not know but he had rather die than live yet 
 he durst not desire death. "I have felt more of the 
 Lord's love to me since I was sick, in a wonderful 
 manner, than ever before. I strove to serve the Lord 
 in my health, and now I reap the benefit of it. I can 
 look forward, and that is a mercy." The sensible evi- 
 dence of the love of God to his soul overcame him, and 
 he said, " Oh ! if the earnest be so precious, what will 
 the fulness be?" With the praises of God on his 
 tongue, and the love of God in his heart, his sickness 
 was stripped of gloom, and the hour of death brought 
 no bitterness of spirit to him. On the 24th of Eighth
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 35 
 
 month, 1708, being then not nineteen years of age, his 
 earthly course was finished, and he went rejoicing to 
 his rest. 
 
 Ellis Lewis of North Wales, in Britain, when a 
 child, being favored with the visitations of Divine 
 love, submitted thereto, and about the thirteenth year 
 of his age appeared in a public testimony to the truth. 
 His first communication was delivered in English, a 
 language to which he was not accustomed, and it was 
 "remarkable and tendering." Having engaged in 
 the service of his Divine Master, faithfully did he 
 labor in the work of the ministry, at home and abroad, 
 adorning, by a holy life and circumspect demeanor, 
 the doctrine he was called and qualified to proclaim 
 and defend. His Master saw meet to continue him 
 long as a bright example of the blessed effects of pre- 
 serving grace upon the willing and obedient; and 
 being full of love to the brethren, and clothed with 
 the meekness and gentleness which adorn the Christian 
 mind, he laid down his head in peace in the Eleventh 
 month, 1764. He was then eighty-seven years old, 
 and had been in the ministry seventy-four years. 
 
 Robert Barclay's daughter Christiana, in her four- 
 teenth year was engaged to labor in calling others to 
 repentance ; and thus she continued to her seventy-first 
 year, when, her labor on earth being over, she received 
 the welcome message, " Come, ye blessed of my Father,
 
 36 WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
 tion of the world." 
 
 Many members of our Society, in their fourteenth, 
 fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth years, have been 
 constrained to enter into the Gospel field of labor, and 
 to preach with power and authority the universality 
 of the love of God, the heart-cleansing visitations of 
 his grace, the holy certainty and saving efficacy of that 
 Divine Light which lighteth every man which cometh 
 into the world. Whether these died young, in the me- 
 ridian of life, or in advanced age, they never regretted 
 having given up the bloom of their youth to the Lord's 
 service. James Parnell and Edward Burrough 
 youthful martyrs in the cause of Truth and righteous- 
 ness died in prison. "What to them, in the hour of 
 death, was the suffering their cruel enemies had inflicted 
 on them ? 
 
 In that hour, James Parnell could say, " I die inno- 
 cently." "I have seen glorious things." Edward 
 Burrough, after praying for his persecutors, in a sweet 
 feeling of acceptance with God, declared, "Though 
 this body of clay must turn to dust, yet I have this 
 testimony, that I have served God in my generation, 
 and that Spirit which hath lived, and acted, and ruled 
 in me, shall yet break forth in thousands." 
 
 It would_. break too much upon this sketch of Wil- 
 liam Hunt's life, to tell of many of those early dedi-
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 37 
 
 cated ones who like him were led to traverse sea and 
 land to fulfil their Master's bidding, and who, being 
 faithful to the close, were crowned with a happy and 
 trustful death. Most of these instances occurred in the 
 earlier periods of our Society, but not entirely so. The 
 Lord's precious gifts are bestowed, and his merciful 
 calls are yet extended to the very young, and some of 
 them, even in these days, have been strengthened to 
 proclaim his goodness to others. And why should not 
 the call to the ministry be given as early now as in 
 former days ? Why should not the Lord's power be 
 manifested or break forth through the labors of as 
 youthful instruments ? Surely, if the instances be few, 
 it is only for want of dedication in the visited children, 
 and the deadening influence of the example of those in 
 elder years. 
 
 William Hunt travelled much in the work of the 
 ministry, and being watchfully attentive to the open- 
 ings of Truth on his mind, he was enabled to preach in 
 the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. His 
 vigorous intellect was sanctified by Divine Grace. 
 Wisdom in him seemed in advance of experience, and 
 in early youth he exhibited the ripeness of maturity. 
 When Herman Husbands departed from the principles 
 of our Society, and sought greater liberty in doctrine 
 than the Truth allowed, William Hunt was his most 
 unflinching opponent. He did not deem that it was 
 4 
 
 302249
 
 38 WILLIAM HUNT, 
 
 detraction to unfold the tmsoundness of those who 
 were likely to lead others astray ; neither did he think 
 it a breach of Christian charity to withstand them with 
 true-hearted zeal. 
 
 About the commencement of the year 1767, William 
 Hunt felt a concern to visit Friends both to the south 
 and to the north, and he believed it would be right 
 for Zachariah Dicks, also of North Carolina, to accom- 
 pany him. Under this conviction he wrote the follow- 
 ing letter to that Friend : 
 
 "DEAR FRIEND, Not having an opportunity to 
 converse, I send thee this ambassador, to convey some 
 fruit I lately got from the holy land, a little spikenard 
 and myrrh, the choice spices with which our Lord was 
 anointed before he passed through that painful dispen- 
 sation of suffering. My mind had been in a true calm 
 and profound quiet for some days, free from sorrowing 
 and tempest of any kind ; so that I was ready to con- 
 clude I should have no more to do, but sometimes to 
 eat this pleasant fruit and drink of the well that stands 
 in the midst of the court of God. But as I was thus 
 musing, with deep admiration and humble adoration to 
 the Great Name that had thus brought me through all 
 my great and sore trials, which the Lord knows were 
 many and grievous to be borne, I thought I espied a 
 little spring, like unto that thou knowest lies under the 
 threshold of the house of God, and it ran toward the 
 south, and pointed toward the north, like the glancing 
 of a candle by a glass window, [intimating] that some
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 39 
 
 of these fruits must be conveyed to some of those 
 inhabitants. And as I apprehend thou art a chosen 
 companion to me of God, in the moving of that en- 
 dearing love and good -will which hath subsisted be- 
 tween us from the beginning, I give thee a hint to 
 the end thou mayest keep steady under the preparing 
 hand, that when the full time is come thou mayest gird 
 on the vestments of war, and appear as a soldier well 
 disciplined therein. I am at all times, and in all 
 things, thy assured Friend, WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 On the 25th of Fourth month, 1767, the meeting 
 at New Garden in North Carolina furnished William 
 Hunt and Zachariah Dicks with certificates of unity 
 with their prospect of religious service. They were 
 together at the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia, to- 
 ward the close of the Ninth month of that year, soon 
 after which Zachariah Dicks believed it was in accord- 
 ance with the will of his Divine Master for him to 
 return to his home. William Hunt continued his 
 travels to the north. Perhaps it was during this 
 journey that he made use of an expression which has 
 been often repeated. " My concern is to be devoted to 
 the service of Christ so fully, that I may not spend 
 one minute in pleasing myself." 
 
 Great was his labor as he travelled from place to 
 place. Though he was often engaged to minister at a 
 considerable length, yet the powerful baptizing influ- 
 ence which accompanied the word preached, so efiV-
 
 40 . WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 tually reached the hearers that they listened with 
 unwearied attention. The plainness with which he 
 reproved them, the blows of the "sharp threshing- 
 instrument" which his Master put into his hands, did 
 not offend them. Those who were desirous of doing 
 right were glad to hear of their faults, and anxious 
 that the whole counsel of God should be shown them ; 
 and those who were lukewarm realized the truth of a 
 saying of Robert Walker, " People love to hear preach- 
 ing, but they do not love the cross." In regard to the 
 line of labor in which he was led, and the close rebukes 
 he had to administer, William said, " Most of my 
 work is rough ; but rough work brings good pay, if it 
 is well done." 
 
 In the Second month, 1768, William Hunt, at a 
 Monthly Meeting held at Flushing, Long Island, 
 having spoken largely to the states of Friends assem- 
 bled, felt his mind clothed with a concern that slavery 
 should be abolished. Toward the close of his testi- 
 mony, after expressing his desire that all the poor 
 oppressed African bondmen and women should be set 
 at liberty, he said, " I verily believe the jubilee year 
 is at hand, and I desire those that have slaves may not 
 put it off for their children to set them at liberty ; for 
 we know not what our children may prove to be. I 
 earnestly desire that none may put it off beyond the 
 appointed time ; for if they do, I am firmly of tho
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 41 
 
 mind they will be plagued, as sure as ever Egypt was 
 for retaining Israel." 
 
 During the time that William Hunt was on his 
 journey to the north he wrote the following letter, 
 addressed to James and Ann Mitchell : 
 
 " SALEM, near Boston, 13th of Twelfth mo., 1767. 
 
 "DEARLY BELOVED FRIENDS, Precious in the 
 sight of the Lord is the fellowship of his children, and 
 sweet their remembrance one of another, because the 
 odor of his ointment sends forth a fragrant smell. This 
 my joy is full in every remembrance of you, in that love 
 which first gave birth to the covenant of life in our 
 spirits, making them truly one, in the pure hope and 
 feeling of Gospel power. In this we have had a near 
 union and sympathy, with full assurance that the Lord 
 Almighty hath called us out of darkness into the true 
 light of his dear Son, through whom we have seen won- 
 derful things and unutterable. We have likewise sor- 
 rowfully to behold the deluge of apostasy that covers 
 our Sion, as with a thick cloud. But, dear Friends, in 
 Goshen there is light, which makes the dwellings of 
 Jacob beautiful, and the tents of Israel goodly. . . . 
 
 " This day, as I sat in meeting, a language passed 
 through my mind, ' Hasten, hasten to visit my seed 
 through the land, that thou may go where I send thee.' 
 Whether this be to the grave, or to a distant land, I 
 leave ; only petition the great Name to preserve me 
 worthy to do all that he hath allotted me, so that I 
 may be fit to be gathered home in due season. 
 
 " Dear youth, the affectionate feeling of my spirit 
 4*
 
 42 WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 toward you I shall never forget, but often fervently 
 desire that you may come into the house of the Lord, 
 to behold the beauty of true holiness forever. I con- 
 clude with mine and companion's dear love, your often 
 very poor, but true friend, WILLIAM HUNT." 
 
 Some years before the Revolution, William Hunt 
 had, in common with many other Friends, a deep and 
 settled conviction that a time of trial and suffering was 
 coming on America. On the 18th of Second month, 
 1770, being at a meeting at Centre, in South Carolina, 
 he was earnestly engaged in exhorting those present to 
 examine the foundation on which they were building 
 before a time of trial came ; adding, " The Lord will 
 visit this land with his judgments, and then it will be, 
 known who hath built upon the sure foundation, and 
 who hath not. In that time of deep trial, the hypo- 
 crites, formalists, and nominal Quakers will not only 
 suffer, but many will perish and come to nought; 
 while those who have built upon the sure Rock of 
 Ages will be preserved by him in the midst of these 
 trials, as it were in the hollow of his hand. There 
 are many grown, and now within the audience of my 
 voice, that shall see these times come." 
 
 In the testimony concerning Susanna Lightfoot we 
 are informed, that at " divers meetings " previous to 
 the breaking out of the American Revolution, she 
 proclaimed, in an awful manner, that a stormy day
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 43 
 
 was approaching a day which would shake the 
 foundations of men, and in which many of the formal 
 professors in our Society would be blown away. 
 
 William Hunt was again on a religious visit in the 
 northern provinces in 1770. He attended the Monthly 
 Meeting of Philadelphia on the 26th of Fourth mouth 
 in that year, and, during the sitting for discipline, said, 
 " The man's part, the creaturely part, has no right to 
 meddle with the business of the Monthly Meeting; 
 neither can it do any good." 
 
 In the year 1771, William Hunt paid a religious 
 visit to Friends in Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 William Hunt and Thomas Thornburg, about the 
 close of Seventh month, 1772, went to Holland, ac- 
 companied by Samuel Emlen and Morris Birkbeck. 
 After visiting the Friends there, he embarked for 
 Scarborough, but by stress of contrary winds, not being 
 able to reach that place, he was landed at Shields on the 
 25th of the Eighth month. The next afternoon he 
 went to the house of James King, near New Castle, 
 where on the 28th he was taken ill. On the fourth day 
 of his sickness the disorder appeared to be the small- 
 pox, and William, addressing his companion, said, " This 
 sickness is nigh unto death, if not quite." On Thomas 
 Thornburg saying he hoped it might not be so, Wil- 
 liam continued, " My coming hither seems to me prov- 
 idential, and when I wait, I am enclosed, and see no
 
 44 WILLIAM HUNT. 
 
 farther." He said at one time, "One would wonder 
 all the world does not seek after a quiet mind it is 
 such a treasure now." He was full of peace, and not- 
 withstanding the distressing nature of his complaint 
 he manifested no impatience nothing but resignation 
 to the Lord's will. In the fulness of contented faith 
 he exclaimed, " It is enough ; my Master is here." A 
 Friend saying we might find cause of thankfulness in 
 all our afflictions, he said, "Great cause indeed. I 
 never saw it clearer. Oh the wisdom ! the wisdom 
 and goodness the mercy and kindness, has appeared 
 to me wonderful; and the farther and deeper we go, 
 the more we wonder. I have admired, since I was cast 
 on this bed, that all the world does not seek after the 
 enjoyment of Truth, it so far transcends all other 
 things." Thus patiently he endured the disease that 
 lay heavily upon him ; being always hopeful, and some- 
 times rejoicing in hope, and making inward melody to 
 the Lord. Just before his close he triumphantly ex- 
 claimed, " Friends, Truth reigns over all ! " 
 
 Thus died William Hunt. He was of a meek and 
 retiring spirit, yet was sharp in opposing error, and 
 unbending in support of the Truth. He was an exam- 
 ple of patient, silent waiting in meeting for the arising 
 of life, and a skilful divider of the word, when the 
 Lord called him to minister. To the babes in Christ, 
 his doctrine dropped as the rain on the tender grass ; to
 
 WILLIAM HUNT. 45 
 
 the self-willed and unfaithful, the backsliding and re- 
 bellious, the word in his mouth was as a two-edged 
 sword. Although but in his thirty-ninth year, he 
 stood as an elder in experience and stability, even as a 
 father in the church, worthy of double honor.
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 T\UE,ING the period of the American Revolution, 
 and for many years after, a neatly built man of 
 slender person, and a light, quick step, might have been 
 often seen treading the streets of Philadelphia. His 
 dress was generally of a drab color, and very neatly 
 made. When the weather rendered an overcoat neces- 
 sary, he wore one of a dark mixture, which he was 
 wont to keep folded over his breast, by the pressure of 
 his left arm. This man was Samuel Emlen. Some- 
 times, while passing along the street at his usual quick 
 pace, he would suddenly fall into a slower motion, and 
 his steps almost cease. On such occasions he would 
 frequently turn into some neighboring dwelling; and 
 soon sometimes while still in the entry commence 
 ministering in Gospel power, and in the true spirit of 
 prophetic discernment, to those within. 
 
 This man was considered the seer of that day. So re- 
 markably was he at times favored with an insight into 
 the character and condition of those he met with, that 
 
 46
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 47 
 
 many who were conscious of secretly withstanding the 
 operations of grace in their hearts, were afraid to meet 
 him. Many instances are recorded of his quickness in 
 detecting, and promptness in rebuking evil. A young 
 man of a high, proud, self-sufficient spirit, has recorded 
 in a letter, a short sermon preached to him by Samuel 
 Emlen. His residence was near the northern line of 
 Pennsylvania, but being in Philadelphia, he called at 
 the counting-house of an elder of the Northern District 
 Monthly Meeting, where he found this man of spiritual 
 discernment sitting by himself. As he drew near, 
 Samuel, whose eyesight was very defective, perhaps 
 thinking he was some one with whom he was ac- 
 quainted, thus addressed him : " Who art thou of lofty 
 stature ? " By the time these words were uttered, he 
 was dipped into the state of the young man, and with- 
 out waiting for an answer, continued his discourse, 
 " An empty vine, thou bringest forth fruit unto thy- 
 self! " A few more sharp, pithy sentences, followed. 
 Most emphatically true was this character, given by a 
 man who from outward information knew him not. 
 He brought forth fruit to himself, in a youth charac- 
 terized by a headstrong following of his own inclina- 
 tions; and he brought forth fruit unto himself, in a 
 maturity of disgraceful servitude to the love of strong 
 drink. 
 
 Samuel Emlen was born in Philadelphia, on tbe
 
 48 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 fifteenth day of the First month, 1730. His parents, 
 having themselves submitted to the restraints of reli- 
 gion the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ felt the 
 obligation of endeavoring to preserve their children 
 from evil. As ability was furnished them from above, 
 they labored for the good of their offspring, seeking to 
 bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord. The temptations of Satan were presented to 
 the mind of the youthful Samuel, and in measure 
 obtained some hold there ; yet, through the watchful 
 care of his friends, and the preserving grace of the 
 Most High, he was kept from gross evils. Very early 
 in life he was acquainted with the visitations of the 
 Holy Spirit, very early did he love inward commu- 
 nion with his Maker, and receive instruction in heav- 
 enly things. 
 
 He was blessed with excellent natural gifts. As a 
 scholar he was apt, and especially in the acquisition 
 of languages, being acquainted with Latin and Greek, 
 besides several of the tongues spoken by the modern 
 nations of Europe. He was thus qualified in after-life 
 to address foreigners in their own language, when he 
 was sent among them by the. Bestower of all spiritual 
 gifts, to preach in Gospel power the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ. 
 
 After receiving his education, he was placed as an 
 apprentice in the counting-house of James Pemberton,
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 49 
 
 where he acquired a knowledge of mercantile business ; 
 but having a sufficient patrimonial estate, he never 
 engaged in trade on his own account. Soon after he 
 arrived at manhood, he accompanied Michael Light- 
 foot to the meetings of Friends in Virginia and North 
 Carolina. In 1756, he paid his first visit to Europe, 
 sailing in a vessel for Ireland, with Catharine Payton 
 and Mary Peisley, who were returning from religious 
 labor in America, and with his relative, Abraham Far- 
 rington, who was going to visit the churches in Great 
 Britain. In Ireland he accompanied his cousin to 
 many meetings, and while with him first spoke as a 
 minister. He returned to America in 1758. It is 
 needless, in this brief sketch, to trace his labors mi- 
 nutely ; but we may say, that he subsequently visited 
 England six times, in only two instances remaining 
 over two years. 
 
 Samuel Emlen was of a cheerful temper, and having 
 his memory stored with interesting anecdotes which 
 in conversation he freely brought forth his society 
 was very pleasant to young people. 
 
 Of the many anecdotes told of the spirit of discern- 
 ment which characterized him, we may relate a few. 
 A valuable Friend, a member of another Monthly 
 Meeting, paying a visit to Philadelphia, brought his 
 son with him. The young man, having heard that 
 Samu *1 Emlen could see into the inward state and con- 
 5
 
 50 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 dition of those he was with, was particularly desirous 
 of avoiding an interview, having, as he thought, suf- 
 ficient reasons for not liking to be seen just as he was. 
 The father attended the Northern District Meeting, to 
 which Samuel Emlen belonged, and the son could not 
 refuse to accompany him, although he felt no little 
 fear at the prospect of being in the same house with 
 this discerner of spirits. He kept, however, as far 
 from the gallery as possible, and felt comforted at the 
 close of the meeting, that he had so far escaped a pub- 
 lic rebuke. But he soon found cause for fresh unea- 
 siness ; for Samuel Emlen kept close to his father, 
 and said, when the latter accepted an invitation to 
 dine with William Savery, " I will go along." Din- 
 ner passed sociably and pleasantly, and when the com- 
 pany afterward gathered into the parlor, the young 
 man took the farthest corner of the room from the 
 spot where the object of his dread had located himself. 
 All his plannings, however, were in vain. Soon 
 Samuel fell into silence, and the word of exhortation 
 and reproof was put into his mouth, He addressed 
 himself at once to the trembling youth, with such a 
 soul-searching testimony as unveiled all that the latter 
 most wished to be hidden. But there was consolation 
 as well as rebuke in the testimony, and holy resolutions 
 were awakened, which, through the Lord's assistance, 
 were measrrably kept.
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 51 
 
 We have alluded to the dimness of outward vision 
 of this extraordinarily gifted man. We have also 
 spoken of his inward quickness of perception. The 
 following anecdote shows that his inward sense was 
 more to be depended on for direction than the outward 
 sight of others. 
 
 A Friend, late a valuable elder in this city, when 
 young in years, waited on a stranger somewhat ad- 
 vanced in life, to pay Samuel Emlen a visit. While 
 sitting together, Samuel fell into silence, became reli- 
 giously exercised, and soon began to preach powerfully 
 to the state of some person young in years. There were 
 but three persons in the room, and the youthful elder 
 knew that the communication was fitted to neither of 
 them. He became nervous and uneasy. He thought his 
 spiritually gifted friend had for once made a mistake. 
 At last, as Samuel continued his discourse, his uneasi- 
 ness became so great he could no longer retain his seat. 
 He arose and quietly approached the half-opened door 
 to make his escape, when he perceived standing behind 
 it, in the adjoining room, a young man weeping bit- 
 terly. Relieved of all his faithless fears, the elder 
 returned to his seat with the substance of this text 
 impressed on his mind : " The testimony of Jesus is 
 the spirit of prophecy." 
 
 Samuel Emlen and his friend George Dillwyn often 
 travelled together in great spiritual oneness, it being
 
 52 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 their lot many times in Europe as well as America to 
 be led to the same meetings, and to labor in harmo- 
 nious' exercise. At one time, while they were sitting 
 together in a meeting in London, in which George 
 Dillwyn had been under great concern of mind, in a 
 feeling that he was preparing for religious service, but 
 knew not where it was to be performed, Samuel turned 
 round to him and said, as if answering a question, 
 " Thou must go with me to Holland." He who had 
 been fitting George for the labor had prepared Samuel 
 for a similar work, and unfolded to him the service to 
 which they were called. The whole matter was now 
 clear to both. They joined together, and, with the 
 unity of their friends, visited the land whereto they 
 were called, to their own peace and the edification of 
 the gathered church and many other seeking minds 
 there. 
 
 Samuel Emlen was sitting one day at a window 
 in Burlington, Avhich overlooked a tavern yard, where 
 a number of persons were entering. The minister 
 was too blind to see their countenances, but in the fresh 
 putting forth of Gospel power, he commenced speak- 
 ing, " I have a message to thee, O captain ! " One 
 of the company, who was a captain, gazed at the 
 speaker Avith much earnest interest, astonished at such 
 a salutation. Samuel immediately continued, " I have 
 a message from God to thee, O captain!" Having
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 53 
 
 thus drawn attention, the Gospel message flowed freely 
 to the startled hearer. So effectually did it reach his 
 state, that it was the means, in the hands of Provi- 
 dence, of opening his spiritual eyes to see the things 
 belonging to his soul's peace, and from that time a 
 change took place. He witnessed true repentance and 
 amendment of life, and was himself concerned to call 
 others to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had had mercy 
 upon him. 
 
 His friends testify of Samuel Emlen, that he was a 
 man fearing God and hating covetousness. He was 
 no bigot, but he was a close reprover of those who, to 
 shun the cross, were following the vain fashions, cus- 
 toms, and opinions of the world. He was often drawn 
 to condemn the eager pursuit of riches, and yet he was 
 constrained to encourage honest industry within the 
 limitation of Truth. When engaged in the most lively 
 conversation, he seemed ever on the watch for the open- 
 ings of the Holy Spirit, and ever ready to drop a word 
 in season. Although different in many respects, yet 
 in fervent dedication he resembled our late dear friend, 
 Sarah Cresson, who once observed, that when entering 
 into company, she never was free to engage in general 
 conversation until she had first felt inwardly to know 
 whether her Master had anything for her to do there. 
 
 Samuel Emlen was a true comforter to those who 
 were dedicating themselves to the Lord's work. His
 
 54 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 wisdom and his knowledge were great, and through 
 Divine favor he seemed almost always furnished with 
 a word in season for them. Job Scott very truly char- 
 acterizes him in a letter to a Friend : " Mention, if thou 
 pleasest, my love to my dear friend, Samuel Emlen. 
 His kindness is heartily and thankfully acknowledged. 
 I know he is a hearty lover of the blessed cause, and 
 therein his reward will not fail him. Except that, I 
 know no probability of his getting any. But that 
 being almost his whole delight, I conclude he wants no 
 other." 
 
 That honest elder, Increase Woodward, of Cross- 
 wicks, N. J., who deceased Sixth month 1st, 1822, in 
 the eighty-first year of her age, has this passage in 
 her diary: " Dear old Samuel Emlen, in his usual sal- 
 utations, generally had something to say to the state of 
 those he met with." She then says he told her one 
 day, that her last days would be her best days. This 
 she acknowledges had been verified at the time she 
 wrote the account. It was also her happy experience 
 to the end of her life, when she was enabled, in peace 
 and faith, to yield up her spirit in the confidence of 
 exchanging this earthly scene of trial for the joys of 
 heaven. 
 
 In the year 1793, William Lewis, of Bristol, Eng- 
 land, a serious seeker after righteousness, who had 
 been led by the dispensations of Divine Providence, to
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 55 
 
 feel and acknowledge the truth of many of the princi- 
 ples and testimonies of the Society of Friends, was 
 brought under close exercise in reference to the adop- 
 tion of plainness in his attire, manners, and language. 
 Like many other individuals who dislike to bear the 
 cross which a non-conformity with the customs of the 
 world imposes, he found arguments against obedience. 
 He gives an interesting account of the manner in 
 which he was led to feel the importance of faithfulness 
 in the maintenance of these testimonies. As respects 
 using the plain language he says, " The very idea of a 
 change in this particular, caused such a shrinking, and 
 almost dread of mind, as induced an attempt to sift 
 and prove groundless their arguments in proof of its 
 being a genuine Christian testimony against that cor- 
 ruption in speech, which, as to the letter, I could not 
 deny to be very evident, in that commonly adopted. 
 .... The first passage that met, and arrested my 
 attention, was the apostolic injunction to be in the use 
 of 'sound speech that cannot be condemned.' This 
 pressed and pinched in some degree at first, but I got 
 from under its weight by reasoning after this manner. 
 Sound! that is surely so, which, proceeding from a 
 heart without rottenness and divested of all deceit, 
 seeks not to leave a false impression on the minds of 
 hearers. But 'hold fast the form of sound words/ 
 came from the same authority, and appeared to incul-
 
 56 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 caie that substantial rectitude of heart, with every 
 other effect of the Light of Christ therein, should 
 shine forth in its native garb before others, and that in 
 the real possession of Truth inwardly, every appear- 
 ance of evil must be abstained from outwardly. This, 
 for a time, lay with more weight than the former ; but 
 at length, appeared to contain, in substance, nothing 
 that added to its force. I came at last to the Lord's 
 message unto his people through the prophet Malachi, 
 charging them with such withholding, as was even 
 robbery in his sight, and which was committed by 
 keeping back l tithes and offerings.' Reflecting upon 
 this charge, and remembering that in these offerings, 
 mint, anise, etc., were included, things as insignificant 
 in themselves, when compared with the weighty mat- 
 ters of the law, as a form of sound words could be to 
 substantial truth in the inward parts, and yet that 
 Divine wisdom made them of such importance as to 
 condemn those who refused compliance with what was 
 enjoined respecting them, in the awful manner noticed, 
 
 I began to fear I say, to feai that Friends were 
 
 right ; and that it was my duty, as an individual, to 
 join them in testimony against the corruptions crept 
 into modern language, and to go back to the primitive 
 simplicity and plainness of speech. A sore exercise 
 of mind now took place, and while under it, falling in
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 57 
 
 company with a ministering Friend from America, a 
 communication from his lips was a seal thereto." 
 
 This minister was Samuel Emlen ; and of those assem- 
 bled on the occasion William Lewis refers to, some had 
 departed from and given up the testimonies of Friends. 
 Samuel spoke to this import : " Robbery, robbery ! it is 
 a crime of no small magnitude with respect to things 
 pertaining to men ; how great then is its turpitude, 
 when the rights of the Most High are invaded, and the 
 creature holds back what is due to the Creator ! Some 
 of old were charged with this atrocity ; they had the 
 impudence to query, Wherein? but an answer was 
 ready, ' In tithes and offerings.' " Samuel enlarged on 
 the subject, and addressed a person present. -At the 
 close of his testimony he inquired who William Lewis 
 was. On being informed, he addressed this short ser- 
 mon to him : " Well, William ! bring all the tithes 
 into the store-house." This communication, in connec- 
 tion with his previous exercises, had a powerfully con- 
 vincing effect on the listener's mind. He gave up to 
 what he believed to be the Truth, and meekly bore the 
 cross his Master laid upon him. After a time he was 
 admitted into the Society of Friends, received a gift in 
 the ministry, and walking in the Light, experienced 
 sweet fellowship with the brethren, and the favor of his 
 Divine Master, to the close of his life. 
 
 Well would it be if our members who are inconsist-
 
 58 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 ent in their attire, were brought to participate in that 
 kind of feeling which troubled Thomas Ellwood, when 
 he heard a persecutor of Friends say of him, because 
 he wore a high black velvet cap, " Let him alone ; 
 don't meddle with him ; he is no Quaker, I '11 warrant 
 you." This, he says, was worse to him than if they 
 had beaten him as they did the Friends, and put him 
 out of conceit of his cap. If those who profess to be 
 Quakers, and yet do not conform to the testimonies of 
 the Society, were blessed with a sound, discriminating 
 judgment, they would not fail to perceive the incongru- 
 ity of their conduct. People who are not members 
 among Friends, have often a keen appreciation of 
 what consistency requires. Robert Nesbitt, in 1791, 
 while laboring in the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia, 
 told an anecdote to this effect. During the war of the 
 American Revolution, a member of the Society of 
 Friends was laid hold on by a body of soldiers, who 
 told him that he must go with them to the war ; in 
 other words, join the army. His clothes were no index 
 to a peaceable profession, or he would not have been 
 disturbed. He told the soldiers, however, that he was 
 a Quaker, and could not fight. " You a Quaker ! " 
 said they; "you have not got the marks of one." 
 Howerfr, on his repeated assurance that he was a 
 QuaV.cr, aii'3 earnest solicitation to be released, they let 
 him go, but not before they had cut off his hair, which
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 59 
 
 he wore tied behind, his cross-pockets, and large fash- 
 ionable buttons thus in a smmmary way reducing 
 him somewhat nearer to their idea of the true standard 
 of Quaker plainness than he had before exhibited. 
 
 We have spoken of Samuel Emlen's knowledge of 
 languages. On one occasion, in his public ministry of 
 the Gospel, he addressed a learned audience in Latin ; 
 and during his travels on the continent of Europe, his 
 French and German were frequently called into exer- 
 cise. During one of his visits in England, a female in 
 his presence, amused herself highly with his primitive 
 dress and diminutive person. Speaking in French, she 
 thought the object of her ridicule, though perhaps con- 
 scious that she was laughing at him, was yet ignorant 
 of what she was saying. At last she closed her foolish 
 remarks about him with, " I wonder if it can talk ? " 
 " Yes," said Samuel, turning his intelligent eye on her, 
 " Yes, it can talk a little Latin, a little Greek, a little 
 Hebrew, a little Spanish, a little German. Which of 
 these wouldst thou like to converse in ? " Samuel 
 Emlen's reproof was felt by the poor girl, and in her 
 confusion she was fain to betake herself to the quiet- 
 ness which became her. She was no doubt more care- 
 ful in future in her speeches about others, and perhaps 
 had a conviction impressed upon her mind, that sim- 
 plicity in dress and manners was no proof of feeble 
 intellect or limited knowledge. Those who are accus-
 
 60 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 tomed to speak their minds freely, had need to be very 
 watchful, before they draw up the floodgates of re- 
 straint, and let out the pent-up stream of thought, 
 opinion, and prejudice. Many an individual has unin- 
 tentionally hurt the feelings of others, and many have 
 brought on themselves severe rebukes for want of 
 attending to this. 
 
 Samuel Emlen was fervent in his public ministra- 
 tions. His voice was clear and harmonious, and his 
 labors acceptable to Friends and others, being accom- 
 panied with baptizing power. His constitution was 
 infirm, and his bodily afflictions often rendered travel- 
 ling trying to him. But although very frequently un- 
 well, he was yet generally able to be moving about, 
 visiting the sick and afflicted, for which service he was 
 remarkably qualified. He could enter into sympathy 
 with them, he could console them with the precious 
 promises of Him, whom he had found to be a faith- 
 ful High Priest, touched with a feeling of our infirmi- 
 ties. During one of his visits in England, being very 
 ill, he made use of this expression, which, while it 
 manifested his humility, sets forth the ground on which 
 his soul reposed : " Thanks be to the Lord, for the 
 hope I have in his mercy ! " 
 
 Many of Samuel Emlen's letters are very instructive 
 and interesting, containing pithy passages worthy of 
 preservation. Those composed during the latter years
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 61 
 
 of his life were written by others at his dictation, be- 
 cause of his inability to see ; yet he generally endeav- 
 ored to sign his name to them. In one dated Seventh 
 month 7th, 1794, addressed to his fellow-townswoman, 
 Sarah Harrison, then in England on a religious visit, 
 and to her companion, Sarah Birkbeck, is this passage : 
 " My hope is that mercy and goodness will follow her 
 [Sarah Harrison] for present comfort and support, and 
 that at last she will be found, through adorable conde- 
 scension, worthy to dwell in the house of the Lord our 
 God forever and ever ; the prospect of which should 
 be powerfully encouraging in a care to learn that ex- 
 alted anthem, ' Thy will be done, O Father who art in 
 heaven ! ' I wish dear Sarah Birkbeck preserved from 
 sacrilege, that she may not be a robber of churches 
 as she goes along, but obedient to holy commandment, 
 giving unto the people that they may eat, without im- 
 properly adverting to the quantity or quality of that 
 which may be intrusted to her by the good Lord of 
 the family." 
 
 Toward the close of his life, though his weakness of 
 body increased, and his pains augmented, yet were hi? 
 spiritual faculties in lively exercise, and his industry 
 in the fulfilment of his religious duties, whether of a 
 public or private nature, continued unabated. He had 
 the assurance, he said, that he must shortly put off this 
 
 earthly tabernacle, and he desired to be found at bis 
 6
 
 62 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 post of duty, with his loins girded and his light 
 burning. 
 
 In the year 1798, he first became affected with 
 spasms in the arm and chest ; these were believed to 
 be of a gouty character. Attacks of this nature, al- 
 though very violent while they lasted, were soon over, 
 and did not confine him to his house many hours at a 
 time. In the summer of 1799, while on a visit to his 
 son Samuel, who resided near Burlington, he thought 
 himself sensible of a slight paralysis. Its effects were 
 quite transient ; and on his return to Philadelphia, he 
 resumed, at the promptings of love and duty, his visits 
 of Christian benevolence. 
 
 In the Twelfth month of that year the gouty spasms 
 became more frequent, yet he still ventured to meeting. 
 On First-day, the 15th of that month, he attended his 
 own meeting, (the Northern District,) and was engaged 
 in earnest fervent labor in the ministry of the Gos- 
 pel of life and salvation. As his service was about 
 terminating, he felt himself suddenly taken very ill. 
 He leaned against the rail of the gallery for support, 
 not knowing but that his last hour was come ; and 
 then with much feeling he uttered the lines of Addi- 
 son. 
 
 "My life, if thou preservest my life, 
 
 Thy sacrifice shall be ; 
 And death, if death should be my doom, 
 Shall join my soul to thee."
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 63 
 
 The Friends assembled perceived that Samuel was 
 ill, and the meeting closed. He was conveyed to a 
 neighboring dwelling, where he soon partially recov- 
 ered. The next day he attended the morning meeting 
 of ministers and elders, and on Third-day was at his 
 weekday meeting. At this meeting he was raised up 
 in Gospel power and authority to set forth the excel- 
 lency of that faith which is the saint's victory, and 
 which is sufficient to overcome the world. .This was 
 the last public opportunity he had to advocate the 
 cause of his Divine Master, which had been for nearly 
 half a century so precious to him. His weakness and 
 sufferings continued to increase, yet in the midst of 
 his afflictions of body, he was cheerful in mind, and 
 gladly received the visits of his friends. 
 
 Some of his beloved fellow-laborers in the Gospel of 
 Christ Jesus being with him, he said : " Remember, 
 ' Ye have not chosen me ; but I have chosen you, and 
 ordained you, that ye should go, and bring forth fruit, 
 and that your fruit should remain.' " 
 
 The attributes of the Almighty seemed ever before 
 him, and he frequently acknowledged, with thankful 
 emotions, the rich consolation administered to his soul. 
 These passages were uttered by him, in melodious 
 tones : " Their sin and their iniquities will I remem- 
 ber no more." " I will cast all their sins behind my 
 back.' " Ye shall have a song, as in the night, when 
 
 !
 
 64 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as 
 when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain 
 of the Lord." " Oh, the tears of holy joy which flow 
 down my cheeks ! Sing praises, high praises to my 
 God ! I feel nothing in my way. Although my con- 
 duct through life has not been in every respect as 
 guarded as it might have been, yet the main bent of 
 my mind has been to serve thee, O God, who art glo- 
 rious in holiness, and fearful in praises ! I am sure I 
 have loved godliness and hated iniquity." 
 
 It was not until the day before his death that he 
 confined himself to his chamber, and even on that day 
 he sat up and enjoyed the conversation of his friends. 
 He made mention of many absent ones who were dear 
 to him, and expressed his fervent desires to the God of 
 all grace for their preservation and growth in the 
 Truth. He said he ,felt a portion of that love fo? 
 them which was stronger than death. 
 
 Serene and peaceful, he seemed in a state of mind 
 well befitting one about entering a happy immortality. 
 In this condition he retired to rest, about ten o'clock 
 in the evening, easy in body and in holy tranquillity 
 of soul. He fell into a sweet sleep, which lasted about 
 one hour, and was succeeded by a violent return of 
 pain, which resisted all efforts at alleviation. After 
 the physician had done all that seemed likely to be 
 aseful, without effect, Samuel desired that nothing
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN. 65 
 
 more might be attempted, saying, "All I want is 
 heaven ; Lord, receive my spirit." " My pain is great. 
 My God, grant me patience, humble, depending pa- 
 tience." " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will 
 deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." " Oh, how 
 precious a thing it is to feel the Spirit itself bearing 
 witness with our spirits that we are His." " Oh ! this 
 soul is an awful thing ; I feel it so. You that hear 
 me, mind, it is an awful thing to die : the invisible 
 world, how awful ! " 
 
 He now deemed that his end drew near, and desired 
 that he might not be disturbed, except at his own 
 request, "that my mind may not be diverted that 
 my whole mind may be centred in aspirations to the 
 throne of Grace." Inquiring the hour, he was informed 
 that it was about three o'clock ; he then said, " The 
 conflict will be over before five." He soon added, "Al- 
 mighty Father, come quickly, if it be thy holy will, 
 and receive my spirit." He now lay perfectly quiet 
 awhile, and life seemed over ; but a faint whisper was 
 heard, " I thought I was gone ! " " Christ Jesus, 
 receive my spirit!" The end had now come! At 
 half-past four o'clock on the morning of the 30th of 
 Twelfth month, 1799, in a state of mind full of good- 
 will to man, and at peace with his God, he quietly 
 departed. 
 
 How animating to the tribulated Christian is such a 
 6*
 
 66 SAMUEL EMLEN. 
 
 close to such a life ! All have not the same brightness 
 of faith in the hour of death ; but however the true 
 follower of the Lord Jesus is led, his example may be 
 useful to others. Some are cheered by tracing the deep 
 poverty of spirit and exercise of mind in which some 
 faithful ones tread the valley of the shadow of death, 
 and some are animated at finding departing saints 
 bursting out in thanksgiving, " Oh, blessed be God that 
 ever I was born ! "
 
 JOHN CHUECHMAK 
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN was born in Chester County, 
 ** Pennsylvania, on the 4th of Sixth month, 1705, 
 and was tenderly brought up by religiously concerned 
 parents, members of the Society of Friends. 
 
 He was a remarkable man. Visited by the Lord's 
 Holy Spirit in very early age, tendered and contrited 
 in meeting at eight years old, instructed and taught in 
 many of the mysteries of the kingdom while yet a 
 child, he grew up watchful and obedient to the direc- 
 tion of his heavenly Father and of his earthly parents. 
 He gave, it is true, early evidence that sin had a root 
 in him, which produced some fruit, which he mourned 
 over and repented of. Of the visitation in his eighth 
 yearj he thus wrote : " I saw myself and what I had 
 been doing, and what it was which had reproved me 
 for evil, and was made, in the secret of my heart, to 
 confess that childhood and youth, and the foolish 
 actions and words to which they are prepense, are 
 truly vanity. Yet blessed forever be the name of the 
 
 67
 
 68 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 Lord ! in his infinite mercy and goodness, he clearly 
 informed me, that if I would mind the discoveries of 
 his pure light for the future, what I had done in the 
 time of my ignorance he would wink at and forgive ; 
 and the stream of love which filled my heart with 
 solid joy at that time, and lasted for several days, is 
 beyond all expression." 
 
 Through various degrees of stability John grew up, 
 and having given up his own will to the Divine will, 
 he soon was made use of in the church militant. 
 Being brought forth in the ministry, he had some sore 
 conflicts of spirit, the enemy suggesting that the call 
 to speak had not been powerful enough, and that in 
 giving up thereto he had perhaps committed the sin 
 against the Holy Ghost which would not be forgiven. 
 Of this he says, " My exercise was great, but as I 
 endeavored to be quiet in my mind, seeking to know 
 the truth of my present condition, I was secretly 
 drawn to attend to something that spake inwardly 
 after this manner : l If thou wast to take a lad, an 
 entire stranger to thy language and business, however 
 likely he appeared for service, thou must speak loud 
 and distinctly to him, and perhaps with an accent or 
 tone that might show thee to be in earnest, to engage 
 his attention and point out the business; but thou 
 wouldst expect it should be otherwise with a child 
 brought up in thine house, who knew thy language,
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 69 
 
 and with whom thou hadst been familiar. Thou 
 wouldst expect him to wait by thee and watch thy 
 motions, so as to be instructed by thine eye looking 
 upon him, or pointing thy finger, and wouldst rebuke 
 or correct such an one, if he did not obey thy will on 
 such a small intelligent information.' I was instantly 
 relieved thereby, believing it to be from the Spirit of 
 Truth, that is to lead and guide into all truth." 
 
 John Churchman mentions in his journal a remark- 
 able instance of obedience to Divine pointings in his 
 ministry. He was at Flushing, on Long Island, where 
 the Yearly Meeting was held. He says, " On First- 
 day I thought I had an engagement to stand up, and 
 considerable matter before me; and after speaking 
 three or four sentences which came with weight, all 
 closed up, and I stood still and silent for several min- 
 utes, and saw nothing more, not one word to speak. 
 I perceived the eyes of most of the people were upon 
 me, they, as well as myself, expecting more; but 
 nothing further appearing, I sat down, I think I may 
 say in reverent fear and humble resignation, when that 
 remarkable sentence of Job was presented to my mind, 
 1 Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked 
 shall I return : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' I 
 suppose for nearly a quarter of an hour I remained in 
 a silent quiet; but afterward let in great reasonings
 
 70 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 and fear lest I had not waited the right time to stand 
 up, and so was suffered to fall into reproach ; for the 
 adversary, who is ever busy and unwearied in his 
 attempts to devour, persuaded me to believe that the 
 people would laugh me to scorn, and I might as well 
 return home immediately and privately, as attempt 
 any further visit on the island. After meeting I hid 
 my inward exercise and distress as much as I could. 
 I lodged that night with a sympathizing friend and 
 experienced elder, who began to speak encouragingly 
 to me ; but I said to him, that I hoped he would not 
 take it amiss if I desired him to forbear saying any- 
 thing; for if he should say good things, I had no 
 capacity to believe, and if otherwise, I could not then 
 understand so as to be profitably corrected or instructed, 
 and after some time I fell asleep. When I awoke, I 
 remembered that the sentences I had delivered in the 
 meeting, were truths which could not be wrested to the 
 disadvantage of Friends, or dishonor of the cause of 
 Truth, though they might look like roots or something 
 to paraphrase upon ; and although my standing some 
 time silent before I sat down might occasion the people 
 to think me a silly fellow, yet they had no cause to 
 blame me for delivering words without sense or life. 
 Thus I became very quiet, and not much depressed, 
 and was favored with an humble resignation of mind, 
 and a desire that the Lord would be pleased to magnify
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 71 
 
 his own name and truth, and preserve me from bring- 
 ing any reproach thereon. I ventured to have meet- 
 ings appointed, and my particular friend and intimate 
 acquaintance, Caleb Raper, of Burlington, being at 
 that meeting, went as companion with me, of whose 
 company I was glad, he being a valuable elder. We 
 went first to Rockaway, then to Jamaica, Sequetague, 
 Setawket, Matinicock, Cowneck, and Westbury meet- 
 ings, and at most of them I had good satisfaction ; the 
 presence of the Lord in whom I delighted above all 
 things, being witnessed to my comfort, and I believe 
 to the edification of the sincere in heart ; but the testi- 
 mony of Truth was particularly sharp to the lukewarm 
 professors and libertines in our Society. That humbling 
 time I had at Flushing was of singular service to me, 
 being thereby made willingly subject to the Divine 
 openings of Truth, the motion of the eternal Spirit and 
 pure Word of life, in speaking to the several states of 
 those who were present in the meetings, and life came 
 into dominion, and the power thereof overshadowed at 
 times, to my humble admiration ; blessed be the name 
 of the Lord who is worthy forever and ever ! " 
 
 How much better for the meeting, and the minister, 
 that he should not rise to speak until he has something 
 given him to say, and that he should not attempt to 
 proceed when his Master withdraws his illumination 
 and direction. Mistakes have sometimes been made
 
 72 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 by those who are rightly anointed for the work. Sam- 
 uel Fothergill on one occasion, while laboring in the 
 ministry, found the spring of life to stay, but did not 
 immediately cease speaking. When the meeting was 
 over, feeling that he had been wrong, and yet not quite 
 clear wherein he had mistaken his way, he asked of that 
 honest, clear-sighted mother in -Israel, Sarah Taylor, 
 what she had to say of his service that day. She told 
 him that as he had spoken she had travelled in exer- 
 cise with him up to a certain point in his discourse. 
 " There," she said, " thou lost thy guide, thou thrust 
 thy hands into thy own pockets and helped thyself ! " 
 John Churchman was discouraged when young in 
 the ministry by comparing himself with others, who 
 he deemed were growing in religious attainments and 
 in their gifts much faster than he. A dream related 
 of Mary England may convey instruction. At the 
 time she appeared in the ministry, eight or nine others 
 at that meeting or neighborhood began to speak in 
 meeting. These all appeared to Mary to be growing 
 in their gifts, and were evidently branching out in 
 their communications, while she found nothing required 
 of her to deliver but a text or a few words. She be- 
 came discouraged, and thought she was making little 
 progress compared with the others. While in this 
 state of mind, she was relieved from her depression by 
 the following dream :
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 73 
 
 She thought she was in a room with the other young 
 ministers, when a person of pleasing and superior ap- 
 pearance came in, gave each of them a stone pitcher, 
 and bade them follow him. Glad to be near him, she 
 at once arose,*treading close after him along the path 
 he trod, thinking the others were coming on behind. 
 He led the way down a descent to a spring of water, 
 the purest she had ever seen, and which might be com- 
 pared to the pure river John saw issuing out of the 
 throne. He told her to put her pitcher in the spring. 
 She did so ; and when it was filled, drew it out and 
 set it on the ground. The water at once began bub- 
 bling over the top, and continued doing so until the 
 pitcher was empty. Her guide then told her to put it 
 in again. She did so, again withdrew it, and set it 
 down, and once more the water flowed out. The 
 command was several times repeated, and she per- 
 ceived that the longer she allowed the pitcher to re- 
 main in the spring, the more water remained in the 
 bottom of it after the bubbling out ceased. Her guide 
 now told her to hold the pitcher in the water till he 
 bid her take it out. She did so, and as it was some 
 time before the command to withdraw it came, and 
 both hands were requisite to hold it, she became almost 
 overcome with fatigue. At last the word was given 
 to lift it out. She set it down, and it remained full. 
 Now she remembered that her director had never before 
 7
 
 74 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 bid her withdraw it. On looking round, she now no- 
 ticed that not one of those who had been called when 
 she was, had accompanied the guide to the spring. 
 
 Mary England was instructed by this dream to keep 
 under exercise till the command was given to. hand 
 forth to the multitude. And she afterwar^, felt, in her 
 baptisms and exercises previous to engaging in the 
 ministry, similar feelings of fatigue to that she had 
 experienced when holding the pitcher in the spring, 
 awaiting direction to withdraw it. The young speak- 
 ers referred to, all branched out into words, and never 
 became established as Gospel ministers. 
 
 Gospel love, while it takes all bitterness from the 
 tongue, removes all flattery also. It ever tends to 
 make the Christian give utterance to plain, honest 
 truth, but clothes even his chiding with a feeling which 
 gives evidence that he longs for the good of him re- 
 proved. Some people are so sensitive that a gentle 
 hint will reach them, and powerfully stir their feel- 
 ings. Others are so hardened in a continual round of 
 wickedness, or so sunk in the lethargy of indifference, 
 or so immersed in the spirit of the world, that to reach 
 them requires a direct and sharp address a " Thou 
 art the man ! " When John Churchman, in minister- 
 ing to the people at North Wales, had, as he tells us, 
 "with a zeal that exceeded my childish knowledge, 
 laid on some strokes with thf strength of the man's
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 75 
 
 part, more than with the humbling powei of Truth," 
 he soon felt inward darkness and dejection of mind. 
 He was enabled to see his error, and makes this remark, 
 " If we deliver hard things to the people, we should 
 ever remember that we are flesh and blood, and by 
 nature subject to the same frailties. This would lead 
 us closely to attend to the power, and to minister only 
 in the ability of Truth, in the meekness, gentleness, 
 and wisdom which it inspires." This reflection did 
 not make him lower the standard of Truth, deliver its 
 testimonies deceitfully, or tend in anywise to make him 
 one of those who sew pillows under armholes. In a sub- 
 sequent visit he thus wrote : " One meeting we were at 
 was remarkably hard, and my companion was exceed- 
 ingly exercised, under a sense that the people were too 
 rich, full, and whole in their own eyes; but he sat the 
 meeting through, and suffered in silence. I had some- 
 thing to say which was very close, and felt a degree of 
 the strength and power of Truth to clear myself in an 
 innocent and loving manner; and remembering they 
 were brethren, I did not preach myself out of charity 
 toward them, and so had peace. We went home with 
 an elderly Friend, who, in a stern manner, asked me 
 from whence I came, and said I was a stranger to him. 
 I answered him with a cheerful boldness. He asked 
 me what my calling was ; I told him husbandry. He 
 queried if I was used to splitting wood; I let him kuow
 
 76 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 I had practised it for many years. He asked me if I 
 knew the meaning of a common saying among those 
 who were used to that business, ' 'T is soft knocks must 
 enter hard blocks.' I told him I knew it well ; but 
 that to strike with a soft or gentle blow at a wedge in 
 blocks of old wood that was rather decayed at heart, 
 would drive it to the head without rending them, and 
 the labor would be lost, when a few smart, lively 
 strokes would burst them asunder. Whereupon he 
 laid his hand on my shoulder, saying, ( Well, my lad, 
 I perceive thou art born for a warrior, and I commend 
 thee/ Thus we came off better than we expected; 
 for I thought he pointed at my service that day. He 
 was ever afterward very loving to me, and I was 
 thankful that the Lord was near to me, for which I 
 praise his sacred name. To be becomingly bold in the 
 cause of Truth at times is particularly necessary, other- 
 wise the weight of the testimony thereof would be less- 
 ened, and a carping spirit be set over it." 
 
 The following is narrated by John Churchman in 
 his journal. He was told the anecdote by John Kilden, 
 of Masham, Yorkshire, England. A knight in that 
 county, calling to see one of his tenants who was a 
 member of the Society of Friends, found him actively 
 employed. After a time the landlord thus addressed 
 the tenant : 
 
 " So, John, you are busy."
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 77 
 
 Tenant Yes ; my landlord loves to see his tenants 
 busy. 
 
 Landlord. But, John, where were you, that you were 
 not at your Quarterly Meeting at York the other day? 
 I saw most of your staunch Friends there, but you I 
 missed. 
 
 Tenant Why, thou knowest I have a curious land- 
 lord, who loves to see his tenants thrive and pay their 
 rent duly, and I had a good deal in hand that kept me 
 at home. 
 
 Landlord. Keep you at home? You will neither 
 thrive nor pay the better for neglecting your duty, 
 John. 
 
 Tenant I perceive my landlord was at Quarterly 
 Meeting. How didst thou like it ? 
 
 Landlord. Like it ! I was at one meeting, and saw 
 what made my heart ache. 
 
 Tenant What was that ? 
 
 Landlord. Why, the dress of your young folks ; the 
 men with wigs, and the young women with their finery, 
 in imitation of fashions. I thought I would try an- 
 other meeting ; so next day I went again, and then I 
 concluded there was little difference, but the bare 
 name, between us whom you call the world's people, 
 and some of you ; for you are imitating us in the love 
 and fashions of the world as fast as you can. So that
 
 78 ' JOHN CHURCHMAN. 
 
 I said in my heart, these people do want a Fox, a Penn, 
 and a Barclay among them. 
 
 John Churchman was faithful to his Divine Master, 
 through his long life, and his blessed Saviour was very 
 Faithfulness and Truth to him in the hour of his death, 
 giving him a glorious close, and a certain foretaste of 
 the joys in store for the righteous. Exemplary in 
 youth, offering its bloom to his Divine Master faith- 
 ful in maturity, dedicating its ripening fruit to the 
 Lord's praise heavenly-minded in age, bringing all 
 of his stores of wisdom and knowledge to the altar of 
 God, John Churchman stood pre-eminent in his day. 
 The Lord, whom he had served his life long, kept him 
 green to old age, gave him large place in the esteem of 
 the living in Israel, and amid all the exercises he caused 
 him to bear for the sake of the church, sustained him 
 in holy hope, in fervent faith, in cheerful resignation, 
 even to a joyful putting off the shackles of mortality. 
 
 John Churchman,- like many others of the Lord's 
 deeply exercised servants, was cheerful in conversation, 
 and spread a pleasant influence wherever his lot was 
 cast. A happy turn for innocent pleasantry, circum- 
 scribed by an ever-watchful regard to the limitations 
 of Truth, made his company agreeable to young and 
 old, and enabled him to give instructive hints and sea- 
 sonable admonitions to hearts ready to receive them. 
 
 Watchful and careful in youth, John Churchman
 
 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 79 
 
 was appointed an elder when but twenty-six years old, 
 and soon after received a gift in the ministry. Faith- 
 ful to the gift, he grew in it labored in the Gospel 
 of his dear Lord in America and Europe ; and having 
 walked in great innocency and circumspection, and 
 performed his day's work with acceptance to his Divine 
 Master, he was not affrighted when death came to re- 
 move him from earthly comforts and hopes. As he 
 grew weak, his spiritual exercises were continued to 
 him he felt stripped of good ; but knowing that all 
 this was to bring him more perfectly into the image of 
 his Master, he was content to bear it, even until he 
 could say, " I now experience my life and my will to 
 be slain, and I have no will left." Then came his 
 time of rejoicing. Light broke forth in his darkness 
 and in the midst of great pain, sweet melody 
 sounded forth in his voice, and aspirations of praise 
 went up from his soul to the Lord God of glory and 
 grace. He knew that when relieved from the body, 
 for him there was, through the Lord's goodness, nothing 
 but peace ; and that if then taken, he would be spared 
 many deep trials which he saw coming on the faithful 
 laborers remaining in the church militant. His close 
 took place on Second-day, the 24th of Seventh month, 
 1775.* 
 
 * For a further account of this Friend, see Journal of John 
 Churchman, in Friends' Library, vol. vi., p. 176.
 
 EEBECCA JONES. 
 
 A S Catharine Payton was entering one of Friends' 
 meeting-houses in Philadelphia, in the Third 
 month, 1755, a girl of fifteen or sixteen years of age 
 slipped what appeared to be a letter into her hand. 
 As at that time she could not examine it, she trans- 
 ferred it to her pocket, and took her seat in the gallery. 
 When the meeting closed, the paper was opened, and 
 proved to be a communication from one who was pass- 
 ing through much religious exercise. The writer was 
 already convinced that she must bear the fire of the 
 Lord in its inward burning until it should consume all 
 the corruptions of her heart, that she might be pre- 
 pared to feel true peace and spiritual enjoyment ; for 
 she expressed her conviction that she should only re- 
 ceive consolation as she was fit for it. No name was 
 attached to this letter, and Catharine Payton, whose 
 heart was dipped into sympathy with this unknown 
 lamb, who was bleating for admittance into the fold 
 of Grace, was at a loss to know where she should find 
 
 80
 
 REBECCA JONES. 81 
 
 her, and how she should recognize her. Tradition says 
 she applied to her friend, Anthony Benczet, who, on 
 reading the letter, and being asked if he could tell the 
 author, answered, " I don't know unless it be romp- 
 ing Beck Jones." 
 
 Rebecca Jones, to whom Anthony referred under the 
 above characteristic title, was born in Philadelphia, 
 Seventh month 8th, 1739. She received a good edu- 
 cation, and her mother, who was zealously attached to 
 the forms and doctrines of the Church of England, 
 endeavored to bring her up in the same profession. 
 But the child soon manifested a partiality to the meet- 
 ings of Friends, which she often solicited permission 
 to attend. Her mother frequently consented, thinking 
 no harm would result to her daughter, who, she deemed, 
 was too young to judge in matters of religion. Tradi- 
 tion says that sometimes Rebecca wandered at that 
 early age into the meetings of ministers and elders, 
 whose members did not think it needful to turn out 
 such a child, who sat down quietly and made no dis- 
 turbance. Although fond of sitting in silence in the 
 meetings of Friends, Rebecca was yet a child full 
 of animal spirits, whose earnestness in play won her 
 the title in good old Anthony's mind of " Romping 
 ' Beck." 
 
 As she grew older, to her mother's inquiry, what 
 she went to Friends' meetings for, she replied, "I
 
 82 . REBECCA JONES. 
 
 don't know; but I believe they are a good people, and 
 I like their way ; for there is not so much rising up 
 and sitting down among them as at church." She 
 says her mind was secretly drawn " toward this people, 
 not only to go to their meetings, but I loved even the 
 sight of an honest Friend. I was at times under the 
 influence of another spirit; and though I loved the 
 people, and very early discovered a beautiful order and 
 becoming deportment in their meetings, I could not 
 give up my days to lead such a life of self-denial 
 as the Divine Instructor in my own breast at times 
 plainly directed me to. I loved vanity and folly, 
 and to keep unprofitable company, by which I was led 
 into many evils, and quenched the blessed Spirit from 
 time to time, yet not wholly ; for oftentimes, in the 
 midst of my c.ireer, I was favored with its secret 
 smitings, and from which it was impossible to fly. 
 Frequently when in bed, or alone, my heart was made 
 uneasy for the multitude of my transgressions, so that 
 I often promised to amend ; for I greatly feared to die. 
 But, alas, though I made covenant, I soon forgot it, 
 and returned to the same things for which I had been 
 reproved, and thus added sin to rebellion for some time, 
 yet kept close to meetings, both First and week days, 
 when I could get away without my mother's knowl- 
 edge though I knew not why T went; for I liked
 
 REBECCA JONES. 83 
 
 'not their way of preaching, but was always best pleased 
 with silent meetings. 
 
 " In the year 1754, and in the sixteenth year of my 
 age, came from Worcestershire, in Old England, on a 
 religious visit to the churches of Christ in America, 
 Catharine Payton, in company with Mary Peisley 
 from Ireland. I was at divers meetings in this city 
 with the aforesaid Friend, and heard divers testimonies 
 which she bore, with which I was much pleased ; but 
 like many others, I only heard, and sought not to learn 
 the way to salvation in sincerity. But forever blessed 
 and praised be the great Minister of all ministers, and 
 Bishop of souls, who in his abundant compassion to a 
 poor creature, in the very road that leads to the 
 chambers of death, was graciously pleased through his 
 handmaid to set my state and condition open before 
 me, and enable her, in one of our First-day evening 
 meetings, to speak so pertinently to my situation, in 
 showing the consequence of trifling with Divine con- 
 viction, and proclaiming God's love through Christ to 
 all returning sinners, that I cried out in the bitterness 
 of my spirit, ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do to 
 be saved ? ' So effectually was my heart reached that 
 I was made willing to forsake everything here, to ob- 
 tain peace ; yea, my natural life would not have been 
 too great an offering if it had been required that I 
 might have inherited eternal salvation."
 
 84 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 " Oh, the many days of sorrow, and nights of deep 
 distress, that I passed through ! How frequently did I 
 cry out, ' Lord, save me, or I perish ! ' I almost de- 
 spaired of finding mercy ; for sin, not only appeared 
 exceedingly sinful, but my soul's enemy almost per- 
 suaded [me] that my sins were of so deep a dye, and 
 so often repeated, that I had neglected the day of my 
 visitation, and that, though I might, like Esau, seek 
 the blessing with tears, I should not obtain it. But 
 forever magnified be the kindness and goodness of the 
 Lord my God the everlasting Father He left me 
 not here, though I was in the situation described by 
 the prophet, I was greatly polluted, lay wallowing in 
 the filthiness of the flesh, without any succor from tem- 
 poral connections, and a stranger to the Lord's family. 
 ' Not washed at all, nor salted at all, but cast out as in 
 an open field, void of any enclosure ; none eye pitied 
 me, to do any of those things to me,' when the sure 
 Helper passed by, beheld me in my deplorable condi- 
 tion, cast his mantle of Divine love over me, and with 
 a most powerful voice said, Live ! Yea, he said unto 
 me, Live ! I was again encouraged by the renewal of 
 Divine favor to enter into solemn covenant with that 
 gracious Being, whom I had so highly rebelled against, 
 and so justly offended ; and fervent were the breath- 
 ings of my soul, that I might be enabled to stick close 
 to the terms made in this, the day of my humiliation."
 
 REBECCA JONES. 85 
 
 Such was the condition of mind of the young maiden, 
 who was rightly judged by Anthony Benezet to have 
 written the letter to Catharine Payton, before referred 
 to. Catharine, on considering the matter, felt most 
 easy to answer that communication, which she did, and 
 gave what she wrote into the hands of Anthony to de- 
 liver. Rebecca Jones's mother had become very jeal- 
 ous of Friends, and very much opposed to her daugh- 
 ter's attending their meetings, and Anthony found it a 
 matter of some difficulty to place the document in the 
 young girl's hand. 
 
 In regard to her letter and this answer, Rebecca 
 Jones writes : " My love to this instrument [C. P.] in 
 the Lord's hands was very great, and on a certain 
 time, being reduced very low in my mind, under the 
 consideration of my many and deep transgressions, I 
 took up my pen, and opened a little of my condition 
 to her, though I was afraid to sign my name to it. I 
 watched an opportunity and slipped it into her hand 
 just as she was going into meeting, and in two days 
 afterward I received, by the hands of one of her 
 friends, the following answer, which, as it had a 
 blessed eifect in encouraging my mind reverently to 
 confide in the Lord's infinite mercy, I here transcribe 
 at large: perad venture ii> may revive the hope of 
 some afflicted soul. 
 8
 
 86 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 " ' PHILADELPHIA, Fourth month 1, 1755. 
 
 "'DEAR CHILD, I have carefully read over thy 
 letter, and from a tenderness of spirit which I feel 
 towards thee, conceive much hope that thou wilt do 
 well if thou keep to that Power which has visited 
 thee ; which, as it has already appeared as a Light to 
 convince thee of sin, will, if thou wilt suffer it, destroy 
 it in thy heart. Which dispensation being already 
 begun is the reason of that anguish of spirit which 
 thou feelest, which will lessen gradually, as thou an 
 assisted to overcome. 
 
 " ' And be not too much discouraged, neither at what 
 thou hast committed against the Lord, nor yet what 
 thou mayst have to suffer for him ; for though thy sins 
 may have been as scarlet, he is able and willing to 
 make thy heart as snow, upon thy sincere repentance 
 and humble walking in his fear, and also to give thee 
 strength to do whatsoever he commands thee. If thou 
 art willing and obedient for the future, thou shalt eat 
 the good of the land in the Lord's time ; and as thou 
 hast been already instructed that "thou shalt only re- 
 ceive consolation as thou art fit for it," wait patiently, 
 and let the administration of condemnation be fully 
 perfected ; so shall the administration of light and 
 peace be more clear and strong, which will assuredly 
 come upon thee if thou abidest faithful to that Power 
 which has visited thee. Thou desirest me to explain 
 some portions of Scripture to thee which I had to 
 mention, which I am willing to do as far as the men- 
 tioning of them respects thy state, which I believe was to 
 bring forth the fruits of purity and love to God, which
 
 REBECCA JONES. 87 
 
 will be manifested only by thy obedience; and that 
 thou may not rest in anything short of the knowledge 
 of His power revealed in thy heart as a Refiner and 
 Teacher, nor place thy happiness in anything short of 
 his salvation. 
 
 " 1 1 go out of town to-morrow, and not knowing 
 thy name by thy letter, know not how to get to speak 
 to thee, and have therefore committed the care of this 
 to A. Benezet, who, I believe, will use his best en- 
 deavors to convey it to thee. 
 
 " ' Farewell ! and may the Lord continue to bless 
 thee. I conclude, in much haste, thy sympathizing 
 Friend, CATHARINE PAYTON.* 
 
 " < P. S. I had rather thou kept this to thyself; and 
 be sure be careful how thou tellest thy condition to 
 such who have no knowledge of it.' 
 
 " On the receiving and reading this letter, my heart 
 was melted into great tenderness before the Lord, and 
 my mind encouraged to trust in his boundless mercy 
 thus extended to a poor unworthy creature. My reso- 
 lutions were daily strengthened in remembering that 
 'at what time soever the wicked turneth from his wick- 
 edness, and doth that which is lawful and right, he 
 shall save his soul alive.' " 
 
 The case of Rebecca Jones is one among many in- 
 
 * A further account of Catharine Payton (afterward Phillips; 
 may be seen in a memoir of her life published in Friends' Library, 
 vol. xi. A journal of Mary Peisley (afterward Neale) will also 
 be found in the same volume.
 
 88 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 stances of young children, not members of the religious 
 Society of Friends, who have been glad to attend their 
 meetings. The case of Samuel W. Clark, of Rhode 
 Island, will probably suggest itself to some of our 
 readers. His parents were Baptists; but about his 
 seventh or eighth year, at his particular request, they 
 permitted him to sit with Friends in their meetings. 
 After a time the members of the Monthly Meeting at 
 Greenwich, at his request, granted him the privilege 
 of attending those for discipline. This young lad 
 ripened soon for heaven, being gathered by death in 
 1815, when only nine years old. 
 
 An anecdote is told of a little boy of about eight years 
 of age, who was a pupil at a school in Pine Street in 
 Philadelphia, the teacher of which attended Friends' 
 meeting close by on Fourth-day, with his scholars. 
 The mother of this child was a Moravian by education, 
 who, having lost one of her children by death, was 
 greatly aifected therewith, and endeavored to find con- 
 solation in attending places of worship. She went to 
 many, but did not obtain relief, and thought, in her 
 religious exercises, she should find no one to sympa- 
 thize, no body of professing Christians with whom she 
 could unite. She was sitting one day in great distress, 
 shedding many tears, when her little son entered the 
 room. He went to her, took her by the hand, and 
 began to weep aloud. No words passed to unfold to
 
 REBECCA JONES. 89 
 
 him the feelings of his mother. At last he asked what 
 ailed her what made her cry so much, adding, "I 
 wish you would come to one of the meetings our school 
 goes to ; I am sure it would do you good." The child 
 had found consolation there, and the mother, strongly 
 stirred by the affectionate invitation, could not but 
 accept it. She found that for which she had sought, 
 doctrines which she could own a people with whom 
 she could unite. She is said to have been ever after a 
 diligent attender of Friends' meeting, to have found 
 consolation in earthly sorrow, and to have been ena- 
 bled, through Divine Grace, to die in peace, full of 
 faith and hope. 
 
 Rebecca Jones now attended meetings constantly, 
 although she could not do it without much opposition 
 from her mother, and was subjected to many very try- 
 ing things in fulfilling this duty. She was, however, 
 enabled to rejoice when meeting-day came; and even 
 the evening before, her mind, she says, " seemed under 
 the preparing power for the solemn performance of 
 Divine worship, of the necessity whereof I was now 
 truly convinced, as well as of my unfitness therefor 
 without the daily influence of the blessed Spirit. The 
 heart -tendering power of Truth in a very singular 
 manner attended, insomuch that if I was not in the 
 enjoyment thereof, my meeting seemed in vain." 
 
 " I frequently compared my situation about this 
 8*
 
 90 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 time with that of the children of solid Friends, many 
 of whom I perceived walked widely from their holy 
 profession. I thought if I had been favored with the 
 like privileges many of them enjoyed, I had not had 
 so much work for repentance. Oh, that they did but 
 see and rightly understand the manifold obligations 
 they are under to the everlasting Father, and also to 
 their pious parents ! Oh, the unspeakable advantage 
 of an early education in virtue and the fear of the 
 Lord ! Certainly, in the great day of decision, it will 
 but add to the weight in the scale against them, who 
 pursue lying vanities, forsake their own mercies, and 
 rebelliously turn their backs on the admonitions, coun- 
 sel, and instruction of tender, pious, heart -aching 
 parents. I esteemed myself as a branch broken off 
 from the wild olive and grafted into the good olive- 
 tree, and was secretly instructed that I stood by faith, 
 and that the goodness of God would be toward me, 
 while I continued in his fear otherwise I should be 
 cut off. I often fervently desired that those who had 
 erred and strayed among the youth, whom I compared 
 to the natural branches of the good olive-tree, might be 
 grafted in again, for God is able to graft them in again. 
 ' Be not high-minded, but fear/ was the solemn admo- 
 nition frequently sounded in the ear of my soul." 
 
 We may often observe children of the family the 
 sons and daughters of faithful men and women, who
 
 REBECCA JONES. 91 
 
 have not truly profited by the privileges they have en- 
 joyed. Some of them have run into evil courses, and 
 lost, even among men of the world, their reputation 
 and standing ; some, seeking for a less cross-bearing 
 and more self-pleasing religion than that of their 
 fathers, join some of the form-laden and ceremony- 
 encumbered professions around them; some retain 
 their membership among Friends, yet give the energy 
 of their minds to the acquisition of wealth, and demon- 
 strate that they love the present world, and are not as 
 pilgrims seeking for a better, that is an heavenly. In 
 vain for these has been the holy example, the Christian 
 discipline, the pious advice, the secret prayers and 
 wrestling of soul of their parents on their behalf. 
 While such are not prizing their privileges, we see some 
 brought into our Society as from the highways and 
 hedges, and made to sit among the princes of the 
 people raised up as from the very stones of the street 
 to be, first, spiritual children, and then, as they ad- 
 vance in knowledge, to be fathers and mothers in the 
 church. Yet the Lord's blessing continues to be to 
 children's children of those that fear him; and he is 
 still raising up and qualifying some of these to occupy 
 the places of dignified and faithful ones, whom he has 
 taken home to their eternal rest. It is heart-cheering 
 to behold how, in divers instances, the blessing seems 
 eminently to rest, from generation to generation, on the
 
 92 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 seed of the faithful. Some may deem that our Society 
 has effected all the good it is capable of doing in the 
 world, and be prepared to believe it will fall ; some 
 may think that to those brought in from other societies 
 we must principally look for supporters of the prim- 
 itive principles of Truth ; we cannot believe either. 
 We look hopefully for a brighter day to come for our 
 Zion, a day of spiritual grace and enlargement; and 
 we firmly believe that the Lord will continue to be- 
 stow his gifts upon her children, from generation to 
 generation. 
 
 Toward the close of the last century, an individual, 
 called in from another profession, preached in one of 
 
 the meetings of Friends in Philadelphia. When he 
 
 
 had closed his communication, one of the ministering 
 
 Friends present rose with these words of Isaiah : 
 " Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the 
 sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen, and your 
 vine-dressers." Instantly Samuel Emlen, who, though 
 knowing the gathering mercy of God was toward all, 
 yet felt his heart clothed with love to the children of 
 the family, and warmed with a present assurance that 
 the Lord's peculiar blessing was not to be taken from 
 them, broke forth in an animated voice with the suc- 
 ceeding verse of the prophet, " But YE shall be named 
 the priests of the Lord ; men shall call YOU the min- 
 isters of our God."
 
 REBECCA JONES. 93 
 
 Rebecca Jones, though suffering many things from 
 former acquaintance, yet was strengthened to persevere, 
 and her resolutions, she says, " were confirmed to serve 
 the Lord, the little time that remained to me in this 
 life, which I then often thought would not be long." 
 
 In 1756, Catharine Payton, with Mary Peisley and 
 Samuel Fothergill, returned home to England. A new 
 temptation of Satan now assailed Rebecca Jones 
 she began to feel indifferent about attending meetings. 
 She was sorely tried with suggestions that her repent- 
 ance had been vain, and that her sorrow was feigned, 
 her tears insincere, and herself under a delusion. She 
 says, " The Lord, my only Helper in this night of pro- 
 bation, saw meet in his wisdom for the trial of my faith 
 to hide his face from me. Thus spoke the deceiver, 
 ' Why art thou thus ? Surely, if thou wert the visited 
 of God, he would not have left thee thus poor, stripped, 
 and helpless. Thou art not on the right foundation, 
 for if the Lord had been at all with thee, he would 
 have remained with thee forever.' Oh, the grief and 
 distress of my poor soul ! The Divine presence was 
 withdrawn. I had no friend upon earth to speak to, 
 nor any to whom I could make my complaint. Yet 
 I was favored, under all, with strength to pray that I 
 might be favored to see clearly whence this distress and 
 doubting arose. Blessed forever be the God of my life, 
 whom though I thought afar off, was near, and had only
 
 94 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 withdrawn as behind the curtain He heard, and gra- 
 ciously answered me in the needful hour. I resolved if 
 I perished to perish at his feet. Thus spoke my only 
 Friend and Helper : ' I will thoroughly purge thy dross, 
 and take away all thy tin ! ' My soul replied, ' Amen ! 
 so be it, blessed Lord ! ' Here I could feelingly say as 
 did David, ' I know, O Lord ! thy judgments are right, 
 and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.' Hope 
 revived as an helmet of salvation. I saw mine accuser, 
 and he fled ! Oh, my soul, forget not thou the loving 
 kindness of thy God, who thus, graciously appeared 
 for thy help, not only when the floods of the ungodly 
 made thee afraid, but when in close combat with the 
 Prince of the power of the air the Lord's arm 
 brought salvation, and his right arm got the victory ! " 
 After her deliverance from the temptation of the 
 enemy, Rebecca Jones found her love to the Lord's 
 people renewed, and she says, " Through much diffi- 
 culty and strong opposition I attended meetings both 
 on First and week days, and should have rejoiced had 
 I Ven worthy to sit at meetings of discipline a privi- 
 lege not yet granted me. I frequently went to 
 Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, and stayed the first 
 sitting, but withdrew when Friends entered on busi- 
 ness. I knew I had no right to stay longer. Besides, 
 in one of the Yearly Meetings for business, I was de- 
 sired to withdraw by a Friend whom I afterward
 
 REBECCA JONES. 95 
 
 loved ; and though I left the meeting under much dis- 
 tress, (being at the time very low in mind,) yet no 
 hardness got in blessed be the Lord! My love 
 rather increased, not only to this mother in Israel, but, 
 to the whole flock ; and I admired the care used to 
 keep such meetings quite select, saw that it was neces- 
 sary to do so, and never after attempted to stay until I 
 was invited by some who, I thought, tenderly loved 
 me, and were authorized to do it." 
 
 Rebecca Jones, we have stated, was born of parents 
 in connection with the Church of England. She had, 
 however, been an attender of the meetings of Friends 
 from childhood, was of an exemplary character, and 
 as she now manifested, by her life and conversation 
 unity with the doctrines professed by them, she was 
 invited to attend their meetings for discipline, although 
 she made no application to be received into member- 
 ship. At this time there were not many among the 
 young in Philadelphia who had, by submitting to the 
 cross of Christ and the powerful operations of the 
 Holy Spirit, become qualified, and draw T n to take part 
 in the discipline of Society. The meetings felt the 
 lack of such spirits. The elder and more experienced 
 Friends are expected to give sentiments on important 
 matters in such meetings, and sometimes, it may be, it 
 is done from custom or to answer the expectation of 
 others. Where there are young persons who, broken
 
 96 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 under the humbling power of Truth, are constrained 
 to speak a word to matters under consideration, it is 
 apt to affect solemnly and beneficially the minds of the 
 hearers. The late Benjamin Kite, in one of his letters, 
 speaking of meetings of discipline, says : " I often 
 think that if some of our goodly young men were now 
 and then to put, a shoulder to the wheel, they would 
 be of singular service. Oh, it is of good savor when 
 words spoken to the discipline are not from habit, but 
 necessity." It is true, young people are sometimes too 
 zealous, and may put the hand too freely to the work ; 
 but in this, as in all other cases, true wisdom is profit- 
 able to direct. It is said that Samuel Bownas, perhaps 
 toward the close of his time, when the holy zeal of 
 some of those elders who succeeded George Fox had 
 begun to grow somewhat slack, came to a meeting in 
 which this was in some measure true. Among the 
 young people a zeal had sprung up to revive the dis- 
 cipline, and perhaps they were too energetic and eager 
 to, move forward in the concern. After the meeting 
 was over, some of these came round Samuel and com- 
 plained that their elder members were too slothful and 
 lukewarm in carrying out the discipline. "Ah! my 
 young friends," he said, " it is well for you that there 
 is some prudence in your elder friends, or you might 
 set the house on fire ! " Pretty soon, some of the more 
 aged members complained to him of the forward
 
 REBECCA JONES. 97 
 
 activity of their younger brethren. Samuel, in answer, 
 remarked, " It is well that there is some zeal in the 
 younger members, or you might all go to sleep ! " 
 
 At the time when Rebecca Jones was first admitted 
 to sit in meetings of discipline, very little complaint 
 could have been made because of the zeal of the young. 
 She says, " And here I would mention the observation 
 I made of some of our youth, after I was favored to sit 
 in meetings of business. I frequently looked at them 
 with love and tenderness ; but I admired to see so 
 little sense appear among them of the nature and de- 
 sign of such meetings. I found many attended through 
 curiosity, and some from other motives, but very few 
 whose shoulders were preparing for the burden and 
 exercise that lay weightily on divers mothers in the fam- 
 ily, who were far advanced in years, and, in all probabil- 
 ity, would ere long finish their course. I mourned at 
 the little prospect there was of a succession, and wished 
 the spirit of Elijah might rest on Elisha. At these 
 seasons I often felt an holy zeal to cover my spirit, 
 and an engagement sometimes attended that the Lord's 
 work might go on -and prosper ; but in that weak state 
 I concluded that if the youth would not come up to 
 the help of the Lord, (I mean children of believing 
 parents,) the cause would drop ; and was sometimes 
 favored to understand the Lord's proclamation, f I will 
 
 work, and who shall let it ? ' Very frequently I was 
 9
 
 98 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 seized with an apprehension that if I was faithful to 
 the manifestations of Divine Grace, the baptizing influ- 
 ences thereof would be witnessed for the cleansing, 
 purifying, and preparing my spirit rightly to engage 
 in the Lord's work; at which my heart trembled 
 within me, and I greatly feared I should push forward 
 Uzzah-like. And though in meetings, both for wor- 
 ship and discipline, my duty was often clearly pointed 
 out to me, yet the fear of the Lord's work, a sense of 
 my own weakness, the situation I was placed in in the 
 world, the prospect of much suffering awaiting me, 
 but, above all, a sense of the purity and stability neces- 
 sary for those that fight the Lord's battles, and a sight 
 of my own state and lonesome condition in the family 
 I say all these things mightily humbled me, and 
 reduced me to the brink of the grave. I went alone ; 
 I kept silence ; I refrained from my natural food, and 
 my sleep departed from me ; ( I was stricken of God 
 and afflicted.' In this situation I attempted several 
 times to break my mind to some Friends by writing, 
 and to let them know how it was with me, but was 
 always stopped from doing so; and once, when I went to 
 the house of an honest-hearted, faithful servant of the 
 Lord, with an intention to open my case to him, the 
 ear of my soul was saluted with this prohibition, ' See 
 thou do it not. The work is the Lord's.' My mind was 
 fervent with the Lord (than whom none else knew my
 
 REBECCA JONES. 99 
 
 condition) that he would be pleased to favor me with 
 the distinct sight and knowledge of his will, that I 
 might not be deceived by the enemy of my soul 
 whom I had before seen in some of his artful transfor- 
 mations but that light might so attend as that I 
 might make no mistake in darkness. I carried my 
 burden from one month to another and from meeting 
 to meeting, until Seventh month 9th, 1758. In an 
 evening meeting, finding no excuse would longer do, 
 and that faithfulness was required, after William Rick- 
 ett had finished a testimony, in which he expressed 
 much sympathy and had great encouragement for some 
 who were under preparation for the Lord's service, I 
 stood up in great fear and trembling, and expressed a 
 few sentences very brokenly, and returned home with 
 the promised reward of peace, which I had long sought 
 in vain ; but now that I had given up to the Lord's 
 will, [I] was favored to obtain it. This was my first 
 public appearance ; and I greatly desired, as a sign, 
 that if I was yet mistaken, I might be visited and 
 advised by some Friends ; but as I met with no oppo- 
 sition from Friends, and, contrariwise, some spake 
 encouragingly to me, I found need to watch self with 
 a jealous eye, and was fervent in spirit, that I might 
 be preserved in true humility and Divine fear, the 
 only safe situation for a Gospel minister." 
 
 On Fifth month 12th, 1760, Anthony Morris in-
 
 100 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 formed the Second-day morning meeting of ministers 
 and elders that the Monthly Meeting of Philadelphia 
 had approved the public ministry of David Estaugh 
 and Rebecca Jones. It was concluded to admit them 
 to sit in the Second-day morning meeting, and Anthony 
 Morris and Catharine Callender were appointed to 
 inform them of it. Anthony and Catharine were most 
 easy to give the information to Rebecca Jones in the 
 presence of her mother. They accordingly did so. On 
 hearing it the mother was much affected, and said, 
 " Beck, your friends have placed you on a pedestal ; 
 take care you don't fall ! " From that time Rebecca 
 had no difficulties thrown in the way of her attending 
 meetings. The mother's heart seemed to open toward 
 her daughter ; she became very affectionate, and treated 
 all Friends who came to visit them with kindness and 
 respect. 
 
 Rebecca Jones deemed herself very unworthy to sit 
 in the meeting of ministers and elders, and she says 
 she "attended the first meeting of that sort under 
 strong apprehensions of my own weakness and the 
 necessity of laboring after true humility." 
 
 She continues her narrative : 
 
 " In the spring of the year 1761, my dear mother 
 began to decline very fast in her health, and could 
 scarce keep about house. She grew weaker and 
 weaker, insomuch that she needed constant attendance
 
 REBECCA JONES. 101 
 
 all the summer. I had a large school on my hands 
 (the only means for our subsistence) to take care of, 
 and her to nurse both night and day, till the Ninth 
 month, when she grew so ill that I was obliged to 
 break up the school. I also was much reduced in my 
 health, and, by such constant exercise both of body 
 and mind, received a weakness that I fear I shall never 
 be rid of. She deceased near the end of the Ninth 
 month, 1761. And here I seem free to add, that she 
 was a woman of good natural understanding, of a 
 noble disposition, had many good qualities, and lived 
 a peaceable life among her neighbors, and I have good 
 grounds to believe was under a religious exercise of 
 mind for many months before her decease. She was 
 favored with an easy passage, which she often in her 
 illness prayed for as a sign of acceptance with the 
 Lord, and was buried in the burial ground of the 
 Church of England, (so called,) among whom she al- 
 ways made profession. In her illness she desired to see 
 Daniel Stan ton ; he came, and had a heart-tendering 
 time in supplication, particularly on her account, 
 (whom he had known from a young woman,) that she 
 might be favored with patience, and might obtain 
 mercy with the Lord. After which she seemed easy, 
 and said he was a servant of the living God." 
 
 After the decease of her mother, Rebecca Jones be- 
 gan seriously to consider whether it would be best for 
 9*
 
 102 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 her to continue keeping school for a livelihood, or 
 whether she should make a change. She says, " But 
 as our Yearly Meeting was coming on, [I] concluded to 
 leave it till that was over; and in waiting to know 
 what was best, I seemed most easy to continue in the 
 same way, as being what I was most used to ; and a 
 suitable Friend offering, made it easy Hannah Cath- 
 rall, a religious, prudent young woman, who joined me 
 in the business. I esteemed this a favor from kind 
 Providence, for I was now grown so weakly, I could 
 not have attempted to have undertaken it alone, and 
 she [was] of an affectionate disposition to me. We 
 soon had a large school, and were blest with a suffi- 
 ciency to live comfortably. I had been very little 
 abroad ; not only because I was confined by my busi- 
 ness, but was at times under great discouragement in 
 my own mind on account of my weakness, both of 
 body and mind ; but whenever my aforesaid companion 
 apprehended me under any engagement of that sort, 
 she always encouraged me, and did all in her power to 
 make things as easy as she could; for which I feel 
 grateful acknowledgments and esteem for her. In 1 762 
 I went, in company with E. Smith, of Burlington, and 
 some other Friends, to the general meeting held at 
 Shrewsbury; and after that, at different times, with 
 Esther White, Mary Evans, Hannah Harris, etc., sev- 
 eral little turns, to some Quarterly, Monthly, ind par-
 
 REBECCA JONES. 103 
 
 ticular Meetings, within the compass of our Yearly 
 Meeting. 
 
 "In 1769, I found a draught of love in my mind 
 toward the Yearly Meeting of Long Island, and ob- 
 tained leave of our Second-day morning meeting of 
 ministers and elders. I made preparation, and was in 
 readiness ; but when the time came, my mind was so 
 beclouded and distressed, that I was glad to give it up. 
 The cause afterward appeared very plain to me, and 
 I was made thankful for the secret intelligence afforded 
 from on high. 
 
 " In 1770, the engagement for that meeting was re- 
 newed, and my Friend Hannah Foster, of Evesham, 
 having sent me word she intended [to be] there, I gave 
 up, and though much discouraged, being poorly in my 
 health, and not used to ride on horseback, yet was 
 favored to hold it pretty well as far as Rahway, where 
 my kind friends Joseph Shotwell and wife provided a 
 chair for my accommodation, and went with us to 
 Flushing. I was much assisted in this journey, or I 
 could not have held out, for I was not only indisposed 
 in body, but my mind was very low, insomuch that I 
 apprehended I should not live to return, and accord- 
 ingly settled my outward affairs, and took a very sol- 
 emn leave of my dear companion, who was also fearful 
 on my account. However, the Lord was near, blessed 
 lie his Name, and made the weak strong. We were
 
 104 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 mutually comforted together at that meeting ; and I 
 returned home better every way ; for which I bow be- 
 fore the Almighty, and acknowledge nothing is impos- 
 sible with him; praised and magnified be his great 
 Name, both now and forever ! 
 
 " Soon after my return, my mind was bowed very 
 low by reason that a beloved friend and father in the 
 Truth, Daniel Stanton, was taken from works to re- 
 wards. He had been eminently favored in his public 
 appearances for many months before, insomuch that 
 many Friends were apprehensive of what he some- 
 times expressed, 'that he thought he had not many 
 days longer to labor among us/ This was a great 
 stripping to the church, a near trial to many individ- 
 uals, and the loss not likely to be soon made up. Such 
 was the prospect of things among us ; yet there were 
 still left some honest laborers, and a remnant clothed 
 with the same spirit of true zeal, which was the cover- 
 ing of this great and good man, who deceased the 28th 
 of Sixth month, 1770, in the sixty-second year of his 
 age, and had disinterestedly labored among us upward 
 of forty years, approving himself called of God, a work- 
 man that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
 the Word to every class in the family. l Precious in 
 the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.' " * 
 
 * A journal of the life and Gospel labors of this faithful minis- 
 ter of Jesus Christ is published in Friends' Library, vol. xii.
 
 REBECCA JONES. 105 
 
 Rebecca Jones endeavored faithfully to fulfil her 
 varied duties as an instructor of children, and as a 
 minister of the Gospel of Christ. Yet she was not 
 forward to move in her religious exercises; and her 
 friends sometimes thougnt that, through discourage- 
 ment, she tarried more at home than was best. Young 
 ministers are often exercised not to be in the way of 
 those of elder years and more religious experience ; and 
 the exercise is doubtless right ; yet, carried too far, this 
 feeling sometimes prevents their moving in the order 
 of Divine appointment, and hurts the service of the 
 meeting. 
 
 In the spring of 1784, R. Jones, Samuel Emlen, 
 Thomas Ross, George Dillwyn, and Mehetabel Jenkins, 
 were all prepared with certificates of the unity of their 
 Friends to go to England on a religious visit. They 
 were anxious to reach London in time for the Yearly 
 Meeting held there, toward the close of the Fifth 
 month. Report says, that on considering in what 
 ship they should take their passage, most of them 
 were inclined to go in a new one then about to sail. 
 They, however, went in a body and sat down in it; 
 when Samuel Emlen almost immediately intimated 
 that that ship would not do. They then repaired to 
 the ship Commerce, commanded by Thomas Truxton, 
 and on sitting down in her, Samuel almost as quickly 
 expressed his conviction that that was the ship they
 
 106 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 must go in. They took their passage. When Trux- 
 ton found they were going with him, concluding that 
 no gaming could be allowed in the ship while they 
 were on board, he took a pack of cards which he had, 
 and dashing them down the hold of his vessel, bid 
 them " lie there in death and darkness." 
 
 They sailed towards the latter part of the Fourth 
 month, and Truxton learning their wish to attend 
 London Yearly Meeting, informed them that it was 
 not to be hoped for, as his vessel was a dull sailer. 
 
 One day on their passage, Rebecca Jones sat with 
 George Dillwyn, who appeared to be in deep inward 
 thoughtfulness. After a time he asked her if she could 
 keep a secret ; she replied, that her Master had at times 
 communicated his secrets to her, and that she had 
 not revealed thorn without his permission and she 
 thought she could keep the secrets of another. " Well," 
 he then added, " I have one to tell thee : We shall see 
 England this day two weeks." On the same day 
 being seated by Thomas Ross, he turned to her and 
 said, " Rebecca, canst thou keep a secret ? " She an- 
 swered him in the same words she had used to George ; 
 and Thomas then added, " we shall see England this 
 day two weeks." That morning two weeks Rebecca 
 rose early, and found that George was up before her, 
 and had climbed to the round-top. Soon he shouted 
 out " Land ! " which brought the mate to his side, whc
 
 REBECCA JONES. 107 
 
 not being able to see any, found fault with him.. After 
 a little space George cried " Land " again, and Truxton, 
 who was then on the quarter-deck, mounted the rigging 
 as his mate had done before, and nothing being visible, 
 he also remonstrated with George for giving a false 
 alarm. To this the self-appointed lookout man, as 
 if secure in the consciousness of being right, paid no 
 regard. Soon, in stentorian voice, George cried out, 
 " Land ! and breakers ahead ! " Now, other eyes could 
 see breakers near at hand, and the ship was safely put 
 about. The captain afterwards declared, that if George 
 had not been able to see what they could not, they 
 would have been on the rocks and suffered shipwreck. 
 England was soon plainly visible. The ship had made 
 an uncommonly quick passage for her, and the passen- 
 gers were able to reach London in time for the Yearly 
 Meeting. The new ship referred to did not arrive 
 until some time after. 
 
 Captain Truxton was much pleased with his passen- 
 gers, and had acquired a very high estimate of them, 
 particularly of Rebecca Jones. An anecdote is related 
 strongly illustrating this. On his arrival, he had 
 some contention with one of the public officers con- 
 nected with the customs, who, in a pompous manner, 
 during the dispute, frequently made use of the phrase, 
 " \Yisdom of Parliament." Truxton, losing his pa- 
 tience, exclaimed, " Wisdom of Parliament ! Why T
 
 108 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 have a Quaker lady on board my ship who has more 
 wisdom in her little finger than you have in all your 
 Parliament put together ! " 
 
 When the Friends reached London, they found that 
 the women Friends who had collected there to the 
 Yearly Meeting of ministers and elders, were under 
 concern and exercise that a Yearly Meeting of business 
 for those of their own sex should be established. In 
 the year 1753 or '54, a proposition was first made in 
 the men's Yearly Meeting for the establishment of a 
 similarly organized meeting for women Friends. At 
 that time Samuel Fothergill rose and said, " I see it, 
 but not now ; I behold it, but not immediately nigh." 
 In the year 1783 it was revived; but the meeting was 
 even then not prepared to adopt the measure. One of 
 the men who opposed it declared, in the Yearly Meet- 
 ing, that a body with two heads would be a monster. 
 On which a woman Friend remarked that though a 
 body with two heads might be a monster, she could 
 see nothing incongruous in a body with one head hav- 
 ing two hands. William Matthews, from America, 
 had a deep concern in his mind for the establishment 
 of this meeting, and he visited the women collected in 
 London to spread it before them. They also were 
 under the concern, and thought it would be right again 
 to lay the matter before the men's Yearly Meeting. 
 Esther Tuke, Elizabeth Robinson, Rebecca Jones, and
 
 REBECCA JONES. 109 
 
 nine others were selected to go on this important em- 
 bassy. The women were admitted, and Joseph Gur- 
 ney Bevan, observing the noble figure of Esther Tuke 
 as the delegation entered the men's apartment, had this 
 passage of Scripture instantly and forcibly brought to 
 his remembrance : " What is thy petition, Queen Es- 
 ther ? and it shall be granted thee : and what is thy 
 request ? and it shall be performed, even to the half 
 of the kingdom." When her request was made known, 
 the current of true unity therewith was so strong that 
 all opposition was borne down, although some diffi- 
 culties were raised by a few. A Yearly Meeting for 
 women Friends was established. Its first session was 
 in 1785. 
 
 Rebecca Jones, in her travels through England, was 
 often much discouraged at the low state of things in 
 our religious society there. Her letters bear testimony 
 to this. 
 
 " Seventh month 1st, Norwich. The Quarterly and 
 Yearly Meeting here ended yesterday. William Mat- 
 thews and Elizabeth Gibson, with divers others from 
 a distance, attended. Though in many instances there 
 is abundant cause of lamentation and mourning, yet 
 the precious visitation of Divine love was remarkably 
 extended to the young people, many of whom were 
 bowed under it. ... Upon the whole, it may be said 
 with thankfulness, there is yet a solid number in this 
 10
 
 110 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 place who are, under the present low state of things, 
 much depressed. Among them are, particularly, wor- 
 thy Edmund Gurney and his sister Mary. He has 
 not gone into the gallery once during the meeting, but 
 sat low, and appears so, both body and mind. Much 
 plain dealing has been used in public and select meet- 
 ings for the help of ' the men who are settled on their 
 lees.' I trust the servants are clear." 
 
 In this same letter she says that the young people at 
 Norwich and London, had widely departed from the 
 primitive standard of plainness. 
 
 Rebecca Jones returned to her own country in 1788. 
 In the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia, in 1792, 
 Rebecca was earnestly engaged in pressing on old 
 and young the necessity of weightiness of spirit in re- 
 ligious meetings. In the course of her remarks she 
 said, that if members were truly weighty in spirit dur- 
 ing the time of the meeting, they would not exhibit 
 the lightness which is so much apparent in some before 
 they are out of the house, and round about it. The 
 solemnity on the countenances of Friends would indi- 
 cate that they had been with Him whom they met pro- 
 fessedly to worship, and in meekness and humility 
 they would feel and show themselves to be his humble 
 servants. 
 
 How little is known by many of that state of true 
 introversion, in which the mind being drawn from out-
 
 REBECCA JONES. Ill 
 
 ward things, is properly prepared to understand the 
 motions of the spirit, .and through the fresh aspira- 
 tions thereof, effectually to cry " Abba, Father ! " In- 
 stead of waiting upon God in earnest desire to draw 
 near him in spirit, many in religious assemblies let 
 their minds out in consideration of their business or 
 their pleasures. How common is this sin ! A Friend 
 of Philadelphia, who was by profession a tanner, once 
 dreamed that he was sitting in a religious meeting, 
 wherein he was surprised to observe the congregation 
 with tables before them, at which they were pursuing 
 their usual avocations. The merchant had his books 
 there, the retailer his goods, the mechanic his tools. 
 Indignant at such employment, among those profess- 
 edly assembled for the awful and soul-important pur- 
 pose of Divine worship, he was about rising to reprove 
 them sharply, when, incidentally placing his hands be- 
 hind him, he found a bundle of calf-skins suspended 
 from his own shoulders ! How much easier it is to 
 discover the errors of others than our own, and how 
 often we richly deserve the very condemnation we 
 mete out to our neighbors. The wilful indulgence of 
 wandering thoughts in meeting, is sin, and it will be 
 felt to have been so, whenever the soul comes really 
 and truly under a concern to be saved. Perhaps there 
 are few things which have a greater tendency to encour- 
 age such unsettlement of mind, such dwelling on out-
 
 112 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 ward things, than a lifeless, formal ministry. A true 
 Gospel minister, when clothed with the baptizing 
 power, and called to labor in word and doc time, is 
 often enabled to awaken the sleepy spirit, recall the 
 wandering thought, and to bring many, at least, to a 
 transient sense of the awful importance of working 
 out their soul's salvation with fear and trembling. A 
 lifeless discourse, on the contrary, often disturbs the 
 true seeker after good, turns the thoughts of the weak 
 and unstable outward, and it is to be feared, the 
 hearers, finding no spiritual nourishment, sometimes 
 willingly encourage thoughts of their business to pass 
 away their time. A ship-carpenter, not a thoroughly 
 religious man, but an acute observer of men and things, 
 once characterizing the ministry of two individuals, 
 remarked, that under one of them he could build a 
 ship from stem to stern, but under the other he could 
 not lay a single plank. 
 
 In the Tenth month, 1793, Rebecca Jones was 
 seized with the yellow fever, which at that time was 
 raging to a fearful extent in Philadelphia. On the 
 23d, Thomas Scattergood, calling to see her, found 
 her scarcely able to speak through extreme suffering. 
 On the 24th he says, " Dear Rebecca Jones appeared 
 under much discouragement respecting getting about 
 again, but was in a heavenly frame of mind and glad 
 to see me, telling me that I felt like bone of her bone.
 
 REBECCA JONES. 113 
 
 On my telling her that I had not seen but that she 
 might be raised up to bear testimony to the Lord's 
 goodness and Truth, she replied, ' I am a poor atom, 
 unworthy to be employed in the Lord's work. Dear 
 Thomas, many have fled from the Truth, but the Lord 
 will meet with them. I have been an exercised woman 
 for thirty years past, and often grieved to see the pride 
 and forgetfulness of many in our Society, the multi- 
 plying of pleasure-carriages, formal visiting, etc.' At 
 another time, when with her, she said, ' There is an- 
 other dispensation in store for this people, depend upon 
 it,' repeating it more than once, ' if the people are not 
 humbled by the present.' ' ; 
 
 Those who are acquainted with the state of things 
 in Philadelphia for the next few years, will know how 
 fully this prediction of Rebecca Jones was verified. 
 On the 25th, Thomas Scattergood in the morning again 
 called to see his sick friend, and was distressed to find 
 her so low as to take no notice of him. About noon 
 she was somewhat revived, and told him she had seen 
 him in the morning, but was unable to speak to him. 
 She added, " I am in waiting ; there is nothing to do." 
 Before narrating what further took place on this occa- 
 sion, we may say that Thomas Scattergood had long 
 been wading under heavy exercise, in a prospect that 
 it was required of him by his Divine Master to pay a 
 religious visit to England. He had told no one of his 
 10*
 
 114 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 concern, although he now deemed the time for laying 
 the subject before his friends drew near. But although 
 Thomas had not opened his prospect, the Lord him- 
 self had unfolded it to Rebecca Jones, bringing her 
 into heartfelt sympathy with his poor servant, whom 
 he was anointing to send forth in his name. Rebecca, 
 as she lay, was too weak to do much more than look 
 round with love and sweetness on her friend. At last 
 she said, " Go, and the Lord go with thee." Later in 
 the day, Thomas being there again, she said, " Dear 
 Thomas, if the Master renews thy commission, and 
 should send thee over the water, mind the time ; do 
 not deal it out to individuals, but spread it before thy 
 Friends, and thou wilt find sympathizers. When thou 
 gets there, remember the poor servants in families; 
 they are too often neglected. The Lord dealt bounti- 
 fully with me in that land, and I have had comfortable 
 seasons with such." Thomas then asked what she 
 meant by her address to him when previously with 
 her ? She answered, " I could not tell thee before J. 
 J., though I love him, but I alluded to thy going over 
 the great waters. The Lord has in some instances 
 intrusted me with his secrets, and I have not betrayed 
 them." This conversation proved very consoling to 
 Thomas Scattergood, confirming his faith that it was 
 indeed the Lord who was calling him to labor in a dis- 
 tant part of his vineyard.
 
 REBECCA JONES. 115 
 
 Such secret sympathy with others and inward par- 
 ticipation in their thought and exercise are not always 
 confined to those in advanced years. The late Daniel 
 Haviland, feeling drawn to attend a meeting not very 
 distant from his residence, took his daughter Hannah, 
 then quite young, with him. Soon after the meeting 
 was gathered, she seemed to enter into sympathy with 
 her father, thought it would be right for him to appear 
 in the ministry, and saw clearly the text he should 
 speak on. After a time her father arose, and, to the 
 great comfort of the child, commenced with the pas- 
 sage of Scripture that had impressed her mind. As 
 he spoke, she was enabled to follow him in great unity 
 of feeling for some time. At last he reached a point 
 at which the opening on her mind closed, and she 
 thought he ought to stop. He did not, however, cease 
 speaking, but, to her great distress, continued his dis- 
 course. When the meeting was over, they went home 
 with a Friend to dine. After dinner, Daniel took his 
 pipe, and got into a corner by himself, apparently 
 uneasy and desirous of avoiding observation. On 
 their ride homeward, the little girl asked her father 
 how he felt ; but as this did not lead him to unburden 
 his feelings to her, she told him honestly how it had 
 been with her. As she described how her mind had 
 been imprassed in the early part of the meeting, how she 
 had travelled on with him as he had ministered, where
 
 116 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 she thought he ought to have stopped, and her dis- 
 tress at his proceeding, he became deeply affected, saw 
 clearly the mistake he had made, and exclaimed to his 
 child, " My dear daughter, ' flesh and blood hath not 
 revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in 
 heaven/ " 
 
 Soon after the return of John Fothergill from his 
 last visit to America, he went to the Quarterly Meet- 
 ing at York, which was large, and attended by many 
 Friends from different parts of the nation. His com- 
 pany was very acceptable ; and the occasion was, in a 
 peculiar degree, solemn and instructive. 
 
 Here he met his son Samuel. Tradition has handed 
 down (and there is no other record of it) a remarkable 
 circumstance connected with this, their first interview, 
 after the return of the father to England. It is said 
 that, from some accidental circumstance, John Fother- 
 gill did not arrive in York until the morning of the 
 day of the meeting, and that it was late when he entered 
 the meeting-house : after a short period of silence he 
 stood up and appeared in testimony ; but after he had 
 proceeded a short time, he stopped, and informed the 
 meeting that his way was closed ; that what he had 
 before him was taken away, and was, he believed, given 
 to another. He resumed his seat, and another Friend 
 immediately rose, and taking up the subject, enlarged 
 upon it in a weighty and impressive testimony, deliv-
 
 REBECCA JONES. 117 
 
 ered with great power. It is added, that at the close of 
 the meeting John Fothergill inquired who the Friend 
 was that had been so remarkably engaged amongst 
 them, and was informed that it was his own son 
 Samuel ! 
 
 Their thus meeting together, under circumstances so 
 different to those in which their last memorable inter- 
 view had taken place, previous to John Fothergill's 
 departure from England, was peculiarly moving and 
 affecting to them both. The good old man received 
 his son as one restored from the spiritually dead, and 
 wept and rejoiced over him with no common joy. 
 
 Our late worthy ministering Friend William Wil- 
 liams, in his religious labors in the State of Delaware, 
 appointed a public meeting, to which came the Gover- 
 nor of the State and many other persons of eminence. 
 The subject that opened on the mind of William, was 
 the unlawfulness of war. He felt tried to be called on 
 to speak on that subject, fearing his inability to do it 
 justice, and for a long time thought he could not give 
 up to the requiring. At last, however, trusting to Him 
 who is might and wisdom, tongue and utterance to his 
 dependent children, he stood up, and the Lord was 
 pleased to favor him eminently that day, in matter and 
 manner. After the meeting was over, as William was 
 sitting on the porch of a Friend's house, Solomon 
 Bayley, a pious colored man, came near. The owner
 
 118 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 of the dwelling, who knew and respected Solomon, 
 invited him to walk in. He declined doing it, but 
 said he wished to speak to the Friend. Addressing 
 William, he said, "Thy Master commanded thee to 
 preach ; but thou wert afraid ; but when thou submit- 
 ted, He brought thee off victorious." This touched 
 William's feelings deeply; he felt this colored man's 
 participation with him in his exercise of spirit, as a 
 token of the Lord's mercy, and he was thereby quick- 
 ened to endeavor after a livelier and more unshaken 
 faith. 
 
 How low and humble the condition of mind in 
 "\vhich Rebecca Jones was kept by her Divine Master ! 
 Often the true minister of the Gospel mst go mourn- 
 ing in the tribulated path of obedience ; and we may 
 receive it as a certain truth, that those who know not 
 inward conflicts and fiery baptisms, are not walking in 
 the favor of the Lord, nor advancing toward that city 
 where sorrow is unknown. That wise woman and 
 sound minister Sarah Harrison, wrote thus in 1796 
 from England : " When I last met with Nicholas Wain 
 at York, he was in a very tried state, not having 
 opened his mouth in testimony since he left Ireland, 
 nor for some time before. Poor man ! he has to tra- 
 vail in the deeps ; and I wish with all my heart, that 
 it was the case with some others. Then I believe the
 
 REBECCA JONES. 119 
 
 grace would be more magnified, and the creature less 
 gratified both in visitors and visited." 
 
 Sarah Grubb says in one of her letters, " I remem- 
 ber to have heard that Samuel Fothergill, in'the last 
 journey he took, was often so exceedingly stripped and 
 tried, particularly after his public appearances, that 
 the unity or approbation of the least child in the 
 family would have revived him; [this] led him to 
 acknowledge he was never more weak, and apt to 
 doubt the rectitude of his ministry ; [yet] a Friend of 
 much religious worth and spiritual discernment, who 
 was often with him, told me that it was never more 
 pure and baptizing." 
 
 Thomas Cash had a saying to this purport, "We 
 cannot think too lowly of ourselves, if we do not des- 
 pair." This doctrine was beautifully and very char- 
 acteristically set forth by our simile-loving Friend, 
 James Simpson : " Friends, be as little as the snow- 
 birds, and then the Devil can't hit you." 
 
 A young Friend of Philadelphia, who was passing 
 through great exercises of mind, was much depressed. 
 He felt as though he were of no value or importance 
 to any one; in short, that no man cared for his soul. 
 While in this condition, feeling his mind drawn to 
 call upon that honorable elder William Wilson, he 
 went in fear, thinking it almost presumption in him to 
 venture to intrude on a father in the Truth, When
 
 120 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 he was introduced into the room where the worthy old 
 Friend sat, he was cordially received and greeted with 
 a salutation in substance as follows : " I take it very 
 kind indeed of thee, to call and see an old man who 
 did not know that there was anybody in the world 
 thought him worth coming to visit. It is very kind 
 indeed ! " This unexpected reception immediately 
 afforded relief to the disconsolate youth, and they 
 were comforted together. " He that watereth shall be 
 watered also himself." 
 
 Rebecca Jones sometimes preached very short ser 
 mons. The following note from Richard Baker, 
 that valuable minister of Dover, England, inserted in 
 a letter from Thomas Scattergood, gives us one of 
 them. " Richard Baker desires his very dear love to 
 be remembered to Rebecca Jones, who frequently has 
 revived in his remembrance profitably, and wishes her 
 to be informed, for her encouragement, to attend to 
 impressions that may sometimes appear small ; that the 
 single sentence she delivered to him in a street has 
 
 O 
 
 been made more profitable to him than some whole 
 volumes he has read, which was this : ' Blessed are 
 they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.' " 
 
 In the meeting at which Robert Barclay was con- 
 vinced of Friends' principles, we are told that but 
 three sentences were spoken, viz. : " In stillness there 
 is fulness. In fulness there is nothingness. In no-
 
 REBECCA JONES. 121 
 
 thingness all things." Our late pithy friend, Samuel 
 Atkinson, of Rancocas, New Jersey, once delivered 
 the following short, thought -awakening discourse : 
 ' Shepherds and shepherdesses, take care of the lambs; 
 wolves are very hungry in snow-time." At another 
 time he uttered this short text, and still shorter com- 
 ment : " ' Put off the old man with his deeds.' A 
 long job for some of us ! " 
 
 In the summer of 1799, Rebecca Jones, with Jane 
 Snowdon for a companion, visited Friends in New 
 England. She writes from Nantucket, under date of 
 Seventh month 10th, that she and her companions, 
 seven in all, were then waiting for a fair wind to take 
 them to New Bedford, which, according to a received 1 
 opinion among Friends there, would remain ahead as 
 long as anything further was to be done. 
 
 The reference above made to the prevalent idea at 
 Nantucket, that the wind will not become fair for 
 ministers to leave that island until they have per- 
 formed all the service required of them there by their 
 Divine Master, recalls to mind an anecdote, in which 
 a horse refused to go into a boat to leave a place where 
 his mistress had not discharged her duty. The ac- 
 count was given by a ministering Friend, the late 
 Samuel Gum mere, who said he received it from the 
 mouth of the female minister herself. About the 
 time of the last war with England, the Friend, having 
 11
 
 122 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 a concern to visit Canada, passed there in a sloop 
 which plied regularly as a ferry-boat. The horse of 
 her companion being led on board, her horse, to the 
 surprise of the witnesses, followed of its own accord. 
 When her labor in those parts was nearly completed, 
 she felt a concern arise in her mind to have a religious 
 meeting with the inhabitants of Kingston. But it was 
 court time, many military officers and great men were 
 there, and her faith failed her. Jonah-like, she took 
 her passage, intending to cross the lake, and thus escape 
 drinking this bitter cup. The sloop in which she had 
 come to Canada was to convey her back, and the man 
 who had led her companion's horse into it on the 
 American side, now did it again, expecting to see her 
 horse follow. But the animal showed no disposition 
 to stir. Efforts were then made to lead him on board, 
 but he stoutly resisted ; and, after many vain attempts, 
 the tackle of the vessel had to be employed, whereby 
 he was fairly hoisted in. This difficulty over, they 
 started with a fair wind, and the captain said he 
 thought they might reach their port in half an hour. 
 But presently the wind arose boisterous and contrary, 
 and the vessel beat about for some time, but made no 
 progress. The poor deserter from duty felt like Jonah 
 indeed, and was now willing, could she return to 
 Canada, to perform her Master's bidding. She de- 
 sired the captain to put her back ; but he told hei it
 
 RMBECCA JONES. 123 
 
 was impossible, with that wind and such weather, to 
 reach the place he had left. There was a point of 
 land on the Canada side not very distant which he 
 could make, but it was one of the English military 
 posts. At her request, the captain hailed the sentinel, 
 and inquired if a passenger might be landed there. 
 The sentinel replied he dared not permit it under pain 
 of death. The woman Friend, recollecting she had 
 been born a subject of the king of England, and had 
 never forfeited her allegiance, desired the captain to 
 inquire if there was any officer at the post. An officer 
 was called, who granted her permission, as " one of 
 his majesty's subjects," to land. The landing was 
 effected after they had been tossing fr,om eight o'clock 
 to twelve on the water. Being now again on shore, 
 the woman Friend was prompt to take the necessary 
 steps to enable her to fulfil her apprehended duty. She 
 applied to an English naval officer, stating her desire 
 of having a meeting with the inhabitants of Kingston. 
 He readily offered his services in procuring a suitable 
 place, and endeavored to obtain the Episcopal meeting- 
 house for that purpose. The clergyman was, however, 
 from home, and it was said the key could not be found. 
 In the mean time, the Chief Justice, hearing of the 
 Friend's concern, procured a large ball-room, and had 
 it fitted with benches. The meeting was held that 
 very evening, and, it was thought, three thousand per-
 
 124 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 sons were present. When the meeting closed, the 
 Chief Justice sent to the Friend's lodging to inquire 
 if he might pay her a visit. On her assent being 
 given, he came. In the course of his conversation he 
 informed her that he had tried being a Roman Cath 
 olio, an Episcopalian, and a Presbyterian, and now he 
 found he had all to learn yet. He said he had here- 
 tofore been harsh towards Friends who had been 
 brought before him for not obeying military requisi- 
 tions, because he had believed their refusal proceeded 
 from obstinacy, but that now he thought otherwise. 
 The next day the Friend crossed over to the New York 
 shore, her horse going on board the sloop without 
 leading. The captain, observing the action of the 
 horse, said, "It will go over now, for the work is 
 done." It may be well to add that the Chief Justice 
 fulfilled his promise, and that no consistent Friend, up 
 to the time this account was written, had suffered 
 under him for conscientious scruples. 
 
 Those who remember Rebecca Jones in health and 
 vigor, describe her as being of a fine, portly person, 
 as having an imposing appearance in the gallery, and 
 a countenance readily flushed by the earnestness of her 
 feelings, as she was pleading with her fellow-candidates 
 for immortality, that they might be reconciled unto 
 God. There was much dignity in her demeanor and 
 wisdom in her conversation. In meetings for worship
 
 REBECCA JONES. 125 
 
 she wag clothed with Gospel power and authority, and 
 in meetings for discipline with the spirit of wise dis- 
 cernment. Some years before her death, her labor for 
 others being much over, and tried with many infirmi- 
 ties of body; she looked, with wistful earnestness, for 
 the period when her Master should grant her a release 
 from the afflictions of life's weary pilgrimage. 
 
 Rebecca Jones had experienced many trials calcu- 
 lated to depress her spirits. She had beheld those with 
 whom her soul had enjoyed sweet fellowship, who had 
 labored with her in the Gospel of her dear Lord, who 
 had been as bone of her bone, fall from their stability, 
 lose their spiritual gifts and graces, and even bring 
 reproach on the blessed Truth. Her heart had been 
 sorely wounded thereby ; her faith had been closely 
 tried, while she feared lest she also might one day fall 
 and become a castaway from the holy fellowship of her 
 people and the blessed favor of her God. Many of 
 the faithful had been removed from her side, and earth 
 offered little to induce her to desire to longer tarry 
 amid its checkered scenes. Samuel Emlen had gone 
 to receive the blessed reward of pure dedication. 
 Sarah Harrison had been in mercy taken from a world 
 of trouble. Thomas Scattergood had exchanged his 
 earthly state of mingled weeping and rejoicing for a 
 resting-place in that glorious city where sorrow finds 
 no entrance. And others, near and dear to her heart, 
 11*
 
 126 REBECCA JONES. 
 
 were now, like herself, aged pilgrims, waiting for their 
 own dismissal from mortality, with little ability to 
 salute an old fellow-traveller in the way everlasting. 
 She could but hope over some of the younger laborers 
 in the Lord's vineyard; yet the signs of the times 
 seemed to her prophetic of coming sorrow, and feeling 
 that " mourning, lamentation, and woe" were inscribed 
 on the future, she found little room for rejoicing. 
 
 Her decease took place on the 15th of Fourth 
 month, 1818, she being then nearly seventy-nine years 
 of age.
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 the east side of Front Street near Walnut Street, 
 in Philadelphia, about the close of the Revolu- 
 tionary war, was a large blacksmith's shop, in which 
 anchors were forged. In it might be seen, standing at 
 an anvil, hammer in hand, a strong, wide-shouldered, 
 full-set man, of about five feet ten inches in height, 
 whose powerful, clear voice could be heard above all 
 the din of the roaring of fires and the ringing of iron. 
 It was a scene to attract attention. This stout man, 
 the proprietor and conductor of the business, was of a 
 light complexion, of handsome features, and well-pro- 
 portioned in every part of his muscular body. When 
 the gazer, while beholding the many ponderous ham- 
 mers descending on the partly-finished anchors, and 
 feeling almost stunned by the noise, heard the voice of 
 the owner rising distinct and clear above all, directing 
 the workmen in their various labors, it was wont to 
 excite surprise. That voice was peculiar, and in a 
 meeting for worship, when the speaker was under deep 
 
 127
 
 128 DANIEL OFFLET. 
 
 religious exercise and concern for his fellow-believers, 
 it was remarkable for its melody. It was exceedingly 
 rich in tone, and he seemed to speak without effort. 
 This man of the fine face, the well-proportioned frame, 
 the powerful arm, the far-extending voice, was Daniel 
 Offley. 
 
 He was the son of Daniel and Rachel Offley, and 
 was born in Philadelphia, on the 29th of the Eleventh 
 month, 1756. Being of an animated and joyous dis- 
 position by nature, not regulated by Divine Grace, he 
 rushed, in his youth, into many of the vanities and 
 follies which beset his path. He was gay and light- 
 hearted, but was far, very far from partaking of true 
 peace and heart-comforting happiness. These can only 
 be enjoyed by those who, through the mercy of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, witness a pardon for past sins, and 
 grace to enable them to live a life of piety and virtue. 
 One of his most intimate friends, and the partaker 
 with him in vanity and frivolity, was Jonathan Evans. 
 This, his strong-minded associate, was as averse to 
 religious things as himself, until brought, through the 
 secret convictions of Grace operating by a providential 
 incident, to repentance and amendment of life. From 
 the memorial of Jonathan Evans, and the account 
 given by some of his friends, we learn some of the 
 particulars of his convincement. In search of some- 
 thing he wanted, he was examining the contents of n
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 129 
 
 old chest, when, picking up a book which he found 
 there, he opened it. His eyes caught the words " The 
 Light of Christ." There was nothing in this sentence 
 attractive to him, so the book was thrown down, and 
 he went about his business. But although the book 
 was closed and left behind him, and he occupied by 
 his worldly concerns, he could not forget that sentence, 
 "The Light of Christ." At last he determined to 
 examine the book further, and, on taking it from the 
 old chest, found it to be William Penn's " No Cross, 
 no Crown." He read this book, and, through Divine 
 mercy, was now thoroughly reached and awakened to 
 a sense of his lost and undone condition by nature, 
 and was prompted to seek earnestly for deliverance 
 from the shackles of sin. As he could no longer 
 enjoy the company of his former associates, he with- 
 drew from them, keeping himself much retired. Some 
 of those who loved his society were not disposed to 
 give him up, and Daniel Offley undertook to reason 
 the matter with him. Daniel supposed this with- 
 drawal from a gay life was but the eifect of a melan- 
 choly fit, which would soon depart if he would mingle 
 with his former associates ; and in arguing with him 
 he told him so. This opened the way for Jonathan, 
 who so clearly set forth the sinfulness of the course 
 they had both been pursuing, that Daniel Offley was 
 himself convinced. He too now felt strong convictions
 
 130 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 for sin, and, through the mercy of his Saviour, he also 
 experienced repentance toward God and a saving faith 
 in our Lord Jesus Christ. Being brought under the 
 power of judgment and condemnation for his past 
 transgressions, in a sense of his lost condition, except 
 he could find one mighty to save and able to deliver, 
 he was deeply humbled. But as he patiently bore the 
 chastening of the Lord, he was favored to experience 
 the glad tidings of the Gospel of Jesus, who saveth 
 his people from their sins. Then was there opened to 
 him, for his comfort, the dayspring from on high, 
 and, in the midst of conflicts, he had joy and peace in 
 believing. 
 
 He was noi yet free from trials. He who had re- 
 deemed him from evil, now called him to labor in the 
 work of the ministry. Strong baptisms of spirit were 
 therefore upon him; and under their operation, his 
 will was subjected to the Lord's will and before 
 many months had elapsed, he opened his mouth in 
 religious meetings to the comfort of his Friends. In 
 a very short time afterwards, his friend Peter Yarnall 
 appearing in the same way, a strong sympathy of spirit 
 was superadded to their former friendship for each 
 other. 
 
 Peter Yarnall being at Concord trying to establish 
 himself in business as a physician, Daniel thus wrote 
 to him:
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 131 
 
 'PHILADELPHIA, Twelfth month 20th, 1780. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND, .... Thine, by favor of Jonathan 
 Evans, contained a very seasonable apology for thy not 
 calling to see me, when last in town. Since which 
 [time] many favors conferred upon us, claim our deep 
 and humble acknowledgment to the great Author. It 
 still continues to be my lot, to dwell mostly in a state 
 of deep proving, and humbling exercise. I am de- 
 siring to be made fully acquainted with my own in- 
 firmity, and the workings of the enemy of our happi- 
 ness, which I believe many of us have been favored to 
 see, are deep and hidden. I think I have also been 
 favored to see the indispensable necessity of our dwell- 
 ing deep, and being often brought under the baptizing 
 power of Truth, which has a tendency, as it is patiently 
 abode under, clearly and distinctly to discover the 
 snares which Satan, or his emissaries, have laid for us. 
 I believe these snares and baits are always suited to our 
 various natural inclinations. 
 
 " As respects us, who have believed ourselves called, 
 and not only called, but chosen of God, to bear a public 
 testimony to his goodness, oh ! that I, in particular, 
 oh ! that all who are thus called, may dwell so deep as 
 to be preserved from all the snares of the enemy, and 
 kept under that Power which gives authority, and 
 which ' maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a 
 flame of fire,' that neither the stubble nor the -haify 
 nature can withstand. For I do verily believe, if there 
 be but, on our part, a proper waiting for the fresh 
 anointing, that the Lord will raise up ' threshing instru- 
 ments.' Oh ! how necessary it is to guard well against
 
 132 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 the working of self-imagination, compassing ourselves 
 about with sparks, but not of the true fire ; and by 
 impatience (when perhaps the anointing Power was at 
 work, and would have properly qualified) there has 
 been strange fire offered; which I believe, without 
 breach of charity, has been offensive in the sight of 
 God, who will not accept ' robbery for burnt-offering.' 
 There must be a waiting in holy silence, and ceasing 
 from self-activity, until we feel the command, ' proclaim 
 my word which I have given thee, to this people.' 
 
 " When there is such a clear discovery, it is an awful 
 thing, and its consequences are fearful to disobey. 
 Notwithstanding it is so, there has been at times, in 
 myself, and it may be so with others, a reluctance to 
 yield obedience ; and then we are brought under chas- 
 tisement and close rebuke ; which may work in us a 
 disposition of willingness to do anything, in order to 
 be relieved from the deep distress of mind that we 
 feel. Here is the enemy again, presenting a way for 
 us, working upon the unmortified nature, and proposing 
 many things to us, in order to get from under this trying 
 dispensation ; which in these beclouded times, makes 
 the trial still deeper and more exercising. I have ever 
 found it safest for me, in the course of my small ex- 
 perience, to bear the indignation of the Lord, till it be 
 overpast, and his mercy again revealed, with a clear 
 evidence of his being again reconciled. 
 
 " I cannot tell the reason why I should be thus led ; 
 but hope these remarks may, by no means, be a dis- 
 couragement to thee, whom I love and esteem. But if 
 thou should have to travel in any of these trying paths,
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 133 
 
 them may remember that others have trodden therein 
 before thee. So, in dear love to thee, in which my wife 
 joins, I remain thy assured friend, 
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY, JR." 
 
 The comparatively trifling occurrence made use of 
 in the Divine hand in the convincement of Jonathan 
 Evans, and, through him, of his friend, Daniel Offley, 
 is in accordance with the working of Providence in 
 awaking many others. The following anecdote is an 
 incident in point. A gay, thoughtless, unregenerate 
 woman, in looking over the shoulder of a religious 
 servant, to find out what she was reading, had her 
 attention arrested by the word " eternity." Eternity ! 
 a word of but eight letters yet how much is com- 
 prised in it ! The Holy Spirit set this word home on 
 the heart of the careless beholder. She began to feel 
 what eternity, to an immortal, accountable being, im- 
 plied future unending happiness to those who on 
 earth should walk in obedience to the law of the 
 Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; hopeless, irremediable 
 misery to those who, like herself, were gratifying the 
 desires of the vain mind. That night sleep forsook 
 her eyes, deep exercise of spirit came upon her, and 
 from that time, as she submitted to the inward bap- 
 tisms of the Holy Ghost and fire, her heart grew more 
 and more tender, and her spiritual understanding 
 more enlightened. That one glance had produced, 
 12
 
 134 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 through the Saviour's blessing, a train of reflections, 
 of inward conflicts, of submissions on her part, which 
 resulted in a change of heart, manifested in a change 
 of life. 
 
 Edward Andrews, of the province of New Jersey, 
 the son of faithful parents, in his early years took 
 great delight in music and jollity. By giving way to 
 his evil propensities, he stifled the reproofs of instruc- 
 tion, until at last the Lord's Holy Spirit seemed no 
 longer to strive with him. After a time a series of losses 
 and crosses, as respected worldly things, came upon him, 
 and yet little change for the better was wrought in him 
 thereby. His residence had been among Friends at 
 Mansfield, but he now removed to the neighborhood 
 of Egg Harbor, on the sea-shore, where his principal 
 companions were Indians, and their chief business 
 seemed to be getting up idle diversions, wherein the 
 fiddle had the principal place. He was far from any 
 meeting of Friends, and the principles of his education 
 seemed to have lost all hold on his mind. In the 
 twenty-seventh year of his age a renewed visitation of 
 the Lord's mercy was manifested effectually, savingly 
 to him, and very simple indeed did the first moving 
 thereof appear. He saw, one day, as he was walking 
 in his field alone, a bone of a man's leg. He had 
 often handled it, and had at times made use of it as a 
 club to strike with and to throw ; but now there came
 
 DANIEL OFFLET. 135 
 
 a though! fulness over his mind as he looked at it, 
 with an impression that it would be right to bury 
 it. This, after a time of inward debate, he did, and 
 felt peaceful in so doing. From this time the witness 
 for God stirred in him again, recalling the days he 
 had spent in vanity and estrangement from good, and 
 raising in him desires for deliverance from sin. Step 
 by step he trod the path of self-denial and the daily 
 cross, until he was led out of his former evil habits, 
 and was brought into inward conformity to the will 
 of his God. It was in the Fourth month, 1704, that 
 he found this bone, and as he continued faithful to 
 that which reproved him, he was led for a time through 
 many conflicts, and experienced largely of weeping 
 and mourning, and then came a season of inward com- 
 fort in the assurance of the Lord's favor. Now his 
 blessed Saviour filled his heart with love for others ; 
 be was brought to long for their spiritual welfare, and 
 then a gift in the ministry of the Gospel of life and 
 salvation was committed to him. He labored as the 
 Lord opened his way. A blessing attended his min- 
 istry ; many were convinced, and a meeting of Friends 
 was soon established near his residence. Through 
 faithfulness under his exercises, and to his openings, 
 he grew in spiritual grace and wisdom. 
 
 He was honest and sharp-sighted as a watchman on 
 the walls of Zion, bearing a true testimony against
 
 136 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 wrong spirits in the church, whilst ever ready to pass 
 by and forgive trespasses against himself. He did not 
 live long to labor, and being taken sick, was sensible 
 that his end had nearly come, telling his friends the 
 Lord had brought him through all his exercises. The 
 evening before his death, his heart was tendered by the 
 sweet incomes of the love of God, and in living prayer 
 he committed himself and family to the Lord's keep- 
 ing. On the 26th of Tenth month, 1716, having been 
 favored with the Lord's comforting and sustaining 
 presence to the last, he joyfully departed. 
 
 Daniel Offley continued to labor faithfully in the 
 ministry to which he was called. To his friend Peter 
 Yarnall, at Concord, he thus wrote : 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, Eighth month 7th, 1781. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND, .... I have often thought, and 
 had to marvel at the long forbearance and mercy of 
 our God ; and a language, similar to that formerly ex- 
 pressed respecting some other places, has often run 
 through my mind. Oh, Philadelphia ! Philadelphia! 
 had the many powerful visitations, which have been 
 extended to thee, been reached forth unto Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, they would have repented long ago, in dust 
 and ashes. Therefore the men of these cities shall rise 
 up in judgment against thee, and, may I not say, con- 
 demn thee. But I do believe there are a living num- 
 ber, whose cries have entered into the ears of the Lord 
 of Sabaoth, and te has opened a gracious ear to their
 
 DANIEL OFF LEY. 137 
 
 mourning and sighings, as between the porch and the 
 altar, with this language, ' O Lord, spare us a little 
 longer. Try us yet another year.' He has long waited 
 for fruits. But it would be no marvel at all with me, 
 if his anger should yet rise higher, and he should pour 
 out the vials of his wrath upon the inhabitants of this 
 once highly favored city. 
 
 " As to my own particular state, I have been of latter 
 weeks under much humbling exercise. Yesterday I 
 attended our Quarterly Meeting, and believe it was 
 favored with a covering, which clearly evidenced that 
 something good was still with us ; and that the Lord 
 had not wholly forsaken his people it may be for the 
 sake of the ' ten righteous,' whom he has yet found 
 among us. And, oh ! saith my soul, may their num- 
 ber increase ; and that we, who have put our hands to 
 the gospel-plough, may not look back, nor, through 
 dust gathering on our garments and becoming soiled, 
 thereby dim the beauty of holiness, and occasion the 
 weak to stumble, and the daring rebel to reproach the 
 holy Truth. ... I believe it cannot now be called a 
 time of health in the city. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, DANIEL OFFLEY, JR." 
 
 An expectation similar to that expressed by Daniel 
 of a time of judgment on the city of Philadelphia, 
 was felt and declared by many other Friends. The 
 year 1793 saw the fulfilment of their fears. Then 
 came the yellow fever, and with it fearfulness of heart 
 12*
 
 138 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 and paleness of face throughout the devoted city. 
 Then was felt the silence of desolation ; the wheels of 
 trade were at rest, and little was heard but the rum- 
 bling of the dead-cart, even more awful because of the 
 absence of other sounds. 
 
 About the beginning of the year. 1783, George 
 Dillwyn and Daniel Offley, Jr., paid a visit to Friends 
 in New York State. On this visit, when at Stanford, 
 they called one evening at the house of Tiddeman 
 Hull, the father of the late Henry Hull. Henry, 
 then eighteen years of age, was engaged in his father's 
 fulling-mill, and being sent for to the house, was dis- 
 turbed in his mind to find he was interrupted in his 
 business merely to come into a family sitting. He 
 says he " could hardly speak pleasantly to the Friends." 
 Notwithstanding this, Daniel Offley was so enabled to 
 minister to his spiritual condition as to be the means, 
 he records, of "turning me into the paths of obe- 
 dience." 
 
 How great the influence for good or evil man pos- 
 sesses, and how necessary that all should be faithful to 
 apprehended duty ! No one knows, when he is doing 
 despite to the convictions of grace, how many are 
 evilly affected by his sin ; and no one knows, when he 
 yields himself up in perfect obedience to the Lord's 
 will, how much of a saving ministry to others there 
 may be in his example of humble dedication. Jonathan
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 139 
 
 Evans was faithful to the awakening call given him ; 
 he was made instrumental in the conversion of Daniel 
 Offley, and Daniel Offley of Henry Hull. Doubtless 
 many were stirred up to spiritual diligence were 
 made to cry earnestly for help to the Lord through 
 the baptizing power of Henry Hull's ministry. See 
 how the circle of good influences extends. Every 
 one who receives permanent benefit is himself a fresh 
 centre of beneficial action on others. So is it of evil. 
 If by my example others are encouraged in wrong, 
 their influence is exerted in behalf of wrong. It is, 
 indeed, an awful thing to live ; for unless we retire to 
 the solitude of some distant forest, or bury ourselves 
 on some uninhabited island, we cannot rid ourselves 
 of the fearful responsibility of living of operating 
 for good or for evil on society. 
 
 In a letter addressed to Peter Yarnall, dated Seventh 
 month 29th, 1783, after mentioning that he was about 
 setting out on a visit to New York, Daniel Offley adds : 
 
 " Not long since, I returned, with my friend, George 
 Dillwyn, from the tour I now have in prospect. But, 
 finding a too anxious desire after home, I returned 
 too early, to my wounding. Oh, dear friend, there is 
 need for us to mind the pointing of the Lord's finger, 
 both in going out and coming in : to be wholly un- 
 shackled from all the cumbering things of this world, 
 and to be given up to his appointment and direction I
 
 140 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 If this was more the situation and state of such as are 
 at times made use of as instruments in his holy hand, 
 how many shining stars would there be, whose bright- 
 ness would have a tendency to overawe those clouds 
 of darkness which sometimes do overspread our Sion. 
 I feel a necessity for myself to be more devoted in 
 heart to run, with a becoming cheerfulness and resig- 
 nation, the ways of his requiring, whereby my strength 
 might more increase. For how subtle is the adversary 
 in his attempts to draw us back into captivity and 
 thraldom ! So that I have sometimes, when in low, 
 desponding moments, been ready to query, who is able 
 for these things ? 
 
 " But we have a merciful God to deal with, who, 
 when he has tried the integrity of our hearts, will arise 
 in his mighty power, and put to flight the enemy : and 
 thus our souls, wearied with exercise, will be permitted 
 to enjoy a short, but precious Sabbath. May I, with 
 thce, dear friend, ever press forward through these 
 crowds of opposition, which I believe neither of us are 
 exempt from, that so, neither heights nor depths, prin- 
 cipalities nor powers, things present nor to come, may 
 ever be able to separate us from the love of God in 
 Christ Jesus. As this becomes our daily concern, I 
 humbly hope that way will be made for the remnant 
 of God's Israel to pass through as on dry land, to the 
 praise of his holy Name."
 
 DANIEL OFFLET. 141 
 
 Many another Friend besides Daniel Offley, has re- 
 tired from fields of service to which they were called 
 before they were quite released. Henry Drinker, of 
 Philadelphia, writing to Samuel Neale, under date 
 Third month 10th, 1788, says: "Our valuable friend 
 Samuel Emlen hath visited my dwelling twice this 
 day. He is, as thou must have known him, often feeble 
 in body, but continues to be a vessel chosen and ap- 
 pointed to preach the Gospel in the authority thereof, 
 frequently animated and strengthened to the admiration 
 of many. Ever since his last return from your land 
 he appears at times much bowed under a sense of a too 
 hasty escape, and an apprehension that he must yet 
 give up to visit some parts of the island of Great 
 Britain once more." 
 
 We are all liable to be led astray, when we allow 
 our reason to take the place of revelation, and let our 
 own idea of fitness govern us in things where simple 
 obedience is required at our hands. 
 
 We are told by George Fox in his Journal, that in 
 the year 1648, being at Mansfield in Nottingham, he 
 felt a concern to go and speak to a company of Justices, 
 who were there sitting " about hiring servants." The 
 burden on the mind of George to deliver was, a warn- 
 ing to them not to "oppress the servants in their 
 wages." In obedience to the will of his Divine Master, 
 he started toward the inn where they met, but on
 
 142 DANIEL OFFLET. 
 
 coming near and finding a company of fiddlers in the 
 same house, his faith failed him, and he turned back, 
 thinking that time not seasonable for so serious a sub- 
 ject as he wished to bring to their notice. With the 
 prospect of returning in the morning, he turned from 
 the performance of present duty. In the morning 
 when he came to the inn, he found that the justices had 
 departed. Under the feelings produced by this infor- 
 mation, he became so blind he could not see. The 
 tavern-keeper informed him the justices were to sit that 
 day at a village eight miles from Mansfield. His con- 
 cern to see them still continued, and in the prospect of 
 being yet able to perform his duty, his hope revived, 
 and his sight began to be restored. In the present 
 strength and vision afforded, he commenced running 
 as fast as he could toward the village named. He 
 reached the place, and entered the room where the jus- 
 tices were sitting with many servants before them. In 
 the power and authority given him of the Lord, he 
 delivered his warning to the justices, and then exhorted 
 the servants to be faithful in the performance of their 
 several duties, serving in all honesty. Those addressed 
 received his exhortation and warning with kindness 
 and attention. 
 
 We have but little to say of the many religious en- 
 gagements of Daniel Offley during his short life. In 
 the Eleventh month, 1 786, he and Samuel Einlen left
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 143 
 
 Philadelphia for Barbadoes and some other of the West 
 India islands. At Barbadoes they were received with 
 kindness, and particularly so by the Governor of the 
 island. They found that the great hurricane of 1780 
 had blown down all the meeting-houses of Friends, 
 which were five in number. Preparations were, how- 
 ever, then making for the erection of a new one. 
 
 The memorial of Daniel Offley says that in this 
 visit to the islands, and in his labors in many of the 
 meetings on this continent, his service was "to the 
 satisfaction and edification of those among whom his 
 lot was cast ; [he] being often, through deep baptism, 
 led into close-searching labor with the indolent and 
 lukewarm professors of the blessed Truth." 
 
 About the middle of the Eighth month, 1793, the 
 yellow fever made its appearance in Philadelphia, and 
 as it was evidently spreading with fearful rapidity, 
 and was generally quickly mortal in its effects, a great 
 degree of public terror was shown. By the 26th, vast 
 numbers of the citizens began to remove, and for many 
 days the public roads leading from the city were 
 thronged with vehicles of all descriptions laden with 
 people and furniture. Many members of the Society 
 of Friends fled with their families; but there were 
 others who believed it their duty to remain some as 
 a testimony to their belief in the superintending prov- 
 idence of the Most High, and others to minister to the
 
 144 DANIEL OFFLET. 
 
 wants of the sick and needy. Among the latter was 
 Daniel Offley. He was not one of the original volun- 
 teers appointed by the citizens to assist the guardians 
 of the poor in the general oversight of the greatly- 
 increasing number of persons who were destitute of 
 the means of living, or were taken down with the dis- 
 temper; but in a few days he joined them. To walk 
 about the street at this time with any degree of com- 
 posure and peacefulness, required great command of 
 nerves or a great faith in Him who alone can control 
 " the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the de- 
 struction that wasteth at noonday." To hear, while 
 walking, the bells of the different places of worship 
 tolling unceasingly for the members of their respective 
 congregations who were hourly dropping, one by one, 
 into eternity to see the yellow flags waving on all 
 sides, and other marks of sickness within, on windows 
 and doors through all the streets, and to meet at every 
 corner the hearse with its dead, or the sick -cart con- 
 veying its sick and dying to the hospital, were evident 
 tokens of mortality sufficiently striking to appal the 
 bravest. Yet amid all these sights and sounds, in the 
 performance of his Christian duty, Daniel Offley con- 
 tinued his almost unabated labor in visiting the sick, 
 ministering to their physical wants, and, as ability was 
 afforded, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom to 
 them in freshness and power. With some he could
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 145 
 
 rejoice even while mourning that they were about put- 
 ting off mortality. Calling on the 19th of the Ninth 
 month on Sarah Rodman, a young woman of Newport, 
 Rhode Island, who had been taken with the prevailing 
 fever the previous day, he had to tell her of the com- 
 fort it had afforded him to feel that she was favored 
 with quietness and tranquillity, and to know that she 
 had not, at that awful time, to learn where to look for 
 relief in her distress, or how to pray to Him who alone 
 could deliver or save. In his visits to the sick, he 
 called almost daily upon her. At one time he said, 
 " The Lord is with thee, and I believe he will be with 
 thee as thy Caretaker, thy Supporter, and thy Com- 
 forter, however the present illness may terminate." 
 At another time he was bowed in awful supplication 
 in her chamber to the Father of mercies, wherein, in 
 fervency of spirit, he made intercession that she might 
 be supported on the bed of languishing, have her spirit 
 raised above the fear of death, and centred in safety 
 with her God. He felt himself clothed with sympa- 
 thy also with the relatives of the sick and dying. To 
 Hannah Fisher, sister of Sarah Rodman, he was on 
 different occasions drawn to administer the word of 
 consolation. He affectionately desired her, on the 
 25th, to seek after resignation, saying, in relation to 
 the probability of her sister's speedy decease, " It is, 
 indeed, a close trial, and many of thy friends feel for 
 13
 
 146 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 thee ; but, as I have told thee before and now have 
 no disposition to recall it she is the Lord's, and let 
 him take her. I have no doubt she will enter into the 
 full fruition of that joy which is prepared for the 
 righteous. She will be released from a troublesome 
 world, and centred where the wicked cease from trou- 
 bling and the weary are at rest. This is my faith con- 
 cerning her ; therefore try to compose thy mind, and 
 do not give way to sorrow which may hurt thee. I 
 know it is hard to part with such near connections, 
 having had to experience it." The night of the next 
 day, Sarah, having given a bright example of patience 
 and resignation, passed quietly away ; and, according 
 to the necessary custom of that sad period, in a few 
 Hourfj after her body was consigned to the earth. 
 
 As the mortality in the city grew greater, the ring- 
 ing of the bells to denote death, was dispensed with, 
 but the increased activity of the hearses, and the gen- 
 eral yellowness of the complexion of the citizens, made 
 walking the streets as little to be desired as ever. But 
 Daniel Offley still was faithful to his duty. His sta- 
 bility and unshaken confidence in God, made him a 
 comfort to the distressed in mind, and the faint-hearted 
 ones who seemed cast down at the prospect around 
 them. In religious meetings, which were then small, 
 he was often clothed upon with heavenly love, and 
 enabled in a tender and Christian manner to exhort
 
 DANIEL OFFLEY. 147 
 
 those gathered. He pressed upon them fidelity in the 
 discharge of religious duty and in thus doing, he 
 believed a qualification would be granted them to un- 
 derstand the language of the awful dispensation meted 
 out to them, and prepared, if it should be the Lord's 
 will, to lay down their lives with joy. 
 
 It is not needful to narrate many of the heart-rend- 
 ing scenes which the city of Philadelphia witnessed 
 during the Ninth and Tenth months, 1793. Many 
 died unattended wives fled from sick husbands 
 husbands abandoned their dying wives parents de- 
 serted their own offspring in their distress and chil- 
 dren left their plague-stricken parents to die of neglect. 
 But notwithstanding this, very many instances of deep 
 affection, of faithful fidelity unto death, were also wit- 
 nessed. Never were the kindnesses of human nature 
 and the prevailing loveliness of Divine grace in tender- 
 ing the feelings to the woes of others, more strongly 
 developed, than at this season, Avhere, in many, self ap- 
 peared all in all. 
 
 Daniel Oifley having, about the close of the Ninth 
 month, been with two of his friends and associates on 
 some errand of mercy, as they were separating, he 
 said, " The language of this dispensation to every one 
 of us is, ' Be ye also ready,' for at such an hour as we 
 expect not, the messenger of death may be sent to our 
 houses." They parted, never to meet again. Two of
 
 148 DANIEL OFFLEY. 
 
 them were soon called home to heaven the third, our 
 late friend, Thomas Wistar, sickened with the prevail- 
 ing disorder, but was, in the ordering of Divine Provi- 
 dence, restored to health, and survived, many years, 
 the death of his companions. 
 
 On the 3d of the Tenth month, Daniel Offley was 
 taken ill. On the 4th, one of his friends came to see 
 him, and while sitting by his side, expressed the sorrow 
 with which he was affected, at seeing one who had been 
 so serviceable to the sick, himself seized with the dis- 
 order, adding, that he had hoped Daniel would have 
 been spared. The grace-supported patient cheerfully 
 replied, " It matters little, when in our places, how we 
 are disposed of, whether in life or death." 
 
 With a holy, happy confidence in the Lord, un- 
 shaken by the pains of his distressed body, he lay 
 serenely tranquil, waiting the result. He knew that 
 all would be well, and expressed his resignation to the 
 Lord's will, whether it should be for life or death. On 
 the morning of the 7th of the month, his wife asking 
 him how he was, he replied, that he had had a very 
 comfortable night, and had been overshadowed with 
 the calming influence of Divine love, in a degree he 
 had never before experienced. 
 
 Thus sustained and comforted, he continued to the 
 close, departing this life on the llth of the Tenth 
 month, 1793, aged nearly thirty-seven years.
 
 WILLIAM SAVE.RY. 
 
 SAVERY, who had been plucked by 
 Divine Grace as a brand from the burning, was, 
 in the year 1780, occasionally opening his mouth in 
 the ministry. William was born in Philadelphia, in 
 the year 1750. In the days of his youth he had given 
 way to the temptations of the enemy of all good, and 
 had become estranged from the paths of purity and 
 peace. Yet he was not forgotten of his God. Many 
 and many a visitation of reproving mercy was meted 
 out to his soul. His days, which were often spent in 
 wantonness and mirth, were followed by nights of 
 lamentation and mourning. We learn from his own 
 account, that he at this time frequented taverns and 
 places of diversion, and indulged in card -playing. 
 Having been somewhat awakened to a sense of his evil 
 habits, he endeavored, in his own strength, to improve 
 his moral condition. He refrained from some of his 
 most glaring sins', and, doubtless, appeared much im- 
 
 proved in the sight of men. He says : 
 
 13* 149
 
 150 WILLIAM S AVERT. 
 
 "Now 1 struggled hard to break myself of my 
 fondness for company) seeing the snare there was in it, 
 being apt to relate adventures and tales to provoke 
 mirth ; and often, for the embellishment of them, to 
 strain beyond the truth. I was much concerned to 
 watch over myself in this particular, which is both 
 dishonorable and sinful, yet a vice that I have ob- 
 served to be very prevalent among the youth of both 
 sexes. Even in companies that are termed polite, or 
 well bred, the discourse is often so strained, that few 
 sentences 6r narratives, if examined, would be found 
 to be strictly true. Some fondly imagine that there 
 is but little harm in telling untruths, unless they be 
 related seriously, not considering our holy profession, 
 and who it was that said, ' Let your yea be yea, and 
 your nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than this cometh 
 of evil.' 
 
 "Oh, the folly of thus misspending our precious 
 time ! How watchful, how careful ought we to be of 
 our words and actions ! always remembering that the 
 holy eye of an all-seeing God pervades the most secret 
 chambers we can retire to, and his ear is ever open to 
 hear both the evil and the good ! Insomuch that one 
 formerly said, ( There is not a thought in the heart, 
 nor a word on the tongue, but he knows altogether ! ' 
 Yea, and many of the present day have known when 
 the terrors of the Lord have overtaken them for sin,
 
 WILLIAM SAVERT. 151 
 
 and they have had to taste of the spirit of judgment 
 and of burning that every secret thing has been 
 brought to light, and the hidden works of darkness 
 have been made manifest; and that even for idle words 
 they have had to render an account. 
 
 " I had been employed, as before related, in bringing 
 myself to a more circumscribed life, being pretty care- 
 ful in my conduct and conversation and just in my 
 dealings among men, and was willing to believe that I 
 had attained to great matters, and that I might now 
 take up my rest ; for by my own strength, ability, and 
 contrivance, I could not only keep up a fair, upright 
 character among men, and make myself happy and 
 respected, but (oh, the deceitful workings of Satan ! 
 oh, the mystery of iniquity !) that it would, at the 
 close of time here, gain me an inheritanee among all 
 those that are sanctified, in the regions of purity and 
 peace. 
 
 " How can I sufficiently adore [the Lord] for his 
 continued regard and care over me, in that he did not 
 /suffer me to remain long in this state of delusion and 
 error, but disturbed my false rest, and made me, at 
 times, exceedingly uneasy with it ? At length he gave 
 me to see that, notwithstanding my regularity of be- 
 havior and all my boasted attainments, I fell far short 
 of that purity whicn all the vessels of the Lord's hous.e 
 must come to, and that I was yet under the law, which
 
 152 WILLIAM S A VERY. 
 
 cannot make the comers thereunto perfect, not having 
 passed under the flaming sword, nor felt the day of 
 the Lord to come, which burns as an oven. 
 
 "This brought great distress and anxiety of mind 
 over me, and sometimes I was ready to doubt the truth 
 of these Divine revelations. I was also exceedingly 
 desirous to find, if possible, an easier way to happiness 
 than by submitting myself wholly to the cross, of 
 which I had, as yet, experienced but little. And one 
 night, as I was much tossed and distressed in mind, 
 (which was usual for me about that time,) I went to 
 bed, and as one that was in a dark and howling wil- 
 derness, where I could see no way out, to the right 
 hand or to the left. But at length the Lord, who, 
 indeed, watched over me continually for good, (blessed 
 -and praised forever be his najne!) brought me into 
 some degree of composure, so that I believe I went to 
 sleep. Be that as it might, it appeared to me that I 
 was travelling with a friend, and we saw, at a distance 
 from us, a very spacious house, the like I had never 
 seen, situate on a high hill, which I believed to be the 
 mansion of rest and happiness. We kept together 
 along the road, and, with little difficulty, arrived 
 within a few yards of the house, which we then per- 
 ceived to be the back part of it ; and in the door stood 
 a very venerable old man, whom I thought to be one 
 of the prophets, and who, I think, beckoned to us not
 
 WILLIAM S A VERY. 153 
 
 to come forward. At which we stopped, and he in- 
 formed us we were not right, and that this was not the 
 right way into the house, and that if we got in that 
 way, we should not enjoy the happiness we expected. 
 Upon which I left my companion, and soon found 
 myself at the front of the house. But now the diffi- 
 culty appeared ; for between me and it was a furnace, 
 which all that ever arrived therein must pass through. 
 Around this furnace, at a little distance, stood a mul- 
 titude of people, who, I believed, had likewise the 
 desire that I had of getting into the house, and were 
 looking at the furnace, but were afraid to enter. I 
 pressed forward and got near the mouth, and it ap- 
 peared exceeding hot, about four times as long as 
 myself, and about four feet in diameter. As I stood 
 viewing it, I believed the fire was much the hottest 
 round the sides, but decreased in heat toward the mid- 
 dle, which appeared to be the best place to pass through, 
 and where, if I could be steady enough to keep, I 
 shouid receive the least hurt. My thoughts were much 
 tossed to and fro and very irresolute, and I reasoned 
 thus : If thou shouldst attempt to pass through, and 
 find the fire too hot, and be obliged to come out again 
 backward, thou wilt then become the laugh and scorn 
 of all the multitude : and I believe my heart failed 
 me, and I turned away sorrowful, and remember no 
 further, but thus far dwelt exceedingly lively in my
 
 154 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 imagination, and with uncommon clearness. I imme- 
 diately related it to my beloved partner, who, being 
 acquainted with my state of mind, without much hesi- 
 tation could unravel the meaning of it, which, indeed, 
 was so plain that he that runs might read. 
 
 "Though I have not been apt to catch at every 
 imagination that presents itself in sleep believing, in 
 general, that dreams are but of small import, and com- 
 monly proceed from the engagements of the day yet 
 I have no doubt that the Lord is pleased, at times, to 
 manifest himself to man in dreams, as he sees meet, 
 either for encouragement, reproof, or instruction. 
 
 " With respect to what I have related, the strong 
 impression it made on my mind, the plain application 
 of it to the state I was then in, and the instruction it 
 conveyed to me, left no room to doubt its being di- 
 vinely intended for my good. But as it opened my 
 eyes more clearly to discern where I was, and that all 
 the righteousness of my own putting on was as filthy 
 rags, of which I must be stripped before I could ex- 
 perience a putting on of that purity and righteousness 
 which is the fine linen of the saints; so it brought 
 great distress and anxiety of mind over me." 
 
 The dream of William Savery, ii which a state of 
 acceptance with the Lord, is typified under the form 
 of a house enclosed and of difficult access, recalls to 
 recollection one of a somewhat similar kind, the
 
 WILLIAM S AVERT. 155 
 
 dreamer of which was a young Carolina girl. The 
 circumstance was narrated by William Williams during 
 one of his religious visits in this city. 
 
 This young girl was a member of the Society of 
 Friends, a child of careful, religious parents. Having 
 gone one day to a neighboring factory, she was tempted 
 during the absence of the owner from the apartment 
 she was in, to steal an earthen cup of little value which 
 she saw lying there. She committed the sin, and re- 
 turned home with the cup secreted in her dress. The 
 owner almost immediately after missed it, suspected 
 her of the theft, and was able to prove it upon her. 
 The Devil who had led her to commit this disgraceful 
 act, now sought to harden her in crime, and prompted 
 her to refuse to acknowledge her sin. The case was 
 brought to the Monthly Meeting ; and when the com- 
 mittee who had, in conjunction with her concerned 
 parents, unavailingly labored to bring her to a state 
 of humble acknowledgment and contrition, reported 
 their want of success, there seemed no way for the 
 meeting to act but to disown her. This would no 
 doubt have been the case, if William Williams had not 
 been, in the ordering of Providence, at that meeting. 
 He felt his mind clothed with love for the child, and 
 with an apprehension of duty to visit her. He told 
 his feelings to the Friends, and way was made for his 
 visit, the meeting deferring a definite judgment in the
 
 156 WILLIAM S AVERT. 
 
 case for another month. His visit was attended with 
 a very different result from that of the committee. 
 The Good Shepherd who still loves to seek and to save 
 those who are lost, had pr< pared the way before him, 
 and opened her heart to receive the word of exhorta- 
 tion and tender entreaty. Her proud spirit was hum- 
 bled, and in the depth of abasement she made a full 
 and complete acknowledgment of her transgression. 
 It was a melting season of heartfelt sorrow and con- 
 trition. " Now, mother," said the weeping girl, " shall 
 I tell him the dream I had last night?" Being 
 encouraged by her mother, she gave a narrative, of 
 which the following is the import. 
 
 She thought she was alone in a wilderness, around 
 which there was an impenetrable hedge of briers, ex- 
 cept on one spot from which a path led up a very steep 
 hill. To escape from the wilderness she commenced 
 ascending the hill, and although many difficult and 
 steep places obstructed her passage, she reached its 
 summit. Here she found a beautiful mansion, within 
 whose wall she much desired to be. Indeed, a fervent 
 and uncontrollable longing for admission took hold of 
 her mind, and she sought to enter. Her wishes, how- 
 ever, seemed vain. The door was so high from the 
 ground she could not reach it and no one appeared 
 to offer her any assistance. She walked round and 
 round the building in vain, disconsolate and hopeless.
 
 WILLIAM SAVERY. 157 
 
 At last her persevering desire for admission was granted, 
 for William Williams came to the door, and stooping 
 down to her low condition, laid hold of her hands and 
 lifted her in. 
 
 Such was the dream. The interpretation was plain. 
 He whose mercies are toward all his works, thus opened 
 her heart to receive with humble alacrity the word 
 which he had put into the mouth of his servant for 
 her good. Rightly humbled, she sincerely condemned 
 her evil act, to the satisfaction of the meeting she 
 belonged to; and she grew up, respectable and re- 
 spected. How applicable the passage of Scripture, 
 " God speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it 
 not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep 
 sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed, 
 then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their 
 instruction, that he may withdraw man from his pur- 
 pose, and hide pride from man." 
 
 William Savery having through the merciful visita- 
 tions afforded his soul been made willing to bear the 
 yoke of Christ, was brought into great circumspection 
 of conduct, and watchfulness over his thoughts and 
 conversation. He now felt the necessity of doing his 
 Master's will, and not his own. In 1779 he left the 
 comforts of his home, and the pursuits of worldly 
 business, to accompany a ministering Friend to visit 
 
 the meetings in Virginia and Carolina. This visit 
 14
 
 158 WILLIAM S AVERT. 
 
 was paid at a time when it was dangerous to travel, on 
 account of the war that was waging, and the warlike 
 spirit that was in full force in many of the inhabitants. 
 Among the cases of suffering in support of the doc- 
 trines of peace furnished during that eventful period, 
 William Savery narrates one with which he became 
 acquainted on this journey. A Friend who had been 
 drafted for the army in one of the Southern States, 
 refused to serve because of his conscientious scruples 
 against war. For this he was tried by a court martial, 
 and condemned to receive forty lashes on his bare back 
 with a whip of nine thongs. The punishment was 
 inflicted in the midst of many witnesses. The poor 
 mangled sufferer bore it all with unflinching patience, 
 and was enabled by the grace of his Divine Master, to 
 remain firm to his faith and consistent to his principles. 
 He was offered different employments in the army, such 
 as waiting on the sick, etc., but as he was satisfied that 
 he could take no post there with peace of mind, he was 
 proof against persuasion and threats. In his diffi- 
 culties, his honest wife encouraged him in faithfulness 
 to his religious duty, and was much tried at hearing a 
 report, which, however, was false, that he had been in- 
 duced to comply with the wishes of his persecutors. 
 When the period for which he had been drafted had 
 expired, he was permitted to return home in peace. 
 Very many instances of suffering among Friends
 
 WILLIAM SAVERY. 159 
 
 occurred in the Southern States during the war In 
 che Ninth month, 1777, fourteen members of Hope- 
 well meeting, in Frederick County, Virginia, were 
 taken from their habitations by files of soldiers, and 
 carried to Winchester. They refused to perform mil- 
 itary service, and for this, they were very roughly 
 treated by Marquis Calamis, lieutenant - colonel, by 
 James Barnet, the captain of the company they were 
 drafted into, and several other officers. These drew 
 their swords on the Friends, and with the points of 
 them pushed them into rank, declaring they would 
 kill them if they did not comply. The unresisting 
 prisoners were preserved in meekness and patience, so 
 that they allowed the officers to push and drag them 
 about at will, neither saying or doing anything which 
 might provoke them to further injury. They had, 
 after a time, an opportunity of opening and explain- 
 ing their views of war to those who had thus ill-treated 
 them, which for a time seemed to give them some re- 
 lief. They were, on the 23d of Ninth month, sent 
 from Winchester, to join the army under Washington, 
 which was then lying north of Philadelphia, watching 
 the English who had possession of that city. Various 
 efforts were made on their march" to induce them to 
 take part in military operations, without effect, although 
 they were again harshly treated, and on three of the 
 youngest men, guns were fastened.
 
 160 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 When they reached the camp where Washington lay 
 with his army, which was on the Skippack Road, twenty 
 miles from Philadelphia, their appearance drew the 
 attention of Clement Biddle, a colonel in the army. 
 His sympathies were perhaps aroused, and he made 
 application to the General, who ordered them to be 
 instantly discharged, with a pass to return home. The 
 same favor was shown to a number of young Friends 
 forced in the same manner from Loudon County, in 
 Virginia. When the Friends from Hopewell were 
 about setting out for their homes, they thought it right 
 to bid farewell to the officers who had brought them, 
 and who had ill-treated them. It was now found that 
 their patient, Christian spirit, had produced a great 
 change of feeling in these men toward them. They 
 received them kindly, and generally expressed their 
 satisfaction at their release, and also their friendly 
 desire that they might get well and safely home. This 
 they did about the 1st of Eleventh month, thankful 
 in heart to the Lord, who had preserved them in faith- 
 fulness, and had opened the way for their compara- 
 tively speedy deliverance. While with the army, they 
 would not partake of the military stores, and had it 
 not been for the kindness of Friends at different places 
 on their march, they must have suffered extremely if 
 they did not perish of hunger. 
 
 The faithfulness of Friends throughout the \vhole
 
 WILLIAM SAVERY. 161 
 
 of the provinces, in support of their testimony against 
 war, had at length a powerful influence upon the 
 thoughtful and reasonable people of other professions. 
 Some of them did not hesitate to declare that Friends 
 ought not to suffer, for they had not attempted to de- 
 ceive ; that they had from the beginning opposed war ; 
 and that the consistent ones among them would under 
 no circumstances bear arms. 
 
 During this journey to the South, William Savery 
 met with an observation made by a great woman, a 
 member of the Church of England, which he noted 
 down. It was to this effect : " She observed some of 
 the Quakers' children had departed from the plainness 
 of their profession, and got about half-way into the 
 fashions of the world, which rendered them ridiculous 
 in the eyes of others, and a reproach to their own 
 Society." 
 
 One of the striking characteristics of William 
 Savery's ministry was its full and forcible acknowledg- 
 ment of the divinity and various offices of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He had no sympathy with infidelity in 
 any shape. While on a religious visit in Europe, in 
 1797, he makes this note in his diary, dated at Paris, 
 Second month 23d : " I do not doubt that with all the 
 vices and infidelity which reign in Paris, there are 
 many of Sion's true mourners there ; with such I was 
 favored frequently to feel a secret sympathy. May the 
 14*
 
 162 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 great and universal Shepherd of the heavenly fold 
 stretch forth his arm to this nation, and gather many 
 thousands to the standard of truth and righteousness, 
 where their tossed souls may lie down in safety, and 
 none be able to make them afraid. In the evening, 
 David Sands and myself fell in with Thomas Paine, 
 and spent about an hour and a half in conversation 
 about his opinions and writings. He made many as- 
 sertions against Moses, the prophets, Jesus Christ, etc., 
 which had much more the appearance of passionate 
 railing than argument, to all which we replied. I felt 
 zealously opposed to him, and believe that nothing was 
 said by my companion or myself that gave him the 
 least occasion to exult. We bore our testimony against 
 him firmly." 
 
 At Dunkirk, Fourth month 30th, he writes, " Had 
 meetings morning and evening ; at the latter, through 
 the condescension of the good Shepherd of the sheep, 
 it was a time of refreshment and comfort, I believe, 
 both to the laborers and the auditory. For my own 
 part, having felt for a number of days like a dry and 
 withered branch, I was rejoiced to feel again the circu- 
 lation of that life and virtue, by which alone all the 
 branches of Christ, the true Vine, are nourished and 
 supported to bring forth fruit to his praise. The 
 Truth as it is in Jesus, appeared to rise into dominion. 
 The erroneous and destructive opinions of deism are
 
 WILLIAM SAVERY. 163 
 
 subtilely making their way into many minds, who will 
 be robbed and spoiled, whether they be of our Society 
 or others, that indulge it, of the most inestimable jewel, 
 the most powerful consolation to the soul, both in life 
 and death, that ever a Being, infinite in mercy and 
 boundless in his compassion, conferred on mankind. 
 Oh ! that he may protect and preserve our Society from 
 drinking in this deadly poison to the soul that the 
 watchmen on the walls may be enabled faithfully to 
 sound an alarm to the careless, to whom it may be 
 offered as a gilded bait, and the poor wounded receivers 
 of it [not] be left to lament their folly in that day when 
 its fatal consequences will be forever irretrievable." 
 
 In Ireland there was at that time much secret infi- 
 delity among some members of the Society of Friends, 
 and it is, therefore, not a matter of wonder that Wil- 
 liam Savery should often feel his mind drawn to set 
 forth the danger of deistical opinions while in that 
 land. When Nicholas Wain attended, in 1795, the 
 province meeting held at Mount Mellick, through the 
 immediate openings of the Holy Spirit, his mind was 
 impressed with the conviction that there was a spirit at 
 work in that place which would divide and scatter 
 Friends. He believed it would draw many of those 
 who even filled high stations into self-sufficiency and 
 a disbelief of the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 As he honestly unfolded his view, it was a matter of
 
 164 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 surprise to many of his hearers, and some wished to 
 have him publicly censured. Now in the First month, 
 1798, when William Savery attended a meeting at the 
 same place, his mind was also opened to discover the 
 workings of the same unbelieving spirit, and he faith- 
 fully labored against it. At many meetings on his 
 travels, wherein he was constrained to bear testimony 
 to the Truth as it is in Jesus, fully and emphatically, 
 he afterward found that avowed deists were present. 
 In one of his meetings at London he spoke to the fol- 
 lowing import : " One of the brightest young men I 
 ever knew was the delight of his acquaintance, the 
 pride of gay company, the life, or, as some say, the 
 soul of every place he visited for gayety, humor, and 
 wit. The Lord, in his wisdom, laid his hand upon 
 him laid him on a sick-bed. When he was brought 
 to see that he had not many days to continue, he wished 
 to see some who he thought were religious. Oh, how 
 was his heart tortured, and what were his expressions ? 
 Why, upon this wise : ' I have seen abundance ! I 
 know men and things! I have been at different 
 courts ! I have tasted a great deal of that which the 
 world calls enjoyment! I have been educated in some 
 religious principles, but they were too narrow for me ! 
 I read Bolingbroke and Hume, and encouraged myself 
 in their views. But now it has pleased the Lord to
 
 WILLIAM SAVERT. 165 
 
 bring me upon the bed of sickness, where medical aid 
 cannot help me.' 
 
 " While he was in this state I went to him, and 
 found him wet with tears. He told me his former 
 companions neglected him, but added, * If they had 
 not neglected me, they would have yielded me no com- 
 fort; they would have been stings to my conscience, 
 and as daggers to my heart. What would you have 
 me to do? I want to believe; but I have been so 
 dark, and encouraged these principles so long, I cannot 
 believe as I ought to do.' This was a sorrowful and 
 afflicting scene to me ! The Lord, no doubt, is rich 
 in mercy, and J trust he visited the soul of this 
 young man even in the last few days of his life. I 
 cannot say that Infinite Love did not, even at that late 
 hour, accept him. But, oh ! my friends, let us, while 
 we have strength and liberty let us, with all our 
 hearts, apply them to those things which will be some- 
 thing to lean upon in such an hour ! This is tho end 
 of all religion, so to live as not to be afraid to die ! 
 and so to die, when it shall please the Lord to separate 
 us from this body, that we may live before him for- 
 ever ! " 
 
 After William Savery had returned to America, the 
 spirit of infidelity and curious speculation in Ireland 
 still further increased and spread, through the efforts 
 of Hannah Barnard, a person in the ministry from the
 
 166 WILLIAM S AVERT. 
 
 State of New York. When this woman laid her con- 
 cern to visit England before her Monthly Meeting, a 
 committee was appointed to consider the subject 
 which committee feeling doubts and misgivings, did 
 not report to the meeting for nine months. Had they 
 reported that a way did not open with clearness to set 
 her at liberty, much trouble and exercise might have 
 been spared the church. We shall not follow her in 
 her various movements in England and Ireland, but 
 shall briefly state that her unsoundness at last claiming 
 the consideration of Friends, she was prevented travel- 
 ling as a minister. She appealed to the Yearly Meet- 
 ing at London, in 1801, which confirmed the judgment 
 of the subordinate meeting. During the period inter 
 vening between the judgment of the one, and the con 
 firmation by the other, William Savery thus wrote to 
 a Friend near London : 
 
 " Many of my friends in and about London are very 
 often sweetly in my remembrance, and of latter times 
 you have had my near sympathy, under your divers 
 trials; but nothing has been more exercising to me, 
 than the concern my countrywoman, Hannah Barnard, 
 has occasioned in the church. I look forward to your 
 Yearly Meeting as a time that will require the whole 
 armor of light to be sought for, as much as at almost 
 any preceding period. Ye cannot doubt of the kind 
 care of the Shepherd of Israel over you, who has long
 
 WILLIAM S A VERY. 167 
 
 blessed Friends of your nation many ways ; and will 
 be, in every needful time, 'a spirit of judgment to 
 those who sit in judgment, and strength to them that 
 turn the battle to the gate.' The longer I live, the 
 more unshaken confidence I think I obtain, that the 
 doctrines laid down by Robert Barclay and our first 
 Friends, founded on the New Testament, and still 
 maintained by the Society at large, are invulnerable to 
 the efforts of vain philosophic sophistry and curious 
 speculation, so long as we retain a belief in that most 
 excellent of books ; and am of the mind, that all such 
 as depart from that foundation, will wither and be 
 confounded." 
 
 Hannah Barnard had obtained a number of ad- 
 herents to her views in different parts of England, but 
 the Yearly Meeting very decidedly condemned her 
 doctrinal sentiments. A charge was presented to her 
 Monthly Meeting at Hudson, by which she was dis- 
 owned. 
 
 Hannah Barnard's appeal was heard at her Quarterly 
 Meeting, and then at her Yearly Meeting, both of 
 which bodies confirmed the judgment of the Monthly 
 Meeting. After this she lived very many years, a 
 poor, isolated person, who having separated herself 
 from the Holy Head of the church, was separated from 
 the unity and fellowship of the faithful. 
 
 An interesting incident in which William Savery
 
 168 WILLIAM SAFER Y. 
 
 bore a part, is told relative to Whitehead Humphreys, 
 an infidel who had once been a member among Friends 
 in Philadelphia. Sarah Harrison one night dreamed 
 that she was sitting on a low chair in her parlor with 
 a white apron on. Soon a tall person entered the 
 room, and coming up to her, threw something heavy 
 upon her lap. She looked at it, and inquired of him 
 who brought it, what it was. He answered, " It is a 
 soul in hell ; but touch it with the end of thy finger 
 and thou wilt find there is life in it ! " She did as she 
 was bidden, and the soul began to move about in her 
 lap. She became greatly agitated, and her husband 
 finding her very much disturbed, awakened her to in- 
 quire what ailed her. She said she could not tell him, 
 but she expected to be called shortly to witness some 
 awful scene. 
 
 Whitehead Humphreys was at that time very ill, 
 and his friends, believing his close drew near, were very 
 anxious about him, knowing the infidel principles he 
 had professed. His brother, who was deeply concerned, 
 asked him if he would not like to see some Friends. 
 The dying man did not appear to feel his situation, 
 and declined to have an interview with any one, until 
 the morning after Sarah Harrison's remarkable dream. 
 He then consented to see Arthur Howell. His brother 
 hastened to Arthur's residence, and not finding him at 
 home, left a message, and went to Samuel Eralen a
 
 WILLIAM SAVER Y. 169 
 
 house. Samuel also was out. On his way back to his 
 sick brother, he met Sarah Harrison and William 
 Savery, and requesting them to accompany him, they 
 did so. Soon after they reached the residence of 
 Whitehead Humphreys, Samuel Emlen and Arthur 
 Howell came in. They proceeded to the chamber of 
 sickness, and found the dying man full of conversa- 
 tion, and in a restless, unsettled state. They sat down 
 in silence by him, and at last Samuel Emlen said, 
 " Whitehead, Whitehead ! there is no time to be idle ; 
 thou art in an awful state ! " This seemed to quiet 
 the poor man, and then Sarah Harrison was drawn 
 under a deep and awful concern to pray for him. 
 After this he became more composed. He acknowl- 
 edged fully the absurd wickedness of his infidel pro- 
 fession, saying, " Tell it at the corners of the streets ; 
 proclaim it in the assemblies of the people, that I have 
 been endeavoring to believe a lie ! " After some time 
 the Friends left the chamber, somewhat relieved from 
 the soul-harrowing feelings which had overpowered 
 them on first sitting down in it. As she went away, 
 Sarah Harrison told a sister-in-law of Whitehead her 
 dream of the previous night, and mentioning the awful 
 impressions which had clothed her mind, at the time 
 of the vision, and when she first saw the sick man ; 
 she added, that her feelings were much more comfort- 
 15
 
 170 WILLIAM S A VERY. 
 
 able. She thought he might be called as at the eleventh 
 hour. He died in two or three days. 
 
 Arthur Howell has been heard, in his public min- 
 istry, with a loud voice and energetic manner rehears- 
 ing this deathbed declaration of the would-be infidel 
 " Tell it at the corners of the streets ; proclaim it in 
 the assemblies of the people, that I have been endeavor- 
 ing to believe a lie ! " 
 
 It is related that while William Savery was in Ire- 
 land, he attended one meeting in which he was unable 
 to speak in his usual fluent manner, and yet was not 
 easy to omit endeavoring to express his concern. Yet 
 his ministry in this meeting, foolish as it almost seemed 
 to him, was of excellent service, and he mentioned 
 after his return to America, that he had heard of more 
 good effected by it, than by his testimony in any of his 
 large meetings where words flowed smoothly and freely. 
 It is not the melody of sentences or the beauty of ideas 
 which makes the true ministry of the Gospel it is 
 the power which accompanies the words spoken. This 
 power may accompany broken sentences, and set home 
 the unpolished language of the illiterate even to the 
 saving of souls. 
 
 While Mehitable Jenkins was in England on a re- 
 ligious visit, perhaps in the year 1787, she attended 
 the circular meeting held at Exeter. Catharine Phil- 
 lips was also at the meeting, and in the exercise of her
 
 WILLIAM S AVERT. 171 
 
 beautiful and acceptable gift, spoke largely to those as- 
 sembled. After Catharine had ceased, Mehitable, who 
 was an illiterate woman, and not extensive as a minis- 
 ter, stood up and delivered a brief testimony. Some 
 critical Quakeress, concerned perhaps for the literary 
 reputation of the Society of Friends, complained to 
 Timothy Bevington, that such a Friend as Mehitable' 
 should speak in such a large meeting. The complain- 
 ant thought that good order required that an oppor- 
 tunity should be taken with Mehitable to prevent the 
 possibility of her disturbing large gatherings, and said 
 that the Friend's gift appeared better adapted to small 
 meetings of our own Society. Timothy Bevington, 
 from whom the anecdote is derived, replied to her that 
 he believed no harm had been done. It so happened, 
 that he had invited a man of some standing in Exeter, 
 to attend this circular meeting, who had accepted the 
 invitation. Soon after, he met Timothy, and ex- 
 pressed his warm thanks for the treat he had received. 
 Timothy said he was pleased to find him so well satis- 
 fied adding, "My friend Catharine Phillips is con- 
 sidered a great minister." " Yes," replied his friend, 
 "we know Mrs. Phillips is a very sensible woman ; we 
 therefore are not surprised to hear her preach a good 
 sermon ; but the few words the elderly lady from 
 America said, were to me far more weighty and suited 
 to my situation of mind than anything Mrs. Phillips
 
 172 WILLIAM SAVES Y. 
 
 had to say. I hope to be thankful as long as I live 
 for the great instruction, and sensible feeling of Divine 
 goodness I experienced from the sweet, the short ser- 
 mon of your American Friend." 
 
 This anecdote is very much in accordance with the 
 testimony of William Penn. The wife of Lord Balti- 
 more, after attending a meeting for worship at the time 
 of the Yearly Meeting in Maryland, told him, she did 
 not want to hear him, and such as he, for he was a 
 scholar, and a wise man, and she did not question but 
 he could preach ; but she wanted to hear some of the 
 mechanics preach husbandmen, shoemakers, and such 
 like rustics ; for she thought they could not preach to 
 any purpose. William told her, some of them were 
 rather the best preachers we had among us. 
 
 The account of John Steel, and his testimony against 
 those ancient apostates, John Wilkinson and John 
 Story, is a strong illustration of the power of the Holy 
 Spirit in qualifying illiterate instruments for the Lord's 
 'work. His testimony was, in the words of William 
 Penn, " Neither the wisdom of the North, nor the 
 eloquence of the South, but the power of God through 
 a ploughman, and marvellous in our eyes." 
 
 About one hundred and twenty-five years ago, a 
 Friend from England, on a religious visit in America, 
 appointed a meeting in Philadelphia. After a time 
 of silence, a young man in his common working clothes,
 
 WILLIAM S A VERY. 173 
 
 with a leathern band around his waist arose from his 
 seat about the middle of the meeting, and stepping 
 into the passage-way, began to preach with great 
 energy and power. This youthful preacher was the 
 illiterate Thomas Brown. The Friend who had ap- 
 pointed the meeting felt excused from any public labor 
 therein, but was well satisfied with that which had 
 taken place. After the close of the meeting some of 
 his Friends gathered round him, expressing their sor- 
 row that another should have occupied the time, so 
 that he should have had no opportunity of relieving 
 his mind. He replied, " The service fell upon the 
 lad." 
 
 John Richardson informs us in his journal, that 
 when a young man he attended a large Yearly Meet- 
 ing, at which there were many able ministers. The 
 principal part of the labor having fallen on him; Wil- 
 liam Penn, when the meeting was over, took him 
 aside, and thus addressed him : " The main part of the 
 service of this day's work went on thy side, and we 
 saw it, and were willing and easy to give way to the 
 Truth, though it was through thee, who appears but 
 like a shrub ; and it is but reasonable the Lord should 
 make use of whom he pleases : now, methinks, thou 
 mayest be cheerful." 
 
 He says that, from William Penn's remarks, " I 
 gathered, that he thought I was too much inclined to 
 15*
 
 174 WILLIAM SAVER Y. 
 
 be cast down; therefore I gave him this true answer: 
 ' I endeavor to keep in a medium, out of all extreme? 
 as believing it to be most agreeable to my station ; 
 with this remark, ' the worst of my times rather im- 
 bitter the best to me/ William shook his head, anc 
 said with much respect, ' There are many who steer in 
 this course besides thee, and it is the safest path foi 
 us to walk in;' with several other expressions which 
 bespoke affection. This worthy man, and minister of 
 the Gospel, notwithstanding his great endowments and 
 excellent qualifications, yet thought it his place to give 
 way to the Truth, and let the holy testimony go through 
 whom it might please the Lord to empower and employ 
 in his work, although it might be through contemptible 
 instruments. I sincerely desire this may prove profit- 
 able to those whom it may concern, and into whose 
 hands it may come, that the Lord's work may be truly 
 minded, and given way to, when it is opened ; for 
 seeing no man can open it, let not any strive in the 
 man's part to shut the same." 
 
 John Richardson gives an interesting anecdote, show- 
 ing how the Lord, in great kindness, did condescend 
 through an unusual incident to confirm the faith of 
 one of his tried and faint-hearted children. He says, 
 " One thing is worthy of notice. As I was speaking 
 in a meeting in Virginia, a sudden stop came upon 
 me, and occasioned me to say, ' I cannot go forward,-
 
 WILLIAM S AVERT. 175 
 
 whatsoever the matter may be, I know not ; ' but giving 
 over immediately, a friend, whose name was Edward 
 Thomas, began to preach, who was but young in the 
 ministry, though an elderly man, and apt to be at- 
 tended with reasonings. He said, after the meeting, 
 he had sought to the Lord with prayers, that he would 
 condescend so far to his request as to give me a sense 
 of him, and in so doing he would take that as a great 
 strength and confirmation to his ministry, in this day 
 of many exercises and great fears." John stopping in 
 the midst or his discourse, just when Edward was 
 under a concern to stand up, was felt by the latter to 
 be such a confirmation of the Divine authority of his 
 call, as greatly consoled him. John adds, " Thus we 
 see the Lord in his great mercy condescends to the 
 low, weak, and as it were, infant states of his children, 
 like a tender father, and being our heavenly High 
 Priest, is touched with a feeling of the infirmities of 
 his people ; thanksgiving and honor be given to his 
 most excellent name, now and forever." 
 
 William Savery was frequently silent in the meet- 
 ings he attended in Europe, and sometimes his com- 
 munications were very brief. Mary Dudley informs 
 us, that at a meeting in Ireland, he was silent until 
 near its close, when he arose, and said, " I feel as I 
 often do when in meetings with my brethren and sis- 
 ters not much to say. But I wish them well, and
 
 176 WILLIAM S AVERT. 
 
 if they are not admitted to the communion table, the 
 supper of the Lamb, it will not be because they are 
 not bidden guests, but because they are in the same 
 state as those formerly bidden, not ready ; being full 
 of, or employed too much about other things lawful 
 in themselves, but pursued to the hindering their ac- 
 ceptance." 
 
 While William Savery was abundant in his ac- 
 knowledgment of the benefit of the outward coming 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ and his suiferings and death 
 upon Calvary, he was no less full in his testimony to 
 the universality of the manifestations of the Lord's 
 Light and Grace, and good Spirit in the hearts of all 
 men with the offers of salvation. His Christianity 
 was that of Fox, Barclay, and Penington. It em- 
 braced the one great sacrifice for all, and the benefit of 
 that sacrifice offered for the acceptance of all by the 
 Holy Spirit, through obedience to its requirings. He 
 believed, and his heart was often warmed with grateful 
 emotions in the belief, " that the grace of God, which 
 bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men." In 
 one of the meetings he attended in London, he spoke 
 thus: 
 
 " Light is come into the world ; but men love dark- 
 ness better than light, because their deeds are evil. 
 They are not willing to bring their deeds to this glo- 
 rious touchstone this test that would try all manner
 
 WILLIAM SAVER Y. 177 
 
 of actions Christ in you, the hope of everlasting 
 glory, in which the primitive believers were settled, 
 and found rest. Here, from the beginning, the church 
 of Christ was built upon this Holy of holies, and 
 everlasting Word of Christ and of God, speaking, 
 directing, teaching, and leading them wheresoever they 
 should go. If men had abode under this, it would 
 have taught them all the same thing. It would have 
 preserved those that have called themselves Christians, 
 as well as all others, in harmony and unity. It could 
 have made neither rents nor divisions. It would not 
 have told thee one thing and me another. But this is 
 the language it would have proclaimed in thy heart 
 and mine, ' The work of righteousness is peace, and 
 the effect thereof, quietness and assurance forever.' 
 Is not this written upon every man's conscience? I 
 am persuaded it is. I have heard the wild inhabitants 
 of America declare this was truth. They found in- 
 scribed on their hearts, according to their own expres- 
 sions, ' by the finger of God's Spirit, that the work of 
 righteousness is peace, and the way to be happy in this 
 present life, and to be eternally happy in the world to 
 come, is to obey his voice to do those things which, 
 by his law written in them, he had made known to 
 them they ought to do.' This Divine principle I desire 
 more people to come to ; but men have been too long
 
 178 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 bewildered in following one another in darkness and 
 confusion." 
 
 This doctrine, as " Christ within the hope of glory," 
 
 . was abundantly preached by our early Friends. How 
 
 it was held and enforced by George Fox, we have set 
 
 forth in the following narrative given by an ancient 
 
 woman : 
 
 " Now, Friends, I will tell you how I was first con- 
 vinced. I was a young lass at that time, and lived 
 in Dorsetshire, when George Fox came to that county ; 
 and he having appointed a meeting to which the people 
 generally flocked, I went among the rest ; and on my 
 going along the road, this query arose in my mind : 
 1 What is that I feel which condemneth me when I do 
 evil, and Justin eth me when I do well? What is it?' 
 In this state I went to the meeting. It was a large 
 gathering, and George Fox rose up with these words : 
 ' Who art thou that queriest in thy mind, what is it 
 which I feel, which condemneth me when I do evil, 
 and justifieth me when I do well? I will tell thee 
 what it is. Lo ! He that formeth the mountains and 
 createth the wind, and declareth unto man what are 
 his thoughts, that maketh the morning darkness, and 
 treadeth upon the high places of the earth ; the Lord, 
 the God of Hosts is his name. It is he, by his Spirit, 
 that condemneth thee for evil, and justifieth thee when 
 thou dost well. Keep under its dictates, and it will
 
 WILLIAM S AVERT. 179 
 
 be thy preserver to the end.' " After narrating this, 
 the aged Friend was enabled to add, "It was the 
 truth the very truth, and I have never departed 
 from it." 
 
 On the 30th day of the Eighth month, 1650, George 
 Fox was committed to the House of Correction in 
 Derby, for his faithfulness to apprehended duty. 
 While he was in confinement, a trooper being in the 
 parish steeple-house listening to the priest, heard a 
 voice within him, saying, " Dost thou not know that 
 my servant is in prison ? Go to him for direction." 
 He went to see George, who spake to his condition, so 
 that his spiritual understanding was opened, and he 
 made sensible of the Lord's mercy. The substance of 
 the sermon was, " That which shows thee thy sins, and 
 troubles thee for them, will show thee his salvation. 
 For He that shows a man his sin, is the same that 
 takes it away." 
 
 William Savery was an active, energetic laborer in 
 whatever his Master called him to. He said, " In the 
 Lord's house there is no room for the slothful ; " and 
 his actions manifested that he believed in the truth of 
 this assertion. 
 
 He was in person about five feet nine or ten inches 
 in height, was of a firm make, and for one inclining 
 to corpulency, had a good figure. His features were 
 comely, and although his complexion was not fair, it
 
 180 WILLIAM SAVERY. 
 
 was good and healthy. The expression of his face 
 was usually placid, and when he was sitting in silence, 
 in meeting, or the social circle, it was dignified and 
 sedate. But when in conversation, his countenance 
 would often suddenly brighten up, and a smile the 
 most benignant and attractive would play over it. 
 
 He was diligent in his worldly business liberal in 
 administering to the wants of the aeedy, as far as was 
 in his power and faithful in the performance of his 
 various religious duties. In 1802, and 1803, in both 
 which years Philadelphia had slight visitations of 
 pestilential fever, he devoted himself to visiting the 
 sick and afflicted, and being deeply affected with their 
 sufferings, he was enabled to sympathize with them, 
 and minister to them at seasons comfort and consola- 
 tion. 
 
 While his bodily health was declining, he did not 
 complain, but continued attending to his outward busi- 
 ness, with quiet cheerfulness. He found himself con- 
 strained to declare in some of the last public meetings 
 he attended, that his time on earth would not be long, 
 but signified, in an animating view of a blessed im- 
 mortality, that it mattered not how short it might be, 
 if heavenly rest was attained. 
 
 When unable to attend meetings, he at one time ap- 
 peared anxious to get there, that he might have the 
 opportunity once more to warn the aged who had got
 
 WILLIAM SAVERT. 181 
 
 into the earth, and the youth who had got into the 
 air. 
 
 The Saviour whom he loved, was with him o the 
 close, leading him in a low, humble path, wherein all 
 earthly dependence was shaken. His labors in the 
 ministry the favored seasons he had witnessed the 
 services his Master had enabled him to perform in the 
 church were not now his stay and support. "I 
 thought," he said, " I was once strong for the work, 
 but now I am a child, brought back to my horn-book, 
 and have nothing to trust to but the mercy of God 
 through Christ my Saviour." Thus leaning on the 
 Christian's unfailing support, he drew nearer and 
 nearer his close, and in the fresh feeling of inward 
 comfort, he exclaimed, " Glory to God ! " A short 
 time after thus expressing himself, he quietly passed 
 away, leaving to survivors a bright example of dedi- 
 cation and humility. His death took place on the 19th 
 of Sixth month, 1804. 
 16
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 EORGE DILLWYN was born in Philadelphia, 
 on the 26th day of the Second month, 1738. His 
 parents were members of the religious Society of 
 Friends. His father was removed by death when he 
 was quite young, leaving him to the sole care of his 
 mother, who was enabled, through the Lord's holy 
 assistance, to exercise a wise and restraining influence 
 over him. Her watchful care over his conduct, and 
 pious concern for his soul's best welfare, were no doubt 
 blessed to him, yet he was often thoughtless in his 
 actions, and at times little outward evidence could be 
 seen of the operation of that principle of light and 
 Truth which was at work in his soul. 
 
 He manifested a strong tendency to foppery in dress 
 and a great fondness for vain amusements. These, no 
 doubt, often grieved the heart of his mother, and 
 caused the secret prayer to arise that God would 
 enamor his soul with such a love for the ornaments of 
 the Christian character, and such a taste for heavenly 
 
 182
 
 GEORGE DILLWTN. 183 
 
 refreshment, that all outward adorning would appear 
 to him as less than nothing and vanity, and all earthly 
 pleasures as trouble in disguise. Among other foolish 
 habits he was wont to indulge in whistling. When 
 Thomas Gawthrop, that honest old seaman, was on 
 his second religious visit to this country, in the year 
 1755 or '6, he was sitting at the dinner -table in a 
 Friend's house, when George Dillwyn entered the 
 room, whistling in his usual thoughtless manner. 
 Thomas ceased eating, laid down his knife, and, in 
 accents of strong feeling, said, " I wished for the wings 
 of a dove, to be with you ; and now you make my 
 heart sick ! " This short sermon made a powerful 
 impression on the lad to whom it was addressed, and 
 it was remembered and repeated by him in very ad- 
 vanced life. 
 
 In the early part of his life George Dillwyn was in 
 Lancaster for a short time. During that period the 
 following occurrence took place. As he was walking 
 in the street one day, he beheld the Deputy-Governor 
 of the province approaching, and at the sight an inti- 
 mation was inwardly given him, " Thou must address 
 him in the singular language." He had not yet 
 learned to take up the cross of Christ and despise the 
 shame, and therefore he met the dignitary with the 
 usual salutation, "How do you do, sir?" as he bowed 
 his head and touched his hat, with that flourish of the
 
 184 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 hand, which is intended to say, " You may consider 
 my head uncovered." Condemnation followed in the 
 mind of the young man for this compliance with the 
 fashions of the world, in opposition to the sense of 
 duty which had been clearly given to him. In an- 
 guish of spirit he paced up and down the streets, 
 despising himself for his weakness and folly. Some 
 time after he again met the Governor, and, in a vivid 
 feeling of his past troubles for unfaithfulness, he 
 touched not his hat, while the simple Quaker saluta- 
 tion, " How dost thou do ? " passed from his lips. In 
 the latter part of his life, while relating this circum- 
 stance, and commenting on the comfort he felt for this 
 little act of faithfulness, he said, " It was as if a peb- 
 ble had been removed from the spring's mouth, so 
 sweetly did the stream of consolation flow." 
 
 In the latter part of 1759, when but little more 
 than twenty-one years of age, George Dillwyn mar- 
 ried Sarah Hill of Philadelphia. He then entered 
 into business, in which he met with many losses and 
 disappointments. Honest in principle, he felt himself 
 bound to pay every one of his creditors in full, which, 
 by dint of economy and retrenchment, he effected. 
 Daring these temporal trials which beset his path, and 
 which helped to drive him to the Fountain of love for 
 comfort, an honest Menonist, who loved him and was 
 anxiously concerned for his best interest, one day thus
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 185 
 
 accosted him : " Georgey, I heard de was in drouble, 
 and I was very glad of it ! " The speaker, no doubt, 
 had learned, from heartfelt experience, that trouble 
 springeth not " out of the ground ; " that it is " whom 
 the Lord loveth he chasteneth," and that it still re- 
 mains to be a truth that " acceptable men " are tried 
 " in the furnace of affliction." 
 
 As the trials of life began more and more to press 
 upon him, his inward desires after holiness grew 
 stronger and stronger. Through the effectual bap- 
 tisms of the Holy Spirit, the process of regeneration 
 was carried on, and in that closely proving season, he 
 witnessed a preparation for entering upon the exercise 
 of a gift in the ministry, which the Lord Jesus Christ 
 had conferred upon him. This was in the twenty- 
 eighth year of his age. 
 
 Some of his friends were slow to receive the convic- 
 tion that he was really an anointed minister ; but as 
 he endeavored patiently to keep to his gift, his heav- 
 enly Master made way for him, and removed one by 
 one the fears and the prejudices which at first pre- 
 vailed against him. 
 
 He was deeply impressed with the mercy which had 
 been extended to him, and, in looking back over the 
 many sins and corruptions which had marked his youth- 
 ful years, he was ready ~to query, " If I am accepted, 
 who can be rejected?" Feeling the universality of the 
 16*
 
 186 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 love of God to every soul which he had created, and 
 remembering his own deliverance, no wonder that 
 he should often be led to treat thereon in his ministry 
 Indeed, so emphatically did he declare that God willeth 
 not the death of him that dieth so earnestly set forth 
 the sufficiency of the means of grace and salvation for 
 the redemption of all that some mistook him, and a 
 fear that he was tending to " Universalism " was one 
 of the causes which prevented full unity with him for 
 a time. As way was made for him in the minds of his 
 friends, he was soon called abroad to travel in the work 
 of the ministry. One of his first visits of any length 
 was through the Southern States, with Samuel Emlen 
 and Thomas Scattergood, the latter of whom had not 
 then opened his mouth as a minister. 
 
 Thomas Scattergood, after his return from a journey 
 to the East, in 1781, passed through many fiery bap- 
 tisms and spiritual exercises, and was thereby prepared 
 in humble faithfulness to wait on the gift committed 
 to him, and to minister in the Lord's time, and under 
 the fresh anointing, in life and power. In the First 
 month, 1783, the elders of the meeting he belonged to 
 called the attention of the meeting to his public ap- 
 pearances as a minister among them. Great unity was 
 expressed with his Gospel labors, and a proposition 
 was made to acknowledge his gift in the ministry by 
 recommending him to the Quarterly Meeting of Min-
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 187 
 
 isters and Elders. Some Friends, though uniting 
 with him, yet were not disposed to move along so fast, 
 and proposed that the case should lay over another 
 month for consideration. Others thought, that as the 
 meeting had entered into the subject, and had fully 
 and freely expressed its unity- with him, the business 
 had better be finished at that time. Some discordant 
 remarks were made, and as the discussion continued, 
 Thomas, who had been sitting under religious exercise, 
 arose, and, after premising that though the unity of 
 his friends was precious to him, yet the time of pub- 
 licly acknowledging it was of no consequence, pro- 
 ceeded to labor in Gospel power and authority. So 
 remarkably was he favored, that when he took his seat 
 the .subject of recommending him at that time being 
 revived, not a dissenting voice was heard. It seemed 
 as though the overshadowing of heavenly good attend- 
 ing was a seal of Divine approval appreciated by all 
 present.* 
 
 Although his services were generally acceptable to 
 Friends, George often experienced times of desertion and 
 conflict, in which he was buffeted by Satan. During 
 one of these seasons he was at a meeting in Philadel- 
 phia, in which a Friend from England spoke encour- 
 
 * A memoir of the life and religious labors of this dedicated 
 follower of the Lord Jesus has been published. See Friends' 
 Library, vol. viii.
 
 188 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 agingly to his state, as he thought, yet he seemed 
 unable to lay hold of it, and could derive no comfort 
 or satisfaction therefrom. After meeting he wandered 
 about the streets disconsolate, and apparently without 
 any other purpose than an endeavor to escape from 
 himself. Without knowing whither he was going, he 
 had approached William Wilson's door, and, upon re- 
 cognizing the place, concluded to go in and see that 
 worthy elder. As he entered the door, William cried 
 out, in a cheerful voice, " George Dillwyn, thou art the 
 very man I wanted to see ! I have just received a 
 letter from Samuel Emlen, who says, l Give my love 
 to dear George Dillwyn, and tell him, we know in 
 whom we have believed.'" This message from his 
 dear companion came to the soul of the mourner in the 
 very spirit of true Gospel ministry, reviving his faith, 
 animating his love, and awakening gratitude and 
 praise. The clouds of gloom fled away, and once 
 more, in hope and confidence, he could look toward 
 the Lord's holy habitation. Trials and exercises he 
 held to be needful for all Christian travellers, but par- 
 ticularly for ministers of the Gospel. 
 
 During the troubles of the American Revolution, he 
 thus wrote to a Friend, Fifth month 8th, 1781 : " We 
 were yesterday invited to the burial of Edmund Hol- 
 linshead ; but it being our Monthly Meeting, and the 
 day inclement, few went from Burlington to it. In-
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 189 
 
 aeed, such changes don't appear to make the same im- 
 pression on our minds now as in serener days. They 
 rather look like escapes from approaching storm ; and 
 our concern for the departed is lost in apprehension 
 for the living." 
 
 In 1784, George Dillwyn left America, with the 
 unity of his Friends, to pay a religious visit in Eng- 
 land, in which country he principally resided for the 
 next eighteen years. His wife, a valuable woman and 
 true helpmeet, accompanied him. It has been pleas- 
 antly said, that when he was about starting, she went 
 into the men's Monthly Meeting at Burlington, where 
 they then resided, and asked the advice of the meeting 
 whether she had better accompany him or not, saying, 
 " I am resigned to go or stay; but I believe I am most 
 resigned to go." 
 
 George Dillwyn, a short time before his decease, told 
 a friend who had gone from Philadelphia to visit him, 
 that he had had a heavenly visitation when only four 
 years old. This merciful extension of Divine regard 
 was experienced by him while at meeting in the old 
 Market Street house. He said, that after that visita- 
 tion he had wandered far and wide, yet he never lost 
 sight of it at any time, and the remembrance of the 
 feelings he had then known remained with him, and 
 was as a rallying point. 
 
 His religious services in England were very much
 
 190 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 confined to London and its neighborhood. Things 
 were, according to the account given in his letters, 
 very low in our religious Society there ; and he says 
 in meetings for discipline, " the guidance of a wisdom 
 superior to human, appears to be but little waited for 
 or attended to, as the rule of action." While there, 
 George was much led into family visits, in which his 
 dear friend and fellow-countryman, Samuel Emlen, 
 frequently joined him. He returned to America in 
 1791, having visited parts of Holland and France, as 
 well as England and Ireland. 
 
 As to personal appearance, George was a handsome 
 man, though corpulent ; his complexion in middle age 
 was so ruddy and healthy, that even in England it 
 was thought fine, and rich in color. He was about 
 five feet nine inches in height ; his usual dress was 
 drab, although sometimes it almost approached a 
 brown. His voice was in younger life very melodious, 
 and though impaired by age, yet it was agreeable to 
 the close of his life. In matter, he was evangelical 
 in mode of delivery sententious and peculiarly 
 solemn and sweet in prayer. Age, which took the 
 color from his cheek, and somewhat of the silver tone 
 from his voice, but added to his heavenly-mindedness, 
 and his religious sensibility. 
 
 In 1793, under an impression of duty, he removed 
 with his wife to London, believing that his labors in
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 191 
 
 ihe ministry for a few years would be principally in 
 the neighborhood of that city. Samuel Emlen, who 
 was there when he arrived, thus writes to his friend, 
 Henry Drinker, of Philadelphia, under date Eighth 
 month 23d, 1793 : 
 
 *' Our beloved George Dillwyn and wife met with a 
 very cordial welcome among Friends in this city. I 
 think George, indeed, honored of his Master, and 
 wisely careful not to rob him of that honor which is 
 only to be ascribed to Him, who is infinite in wisdom, 
 and mighty in power, for promoting the work of 
 righteousness and Truth through such instruments as 
 he chooses. I don't find George has any idea of an 
 establishment in London ; his amiable Sarah, though 
 allowing England to be a fine country, evinces a strong 
 preference to the land of our nativity. George desires 
 my offering thee his brotherly salutation, and I know 
 from conversation heretofore, that he does love thee." 
 " I sometimes see Dr. Edwards, who offered me a hun- 
 dred thousand acres of land, saying he is employed by 
 thee, and some others, as a vendor. I told him, it 
 would be very strange, if I, who came over to this 
 country to persuade people to think more of heaven 
 than of earth, should become a purchaser of a hundred 
 thousand acres of land ! " 
 
 While residing in London, George Dillwyn was so 
 often led to administer the word of reproof, that some
 
 192 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 of his high-minded hearers, whose backslidden or 
 unregenerate state he had sharply spoken to, became 
 much dissatisfied with him. The knowledge of this 
 sometimes caused him deep discouragement, and he 
 often went mourning on his way, in a sense of the 
 degeneracy of many, and the dislike of a few. During 
 one such season of depression, the prospect that it 
 would be right for him to hold an evening meeting in 
 that city opened before his mind. He was so much 
 cast down, that he thought as his Master had led him 
 to utter such hard things, no way would open in the 
 minds of Friends to appoint a meeting for him, and 
 in this tried state he remained for a few days. In the 
 mean time, Thomas Scattergood, who was also then 
 engaged in a religious visit in England, came into the 
 city, and after remaining a short period, felt a concern 
 to appoint an evening meeting. The meeting was 
 held. Thomas had no vocal service therein, but 
 George Dillwyn was largely opened in Gospel power 
 and authority to unfold the Lord's message to the 
 people. When the meeting was about closing, Thomas 
 Scattergood arose, and said, that when he had entered 
 London a few days previously, the language had run 
 through his mind, " What if thou shouldst appoint a 
 meeting for thy elder brother." He said that he had 
 not understood the query, and the remembrance of it 
 was quite taken from him, at the time the concern
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 193 
 
 came upon him to have the people collected for an 
 evening meeting. " I have appointed a meeting," he 
 added, " in which I have had nothing to say, but my 
 elder brother has had the service." 
 
 On the 14th day of the Seventh month, 1800, 
 Thomas Scattergood wrote a letter to his friend George 
 Dillwyn, from which we extract a few passages. They 
 
 
 
 were yet both in England. " Thou art, I think, just 
 right with respect to comparing, or bringing us back 
 to youthful days. I was a diver, and thou and I have 
 had our dips under the water together, since the day 
 we met in this land. How singular, and yet how 
 comfortable was it, on reading thy lines, to remember 
 afresh the thoughts of my heart respecting thee, within 
 these few days past they came up somewhat after 
 this manner ; for I may assure thee, I have had a very 
 deep plunge : ' There is my friend and brother, George 
 Dillwyn, who appears to be bearing me company, and 
 seems like another Ezekiel ; he has prepared his stuff, 
 and has removed ; he has had a singular life in this 
 land, much like mine; he has returned again, and 
 though I am separated from wife, and children, etc., 
 yet he appears like one bound as I am. I have seen 
 him as a mark that has been shot at, and the archers 
 have wounded him.' From thoughts like these my 
 mind was brought into near fellowship with thee. 
 Was not this lihe diving under the water, and touch- 
 17
 
 194 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 ing? Can thou* recollect that we can see one another 
 under the water, when we cannot speak ? I have often 
 wanted to say more to thee, but when with thee have 
 been restrained." 
 
 Many very apt illustrations are to be found in the 
 writings and sayings of George Dillwyn, and though 
 not of so poetic a cast of mind as James Simpson, his 
 similies are generally striking. The following extract 
 of a letter from David Sands to Thomas Scattergood 
 embodies one of them. " I have heard of thy late 
 trial in the loss of thy dear daughter, and I believe 
 do sympathize with thee in that and other afflictive 
 dispensations, yet have not the least doubt but all those 
 things that we meet with, and which may seem little 
 else to our taste than the wormwood and gall, are but 
 like the strong winds sent to bring the leaky ship to a 
 safe port. As I remember to have heard dear George 
 Dillwyn say, when in America, to an afflicted Friend, 
 ( Our proper business at such times is to keep the head 
 of the vessel the right way ; if we do so, we shall gain 
 by such dispensations.' " 
 
 George Dillwyn thus laconically writes to Thomas 
 Scattergood : " Thou and I correspond, in the letter 
 way, like poor day-laborers who have but little to 
 spare to each other. The sparing of that little, how- 
 ever, seems to be saying, ' If I had more thou shouldst 
 be heartily we 1 come to it.' I may congratulate thee
 
 GEORGE DILLWYK 195 
 
 on thy finish at Devonshire house [a family visit], and 
 was pleased with thy retreat into the country, though 
 such little recesses from service often remind me of 
 a speech of the mate of the ship Pigou, one morning 
 to the sailors : ' Come, lads, step down anc^get your 
 breakfasts as quick as you can, and then you will have 
 nothing to do but to work.' " 
 
 In the year 1802, George Dillwyn, believing that 
 his service in England was completed, returned to 
 America, and once more settled at Burlington. He 
 did not travel much in the ministry after this, but was 
 diligent in the attendance of his particular meetings, 
 being seldom absent from either the Monthly, Quar- 
 terly, or Yearly Meeting to which he belonged. He 
 was particular in his endeavor to take all the members 
 of his family with him, saying, " He did not find his 
 meetings did him much good, if he could reflect upon 
 having left any person in his service unnecessarily at 
 home." How is it possible for any one who really 
 believes that it is in accordance with the will of the 
 Great Head of the church for his children to meet 
 before him for public worship, to neglect " the assem- 
 bling of themselves together, as the manner of some 
 is?" 
 
 The following anecdote contains a pungent rebuke 
 administered effectually to one, and there may be 
 others it whom it would equally apply. A member
 
 196 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 of the Society who resided in a village not far from 
 Philadelphia, during a considerable portion of the 
 meridian of his life, evinced little disposition to con- 
 form to the testimonies and principles of his profes- 
 sion. Ar*>ng other things, he was very negligent in 
 the attendance of religious meetings, and on one oc- 
 casion refused to withdraw a few minutes from his 
 worldly business to sit with his family during the 
 time of a religious visit paid them by two ministering 
 Friends. His son, having been favored with a pow- 
 erful visitation of Divine love, yielded in measure 
 thereto, and became diligent in going to meetings, 
 walking to the one they belonged to, though at the 
 distance of several miles. One day Joseph Hemphill, 
 a distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, afterward a 
 judge and member of Congress, came into the store, 
 and, not seeing the young man, inquired of the father 
 where he was. " Gone to meeting," said the father, 
 with a sneer. " Gone to meeting ! " replied Joseph. 
 " The more to his credit ; for he gets no help from his 
 father, mother, or sister ! I tell you what, if I was 
 in your place, if I could not live up to the principles 
 I professed, I would request to be released from mem- 
 bership." 
 
 This unexpected rebuke had a powerful effect on 
 the man to whom it was addressed. He said he 
 never had had such a sermon preached to him. He
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 197 
 
 could not get from under the weight of it, and soon 
 found himself most easy to be diligent in his religious 
 duties. At the time of his death he sat head of the 
 meeting he belonged to, and was thought to have be- 
 come a humble-minded Christian. 
 
 George Dillwyn was a watchful, tender, sympathiz- 
 ing friend of those who were young in the ministry, 
 not hastily condemning them because of a misstep in 
 their tribulated way. He remembered his own coming 
 forth in that line ; and the difficulties he had met with, 
 caused him to be willing to make full proof of others 
 before he rejected their offerings. It is stated, that 
 when he had spoken a few times in public, a valuable 
 elder, who had come to a hasty conclusion in his case, 
 told George he believed he had mistaken his calling, 
 and requested him to withhold his exercises from the 
 meeting. George meekly replied, if the elder would 
 take the burden upon him, he would be silent. This 
 the Friend was willing to do; and for some time 
 George's voice was not heard in the public assemblies. 
 But while the silenced one was permitted to enjoy quiet 
 peace in submission, the mind of the elder became tried 
 and uneasy ; and eventually, under a sense of duty, he 
 called upon George, and told him he could not bear 
 the responsibility of sealing his mouth any longer, and 
 encouraged him to exercise his gift when he felt the 
 Divine call thereto. This is a very instructive anec- 
 17*
 
 198 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 dote ; to elders it is a warning not to be too hasty in 
 judgment, to young ministers an incitement to leave 
 their cause with their heavenly Father to plead for 
 them, while they endeavor to receive the counsel of 
 their elder friends with meekness and submission. 
 
 On his return from Europe, George Dillwyn devoted 
 his leisure more to literary labors for the good of the 
 community, than he had hitherto done. His work, 
 commonly known as " Dillwyn's Reflections," contains 
 many pithy thoughts, well expressed. It also contains 
 some anecdotes, from which a few extracts will be 
 given. He says : 
 
 " In conversing with a person of distinction in the 
 community, on the universality of Divine Grace, he 
 related the following anecdote, which I give in nearly 
 his own words. * When I was a little boy, I went to 
 a school, which assembled by the ringing of a bell ; 
 and one morning, on hearing it, I hastened into my 
 father's chamber, to receive a penny or two, which he 
 daily gave me to buy a cake by the way ; but found 
 him in a sound sleep. The case was urgent, and as I 
 feared to awake him, I thought I might venture to 
 take my usual stipend from his pocket, and tell him 
 at my return what I had done, not doubting my reason 
 for it would satisfy him. I accordingly took it, but 
 instantly felt it was wrong ; and, by the time I reached 
 the head of the stairs, my uneasiness increased to so
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 199 
 
 great a degree, that I could not proceed till I had re- 
 placed the money ; which having done, I went off 
 quiet and cheerful. Now, sir/ said the relator, 'is 
 this what the Society of Friends allude to, as an uni- 
 versal principle in the heart of man?' I answered, 
 ' Yes.' ' Why, then/ he replied, ' I have been more 
 of a Quaker than I thought myself, from my early 
 days; and the remembrance of this occurrence has 
 proved cautionary to me, on many occasions, in my 
 business and conduct, ever since.' ' : 
 
 Another instance of the restraining influence of 
 Divine Grace narrated, is one in which he himself was 
 concerned ; he says : 
 
 " When the compiler of these anecdotes was a wild, 
 heedless boy, about seven or eight years old, he had 
 several very corrupt playfellows, and among them was 
 one of an uncommonly daring disposition, who, being 
 paramount in wickedness and profanity, and leading 
 the way into mischief, was envied by the rest ; there- 
 fore, for them to be as clever as they thought him, it 
 was necessary to curse and swear, without hesitation or 
 fear. In order to which, the compiler, on a certain 
 c(ay, and in a place not easily to be forgotten, attempted 
 to take the Sacred Name into his mouth, and call for 
 damnation to his soul ! but he had hardly begun the 
 shocking sentence, when he was seized with a sensa- 
 tion of horror, beyond description. This check to his
 
 200 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 wicked ambition was effectual, and the temptation to 
 that evil was so completely overcome, that he never 
 afterward dared to indulge it in the smallest degree. 
 It was, indeed, the triumph of mercy over presump- 
 tion ! " 
 
 The restraining mercy of the Lord is indeed great ! 
 How often have we been preserved from engaging in 
 evil courses by providential hindrances! Sometimes 
 by the voice of His reproofs speaking terror to the 
 soul ; sometimes by the persuasions of his love awak- 
 ening abhorrence of sin. I remember to have heard 
 a son of piously concerned and godly parents say that 
 at a time when he was about engaging in a wrong act, 
 an appearance as of the face of his loved, respected, 
 and honored father came before him, and he could not 
 proceed. Of the saving mercy of the Lord Jesus, the 
 following anecdote, quite abridged in its details, is a 
 striking example. 
 
 A youthful member of Philadelphia Monthly Meet- 
 ing, many years ago, gave way to evil habits until he 
 had become an alien from his father's house. He had 
 taken up his abode in a tavern, and seemed hastening 
 to destruction with rapid strides. The entreaties of 
 his concerned parents, the visible sorrow of thoir 
 hearts, the secret reproofs of the Holy Spirit, the fear 
 of the " dread after-scene," all seemed to produce no 
 effect upon him. He had taken his own course, ho 
 
 -'
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 201 
 
 had chosen his own delusion, and little hopes were 
 entertained that he would ever be respectable as a man, 
 much less consistent as a Christian. Yet the long- 
 forbearing mercy of a gracious Saviour toward him was 
 not exhausted. This prodigal, who turned away from 
 his friends, who fled from his father, who seemed to 
 court everlasting destruction, was made a witness of 
 one more gracious, heavenly visitation of saving love. 
 The tavern where he lived was on the Delaware. 
 Late one night he retired to his bed, and while lying 
 on it, as far as he could tell, perfectly awake, and cog- 
 nizant of all that was going on around him, he heard 
 a voice calling him by name, and bidding him go to 
 the piazza of the house which projected toward the 
 river. He obeyed the mandate, and from the piazza 
 he saw, over the water, what appeared to him a mani- 
 festation of the Saviour of the world. Awfully im- 
 pressed with the sight, the heart of the young man 
 was sensible of remorse and condemnation. He was 
 told that this was the last visitation of mercy he would 
 ever receive, that now there was an open door for his 
 escape from damnation ; but that if this opening was 
 not embraced, he was lost forever. He who opened to 
 him his state, bade him go home at once to his father's 
 house. Sensible, at length, that obedience was his 
 only safety, the poor repentant prodigal, in the middle 
 of the night, left the tavern, and went to the door
 
 202 GEORGE DILLWTN, 
 
 which, in comparative innocence, he had often en- 
 tered. He took courage to knock, and as he did so, 
 the door opened, and the father, with extended arms, 
 was ready to receive him. He who had given the 
 saving visitation to the son, had been with the father, 
 had aroused him from his bed, and, by the secret in- 
 spiration of his Holy Spirit on his mind, had thus 
 brought him to the door to receive his weeping son. 
 Having thus given up to the Lord's visitation, the 
 young man, through faithful obedience to manifested 
 duty, grew in grace, and experienced the work of. re- 
 generation carried on in his soul. He became a steady, 
 religious character, was for a long time an overseer of 
 that meeting, and in the hour of death felt himself 
 sustained by the Christian's hope. 
 
 George Dillwyn, although often led, in his ministry, 
 to speak at considerable length, yet was remarkable at 
 times for the brevity of his public communications. 
 Some of these were sufficiently startling. One day, 
 while sitting in his select preparative meeting, he broke 
 the silence with this arousing discourse : " Friends, I 
 perceive the cloven foot is getting in among us ! " 
 What an incentive for deep heart-searching was this ! 
 Well might every minister present have put the ques- 
 tion to him or herself, Have I lost my true guide? 
 Am I listening to the voice of the stranger ? Has the 
 love of self beguiled me ? Do I preach without the
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 203 
 
 life and power that once attended my ministry ? Yea, 
 ministers and elders might have united in the heart- 
 raised inquiry. Lord, is it I that have given occasion 
 for this? 
 
 George Dillwyn says, " When persons who think 
 they have attained to a stability in religion, speak 
 lightly, ,or seem to make no account of those little 
 steps of faith and obedience by which the Lord sees 
 meet to lead his flock, and fit them for his fold, it is 
 questionable if they have not missed the right gate, 
 and are trying to get in some other way." 
 
 Some individuals are ready to esteem lightly, to 
 speak contemptuously of our testimony to plainness in 
 dress and address. These have either known nothing 
 of those fiery baptisms through which some are made 
 willing to take up the cross to their natural inclina- 
 tions, and by consistent attire and scriptural language, 
 become as spectacles to men ; or having once known 
 and departed in heart from the Truth, they are seeking 
 to persuade themselves that the inward conflicts through 
 which they were led to it, were delusions. 
 
 We have heard it related that a young female, per- 
 haps not a member of the Society of Friends, became 
 convinced that it was her religious duty to conform to 
 its testimonies in regard to language and dress. About 
 this time the family were preparing to give a great 
 party, and she believed that on that occasion she must
 
 204 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 manifest in her conduct her obedience to the will of 
 her Lord and Saviour in this respect. Deep was the 
 trial to her ; flesh and blood could but revolt at the 
 mortification self was doomed to experience. While 
 under this exercise of mind, she one morning went 
 into the parlor, the windows of which had not been 
 opened, and there, sitting out of sight of men, she 
 sought for resignation to the Divine requiring, and 
 strength to enable her to perform it. While she was 
 thus engaged, Samuel Emlen, passing along the street 
 she lived on, came opposite the house. A sense of a 
 religious duty to be performed therein suddenly took 
 hold of him. He paused, stepped in the entry, passed 
 on till he reached the door of the darkened parlor. 
 Putting his head inside of it, he exclaimed, " Be thou 
 faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of 
 life." Having said this, he returned to the street, and 
 went on his way, having been enabled to adminis- 
 ter, through the Lord's holy assistance, the word of 
 strength and consolation to the unseen and unknown 
 mourner. Animated by this providential visitation, 
 the young woman was enabled to pursue the path of 
 duty opened before her. 
 
 The following extract from a letter written to one 
 who was passing through the baptisms incident to the 
 transition state between a life of self and a life of 
 self-denial, may illustrate this subject :
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 205 
 
 " Thou hast suffered from the ridicule of those whc 
 would not have thee enter on a religious life, a life of 
 self-denial and the daily cross. Thou hast been tried, 
 I fear, also by the advice of shallow though high pro- 
 fessors, who have never submitted to be dipped into 
 those trials and exercises into which the great Head of 
 the Church introduces all those who are truly devoted 
 to him. It is strange how easily some seem to slide 
 out of a gay life into a plain one, out of the obvious 
 rebellions of an unsubjected will, indulging in the 
 vanities of a frivolous mind, into, at least, an appear- 
 ance of tolerable consistency. They have made changes 
 which have cost others months of anguish and suffer- 
 ing, and yet seem to have known nothing of taking up 
 the cross. Some occupy stations in the church, rightly 
 to qualify for which fiery baptism after fiery baptism 
 must needs be endured, and yet there is but little ap- 
 pearance in them that they have ever experienced that 
 inward burning which can alone purge away the tin 
 and the reprobate silver. They seem to have discov- 
 ered some bridge of human invention over Jordan, the 
 river of judgment ; and it is no wonder to me that 
 they should not be familiar with its depths ! Many 
 can talk of the great love and mercy of their heavenly 
 Father, can even vocally rejoice that Christ died for 
 them, who yet know little of those inward, purifying 
 18
 
 206 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 sufferings through which he makes his dear children 
 partakers of that salvation he has purchased for them. 
 " We suffer tribulation and baptisms, on various ac- 
 counts, and we cannot always understand how we are 
 to gain spiritually, from that we are enduring. Never- 
 theless, I believe, however dark the dispensation may 
 seem at the time to us, that every such trial, rightly 
 borne, is of consequence in furthering the work of per- 
 fect redemption. The trials we pass through, when 
 obediently bearing the cross, may be necessary for our- 
 selves may be useful to others. The patience and 
 gentleness with which we bear them, may be an effec- 
 tual ministry to the unsubdued spirit of some watchful 
 friend ; a ministry owned by the Master, although 
 not even suspected at the moment by us. Beside this, 
 we know not how peculiarly needful all that we endure 
 may be to fit us for some unforeseen service, which our 
 Lord will require at our hands. He may be thus 
 fitting us for a long life of devotion to him, or for an 
 early death. I remember an amiable young friend of 
 mine, who for years had felt inwardly uneasy Avith 
 respect to his dress, and who, in a season of renewed 
 visitation, after many struggles of mind, took up the 
 cross, and bowed to the requirings of duty. The day 
 he made the change, an elderly female friend not ac- 
 quainted with the circumstance, called at his house. 
 On entering the door, sensations peculiarly solemn fell
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 207 
 
 on her, and she seemed to partake a little of the deep 
 baptism in which his mind was plunged. Many words 
 did not pass between them, but the few he uttered set 
 forth the depth of anguish which pressed upon him. 
 He said as respected his feelings he could not suffer 
 more, if the skin had been violently torn from his 
 body. He found it no easy matter to make the change 
 but strengthened by his heavenly Father, he had 
 taken the cup of affliction, and with quiet submission, 
 drunk it to the dregs. Mortified pride submitted ; 
 affection wounded in the house of his friends, found 
 comfort and healing from the Physician of value ; 
 faith grew stronger through this exercise ; obedience 
 became less bitter ; and from these inward trials the 
 Christian graces seemed to gain new bloom. His re- 
 ligiously-minded friends sympathized with him, and 
 rejoiced over him. They trusted that this suffering 
 was to qualify him for a useful life ; but his Saviour 
 designed it as a preparation for a happy death ! A 
 few weeks after this change in his attire, while the 
 freshness and sweetness of his recent humiliation of 
 spirit was still upon him, he became suddenly ill. 
 There were a few days of patiently borne suffering, 
 sustained by a comfortable assurance that for the 
 Saviour's sake, he was accepted in his obedience and 
 dedication and then he was taken away from all 
 sorrow. The visitation which seemed to this young
 
 208 GEORGE DILLWYN. . 
 
 man but as a powerful incentive to consistency of 
 attire, was indeed the last call of his Almighty Father 
 to obedience, and the resignation of his will. He sub- 
 mitted, and his end was happy ; had he rebelled 
 how awful might the consequence have been ! " 
 
 We give a few other anecdotes related in the words 
 of George Dillwyn. 
 
 " The following relation was given in a private con- 
 versation by a Friend in the ministry from England. 
 Being on his return home from America near to the 
 coast of Ireland, in very hazy weather, he was awaked 
 by an uneasiness of mind, and a strong impression 
 that the ship was in danger. He roused the master, 
 who also lay in the cabin, and requested him to go up 
 and see how things were ; but the captain, not liking 
 the disturbance, told the Friend to make himself easy; 
 they would take care enough of him. The Friend 
 tried to compose himself, and refrained from speaking 
 again for some time. The uneasiness, however, con- 
 tinuing, and becoming more urgent, he cried, with 
 great earnestness, ' Captain, thou must get up ! ' The 
 captain, with some grumbling, at length complied ; and, 
 in ascending the companion-way, roused the attention 
 of the helmsman, who, as well as the seamen near the 
 forecastle, were supposed to be dozing. This man, 
 calling to the others, they presently exclaimed, 'Helm 
 hard-a-lee ! There ; s a light ahead !' On immediately
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 209 
 
 sounding, they found themselves in shallow water, and 
 dropped anchor, where, the weather being mild, they re- 
 mained till the next morning, when, to their great sur- 
 prise, it appeared they were near the shore, and that if 
 they had continued their course but a few minutes longer, 
 the vessel, at least, would probably have been lost. 
 Such a manifest escape from danger humbled them all, 
 and on the captain mentioning the Friend's uneasiness 
 as the means of their preservation, the mate related a 
 similar intimation to his own mind, by which the 
 vessel he was in was preserved from being suddenly 
 thrown on her beam-ends. 1 1 think, sir,' said he, 
 ' this emotion of mine was like yours.' ' Ah, man,' 
 said the Friend, ' if thou art so wise as always to heed 
 that, it will guide thee to everlasting happiness ! ' ' 
 
 " Another instance is related by a serious person, 
 who, being master of a vessel, was in the harbor of 
 Cape Francois at the time when the blacks revolted, 
 and took arms against the whites. He was leaning on 
 the rail of the quarter-deck, a sorrowful witness of 
 that dreadful scene, when, without any apparent cause, 
 he was suddenly impelled, as by a sense of fear, to 
 quit the rail, and seat himself behind the companion- 
 way for shelter. As he left the rail, the mate took 
 his place, and instantly had his thumb fractured by a 
 musket-ball from the shore, which, had not the mas- 
 ter removed, must have entered his body." 
 18*
 
 210 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 " A sea-captain, well known in Philadelphia, being 
 on the point of going on shipboard, felt his mind so 
 impressed with uneasiness, that he could not proceed, 
 and resigned the command. All he could say on the 
 occasion was, that he was not easy to go ; and the event 
 proved he was right in attending to the restraint ; for 
 the vessel was lost, as is supposed, being never heard 
 of after touching at Batavia." 
 
 Many circumstances of a similar character might 
 be collected from the journals of Friends and other 
 sources. One which some of the residents in this city 
 have heard related by a Friend, now deceased, who 
 was acquainted with the person alluded to, is inter- 
 esting. A man, who was on his way to Europe in a 
 brig, or some craft of small size, one night was aroused 
 from his sleep by a sudden impression of terror, which 
 caused him to spring out of his berth, and, without 
 waiting to dress, hurry up the companion-way. As 
 he reached the top, he saw a dark body rapidly pass- 
 ing; instinctively, as it were, he clasped his arms 
 around it, and found himself suddenly borne to one 
 side. An awful crash instantly followed, the vessel he 
 had been in suddenly disappeared from below him, 
 while a large ship, around the bowsprit of which he 
 was clinging, passed rapidly over it, and swept oil in 
 the darkness. He soon made his way to the deck, and 
 was comfortably cared for ; but the vessel he had left
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 211 
 
 his home in, and his late companions, were never more 
 seen. 
 
 The following quotations from George Dillwyn, are 
 all intended, though in different forms of language, to 
 encourage humility, and discourage pride. 
 
 " Humility and love are equally essential to devotion 
 and to happiness." " The root of pride is self-confi- 
 dence ; and they who fancy themselves more humble 
 than others, may be the least so." " Humility of mind 
 is neither arrived at, retained, nor increased, by com- 
 paring ourselves with others." " In ascending the 
 mount of rectitude, we are more apt to indulge in re- 
 flecting on the past, than in contemplating the future ; 
 and so, comparing our attainments rather with those 
 behind than with those before us,, we easily, and often, 
 mistake our resting-places for our journey's end." 
 
 As a warning to those, who, from any cause, either 
 of personal or mental accomplishments, or because of 
 the supposed more perfect discoveries of Truth to the 
 mind, feel disposed to consider themselves elevated 
 above their neighbors, we will narrate an anecdote. 
 
 A ministering Friend residing in England, under a 
 religious concern paid a visit to the meetings in Ire- 
 land, in which service he was eminently favored. 
 From place to place, as he travelled, he was furnished 
 with abundance of suitable matter to communicate, 
 and a baptizing power accompanied the Word preached
 
 212 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 to the tendering the hearts of the hearers, in a re- 
 markable manner. During his visit, he was preserved 
 in a humble state of mind, watchfully attentive to the 
 openings of his Divine Master, and was therefore per- 
 mitted to return to his home in peace. In his subse- 
 quent meditations, however, on his past visit, and the 
 evident Divine influence attending his ministry, spirit- 
 ual pride crept in ; and he was apparently in danger 
 of making total shipwreck of his humility, and thereby 
 losing his hope in Christ. 
 
 While in this critical condition, he was instructed 
 by a dream. He thought he was walking on a plain, 
 reflecting on his late visit to Ireland the wonderful 
 service he had had there and exulting in his increase 
 of spiritual experience. As he was thus ministering 
 food to his earthly nature, he lifted up his eyes and 
 perceived a person of lofty stature approaching him. 
 Full of presumption, engendered by his late thoughts, 
 he advanced to meet the new-comer, and demanded 
 his name. " My name is Self," said the giant. 
 "Well," added the other, "I will kill thee." He 
 thought in his dream that he immediately commenced 
 the attack, and after a sharp contest, succeeded in beat- 
 ing Self to death. He then renewed his walk, and in 
 addition to his former cause of inward gratulation, 
 he now with much satisfaction thought over his last 
 valorous exploit. While thus engaged, he beheld ap-
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 213 
 
 preaching a figure closely resembling the giant he had 
 just killed, but of more than twice the size. As this 
 majestic person drew near, he was met with the same 
 question which had greeted the other Who art thou? 
 "I am Self/' was the answer. "I thought I had 
 killed thee," said the puffed-up preacher, " but I will 
 do it again." So saying, he vigorously assailed this 
 formidable enemy, and after a very severe and desper- 
 ate struggle, succeeded in destroying him. Now again 
 he began to meditate on his great deeds; when he saw 
 before him a person, featured as the two others, but of 
 immense stature, his head reaching to the clouds. He 
 approached, and to the demand of his name, answered, 
 " I am Self." Once more a combat commenced ; but 
 it was soon apparent that this new giant was coming 
 off victor. The poor crest-fallen dreamer was brought 
 to the ground, and perceived, as he thought, his death 
 inevitable. Then, indeed, he thought of One, whose 
 arm of power could bring aid and safety in any diffi- 
 culty. His heart seemed humble, secret prayer was 
 begotten to the Source of strength, his faith was re- 
 newed, and Self vanished. Then ended his dream. 
 
 As he pondered over its different parts, the delusion 
 he had been previously under, was made clearly mani- 
 fest to his mind. In tears and true contrition of heart 
 he looked to the Source of every good and perfect gift, 
 and received therefrom a renewal of that humility and
 
 214 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 fear, which in the days of his youthful visitations were 
 given to him. Self, which in his first submission to 
 the cross of Christ had been in measure slain which 
 had subsequently, through unwatchfulness, revived as 
 a mighty giant, after, through Divine Grace, the pollu- 
 tions of nature had been to a great extent cleansed ; 
 which then in a time of renewed visitation had been 
 as it were slain a second time ; and again revived by 
 outward flattery, and inward unwatchfulness, into a 
 spiritual monster, whose head reached the clouds 
 was now once more cast down. He felt in great tribu- 
 lation ; he saw the imminent danger he had been in of 
 plunging himself into everlasting destruction ; and 
 with these feelings, and this sense, he dared no longer 
 dwell upon his past labors for the Truth. His eye 
 was now once more to the Lord, and the dream and 
 the interpretation thereof, were to him as merciful 
 warnings never to be forgotten. 
 
 George Dillwyn was much interested in the welfare 
 of the Indian natives of this country, and at times felt 
 his mind drawn toward them in that love which per- 
 suaded him there was that in them to which the Gos- 
 pel might be preached. He had divers interesting 
 religious conversations with a deputation of Cherokees 
 who visited the city of Philadelphia in the First 
 month, 1792. These Indians were seven in number, 
 six males and one femnle. The chief man among
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 215 
 
 them was Nehetooyah, or the " Bloody Fellow," and 
 he appears to have done all the public speaking on 
 their behalf. This being the first opportunity Friends 
 had ever obtained of showing kindness to the members 
 of this distant tribe, they were anxious to treat them 
 with suitable hospitality and attention. On the 29th 
 of the First month, the male part of the delegation, 
 with an interpreter, were, by invitation, at the house 
 of Isaac Zane, and appeared much gratified with exam- 
 ining a terrestrial globe which was shown them, par- 
 ticularly when the place of their own homes was 
 pointed out on it, and the route they had travelled to 
 Philadelphia. After listening to what was told them 
 relative to the shape of the earth and other matters of 
 a kindred nature, Nehetooyah, in a very pathetic tone 
 of voice, gave utterance to a short speech. He first 
 adverted to the great advantages which the white peo- 
 ple had over their red brethren in knowledge. He 
 then added an expression of surprise, that notwith- 
 standing the white men knew that the Great Spirit 
 made all, and provided for all his children, they should 
 treat the red men so unfairly. He spoke of the first 
 settlement of the whites, their growth, and how they 
 had driven the Indians from their possessions without 
 compensation. As he had travelled through the coun- 
 try, he had seen the fine houses which the white men 
 had erected on the lands they had taken from the red
 
 216 GEORGE DILLWYN, 
 
 men ; and yet they were not satisfied, but coveted the 
 little the red men still held. He ended with express- 
 ing his belief that this could not be consistent with the 
 mind of the Great Spirit. 
 
 On Second month 2d, the Indians being again at 
 the house of Isaac Zane, they were met by George 
 Dillwyn, Mary Ridgway, and Jane Watson. On this 
 occasion, these Friends addressed them by way of re- 
 ligious counsel. They spoke on the nature of the 
 Divine Being, the inward workings of his Grace and 
 Good Spirit in the hearts of all to restrain them from 
 doing evil, the dependence of all on him for life, 
 health, and every blessing ; and pressed the conclusion, 
 that as all were children of one common Father, they 
 were bound to love one another, and to live in peace. 
 One of them, addressing the Indians, said, " As any 
 one of you would be grieved to observe quarreling and 
 fighting among your children, so our heavenly Father 
 is displeased with whatever interrupts the harmony 
 that should always subsist among his children in the 
 great family of mankind." During the course of the 
 religious conversation, the Indians were told of a red 
 brother named " The Guerre," who had once been a 
 great warrior, but having been convinced of the evil 
 of contention and war, had become a man of peace. 
 He was one who attended the treaty at Lancaster in 
 1762, and the change in his sentiments being known,
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 217 
 
 he was inquired of as to the cause. Laying a hand 
 on his breast, and looking upward with a reverent 
 expression, he said, "The Great Being has made it 
 known to my heart, that he did not make men for the 
 purpose of killing one another." 
 
 When George Dillwyn and his two female friends 
 had fully expressed what was on their minds, the 
 Indians requested time to deliberate on a suitable an- 
 swer to such important advice as they had heard, and 
 proposed that the Friends should meet them at the 
 same house on the evening .of the following day. On 
 that occasion, Second month 3d, Nehetooyah spoke to 
 the following import : " What we have heard from 
 you has opened our eyes and our hearts. We feel 
 very grateful for the concern and love which our bro- 
 thers and sisters have shown for the red people, and 
 the pains they have taken to bring them more to a 
 knowledge of the Great Spirit above, and to make 
 them acquainted with his will. In all the places we 
 have visited, we never heard anything that opened 
 our hearts so much. We did not believe that any 
 woman could say such wise things as our sisters have 
 said to us. But when we consider that from women 
 came all men, we cannot wonder that they should be 
 as wise as we." He then promised they would carry 
 what they had heard in their hearts, and tell it to the 
 red people in their own country. He said their fathers 
 19
 
 218 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 had told them the white men were wiser than the red 
 men, because they had been able to read the Book 
 which the Great Spirit had given them, and then 
 added, " But we think he takes care of red men, who 
 are his children too. We were told by our fathers 
 to look up to the Great Spirit above when we were in 
 distress, and he would help us." 
 
 The next day, Second month 4th, they visited Wil- 
 liam Waring's school, and had the various changes of 
 the moon and the cause of eclipses explained to them. 
 They were deeply interested, and as they seemed to set 
 a very high estimate on such knowledge, the Friends 
 took occasion to inform them that they considered all 
 such things of less importance than goodness of heart. 
 
 On the evening of the 8th, George Dillwyn and 
 others being present, the Indians were asked if they 
 had ever heard .of William Penn, or brother Onas, as 
 the northern Indians called him. They replied they 
 had not, but they thought it likely their fathers might 
 have done so. The principle of the Society of Friends 
 in respect to war was more fully unfolded to them ; 
 and they were informed that its consistent members 
 would not undertake to defend themselves ; and that 
 this was so far from generally provoking abuse, that 
 they_ had been often permitted, during the late war, to 
 pass through both armies without molestation. One 
 of Nehetooyah's speeches during this evening was this :
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 219 
 
 " The life of all men is given by the Great Spirit, and 
 life to every one is allowed but for a short time. There 
 are many ways by which it may be taken from us when 
 the Great Spirit pleases, without our killing one an- 
 other. This killing, I believe, would all cease if peo- 
 ple would all love each other, and live according to 
 the mind of the Great Spirit." 
 
 During George Dillwyn's last sojourn in England, 
 he became closely attached, as a father in the Truth, 
 to Susanna Home, a young woman then just coming 
 forth in the ministry. In the year 1812, she came to 
 this country on a religious visit, and George had near 
 unity with her in her ministerial labors among us. A 
 few weeks after Susanna had sailed from this land, 
 George Dillwyn rose, at the close of a meeting for 
 worship in Burlington, and, in much brokenness and 
 humility, said, "As many Friends are interested in 
 Susanna Home, I may tell them she has arrived safely 
 in England." This annunciation was startling to all ; 
 and the weak in faith were no doubt full of fears, lest 
 the slowly revolving weeks should not bring its con- 
 firmation. But time proved that George had been 
 enabled to follow her in spirit even to her port, and 
 was made sensible, although at three thousand miles' 
 distance, of her landing. 
 
 Many somewhat similar circumstances are narrated. 
 One is told of Martha Routh, who being from home
 
 220 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 attending her Quarterly Meeting, became very much 
 agitated under a revelation to her mind that a nephew, 
 whom she was bringing up as a son, was drowned. 
 The accident took place at Manchester, some miles 
 from Warrington, where the Quarterly Meeting was 
 held. Martha gives the details in a letter, from which 
 we take the following : " A Friend coming into our 
 women's meeting with some papers for us to sign, said 
 he thought it might not be improper just to mention 
 that our friend, Robert Valentine, who had intended 
 to proceed forward, was, on further consideration, most 
 easy to return to Manchester. No sooner had he spoken, 
 than a very unusual sadness, like a dart, struck through 
 my whole frame, so that it was with difficulty I sat till 
 the meeting was done, and then could not refrain from 
 telling my aunt something had fallen out at Man- 
 chester since we left it yesterday, which is the cause 
 of Robert's going back. She tried to put it from me, 
 believing it was only a turn in his own mind, that he 
 did not feel quite clear of us. But the intelligence in 
 my own mind waxed louder and louder, so that before 
 we were well out of the meeting-place, the voice said 
 plainly, ' Thy nephew is dead ! ' I then told my aunt 
 again, who, seeing me very sorrowful, said, l My dear, 
 do not afflict thyself so, but have faith and patience 
 till inquiry can be made.' I said, ' My dear aunt, I 
 do not afflict myself, but am distressed, and not with-
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 221 
 
 out cause.' I then looked inward to see if he was 
 removed by any kind of accident in the warehouse ; 
 but the answer was, ' No ; he is sunk in deep water.' 
 I then turned into a Friend's house, and sat in as 
 much stillness as I could, but in great agony of spirit, 
 which the Friend perceiving, inquired if anything was 
 amiss. I told her my nephew was dead, and the way 
 it had been permitted. She seemed much astonished,' 
 for she knew him well ; but was willing to hope it was 
 not so, and tried to comfort me ; but I could receive 
 none till another intimation was sounded in the ear of 
 my soul : ' Be not overmuch troubled ; he is taken from 
 the evil to come, and is entered into rest and peace.' 
 Nature then got some relief by tears, which were 
 soon renewed by my dear husband's coming in, who 
 was then told of the event, and was deeply afflicted 
 therewith. 
 
 " We got home that evening in a carriage, and found 
 the remains of our adopted son laid out, a fair corpse, 
 except a little settling of blood in his face, being found, 
 face downward, in what is called the whirlpool, near 
 the usual place of bathing. Our before -mentioned 
 Friend, and many others that were standing around 
 him, I trust felt such a time of solemnity as will not 
 easily be forgotten, when Robert was drawn forth in 
 testimony, in which he had to express, from Divine 
 19*
 
 222 GEORGE DILLWTN. 
 
 authority, ' Sorrow not, my Friends, for I feel an evi- 
 dence that it is well with the young man ! ' ' 
 
 Joseph Priestley, the Unitarian preacher, and experi- 
 mental chemist, who belonged to a school of philoso- 
 phers who believe nothing they do not comprehend, 
 hearing of this incident, applied to William Rathbone, 
 of Liverpool, to inquire of Martha Routh herself, 
 whether it were true. William, intending to ask the 
 question, came to a meeting where Martha was, who 
 rose with the text, " If they believe not Moses and 
 the prophets, neither would they be persuaded, though 
 one rose from the dead." In commenting upon these 
 words, she was so sharp on the incredulous, unbeliev- 
 ing spirit of the world, that William was ashamed to 
 speak to her on the subject. 
 
 Our late honest, plain-spoken Friend, George Withy, 
 related the following anecdote while in this country. 
 On a certain time, as he was travelling alone in Wales, 
 where he was paying a religious visit, he felt a sudden 
 impression that it would be right in him to turn round 
 and go directly home. It was about midday, or shortly 
 after, for he had attended a meeting in the morning, 
 and was on his way to another, to be held in the after- 
 noon. On receiving this apparent direction to forsake 
 the work to which he had previously felt bound, he 
 paused, and endeavored to weigh the matter in his own 
 mind, looking for the pointings of Truth. The result
 
 GEORGE DILLWTN. 223 
 
 of his secret breathing for right guidance was a strong 
 impression of duty, to " Go home, and that quickly." 
 He obeyed, and by travelling all night, reached his 
 residence in the morning. He found that at the time 
 the call to return home was felt by him, a niece of his 
 was drowned and as his wife had a family of chil- 
 dren to care for, his presence and assistance on the 
 occasion, seemed indispensable. 
 
 Of a similar character is the following incident, 
 which is given as narrated in a letter bearing date 
 some years since. 
 
 " A married man * in the younger walks of life, 
 who had long been under the preparing hand of the 
 Lord, for service in his church, believed it right to 
 give up to accompany a minister in an extensive re- 
 ligious engagement. This was no small trial to him. 
 He had a comfortable home, a lovely wife, several 
 sons, and one daughter. He however bowed his neck 
 to the cross gave up to the requiring of duty, and 
 with the consent and approbation of his Monthly Meet- 
 ing set forward on the journey. During the visit his 
 mouth was opened in the ministry to the comfort of 
 his friends. As he and his companion were, one day, 
 about entering a meeting-house, a letter was handed to 
 him, which he saw was from home. Instantly a sense 
 of sorrow seized him, and he felt that afflicting tidings 
 
 * Our late friend Samuel Bettle.
 
 224 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 were contained in that letter. After a severe inward 
 struggle, he believed it would be right in him to go 
 into the meeting-house without breaking the seal. He 
 did so, and notwithstanding the feeling of sorrow, he 
 was enabled to get under religious exercise, and was 
 strengthened to labor vocally with the people. His 
 duty toward them over, his mind was turned in much 
 love and solicitude toward his family at home. His 
 wife was first brought into view, and in the opening 
 of Truth, he saw her at home, and well. One by one 
 his children seemed to come before his spiritual vision 
 with the assurance that they were all in health, until 
 he carne to the last, his only daughter. His spiritual 
 eye could not discern her in the family circle, and as 
 he sadly mused, this language was spoken to his in- 
 ward ear : c She is dead.' The evidence which accom- 
 panied the words was so strong, that he could not 
 doubt the truth of the opening, and the anguish of his 
 mind was great. The meeting closed; and yet he 
 dared not open the letter, for he felt what was in it, 
 and was afraid to trust himself to read it in company. 
 When he entered the carriage with his companion, and 
 a valuable female minister, they queried what a:'led 
 him? He told them from his feelings he was sure 
 his daughter was deceased. His companions were not 
 willing to believe the opening on his mind, and en- 
 deavored to encourage him to think it was not true.
 
 GEORGE DILLWYN. 225 
 
 Nothing however shook his faith, and when they 
 reached the place where they were to dine, he retired 
 to a private room and opened his letter. It was but a, 
 confirmation of that which he by faith already knew. 
 With tears he read the account of the dear child's 
 sickness and death, and then summoning up fortitude, 
 he passed into the parlor, threw the letter into the 
 female minister's lap, and once more retired." 
 
 George Dillwyn had been unusually exempt from 
 bodily pain, even in advanced age, but on the 3d of 
 the Second month, 1820, when on his way to meeting, 
 the ground being covered with sleet, he fell and frac- 
 tured the hip bone. The attendant pain being very 
 distressing, and every exertion failing to afford relief, 
 a state of deep suffering ensued ; his exercised mind 
 was tempted, tried, and afflicted, as he expressed, 
 beyond what he had ever before known, yet his con- 
 cern was that he might be enabled to wait in deep 
 abasement until light should arise upon his dwelling. 
 Thus he passed nearly five months of great bodily 
 suffering, and seasons of close mental conflict, through 
 all which the Christian character shone with bright- 
 ness. " I find there is a comfort over which disease 
 has no .power," was his remark on one occasion. 
 Again, " Now I am prepared to adopt the language 
 Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the 
 flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of
 
 226 GEORGE DILLWYN. 
 
 birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in 
 our land." 
 
 Patiently awaiting the coming of his dear Master's 
 summons, he was released from his suffering taberna- 
 cle on the 23d of the Sixth month, following, in the 
 eighty-third year of his age.
 
 ARTHUR HOWELL. 
 
 A RTHUR HOWELL, the son of Joseph and 
 Hannah Howell, was born in Philadelphia, 
 Eighth month 20th, 1748. Although he was natur- 
 ally of a quick, lively turn of mind, by obedience to 
 the inward teachings of Truth he early knew his own 
 will brought into subjection, and continuing faithful 
 to his Heavenly Teacher, he came forth in the ministry 
 in his minority. 
 
 He was acknowledged as a minister by his Monthly 
 Meeting, in the Ninth month, 1779, when but twenty- 
 one years of age. He was a frequent visitor at neigh- 
 boring Monthly and Quarterly meetings, and meetings 
 for discipline, and often had minutes from his Friends 
 to visit those at a greater distance. 
 
 Various circumstances had indicated that he was 
 often gifted with clear discernment in spiritual things, 
 and that his Master at times favored him with pro- 
 phetic foresight. The following incident illustrating 
 this is in accordance with anecdotes told of many 
 
 227
 
 228 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 other faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. An 
 English woman Friend who was in this land on a re- 
 ligious visit, apprehending the time of release drew 
 near, went, accompanied by Arthur, on board a vessel 
 just ready to sail for her native country, to feel if she 
 would be easy to take her passage in it. Arthur be- 
 came distressed and agitated, and drawing a circle with 
 chalk on the deck, said, " I can see, as plainly as I 
 can see that ring, that this is neither the time, nor the 
 vessel." The Friend did not take the passage, and the 
 vessel sailing was never afterward heard of. 
 
 In 1793, when the yellow fever prevailed in Phila- 
 delphia in so alarming a manner that great numbers 
 of the inhabitants fled from the city, Arthur Howell 
 deemed it his place to remain, rendering such aid as 
 was in his power to his afflicted fellow-citizens. One 
 day, about the middle of the Ninth month, a colored 
 man, named Benny, called on him, soliciting occupa- 
 tion iii sawing and preparing the winter's wood. 
 
 The next morning one of his children, noticing he 
 seemed very serious as he descended from his cham- 
 ber, anxiously queried if he were ill? "No," he 
 answered, " but Benny is dead." His son asked how 
 he could say so, as the man had been at their house 
 only the, evening before. Arthur reiterated his con- 
 viction of the colored man's death, and taking his son 
 with him, started for his residence. Where Pock Street
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 229 
 
 now is, in those days was an open stream, and in a 
 small hut on its banks, near Second Street, Benny had 
 been living. As they passed along, meeting some 
 acquaintances, Arthur Howell called to them, informed 
 them of the death, and asked them to accompany him 
 to the house. On forcing open the door, Benny was 
 found within, dead. This was one of the last cases of 
 death from the prevailing fever that year. 
 
 In the First month, 1794, Arthur Howell visited 
 the families of Friends belonging to Haddonfield 
 Monthly Meeting, and in the Fifth month, 1795, 
 attended the Yearly Meeting held in the city of New 
 York, and the Yearly Meeting at Rhode Island. 
 During the visit to New York, as he was walking one 
 morning along a street, he felt a strong impulse to go 
 into a house he was passing. The pointing of duty 
 was so clear, that although he supposed himself a per- 
 fect stranger to the inmates, he was made willing to 
 obey ; he stopped at the door, found it the residence of 
 an acquaintance from Philadelphia, whose wife, a min- 
 ister, was confined to her chamber, sick in body, and 
 deeply discouraged in mind. At Arthur's request he 
 was admitted by her bedside, and was soon dipped into 
 spiritual sympathy with her. In the arisings of life, 
 his uouth was opened, and he had a powerful and 
 consolatory testimony to deliver to her, which reach- 
 ing her spirit in the land of her captivity, was made, 
 20
 
 230 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 through the Lord's blessing, the instrument of awaken- 
 ing her hope, and quickening her faith. She was com- 
 forted, and he being relieved from concern on her ac- 
 count, passed peacefully on to their Yearly Meeting. 
 
 On one occasion a company of young women who 
 had come from a distance to Philadelphia, and who 
 were anxious to see whatever was interesting and cu- 
 rious in it, concluded to step into Friends' Market 
 Street meeting-house. At the head of the women's 
 gallery sat a ministering Friend from England, whose 
 person and attire peculiarly attracted the attention of 
 one of the strangers, who could not cease looking at 
 her. Perhaps something of the work of grace might 
 have been traced by the gazer in the outward attire, 
 and in the deep solemnity which sat sweetly on the 
 countenance of the Friend. Some longings after spir- 
 itual good were awakened in the mind of the young 
 woman, secretly giving birth to the wish, which she 
 found herself saying over and over inwardly, " I wish 
 /was like that lady! I wish /was like that lady!" 
 While thus engaged, a man of full habit of body and 
 of a medium height, rose in the gallery, and, in an 
 energetic manner and sounding voice, spake out, 
 " Leave off wishing and desiring, and seek for thy- 
 self! " " How does that gentleman know what I am 
 thinking about ? " said the young woman to herself. 
 Serious thoughtfulness was increased in her. She felt
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 231 
 
 drawn earnestly to seek after the Truth, and, through 
 the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, found it to her re- 
 joicing. The young woman became a useful membei 
 of the religious Society of Friends ; the brief preacher 
 was Arthur Howell. 
 
 How fearful is it for any one to be found resisting 
 the calls of the Lord, refusing obedience to manifested 
 duty. He waiteth long and is kind, but he will visit 
 in righteous judgment the backsliding and rebellious. 
 As Arthur Howell was passing through the market- 
 house one day, he saw a woman Friend standing with 
 her back toward him. He did not know her, but 
 under a sense of duty he came to her, and, placing a 
 hand on each arm, said, " What art thou doing, stand- 
 ing with thy arms akimbo in the market? Go and 
 preach the Gospel ! " This woman had long felt an 
 impression of duty to appear in the ministry, but she 
 would not submit to the call of her Divine Master. 
 Depression of mind followed, and still she refused 
 obedience. The warning given her by Arthur was 
 suffered to pass unimproved. After many loud calls 
 and invitations, her mind became agitated, unsettled, 
 and at last insane. She was deranged many years; 
 and this arose, according to her own confession, from 
 her want of submitting to the commands of Him who, 
 as our Father in heaven, the Giver of every temporal
 
 232 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 and spiritual blessing, has a right to demand obedience 
 from every soul which he has created. 
 
 Many unlooked-for warnings did Arthur give. 
 Once passing along a street in Philadelphia, he sud- 
 denly addressed a person who was passing : " Young 
 man, if thou enterest into that thou art going about, it 
 will be thy utter ruin ! " The young man was at that 
 moment planning a speculation into which he was 
 about entering. The salutation he thus received was 
 accepted by him as a word of warning ; he gave up 
 his speculation, and soon saw that if he had engaged 
 in it, temporal ruin would have been the consequence. 
 
 One First-day morning, after his own meeting was 
 over, Arthur felt a sudden but strong impression of 
 duty to attend the Quarterly Meeting which was to be 
 held at Salem. New Jersey, the next day. At the 
 time we are writing of, the Quarterly Meeting of Min- 
 isters and Elders of that Quarterly Meeting was held 
 on Seventh-day, two meetings for worship were held 
 on First-day, the meeting for business on Second-day, 
 a youths' meeting at Salem on Third-day, and a youths' 
 meeting at Pilesgrove on Fourth-day. As Arthur 
 endeavored to weigh the concern, he felt most easy to 
 attempt to fulfil it, notwithstanding it seemed late to 
 engage in it. His old friend, Benedict Dorsey, agreed 
 to accompany him, and they set off for Salem. It was 
 very late at night before they reached the house of a
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 233 
 
 Friend who resided near that place, where they pur- 
 posed to find shelter. The family had all retired to 
 their chambers ; but being aroused, they quickly gave 
 the Friends a hearty welcome, and ere long a warm 
 supper. 
 
 The next morning, after breakfast, Arthur was in- 
 clined to walk, and while passing along, he saw many 
 Friends collected about a house. A concern now came 
 upon him, to go in among them. He obeyed his feel- 
 ings, and after he had saluted them, silence almost 
 immediately fell upon the group. After a time of 
 deep exercise, Arthur began to address the owner of 
 the house, and his wife, with whom he was unac- 
 quainted, and of whose private history he had had no 
 hint. He told them from the impressions on his mind 
 he did believe they were endeavoring to force their 
 daughter, who was present at the interview, to marry 
 contrary to her inclination. He added, if they should 
 succeed in their endeavors, it would be the daugh- 
 ter's ruin, temporally and eternally. So much Divine 
 power and unction accompanied the ministry, as to 
 baptize the company into tears ; and some of them 
 we have the testimony of an eye-witness went to 
 Quarterly Meeting that morning, with eyes bearing 
 witness of recent strong emotion. This remarkable 
 communication had a prevailing effect the match 
 20*
 
 234 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 was broken off and the young woman was after- 
 ward happily married. 
 
 In the First month, 1798, Arthur Howell was set 
 at liberty by his Monthly Meeting to visit Friends in 
 the middle a^d western parts of Pennsylvania ; in the 
 Eleventh month, 1799, to attend meetings in New 
 Jersey, and some other parts of Philadelphia Yearly 
 Meeting; in the Tenth month, 1800, in company with 
 Anne Mifflin and Ruth Richardson, to visit Friends 
 in Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, and elsewhere; 
 and in the Second month, 1801, to perform a general 
 visit to Friends of New Jersey. 
 
 On one occasion, after a meeting in New Jersey, he 
 felt himself drawn to approach a carriage, which, 
 having received its passengers, was about being driven 
 away. Looking in, he beheld a woman, and addressed 
 her in the following words : " Thou hast a work to do. 
 Do it ! and if they knock thee down, get up and go at 
 it again." The woman Friend thus addressed, came 
 forth in the ministry, in which she labored to an ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 One bright summer morning, Arthur Howell felt an 
 impression that some service was required of him out 
 of the city, but where, or what, was hidden from him. 
 He mentioned his feelings to some members of his 
 family, and was encouraged by them to prepare him- 
 self to start ; the idea suggesting itself to them that
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 235 
 
 his concern would prove to be for Merion meeting, 
 which was held that day. His horse was accordingly 
 attached to the family chair, or chaise, which was one 
 of those old-fashioned, roomy vehicles, with one seat, 
 on which you could stow comfortably afctout as many 
 persons as in a modern two-seated carriage. Arthur 
 took a seat in it, accompanied by his son Israel, and a 
 young man, named William Mott. At Arthur's direc- 
 tion they drove to Fourth Street, turned northward up 
 it, and as the young men would occasionally inquire, 
 " Which way ? " he continued replying in the words, 
 " Drive on." Thus they proceeded, Arthur yet in the 
 dark as to where his service might be ; but still his 
 watchword to the young men was " Drive on," " Drive 
 on," till they reached the house of his journeyman, 
 John Nutts, who lived in Germantown, directly oppo- 
 site Friends' meeting-house. Stopping the horse, they 
 alighted, and as they did so, saw a funeral approach- 
 ing. The carriages were driven into the yard by 
 Friends' burial-ground, and Arthur, feeling now a 
 clear manifestation of duty, followed after, accom- 
 panied by his two young men. Soon a fire was 
 kindled within his heart, and a word was put into his 
 mouth. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
 from henceforth : Yea, saith the spirit, that they may 
 rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." 
 This was his text ; and in his communication he set
 
 236 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 forth the blessedness of redeemed souls set at liberty 
 from the shackles of mortality, in energetic language, 
 and spoke as though this had been the happy experi- 
 ence of the individual, whether man or woman, he had 
 no information, whose body was then being consigned 
 to the earth. When this service was over, Arthur re- 
 turned in peace to his home. 
 
 The next day, when his journeyman, Nutts, came into 
 the city, he inquired of Arthur if he knew that people 
 said he was a prophet? Arthur demanded what he 
 meant. John, by way of reply, informed him, that the 
 person whose funeral he had attended the day before was 
 a woman who resided on the Logan estate. Her nephew, 
 who was under her care, having died, some malicious 
 person had spread abroad a report that she had caused 
 the death of the child in order to inherit his property. 
 The aunt was so affected at hearing this wicked charge, 
 that her spirits sank, her health became impaired, she 
 declined in strength, and at last died of a broken 
 heart. During her season of sickness and sorrow, she 
 had learned to look to the Lord for comfort, and, in 
 full faith in the verity of the openings of his Holy 
 Spirit on her mind, she had declared, when near her 
 close, that the Lord would, in token of her innocence, 
 send one of his ministers to preach at her funeral. 
 
 Arthur Howell was remarkably nice in his habits. 
 He was neat in his person, and loved to have every-
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 237 
 
 thing about him in order and clean. In his leather 
 store, if the removal of hides, or other causes, brought 
 dust on the floor, he would take a brush and sweep it 
 out. His friend, Nicholas Wain, while passing by his 
 place of business one day, seeing him busily occupied 
 in this way, called out, " There are sweepers in high 
 life as well as in low ones, Arthur." 
 
 In his public ministry, Arthur Howell was peculiar. 
 His voice was loud, and as he only gave utterance to 
 a few syllables with each breath, his communications 
 appeared somewhat abrupt. In this particular he 
 resembled our late Friend Thomas Shillitoe. He was 
 peculiarly led to attend the funerals of Friends, and 
 not many took place in the city among his acquaint- 
 ance that he neglected. 
 
 The last minute he obtained for religious service 
 from his Monthly Meeting was one in the Ninth month, 
 1812, setting him at liberty to visit the Western Quar- 
 terly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting. 
 
 He was now growing in years, and evidently be- 
 lieved that the time of his release from earthly cares 
 and troubles drew nigh. He settled all his outward 
 affairs that could be settled ; and many little incidents 
 remembered after his departure, gave his friends the 
 undoubted assurance that he saw his end approaching, 
 and was making himself ready. He was, as he him-
 
 238 ARTHUR HO WELL. 
 
 self expressed to one of his sons, much weaned from 
 the world. 
 
 On the 24th of First month, 1816, he arose as 
 usual, but soon complained of indisposition. On the 
 afternoon of the next day, he appeared extremely ill, 
 and much oppressed. This oppression continued to 
 increase, and he expressed a desire to be allowed to 
 remain perfectly quiet, without being interrupted by 
 the administration of medicine or of any kind of nour- 
 ishment. One of his sons asked him how he felt as 
 respected his future prospects. He replied, calmly, 
 " There is nothing in my way." His physician, Sam- 
 uel P. Griffitts, added, " That crowns all." His illness 
 increasing, he rapidly failed in strength, but continued 
 perfectly sensible to the close, which took place early 
 on the morning of the 26th, he being in the sixty- 
 eighth year of his age. 
 
 Having been enabled in various ways to administer 
 to the spiritual and temporal wants of others, his heav- 
 enly Father richly supplied his needs, and blessed him 
 with a quiet and peaceful close. Oh, how holy the 
 faith of those who, having proved that the Lord Jesus 
 is gracious through the many trials of an obedient and 
 dedicated life, can rest in quiet, unfaltering confidence 
 upon his saving mercy in the hour of death ! Thus 
 died Arthur Howell. He had lived beloved by his 
 intimates, respected by the community in which he
 
 ARTHUR HO WELL. 239 
 
 dwelt. His funeral was largely attended by the mem- 
 bers of the religious Society he belonged to, and by a 
 very large concourse of his fellow-citizens, who gath- 
 ered without ostentation or parade, in the deep feeling 
 of a public loss.
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 A MONG those members of the Society of Friends 
 in Ireland who, about 1720, had their minds 
 turned to the consideration of removing to America, 
 was Isaac Jackson. He had a family of children 
 growing up around him, and his thoughts were often 
 upon them and their future settlement in life. He did 
 not wish to take them to a new country, even though 
 it offered many advantages over those they could hope 
 for where they were, unless it should be according to 
 the will of his heavenly Father. Both he and his 
 wife had this subject much on their minds, being deeply 
 exercised that they might know what their duty in this 
 matter was. While Isaac was still undecided, and his 
 mind full of earnest thought, he was favored with a 
 remarkable dream, which he believed was providential, 
 and which had the effect of convincing him that his 
 removal to America was in the ordering, and would 
 be with the approbation of Him who still leads his 
 humble, dependent children, even in temporals, in the 
 
 240
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 241 
 
 paths wherein they should go. The dream is thus 
 described in the record made of this circumstance by 
 one of Isaac's descendants : 
 
 " While Isaac and his wife were under exercise and 
 concern of mind about so weighty an undertaking, and 
 desirous that best Wisdom should direct, Isaac had a 
 dream or vision to this import : That having landed 
 with his family in America, he travelled a considerable 
 distance back into the country, until he came to a val- 
 ley, through which ran a pretty stream of water. The 
 prospect and situation of the place seemed pleasant 
 a hill rising on the north, and a fine spring issuing near 
 its foot; and in his dream he thought that there he 
 and his family must settle, though [it was] then a wil- 
 derness and unimproved." 
 
 This dream seemed accompanied by a Divine unc- 
 tion, which satisfied him that it was right for him to 
 remove to America, and in 1725 he came over to 
 Pennsylvania. Soon after his arrival, he went into 
 the country to seek for a place wherein he and his 
 family might settle. In the course of his travel he 
 came to the house of Jeremiah Starr, a Friend, who, 
 in 1720, had settled in the wilderness in that part of 
 Chester County known now as Londongrove Township. 
 During conversation at this Friend's house, Isaac re- 
 lated his dream ; and when he had described the beau- 
 tiful spring, the uprising hill behind it, the lovely 
 21
 
 242 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 valley spreading out before it which even the forest 
 which clothed it could not hide he was told that a 
 spot just such as he described was near by. In the 
 words of the account from which we have already 
 quoted, " He soon went to see it, which, to his admi- 
 ration, so closely resembled what he had a foresight of, 
 that it was cause of gratitude and humble thankful- 
 ness." 
 
 He purchased the spot, and there, in Harmony Val- 
 ley, his descendants reside at this present day. The 
 valley spreads out now in beautiful greenness, and the 
 pure water of that spring continues as refreshing as in 
 the day when it bubbled out in the shade of the pri- 
 meval forest. 
 
 The labor of Isaac Jackson, and his son William, a 
 young man about twenty years old at the time of theii 
 removal to Pennsylvania, soon caused the hidden 
 beauties of the spot they had chosen, to become ap- 
 parent to the most careless passer-by. A portion of 
 the valley was quickly stripped of its timber, and 
 grass and grain soon covered the earth with verdure 
 the noble spring was opened out to day, and its waters 
 sparkled in the bright sunlight, as the old overhang- 
 ing trees were felled. A dwelling in which, although 
 elegance was wanting, yet content found a resting- 
 place, w?s speedily erected, and beneath its sheltering 
 roof the father and mother, although possessing little
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 243 
 
 wealth, except their lovely farm, lived in peace, enjoy- 
 ing all necessary comforts. This Isaac Jackson was 
 a grandfather of the William Jackson mentioned 
 below. 
 
 William Jackson, the youngest son of William and 
 Catharine Jackson, was born in Londongrove Town- 
 ship, Chester County, on the 14th of Seventh month, 
 1746. His honest - hearted parents endeavored to 
 bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord, restraining him from evil, and leading him, as 
 ability was received from above, into the way of 
 Truth. In after life he felt and expressed his thank- 
 fulness for the care bestowed upon him by his parents, 
 and referred to the beneficial eifects resulting from 
 their labors. 
 
 Toward the close of the Ninth mouth, 1754, Samuel 
 Fothergill, who had come to America on a religious 
 visit, and John Churchman, who had been to England 
 on a similar errand, arrived in the Delaware River. 
 John Churchman passed directly to his home at East 
 Nottingham, and after a month or two, Samuel Fother- 
 gill came out through Chester County, being on his way 
 to attend some of the meetings in the southern and 
 western parts of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He, 
 with John Churchman, held an appointed meeting 
 somewhere near the dwelling of the elder William 
 Jackson, and his young son William, then eight years
 
 244 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 old, ran to the place along with others of the family 
 who were going. The house in which the meeting 
 was held was probably crowded, for William, in de- 
 scribing the occurrence, said, "They pushed me in, 
 that they might not lose me, and being where I saw 
 the strangers, their solemn appearance and communica- 
 tions made lasting impressions." Samuel Fothergill 
 in the course of his ministry dwelt much on the 
 Saviour, and his miraculous birth, and the heart of the 
 young child was open to receive the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. The ministry of that day relative to the Lord 
 Jesus, his conception and birth, "fixed," William 
 said, " the belief immovably in my mind ; which 
 shows the necessity of making right impressions on 
 children's minds early." 
 
 As William Jackson continued faithful to the in- 
 ward manifestations of the Lord's directing, illuminat- 
 ing- grace, he grew in the knowledge of the Truth to 
 the stature of a young man in Christ Jesus. A gift 
 in the ministry of the Gospel of life and salvation was 
 committed to him, and his public exercises being 
 weighty and savory, were acceptable to his friends. 
 It was about the year 1775 that he first appeared as a 
 minister. In that same year he accompanied that 
 father in the Truth, John Churchman, in his last 
 journey on religious service. 
 
 The following memorandum, found in William
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 245 
 
 Jackson's handwriting, bearing date Second month, 
 1775, has doubtless reference to the exercises he was 
 passing through to fit him for the ministry. " Having 
 for some months in the beginning of this winter felt 
 the refining hand to work mightily upon me, and be- 
 lieving it to be for some good end, a prayer was often 
 formed in my heart : ' Thou knowest, O Lord, for 
 what end thou thus dealest with me ; grant me, there- 
 fore, patience, and to my soul a place of quiet, that I 
 may wait to know the end.' " From other notes made 
 by him about this time, it appears that he had many 
 baptisms to pass through in view of the awful work 
 to which he believed himself called. 
 
 His ministry was sound in doctrine, and his deliv- 
 ery was clear and forcible. The matter was good, and 
 the manner characterized by simplicity and solemnity. 
 He was recommended as a minister in the Second 
 month, 1776, and was soon engaged to travel abroad 
 in the work of the ministry. 
 
 In 1778 he married Hannah, daughter of Thomas 
 and Hannah Seaman, of Westbury, Long Island, to 
 which place he removed, residing there about two 
 years. 
 
 Of his Gospel labors while a member of New York 
 
 Yearly Meeting, we find no account preserved. He 
 
 returned to Pennsylvania in 1790, and a certificate for 
 
 himself and wife was accepted by New Garden 
 
 21*
 
 246 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 Monthly Meeting in that year. At the time of her 
 removal from Long Island, Hannah Jackson stood in 
 the station of elder. She had been carefully and 
 religiously trained in early life, and, through the bless- 
 ing of the Lord^s Holy Spirit, and humble obedience 
 on her part, the watchful care bestowed on her had not 
 been lost. The memorial issued concerning her and 
 her husband says, that her father, " being concerned to 
 train up his children in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord, in the frequent reading of the Holy 
 Scriptures and the writings of our primitive Friends, 
 in the diligent attendance of religious meetings, and 
 the practice of frequently sitting together in silence to 
 wait for the renewal of strength, her mind was pre- 
 pared to embrace the early visitations of Truth ; and 
 by yielding obedience to the gradual unfoldings of the 
 Divine counsel, she became qualified for usefulness in 
 the church, and was, at an early period of life, ap- 
 pointed to the station of elder. In this situation, the 
 integrity of her life, and the sweetness of her spirit, 
 brought her into near unity with her Friends ; but a 
 further dispensation being allotted her, she passed 
 through various humiliating exercises, and was thereby 
 prepared to engage in the important work of the min- 
 istry." 
 
 Having received a gift in the ministry of the Gos- 
 pel, and, under the fresh puttings forth and qualifying
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 247 
 
 influence of the Holy Spirit, having made full proof 
 of her calling, she was, in the Sixth month, 1792, 
 recommended as a minister by New Garden Monthly 
 Meeting. The comforts which William now expe- 
 rienced in his happy home did not prevent him from 
 the faithful performance of his religious duties. He 
 continued earnestly endeavoring to fulfil all the re- 
 quirings of his blessed Saviour, whose providential 
 mercies had crowned his life with blessings. His 
 Gospel labors for several succeeding years appear to 
 have been extensive in Philadelphia, New York, and 
 New England Yearly Meetings, but no particular 
 description of his services has come under notice. 
 From the account received, it appears he was enabled 
 to move under the puttings forth of the Lord's Spirit, 
 and was favored with his holy help from day to day. 
 In the simplicity of the Truth, and by plain, honest 
 integrity, he advocated the cause of his blessed Master, 
 and was enabled to adorn, by a circumspect life and 
 conversation, the doctrine which he delivered to others. 
 His Master now called for further dedication at his 
 hands, and in the Second month, 1802, he opened to 
 the Friends of his Monthly Meeting a prospect of a 
 religious visit to Friends in Great Britain and Ireland, 
 which had for some years rested on his mind. Much 
 unity was expressed by his Friends with this concern, 
 and his Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, and the
 
 248 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 Yearly Meeting of Ministers and Elders liberated him 
 for that service. 
 
 After an unpleasant voyage, during which he suf- 
 fered much from sickness, on the 27th of Eighth 
 month, the ship Mars, on which he was a passenger, 
 reached her place in the dock at Liverpool, and soon 
 after James Cropper and James Ryely came on board. 
 William says, " It did my heart good to see the faces 
 of Friends ; my heart filled my eyes." James Crop- 
 per kindly invited William to go to his house, which 
 invitation was accepted. He was kindly welcomed by 
 his host's wife, and William says " her cordial recep- 
 tion, attentive, tender care, and good nursing, made it a 
 comfortable retreat. [It was] a satisfactory home dur- 
 ing my stay jn this great town." 
 
 We extract the following from a letter to his wife, 
 written a few days after his landing. 
 
 " Last Fourth-day evening came dear Richard Jor- 
 dan to my lodging. Grateful [the being together] was 
 to us both. Next day [we were] at meeting. Oh ! it 
 was a most precious season to me, as [it was] also to 
 him, when on the bended knees of both soul and body, 
 he had to petition the Father on my behalf. In truth, 
 I could say as holy Paul did at a certain time, ' God 
 that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted 
 . us by the coming of Titus.' So have 'I been comforted
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 249 
 
 by the coming of dear Richard ! We have been com- 
 forted in one another, and in the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Doubtless at that meeting Richard was favored, as 
 he often wa$(, with a powerful manifestation of Divine 
 Grace, in the exercise of his gift. There are those 
 now living who can remember divers occasions wherein 
 meetings have been baptized under his ministry, into 
 such a holy, such an awful solemnity, that it seemed 
 as if all present felt, and were tendered. On some 
 such occasions, with such weight and authority did he 
 utter the Gospel promises, that they appeared to come 
 with fresh power, and as new offers of mercy, then first 
 made to poor sinners from the Fountain of love. The 
 fathers and mothers in the Truth, as well as the babes 
 and sucklings, at such times were animated and made 
 glad, through the extendings of Divine Grace.* 
 
 On the 12th day of the Twelfth month, 1797, in the 
 authority of Truth in the power and prevalence of 
 Gospel love, Richard Jordan thus preached the Word 
 at the North Meeting-house in this city, and old and 
 young, the learned and unlearned in the school of 
 Christ, felt the precious influence. When he sat down, 
 Samuel Emlen, that venerable minister of the Gospel 
 that prophet and seer that true-hearted lover of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, animated by the participations 
 
 * A journal of the life and labors of this eminent minister of tha 
 Gospel has been published. See also Friends' Library, rol. xiii.
 
 250 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 of the spiritual food which had been blessed by the 
 Master, and distributed by the servant, rose and ex- 
 claimed, "I have been made to rejoice in the Lord, 
 this day, for the offers of his salvation." t 
 
 In the course of this visit William Jackson rode 
 to Peter Price's, near Neath, in Wales. He says: 
 "Having been much unwell the evening and night 
 before, this was a hard day's work, thirty-two miles. 
 Here I had to tarry for some days." 
 
 Of this friend, Peter Price, with whom William 
 Jackson was comfortably resting for a few days, the 
 following interesting circumstance is given in a letter 
 from a Friend who travelled in England on a religious 
 visit some years since. 
 
 " We came from thence into Glamorganshire, to the 
 house of our dear worthy friend, Hannah Price. She 
 is a minister, and in her eighty-sixth year. Her son 
 Joseph is an elder. They are altogether a lovely 
 family, and reminded me of the 'household of Nar- 
 cissus/ and of ' Grandmother Lois.' The family re- 
 late a very remarkable circumstance which took place 
 with Peter Price, their father, Hannah Price's hus- 
 band. He was the son of a very rigid Roman Catholic 
 widow, and at the age of fifteen, he and a sister were 
 both taken ill of a fever. The sister died, and was 
 buried. He too, as the family thought, was dead, but 
 the doctor said there were symptoms about him which
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 251 
 
 seemed to indicate some glimmerings of life; and 
 although the family several times prepared to lay him 
 out, yet the doctor would still say he would rather 
 they would defer his interment ; and in that way they 
 kept him for thirty days ! On the night before his 
 revival, his mother felt impressed with the wish to 
 place a small loaf of baker's bread near him, and in 
 the morning when she came into his chamber, he was 
 up, and the small loaf was gone. He afterward mani- 
 fested very little uneasiness, except hunger ; and when 
 he alluded to his sister, they told him that she had 
 been taken to her uncle's, for the doctor had desired 
 them not to tell him of her death. ' Ah ! ' said he, 
 ' she is not there, for I saw her in heaven ! ' 
 
 " He could not be persuaded to tell them what he 
 had seen while he lay in that state, only that he had 
 seen heaven and hell. He said it was too awful for 
 him to describe. When arrived at manhood, he went 
 over to America, but when the war commenced, he 
 felt that he must not fight, and so returned to Eng- 
 land. Soon after he became acquainted with Friends, 
 joined the Society, and was always a very serious and 
 exemplary character. He told his family that he in- 
 tended to leave in writing, what he had seen, while he 
 lay in that state of seeming death ; but he was taken 
 so suddenly ill, that it was not in his power to write. 
 When he was expiring, the room was so filled with
 
 252 ITILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 melody, that his family thought their servants were 
 singing a hymn, and sent to see, but there was no such 
 thing, and the sweet melody continued, to the utter 
 astonishment of all in the chamber; so that such a 
 saint might well leave a family of faith behind him." 
 We have not the means of following William Jack- 
 son through the various religious engagements of his 
 after life. He appears to have kept no journal, and no 
 letters of his writing after his return from Europe 
 have come to hand. He visited many meetings within 
 our own, and the Yearly Meetings of Virginia and 
 Maryland, and in 1824, attended the Yearly Meetings 
 of New York and New England. " In these various 
 engagements, his edifying ministry and solid, circum- 
 spect deportment obtained the cordial approbation of 
 Friends, and rendered his memory precious to many 
 of those among whom he travelled. When at home, 
 he was exemplary in the diligent and timely attend- 
 ance of religious meetings. His appearances there in 
 the ministry were not very frequent, but carried with 
 them the seal and evidence of Truth. As he bore a 
 faithful testimony in his own practice in favor of plain- 
 ness in dress and the furniture of his house, so he was 
 frequently concerned to recommend it to others, being 
 often deeply pained with the departure of many among 
 us from primitive simplicity. The ancient testimony 
 of the Society to live within the bounds of our circum-
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 253 
 
 stances, and to avoid engaging in hazardous enterprises 
 to the disturbance of our own tranquillity and the en- 
 dangering of the property of others, lay very near to 
 his heart, often advising his friends, and particularly 
 those who were just setting out in life, to make their 
 wants few, and thus avoid the danger of being driven 
 to doubtful or improper expedients to supply them." 
 William and Hannah had, in their old age, two 
 girls living with them, who were wont to accompany 
 them to meeting, " leaving the house to take care of 
 itself during their absence. On one Fifth-day, a young 
 man going late to meeting, saw that the roof of Wil- 
 liam's dwelling was on fire. He hurried to the meet- 
 ing-house, and, opening the door, said, "William 
 Jackson's house is on fire ! " The meeting rose in a 
 body, and while the men ran down to the dwelling, 
 the women followed as fast as they conveniently could. 
 William and his wife were too aged to be hurried ; 
 he must get his horse, and get his beloved Hannah 
 behind him, before he could start, and that took time. 
 They found that the activity of their loving friends 
 had succeeded in arresting the flames, and after a time 
 spent in clearly ascertaining that the fire was all ex- 
 tinguished, the whole body of Friends returned the 
 half-mile to the meeting-house, and, taking their seats, 
 held their usual meeting. The members of some fam- 
 ilies who had been left at home that day wondered 
 22
 
 254 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 much what could have detained Friends at meeting an 
 hour later than usual. 
 
 Some time before his decease he found himself dis- 
 eased, and suffered much at seasons ; yet he was some- 
 times able to attend his own meeting, and was favored 
 to minister in Gospel authority therein. At one time 
 seeing a number of young people at the meeting, his 
 heart seemed to yearn over them in a peculiar manner, 
 and he repeated the patriarch Jacob's benediction: 
 " God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac 
 did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto 
 this day the angel which redeemed me from all evil, 
 bless the lads." The solemnity with which this was 
 uttered, made a deep impression on many of those in 
 attendance. 
 
 During his decline he made many remarks showing 
 the soundness of his Christian principles, ; nd his love 
 for the simplicity of the Truth. He told those about 
 him of a legacy which a Friend had left his children. 
 The legacy was to this effect : 
 
 "Let your wants be few, 
 Then a little will do." 
 
 In commenting on it, he said he found it true. 
 
 Being asked if he had any pain, he answered, " No; 
 
 ' ' but the end of all things is at hand : ' yet hope is an 
 
 anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast. I often
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 255 
 
 feel more [desire] than I can express, that the youth 
 may walk in truth and righteousness." 
 
 In speaking of an aged friend who had been removed 
 from the trials of time, he said, " ' The righteous per- 
 isheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men 
 are taken away, none considering that the righteous is 
 taken away from the evil to come.' We know not the 
 value of our friends until we lose them." He after- 
 ward added : " I plainly see that if ever Friends are 
 a true Society again, they must come through suffering 
 into primitive simplicity, as in former days. Though 
 the present generation may think themselves wiser 
 than our forefathers, yet they cannot experience the 
 same joy in the Holy Ghost, which they did, unless 
 they practise their abstinence." He then expressed a 
 deep concern for some of his connections, and his 
 desire that they might know the truth in themselves, 
 as it is in Jesus. And especially the parents, for their 
 dear children's sake, and bearing in mind, " all must 
 die." His mind had evidently been travailing on be- 
 half of some who he feared were in danger of infi- 
 delity, and he added, " Holy men of old, spake and 
 wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. What 
 was written aforetime, was written for our learning, 
 that we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
 ture might have hope. * As he spake by the mouth of
 
 256 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 his holy prophets, which have been since the world 
 began." 
 
 A Friend bidding him farewell, William, in allusion 
 to their taking leave again of each other, sweetly said, 
 " I expect every time to be the last. Death has no 
 sting, neither the grave any terror. I shall soon be 
 cold. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou re- 
 turn." 
 
 He at one time said, that his mother's advice to him 
 was, not to talk too much, nor to laugh too much, but 
 to take his father for an example, and walk as he did. 
 He then referred to his father's dying direction relative 
 to a plain coffin, and said that the mechanic who made 
 it had expressed his desire that every person were like 
 the deceased. 
 
 Hannah Jackson, who had been enabled to wait on 
 and minister to the comfort of her beloved husband 
 during most of his illness, toward the close of his life, 
 began to fail rapidly, and deceased Twelfth month 
 25th, 1833, aged about eighty-five years. The be- 
 reaved husband, by the remains of his beloved com- 
 panion, was enabled to say, " Peace peace be to him 
 that is far off, and to him that is near. Peace to the 
 Israel of God ! " and that he believed that she had 
 witnessed this through life. 
 
 On one occasion, speaking of faith and hope in God, 
 William Jackson said, " I may say they have been my
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON. 257 
 
 great stay through life, even from my youth up ; or, 
 in otlier words, they were my guide and stay in youth, 
 my strength in manhood, and now, in my old age, a 
 support to me a staff for me to lean on." Toward 
 his close, he expressed his anxiety for the spread of 
 simplicity and plainness in his own immediate neigh- 
 borhood, where he had lived for nearly ninety years, 
 and which he was about to leave, expressing a hope 
 that his neighbors might yet be united in simplicity 
 and true holiness, meeting together with one accord 
 and under the influence of one Spirit. 
 
 At another time he alluded to the necessity of en- 
 deavoring always to keep a sound mind. Then, after 
 being silent awhile, he added, " The time is near when 
 those who wish to walk in the Truth as it is in Jesus, 
 will meet with great trials." 
 
 He continued alive to the best interests of others to 
 the close. One day, hearing those about him speak of 
 a young man who had given evidence of a change of 
 heart, having become concerned to dress more simply, 
 and who had spoken in meeting, the account fairly 
 animated this lover of the Lord Jesus and sincere 
 laborer for the Truth. Thus, with his spiritual facul- 
 ties alive, and the love of God sweetly flowing within 
 him, he waited patiently till his close came. The 
 Lord Jesus, whom he had loved and served in his 
 
 measure through his long life, was near to support 
 
 22*
 
 258 WILLIAM JACKSON. 
 
 him through the valley and shadow of death, and to 
 give him the victory over the last enemy. In the 
 hope and faith of the Gospel, he quietly and peace- 
 fully resigned his spirit to him who gave it, on the 
 10th of First month, 1834, in the eighty-eighth year 
 of his age. 
 
 Of him and his beloved Hannah it may truly be 
 said, they were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and 
 in death were not long divided.
 
 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 N the 17th day of the Fifth month, 1772, at Spring- 
 field, Pennsylvania, a group of mourning chil- 
 dren was gathered around the death-bed of Mordecai 
 Yarnall. All the children of that ancient minister of 
 the Gospel were with him except his two sons, Mor- 
 decai and Peter, whe, in the wildness of youth and the 
 wickedness of an nnsubjected will, had departed from 
 the advice of their father had disregarded his whole- 
 some admonitions, his Christian counsel, his secret and 
 public prayers for them and had both of them joined 
 the army. Their conduct, with other causes of grief, 
 was depressing the spirit of the good old man, and 
 bringing down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 
 The life of the dying man had been one of early ded- 
 ication to the Lord's service, and, though encompassed 
 with outward trials and afflictions, he was not forsaken 
 now. Two of the lambs committed to him, to train 
 and lead forward to the heavenly fold, had widely and 
 sorrowfully wandered; but he had endeavored to do 
 
 269
 
 260 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 what he could for them, and, no doubt, felt that assur- 
 ance of the Lord's merciful visitations to their souls, 
 which brought him hope for them even now they were 
 as prodigals, far far from the mansion of spiritual 
 plenty and peace. 
 
 Mordecai Yarnall had been, early in life, called to 
 the ministry, and was fervent and faithful therein. 
 His labors were abundant in America, different parts 
 of which he often visited ; and he paid a short but 
 very acceptable visit to Friends in England in 1757 
 and 1758. While on his way thither, the vessel he 
 was in was taken by the French, and he was carried a 
 captive among a people of strange language. He was, 
 however, soon released, and permitted to cross the 
 Channel to his allotted field of labor. While Mor- 
 decai was endeavoring to fulfill his duty in England, 
 Samuel Fothergill, sympathizing with the bereaved 
 wife in America, wrote a letter to Mary Yarnall, of 
 which we give an extract : " I early felt with thee, and 
 for thee, when he was suffered to fall into the hands 
 of unreasonable men; but He whom thy dear hus- 
 band served, set bounds to their wrath, and vouch- 
 safed a speedy deliverance. And why may we not 
 suppose the Lord of the harvest perfectly wise, in now 
 and then lighting a candle in these lands where dark- 
 ness prevails? It is, doubtless, consistent with his 
 sovereignty and goodness who would bless the utmost
 
 PETER YARNALL. 261 
 
 borders of his ample empire, and make the place of 
 his feet glorious." ... "I remember, and at this 
 time it is fresh with me, that in my honorable father's 
 absence he being in your land the humbling, con- 
 verting Hand effectually prevailed with me, to em- 
 brace the day of his visitation. And my heart is 
 anxious that you, the beloved offspring of the Lord's 
 servant, may be enriched with the same blessing, and 
 that you may give up your names to be inserted 
 in the roll of the Lord's servants, which is the 
 Lamb's book of Life. For this his prayers ascend, 
 who, having proved the service of the Most High, 
 has found it to be freedom and perfect liberty. May 
 a holy union of spirit unite the whole together, that 
 you may availingly follow after those things which 
 make for your peace ; and may innocent hands be put 
 up to the Almighty for a beloved father's return to 
 you in safety, and with sheaves in his bosom."* 
 
 Peter Yarnall was bound apprentice to a Friend in 
 Philadelphia, who was a tanner and currier ; but his 
 master soon after declining business, the youth was 
 placed with another Friend following the same occu- 
 pation, within the limits of Uwchlan Monthly Meet- 
 ing. As Peter grew up toward manhood, his fine 
 talents, liberal education, pleasant manners, and great 
 
 * This letter, with others of that highly gifted minister of Christ, 
 is published in the " Memoirs of the Life of Samuel FothergilL" 
 See, also, Friends' Library, vol. ix.
 
 262 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 powers of mimicry made him a favorite with the 
 young. Pride took deep hold of him, and although, 
 when about eighteen years of age, he was deemed reli- 
 giously thoughtful, yet the serious feelings were not of 
 long duration. He was proud ; he could not, or would 
 not bear reproof, or aught that seemed disparaging 
 to his dignity. Exasperated by treatment which he 
 had received at the hands of his master, he suddenly 
 left his employ, went to New York or its neighbor- 
 hood, and there enlisted as a soldier. Exulting in his 
 freedom from his former yoke, he soon wrote to his 
 father, explaining where he was, but manifesting no 
 desire to be released from his military servitude. It 
 was not long, however, before he found that the free- 
 dom he now possessed was slavery itself compared to 
 his former mild restraints. But pride was in the way 
 of an immediate acknowledgment of error. 
 
 The heart-afflicted father, when he knew the situa- 
 tion of Peter, came into Philadelphia, and sought to 
 interest his friends there, in behalf of his high-minded, 
 misguided boy. That meek disciple, John Pemberton, 
 who honored Mordecai Yarnall through all the period 
 of his adversity, who loved him truly in these his days 
 of affliction for the father's sake, and for the Lord 
 Jesus Christ's sake, became earnestly watchful to pro- 
 mote the welfare of the son. While Mordecai was in 
 the city bowed down under sorrow of heart, he
 
 PETER YARNALL. 263 
 
 attended the Market Street meeting, and therein spoke 
 this language : " Many are the afflictions of the right- 
 eous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." 
 His own time of release drew near. As sickness 
 wasted his strength, all his children but Mordecai and 
 Peter were with him to receive his blessing, and min- 
 ister to his comfort. A short time before his death, in 
 a sense of the Lord's unfailing mercies, he thus ad- 
 dressed those around him : 
 
 " I believe it to be my duty, as it was a command 
 given to Israel of old, [diligently to teach his chil- 
 dren,] to tell of the loving-kindness of God to my 
 soul, during my pilgrimage on earth ; that, through 
 the various changes it has been my lot to meet with 
 here, I have ever had a refuge to flee to. And though 
 I have sometimes had to think how nearly I have been 
 tried, even in great tribulation, when in the hands of 
 the enemy, and separated from the near and dear con- 
 nections in life yet I had faith to believe, that the 
 same Divine hand which had been with me, and led 
 me safely through the peril of deep waters, would still 
 continue with me to the end ; and my confidence was 
 so firmly fixed in him, that he never suifered me once 
 to fail. I always thought I should not want; and 
 have now reason to believe I never shall. He that 
 hath been my Alpha, will be my Omega. 
 
 " And my desire is, that you, my dear children, may
 
 264 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 steadfastly place your trust and confidence in that same 
 Power which has preserved me; that the days of 
 your youth may be devoted to his service. Though 
 many may be the close trials that you will have to 
 meet with, in passing along through this world, I have 
 to say for your encouragement, that he will never for- 
 sake them that trust in him. He that hath delivered 
 out of six troubles, will not leave in the seventh. 
 Therefore, let not your dependence be on anything 
 which this world can afford ; but in Him alone ; and 
 He that is the guide of your youth, will become a staff 
 for you to lean upon in your advanced age." 
 
 Thus was this ancient laborer sustained in faith at 
 the approach of death, and thus he could comfort 
 others with the same consolation, wherewith his God, 
 in trials and distresses, had comforted him. He died 
 in peace ; and by his bedside, as the spirit departed, 
 and by the open grave which had received the clay 
 tabernacle wherein he had dwelt, there was felt that 
 calming presence of his Divine Master, sealing the as- 
 surance on the minds of those assembled, that he had 
 escaped from all sorrow, and had entered into perfect 
 rest. 
 
 Peter Yarnall soon' grew weary of his position in 
 the army. Before the death of his father he wrote two 
 letters to John Pemberton, expressing his regret for 
 the course he had taken, and asking that the influence
 
 PETER YARNALL. 265 
 
 of Friends might be used to obtain his release. John 
 Pemberton took no direct notice of these letters, but 
 through the agency of a Friend in New York, took 
 some steps to obtain the discharge of both Mordecai 
 and Peter from the army. After the death of his 
 father, Peter again wrote to John Pemberton, who re- 
 plied to him in an honest, plain-dealing letter, which 
 was preserved by Peter through all his subsequent de- 
 viations from the paths of righteousness, in his wan- 
 derings by sea and land. One passage in the letter is 
 as follows : " I wish thy mind may become so humbled, 
 and thy spirit contrited, that thou may experience 
 greater degrees of light and favor, after having passed 
 through the righteous judgments of the Lord, because 
 thou hast transgressed his holy laws, and run counter 
 to the convictions of his grace. I much wish to see 
 some one, and indeed all the offspring of thy worthy 
 father, tread in his steps, .and become ornaments of our 
 holy profession." * 
 
 Soon after receiving this letter, Peter Yarnall ob- 
 tained, through the efforts of John Pemberton, a dis- 
 charge from the army. 
 
 Although Peter had not submitted to Divine grace, 
 
 *John Pemberton and his elder brothers Israel and James, 
 were prominent and influential members of civil and religious so- 
 ciety, and during the American Revolution, 'suffered much for 
 their conscientious testimony against war. A Life of the former 
 has been published See Friends' Library, vol vi. 
 23
 
 266 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 so as to q lalify him to walk in the way of holiness, 
 with fear and Christian circumspection, yet a sense of 
 gratitude to his benefactor led him to take his advice. 
 He went at his recommendation to live with Stacy 
 Potts, at Trenton, with whom he remained until he 
 was twenty-one years of age, when he removed to 
 Germantown, and worked as a journeyman tanner. 
 He followed that business, however, for a very short 
 time: being encouraged to study medicine, he ob- 
 tained a situation in the Pennsylvania Hospital. 
 Here he found time, even in the midst of his medical 
 pursuits, to peruse the writings of our early Friends, 
 and some of his visitors entertained strong hope that 
 his mind was becoming more seriously and thought- 
 fully engaged for his own everlasting good. These 
 hopes were premature. The war of the Revolution 
 coming on, and the American army being scantily sup- 
 plied with medical men, an opportunity was opened 
 for young students of medicine, to obtain employ- 
 ment, experience, and preferment. Peter Yarnall was 
 anxious for all these, and his vague admiration for the 
 principles of peace, truth, and righteousness, exercised 
 little restraint on his actions. He entered the army 
 as a surgeon's mate, early in 1776, and in the summer 
 of that year was stationed at Fort Washington, on the 
 Hudson. Being now thrown among irreligious men, 
 he gave ful] play to his evil propensities, and was in
 
 PETER YARNALL. 267 
 
 the habit of gross wickedness, particularly i>f profane 
 swearing. 
 
 Although Peter was now, to justify his own course, 
 disposed to condemn Friends and their principles, yet 
 the remembrance of John Pemberton's labors of love 
 on his account, and of the affability and kindness with 
 which Samuel Emlen still continued to greet him when 
 they met, exercised at times a salutary restraint on his 
 tongue, and, as he acknowledged, prevented him from 
 abusing the Society, as he would otherwise have done. 
 We will not follow him in his various posts of labor, 
 but briefly state that in the Seventh month, 1778, 
 being in poor health, he obtained a discharge from the 
 army. He now prosecuted his medical studies, and 
 obtained a diploma, dated the 10th of Second month, 
 1779. The next day he embarked on board the Dela- 
 ware, Captain Barry, sailing under a letter of marque, 
 and bound to the West Indies, to seize on all English 
 trading vessels they might meet. They were success- 
 ful in this robbery, and had prize money, the price of 
 blood and of outrage, to distribute. What character 
 could be found less resembling that of Mordecai 
 Yarnall, meek, humble, and hopeful, as he approached 
 the grave, than his son at this period of his life? The 
 father had believed in, and preached Christ Jesus, as 
 the Saviour and sanctifier of men the Prince of 
 Peace, full of mercy toward all and had been
 
 268 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 engaged, for his dear Master's sake, to press on men 
 the necessity of holiness, of living in love, of doing 
 unto others as they would have others do unto them. 
 The son, actively engaged in robbery, in legalized 
 murder, in doing deeds of wickedness, speaking words 
 of profanity, and in enticing others by example into 
 acts of evil. But the mercy of the Most High was 
 not yet exhausted toward him ; a raving visitation was 
 yet to come upon his poor soul. 
 
 During the continuance of the war, as Peter Yarnall 
 was riding up the valley of the Schuylkill, on a First- 
 day morning, he found a number of persons collected 
 round a house, and on inquiring the cause, was in- 
 formed that it was a place of worship, and the minis- 
 ter had not come to preach for them according to en- 
 gagement. Peter, perhaps, was dressed in black; at 
 least, from his dress, the company supposed him to be 
 a preacher, and on his being questioned if he was not, 
 he did not disclaim the office. He was then invited 
 to address them that day. Having a great share of 
 self-confidence, and a retentive memory, he did not 
 hesitate to accept the offer ; and this wicked man, 
 this profane swearer, this scoffer at religion, undertook 
 to preach of repentance, of purity, of peace ! So 
 pleased were the hearers with his eloquent language, 
 and good sentiments, that they pressed him to become 
 a stated minister for them. They detected not the
 
 PETER TARNALL. 269 
 
 hollowness of the language uttered, which came from 
 the intellect and memory, unseasoned with spiritual 
 unction, unaccompanied with the baptizing power of 
 the true ministry of the Gospel of life and salvation. 
 Where the hearers are rightly brought to wait on the 
 great Minister of the sanctuary, Christ Jesus, the ever- 
 lasting Teacher of his own people, they will be bur- 
 dened by that which is oifered as ministry without life 
 and power, let the counterfeit be ever so perfect, let 
 the outside appearance be ever so conformable to the 
 truth. 
 
 An interesting anecdote illustrating this, is told by 
 our ancient Friend, Richard Davies. He was in the 
 city of London on a First-day, and being unwell, 
 could not go to the morning meeting. Indeed, he was 
 so weak as scarcely to have strength to rise out of bed. 
 Notwithstanding his condition, when the time for the 
 afternoon meeting came, he believed it would be his 
 duty to attend that held at the " Bull and Mouth." 
 The Friend, with whom he lodged, thought him un- 
 able to accomplish his prospect, but Richard said he* 
 would go as far as he could. The Friend accompanied 
 him, and they reached the house, but not until after 
 the meeting had gathered. Richard thus describes 
 what followed : " As we went through the . passage 
 to go in, I heard a voice that I was satisfied was not 
 the voice of a true shepherd, the meeting being already 
 23*
 
 270 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 gathered, and many people there. When I went up 
 to the gallery, one was preaching of perfection, who 
 said, ' Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is per- 
 fect/ etc. I stayed to hear him but a very little while, 
 till I stood up and judged him, and told the people 
 that the kingdom of God stood not in words, but in 
 power, righteousness, and holiness. Then the man 
 went in a rage out of the meeting, and a considerable 
 company followed him. . . . We heard afterward, 
 there was a wager laid, that this man, who was a 
 Jesuit, would preach in the Quakers' meeting, and that 
 he should not be discovered ; and had he gone without 
 reproof, they would say, that a Jesuit preached in the 
 Quakers' meeting, and that they could not discern 
 him. . . . We have cause to bless the Lord for his 
 goodness to his people, that gives them a discerning 
 spirit to judge between good and evil, and between 
 those that serve God in truth and righteousness, and 
 all deceitful hypocrites, who are to be judged and con- 
 demned by the word of his power." 
 
 After his privateering career was over, Peter Yar- 
 nall settled down to his profession, attending the 
 practice of the Pennsylvania Hospital, in physic and 
 surgery, during one year; and was then appointed 
 apothecary to the institution; the duties of which 
 station he discharged with the strictest attention and 
 fidelity.
 
 PETER TARNALL. 271 
 
 At this period, while on an excursion with some 
 young persons toward Virginia, Peter was taken ill 
 near the Susquehanna River, and being unable to pro- 
 ceed with them, was there left. Here, while death 
 seemed to stare him in the face, the sins of his past 
 life came up before him, and profitable impressions 
 were made upon him, which were not afterward en- 
 tirely effaced. Nevertheless, on the return of health, 
 it does not appear that any marked change for the bet- 
 ter was immediately apparent, and this visitation also 
 of the love of God to his soul, seemed as though it 
 would pass away, like the early dew or the morning 
 cloud, leaving no trace. 
 
 On the llth day of the Fourth month, 1780, Mor- 
 decai Yarnall's last wife was buried at Springfield; 
 after which a public meeting was held. Among those 
 gathered on that solemn occasion, was her stepson, 
 Peter, clothed in his uniform as a surgeon in the army. 
 There were other wild young men present, and among 
 the rest, Timothy Matlack, Jr. Samuel Emlen in that 
 meeting was clothed with an earnest concern for the 
 eternal well-being of some of those assembled. He 
 quoted the passage from Jeremiah, " Weep ye not for 
 the dead, neither bemoan him : but weep sore for him 
 that goeth away : for he shall return no more, nor see 
 his native country." He also rehearsed the words of 
 Ezra, " Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of
 
 272 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, 
 to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little 
 ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed 
 to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen 
 to help us against the enemy in the way, because we 
 had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our 
 God is upon all them for good that seek him ; but his 
 power and his wrath is against all them that forsake 
 him." 
 
 Clothed upon with Gospel authority and power, 
 Samuel addressed those present, dividing the word 
 given to him with prophetic discernment and heart- 
 tendering ^power. Various were the states he ad- 
 dressed, and his heart was turned with love and 
 ardent solicitude toward the wayward son of his old 
 friend and father in the truth, Mordecai Yarnall, who 
 was yet apparently wandering in the path of sinful 
 indulgence, which leads down to the chambers of 
 death. He said he had often been led to labor with 
 one present, in public and in private, with no benefi- 
 cial effect ; that now there was a renewed visitation of 
 mercy to the soul of that sinner, and if the present 
 offers of grace were not accepted, no others would be 
 made ; but, in his sins and transgression, the wanderer 
 from the father's fold would soon be cut off! 
 
 This testimony reached the heart of the young man, 
 and he felt that part of it which was for him. Never-
 
 PETER YARN ALL. 273 
 
 theless, that very afternoon, being with a company of 
 young men, most of whom were his relations, he was 
 led to display his power of mimicry and of memory, 
 by repeating the discourse of Samuel Emlen, and imi- 
 tating his gestures and tones. As he delivered the 
 sermon, whenever a passage occurred which he thought 
 suitable for any of the young men, he would tell them 
 so. At last he came to the awful warning to one of 
 a fresh and a last visitation of Divine mercy. As he 
 said, " Now this is for none of you, it is for myself," 
 his gayety of manner departed, and he became much 
 aifected. The day closed, and Peter returned to the 
 city. He entered on his usual avocations, but he had 
 that working within him. that gave him no rest until 
 he submitted his neck to the yoke of Christ, and with- 
 drew from his evil associates, walked consistently and 
 circumspectly among men, and made public acknowl- 
 edgment of the evil of his youthful career. 
 
 One of the young men who was present, and to 
 whom we are indebted for recording the above affect- 
 mg incident, added to his account of it, " The next 
 time I saw him he had on a plain coat." 
 
 He felt the truth of Quaker doctrines and testimo- 
 nies, and he felt the obligation resting upon him to 
 maintain them ; yet being called on to give testimony 
 at a court-martial a few weeks after the funeral, he 
 could not then bear the cross of using the plain Ian-
 
 274 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 guage. Soon, however, submitting to the inward op- 
 eration of the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, 
 lie became prepared in this particular to perform his 
 duty. We are told, that having to deliver a message 
 to an officer, he felt that the time of dedication had 
 come, and that he must speak as a Quaker. It was a 
 grievous and sore trial to him, and during his walk 
 to the officer's dwelling, poor nature seemed ready to 
 rebel ; yet he was favored with strength to submit to 
 the plainly-felt requiring of Truth. When he reached 
 the house, he knocked, and the door was opened by the 
 person he wished to see. Peter addressed him, and 
 surprise sealing up the officer's lips, he did not imme- 
 diately reply. Thus having taken up the cross pre- 
 pared for him by his Divine Master, he was strength- 
 ened to bear it with patience, and the change wrought 
 in his general deportment was rapid and permanent. 
 Conflicts of spirit were his portion ; for he had much 
 to repent of, much to be forgiven, the habits of years 
 to overcome, the pollutions of sin to be burned 
 up. He became diligent in the attendance of meet- 
 ings for worship, and soon, in the midst of fiery 
 baptisms of spirit, he received a call to enter on 
 the ministry of the Gospel, which awfully affected 
 him in a sense of his utter unworthiness. Tn the 
 Ninth month, scarcely four months from the time of 
 the memorable meeting at Springfield, he opened his
 
 PETER YARNALL. 275 
 
 mouth in public testimony in the Market Street meet- 
 ing-house. An awful sense of his long rebellion was 
 no doubt upon him ; a fervent fear lest he should not 
 prove faithful in this last visitation of mercy no doubt 
 affected him, as he declared, "Whosoever shall be 
 ashamed of me, and of .my words, of him shall the 
 Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his 
 own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." 
 
 When Peter had received his share of the prize- 
 money obtained by privateering, he had invested it by 
 purchasing a tract of land in the State of New Jersey. 
 Now he dared not partake of the spoils of that un- 
 righteous robbery, and therefore relinquished all ben- 
 efit from the property, seeking with earnest diligence 
 for some opening to restore it to its rightful owners. 
 
 Among those who entered the American army during 
 the Revolution, was Robert Hatton, son of Susanna 
 Lightfoot. Unmindful of the sorrow of his deeply- 
 tried mother, turning aside from the counsel of his 
 careful and concerned stepfather, he took up the mur- 
 derous weapons and engaged in the war. But long 
 before the war was over, he withdrew from all par- 
 ticipation in military scenes, being brought into deep 
 repentance for the course he had pursued. In such a 
 state of mind, he was prepared to rejoice over the 
 change effected in his friend. Peter Yarnall, and a 
 correspondence ensued between them. In a letter
 
 276 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 from Robert, dated Uwchlan, Eleventh month 14th, 
 1780, he says, "May we hold on, by taking good heed 
 to that Light which doth reprove for evil. Herein we 
 shall find a hammer and a fire to break and to con- 
 sume that which is contrary to the Divine will. May 
 thou and I hold on in well-doing, steadily looking to 
 our Guide, who has been with us in many dangers, and 
 who will lead us along in the way that is cast up for 
 the ransomed to walk in, even the redeemed of our 
 God, who is willing to be gracious unto the returning 
 prodigals. This I know by his gracious visitation to 
 my poor soul, who has been, what if I should say, thy 
 brother-companion in vanity. But I hope and trust 
 we may become brother-companions in righteousness, 
 even to the exaltation of the pure Truth here on earth 
 more than ever we did to dishonor it." 
 
 Having forsaken his sins, and taken all the steps in 
 his power to make remuneration to those he had 
 wronged, Peter felt that the time had come to con- 
 demn before the church his evil conduct. He no 
 doubt remembered the declaration, " Whoso con- 
 fesseth and forsaketh [his sins] shall find mercy." In 
 the Twelfth month of the same year, 1780, he offered 
 the following acknowledgment to Uwchlan Monthly 
 Meeting, which had disowned him : 
 
 "DEAR FRIENDS, Notwithstanding I was edu- 
 cated, and for some time made profession with the
 
 PETER YARNALL. 277 
 
 religious Society of Friends, yet, for want of a strict 
 attention to the teachings of Divine Grace, I so far 
 deviated as to deny, in my life and conversation, the 
 principles of the blessed Truth, absconded from my 
 master, with whom I was placed as an apprentice to 
 learn a trade, arid enlisted myself as a soldier in the 
 British army ; for which misconduct a testimony was 
 publicly read against me some years since. Although 
 frequent visitations of Divine love were extended, I 
 continued in a long course of vanity and dissipation. 
 At the commencement of the present unhappy war, I 
 took an oath of allegiance to one of the contending 
 powers, and, actuated by heat and malice, frequently 
 engaged in a task which was conducive to destroy 
 men's lives, contrary to the pure principle of Jesus, 
 who gave his cheek to the smiter, his hair to those 
 that plucked it out, and hid not his face from shame 
 and spitting. Thus was I pursuing one scene of licen- 
 tiousness and cruelty after another, and soaring above 
 the Witness which frequently convicted me of sin. 
 Being in some measure sensible of the reproach 
 brought on Truth by such repeated transgressions, I 
 do hereby sincerely condemn the same, hoping, through 
 repentance and amendment of life, to be preserved 
 from future snares and entanglements, 
 
 " I remain your loving Friend, 
 
 PETER YARNALL." 
 
 Uwchlan Monthly Meeting received this acknowl- 
 edgment, and sent a certificate for Peter to the South- 
 ern District Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia. But 
 24
 
 278 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 the poor penitent was not satisfied with this public 
 confession : he prepared another, addressed to the meet- 
 ing in the city he now belonged to. 
 
 " I, some time since, delivered a paper of acknowl- 
 edgment to the Monthly Meeting of Friends at 
 Uwchlan, where I formerly had a right of member- 
 ship yet, as part of my conduct was. more generally 
 known in this city, and is not particularly mentioned 
 in my offering to that meeting, I have been under 
 weighty exercise, and my mind drawn to a further 
 declaration, for the clearing of Truth from the iniquity 
 of my conduct in engaging in the station of a surgeon 
 on board a privateer. In the course of that employ- 
 ment, I became a party in seizing by violence the 
 property of others, and a sharer therein, contrary to 
 the law of righteousness, which directs to do unto all 
 men as we would they should do unto us. I hereby 
 sincerely condemn the same, fully intending to make 
 restitution to such whom I have thus injured, as far as 
 I may be abilitated." 
 
 Peter Yarnall continued in obedience to what he 
 considered the requirings of his Divine Master, to 
 minister in the assemblies of his people. His par- 
 ticular friend, William Savery, was also just coming 
 forward in similar acts of dedication. At a meeting 
 in the Market Street house, both of them having 
 spoken, Nicholas Wain stood up and quoted the text, 
 " Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priest's offices,
 
 PETER YARNALL. 279 
 
 that I may eat a piece of bread." His comments 
 on this were close, aiming at such as were endeavoring 
 to live on the priest's office, in other words, preaching 
 for hire. The two young ministers, jealous over them- 
 selves, and fearful of acting out of the unity of Truth, 
 and giving uneasiness to the church, supposed that 
 the remarks of Nicholas were intended for them. On 
 comparing sentiments they concluded to call on Nicho- 
 las, and learn the truth from himself. They did so, 
 and received from their elder brother in the ministry 
 the assurance that he had unity with their labors, and 
 that in his communication, he had no reference to 
 them. Some time after they learned that a young man 
 who had come to Philadelphia to prepare himself by 
 study to preach for hire, was at the meeting, and his 
 judgment was so enlightened as to the freedom of 
 Gospel ministry, by the communication delivered by 
 Nicholas, that he abandoned his design, and returned 
 to his home. Thus the word preached did not return 
 void, but it accomplished that for which it was given. 
 We have it on record that John Salkeld once, while 
 sitting in a meeting for worship, suddenly* struck the 
 floor with his cane, and exclaimed, " Resist the devil 
 this once, and he will not trouble thee again." The 
 singularity of this proceeding, drew on John caution 
 and reproof from his friends, who, while loving and 
 honoring him for the powerful gift committed to him
 
 280 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 by his Master, were watchful to repress his eccen- 
 tricities. John, in reply, said, he believed what he 
 had at that time done and said, was by direction of 
 Him who had called him to the work of the ministry. 
 Some time after the delivery of this sermon, a man 
 with whom he met, inquired of him if he remembered 
 the occurrence. The reply was, he did, and had cause 
 to do so, because of the reproofs he liad received for 
 it. The man expressed his belief that the singular 
 manner in which John had been led, had been designed 
 for his benefit, and stated that it had under Providence 
 been the means of preventing him from committing 
 suicide. In explanation, he said, that having been in 
 a low, melancholy state of mind, for some time, he had 
 fully determined to destroy his life, and thus leave the 
 world in which all was gloomy and dark to him. On 
 the morning of the day on which the occurrence above 
 referred to, took place, he had taken a rope with him 
 into a neighboring woods to effect his dreadful pur- 
 pose. While there, he felt a sudden inclination to 
 attend the meeting, and postpone his self-destruction, 
 until that Was over. He entered the house, and while 
 meditating on his gloomy earthly prospects, and his 
 intended mode of escape, the raps of the cane on the 
 floor attracted his attention, and the short discourse 
 that followed came with life-quickening power to his 
 soul. He saw that his purpose to destroy himself,
 
 PETER YARN ALL. 281 
 
 was formed at the instigation of Satan ; he felt that 
 if he resisted it, there yet was mercy for him and 
 strengthened and encouraged he turned away from this 
 temptation, and found relief. The impulse to destroy 
 his life being resisted, had passed away, and he had 
 since found the prediction realized, for in that way the 
 devil did not trouble him again. 
 
 The following anecdote of a similar character is in- 
 structive. 
 
 While the late David Sands was one day travelling 
 in Ireland, he felt an impression of duty to appoint a 
 meeting at a place where he was. It was in a district 
 thinly inhabited the night was stormy, and there 
 was little probability that many persons could be got 
 together. As his companions urged these objections, 
 David said, " If there are but few, the great and good 
 Shepherd has promised to be with us, and I shall feel 
 clear in having done what appears to be my duty." 
 Steps were immediately taken to have a meeting, and 
 notice being spread as circumstances permitted, more 
 persons came to it, than could have been expected. 
 The opportunity was a favored one ; a solemn cover- 
 ing spread over the meeting, and David Sands was 
 clothed with ability that night to preach the Gospel 
 with power and authority. He commenced his testi- 
 mony with these words, " Resist the devil, and he will 
 flee from you. Turn unto Him who is able and will- 
 24*
 
 282 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 ing to save. Although your sins be as scarlet, He will 
 make them white in the blood of the Lamb. He is 
 still waiting to be gracious, and though you have 
 strayed far from the fold, He will lead you as unto 
 pleasant pastures, where streams of living water flow 
 forevermore." With deep earnestness the preacher 
 dwelt on the Lord's unfailing goodness, and invited 
 the listeners to come to the Fountain of mercy for help 
 and salvation. He then added, " I am bound to ex- 
 press my feeling and impression, (though I know not 
 for whom it is intended,) that I believe there are those 
 present who have been so far led astray by the enemy 
 of their soul's salvation as to be ready to take their 
 own life." The meeting closed solemnly, and after it 
 had broken, a well-dressed man, apparently in great 
 distress of mind, came to David Sands, and said, 
 " Your message is to me. I now have the instruments 
 of death in my pocket. I have become weary of life, 
 and have no resolution to withstand the tempter, so as 
 to face the cruel blasts of adversity, and had deter- 
 mined this night to commit the fatal deed. Yet I felt 
 the awful responsibility; and having heard of this 
 meeting, and knowing that Friends often sat in silence, 
 I believed that I should be enabled to become calm 
 and composed before the awful close of life. But now 
 I have abundant reason to bless God, in that he has 
 made you the instrument of saving my life, as also my
 
 PETER TARNALL. 283 
 
 immortal soul ; which, but for this interposition, would 
 have rushed unbidden into the presence of an insulted 
 God." There stood the penitent the loaded pistols 
 still in his pocket, with which he had intended to end 
 his life his sorrow still upon him, and yet grateful 
 emotions stirring within him to God the Father of all 
 soul-saving mercies, and to David Sands, the instru- 
 ment made use of for his good ! This remarkable pro- 
 vidence had an abiding influence upon his future life. 
 
 About the time of the change in Peter Yarnall, his 
 brother Mordecai, who had absconded and joined the 
 army while a minor, also came under religious convic- 
 tions, and submitted himself to bear the cross of the 
 Lord Jesus. He thus wrote to his brother, under date 
 of First month 1st, 1781 : 
 
 " MY DEAR BROTHER, . . . Let me say to thee, 
 hold fast that which thou hast experienced to be 
 Truth. May the God of Truth not spare nor pity 
 thee nor me, until he has purified our hearts by his 
 powerful judgments, mixed with infinite mercy and 
 adorable love ! And may the God of our father be 
 our God forever ! 
 
 " Give my kind love to John Pemberton, who has 
 been our father's friend, and almost unspeakably our 
 friend; and ungratefully have I returned his tender 
 love and care over me. 
 
 " With true and tender regard, I remain thy affec- 
 tionate brother, MORDECAI YARNALL."
 
 284 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 In the Second month, 1781, Peter Yarnall having 
 appeared in supplication in the Market Street meeting- 
 house, George Churchman, who was present, felt fear- 
 ful that the youthful minister had extended his peti- 
 tions somewhat beyond what was best. On returning 
 toward his home, this experienced elder believed it 
 would be right to drop a tender caution and hint to 
 his young friend, and therefore wrote him a letter. 
 He expresses therein his sympathy for Peter, his 
 desires for his preservation, and also his feeling that 
 there was a savor of life about the supplication which 
 had been offered. He then tenderly hints he had 
 thought it might have been better to have closed it 
 sooner, adding : 
 
 " [I feel] great tenderness, yet withal a care that 
 thou, in thy infant state, may be preserved from getting 
 out of or swimming beyond thy depth in the stream 
 with which thy acquaintance and experience have been 
 but short, although thy mind has been mercifully 
 turned, I hope, toward the way everlasting. 
 
 " I have apprehended some danger has attended, 
 and may attend young hands, without great care, in 
 regard of repetitions ; public prayer in a congregation 
 being a very awful thing, and He to whom it is ad- 
 dressed being the Author of infinite purity. I believe 
 there is no need of discouragement ; but if the mind is 
 sincerely devoted to the merciful Father, to seek for 
 preservation out of every danger of forward stepping, 
 superfluous expressions, and fleshly mixtures, there
 
 PETER YARNAZL. 285 
 
 will be Divine assistance afforded to contrited souls, so 
 that experience and strength will, from time to time, 
 be enlarged, and a gradual growth witnessed in a state 
 which is sound, healthy, and safe. That this may 
 truly be thy state is the sincere desire of thy well- 
 wishing friend, GEORGE CHURCHMAN." 
 
 Peter Yarnall having given up the wages of iniquity 
 the gain he obtained in his privateering robbery 
 and having no patrimonial estate to resort to for a 
 maintenance, was now anxious to find some place 
 where he might successfully enter into practice as a 
 physician. There appeared to be an opening in Con- 
 cord and its neighborhood for him, and there he set- 
 tled in the spring or early in the summer of 1781, 
 although he seems to have spent some time there 
 during the previous winter. 
 
 It need be no cause of wonder if some persons were 
 slow to receive the ministry of Peter Yarnall. Yet 
 the fear of those who were anxiously regarding him 
 wore off as he continued humbly watchful, waiting on 
 his Divine Master for strength, and seeking in patient 
 faithfulness to do his will. In the summer of 1782 
 he was acknowledged as a minister by his friends 
 at Concord, and about the same time married Hannah, 
 daughter of Benjamin Sharpless, of Middletown. 
 
 Continuing faithful to apprehended duty, he soon 
 felt drawn in Gospel love to visit Friends in other 
 places,- and, with the unity of his Monthly Meeting,
 
 286 PSTER TARNALL. 
 
 in the year 1782, he visited the Quarterly Meeting of 
 Fairfax. In 1783, besides religious labors within the 
 limits of his own Yearly Meeting, he visited parts of 
 New York and New England. He was engaged in 
 various labors of love in 1784, and in 1785 he re- 
 moved to Yorktown, Va., where he. resided for about 
 six years. 
 
 Often, very often must the remembrance of the sins 
 of his youth been brought to the recollection of Peter 
 Yarnall, with mingled emotions of anguish for their 
 enormity, and of humble thankfulness to that Almighty 
 Saviour, whose mercy had given him free pardon for 
 the past, and whose grace sustained him against pre- 
 sent temptations. 
 
 Samuel Fothergill could say long after he had been 
 a faithful minister of the Lord Jesus, in recollect- 
 ing a certain sin of his youth, that it was " a sword 
 which seemed as though it would never depart wholly 
 from his house or heart." 
 
 Being now an acknowledged minister among 
 Friends, and frequently engaged in Gospel labors for 
 the good of others, Peter Yarnall found it needful to 
 watch against his natural eloquence, and the fervor of 
 his own spirit, in the Lord's cause. How difficult it 
 is for eloquent men, and those of ready utterance, to 
 be restrained within the true limits in their ministerial 
 exercises! And more particularly so, if popularity
 
 PETER YARNALL. 287 
 
 and applause follow them. Sometimes such ministers, 
 without having entirely strangled the gift, have grown 
 faster than the Truth would warrant, have shot into 
 great branches, when as yet the root was small, and 
 thus have endangered themselves to be overturned 
 with the first high wind of temptation. ' The records 
 of our Society need not be traced very far back to find 
 illustrations of this. Popular preachers are always in 
 danger of craving popular applause of expanding 
 in words without a corresponding depth of inward 
 exercise and feeling. Two of this class, whose popu- 
 larity was evinced by their being followed from meet- 
 ing to meeting by a multitude of those who loved to 
 hear good sentiments eloquently expressed words 
 well-fitted together being at a meeting in Philadel- 
 phia, at the time of a Yearly Meeting, held many 
 years ago, both spoke for an hour each. After these 
 were over, our plain-spoken Friend, James Simpson, 
 remarked, that he had been thinking of those who pin- 
 ned their faith on popular preachers. " They seemed 
 to him to resemble the children of Israel, who danced 
 round the golden calf that Aaron had made for them." 
 In 1791, Peter Yarnall settled within the limits of 
 Horsharn Monthly Meeting, Montgomery County, 
 Pennsylvania, and during the fall of that year held 
 many public meetings in the neighborhood, having 
 frequently on these occasions the company of James
 
 288 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 Simpson. These meetings were largely attended, and 
 the testimonies delivered powerful and edifying. 
 
 Peter Yarnall, in exercising his gift in the ministry, 
 was wont to be very slow in delivery, when he first 
 began to speak. Soon, however, his manner became 
 animated, his articulation rapid, and as the whole 
 energy of his soul seemed to breathe forth for the good 
 of others, and the Divine blessing was with him, his 
 labors were powerfully awakening, pa^icularly to the 
 young, who were wandering afar from the fold of 
 peace. For such his soul yearned, with earnest long- 
 ings to gather them back to the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
 bring the prodigals from feeding on the swine-husks 
 of self-indulgence, to partaking of the fatted calf of 
 Divine acceptance. Oh, how he could tell of mercy 
 to prodigals ! an allusion thereto seemed to call up 
 the deepest energies of his feelings. He had not for- 
 gotten, when, being himself far off from his Father's 
 house, yet looking there longing for acceptance, if it 
 might be as a hired servant the Father himself had 
 beheld him had drawn nigh to him had caused 
 his rags to be taken from him clothed him with the 
 best robe made him welcome as a son beloved, and 
 caused the household to rejoice over him, as one that 
 having been dead, was alive again having been lost, 
 was now found. 
 
 His style of expression was elevated, his manner
 
 PETER TARNALL. 289 
 
 emphatic, and he had a peculiar ease and felicity in 
 expressing his thoughts. When he arose and com- 
 menced speaking, he stood nearly perfectly still, but 
 as his delivery gained strength and force, as his earnest 
 exercises began to find fitting language, his whole body 
 seemed to partake of the ardency of his feelings. 
 
 We are told that being on a visit in New Jersey, in the 
 year 1791, the exercise of his mind was very great, so 
 that before rising to address the assembly, the perspi- 
 ration started as freely from him as from a mower in 
 the harvest-field. This was in part occasioned by the 
 close and searching testimony given him to deliver. 
 As he stood up he said and we can well imagine the 
 deep solemnity and awe which covered him as the 
 words came slowly forth "It is a cloudy time, both 
 inwardly and outwardly. Clouds of thick darkness 
 have spread themselves." From this he proceeded to 
 lay open the deficiencies of those present "in a "power- 
 ful and searching manner," so as to draw the acknowl- 
 edgment from some, " This is going to the bottom of 
 things." Such was Peter Yarnall's usual manner. 
 Loving, affectionate, courteous, yet faithful to .his 
 Lord's bidding, and careful to sew no pillows under 
 armholes. 
 
 In 1793, Peter Yarnall paid a religious visit to New 
 England, in the course of which he attended a meeting 
 
 at East Hampton, that had been appointed there at 
 25
 
 290 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 eleven o'clock, of which he says : " We found th* time 
 was not altogether suited to the convenience of the 
 people ; yet I hope it was a good meeting. A proposal 
 was made to us to hold a meeting in the evening, and, 
 not feeling my mind wholly relieved, I felt willing to 
 encourage it ; and we accordingly had another meeting 
 there at seven o'clock, which, I believe, was the largest 
 meeting we had on the east end of the island ; and 
 although I was silent therein, my mind was much re- 
 lieved through secret, hidden exercise. I heard no 
 complaint respecting it, and the people appeared very 
 affectionate." 
 
 This secret, hidden exercise, this prostration of soul 
 before the Lord, and silent prayer to and communion 
 with him, which constitute true worship, have at times 
 wrought upon those who were strangers to this inward 
 operation of the Spirit, in meetings where not a word 
 was spoken, as effectually as could have been done by 
 any vocal utterances. The following incidents are 
 illustrations of this remark. 
 
 It is related that an individual residing near Rich- 
 ard Jordan had heard of his powerful preaching, and 
 felt a great desire to hear him. He attended a Friends' 
 meeting on a First-day ; but Richard, though present, 
 was silent. He did so again and again, and still no 
 ministry was heard. Concluding that Richard must 
 preach at the week-day meetings, he tried them with
 
 PETER YARN ALL. 291 
 
 no better success ; but at last he began to feel what 
 these meetings were for ; his heart was opened to per- 
 ceive the beauty and excellency of silent waiting and 
 inward spiritual worship, and then the seals were taken 
 from the lips of the minister. " This/' said William 
 Williams, u was Richard Jordan's way of making a 
 convert." 
 
 Richard Jordan used to relate an interesting account 
 of a man of note in England who was convinced of 
 the Truth, in an opportunity wherein not a word was 
 spoken. The man was a captain in the navy, and was 
 in expectation of receiving an admiral's commission. 
 He had fallen in company with Richard Jordan and 
 some other Friends, and on their sitting down to talk 
 a solemn silence came over them ; during which, the 
 inward power and effectual ministration of Truth so 
 reached his soul, that he burst into tears ; the doctrines 
 of the Gospel were unfolded to him in their fulness, 
 and he laid down all his weapons of war. 
 
 After Peter Yarnall's return from his eastern jour- 
 ney, he was frequently engaged in Gospel labors about 
 home. He also visited New York Yearly Meeting, 
 and the families of several Monthly Meetings, in- 
 cluding that of Philadelphia. 
 
 On the llth of Fourth month, 1795, his wife, Han- 
 nah, was removed from him, and in less than three 
 weeks after that event, while wounded affection was
 
 292 PETER YARNALL. 
 
 mourning in the fresh grief of recent bereavement, he 
 laid a prospect of further religious service to the north 
 before his sympathizing Friends. After much labor 
 in New York and New Jersey, in the Eleventh 
 month of the same year, he started on a visit to x the 
 South, accompanied by his friend, James Emlen. 
 James was a useful and baptized elder, a firm though 
 an affectionate and tenderly concerned parent, a self- 
 denying Christian, a meek-spirited, humble-minded 
 man. Through the strengthening influences of Divine 
 Grace, and a constant watchfulness unto prayer, he 
 had obtained great command over his passions, so that 
 the evenness of his temper amid the trials of life was 
 very remarkable. Having attended the Yearly Meet- 
 ing in Philadelphia in 1798, James Emlen took the 
 yellow fever and died, being able to say, just before 
 his departure, that he felt in " such a calm, quiet frame 
 of mind, he did not stand in need of any human con- 
 solation." 
 
 They r.eturned from this journey about the close of 
 summer, and in the following Second month, (1797,) 
 Peter Yarnall was married to Hannah Thornton, a 
 Friend in the ministry, residing at By berry, where he 
 now settled, and where he continued to reside during 
 the short period allotted him on earth. He had accu- 
 mulated but little of this world's goods, for although 
 very much esteemed as a physician, his dedication to
 
 PETER TARNALL. 293 
 
 his Master's cause took him away so frequently, and 
 kept him so long from his medical practice, that his 
 emolument derived from thence was small. The me- 
 morial issued concerning him says, " Much of his time 
 was given up in travelling abroad to promote truth 
 and righteousness among mankind." He had a belief 
 that his day for labor would not long be lengthened 
 out, and in a letter written during his last visit to the 
 Eastern States, he said he had been under a close ap- 
 prehension, " I should never have it in my power to 
 be here more." 
 
 In his personal appearance Peter Yarnall was tall, 
 yet, being well-proportioned and graceful in his mo- 
 tions, it was not at once strikingly apparent. His fea- 
 tures were prominent, and his countenance earnestly 
 lighted up when pleading with prodigals when set- 
 ting forth the inexhaustible store of mercy laid up in 
 Christ Jesus for the penitent and obedient. His pow- 
 ers of conversation were good, and he very often felt 
 freedom, in innocent cheerfulness, to take a prominent 
 part in social intercourse with his friends. Having 
 passed through many scenes, having acute perception 
 and an astonishing power of memory, he was, on such 
 occasions, full of matter, and his company was very 
 attractive to the young, But at times, even in the 
 midst of the free conversation of those he loved, a sol- 
 emn awe would steal over him, his interest in what 
 25*
 
 294 PETER TARNALL. 
 
 was going on around him would instantly cease, and 
 he would seem to feel himself in as complete solitude 
 as though no mortal beheld him. As a physician, he 
 was considered skillful, and being of a tender, sympa- 
 thizing spirit, he was much beloved by his patients. 
 
 We draw near the close of this faithful, dedicated 
 servant of the Lord. He had a dream a short time 
 before his last illness, the import of which Avas, that 
 he and his early associate and long-cherished friend and 
 fellow-laborer in the Gospel, William Savery, were en- 
 closed together in a place of safety, out of the reach 
 of everything that could hurt them or interrupt their 
 joy and peace. 
 
 On the 14th of Second month, 1798, he was taken 
 sick ; that afternoon he told his wife this dream, and 
 afterward said, " Heaven is a glorious place, into which 
 I have no. doubt of an entrance, if I should be re- 
 moved at this time. I acknowledge it is awful to 
 think of appearing before the bar of the just Judge ; 
 but on looking at it, I feel my mind centred in an 
 uninterrupted quiet." On the 1 8th : " I have been 
 sensible of many infirmities ; but I believe I have an 
 evidence that my gracious Master has blotted out my 
 transgressions." Again : " The Lord Jesus, my Sa- 
 viour, is near, whatever becomes of this poor body. I 
 hope my gracious Master will grant me patience to 
 wait his time." "Oh, the goodness of the blessed
 
 PETER YARNALL. 295 
 
 Jesus ! " Addressing a friend, he said, " I have blessed 
 the Lord many a time, for that he brought my poor 
 soul acquainted with true silence" The night before 
 his close, being asked how he was, he replied : " In 
 the Lord's keeping." He died on the 20th of Second 
 month, 1798, in the forty-fifth year of his age. His 
 sun went down in brightness, and in a few years his 
 friend, William Savery, having been kept by the 
 Lord's power on earth, followed him to the regions 
 of everlasting safety and blessedness.
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET. 
 
 of the memorable and honorable Friends of 
 Philadelphia, at the time of the American Revo- 
 lution, was dear, quaint, humorous, straightforward, 
 kind-hearted, Anthony Benezet. An indefatigable 
 laborer for the good of others, he even restricted his 
 hours of sleep, saying, in allusion to the usual period 
 allotted for rest, "he could not reconcile a habit of 
 such slothful indulgence with the activity of Christian 
 fervor." He was quick-witted, and apt at repartee, 
 and his witticisms were generally instructive and play- 
 ful. Benevolent to all ever ready to furnish from 
 his own store supplies for the needs of others, and 
 moderate in his desires, he never acquired much pro- 
 perty. Nay, restricted by the narrow bounds of his 
 own wants and wishes, he felt inclined to doubt 
 whether the accumulation of a great estate was con- 
 sistent with the self-denying religion of the cross. 
 
 If born to the inheritance of a large fortune, we 
 know not how far Anthony's view of wealth might 
 
 296
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET. 297 
 
 have been modified; nor how differently he might 
 have acted if large possessions had been suddenly left 
 him. We know, however, his actions were beautifully 
 consistent with his theory ; and though the opinions 
 of men are liable under peculiar temptations to change, 
 we trust he was too well grounded in Christian prin- 
 ciple, to have altered much in theory or practice. 
 
 The testimony of Anthony Benezet against the love 
 of riches had a deep root; yet he knew that it was 
 natural for young men to aim at that wealth which 
 gave them influence and respectability in civil society. 
 He saw no remedy for the evil, but Christian principle, 
 constraining to Christian moderation. 
 
 We have said that Anthony Benezet was an active, 
 industrious man. He had no sympathy with that 
 spirit which seems ever on the watch to evade bodily 
 labor to withdraw from exertion and toil. Some 
 individuals, loving ease, and luxuriating in inac- 
 tivity, have plead in excuse a conscientious dislike 
 to hard work. Such a plea would have stirred up 
 Anthony Benezet's zeal, and would have called down 
 on the avower of it, his earnest rebuke. He believed 
 that man was created for labor that independent of 
 pecuniary emolument, he was bound to work for his 
 own bodily and mental benefit, and to be liberal in his 
 exertions for the good of others. His own heart ex- 
 panded toward all ; he was willing to help, to labor
 
 298 ANTHONY BENEZET. 
 
 for, and by every means -in his power administer to the 
 true comfort of those around him. Thus he knew he 
 should best accomplish his duty as a man thus best 
 fulfill the law of Christ. 
 
 But though earnest and active, he was not a man to 
 do things in a hurry. He loved to see persons, while 
 industriously attending to their occupations in this 
 world, giving evidence that heavenly things had the 
 pre-eminence in their affections, and in the direction 
 of their movements. 
 
 One day, while walking the streets of Philadelphia, 
 he saw a man approaching him rapidly, who was 
 habitually in haste. In reply to Anthony's call to 
 stop, the man, as he hurried by, said, " I am now in 
 haste, and will speak with you when we next see each 
 other." Quick as thought the arrow of reproof was 
 fitted to Anthony's keen bow of wit "Dost thou 
 think thou wilt ever find time to die ? " The arrow 
 was not shot at a venture ; it reached the conscience 
 of him to whom it was addressed and he afterward 
 strongly expressed his obligation for the admonition. 
 
 One of the principal occupations of Anthony Bene- 
 zet's life, was that of a schoolmaster. In a letter, the 
 original of which he kept, as was his custom, sending 
 a fair copy to his correspondent, we find him saying, he 
 had been so long engaged at that occupation, as to be 
 then instructing the grandchildren of his first pupils,
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET. 299 
 
 As a teacher, he was kind and affable ever ready to 
 remove difficulties out of the way of the learners, and 
 to encourage and promote with them the freedom of an 
 affectionate intercourse. 
 
 He wrote and compiled many books. There was 
 sound sense there was enlarged humanity in all 
 his literary productions. He lacked not strength of 
 argument ; he gave expression to fervid bursts of feel- 
 ing. But in his compositions little of clear connected 
 outline was discernible. They seemed like masses of 
 good thoughts, susceptible feelings, enlarged views, 
 strong arguments, heaped together, as they happened 
 to arise in a discursive mind. 
 
 Anthony Benezet could not descend to' use compli- 
 ments to flatter the pride of a fellow-man, a poor 
 worm of the dust, whose only hope of eternal happi- 
 ness depended on that humility which compliments 
 and flatterers were fitted to destroy. His earnest ex- 
 pression of good-will and kind feeling, however, were 
 generally acceptable to strangers, even to those most 
 used to receive fulsome adulation, and those highly 
 wrought phrases, which say much, and mean little. 
 He frequently visited Count de Luzerne, the ambassa- 
 dor from France, to enlighten him on the subject of 
 Abolition. A reciprocal interest was awakened in 
 each other, and when the Count was about returning 
 to his own country, Anthony thought it right to call
 
 300 ANTHONY BENEZET. 
 
 and take a parting farewell. Many persons were 
 gathered on the same errand, and Anthony retreated 
 out of sight, where, unobserved, he listened to the 
 compliments poured forth on the Count. When 
 several had retired, he came forward, and thus ad- 
 dressed his friend: "Thou knowest I cannot use the 
 compliments which the company have expressed but 
 I wish thee the favor of heaven, and a safe return to 
 thy country." " Oh ! Mr. Benezet," said the Count, 
 warmly embracing him, "you have exceeded them 
 all ! " 
 
 That he knew how to give a reproof very delicately, 
 the following anecdote shows. Having called on one 
 of his former scholars then recently married, he was 
 ushered into a room where he found her in full dress 
 for a ball. He was surprised, and, in a plaintive 
 
 voice, exclaimed, " My dear S , I should not have 
 
 recognized my amiable pupil, but that thy well-known 
 features and excellent qualities are not to be hidden 
 by so grotesque and lamentable a disguise ! " 
 
 The usual gentleness and equanimity of his temper 
 would sometimes be stirred to vehement zeal when he 
 found those abounding in riches manifesting a covetous 
 disposition. He was wont to say, " The highest act 
 of charity in the world was to bear with such unrea- 
 sonableness of mankind." 
 
 His heart was naturally open and generous; he
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET. 301 
 
 would give the coat from his back, or the blankets 
 from his bed, to relieve the sufferings of others. His 
 benevolence sprang from the fulness of feeling which 
 made it a relief to him to give. 
 
 Anthony is said to have been at times truly eloquent 
 in his appeals on behalf of the rights of the oppressed. 
 At one time a proposition was before the Yearly 
 Meeting to make some new movement against slavery. 
 Some opposition was made, when he arose, weeping, 
 and, in broken accents, exclaimed, " Ethiopia shall 
 soon stretch out her hands unto God ! " These words, 
 with the feeling that accompanied them, silenced all 
 opposers, and the proposition was adopted. 
 
 Ever active for the good of others, Anthony Bene- 
 zet passed on his way, blessing the world by his exer- 
 tions and by his example. On his death -bed, he 
 exclaimed, " I am dying, and feel ashamed to meet 
 the face of my Maker; I have done so little in his 
 cause ! " " Alack ! alack ! we are poor creatures ; I 
 can take no merit for anything I have done. There 
 is mostly something underneath that is selfish, which 
 will not bear sifting." " I could wish to live a little 
 longer, that I might bring down self! " To his wife, 
 Joyce, to whom he had been a faithful and loving 
 husband for forty-eight years, he said, " We have lived 
 long in love and peace." 
 
 Many tears of real sorrow were shed when it was 
 26
 
 302 ANTHONY BENEZET. 
 
 known through the city of Philadelphia that Anthony 
 Benezet was removed from the sphere of his charities 
 on earth to the resting-place of the righteous. Many 
 were the testimonies to his worth which came forth 
 from persons of every rank and station in society. 
 
 Rebecca Jones thus wrote from England : " The 
 removal of that little, valiant man, Anthony Benezet, 
 will be a sensible chasm ; but I emember from whom 
 he derived his qualifications, and that the Divine 
 Fountain is inexhaustible. I feel as I should on the 
 occasion, and for dear Joyce, who is not far from the 
 same peaceable mansion." 
 
 Henry Drinker, writing to John Pemberton, says : 
 
 " I expect thou wilt have heard before this reaches 
 thee, of the removal of our beloved friend and brother, 
 Anthony Benezet, who peacefully passed away, full 
 of years and full of honor, to a better inheritance. 
 Where shall we find another Anthony Benezet a 
 man so uniformly and steadily engaged in promoting 
 the real good and true happiness of his fellow-man ? 
 It was thus he was engaged, early and late. That the 
 just man's life is a shining light has, I think, been 
 verified in the example of this pious man, whose love 
 and good-will was of that enlarged kind that all ranks 
 and descriptions of men were the objects of his Chris- 
 tian regard and notice.'' 
 
 We are called to good works ; yet our own deeds,
 
 ANTHONY BENEZET. 303 
 
 even those which seem most the product of genuine 
 benevolence, will not purchase a place for us in the 
 kingdom of heaven. Anthony Benezet had been long 
 an open-hearted benefactor of mankind, yet in his last 
 illness he was kept by his Divine Master in a state of 
 mind remarkably stripped of all dependence on former 
 experiences and former faithfulness. The works of 
 mercy he had been enabled to perform gave him no 
 satisfaction in review, and, in poverty of spirit, he lay, 
 trusting alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. 
 
 During this season, James Thornton paid him a 
 visit, and, in relation thereto afterward, said, " On 
 entering the room, he had never been more deeply 
 impressed with a sense of spiritual poverty than at 
 that time." He was permitted to enter into sympathy 
 with the dying man, who, in a sense of inward want, 
 was, in humility and self-abasement, drawing near the 
 hour of his departure. At the time of the funeral, 
 James Thornton again entered the house; but, oh, the 
 change ! " It felt to him as if it were divinely per- 
 fumed something so like the opening of heaven and 
 a sense of the Divine presence as he had at no other 
 time experienced ! " Those good works and alms- 
 deeds which, through the aid of the Lord's Holy 
 Spirit, he had been enabled faithfully to perform, had 
 been accepted of his Master, and were even as a sweet- 
 smelling savor poured forth. The Lord's gracious
 
 304 ANTHONY BENEZET. 
 
 acceptance of his past labors, withheld from the percep- 
 tions of the dying man, lest being trusted in, it might 
 hinder his heavenly progress, was now made manifest 
 to the spiritually-minded in an extraordinary degree. 
 
 He died Fifth month 3d, 1784, aged seventy-one 
 years. 
 
 Perhaps it may be safe to assume, that all portions 
 of the human race, who are not disabled by some 
 peculiar providence of God, are called to industrious 
 habits, and to cultivate a social disposition, fulfilling 
 the duties they owe to their kindred and friends, as 
 fellow-partakers of infirmity. 
 
 We are not all endowed with the same natural and 
 spiritual qualifications; we do not all fill the same 
 position in life, neither have we the same outward 
 means of contributing to the wants and necessities of 
 others. But let each one wait to know his own call- 
 ing, and therein abide.
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 TACQB LINDLEY was born in the year 1744, 
 ^ and was by nature affable in manners, excitable 
 in feeling, and energetic in action. Although often 
 pointed in rebuke, he did not willingly hurt the feel- 
 ings of any, and seldom took offence at the remarks 
 or reproofs of others. Men of strong minds and de- 
 termined characters are often perhaps generally 
 characterized by a disposition which leads them harshly 
 to reprove, and causes them easily to take offence at 
 the reproofs or actions of others. Jacob Lindley 
 would, doubtless, have been no exception to this rule, 
 if he had not come under the regulating, heart-soften- 
 ing influence of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 He knew the Spirit of the Saviour was a Spirit of 
 love, because he felt it clothing him with charity and 
 kind feelings toward those whose actions he was bound 
 publicly to condemn. He labored to keep his excita- 
 ble temperament under control, and to manifest the 
 reality of that religion of whose heart-cleansing, love- 
 26 * 305
 
 306 JACOB LINDLET. 
 
 inspiring influence he was at times drawn to speak 
 unto others. He knew that if he were allowing him- 
 self to indulge in angry thoughts, harsh feelings, and 
 overbearing manners and remarks, it would matter 
 little how much or how eloquently he might plead for 
 love and meekness, or how truly he might speak in 
 praise of the gentleness of Christ. 
 
 Having received a gift in the ministry, and being 
 faithful in its exercise, he grew in grace, and was qual- 
 ified by his Lord and Saviour for much usefulness in 
 the church. 
 
 He was a powerful minister of the Gospel, and an 
 earnest advocate for the rights of humanity. He was 
 large in person, and before his death became quite cor- 
 pulent. With a voice of great power and compass, he 
 was wont, when under impressions of religious duty, 
 to sound forth an alarming cry to sinners, to call them 
 to repentance and amendment of life. Often has he 
 warmed cold hearts and shaken the strongholds of 
 prejudice in them, as with the earnestness of hearty 
 feeling, and in the authority of Truth, he has pleaded 
 the cause of the oppressed, the enslaved, the suffering, 
 the neglected African. Such was he in the meridian 
 of life ; such was he to the close of his days. 
 
 He came forth in the ministry during the commo- 
 tions which immediately preceded the American Rev- 
 olution ; and in those times of trial he was led to
 
 JACOB LINDLEY 307 
 
 caution all classes, but especially the young, against 
 allowing themselves to be caught with the spirit of 
 war. It is, indeed, very difficult for those living in a 
 community which thinks itself wronged, not to par- 
 take, more or less, of the resentful spirit which pre- 
 vails about them. We may, in the abstract, think 
 war sinful may deem that the weapons of the Chris- 
 tian are love, meekness, and forgiveness of wrong 
 and yet when we partake of public or receive private 
 injuries, we shall find it hard to retain or to regain 
 true love for those who have injured us. Jacob Lind- 
 ley saw clearly into the evil principle from which war 
 arises, and he had a powerful testimony to bear against 
 it. He knew the horrors of the field of battle, he 
 knew the human sufferings that attend the wounds of 
 the musket-ball and the bayonet and sword, and he 
 knew, however much the love of liberty and the neces- 
 sity of protecting their rights might be insisted on by 
 those engaged in it, yet that war, in its origin and its 
 progress, its glories and its triumphs, was rooted in 
 sin, and was sustained by the pride and corruption of 
 man. His Friends, in the memorial issued concern- 
 ing him, state their belief that his labors against war 
 " were productive of salutary effects." 
 
 Jacob Lindley was fond of telling anecdotes, especially 
 if a religious impression could be made with them. On 
 one occasion, he narrated the following occurrence. A
 
 308 JACOB LINDLET. 
 
 man who resided in his neighborhood, one day under- 
 took to burn an old greasy hub of a wheel, in order to 
 get the iron that was on it. He watched the flames 
 curling in great beauty round the old wood, licking 
 up the grease and tar, and all other impurities ; and 
 the impression was made on his mind, that thus would 
 the Holy Spirit consume all the impurities of his 
 nature, if he would submit to its operations. This 
 reflection was raised in his mind by Him, who, in love, 
 seeketh that all His rational creatures should turn, 
 repent, and live. The heart of this hub-burner was 
 effectually touched, and this accident was as the turn- 
 ing point of his life. He became a religious man. 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Jacob, after relating the circum- 
 stance " Oh ! that there were some more old hubs to 
 burn." 
 
 Jacob Lindley, when a young man, was present at a 
 meeting of Friends, where a proposition was con- 
 sidered, which he and his companion believed ought 
 to have been adopted. But a member of the meeting 
 who did not seem prepared with arguments against it, 
 yet expressing that he had " scruples ; " the meeting 
 in deference to those unexplained scruples, laid by the 
 subject for the present'. After the meeting was over, 
 Jacob and companion being at a Friend's house, and 
 thinking themselves alone, began to discuss what had 
 taken place, expressing their earnest disapprobation
 
 JACOB LIN J) LET. 309 
 
 of the result, and treating the "scruples" of the 
 Friend with little respect. While thus freely ex- 
 pressing themselves, Elizabeth Coale, a very small 
 woman, though an able minister of Baltimore Yearly 
 Meeting, rose up in a corner where she had been sit- 
 ting unobserved, and thus addressed the startled fault- 
 finders : " Young men, I know in the gross weight of 
 millers a scruple is of little account ; but in the balance 
 of the sanctuary, a scruple is a scruple ! " 
 
 Jacob could not but feel the clear-witted rebuke. 
 He knew, and must have acknowledged it as a general 
 truth, that it is not the magnitude of wordy reason- 
 ings, which should lead religious meetings into action ; 
 and that it is far more safe to wait on, and to suffer 
 the restraints of secret feelings of uneasiness, which 
 may not have as yet shaped themselves into logical 
 arguments. The expression of uneasiness, from the 
 lips of one who is an earnest seeker after the mind of 
 the Spirit, is in truth, as good and sufficient a reason 
 as that person could offer. Sometimes it so happens, 
 that a reason, with undeniable arguments to sustain it, 
 does exist, and yet cannot well be brought forward. 
 On such occasions, how much better would it be, 
 simply to offer the true Quaker plea of " uneasiness " 
 of "a scruple " rather than to look out for other 
 arguments against the measure we disapprove, which,
 
 310 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 when we have uttered them, may be weighed in the 
 scales of critical opponents, and found wanting. 
 
 When Jacob in after-life related this anecdote, he 
 used pleasantly to remark, that he never entered into 
 free expression on the character, opinions, or actions 
 of others, without looking around him to see if there 
 was not " a little Betty in the corner." 
 
 An amusing anecdote is related of Jacob Lindley, 
 who, when riding on horseback one day not far from 
 his own residence, was overtaken by a shower, and 
 took shelter under the sheds belonging to the New 
 Garden meeting-house. Here the grave-yard was open 
 before him, and his mind soon became busy in recall- 
 ing to recollection the many worthy Friends and 
 faithful ministers of the gospel buried there, who, 
 having served the Lord in their generation, had died 
 in peace. His feelings became warm, and at the top 
 of his powerful voice, he broke out in the words of 
 Addison : 
 
 " How are thy servants blest, Lord ! 
 
 How sure is their defence! 
 
 Eternal Wisdom is their guide, 
 
 Their help Omnipotence." 
 
 Such a voice as his, echoed far and wide. A neigh- 
 bor -who was passing along the road at the time, hear- 
 ing the words uttered in such a tone, proceeding ap- 
 parently from the grave-yard, and perceiving no one,
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 311 
 
 he deemed it was something unearthly, and putting 
 spurs to his horse, fled from the place with fear and 
 precipitation. Jacob, hearing the clatter of the horse's 
 hoofs, as the man galloped oif, immediately compre- 
 hended the cause, and to appease the man's alarm, he 
 shouted after him. In his earnestness he did not let 
 his voice fall, and the man's fears were aggravated by 
 hearing himself called by that voice. His spurs did 
 not cease their office, until he had gone a considerable 
 distance from the spot whence such sounds proceeded. 
 We have an account left by William Savery, in his 
 Journal, of a journey performed by himself and several 
 other Friends, to attend a treaty with Indians, to be 
 held at Sandusky. Jacob Lindley, who was one of 
 the company, also kept a journal, which has been pre- 
 served. He left his home on the 28th of Fourth 
 month, 1793, and joined his fellow-travellers in Phila- 
 delphia. Feeling a religious concern to see President 
 Washington, with whose approbation Friends were 
 going to the treaty, Jacob Lindley spoke on the sub- 
 ject to William Savery, " and found he was under a 
 like impression." He says, " James Pemberton, Wil- 
 liam Savery, John Elliott, and myself, went about 
 nine o'clock ; met with a favorable reception, and had 
 a full opportunity to relieve our minds : which we 
 thought tended to his [the President's] satisfaction, as 
 well as ours."
 
 312 JACOB LINDLET. 
 
 This treaty had for its object the establishment of 
 peace with the Northwestern tribes. The Six Nations 
 besought the President to send as agents "men of 
 honesty, not proud land-jobbers, but men who loved 
 and desired peace," and also suggested that the agents 
 should be attended by a Friend. This request of the 
 Indians does not appear to have been known to the 
 Friends at the time they first opened their concern. 
 
 On Seventh-day, the 4th of Fifth month, they left 
 New York for Albany, in the sloop Schenectady, Cap- 
 tain Lansing, with a favorable wind ; but soon after 
 the wind changed, and a storm came on, which obliged 
 them to cast anchor. The fury of the wind increas- 
 ing, the vessel dragged her anchor, and was almost 
 driven on shore, so that the captain was glad to retrace 
 his path, and get once more to the wharf from whence 
 he had sailed. This gave the Friends an opportunity 
 to attend the usual First-day meetings in the city of 
 New York. A concern came on William Savery to 
 hold a public meeting in the evening for Friends and 
 others, and notice was given to that effect, at the close 
 of the afternoon meeting. The meeting was to com- 
 mence at seven o'clock, and was gathering when 
 Friends received notice from Captain Lansing to come 
 on board the vessel. The concern to hold the meeting 
 continued pressing on their minds public notice had 
 been given and people were assembling but if
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 313 
 
 they did not go immediately to the vessel, t ney did not 
 know that the captain would wait for them. The trial 
 was great to the Friends, but religious duty was para- 
 mount. Jacob says, " William and I agreed, let the 
 consequences be what they might, we would attend the 
 meeting. We did so, and a favored time it was. 
 About nine o'clock, several Friends, merchants of the 
 city, accompanied us to the vessel, where the passengers 
 and captain were in a heat ; but we kept down, and it 
 blew over. Captain Lansing told me afterward with 
 seriousness, he did believe the storm was permitted in 
 order to give us time for meeting." 
 
 While Jacob Lindley and his friends were crossing 
 Oneida Lake by night on this journey, a storm sud- 
 denly arose, and they were in great apparent danger. 
 The water being shoal, and the shore rocky, they durst 
 not attempt to run in, but by break of day they suc- 
 ceeded in getting their boat into the safer waters of the 
 Oneida River. Jacob says, on this occasion, " I under- 
 went a close and searching baptism, not only respect- 
 ing the present embassy, but all the actions of my life, 
 for eternity appeared very near." 
 
 Jacob could doubtless amid all his inward cogita- 
 tions trust in the Lord for succor, knowing that it was 
 in obedience to what he believed to be his religious 
 duty, that he was then in apparent danger. The feel- 
 ing of being in his proper place, would take away 
 27
 
 314 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 from the fear of death. Very different were his feel- 
 ings from those of our dear Friend, Anthony Benezet, 
 who being at one time persuaded to go down to the 
 Capes of the Delaware, without having any call of 
 duty, or necessary business there to attend to, was 
 caught in a violent storm. As he looked at the sea 
 and saw the storm raging, and " looked on the vessel 
 and perceived the sickness and distress of the passen- 
 gers, the sense of impending danger drove him to con- 
 sider where he was, and why he was there, and forced 
 from him the inward ejaculation ! " What business 
 have I here?" 
 
 Doubtless the same kind of feeling has been expe- 
 rienced by many when brought into trial and trouble. 
 The sense of having run into them without being sent 
 has added bitterness to sorrow, and fearfulness to dan- 
 ger. On the contrary, the feeling that it was obedience 
 to the Lord's will which has brought on the Christian 
 the trial, the difficulty, the suffering, the danger, will 
 have a tendency to sustain him under them, and to 
 enable him to believe that all things will work his 
 furtherance in good. 
 
 In prison-houses, at the whipping-post, at the scaf- 
 fold, on the bed of death, the sense of the Lord's 
 approving presence has made many to rejoice and bless 
 his name that they had been created that they were 
 then and there suffering according to his will. What
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 315 
 
 to our ancient worthy Friend, Anthony Patrickson, 
 was the affliction of the body when he could exclaim, 
 " The Lord hath given me assurance of that blessed 
 inheritance that never will have end ! " * Strong was 
 the faith, holy was the hope, and glorious the assurance 
 that animated Margaret Molleson, when, according 
 to the Lord's will, she was about to depart from her 
 earthly tabernacle. To her physician, who tried to 
 encourage her to believe that she should recover, and 
 who told her not to fear, she said, " Fear ! I have no 
 cause! My Advocate is with the Father, and my 
 peace is made; I am feeding at a table none of you 
 perceiveth. My eternal joy is already begun ! " f 
 
 So abiding was the holy feeling of the Lord's ap- 
 probation with Mary Dyer, fov a few days before 
 her execution, so joyful the flow of peace that poured 
 through her soul, that as she ascended the ladder to 
 suffer, she could, as a living testimony to her Saviour's 
 grace and mercy, declare, " I have been in Paradise 
 these several days ! " J She was there in the Lord's 
 will she was suffering for his Truth the strength 
 of earthly ties was dissolving, and through his mercy 
 she was made spiritually to partake of the river of the 
 water of life, and to know a holy communion with 
 him. 
 
 * Piety Promoted, vol. i., p. 341. f Ibid., p. 69. 
 J Sewel's History of the People called Quakers, vol. i. (stere<>- 
 type ed.)p. 300.
 
 316 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 Continuing their journey, on the llth of Sixth 
 month, Jacob Lindley and his Friends were at De- 
 troit, and called to see Isaac Williams, a noted Indian 
 trader. He narrated many instances of the cruelty of 
 the Indians, and stated that they were at that time 
 more haughty and insolent than they had been. He 
 expressed his doubts of the company ever returning 
 from Sandusky, unless the United States commissioners 
 should yield to all the Indians demanded. This ap- 
 peared, also, to be the sentiment of others, and the 
 information tended to drive Friends to look to the 
 Lord for safety in this their season of trial and danger. 
 The Indians around them were often intoxicated, and 
 in that condition they manifested much ferocity. In 
 considering all he heard and all he saw, Jacob Lindley 
 remarks, " It evidently appears a serious business, and 
 little, if anything, short of offering up life by those 
 who attend it." 
 
 The Friends arrived safely at Sandusky in the 
 Seventh month, and spent several weeks in the com- 
 pany of the Indians and United States officers at that 
 point. While there, as well as at other places on 
 their journey, they held meetings for Divine worship, 
 which were attended by some of the Indians and also 
 by the whites ; and on some occasions they had oppor- 
 tunities of a more private character with individuals. 
 
 On the 27th of the Seventh month, the Friends had
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 317 
 
 a close, solid conversation with some of the officers in 
 the army on the subject of slavery, war, swearing, and 
 debauchery. Jacob makes the following remarks rel- 
 ative to this opportunity : " When men are closely 
 pinched, I find their nearest way to get rid of a diffi- 
 culty is a denial of the Scriptures, to turn deists, and 
 explain away the weighty parts of the moral law." 
 
 It is not wonderful that men who are living in the 
 indulgence of the fleshly appetites, should desire to 
 disbelieve the truth of that religion which calls for 
 purity of heart, for purity of life, for a constant walk- 
 ing in fear and reverence before God. They know 
 how far they are from fulfilling its moral requisitions, 
 and they know (if the Christian religion is true) the 
 dreadful penalty they must pay for the sin-pleasing 
 pleasures they now indulge in. " How," exclaimed 
 the noted infidel, Carlile, to Wilberforce, who had a 
 Bible in his hands, "how can you suppose I can like 
 that book ? for if it be true, I am undone forever ! " 
 
 We have it recorded that a late literary character 
 was, in younger life, in the habit of conversing with a 
 fellow-infidel against Christianity and its evidences. 
 They were living in sin, and a sin-condemning religion 
 was not wide enough and easy enough to suit their 
 inclinations. After a time, this man, touched by the 
 power of Divine Grace, repented of his sin, and found, 
 111 the Gospel of Christ Jesus, the very religion which 
 27*
 
 318 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 a soul anxious for the favor of God, for true peace in 
 life, and for a sustaining hope in death, needed. 
 
 Having been brought to repentance, he was anxious 
 to do away, as far as he could, the effect of the evil in- 
 fluence he exerted in the days of his wilful estrange- 
 ment from the path of purity and peace. Many of his 
 infidel conversations had been carried on in the presence 
 of a religious but uneducated man. Fearful lest some 
 seeds of skepticism might have been sown in his mind, 
 and taken root there, he sought him out to express his 
 concern. The man replied, that their remarks had 
 produced no impression upon him. " No impression ! 
 Why, you must have known we had read and thought on 
 these things much more than you had any opportunity 
 of doing." The man, though illiterate as to this world's 
 knowledge, was wise in a higher wisdom, and he made 
 this sensible reply : " Oh, yes ; but I knew your man- 
 ner of living ! I knew to maintain such a course of 
 conduct, you found it necessary to renounce Chris- 
 tianity." 
 
 The Indians, with whom it was proposed to make a 
 treaty, showed no disposition to come to terms, except- 
 ing on the condition that all the whites settled beyond 
 the Ohio should retire to the east of that river, which 
 should thenceforward be the boundary between them 
 and the United States. After a period of nearly two 
 months spent in fruitless attempts at negotiation, it
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 319 
 
 became evident that a treaty could not be concluded, 
 and on the 17th of Eighth month the Friends and 
 some of the commissioners started homeward. Jacob 
 says, " My mind felt sorrowful in reflecting on the 
 important subjects of our journey. On turning my 
 mind to consider if we had omitted anything we might 
 have done, or that might be done, nothing appeared to 
 give uneasiness. I therefore rested satisfied in leaving 
 it to the Lord, who judgeth righteously, and with joy 
 turned my mind homeward, willing to leave a settle- 
 ment so greatly dissipated with every species of ini- 
 quity, that they appear to live almost without law, 
 morality, or religion." 
 
 In the Ninth month, 1793, Jacob Lindley proceeded 
 to Philadelphia to attend the Yearly Meeting. The 
 yellow fever was raging with fearful violence in that 
 city, but the knowledge of this did not release our 
 valiant warrior in the Lamb's army from the belief 
 that it was his duty to attend at that time. During 
 the sittings of the meeting, his mind, with that of 
 many others, was lifted up above fear, so that he could 
 rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation. 
 
 In 1797 the yellow fever again prevailed to an 
 alarming extent in Philadelphia, and many of its in- 
 habitants fled for safety to the surrounding country. 
 In the Ninth month, Jacob Lindley, in writing to his 
 brother and sister, J. and A. Dawes, who lived in that
 
 320 JACOB LINDLET. 
 
 city, thus expressed the emotions of his mind at this 
 solemn period-: 
 
 " My inmost feelings have often been exercised, and 
 my spirit has been drawn in near sympathy toward 
 you, with others of my beloved friends resident in 
 the long highly-favored, sumptuous metropolis, since 
 the awakening sound of this second awful trumpet has 
 reached my ears. But what shall we say ? Is it not 
 a dispensation from that unerring Hand who doeth all 
 things right ? At whose sovereign beck ten thousand 
 times ten thousand ministering angels wait the execu- 
 tion of his almighty decree? His bowels of compas- 
 sionate mercy endure forever. When a proud and 
 rebellious people are humbled to hear the rod and him 
 who hath appointed it, then I assuredly believe, the 
 Sun of righteousness will arise, with healing in his 
 wings, and turn the sound and shadow of death into 
 a glorious morning ; when the stars shall sing together, 
 and the sons of God shout for joy. 
 
 " The sacred declaration was, that the Lord of hosts 
 would be sanctified in righteousness and exalted in 
 judgment. Truly great and marvellous are his works, 
 who shall not fear him? saith my soul. How suddenly 
 hath that great and populous city, almost equally the 
 envy and admiration of kingdoms and nations, become 
 a terror to its own inhabitants ! How contrasted the 
 prospect must appear in the southern parts, especially 
 where the throng of busy merchants resorted, and the 
 adventurous mariners disburdened their deeply-laden 
 vessels now, the yellow flag and other ensigns of 
 sickness and mortality !
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 321 
 
 " I need not expatiate upon these obvious occurrences 
 to those who, doubtless, have more deeply pondered 
 the affecting subject, and I trust have experienced, 
 proportionate to the trials of the day, the fulfilling of 
 that Scripture testimony, 'Thou wilt keep him in per- 
 fect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he 
 trusteth in thee.' The name of the Lord, which is 
 his power, remains unalterably a strong tower and 
 refuge for the righteous. I thought I never more 
 fully experienced the weight and force of a sentence 
 or two divinely fraught with consolation to the church 
 of Christ, and I believe to every baptized member, 
 than when in Philadelphia in the Ninth month, 1793: 
 ' Thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not 
 fear ; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.' 
 May your minds be supported and rightly directed in 
 this truly alarming crisis, has been my request on your 
 behalf; whether to stay or to go I cannot undertake 
 to determine. I humbly hope the Shepherd of Israel 
 will availingly care for you, direct and keep you as 
 under the hollow of his hand, until his indignation be 
 overpast. . . . 
 
 "I trust the sure and strong foundation [of our at- 
 tachment] is that love which is only derived from our 
 Father which is in heaven. 
 
 " I deeply feel for that important, essential branch 
 of our Christian testimony which relates to the public 
 worship of Almighty God. May his unsearchable 
 wisdom, his sustaining arm, preserve the ark of the 
 testimony from falling before the Philistines. 
 
 " The prospect looks very solemn in contemplating
 
 322 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 the attendance of our approaching annual solemnity. 
 Only this remains : times and seasons are in the hands 
 of Him who can do great things things that we look 
 not for in a short time." 
 
 A number of Friends having settled in Canada, 
 many of whom were from the limits of Exeter Monthly 
 Meeting, the meetings established there were consid- 
 ered as belonging to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. In 
 1797, at the time when the yellow fever was raging in 
 Philadelphia, a committee was appointed by the Yearly 
 Meeting to visit the Friends in Canada. Of this com- 
 mittee Jacob Lindley was one, and amid many dis- 
 comforts, arising from the wilderness character of the 
 country at that time, the journey was performed. 
 They had man 7 comfortable meetings in Canada, and 
 doubtless returned well satisfied that the visit had been 
 in the Divine appointment. 
 
 On one occasion, when camping out for the night 
 during this journey, an incident occurred which, how- 
 ever trying at the moment, was not without instruction. 
 When preparing to kindle a fire, everything being 
 covered with snow, it was very difficult to find suit- 
 able wood. At last a fire was struck, and there 
 seemed little doubt but with care it might be en- 
 larged so as to make them comparatively comfort- 
 able. While the little fire was slowly increasing, 
 Jacob Lindley, finding in the woods a log which he
 
 JACOB LINDLEY. 323 
 
 tnought might aid them in getting warmth for the 
 night, had placed it on his shoulders, and brought it 
 where his companions were. A little proud of his 
 success in obtaining such a treasure, and perhaps of 
 his strength in carrying it without assistance, he threw 
 it on the ground, exclaiming, " See what a man can 
 do ! " Alas for his pride and their comfort ! The 
 log fell upon the burning wood, and utterly extin- 
 guished it. In vain they tried to rekindle it ; every 
 effort proved ineffectual, and they passed an uncom- 
 fortable night. 
 
 Jacob Lindley was not the first man, who, by en- 
 deavoring to give great aid and assistance to a cause, 
 has been the very means of ruining it. Some who 
 have come forward with an air of importance, \vhich 
 plainly said, " See what a man can do," have put out 
 every spark of life by their untimely aid. Every 
 effort to benefit the church, performed in the spirit that 
 feels like taking credit for what is being done, will fail 
 to make the fire of Truth greater, if it does not seriously 
 deaden its burning. 
 
 Jacob was noted for his genuine kindness, as well 
 as warmth of feeling. A respectable mechanic once, 
 during the lifetime of his first wife, alluding to the 
 hospitality which characterized them, said, " Their 
 house is in one respect like the kingdom of heaven, no 
 profession or complexion being excluded."
 
 324 JACOB LINDLEY. 
 
 Jacob Lindley lost his first wife, Hannah, in 1798. 
 She had gone to attend the Yearly Meeting in Phila- 
 delphia that year, and soon after her return, being 
 taken with the prevailing fever, she was called to re- 
 ceive the reward of a life of dedication to her heavenly 
 Father's will. She was a minister of the Gospel. 
 
 His second marriage was with Ruth Anna Rutter, 
 also a minister. Ruth died in 1810. Jacob still con- 
 tinued zealously to labor for the good of others, and 
 for the salvation of his own soul. The poor Africans 
 continued to claim his tenderest sympathy, and to call 
 forth his most energetic labors. He thus wrote : " Oh ! 
 surely I may say, I shudder, and my tears involun- 
 tarily steal from my eyes, for my poor, oppressed, 
 afflicted, tormented, black brethren hunted fright- 
 ened to see a white man torn from every source of 
 comfort that is worth living for in this stage of being. 
 The tears the groans the sighs of these, have 
 surely ascended to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, 
 and as a thick cloud are awfully suspended over this 
 land. I tenderly, and tremblingly feel for the poor 
 masters, involved in the difficulty. I am awfully 
 awakened into fear, for our poor country with the 
 language, ' I gave her time and place to repent ; but 
 she repented not ! ' ; 
 
 On the afternoon of the 12th day of the Sixth 
 month, 1814, while at home at Burlington, Sarah
 
 JACOB LINDLET. 325 
 
 Dillwyn observed her husband, George Dillwyn, 
 sitting with such a peculiar and awful expression of 
 countenance, as to create an alarm in her affectionate 
 heart. She immediately approached him, and in the 
 kind carefulness of love, inquired what was the matter. 
 In answering her question, he said, he was very sorry 
 she had disturbed him, for he had at that time been 
 visited by Jacob Lindley's spirit! That day Jacob 
 Lindley, in usual health, had attended his own meet- 
 ing at New Garden, in Chester County, more than 
 fifty miles from Burlington. In the meeting he was 
 engaged in a living, powerful testimony, wherein he 
 intimated his conviction, that there were those present 
 who would not see the light of another day, and 
 added, " perhaps it may be myself! " That afternoon, 
 by a sudden jolt he was thrown from his vehicle into 
 the road, and fell upon his head. Being a heavy man, 
 his neck was dislocated, and his spirit was thereby 
 suddenly released from the shackles of mortality. He 
 was in his seventieth year. 
 28
 
 ELI YAKNALL. 
 
 T71LI YARNALL was one who from early youth 
 "^ was much devoted to the Lord Jesus, and pre- 
 pared by his Holy Spirit to exercise a gift in the 
 ministry, which he was enabled to do to the comfort 
 and strength of the church militant. He was born 
 about the beginning of 1753. During his youth, being 
 favored with the visitations of Divine Grace, he gladly 
 accepted them, submitted his own will to the will of 
 his God, became inwardly acquainted with the motions 
 and leadings of the Spirit, and was made a partaker 
 of that blessed liberty and freedom which is under the 
 yoke of Christ. Being faithful to the manifestations 
 received, he grew in godliness, and the blessing of the 
 Almighty, in spiritual gifts and graces, descended upon 
 him. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1779, when he was 
 about twenty-six years of age, and while the various 
 exercises which were preparing him for the work of 
 the ministry were heavy upon him, he received notice 
 
 326
 
 ELI YARNALL.- 327 
 
 of an appointment from the commissioners of Chester 
 County as collector of the taxes in the district he re- 
 sided in. Besides the taxes at that time assessed most 
 of which must go to the support of war there were 
 to be collected fines for not taking the test oath or 
 affirmation. Of course Eli Yarnall could not con- 
 scientiously do aught under the commission, which 
 had, no doubt, been conferred upon him with an evil 
 intent. 
 
 On considering the subject, it seemed to him best, 
 in refusing to act, to furnish the commissioners with 
 his reasons for so doing, and he accordingly addressed 
 a letter to them. In this letter he says: "Ye may 
 read, that it was said of old, by way of comparison, 
 'The fig-tree said unto them, Should I forsake my 
 sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted 
 over the trees?' In like manner, I say unto you, 
 shall I forsake that spirit of calmness, tenderness, and 
 humility that breathes peace on earth and good-will 
 toward all men, with which I am, through mercy, 
 measurably favored, and accept of that power offered 
 by you, and exercise the same by tyrannizing over the 
 consciences of my brethren, violently distressing and 
 spoiling their goods ? Nay, surely, I dare not do it, 
 let my sufferings in consequence thereof be never so 
 great. I make no doubt but ye have been informed, 
 that we cannot, consistently with our religious princi-
 
 328 ELI YARNALL. 
 
 pies, have any hand in setting up or pulling down 
 governments. Part of this, that is called a tax, is a 
 fine for not taking a test of fidelity to one government 
 and abjuration of the other, which would immediately 
 make us parties." 
 
 The letter is throughout well written, and sets forth 
 the blessed, peaceable nature of the Christian religion, 
 and the contradiction manifested by its professed be- 
 lievers in their oppressing tender consciences and 
 spoiling the goods of their brethren, Avhose only fault 
 lay in their endeavors to be faithful to what they 
 deemed the commands of their God. Soon after, Eli 
 Yarnall was called on to exhibit Christian patience in 
 suffering. For his refusal to collect these taxes, he 
 was fined by the commissioners, and on the 7th of 
 Seventh month, 1779, a valuable horse was taken 
 from him to satisfy that fine. This was but the be- 
 ginning of this kind of trial, for he had afterward to 
 witness various parts of his property seized, because 
 he could not muster as a militia man, and because he 
 was as much opposed in conscience to paying another 
 to fight for him as to fighting himself. 
 
 During these trials he appeared in the ministry, to 
 the relief of his long-exercised mind, and to the sat- 
 isfaction and edification of his friends. Toward the 
 close of this year, he received a letter from John Pem- 
 berton, encouraging him and other Friends in that
 
 ELI TARNALL. 329 
 
 neighborhood, who were suffering because of their 
 testimony to the peaceable nature of the Gospel of 
 Christ, to bear all with patience and resignation. In 
 replying to this letter, Eli thus writes : " Thy exhort- 
 ation to patience and resignation I hope will be duly 
 regarded, most of us being mercifully preserved in 
 measure possessors of that happy attainment. Our 
 greatest concern, some of us can truly say, is to stand 
 faithful, and approve ourselves worthy to suffer on the 
 behalf of Christ. I have a comfortable hope that 
 our patient sufferings will add to the furtherance of 
 the Gospel, and in due time be a means of inclining 
 the hearts of others to seek after the pearl of great 
 price, to purchase which, many of us seem willing to 
 part with all, if it be the Divine will." 
 
 About that time many suffered much, principally 
 because those who had espoused the cause of the re- 
 public, regarded Friends' testimony against war as an 
 indication of attachment to the royal cause. This was 
 not a sure criterion. The doctrines and principles of 
 the Society were well fitted to make its members good 
 citizens under all governments, yet it can scarcely be 
 denied by any close observer, but that the whole tenor 
 of its influences is in favor of that freedom of thought 
 and action that brings all classes to a com non level, 
 and which is most in accordance with republican 
 equality and equal rights. The body of Friends, 
 28*
 
 330 ELI YARNALL. 
 
 therefore, if they could have dared to have harbored 
 a desire in the matter, would have been best pleased 
 to live under a republic; but some, considering the 
 mode adopted by the republicans, in asserting and 
 fighting for their rights, to be wrong, and remembering 
 how peaceably and comfortably they had lived under 
 the king, would have been willing to have slipped 
 back from the state of persecution and privation they 
 were then in to the peace and plenty of their former 
 condition. 
 
 Vt one period in the war a number of peaceable 
 Friends were dragged from the comforts of their 
 homes, and carried prisoners to Lancaster. Some for 
 no other charge than for attending their Yearly Meet- 
 ing in Philadelphia while the English had that city 
 in possession, and for refusing to take the test. Dur- 
 ing their confinement, that true-hearted Christian and 
 bold, unflinching advocate for the Truth, Abraham 
 Gibbons, having gone from his residence at Lampeter 
 to Lancaster to see them, thought it right to call on an 
 officer of rank then in that place, to see if anything 
 could be done to obtain their release. 
 
 The officer demeaned himself haughtily when Abra- 
 ham was introduced to his presence, and when he 
 heard the application on behalf of the innocent men 
 who were suffering in prison, he broke out in words 
 of the following import: "You talk of innocent men!
 
 ELI YARNALL. 331 
 
 T will ask you, whether you yourself have not a choice 
 which of the contending powers shall get the victory ? 
 For my part, I believe every man has a choice, and 
 that you also must have one." Abraham had a cour- 
 age which danger could not daunt, and, believing it 
 was his duty to speak the truth plainly, he boldly said : 
 " Thou hast asked me a close question, and my words 
 may involve my liberty, but I shall give thee a candid 
 answer. When I take into view the conduct of the 
 Americans, and consider how Friends have to suffer un- 
 der your treatment of them, I sometimes wish that the 
 British might get the better of you; but these wishes 
 and feelings I am liable to as a man. When I gain the 
 state I wish to live in, and which I believe it to be my 
 duty to attain as a Christian, if the turning of my 
 hand would give either party the victory, I would not 
 do it." The officer was affected at the answer, which, 
 perhaps, opened to him a view of a state he had never 
 before thought of. His harshness of manner disap- 
 peared, and at that time, and ever afterward, he treated 
 Abraham Gibbons with distinguishing courtesy and 
 respect. 
 
 Another meek-spirited man, whom duty made bold 
 and unflinching in this time of trial, was Warner 
 Mifflin, who having been appointed with some others 
 to present a memorial to General Washington, from 
 the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia, passed across the
 
 332 ELI TARNALL. 
 
 battle-field at Germantown, among the wounded and 
 dying. In the course of conversation with the Gene- 
 ral, Warner frankly told him, and no doubt the scene 
 he had just witnessed, gave energy to his expressions, 
 " I am opposed to the Revolution, and to all changes 
 in government which occasion war and bloodshed." 
 Some years after, while Washington was President of 
 the United States, Warner again visited him on an 
 errand of mercy. The President, in reference to their 
 former conversation, asked him on what principle he 
 had been opposed to the Revolution. " On the same 
 principle," said Warner, "that I should be opposed 
 to a change in this government. All that ever was 
 gained by revolutions, is not an adequate compensation 
 to the poor mangled soldier, for the loss of life or 
 limb." Washington paused awhile to consider the 
 position assumed by the philanthropist, and then said, 
 to him, " I honor your sentiments ; there is more in 
 that than mankind have generally considered." 
 
 We have seen in the above anecdotes the beneficial 
 influence of speaking the truth in love, without fear 
 or flattery ; we will relate an incident occurring during 
 the same period, showing the powerful effect of Chris- 
 tian meekness, which, without verbal reproof, reached 
 to the conscience, and subdued the wicked spirit of 
 a backsliding clergyman, who had become a partizan 
 officer.
 
 ELI YARNALL. 333 
 
 A company of armed republicans from New Jersey, 
 crossed the river Delaware into Bucks County, Penn- 
 sylvania, intent on plundering all the tories they could 
 find. They considered all Friends in that class, be- 
 cause they were opposed to war and this predatory 
 excursion could only be considered as an intention 
 of robbing them, there being many residing in that 
 neighborhood. The leader of this company had been 
 a Baptist clergyman, who had evidently once known 
 something that would have taught him better than to 
 rob the innocent and unresisting. 
 
 William Blakey, a minister of the Society of Friends, 
 residing at Middletown, was well known by repute, as 
 a friend of peace, and as the fearless opponent of war. 
 It was to his house therefore that this renegade clergy- 
 man first led his troops, and commanded them to seize 
 all the horses and wagons, and load upon them as much 
 of the grain as they would contain. William Blakey 
 stood by, a patient, unresisting, uncomplaining be- 
 holder of the spoil of his produce, the robbery of his 
 stock. He felt the supporting presence of his Divine 
 Master with him, and he sought for the spirit of sup- 
 plication wherein he might not only be enabled to ask 
 strength for himself, but to say, " Father, forgive them, 
 for they know not what they do." The officer was 
 evidently much disconcerted at the quiet, Christian 
 submission of him he was wronging. He could see
 
 334 ELI YARNALL. 
 
 no fear nor anger manifested he could hear no 
 petitions, nor invective, but he saw in William courage, 
 crowned with a Christian spirit, and an evident sense 
 of God's overruling providence, sustaining and sup- 
 porting amid all. He tried for a time what a domi- 
 neering, insulting behaviour would effect, evidently 
 wishing to provoke the sufferer to make some sharp or 
 angry rebuke, which might justify him to himself for 
 that which he was doing. Perhaps he wished to pro- 
 ceed to still greater acts of outrage, which he could 
 not do, unless he could feel, or imagine, some provo- 
 cation. 
 
 As William continued calmly to look on the labors 
 of the men, the officer at last became silent, and evi- 
 dently agitated in mind. He came at last to William, 
 and with a faltering tongue, tremulous with emotion, 
 asked him, if he ever prayed. This question was put 
 to one, who, in his quiet resignation to his heavenly 
 Father's will, was living in prayer and he could 
 answer with a modest assurance, that he had at times 
 been favored with access to the throne of grace ; and 
 that he had, on the present occasion, been endeavoring 
 to feel after the spirit of supplication. " Do you ever 
 pray for any one but yourself?''' William replied in 
 the affirmative, and his interrogator then said, " I wish 
 you would pray for me. I would not endure the 
 wretchedness I now feel, for all you are worth ! " By
 
 ELI TARNALL. 335 
 
 this time the men had secured as much of the grain as 
 the wagons and horses could carry, and were ready to 
 depart, but the officer commanded them to return it 
 all whence they had taken it ; and after some serious 
 conversation with William, they all rode off, having 
 done him no injury. 
 
 On the 26th day of the Eleventh month, 1783, Eli 
 Yarnall was married to Priscilla Walker, who proved 
 a valuable companion, being a nearly united spiritual 
 sympathizer with him in his journey Zionward. They 
 married, in some sense, as though they married not. 
 For though their love to each other was strong and 
 fervent, yet their love to their Divine Master was 
 above all. In a little more than four weeks after their 
 marriage he left her, his dearest earthly treasure, and 
 went to pay a religious visit to Friends in Maryland 
 and Virginia. The day of his leaving home to enter 
 on his journey, she wrote thus in her diary : " The 
 Lord of heaven who pointed us out for each other, I 
 have a hope, and most ardent desire indeed, will in 
 his time safely conduct us to each other's arms again. 
 Remember, O Lord, him who hath now left his most 
 endeared connections, to obey thee. Be pleased to be 
 his companion, and conduct him safe to the bosom of 
 her, who for his sake, believing it to be thy will, hath 
 left the hospitable house of her father, wherein thy 
 love has often descended as the dew of Hermon."
 
 336 ELI TARNALL. 
 
 On the next day she writes of " being most affec- 
 tionately engaged in sympathy with my darling, who, 
 from all others I have chosen, humbly beseeching 
 Almighty God to enable us to walk hand in hand 
 through every trying dispensation, and though out- 
 wardly separated, that we may be present in spirit, 
 feeling that that which joined us together for thy 
 glory, is now separating us for thy praise. Oh, thou 
 most gracious and everlasting Father and fountain of 
 goodness, preserve us in the hollow of thy hand, that 
 so we may not stray so far as to have a single wish 
 contrary to thy will ! " Her constant state of close 
 union with her distant husband is noted in her diary, 
 in which she records her thanks to the Lord, who per- 
 mitted her to feel him in spirit with her as she lay 
 down to rest, and when she awoke in the morning, 
 saying, " Thou withholdest him not from assisting me 
 to sing forth thy evening hymn and morning praise." 
 Other striking instances from her diary might be quoted 
 to show how closely she felt bound to her husband in 
 Christian love and fellowship of spirit. 
 
 Eli, who although not a frequent minister, was yet 
 one of the most powerful and favored of his day, felt 
 the aid of her spirit in his Gospel labor, and after her 
 death thus wrote of her : " Through the increase of 
 that union which makes male and female one in Christ 
 Jesus, she proved a great strength and confirmation to
 
 ELI YARNALL. 337 
 
 me in the exei jise of the small gift bestowed upon me 
 Such was the sympathetic travail of her spirit when 
 with me in meetings, that when I have had anything 
 to say, she was generally favored with a sense of the 
 very time wherein I have felt the motion of the Spirit 
 to appear ; and also when I have been at neighboring 
 meetings, and she remained at home attending to her 
 lawful concerns, she hath been made a partaker with 
 me in seasons of favor, and a sharer also in more 
 stripped and trying opportunities; which being the 
 Lord's doing, was marvellous in my eyes, and cause 
 of great humiliation and gratitude. I believe few, if 
 any, ever performed the duties of a wife to a husband 
 with more loyalty and upright affection, being desirous 
 of contributing toward my present and eternal hap- 
 piness to the utmost of her power. An affectionate 
 mother and kind mistress, watching over and encour- 
 aging her family, as well as reproving and restraining 
 from things of an evil tendency those under her care. 
 She was a lover and promoter of retirement in the 
 family, some of which opportunities were eminently 
 favored with the overshadowing of Divine goodness 
 and mercy." 
 
 At the commencement of her last illness, in 1795, 
 she said she was preserved even from the desire of 
 knowing what way the Lord designed to dispose of 
 her. At times she spoke of the love and mercy of
 
 338 ELI YARNALL. 
 
 the Lord manifested to her in the overshadowing of 
 his presence while alone in her chamber, saying her 
 sense of his fatherly tenderness was so great, she had 
 no language to set it forth, being at times dumb with 
 admiration of his goodness. 
 
 After many sweet and comforting seasons, and drop- 
 ping many encouraging expressions, on the 10th of 
 Sixth month, in the year just mentioned, she took an 
 affectionate farewell of her family, and quietly and 
 trustfully departed. Eli says, "At which awful sea- 
 son, my mind being gathered into stillness, the lan- 
 guage of the apostle was comfortably revived, ' There 
 is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are 
 in Christ Jesus.' A firm belief that she was enrolled 
 among that blessed and happy number tended much 
 to alleviate my affliction on account of the loss of so 
 valuable and much beloved a companion and a help- 
 meet indeed, whose sympathizing spirit hath been in- 
 strumental to strengthen and console my mind under 
 many adverse and trying allotments. Concerning her, 
 I have been enabled to adopt the sentiment of Job, 
 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; 
 blessed be the name of the Lord/ " 
 
 At the burial, Eli was strengthened in the renewed 
 feeling of the Lord's mercy, and in the assurance that it 
 is in righteousness he afflicts the children of men, to 
 bear a close testimony, commenting on the text,
 
 ELI YARNALL. 339 
 
 " Affliction cometh not forth of the dust neither doth 
 trouble spring out of the ground." 
 
 Eli Yarnall continued faithfully obedient to the 
 requirings of his almighty Caretaker and Saviour, and 
 day by day grew in spiritual stature, till he stood as a 
 father in the Truth. He was not frequent in the min- 
 istry in his latter years, but was a good example of 
 fervent inward exercise and travail of soul for the 
 arisings of life among those assembled. His spirit 
 was often tendered in silent meetings, and, under a 
 sense of Divine love and regard, tears of grateful 
 thanksgiving would at times flow from him. 
 
 An interesting anecdote relating to his Gospel ser- 
 vices, and illustrating the true fellowship which exists 
 among those who are rightly called into the solemn 
 work of the ministry, is as follows : 
 
 James Simpson, though endowed by his Divine 
 Master with a remarkably baptizing gift in the min- 
 istry, was often greatly depressed. On one occasion, 
 after attending a meeting, in the course of a religious 
 visit at Springfield, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 
 he experienced a season of great discouragement and 
 desertion. Thinking himself unfit for the ministry of 
 the Gospel, and for the service he was then engaged 
 in, he pressed upon his companion the necessity of 
 returning home. To this the Friend objected, saying, 
 that they had appointed a meeting at Providence for
 
 340 ELI YARNALL. 
 
 the next day, and must attend it. James replied that 
 he thought he could not go to it, and pleai to return 
 home. After an afternoon and night of distressing 
 conflict of mind, James arose unrelieved, and bent on 
 leaving the neighborhood at once. His companion, 
 unwilling to take this course, invited him to sit down, 
 and they would try to wait on the Lord for direction 
 and consolation in this time of trial. They had not 
 sat long when James, with a bright countenance and 
 cheerful voice, announced his readiness to attend the 
 meeting, telling his friend, " My Master has been here, 
 and said to me, ' Go, and I will send my servant, Eli 
 Yarnall, and he shall come and pray for thee.' " 
 
 On that morning, Eli Yarnall, who lived several 
 miles from Providence, was ploughing one of his 
 fields, when he felt a strong impression to go at once 
 to Providence meeting-house. He wondered at this, 
 as it was not the usual meeting-day there, and he had 
 not heard of the appointed meeting. But the call was 
 clear, and he obeyed it. His wife was also surprised, 
 remarking, " It was not meeting-day there, and she 
 could not think what he was going for." He, how- 
 ever went, but did not reach the house until the peo- 
 ple had gone into it. Taking his seat in the gallery, 
 the mind of Eli Yarnall was soon brought under 
 religious concern, and he felt it his duty to break the 
 silence by prayer, in which he interceded for his be-
 
 ELI YARNALL. 341 
 
 loved friend, James Simpson, that his faith might be 
 strengthened, and help vouchsafed of the Lord to 
 enable him to prosecute his religious services to the 
 edification of the Church and his own peace and com- 
 fort. 
 
 James soon afterward arose in a living and awak- 
 ening Gospel testimony, which had a powerful effect 
 upon the audience, many being greatly affected and 
 contrited into tears. 
 
 Toward the close of his life, Eli Yarnall married 
 Thomasine Roberts, a daughter of John Roberts. In 
 his intercourse with his family and in the world, his 
 conduct was marked with Christian circumspection and 
 watchfulness. He was upright in his dealings, honest 
 toward man and toward God, prompt in the fulfillment 
 of his duties, and cheerfully dedicated to attend to all 
 the services the religious Society he belonged to re- 
 quired of him. 
 
 In the Seventh month, 1812, being, taken unwell, 
 he had a sense that death was drawing near. In the 
 Eighth month, to one visiting him he said, " My dear 
 friend, 1 believe I am going the way of all flesh. My 
 pain is often very great; but my mind, under the 
 prospect of approaching dissolution, enjoys entire re- 
 signation. Indeed, the quiet and peaceful serenity 
 with which I have from day to day since my confine- 
 ment been favored, even when under excruciating 
 29*
 
 342 ELI TARNALL. 
 
 pain, is cause of much thankfulness and admiration." 
 On one occasion, after supplication for preservation, he 
 addressed his two sons, reminding them of visitations 
 immediately and instrumentally, which had been mer- 
 cifully granted to them. He sought to encourage 
 them to walk in obedience to the Lord's requirings, 
 and to make their Saviour their friend, that he might 
 be their strength and support in after life. Soon after- 
 ward he broke forth into a strain of praise and thanks- 
 giving to the Father of mercies for the blessed present 
 assurance of his love, and that the work of his soul's 
 salvation was perfected, and his peace made with his 
 God forever. " l Glory to God in the highest, and on 
 earth, peace, good will to men.' Often before now I 
 have been made sensible of the universality of the love 
 of our heavenly Father, and now I feel it to flow 
 toward all men. If I die now, give my dear love to 
 all my friends, and tell them I die in peace and unity 
 with all faithful Friends." 
 
 At another time he said, " My dependence is on the 
 Lord Almighty, whose blessed will be done. I can 
 say in truth, Come, Lord; thy servant is ready. I 
 have not now to suffer the pangs of guilt." Two 
 days after, he said his mind was at peace with God 
 and man, and then added, " The sting of death is sin, 
 and that is taken away." Relieved from severe pain, 
 full of gratitude to his Almighty Helper, he went
 
 ELI TARNALL. 343 
 
 rejoicing through the dark valley and shadow of death, 
 fully assured that he who sustained him in faith and 
 hope here would crown him with glory hereafter. On 
 the 25th day of the Eighth month, 1812, hope was 
 lost in certainty, and faith in fruition. He was in his 
 sixtieth year.
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 O ARAH HARRISON was a daughter of Rowland 
 ^ Richards, and was born about the year 1748, in 
 what is now Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She 
 was naturally cheerful, and animated, and in the days 
 of her youth suffered herself to give way to vanity 
 and frivolity, which afterward caused her much suffer- 
 ing and mental conflict. She says : 
 
 " In my youthful days, I gave way to things that 
 proved a snare to me, and caused me many sorrowful 
 days and nights, yea, months and years, before I wit- 
 nessed reconciliation with my God ; and I now stand 
 as a monument of his mercy. All unrighteousness is 
 sin ; and the wages of sin is death. This I know by 
 sorrowful experience; for it brought death upon the 
 innocent life of God in my heart, and made me a long 
 wilderness travel. I too lightly esteemed the early 
 visitations of God to my soul, until I became some- 
 what like the deaf adder that would not hear the voice 
 of the charmer, though he charmed ever so sweetly." 
 
 344
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 345 
 
 " But in these my young years, when I was flying 
 away as upon the wings of vanity, the Lord was 
 pleased to meet with me in a narrow place, where I 
 saw there was no way for me to escape his righteous 
 judgments, either here or hereafter. I was led deeply 
 and awfully to consider the woful consequence of my 
 sins being brought to judgment after death, where 
 there is no remedy ; and I was made willing to bear 
 his indignation, because I knew I had sinned against 
 him many a time, though in what the world calls little 
 things ; yet I was convinced they were great enough 
 to exclude me from the Divine presence forever, if I 
 did not repent, and endeavor to walk more circum- 
 spectly. I can with thankfulness say, that the awful 
 impressions that were then made on my mind, have 
 never been erased. No ; they were too deep for any 
 blast of temptation to blow away." 
 
 The natural mind is, and ever will be, in enmity to 
 the cross of Christ, and many young persons have ex- 
 perienced baptisms of an awful character before they 
 have been brought to surrender their own will to the 
 Divine will. Some, after having submitted, again 
 rebel, and thus bring on themselves trials and suffer- 
 ings, deeper and heavier than those which they had 
 previously encountered. 
 
 A valued minister, now deceased, in speaking of the 
 trials he passed through, in becoming a plain and con-
 
 346 SARAH HARRISON, 
 
 sistent Quaker, stated the following facts. ' He had, 
 under a conviction of duty, and through an obedience 
 springing out of many fiery baptisms, become plain. 
 But after a time, the cross appearing too great to be 
 borne, he once more changed his attire, and in oppo- 
 sition to the dictates of conscience turned back to the 
 world. It was not long that he could with any com- 
 fort pursue the old road he had once more taken. 
 Reproofs were inwardly administered to him by the 
 Holy Spirit, until he was thoroughly aroused to his 
 awful condition. He saw the path of duty before 
 him, but he saw no forgiveness for the past acts of 
 rebellion, particularly for his wilful turning back from 
 what he knew to be right. He had been a youth of 
 uncommon vivacity, constitutionally cheerful, and 
 seeing the bright side of things now all was changed. 
 He lost his animation, the fear of eternal death and 
 everlasting punishment took hold of him, and for five 
 long years he was traveling in the deeps where no ray 
 of light seemed to reach him. During these years, he 
 said, " I never smiled." Divine Goodness at last ex- 
 tended a saving hand to him he felt his backsliding 
 pardoned, and in due time a true Christian cheerful- 
 ness was given to his heart, and once more vivacity, 
 tempered by the fear of the Lord, sat smiling on his 
 face. 
 
 Sarah Richards, about the twentieth year of her
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 347 
 
 age, was married to Thomas Harrison, and became a 
 resident in the city of Philadelphia. She fulfilled 
 with faithfulness and activity the duties of her new 
 sphere of life, was managing and neat as a house- 
 keeper warm-hearted and kind to friends and 
 neighbors, hospitable to strangers, charitable to the 
 poor, and ever ready to perform services of kindness 
 to all. The Lord, her almighty Caretaker, did not 
 permit her to pass along without trials. Several of 
 her children died in infancy, and she was dipped into 
 various baptisms to qualify her for the ministry of 
 the Gospel, to which service her Lord had appointed 
 her. During the time of the Revolutionary war she 
 first spoke in the meetings of Friends, and was ac- 
 knowledged as a minister in 1781. 
 
 In his Journal, Thomas Scattergood makes this 
 entry: Third month 5th, 1783 "Spent some time 
 with Sarah Harrison with unusual openness, in com- 
 paring our getting along in a religious sense." 
 
 Sarah Harrison had been acknowledged as a minis- 
 ter a short time before Thomas Scattergood was ; and 
 a precious feeling of Gospel fellowship subsisted be- 
 tween them, until death. 
 
 The following anecdote respecting Joseph Lukens 
 and Sarah Harrison, is interesting, as setting forth the 
 truth of the openings of the Divine gift. Joseph 
 Lukens, who resided at Horsham, came to Philadel-
 
 348 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 phia, on the 16th of the Ninth month, 1784, and 
 attended the High Street Meeting, where he had a 
 lively and acceptable testimony. Toward the close of 
 the meeting, Sarah Harrison, under the constrainings 
 of religious duty, rose up and spoke to this import : 
 " There is one present, who will not have the oppor- 
 tunity of again thus meeting with Friends." After 
 saying that this made it necessary that such an one 
 should improve the present, to prepare for the final 
 change she, in the warm feeling of Gospel fellow- 
 ship, bade the individual she was addressing, "fare- 
 well in the Lord." This short communication was 
 delivered with great solemnity, and Joseph Lukens 
 had an inward assurance, that he was the individual 
 referred to. In the afternoon he attended a sitting of 
 the Meeting for Sufferings, and before night Avent out 
 of the city, part of the way toward his residence. 
 The next morning he again started, but was taken sick 
 before reaching home. In obedience to the warning 
 given, he endeavored to prepare for leaving his earthly 
 business and Friends and as his illness gradually 
 increased on him, he took leave in a solemn and 
 weighty manner of his wife and children. He passed 
 from this scene of conflict and sorrow, 011 the 27th of 
 the same month, aged fifty-five years. 
 
 On the 28th of the First month, 1785, Sarah Harri- 
 son was set at liberty to pay a religious visit to the
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 349 
 
 families of her own Monthly Meeting. This arduous 
 work, to prepare the poor servant for which many 
 previous baptisms seems needful, is often very bene- 
 ficial to the church. If the minister is rightly quali- 
 fied to dip into the states of the visited, he may be 
 enabled in Divine authority not only to deliver words 
 of consolation, counsel, entreaty, and warning, but to 
 bring them home where they are needed, with a " Thou 
 art the man." It is related, that during the last war 
 with England, a woman Friend being on a religious 
 visit in the northern part of New York State, held a 
 meeting to which a small number of persons came, 
 among whom was General Brown, the commander of 
 the American army in that neighborhood. The Friend 
 found her mind exercised on behalf of those assem- 
 bled, and was led to speak to them one by one, looking 
 at the person she was speaking to. The General, who 
 had been brought up a Friend, did not like such close 
 work, and as he watched her turning from one to the 
 other, as they sat around the room, laying open their 
 states, and administering the needful advice and warn- 
 ing, he became very uneasy. He doubtless had suf- 
 ficient reasons, as he deemed them, for desiring not 
 to be singled out, and have his sins brought home to 
 him publicly. He sat until she began to speak to the 
 one next to him, when he suddenly rose and left the 
 
 meeting. 
 30
 
 350 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 Thomas Carrington, of Pennsylvania, a simple- 
 hearted Friend, but honest minister of the Gospel, 
 being in England about the time of the American 
 Revolution, paid religious visits to the keepers of the 
 ale-houses in Bristol. In one of them he found that 
 the head of the house was dissipated, but his wife was 
 a religious woman, who was endeavoring, as far as it 
 lay in her power, to counteract the evil influence of 
 their situation on the minds of her children. One of 
 her sons, then about thirteen years of age, had fallen 
 into bad habits, and was very far from the path of 
 Christian rectitude. This lad had no intention of 
 being preached to, and understanding when Thomas 
 Carrington would, in all probability, be at his father's 
 house, he absented himself. After a time, supposing 
 the Friends to have departed, he ventured home. He 
 entered the parlor, where, to his surprise, he found 
 them still remaining, although on their feet ready to 
 go. His mother was in sadness of heart speaking to 
 the Friends about him, and lamenting over him with 
 tears. Thomas Carriugton feeling his mind filled 
 with Gospel love toward the youth, looked at him with 
 a solid countenance, expressive of deep religious con- 
 cern, and then addressed a few words to him, withai 
 laying his hand on his head. The future career of 
 this youth was at that time, in the openings of the 
 Lord's blessed Spirit, made known to the minister,
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 351 
 
 who turning to the mother, bade her be comforted, 
 saying her son would be a comfort to her old days 
 that he would become a member of the Society of 
 Friends a minister of the Gospel and that in that 
 capacity he would be led to visit the continent of 
 North America. All this, the pious mother lived to 
 see realized. That son was George Withy, and she 
 did not decease until after his visit to America was 
 accomplished, when she was gathered to her heavenly 
 Father's house in peace, being about ninety years of 
 age. 
 
 About the close of 1803, Elizabeth Foulke, a minis- 
 ter of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, under a religious 
 concern to visit certain individuals, who had been dis- 
 owned from the Society of Friends, opened the subject 
 to her meeting, and received permission to perform the 
 service, and the expression of much unity therewith. 
 She knew of no one to accompany her ; but after the 
 meeting, Peter Andrews, from sympathy, offered to 
 oro. He did so to two or three families, when finding; 
 
 O ' O 
 
 he had nothing to do with the service, he told her, 
 that his free-will offering was not accepted, and that 
 he could go no further. In her distress, she looked 
 round her for help, and wrote to James Simpson, 
 stating her condition, and quoting to him the passage, 
 "Come over into Macedonia and help us." James 
 had no inclination to engage in that to which he
 
 352 SARAH HARBISON. 
 
 not called, but in giving his refusal, he said he had, in 
 a dream or vision, seen a woman Friend, who, he was 
 persuaded, was designed to accompany her in this ser- 
 vice. Soon after Martha Routh came to Philadelphia, 
 and felt the concern laid immediately upon her. The 
 Monthly Meeting approved of her joining Elizabeth, 
 and their labor appears to have been remarkably 
 blessed. Several, being reached through their minis- 
 try, were brought back to the fold, and of these some 
 became ministers of the Gospel. 
 
 Isaac Jacobs, a minister belonging to Uwchlan 
 Meeting, having been, through the winter of 1 7845, 
 engaged in visiting meetings in the Southern States, 
 thus wrote from Petersburg, Virginia, to Sarah Har- 
 rison, under date of Third month 12th, 1787 : "Now 
 dear Sarah, I address myself to thee, and may inform 
 thee that there is a field of labor for those who are 
 entered into the public vineyard. We found the 
 spring of the ministry at a low ebb in some places, 
 meetings rather on the decline, and some almost ready 
 to be laid down. I am thankful to find that there is 
 a seed preserved in every place, and though small, yet 
 I found my mind united to that little, so that I could 
 say it was enough to reward for my poor labor in 
 leaving my connections at homes In places where 
 things seemed the least, there appeared marks of the 
 love and gracious regard of the holy Shepherd, in
 
 SARAH HARRISON. . 353 
 
 turning some from the barren wilderness of an empty 
 profession, to seek him and become of his flock. This 
 I trust some are, who have come in by convincement. 
 . . . We seem to be on our way home, and can say for 
 thy encouragement, (apprehending that thou art rather 
 diffident at times,) that in most places there is an open- 
 ness among Friends and other sober-minded people to 
 receive Friends among them with a great deal of good- 
 will. Our esteemed Friends, Edith Sharpless and 
 Sarah Talbot, having been through many places where 
 we have been, have left a pleasant savor; and in divers 
 places not among Friends, their services, I believe, 
 will redound to the credit of Truth." 
 
 The mind of Sarah Harrison had been drawn to 
 the South, but the time for the performance of her 
 visit had not yet come. Isaac Jacobs appears, by this 
 letter, to have entered into feeling on this subject with 
 her 
 
 The following message from her friend, Samuel 
 Emlen, then in Dublin, contained in a letter written 
 22d of Seventh month, 1785, expressing his sympathy 
 with her in her exercises, must also have been as a 
 cordial to her mind, and strengthening to her faith in 
 this time of trial. He says : " I desire my affectionate 
 salutation given to Sarah Harrison and husband. Tell 
 her, though she has received no written testimony of 
 my continued brotherly regard, yet she is, as a Chris- 
 30*
 
 354 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 tian pilgrim in the path of tribulation and varied 
 exercise, largely interested in my sympathy and truest 
 well-wishings. I trust she knows in whom she has 
 believed, even in whom it is said, ' There is none holy 
 as the Lord, neither is there any Rock like our God, 
 May she then, with a perfect submission and a righteous 
 confidence, at all times give up to the heavenly vision, 
 and not furnish occasion for the reprehensive expostu- 
 lation, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou 
 doubt?'" 
 
 In the Fifth month, 1786, Sarah Harrison left her 
 home, accompanied by her friend, Mary England, to 
 attend the Yearly Meeting of Virginia, after her 
 return from which her mind was impressed with a 
 sense that further religious labor in the Southern States 
 was required of her. In the latter part of the same 
 year she was liberated by her Monthly Meeting to 
 attend all the meetings of Friends in Virginia and 
 many of those further south. 
 
 In the course of this visit she attended North 
 Carolina Yearly Meeting, in the Tenth month, 1787, 
 where she remarks, " The subject of holding mankind 
 as slaves came weightily before the meeting, and a 
 committee was appointed to visit such as have slaves, 
 and if they continue to disregard the wholesome advice 
 of the body, Monthly Meetings were directed to dis- 
 unite them."
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 355 
 
 In the early part of the year 1788, she spent several 
 weeks in Charleston, S. C., where she wrote as follows : 
 "Great has been the oppression we have felt here; 
 the Gospel truths we Jiave had to deliver being so 
 repugnant to the disposition of the minds of most of 
 the inhabitants, who, like many others, love ease, and 
 do not want their false rests disturbed. They say 
 much against slave-holding; all we have conversed 
 with agree that it is not right to hold their fellow- 
 creatures in bondage, and wish they were all free, de- 
 claring that they are only a burden to them. But 
 when anything is said to promote their freedom, they 
 soon turn and say they are not fit for freedom, because 
 they are such poor, helpless creatures. But, oh, that 
 God may be pleased to hasten the coming of that day 
 when the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and 
 the ears of them that hear shall hearken to His in- 
 speaking voice ! " 
 
 On the 27th of the Third month, Sarah Harrison 
 again wrote: "Yesterday I was at a small meeting in 
 Charleston, when the states of those present were laid 
 open before them, I trust in a clear light, though not 
 with enticing words of man's wisdom. I often think 
 I am one of the most stammering speech of any that 
 ever were sent forth on such an errand. May he that 
 promised to be with the mouth of Moses, be with me at 
 all times, especially when engaged in his cause^and teach
 
 356 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 me what I shall say, is the desire of my heart ; that so 
 his great name may be exalted, and self may be abased 
 in me. Although the Lord has been pleased at times 
 to lead me through the valley and shadow of death, 
 yet there have been times when I could sing praises to 
 his name, and extol him that rideth upon the heavens." 
 
 Much religious labor was performed by Sarah Har- 
 rison and her companions during this journey with 
 those members of our Society who then held slaves. 
 Going from house to house, clothed with meekness, 
 yet in the power and authority of the Lord's Holy 
 Spirit, their labors were blessed with unexpected 
 success. 
 
 Many individuals, particularly in Virginia, were 
 much contrited under the Divine power attending her 
 ministry, and, from a heartfelt conviction of duty, 
 bore a righteous testimony against slave-holding by 
 manumitting all their slaves. Within the limits of 
 one Monthly Meeting in that State, the Friends had 
 the satisfaction of seeing nearly fifty of their fellow- 
 beings released from bondage in their presence. To- 
 ward the conclusion of their journey, Sarah Harrison 
 remarks : " I can with gratitude say, I believe the arm 
 of God's salvation has been made bare for our preser- 
 vation thus far." 
 
 They reached Philadelphia in the Eighth month, 
 1788, having been nearly a year engaged in this
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 357 
 
 arduous service. The annals of our Society furnish 
 no similar record of such successful labor in the cause 
 of the oppressed. 
 
 While engaged in her labors in the South, Sarah 
 Harrison received an encouraging letter from her 
 adopted daughter, and affectionate sympathizing com- 
 panion, Sarah Dickenson, who, a short time previously, 
 had been united in marriage, to a sweet-spirited Friend, 
 Charles Williams. Sarah Williams had passed through 
 many outward trials, and inward baptisms, in early 
 life, and had appeared in the ministry, when a very 
 child in years. Under date of Fourth month 19th, 
 1788, she wrote: 
 
 " Being informed by thy dear husband of an oppor- 
 tunity for conveying letters to thee, I thought I felt a 
 freedom once more [to address thee], as a testimony of 
 my unshaken love and sympathy for thee ; and more 
 especially as my mind was peculiarly impressed, upon 
 receiving such intelligence, with a sacred and blessed 
 promise uttered by the lip of Truth, that every one 
 who had left father, mother, houses, and children, for 
 his sake, should receive in this life an hundred-fold, 
 and in that to come, life everlasting : the remembrance 
 of which I thought was sufficient to bear up such 
 through every proving dispensation, allotted in this 
 state of pilgrimage. 
 
 " Yea, my dear mother, permit me to say, that I
 
 358 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 believe it has not been for nought that thou hast been 
 called into that desolate part of the vineyard ; for the 
 Master, it seems to me, is about to visit the highways 
 and hedges, and to draw, as it were, the heathen by his 
 powerful love to come in and sup with him." 
 
 While in Baltimore, in a subsequent visit to the 
 families of Friends in that place, in 1789, Sarah 
 Harrison received intelligence of the death of Sarah 
 Williams, which occurred on the 18th of the Seventh 
 month, at the early age of twenty-four years. It was 
 a great shock to Sarah Harrison, yet, she says, " The 
 language occurred, ' Weep not for me, but weep for 
 yourselves, and for your children.' Dear Sarah has 
 been the subject of my thoughts almost every day, for 
 several weeks, while we have been visiting families ; 
 and often in the course of my testimonies, I have had 
 to mention her zeal for the honor of Truth, at so early 
 a period of her life, though she labored under many 
 difficulties and discouragements. Many trying circum- 
 stances of her life were brought to my remembrance, 
 as well as her growth and experience in the work of 
 religion, and at what age her mouth was opened in 
 meetings. She w r as recommended to the meeting of 
 ministers and elders at about the age of eighteen 
 years. And now methinks I hear a voice, saying, 
 ' Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from 
 henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 359 
 
 rest from their labors, and their works do follow 
 them.' " 
 
 Such was the testimony of Sarah Williams's adopted 
 mother and a deep feeling of lamentation for her 
 loss was experienced by the church, while its members 
 could but feel, that their departed sister, though young 
 in years, had been enabled to work out her portion of 
 labor in the Master's vineyard, and had been taken as 
 at noon to receive her penny of everlasting peace. 
 
 While absent on this journey, the tender feelings of 
 Sarah Harrison experienced another shock in the re- 
 moval, by death, of her son Thomas. When infor- 
 mation reached the poor, heart-stricken mother, she 
 found that there was One who could heal her. She 
 felt his Holy Spirit near her, and was enabled in true 
 submission to the Lord's will, to bow down in suppli- 
 cation, that herself and husband might be preserved 
 in a state of perfect resignation, so that they might be 
 enabled to say, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." 
 
 She was enabled to feel that those of her children, 
 seven in number, who had been taken from her by 
 death in their early years, had been gathered in mercy 
 among the saints in light. She knew that for them, 
 there was no cause to sorrow, and in the strength 
 which the Lord alone can give, she felt that she would 
 rather that all should be taken in the innocencv of
 
 360 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 youth, than that one should grow up a servant of 
 sin. 
 
 It is the duty of all of us to strive after resignation 
 to the loss of friends and connections, when it is the 
 will of our heavenly Father to gather them from us. 
 He knows when it is best to remove them, and it be- 
 hoves us earnestly to seek for resignation to his will. 
 The following anecdote in relation to this subject con- 
 veys much instruction. A religious woman had a son 
 apparently near to the gates of death. She believed 
 he would be taken, and felt it would be right to resign 
 him, but her maternal feelings overpowering her re- 
 ligious sense of right, she refused to do so, and con- 
 tinued to petition, that her son's life might be spared. 
 It appeared that her requests, unsanctified by resig- 
 nation, were granted in judgment, not in mercy. The 
 child recovered, and grew up to be the thorn and 
 sorrow of her life the bitterness of anguish, and of 
 shame to her ! Why should we mourn and weep for 
 the loss of friends who have been gathered in mercy, 
 and safely housed, as we humbly trust, in one of the 
 many mansions in glory ? Here, had they been con- 
 tinued, it would have been in probation, with a possi- 
 bility of losing the crown in the end ; there, they are 
 forever at rest forever settled in unending happi- 
 ness. Our late Friend, Thomas Kite, while on his 
 death-bed expressed the sentiment, that to be removed
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 361 
 
 when in the prime of usefulness, from the church, was 
 desirable. He alluded to one who had fallen away in 
 his old age, and stating that this individual had in 
 early manhood a very severe illness, added, " Had he 
 been taken then, all Israel would have mourned for 
 him ! " 
 
 In 1792, Sarah Harrison was liberated by her friends 
 to pay a religious visit to Great Britain and Ireland, 
 a prospect of which had for some time previously 
 weightily impressed her mind. She sailed for Liver- 
 pool on the 15th of the Seventh month, in company 
 with Mary Ridgway and Jane Watson, who, after 
 having accomplished a visit in Gospel love to the 
 churches in America, were returning to their native 
 land. Samuel Emlen, who had also been set at liberty 
 for religious labor in Europe, was a fellow-passenger. 
 
 In the course of this visit Sarah Harrison felt a 
 great care not to minister to itching ears, but would 
 rather travel on in silence and sorrow than speak, 
 unless under the clear requiring of duty. Her feel- 
 ings were much in unison with those of Richard Jor- 
 dan on this subject, as thus expressed by him in a 
 letter written from England to his wife in 1802 : 
 
 " Alas ! what can we do, when He who hath the 
 
 keys of David is pleased to shut? Who can dare 
 
 attempt to open? ... I fully believe that attempts of 
 
 this sort is the reason of so much lifeless ministry 
 
 31
 
 362 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 prevailing in the world, (even among us as well as 
 other people,) which T believe seldom (rightly) either 
 opens the understanding or convinces the judgment. 
 Many seem to get on very easy, as if custom had 
 made it so, and it may be so to them, but, verily, I 
 cannot learn how they come at it ; for when I am ap- 
 prehensive that I have missed it in this respect, the 
 affliction and anguish of my soul are beyond descrip- 
 tion. It is only by the breath of life from God that 
 man becomes a living soul, and it is only by the re- 
 newing of it in our souls that we are enabled to oifer 
 acceptable offerings unto Him. ... I cannot bear the 
 thought of being numbered among those that encom- 
 pass themselves ' with sparks of their own kindling,' 
 whose portion is (if they persist) to lie down in sorrow. 
 . . . When I have been favored with patience to wait, 
 through deep suffering, for the lifting up of that 
 that smote the rock in the wilderness by the hand of 
 Moses blessed be his name he hath been pleased 
 to smite it again and again, and cause living water to 
 gush out, and many more souls with mine to drink as 
 into the everlasting fountain, to our mutual refresh- 
 ment and humble rejoicing in the renewed offers of 
 his salvation." 
 
 It is very important that ministers should be 
 strengthened to refuse the demand of the itching ears 
 for words, when nothing is committed to them to de-
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 363 
 
 liver; and equally so, that they deliver faithfully what 
 is given them, even though it may be disagreeable 
 truths to those to whom it is addressed. The following 
 account contains a very instructive moral. An honest, 
 simple-hearted minister of the Gospel, belonging to 
 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, had been liberated by 
 his Friends to pay a religious visit, and no doubt was 
 often exercised in secret prayer that he might perform 
 it safely, and return with peace of mind as the reward 
 of faithful obedience. Just before the time came for 
 him to leave home to commence his proposed labor, he 
 dreamed as follows : He thought that he had already 
 started on his journey, and was carrying a white bag 
 with him. Around him many people were collected, 
 all anxious for a portion of the contents of the bag, 
 but each one desiring to choose for himself what he 
 would have. His heart was stirred up with earnest 
 zeal, and, in Scripture diction, he emphatically de- 
 clared, "As the Lord liveth, and as your souls live, 
 I will not give you aught, save that which cometh to 
 hand." The remembrance of the dream remained 
 with the Friend on his journey, and he thought it 
 proved of good service to him. 
 
 In many places which she visited abroad, Sarah 
 Harrison was often under much discouragement of 
 mind, but she was at times comforted and animated to 
 pursue her religious engagements by the messages sent
 
 364 SARAH HARRISON. 
 
 her by her valued co- laborers in the ministry and 
 other sympathizing friends. 
 
 Samuel Emlen thus addressed her in the language 
 of encouragement, in a letter daled London, Tenth 
 month 12th, 1793. 
 
 " My belief is that the Lord will bless the faithful 
 in his work, and prosper it in their hands. Be not, 
 therefore, improperly discouraged, although at times 
 thou may be ready to exclaim, 'Who hath "believed 
 our report? or to whom is the arm of the Lord re- 
 vealed ? ' If we are really and sincerely devoted to 
 Divine appointment, there is cause reverently to hope 
 that we shall, at least, ' deliver our own souls ' from 
 that condemnation which the unfaithful and negligent 
 are incurring, to their own abundant loss and grievous 
 disappointment. I feel that I yet love thee as a co- 
 worker unto the kingdom of God ; for thou art, and 
 often hast been, a comfort to my best life. 
 
 " I am thy cordial, well-wishing friend, 
 
 SAMUEL EMLEN." 
 
 In scenes of trial and apparent desertion, the sym- 
 pathy of those rightly qualified to feel is often blessed 
 to the revival of a little grain of holy hopt. The 
 letters received by Sarah Harrison gave her evidence 
 that her Friends at a distance felt with her and for 
 her, and so did her closely united companion, Sarah 
 Benson and others, where her lot was cast. A Friend 
 in the ministry, while travelling on the Continent of
 
 SARAH HARRISON. 365 
 
 .Europe, being under deep depression of spirit, was 
 suddenly comforted with an assurance inwardly given 
 him that Mary Dudley was at that time engaged in 
 supplication on his behalf. So strong was the impres- 
 sion that he noted down the time, and when afterward 
 in England, he learned that at that very time Mary 
 Dudley had felt constrained to kneel down in a public 
 meeting, and vocally to approach the throne of mercy 
 and grace on his behalf. 
 
 Sarah Harrison was several years in Europe, visit- 
 ing Friends' meetings in the limits of London and 
 Dublin Yearly Meetings, and also travelling on the 
 Continent, where the unsettled state of the country 
 subjected her to many trials and difficulties in the 
 prosecution of her labors of love, being, on one occa- 
 sion, held prisoner for several days, by the French 
 authorities, on suspicion of being an English spy. 
 
 After her return home, her health became much 
 broken, so that she seldom got out, except to her own 
 meetings. 
 
 Her last illness was very short. She died the 29th 
 of Twelfth month, 1812, in much calmness and qui- 
 etude, her last words being, " Lord Jesus, receive my 
 
 spirit." She was in the seventy-sixth year of her age. 
 31*
 
 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 TOHN PAEKER was born in Wilmington, in the 
 ^ State of Delaware, in the year 1748. He was by 
 birth a member of the Society of Friends, and we may 
 believe that he experienced some beneficial restraints 
 from his connection therewith. By the loss of his 
 father while he was still young, he could no longer 
 receive paternal admonition, nor be subject to that 
 watchful oversight and conirol which a religiously 
 concerned father might have exercised. In early life 
 he too much allowed his naturally lively imagination 
 and strong will to rule his conduct. It is believed 
 that he was favored to witness preservation from gross 
 and reproachful vices, though he deviated from the 
 simplicity of the Truth, and turned aside from the 
 way of the cross. Yet, when the Lord's Holy Spirit 
 awakens the best and cleanest livers among unregen- 
 erate men to a sense of their lost and undone condi- 
 tion, how do they see that their whole life has been a 
 polluted one ! and how are they brought to repent, w 
 
 366
 
 JOHN PARKER. 367 
 
 dust and ashes, over past transgressions and inward 
 and outward corruption ! 
 
 He once, in his earnest, animated manner, gave a 
 ministering Friend an account of the way in which 
 he became a Quaker. His narrative was to this effect : 
 At the time the English army, early in the Ninth 
 month, 1777, after having landed at the head of Elk, 
 were approaching Philadelphia, they passed near the 
 place where he lived. He was out of his house, and 
 a company of Hessians meeting him, appeared dis- 
 posed to rob him. By some means they learned that 
 he was 'a Quaker, whereupon they desisted from all 
 acts of violence toward him, but carried him to the 
 English officer in command. Here, too, probably, the 
 reputation of the Society of which he was then but au 
 unworthy member, cast a shield over him, and he was 
 told that he should receive no harm. He must, how- 
 ever, remain with them for a time, as they were about 
 to engage with the American army, and if he were 
 released, he might carry to their opponents the knowl- 
 edge of their position and their intentions. -They 
 treated him, however, kindly, and the chief officer of 
 that portion of the army kept him near his person. 
 As they were standing on the Brandywine hills, sur- 
 veying the beautiful country around beautiful al- 
 though arrayed in the graver tints of early autumn 
 the British officer made many remarks on the loveli-
 
 368 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 ness of the scene. At last the firing commenced, and 
 John, who was still near the officer, saw many fall 
 around him. The awfulness of his situation, in the 
 consciousness that he was unprepared for death, made 
 him tremble. The officer perceived the uneasiness of 
 his companion, and, smiling on him, inquired if he 
 was afraid. To this John promptly replied, " Yes." 
 As no object was to be gained by detaining him any 
 longer, he was told he might go, and he soon reached 
 his home in safety. As John in his old 'age related this 
 circumstance, he added, " That day made me a Quaker. 
 I never was one before." 
 
 It is probable that the view of death thus brought 
 powerfully before him, was of essential service, and 
 tended to drive him to seek for consolation where 
 alone it could be found, even in Him, who, by taking 
 away our sins, taketh away the sting of death. He 
 had been made to quake for fear of death ; he was 
 now made a Quaker indeed, in an awful sense of the 
 power and presence of the Lord God of Hosts, visit- 
 ing his soul as a refiner with fire, and as a right- 
 eous Judge with judgments. Witnessing his own will 
 brought into subjection, a new heart was given him, 
 and he no longer took delight in this world's pleas- 
 ures. He submitted to the cross of Christ, and 
 through the effectual working of the Lord's preparing 
 Spirit, and a gift in the ministry of the Gospel com-
 
 JOHN PARKER. 369 
 
 mitted to him, he was soon qualified for usefulness in 
 the church of Christ. The prospect of entering into 
 the ministry, was a very awful thing to him, and 
 many deep baptisms were his portion. In relation to 
 it, he said, " He felt so poor, so little, so rude and 
 uninstructed in the work of religion, that he could 
 hardly esteem it possible that the Almighty could 
 condescend to make use of so mean an instrument for 
 the promotion of his holy cause." Yet as he abode 
 under the visitation and the baptisms allotted him, he 
 was brought into submission to the Lord's will, and 
 in due time was enabled in living authority to speak 
 of that which he had known in himself, and to direct 
 his hearers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the sanctifier and 
 Saviour of his people. 
 
 John Parker was thoroughly convinced that the 
 salvation of man was in and through the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He knew that through the offering 
 of the dear Son of God a lively faith in Him 
 and submission to his soul - cleansing baptisms, he 
 had witnessed the forgiveness of sin and therefore 
 in the love which would have all saved, he pressed 
 upon his hearers the necessity of obedience to that 
 Spirit, and faith in the Lord Jesus, through whom 
 there is forgiveness and remission of sins. He c:mld 
 speak from living experience, for he had himself 
 tasted and handled of the good Word of life, and
 
 370 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 therefore he was prepared to proclaim with emphasis 
 and energy, " These are not cunningly devised fables, 
 but living, substantial truth." 
 
 The first time he opened his mouth in the way of 
 public ministry, he uttered but four words. This act 
 of dedication, notwithstanding the smallness of the 
 offering, he said brought him the reward of peace. 
 He was not for a time abundant in expression, for he 
 knew the necessity of waiting closely on the Lord, and 
 speaking only as he opened the way. Being concerned 
 to close his communications at the Master's bidding, 
 as well as to commence in his authority, and in obedi- 
 ence to his will, his growth was solid. 
 
 John Parker was no man's copy. He possessed a 
 large share of natural ability, and although he had 
 not been favore-1 with much literary education, yet his 
 cheerful temper, and his lively imagination, under 
 subjection to the Truth, made his company and con- 
 versation agreeable to young and to old. Great, at 
 times, were his earnestness and fervency of spirit, 
 when in a loud, clear, and melodious voice, he was 
 enabled to preach the Gospel of life and salvation. 
 There was much solemnity in his manner, and his 
 delivery was impressive, while his illustrations from 
 common things of daily occurrence, connected with 
 the business of life, were often exceedingly felicitous, 
 and happily adapted to give to the mind of the hearer
 
 JOHN PARKER. 371 
 
 clear views of doctrinal truth and practical heart- 
 cleansing religion. 
 
 It appears from an account preserved, that Joshua 
 Evans was at times led to make comparisons in his 
 ministry, some of which, although startling to his 
 hearers while he was enunciating them, were found at 
 the close to be exceedingly pertinent, and to leave 
 valuable and lasting impressions. On one occasion, 
 while on a religious visit in the limits of New York 
 Yearly Meeting, he held a meeting, at which there 
 were few Friends present, but many others, among 
 whom were the most respectable and best - educated 
 people of the neighborhood. After a time of silence, 
 Joshua arose, and commenced speaking to this import : 
 " Suppose a person eminent for wisdom among you, 
 being about to perform a journey, should harness his 
 horse behind his wagon ! Would you not, if he were 
 your friend, remonstrate against the measure, and if he 
 persisted, would you not think him irrational, and that 
 his undertaking would never be accomplished ? " 
 
 As Joshua spoke these sentences, the congregation 
 seemed astonished. Joshua then quoted the text, 
 " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his right- 
 eousness, and all these things shall be added unto 
 you." " This," said he, " was an admonition or com- 
 mandment of the blessed Saviour himself; but people 
 generally, instead of obeying him, seek first the things
 
 372 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 of this world and the glory thereof, and appear to be 
 under an apprehension that the kingdom and right- 
 eousness of God will be added, without their care or 
 concern. When or how it is to be obtained seems a 
 matter of indifference to them, although they think 
 and say, ' It is desirable/ In this careless and uncon- 
 cerned state, many are summoned to appear before the 
 Great Judge who gave forth 'the .command. These 
 careless and unconcerned ones are more unlikely to 
 accomplish the design of their creation, and to be 
 saved with an everlasting salvation, than the man 
 would be to accomplish his journey whose horse was 
 hitched behind his wagon." The assembly, by this 
 time, began to appreciate the fitness of the comparison, 
 and appeared to feel the solemnity and importance of 
 the subject. The baptizing power of Truth was man- 
 ifested that day among them, and many tears of con- 
 trition were shed. The meeting was long remembered 
 in that neighborhood, and was often spoken of by 
 those who had attended it, who manifested a high 
 degree of veneration and respect for the simple-hearted 
 preacher. 
 
 After John Parker was acknowledged as a minister 
 by his Friends, he sometimes paid religious visits 
 within the limits of his own Yearly Meeting. Yet 
 he went not much abroad. His Master, whose pre- 
 rogative it is to call his servants to labor where and
 
 JOHN PARKER. 373 
 
 when he pleases, generally apportioned him his field 
 of service at home. There he was best known, and 
 there he was most beloved. His consistent walking 
 among men had an influence for good on those around 
 him, and opened the way for his ministry, and for the 
 counsel and warning which he was at times led to 
 administer to those who had departed, or were in dan- 
 ger of departing from the Truth. These reproofs, 
 although at times solemn and very close, it is believed, 
 being given in love, were generally received in love. 
 
 He was distinguished by genuine, plain hospitality, 
 and his friends were ever wont to be received at his 
 house with a cordiality that made them feel that they 
 were welcome. He was a hearty sympathizer with 
 those who were in affliction, and when sickness as- 
 sailed, or death entered a family, he was a frequent 
 and welcome visitant. In the hour of trouble and 
 season of calamity, he was looked to by his neighbors 
 for comfort and advice, and tender consolation and 
 judicious counsel were often administered by him. 
 
 John Parker had received but a limited education 
 in his youth, yet, by reading and observation, he had 
 accumulated quite a fund of knowledge, and his judg- 
 ment of men and things was in general good. His 
 conversational powers were excellent, and his animated 
 yet familiar manners made his company very pleasant 
 to young and old. He was often enabled to draw 
 32
 
 374 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 from even trivial events lessons of instruction for his 
 youthful visitors. 
 
 John was in limited circumstances when he began 
 life, but, through industry and economy, he supported 
 a large family with reputation. He continued to labor 
 with his own hands until quite advanced in years, yet 
 he was very careful, after he had submitted to the 
 cross of Christ, not to allow his temporal affairs to 
 prevent his attending his own meeting or to interfere 
 with his other religious concerns. Our Christian 
 duties ought to be attended to, however much we may 
 in a pecuniary point of view suffer thereby, inasmuch 
 as heavenly riches exceed in value mere earthly treas- 
 ure; yet men seldom suffer loss by attending clili- 
 gentl^i^their religious meetings. 
 
 The following anecdotes are in point : On a certain 
 occasion the late Timothy Paxson closed his place of 
 business in order that he might attend his week-day 
 meeting. During the time he was absent for this pur- 
 pose, a customer went to his store with the inten- 
 tion of purchasing five hundred barrels of flour for 
 immediate shipment. Finding that the door was 
 shut, the man turned into an adjoining store and 
 made his purchase. When Timothy returned from 
 meeting, his neighbor who had made the sale, came 
 to see him, and informed him what he had lost 
 by his going to meeting. Timothy quietly told him
 
 JOHN PARKER. 375 
 
 that religious duty must take precedence of worldly 
 business. The next morning a vessel arrived from 
 Europe, bringing information of a sudden advance in 
 the price of breadstuff's, and Timothy sold his flour at 
 a dollar a barrel more than he would have received if 
 he had not been at meeting. 
 
 Another Friend of this city, who deceased some 
 years since, said that it had always been the practice 
 of himself and brothers, who were his partners, regu- 
 larly to attend all their week-day meetings. He added, 
 they thought that even in a pecuniary point of view, 
 they had never lost one cent by it. He said that once, 
 on meeting-day, one of their largest customers called, 
 and, as the members of the firm were all absent, he, in 
 a great hurry to procure his goods, went to another 
 store, where he purchased his six months' supply. 
 After meeting, they were informed of what had hap- 
 pened, and came to the conclusion that in this one 
 instance they had. been pecuniarily losers by attending 
 to their religious duties. But the result proved other- 
 wise. Before the time came round at which payment 
 for the purchase would in common course have been 
 made, the customer was a bankrupt, and they saved 
 the whole amount of the bill which he would have 
 bought of them had they been at the store. These 
 instances, are introduced to show that apparent losses 
 in support of our duty are not always really so, and
 
 376 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 that while it is the business of a Christian to walk In 
 the path his Master points out, without reasoning as 
 to consequences, yet that our blessed Caretaker often 
 causes outward prosperity to attend a faithful per- 
 formance of duty. 
 
 John Parker continued laboring faithfully in his 
 gift, and cheering his neighbors by his animated man- 
 ners and kind interest in their welfare. One day, 
 having been favored to preach the Gospel with an un- 
 usual degree of the demonstration of the Spirit and 
 power, on leaving the door of Kennet meeting-house, 
 he appeared very cheerful, as was frequently the case 
 with him under such circumstances, shaking hands 
 with and addressing some pleasant remark to each per- 
 son as he passed along. One of his sober neighbors, 
 not a Friend, who had been at meeting that morning, 
 stood a little back from the crowd, with much solemn 
 gravity expressed in his countenance, viewing John's 
 cheerful progress among his Friends. When John 
 reached the spot where he stood, the neighbor, taking 
 his offered hand, said, " I do marvel how you can be 
 so lively and pleasant, immediately after having been 
 so favored as you have been this morning, while en- 
 gaged in the solemn and awful work of the ministry." 
 After a short pause, John said, " I find I can raise a 
 variety of crops, and keep different kinds of animals 
 on my small farm by keeping good strong fences be-
 
 JOHN PARKER. 377 
 
 tween the different fields, so as to confine everything 
 to its proper place." u I see," answered his neighbor, 
 " that much depends upon good strong fences to keep 
 everything in its proper place, and that there is, in 
 fact, but a step from one field of labor to another." 
 
 Tn the winter of 1828-29, John Parker had a severe 
 attack of catarrh, and never seemed fully to recover 
 from its effects. During the time he was most afflicted 
 by this disease, he was absent from his meeting but 
 one day, being there when many a younger person 
 would have esteemed himself excused from attend- 
 ing. But he loved to, be at the religious assemblies of 
 his Friends, and in social worship to wait upon the 
 Lord for a renewal of spiritual strength. When he 
 grew somewhat better, he paid a visit to his Friends 
 in Philadelphia, and in New Jersey, and was often 
 engaged in public ministry in the meetings which he 
 attended, as they came in course. He appeared lively 
 in the exercise of his gift, and it was animating to be- 
 hold this aged warrior of the cross, now evidently fail- 
 ing in bodily powers, so green and vigorous in the 
 spiritual life. 
 
 John Parker attended the Yearly Meeting in 1829, 
 and took part in the concerns which claimed its atten- 
 tion. The impression was strong on his mind that it 
 would be the last he should ever be at. On his return 
 home, his bodily infirmities increased, but his mind 
 32 *
 
 378 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 seemed brighter ; and in his visits among his friends, 
 he manifested much of that character so beautifully 
 drawn of him in the memorial issued by his Monthly 
 Meeting. It says, he was " not very thoughtful of 
 what he should eat, or wherewithal he should be 
 clothed ; and feeling happiness and contentment within 
 himself, he seemed to spread a ray thereof where he 
 went." His strength gradually declined, but he con- 
 tinued to get to his religious meetings, and to the 
 dwellings of Friends near by, almost to the very close. 
 He one day said to a Friend, " I think much of late 
 about dying. It is a serious thing to die. ' If the 
 righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly 
 and the sinner appear ? ' ' 
 
 As the days of this aged servant of the Lord drew 
 toward a close, his cheerfulness continued, and his 
 mind seemed clothed with serenity. His thoughts 
 were on religious subjects and his conversation 
 tended to the edification of his listeners. His judg- 
 ment seemed clear and strong, and a sweet, deep feel- 
 ing of humility appeared to clothe his spirit. He re- 
 marked on one occasion, " I can remember the time in 
 my youth, when I first fully gave in my name to serve 
 the Lord. I was broken down and deeply contrited, 
 and, in this lowly state, experienced inexpressible 
 peace and sweetness of feeling. A renewal of this 
 precious feeling I have felt at various subsequent
 
 JOHN PARKER. 379 
 
 periods." He then added with emotion, " And 1 think 
 I have felt a measure of it now in my old age." 
 
 How full of heavenly sweetness and consolation 
 must such a condition of mind be at such a moment ! 
 To be able to look with gratitude to the Lord, who 
 hath redeemed us from evil, and given us to experience 
 the peace of his children ; to feel the warm gushes of 
 thankfulness for the present assurance of his love, and 
 to have a quiet, well-grounded hope of a blessed im- 
 mortality through the redemption which is in Christ 
 Jesus, must indeed be as a foretaste of that heavenly 
 joy which is laid up in store for the righteous, in thai 
 kingdom which shall never have an end. 
 
 In the latter part of the Sixth month, 1829, John 
 Parker attended a meeting for worship for the last 
 time, after which he said, " This world has lost its 
 charms for me. I have no wish to continue a moment 
 longer in it, unless it might be that I could do some 
 good to the Master's cause." 
 
 After this he was mostly confined to the house, and, 
 though gradually decreasing in strength, continued 
 calm and cheerful. He at one time expressed that 
 his only hope was in Christ, and in his mediation and 
 intercession with the Father, for being received in the 
 end. At another time, when under great suffering, he 
 exclaimed, " Oh, that I had the wings of a dove, that 
 T might flee away, and be at rest. Be near me, O
 
 380 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 Lord, in these times of great trial, when the soul is 
 about to be separated from the body. O Lord, my 
 trust is in thee ; let me not be ashamed ! " 
 
 Two days before his death he took an affectionate 
 leave of his family, setting forth his faith in the dear 
 Redeemer, who had given himself a ransom for all. 
 He could say in the present feeling of living faith, " ' I 
 know that my Redeemer liveth ; ' and because he liveth, 
 I shall live also." 
 
 He continued at times engaged in supplication until 
 First-day morning, the 12th of Seventh month, 1829, 
 when he was quietly released from the body, and, 
 we reverently believe, was gathered into one of those 
 mansions which our Saviour testified that he went 
 before to prepare for those who, believing in God, 
 believed also in Him. He was in his eighty-first 
 year.
 
 NICHOLAS WALK 
 
 "KTICHOLAS WALN was the son of Nicholas and 
 Mary Wain, and was born on the 19th of Ninth 
 month, 1742, at Fair Hill, near Philadelphia. He 
 was deprived of a father's care, when he was about 
 eight years of age ; but was tenderly and affectionately 
 brought up by his mother, aided by his guardian, her 
 brother. 
 
 Soon after his father's decease, he was placed at a 
 school, founded by charter, granted by William Penn, 
 under the care of Friends in Philadelphia. Here he 
 passed through the English departments, studied the 
 mathematics, and became a good Latin scholar and 
 what was of far greater importance upon his after life, 
 he was educated in the principles and doctrines of the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 Nicholas Wain used to relate in after life that 
 he never wholly lost the early impressions of pure 
 religion. When tempted to go with his companions 
 into many vices and follies, incident to vain youth, he 
 
 381
 
 382 NICHOLAS WALN, 
 
 would peremptorily refuse ; and when rallied for his 
 parsimony, on the ground that sordidness and love of 
 money was the cause of his refusal, he allowed him- 
 self to be accounted mean in this respect, instead of 
 acknowledging to them, as he should have done, his 
 regard for a governing principle in his own mind, that 
 secretly restrained him from gross evils, and mercifully 
 kept him from " many foolish and hurtful lusts, which 
 drown men in destruction and perdition." 
 
 I -nmediately after leaving school, and while yet a 
 mere lad, he commenced the study of the law; de- 
 voting a part of his time to obtaining a knowledge of 
 the German language. In his close application to 
 study, an important habit of industry was acquired ; 
 he was freed from the train of temptations and evils 
 that wait upon idleness, and, in great measure, from 
 the company and solicitations of idle young men. 
 He was naturally vivacious, witty, and sarcastic, 
 delighting in gayety and merriment, but suffered 
 nothing to interfere with his studies ; and, while yet 
 a minor, was admitted to practice in the courts, where, 
 it is said, " he met with great encouragement." 
 
 With a view of improving his knowledge of the 
 law, he embarked for England, on the 10th of Tenth 
 month, 1763, and proceeding to London, immured 
 himself in the Temple, and entered upon his studies 
 anew. Here his early habit of attention to the object
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 383 
 
 of pursuit, had also a tendency to preserve him from 
 the idle pastimes, diversions, and dissipations of a 
 great city, and the absence of his old associates, in 
 whose company he had at home delighted to spend 
 the part of his time allotted to relaxation, in gayety 
 and frolic, gave him leisure for reflection and retire- 
 ment. Early religious impressions were here revived, 
 he reviewed his past career, and seemed resolved to 
 lead a diiferent life. The following letter to his aunt, 
 the widow of his guardian, shows the state of his 
 mind at this time. 
 
 " LONDON, 20th of First month, 1764. 
 
 " DEAR AUNT, I have entertained an opinion that 
 it is my duty by this opportunity to write to thee, for 
 whom I have a very great regard. I am sensible thou 
 hast undergone a great deal of affliction, and hast been 
 wounded with the most piercing sorrow which has 
 rendered it highly necessary for thee to sum up all 
 thy fortitude and patience to bear up under them. 
 There is something implanted within us by our 
 Heavenly Father, which excites our grief for the 
 death of our friends and relations, and that in propor- 
 tion to the affection and esteem we have for them. 
 This is a natural principle, and by no means incon- 
 sistent with Christianity. But, as the dispensations 
 of Providence are always founded upon the highest 
 wisdom, it is undoubtedly our duty to 'submit to them 
 with patience and resignation, and to say, ' Thy will 
 be done, O Father,' without murmuring. I am conn-
 
 384 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 dent, dear aunt, it is a hard task for flesh and blood ; 
 but, nevertheless, if everything is duly considered, as, 
 first, that we are born to know trouble, that we are 
 placed here in a state of probation, and must neces- 
 sarily expect to meet with trials we shall then 
 plainly perceive that we suffer nothing more than 
 that we fall heirs to as men, and of course ought to 
 be satisfied with our lot. But, this is not all. Let us 
 consider the gracious promise of our Lord, the blessed 
 Redeemer of mankind, who says, ' Come unto me, all 
 ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give 
 you rest;' and again, ' Blessed are they that mourn, for 
 they shall be comforted.' These are gracious promises, 
 for which we can never be enough thankful, and which 
 ought to cheer up the drooping spirits of the afflicted 
 Christian, who, by applying to the great Physician of 
 souls, will find relief and comfort in the most fiery 
 trials. Let us then not despair, but place an implicit 
 faith in Him, who is Truth itself, and can never have 
 deviated from his blessed promise, but will always be 
 with his children and people. 
 
 " I thank God, the Father of all mercies, that he 
 has been pleased to visit my poor soul, and convince 
 me of the errors of my conduct ; and I hope I shall 
 be enabled, by his blessed assistance, to experience a 
 redemption from the things of this wicked world ; for, 
 really, the more I see of its vanities, the more empty 
 they appear to me, and altogether incapable of afford- 
 ing any solid satisfaction. Cheer up, and rejoice, for 
 the time is drawing nigh, when everlasting joy will be 
 assigned to those who have fought the good battle of
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 385 
 
 faith, and have worn the cross with resignation and 
 patience. Amen. 
 
 " I am, etc., 
 
 NICHOLAS WALN." 
 
 From other letters there is evidence that his stay in 
 London was a time of religious impressions, though 
 not a season of much religious improvement. After 
 he had passed through his new course of study, and 
 become a member of the Temple Society, he returned 
 to Philadelphia, after an absence of little more than a 
 year, and resumed the practice of the law. 
 
 The fluency with which he spoke the German lan- 
 guage, his cheerful, pleasing, and amiable manners, 
 together with their confidence in his integrity, soon 
 made him a favorite with the Germans, and opened, 
 in addition to his Philadelphia business, an extensive 
 and profitable practice in the County Courts, particu- 
 larly at Lancaster and Eastonj'and, during a period 
 of nearly seven years, he seems to have devoted every 
 faculty of his mind to his profession, and apparently 
 with a view to make money. 
 
 He married Sarah, the only child of Joseph Richard- 
 son, of Philadelphia, on the 22d of Fifth month, 1771, 
 who, as he many times bore testimony, was, through 
 life, a true helpmeet to him. 
 
 In the course of a year after his marriage, he was 
 mercifully favored with a renewed visitation. That 
 33
 
 386 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 good hand which had been with him from childhood, 
 now seemed to lay hold on judgment, and bring all 
 his sins into remembrance. He, by whom u God shall 
 judge the secrets of men," even Jesus Christ, who, 
 according to the apostle, is in all men, sat upon the 
 judgment - seat, in his soul. The book was opened, 
 and he was judged out of those things that were 
 written in the book. His whole life, even every day 
 of his life, as he long afterward used to describe this 
 "judgment day," seemed to be laid open. Every 
 thing that was covered, or past, was revealed; and 
 through the power of conviction, he experienced judg- 
 ment to pass upon the transgressing nature. He had 
 many times consulted with flesh and blood, and rea- 
 soned himself from under strong convictions ; but now, 
 through the power of constraining grace, he gave 
 up to the heavenly visitation. He was overwhelmed 
 with sorrow and contrition. He was utterly dis- 
 qualified from attending to business, or for seeing and 
 conversing with business men. In this unsettled 
 condition he remained, until he felt an impression 
 of duty to go to the Youth's meeting, held for 
 Divine worship, on the Third day of the week, at 
 the Market Street house, on the 4th of Second month, 
 1772. 
 
 In this meeting he felt constrained to appear in 
 public prayer to the Almighty. It was evidently an
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 387 
 
 Unexpected thing to the whole assembly; but his 
 supplication, which seemed to be altogether on his own 
 account, and was delivered with great deliberation, 
 had a powerful effect upon all present; and, upon 
 the minds of his acquaintances, as they heard of it, 
 and indeed upon the citizens generally, (for he was 
 known to almost every one,) it was scarcely less 
 humbling and remarkable. 
 
 Leaving his seat in the middle of the house, and 
 advancing to the preachers' gallery, he kneeled in the 
 attitude of prayer. The congregation arose, but for 
 some minutes the internal agitation of the young man 
 seemed to preclude utterance. At last his lips opened, 
 and with a tremulous, but powerfully melodious voice, 
 these aspirations burst forth : 
 
 " O Lord God ! arise, and let thine enemies be 
 scattered ! Baptize me dip me yet deeper in 
 Jordan. Wash me in the laver of regeneration. 
 
 " Thou hast done much for me, and hast a right to 
 expect much ; therefore, in the presence of this con- 
 gregation, I resign myself, and all that I have, to thee, 
 O Lord ! it is thine ! And I pray thee, O Lord, to 
 give me grace, to enable me to continue firm in this 
 resolution ! 
 
 " Wherever thou leadest me, O Lord, I will follow 
 thee; if through persecution, or even to martyrdom. 
 If my life is required, I will freely sacrifice it. Now
 
 388 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the mountains 
 of difficulty are removed. Hallelujah ! 
 
 " Teach me to despise the shame, and the opinions 
 of the people of the world. Thou knowest, O Lord, 
 my deep baptisms. I acknowledge my manifold sins 
 and transgressions. I know my unworthiness of the 
 many favors I have received ; and I thank thee, O 
 Father, that thou hast hid) thy mysteries from the wise 
 and prudent, and revealed them to babes and suck- 
 lings. Amen." 
 
 Slowly, sentence by sentence came forth, and while 
 breathing the spirit of humble supplication, or burst- 
 ing forth in a hallelujah of praise, they baptized the 
 hearers into tears. 
 
 When meeting was over, he quietly went to his 
 habitation, where he kept much retired for a time. 
 He left the bar, gave up his briefs, put on the attire 
 of the consistent Friend, and in fervency of spirit 
 sought to fill up his measure of religious duty. 
 
 For several years he led a very retired life, mostly 
 at home, and diligently attended meetings, as they 
 came in course ; and, during this period, his ap- 
 pearances as a minister were seldom, and his sermons 
 very short and weighty. 
 
 As a companion to James Thornton, in the Fifth 
 and Sixth months, 1774, he visited some meetings in 
 Philadelphia, Chester, Lancaster, and York Counties.
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 389 
 
 After which, meeting with John Churchman, at a 
 Quarterly Meeting, held at Cecil, in Maryland, he 
 accompanied him to some meetings in Delaware, in 
 the Eleventh and Twelfth months following. But 
 for several years, he was mostly at home, or near 
 home, and grew in his gift, and in religious useful- 
 ness. He attended the Yearly Meeting, held at New- 
 port, for New England and also New York and 
 Baltimore Yearly Meetings ; and the two latter many 
 times in the course of his useful life. But, it was in 
 and near Philadelphia in the Youth's meetings, 
 held quarterly and in those large general meetings, 
 which, in those days, were held once a year, at suit- 
 able places through the country, that he was most 
 frequently engaged in the exercise of his gift, which, 
 at times, was attended in no ordinary degree with the 
 influences of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 On Sixth-day, the llth of Eighth month, 1797, he 
 attended a Youth's meeting, held at Abington. After 
 the meeting had been sitting awhile in silence, a tall, 
 slender man, in the preachers' gallery, whose head 
 had been, for some time, bent down between his knees, 
 slowly rose. His form bent over, his silk cap, and 
 white dress might have drawn a smile from the heed- 
 less stranger ; but there was an earnestness about his 
 countenance which bespoke attention and respect. 
 He spoke briefly, yet forcibly. Apt at illustration, 
 38*
 
 390 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 and felicitous in expression, he caught and enchained 
 the attention of all, strangers, children, babes in the 
 truth, and fathers and mothers in the church. Though 
 not a writer of rhyme, he was yet a poet, and throngs 
 of bright images, carrying forcible conviction, and 
 Christian instruction, flowed from his lips. His name 
 was James Simpson. He sat down, and a deep silence 
 came over the heart - tendered assembly. After a 
 solemn pause, Nicholas Wain rose on his feet. His 
 heart seemed filled with Gospel love, to which his 
 richly melodious voice gave utterance while the 
 baptizing power of the Holy Spirit accompanying the 
 word preached, softened the hearts, and moistened 
 the eyes of those there gathered. He stood and 
 ministered for about an hour ; after which, upon his 
 knees, he lifted up the voice of prayer and praise. A 
 solemnity very unusual covered those assembled, as he 
 ceased to offer on their behalf supplication to the God 
 of mercy and grace. The solemnity continued ; and 
 they remained sitting together, baptized into oneness 
 of feeling. Those at the head of the gallery at last 
 shook hands, in token that the meeting had closed. 
 The solemnity was still unbroken and no one seemed 
 willing to depart. A pause ensued Nicholas then 
 spoke out, " Under the solemn covering we are 
 favored with, perhaps Friends had better separate." 
 A few young men near the door then rose on their
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 391 
 
 feet, but the solemnity was still over them ; and ob- 
 serving none follow their example, they sat down 
 again. Sweet, awful silence continued, until Richard 
 Jordan standing up, broke forth with the song of 
 triumph, which greeted our Saviour's entrance into 
 Jerusalem, " Hosanna ! blessed is he that cometh in 
 the name of the Lord ! " A few sentences followed, 
 setting forth the blessedness of these merciful visita- 
 tions, these seasons of favor, wherein the Saviour 
 makes himself known among his people. He sat 
 down, and again shaking hands with the Friend by 
 his side, the meeting ended. Most present were so 
 solemnly tendered in spirit, that few words of conver- 
 sation passed among them, as Friend separated from 
 Friend. 
 
 Although Nicholas Wain was at times thus favored 
 in his ministry, he was careful in the freedom of 
 Gospel truth, to make way for the humble little ones, 
 who were just beginning, in obedience to the call of 
 the Lord, to deliver the message he gave them. 
 
 Oliver Paxson speaking of him, expressed his 
 opinion in the following words : " As a great man, as 
 a wise man, as a learned man, and as a rich man, I 
 know none possessed of as much childlike humility 
 and simplicity as Nicholas Wain." Others who knew 
 him, thus bear testimony : " Although he was a man of 
 no ordinary talents, and had great influence in society,
 
 392 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 he was remarkable for condescension." " He was an 
 original, being no man's copy, and remarkable for 
 independence of mind. He feared no one, in doing 
 what he believed to be his duty, and sought not the 
 applause of men. Faithful Friends, and even chil- 
 dren, loved him, but hypocrites feared him. He pos- 
 sessed much of this world's goods, but lived a life of 
 self-denial." 
 
 He had an exalted idea of the unity and harmony 
 of religious society, as inseparable from its strength, 
 considering it an evidence of Divine approbation. In 
 reference to this subject, he wrote, l( Though there 
 may be a variety of prospects, and difference of senti- 
 ment, yet as we dwell in love, and keep low in the 
 feeling state, we are sometimes favored with a sense of 
 what is proper to be done, and so unite with the judg- 
 ment of Truth ; and which, when known, we dare not 
 oppose." 
 
 The natuie of that government in religious society, 
 which we profess to be Divine, cannot perhaps be 
 better described. " To dwell in love, and keep low in 
 the feeling state," is the condition in which we arrive 
 at "the judgment of Truth," which is the judgment 
 of Christ and "when this is known, we dare not 
 oppose." When the unity is broken, and love is lost, 
 in any, then there is an end of " keeping low in the 
 feeling state" "the judgment of Truth" cannot be
 
 NICHOLAS WALN. 393 
 
 known, though it may be professed ; and without it 
 our own judgment soon carries us beyond the bounds 
 of charity and brotherly kindness ! " By this shall 
 all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
 one to another ! " 
 
 Nicholas Wain seldom made general visits of a re- 
 ligious character, apprehending it was not right for 
 him to remain from home, and away from his home 
 friends, long at a time. He used to say it was " better 
 to go again, twice or thrice, than overstay one's time ; 
 for then we are liable to become bewildered, and not 
 know when to return." 
 
 In the years 1783 to 1785, he visited most of the 
 meetings in England, to his own, and greatly to the 
 satisfaction of Friends. Ten years afterward, ac- 
 companied by David Bacon, of Philadelphia, an elder, 
 he visited Friends in Ireland, and thence, passing 
 through some parts of England, again returned home 
 in the Tenth month, 1796, after an absence of one 
 year and four months. 
 
 His natural peculiarities were of such a character as 
 ever to distinguish him from others ; yet he labored 
 harmoniously in the ministry of the Gospel, with men 
 of weaker intellects, and widely different tempera- 
 ments from his own. Strong good sense distinguished 
 his conversation ; yet his keen sense of the ludicrous, 
 and nervous constitution of mind, at times led him to
 
 394 NICHOLAS WALN. 
 
 actions inconsistent with his usual quiet, staid dignity 
 of manners actions which he afterward deeply re- 
 gretted. Meek was he with the meek, but to the bom- 
 bastic or hypocritical he was severe and sarcastic in no 
 ordinary degree. Humor, at times, sparkled in his 
 light eyes, and the reflection of ludicrous thought often 
 flashed in changeable hues over his face. He was 
 throughout life noted for quickness of repartee, and 
 aptness of reply : in his facetious manner, he once 
 rebuked one of his young friends, whom he found 
 wearing an outside fashionable coat, hung round with 
 several capes. Nicholas, taking hold of one of the 
 capes, inquired, " What is this ? " " Cape Hatteras," 
 was the reply of the young man, who wished to turn 
 aside Nicholas's reproof vith assumed pleasantry. 
 " And this ? " continued Nicholas. " That is Cape 
 Henlopen." "This, then, I suppose, is the Light- 
 house" said his interrogator, placing his hand on the 
 young man's head '. 
 
 An anecdote of Nicholas Wain published shortly 
 after his death, in some of the public papers, contains 
 a narrative of a generous act, coupled with a little of 
 his pungent wit. The account states that he noticed 
 his wood-pile in the back of his yard rapidly and 
 mysteriously diminishing, and on watching, found that 
 a person living on a small street in the rear of his 
 house was making free use of it. Believing that the
 
 NICHOLAS WALK 395 
 
 man was really needy, the next morning Nicholas 
 went to the wharf, bought a load of wood, and directed 
 
 that it should be delivered at the door of his pilfering 
 
 
 neighbor. The man came speedily round, demanding 
 
 the reason of the gift. " I did not want thee to break 
 thy neck off my wood-pile," was the reply. 
 
 As age advanced upon him, he became increasingly 
 feeble, yet continued diligent in his attendance of meet- 
 ings, even at times when his friends thought his bodily 
 infirmities might excuse him from it. To one of them 
 who kindly spoke to him on the subject, telling him 
 he was not well enough to go to meeting, he replied, 
 that he " would as lief die there, as anywhere else." 
 As the end approached, a season of deep conflict was 
 permitted to assail his mind, and prove his faith in the 
 sufficiency of divine and saving faith ; but a short 
 time before his death, he said, with much emphasis, 
 " To die is gain." 
 
 He deceased the 29th of the Ninth month, 1813, 
 aged seventy-one years.
 
 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 "jl/TOSES BROWN was born in Providence, Rhode 
 - Island, on the 23d of Seventh month, 1738. 
 He was the son of James and Hope Brown, who in- 
 structed him in the tenets of the Baptist Society, of 
 which they were members. He received a plain, 
 moderate education, leaving school at thirteen years 
 of age. As his father was deceased, he then went to 
 reside with an uncle. 
 
 A': Moses grew up to manhood, he manifested a 
 strong mind, and his influence was felt in every body 
 of men with whom he associated. From 1764 to 1771, 
 he was a representative in the General Assembly 
 of the Colony of Rhode Island ; and such was the 
 character he bore among his fellow - citizens, that, 
 notwithstanding partizanship and political diiferences 
 prevalent, he was elected without opposition. At this 
 time he was an active, earnest man in all that he 
 undertook but, though bearing a good character 
 
 among men, and honest and honorable in all his inter- 
 
 89tt
 
 MOSES BROWN. 397 
 
 course with his fellows, he was not a religious man ; 
 his duty to his heavenly Father was not the upper- 
 most thought in his mind. The circumstances under 
 which he first bowed in awful fear, and with deep 
 reverence and prostration of soul, entered into cove- 
 nant with his Maker, he related in after life in conver- 
 sation with his friends. It was while travelling by 
 water between Newport and Providence, when a storm 
 came down on the boat in which he was. So violent 
 was the tempest, that all hope of the vessel living 
 through it was taken away, and the poor trembling 
 sinner was brought to feel the apparent certainty of 
 immediate death. He knew he was not prepared by 
 living faith in the Lord Jesus, and the heart-reno- 
 vating influence of the baptisms of the Holy Ghost 
 and fire, to enter into rest with the redeemed children 
 of God. Nought else remained but that his portion 
 must be with the accursed, who have their perpetual 
 habitation in the lake of fire, where the worm dieth 
 not, and the fire is not q.uenched. In this fearful 
 condition of mind, he was led to cry mightily for 
 help, and to enter into covenant with the Lord God of 
 mercy and strength, that if he would send deliverance, 
 the life thus spared should be dedicated to his service. 
 The -storm abated he reached his desired haven, and 
 the covenant made in his hour of distress he was 
 
 enabled in good measure to keep. 
 34
 
 398 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 Moses Brown was married in the year 1764. He 
 had the previous year entered into a commercial busi- 
 ness in partnership with his three brothers, in which 
 he continued actively engaged for ten years. At the 
 end of that time having a sufficiency, and being in 
 feeble health, he withdrew from business. 
 
 About the year 1773, Moses Brown was acknowl- 
 edged as a member in the Society of Friends. His 
 was no change made from a sudden, temporary im- 
 pulse. He acted from a conscientious conviction of 
 the truth of the doctrines advocated by Fox, Pening- 
 ton, and Barclay ; and under a persuasion of duty, he 
 applied for membership among the professors of those 
 doctrines. Having been deeply grounded in these 
 principles, he was prepared to advocate and defend 
 them, and was soon esteemed by those he had joined 
 as one of their faithful and prominent men. 
 
 Friends in Philadelphia, in 1775, were brought into 
 sympathy with the poor in Boston, which was then in 
 possession of the English,. and blockaded by their ves- 
 sels, while on land strictly invested by the American 
 army. Knowing that much suffering must result to 
 those of small means, from this state of siege, the 
 sympathizers desired to administer some relief. For 
 a time they could not see how to do it, without com- 
 promising their Christian testimony against war. They 
 were anxious to alleviate suffering ; but they did not
 
 MOSES BROWN. 399 
 
 wish, by anything they did, to appear as though they 
 thought that emptying the tea into Boston harbor was 
 right, or the best way of obtaining redress of colonial 
 difficulties. A correspondence was opened by Friends 
 of the Philadelphia Meeting for Sufferings, with some 
 members of Salem Monthly Meeting, Massachusetts, 
 relating to the condition of Friends in Boston. The 
 Meeting for Sufferings then addressed a letter in the 
 Fifth month of the same year, to the Yearly Meeting 
 of Rhode Island, suggesting the propriety of that body 
 appointing a committee on sufferings. This hint was 
 well received by the Yearly Meeting held in the Sixth 
 month, and such a committee was appointed. It con- 
 sisted of twenty-two members, of whom Moses Brown 
 was one. 
 
 In the Seventh month of that year, a committee of 
 Friends of the Meeting for Sufferings in New Eng- 
 land, which had been appointed to further the concern 
 of Philadelphia Friends, took boat at Lynn, and went 
 round to Boston harbor by water. Moses Brown was 
 a member of this committee. Being taken before the 
 British admiral, they told him the business which led 
 them to endeavor to enter the town. The admiral 
 had heard of divers Friends having joined the Conti- 
 nental army, and that a regiment of them had been 
 raised at Philadelphia, and he seemed disposed to show 
 the committee no favor. They told him that no con-
 
 400 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 sistent Friend had taken up arms, and that those who 
 had done so, had been disowned by the Society. This 
 explanation satisfied him, and permitting them to pro- 
 ceed, they entered Boston, and found the few members 
 residing there were in low circumstances. 
 
 In the Eleventh month following, David Evans 
 and John Parrish, two members of the Meeting for 
 Sufferings in Philadelphia, feeling a concern to attend 
 the newly organized Meeting for Sufferings of New 
 England Yearly Meeting, left Philadelphia to fulfil 
 their prospect. They carried with them, on behalf of 
 Friends in Philadelphia, funds to the amount of two 
 thousand pounds, most of it in gold, for the aid of the 
 destitute in New England. The epistle, of which they 
 were the bearers, which was to govern Friends in New 
 England in the disbursement of the money, has this 
 passage in it. " It is not our intention to limit the dis- 
 tribution to the members of our own, or any other 
 religious Society, nor to the place of their present or 
 former residence. It seems probable many who never 
 lived in Boston may be as proper objects as those who 
 have ; and though we would not have our brethren in 
 religious profession who are in real suffering, excluded 
 from partaking of the contribution, yet we consider 
 they are entitled to your immediate care, and will no 
 doubt partake of the Christian brotherly assistance we 
 have ever as a Society extended to such."
 
 MOSES BROWN. 401 
 
 After receiving this contribution, an attempt was 
 made to carry out the benevolent design of the donors, 
 and in the Twelfth month a committee of five Friends, 
 of whom Moses Brown was a member, was appointed 
 by the Meeting for Sufferings for this purpose. In 
 pursuance of their object, they presented an address 
 to General Washington, commanding the American 
 forces around Boston, desiring permission to enter the 
 town ; and a copy was also sent to General Howe, the 
 officer in command of the British troops ; an extract 
 from which is as follows : 
 
 "The principle of benevolence and humanity ex- 
 citing our brethren in Pennsylvania and New Jersey 
 to contribute and send to our care a considerable sum 
 of money, to be distributed among such sufferers as 
 are by the present unhappy difficulties reduced to 
 necessitous circumstances, without distinction of sects 
 or parties, provided they are not active in carrying on, 
 or promoting military measures, (so that our religious 
 testimony against wars and fightings may be preserved 
 pure;) and we being sensible there are many such 
 within, as well as without the town of Boston and 
 being desirous of finding those that are most needy 
 there, as well as without, desire thy favorable assist- 
 ance in getting into the town." 
 
 Though kindly received by General Washington, 
 
 the requisite permission could not be obtained, and 
 84*
 
 402 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 difficulties being raised by those in possession of the 
 town, a draft for one hundred pounds was sent to two 
 Friends residing in Boston, and the committee turned 
 their attention to relieving the destitute iu other por- 
 tions of New England. 
 
 In a letter written by Moses Brown, there is a brief 
 account of the labors of this committee, from which 
 the following is extracted : 
 
 At Marblehead, 18th of Twelfth month, 1775, 
 "we went from house to house among the poor, see- 
 ing and inquiring into their circumstances. Where 
 need required, and they were within the intention of 
 the donation, we relieved them. . . . -We found great 
 poverty to abound ; numbers of widows and father- 
 less, and wood and provision-; greatly wanting among 
 them. . . . When I have since reflected on divers 
 necessitous states [we met with], I have been so 
 affected, as to conclude, had I not been favored with 
 an unusual fortitude, and guard upon the affections, 
 the service we went through would have been too 
 hard for me to have borne. Through Divine favor 
 we were preserved through the whole in a good degree 
 of satisfaction, having sometimes a word of consola- 
 tion, counsel, and admonition, occasionally arising. 
 We visited this day, and helped between sixty and 
 seventy families, mostly widows and children." 
 
 At Cape Ann, he says, " The inhabitants were very 
 necessitous, having been poor, when the fishery was
 
 MOSES BROWN. 403 
 
 carried on which is now wholly stopped. You can 
 have very little idea of their poverty, yet the children 
 seemed healthy, though crawling into the ashes to 
 keep themselves warm. I may say it hath been a sort 
 of school to us, for we never saw poverty to compare 
 with [that of] about one hundred families in this 
 town, which we visited and relieved. Many ex- 
 pressed some [of them] feelingly a sense of grati- 
 tude. The name Quaker, though little known in these 
 "parts, will be remembered, and perhaps some may no 
 more think it a reproach. I have thought of John 
 Woolman's remark in his illness, of affluence reliev- 
 ing in times of sickness. [' How many are spending 
 their time and money in vanity and superfluities, while 
 thousands and tens of thousands want the necessaries 
 of life, who might be relieved by them, and their dis- 
 tresses at such a time as this, in some degree softened 
 by the administering suitable things.'] This has been, 
 indeed, the case with some." 
 
 Further remittances were made by Friends of Phil- 
 adelphia, making the amount contributed by them 
 X2540. The names of three thousand and thirty 
 families, consisting of six thousand nine hundred 
 and twenty-three persons, who received aid from this 
 sum, were recorded. Of the families more than eight 
 hundred were those of widows. This charitable gift 
 appears to have been of singular service, and carried
 
 404 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 the more weight as an act of public generosity, inas- 
 much as very few members of the Society of Friends 
 received any benefit from it. The report sent to 
 Friends of Philadelphia states the profession of reli- 
 gion, as well as the names of those relieved. The 
 whole sea-coast of New England, from New Hamp- 
 shire to Newport, was visited by some of the members 
 of the committee, of whom Moses Brown appears to 
 have been the most prompt and efficient. Nantuckct 
 and the Isle of Shoals also received help. 
 
 About the time that Moses became a member of the 
 Society of Friends, his first wife, Anna Brown, died, 
 making a remarkably peaceful close. On returning 
 from her grave, and while meditating upon the Lord's 
 mercies and favors to him, the query arose in his 
 mind : " What shall I render unto Thee for thy lov- 
 ing-kindness and abundant mercy?" At this time 
 his slaves passed in review before his mind, and he 
 afterward said to those to whom he was relating it, 
 " I saw them with my spiritual eye as plainly as I see 
 you now, and it was given me as clearly to understand, 
 that the sacrifice that was called for at my hands was 
 to give them their liberty." 
 
 He liberated all his slaves, and from this time be- 
 came a consistent and fervent advocate for the rights 
 of suffering humanity, earnestly desiring to see slavery 
 abolished, and the prejudice of caste done away. He
 
 MOSES BROWN. 405 
 
 acknowledged the black man as his brother, entitled 
 to all the privileges of humanity, and an equal partici- 
 pator in its responsibilities. 
 
 Having cleared his own hands of the iniquity of 
 holding his fellow-men in bondage, he was prepared, 
 as the Lord led him, to labor availingly to induce 
 those who still held slaves to give them their freedom. 
 
 He was an active member of committees of the 
 Yearly Meeting and Meetings for Sufferings of New 
 England, appointed at different times to petition those 
 in authority in the States of Rhode Island and Massa- 
 chusetts, to pass laws for the abolition of slavery in 
 their respective territories. 
 
 In the Second month, 1784, Moses Brown had the 
 satisfaction of seeing a law passed by both Houses of 
 the Legislature in his own State, prohibiting the slave 
 trade, and providing for the gradual abolition of 
 slavery within its limits. 
 
 In the year 1786, Elisha Kirk, being on a religious 
 visit in New England, made the following memoran- 
 dum under date of Sixth month 27th : " We lodged 
 at Moses Brown's, a Friend who was convinced, and 
 joined our Society about ten or twelve years ago. He 
 had formerly been a Baptist, and very active in the 
 affairs of Government, but has given up to the cross, 
 which crucifies to the world. He is a man of great 
 parts and a large estate ; he is also a very useful man
 
 406 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 in Society, though he makes but very little appearance. 
 I think he is the most like Anthony Benezet of any I 
 now remember. His wife is also one of the same 
 stamp." Respecting his labors on the 7th of Seventh 
 month, Elisha wrote : " Next day, in company with 
 Moses Brown, made several family visits in Provi- 
 dence, leaving matters as they in simplicity arose. In 
 one family I was led to speak on the danger of those 
 who had known good beginnings, sitting down by the 
 way, and taking up a rest short of the true rest, in- 
 stancing the children of Israel formerly, the primitive 
 church, and many gloriously begun reformations of 
 such who, beginning in the Spirit, degenerated into 
 externals, and sat down short of the true rest which 
 was prepared by the Lord for those who were still 
 pressing forward toward the top of the mountain of 
 his holiness. While I was speaking, I observed a 
 young woman present was much affected, which she 
 endeavored to hide till I was done, by turning herself 
 away, after which she left the room, and stayed out 
 till she had a little recovered. On her return, Moses 
 Brown tenderly spoke a few words to her in much 
 brokenness, withal informing her that it was not our 
 practice to give information beforehand of the state of 
 any to Friends who were travelling. With this she 
 was exceedingly overcome, so that she could not for- 
 bear crying out aloud. I was afterward informed she
 
 AfOSES BROWN. 407 
 
 had been religiously inclined from her childhood, and 
 when about twelve years old had joined the Baptists, 
 and been baptized; but not finding full satisfaction, 
 had latterly left them, and had not joined any religious 
 society." 
 
 This ministry, by which a rightly authorized servant 
 of the Lord Jesus is brought into sympathy with, and 
 enabled to speak effectually to the condition of stran- 
 gers, is not understood by the world, being indeed a 
 mystery to the unregenerate mind. The apostle de- 
 clared, that the Gospel which he preached " was not 
 after man ; " for said he, " I neither received it of 
 man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of 
 Jesus Christ." This is the ground of true Gospel 
 ministry, and the openings and intimations of the 
 Lord's Holy Spirit not only enable his servants to 
 minister to individual states, but also at times, in a 
 remarkable manner, to reveal his secret things. 
 
 In the year 1 752, Catharine Pay ton was ill in Scot- 
 land, and a report spread in England that she had 
 there deceased. Samuel Fothergill was at the time in 
 London to attend the Yearly Meeting. He had heard 
 the rumor, and one day a woman Friend came to 
 bring him information which seemed to confirm the 
 statement. On hearing it, Samuel was quiet for a 
 time, when he felt an internal assurance which ena- 
 bled him in humble confidence to bid the Friend tell
 
 408 MOSES BE OWN. 
 
 her informer from him, that Catharine Paytori was 
 not dead. This assertion was speedily confirmed. 
 
 There is an anecdote recorded concerning that valu- 
 able minister, Joseph Gill, to this effect : He was tra- 
 velling on a religious visit, when he felt a stay on his 
 mind to proceeding, and a belief that it would be 
 right for him to return directly home. He did so, 
 and found his wife dying. How grateful must he 
 have felt to his Almighty Caretaker, who had thus, 
 through the directing influences of his Holy Spirit, 
 brought him once more to see and to be with his 
 beloved companion, before she was forever removed 
 from this state of existence ! 
 
 Gervase Johnson, a ministering Friend of Ireland, 
 toward the close of the last century was liberated to 
 pay a religious visit to America. Before leaving his 
 native country, he attended a Quarterly Meeting, in 
 which a Friend, in a religious communication, re- 
 ferred to a dear brother, who was going to a distant 
 country, with his life in his hand. He expressed his 
 faith that the Lord would be with him and lay out 
 his work, day after day; that he would enable him 
 to perform acceptably what was designed for him to 
 do ; and to return him to his family and friends with 
 the reward of peace; giving him to experience Him 
 who had been his morning light, to be his evening 
 song. But he stated that in his absence, the sword
 
 MOSES BROWN. 409 
 
 would be near his house the dead bodies lying in 
 the streets but neither hurt nor harm should befall 
 his family ; for the Lord would encamp about them 
 and preserve them, as in- the hollow of his hand, from 
 the rage and fury of the enemy. 
 
 This opening was in a remarkable manner verified. 
 Gervase Johnson's residence was in Antrim, and dur- 
 ing the battle at that place, while he was in America, 
 the insurgents planted their cannon before his door. 
 His family endeavored to escape from the place, but 
 owing to the crowd around they could not effect it. 
 They all succeeded in returning to the house, ex- 
 cepting the son, who for a time took refuge in the 
 stable. His sisters soon found where he was, and one 
 of them venturing thither, brought him in safety to 
 the house. The rebels being vanquished, the family 
 were in great danger of being injured by the victori- 
 ous party. Orders were issued that the part of the 
 town in which they resided should be destroyed ; but 
 one of the daughters applying to the commanding 
 officer to know if their house was to be burnt, he 
 commanded that the houses around it should be 
 sacked, and it saved. Many attempts were made to 
 plunder them, but not a shilling's worth was taken 
 from them, and none of them sustained the slightest 
 injury. 
 
 In early life Moses Brown had been a member of a 
 85
 
 410 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 Free Masons' Lodge but left it soon after he was 
 brought under serious conviction, and felt bound to 
 walk consistently with the Gospel of Christ Jesus. 
 He was admitted a member on the 4th of the Tenth 
 month, 1758, was made secretary to the lodge in the 
 Twelfth month following, and continued to fill that 
 appointment until the year 1768, when he withdrew 
 from all attendance at their meetings. In his ninety- 
 third year he wrote, "If any have the curiosity to 
 inquire why I left the lodge I may state, that about 
 that time, I became more engaged after improvement 
 in the Christian religion, and its Divine precepts, than 
 for the social company, precepts, or work of the lodge, 
 as it used to be called ; believing that the benevo- 
 lence, the charity, the enjoyments and usefulness which 
 Christianity affords to its votaries, are much more 
 precious, valuable, and worthy to be sought after and 
 enjoyed, than all that attends the Masonic system." 
 " About five years after I left the attendance of the 
 lodge, I became a member of the Society of Friends, 
 whose discipline was and is against the members of 
 our religious Society joining in the meetings or public 
 entertainments of those called Free Masons." " It 
 has long been known that Friends have been opposed 
 to all oaths, secret combinations, and public parades 
 well knowing that the vanity and exaltation of the 
 human heart are to be subdued or checked."
 
 MOSES BROWN. 411 
 
 We have not sufficient information to enable us 
 closely to follow Moses Brown in his private life, or 
 to trace him in his manifold labors for the good of 
 that religious Society of which he was a member. It 
 may be safely said, that he was actively engaged in 
 promoting the welfare of the human family, and was 
 earnestly concerned that true Christian faith and the 
 fruits of the Spirit should increase and abound. 
 
 He was remarkable for his uprightness and consist- 
 ency. He was intrusted with a large share of this 
 world's goods, which he was concerned to hold in due 
 subordination to religious obligations; his philan- 
 thropy was proverbial, though not ostentatious, and 
 he observed in an uncommon degree this injunction of 
 our Lord : " When thou doest alms, let not thy left 
 hand know what thy right hand doeth." His house 
 was always open for the entertainment of Friends; 
 and his hospitality in this respect was experienced by 
 many. Being a man of good natural parts, and of 
 large and varied information, he was interesting and 
 agreeable in conversation beyond most, on which ac- 
 count his company and advice were much sought by 
 men of all classes, not only within his own community, 
 but beyond its limits ; and his simplicity of manner, 
 unassuming deportment, unbending integrity, and con- 
 sistent adherence* to his religious principles, won for 
 him the respect and veneration of all who sought his
 
 412 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 acquaintance. For many years he occupied the sta- 
 tion of elder in the Society of Friends; aad during 
 the latter part of his life he occasionally spoke in our 
 religious meetings to the comfort and satisfaction of 
 the right-minded. 
 
 A concern for the maintenance of the original doc- 
 trines of the Society of Friends, manifests itself in 
 Moses Brown's last will. Having left some property 
 for certain designated purposes to the Yearly Meeting 
 of New England, he adds, " It is my will that the 
 same, and all estates herein given to them, do vest in, 
 and remain to the said Yearly Meeting, and to their 
 successors holding the same Christian faith and doc- 
 trines as exemplified in the writings of George Fox, 
 George Whitehead, William Penn, Robert Barclay, 
 and others of our early Friends, professors of the 
 Christian religion of our blessed Lord and Saviour 
 both as to his outward manifestations in the body, and 
 inward Divine Light, Spirit, Grace, and Truth, for the 
 conversion, regeneration, preservation, and sanctifica- 
 tion of the mind and soul of man, and is truly taught 
 in the Scriptures when opened by the same Divine 
 Spirit which superintended the writers thereof." 
 
 A Friend has furnished the following sketch of 
 Moses Brown, as he appeared in his extreme old age. 
 "A few months previous to his decease, I enjoyed the 
 privilege of spending an afternoon in conversation
 
 MOSES BE OWN, 413 
 
 with him. He was then in his ninety-eighth year, 
 yet apparently in the enjoyment of good health. 
 Although his body was slightly bent, his step was 
 firm, and I observed that he could read without the 
 use of glasses. He was very abstemious, and his food 
 was of the simplest character. So vigorous "vas his 
 frame, that he regularly attended to his outward affairs, 
 and was diligent in the attendance of religious meet- 
 ings. In one for discipline, I heard him deliver an 
 impressive exhortation to young persons, in which the 
 necessity of inward and vital religion, was clearly set 
 forth. Considering his age, the powers of his mind 
 were truly astonishing particularly his memory. 
 Few persons, in the meridian of life, can recall to 
 mind past events, with the accuracy which he could, 
 after having lived almost a century. Whether he re- 
 ferred to occurrences of his early years, or to those of 
 recent times, it was with equal clearness and precision. 
 He appeared to be able to mention the day and year, 
 in which any event took place, of which he was speak- 
 ing ; and to describe the smallest particulars respecting 
 it. He must have been distinguished for order and 
 method, for having occasion to refer to various letters 
 received, at widely separated periods of time, he could 
 tell, without a moment's hesitation, where each one 
 was to be found. 
 
 " In conversation, he was very animated and instruc- 
 
 35*
 
 414 MOSES BROWN. 
 
 tiveJ His memory being stored with anecdotes, he 
 was enabled to illustrate the various subjects of dis- 
 cussion, and to interest those with whom he eonve/sed. 
 With the history of the Society of Friends, he was 
 very familiar, and was deeply interested in its welfare. 
 He was a firm believer in the soundness of the doc- 
 trines and testimonies, into the profession of which 
 Friends were originally gathered and in their adap- 
 tation to all times, and all conditions of society. To 
 those, who, he feared, were in danger of making ship- 
 wreck of faith, and of a good conscience, he pointed 
 out the rocks upon which many who had sought an 
 easier way had been lost, and faithfully warned them 
 of the consequences of a departure from the true 
 ground of old-fashioned Quakerism." 
 
 This aged patriarch having filled up a long life of 
 usefulness having dedicated the strength of youth, 
 of manhood, and of age, to the service of his Divine 
 Lord and Master was sustained in a quiet, comfort- 
 able faith, as he approached the borders of the grave. 
 His comfort sprang not from looking over his past life, 
 and enumerating supposed good deeds ! No ! he felt, 
 in himself, poor, and weak, and destitute of all claims 
 on the kingdom of grace and glory ; but in the Lord 
 Jesus he had hope, he had peace, he had confidence of 
 attaining the rest of the righteous. On the 23d of the 
 Eighth month, 1836, he was taken unwell, and grad-
 
 MOSES BROWN. 415 
 
 ually, yet constantly, declined in strength. He felt 
 that the issue was uncertain, and arranging all his 
 temporal affairs, awaited in calmness the result. His 
 mind continued vigorous, and no cloud of doubt ap- 
 peared to overshadow his spirit, as he entered the 
 valley of the shadow of death. On the 6th of the 
 Ninth month, having nearly completed his ninety- 
 eighth year, he was released from all the trials of 
 time.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 AMERICAN Revolution, Predictions of William Hunt and oth- 
 ers in reference to the, 42. 
 Brief allusion to troubles during the, 188. 
 Labors of Jacob Lindley against war during the, 307. 
 Observations on the feelings of Friends during the, 329. 
 Belief afforded by Friends to the destitute in New Eng- 
 land during the, 399. 
 
 Andrews Edward, Illustration by, of the importance of attend- 
 ing to impressions of duty, 134. 
 Brief account of, 134. 
 Andrews Peter, Notice of, 351. 
 
 Atkinson Samuel, Short discourses by, in a religious meet- 
 ing, 121. 
 
 Baker Richard, Testimony of, to the importance of attending 
 to small impressions of duty, 120. 
 
 Barbadoes, Notice of a religious visit by Samuel Emlen and 
 Daniel Offley to, 142. 
 
 Barclay Christiana, Brief notice of, 35. 
 
 Barclay Robert, Incident attending the convincement of, 120. 
 
 Barnard Hannah, Notice of, 165. 
 
 Bayley Solomon, Anecdote of spiritual sympathy of, with Wil- 
 liam Williams, 117. 
 
 Benezet Anthony, Sketch of the life of, 296. 
 
 417
 
 418 INDEX. 
 
 Bettle Samuel, Divine intimation to, of the death of a daughter, 
 223. 
 
 Bible, Objection made to the, by an infidel, 317. 
 
 Blakey William, Meek endurance of robbery by, and its ef- 
 fects, 333. 
 
 Bownas Samuel, Counsel given by, after a religious meeting, 
 to the younger and older members, 96. 
 
 Brown Moses, Sketch of the life of, 396. 
 
 Brown Thomas, First appearance of, in the ministry, 173. 
 
 Burrough Edward, Dying expressions of, 36. 
 
 Business, Religious duties not to be interfered with by worldly, 
 374. 
 
 Carping Spirit withstood by John Churchman, 75. 
 
 Carrington Thomas, Prophetic declarations of, respecting 
 George Withy, 350. 
 
 Cash Thomas, Remark of, upon humility, 119. 
 
 Chalkley Thomas, Providential relief of, from starvation at 
 sea, 16. 
 
 Christ, Observations on and illustrations of the spiritual ap- 
 pearance of, in the heart, 176, 178, 179, 198, 208. 
 
 Church, Observation on efforts to benefit the, 323. 
 On government in the, 392. 
 
 Churchman George, Letter of, to Peter Yarnall, 284. 
 
 Churchman John, Sketch of the life of, 67. 
 
 Clark Samuel W., Brief notice of, 88. 
 
 Coale Elizabeth, Remarks of, to Jacob Lindley, upon religious 
 scruples, 309. 
 
 Collins Comfort, Brief notice of, 27. 
 
 Exercise of mind of, on account of David Ferris, 29. 
 
 Covetousness, Testimony of Anthony Benezet against, 300. 
 
 Creaturely Activity in Monthly Meetings, Observation of Wil- 
 liam Hunt on, 43. 
 
 Davies Richard, A spurious ministry detected and judged by, 
 
 269. 
 Dawes J. and A., Letter of Jacob Lindley to, 319.
 
 INDEX. 419 
 
 Dicks Zachariah, Letter of William Hunt to, 38. 
 
 Dillwyn George, Sketch of the life of, 182. 
 
 Dillwyn George, Prophetic intimations to, 106, 219, 325. 
 
 Apt illustrations and remarks of, 194. 
 Dillwyn's Reflections, Extracts from, 198, 199, 203, 208, 209, 
 
 210, 211. 
 
 Discernment, Anecdotes of Samuel Emlen illustrating spirit- 
 ual, 47, 49, 51, 52, 105. 
 
 Dream of D. Ferris in relation to his call to the ministry, 25. 
 Of Mary England conveying instruction in regard to the 
 
 ministry, 72. 
 Of William Savery on the necessity of passing through 
 
 the fire of the Lord's judgments, 152. 
 Of a young Carolina girl, related by William Williams, 155. 
 The danger of spiritual pride made known to a minister 
 
 through a, 211. 
 
 Of Isaac Jackson respecting his settlement in America, 241. 
 Of a minister about to set out on a religious visit, 363. 
 Dress, Observations and anecdotes on plainness of, 57, 161, 
 "205, 206, 207, 345, 346. 
 Remarkable encouragement given to a young woman in 
 
 regard to plainness of, 203. 
 Drinker Henry, Remarks of, on the character of Anthony 
 
 Benezet, 302. 
 
 Letter of Samuel Emleu to, 191. 
 Dudley Mary, Prayer of, on behalf of a distant brother, made 
 
 effectual, 364. 
 
 Dyer Mary, Joyful declaration of, at the time of her execu- 
 tion, 315. 
 
 Ellwood Thomas, Account of the proceedings of, in relation 
 
 to marriage, 20. 
 
 Remarks of, in reference to a plain appearance, 58. 
 Emlen Samuel, Sketch of the life of, 46. 
 
 Remarks of Henry Drinker in reference to, 141. 
 Short message of, remarkably encouraging to George Dill- 
 wyn, 188.
 
 420 INDEX. 
 
 Emlen Samuel, Remarks of, in reference to George Dillwyn, 191. 
 Encouragement given by, to an unknown auditor, 204. 
 Remark of, in reference to the ministry of Richard Jor- 
 dan, 249. 
 
 Peter Yamall effectually reached by the ministry of, 271. 
 Message of, to Sarah Harrison, 353. 
 Letter of, to Sarah Harrison, 364. 
 England Mary, Instructive dream of, 72. 
 " Eternity," Anecdote of the effect produced upon a gay woman 
 
 by the word, 133. 
 
 Evans Jonathan, Account of the convincement of, 128. 
 Evans Joshua, Anecdote of a startling comparison made use 
 of in the ministry by, 371. 
 
 Ferris David, Sketch of the life of, 9. 
 
 Fothergill Samuel, Remarkable participation of, in the spir- 
 itual exercise of his father, 116. 
 
 Impressions made by the ministry of, on William Jack- 
 son, 244. 
 
 Letter of, to Mary Yarnall, 260. 
 The reported death of Catharine Payton contradicted by, 
 
 407. 
 
 Remark on the humility and ministry of, 119. 
 Foulke Elizabeth, Notice of, 351. 
 Fox George, Anecdote of, concerning the necessity of prompt 
 
 obedience to apprehended duty, 141. 
 
 Narrative of the convincement of a young woman by, 178. 
 A trooper sent to, for direction, 179. 
 
 Free Masonry, Testimony of Moses Brown respecting, 410. 
 Friends, On the privileges and responsibilities of the children 
 
 of, 90. 
 
 Prophetic declaration of Samuel Emlen respecting, 92. 
 Funeral, Account of a remarkable communication by Arthur 
 
 Howell at a, 235. 
 
 Furniture of houses and simplicity of living, Advice of Wil- 
 liam Jackson upon, 253, 254. 
 
 Gawthrop Thomas, Whistling reproved by, 183.
 
 INDEX. 421 
 
 Gibbons Abraham, Keply of, upon partisan feeling during the 
 
 American Eevolution, 331. 
 Gill Joseph, Anecdote of obedience by, to intimations of duty. 
 
 408. 
 
 Harrison Sarah, Sketch of the life of, 344. 
 Extract from a letter of, 118. 
 Letter of Samuel Emlen to, 61. 
 Haste, Reproof of Anthony Benezet to a person habitually in, 
 
 298. 
 
 Hatton Eobert, Letter of, to Peter Yarnall, 276. 
 Haviland Daniel, Spiritual sympathy of the daughter of, 
 
 with, 115. 
 Home Susanna, Divine intimation to George Dillwyn of the 
 
 safe arrival of, in England, 219. 
 Howell Arthur, Sketch of the life of, 227. 
 Hub-burner, Anecdote of religious impressions made on the 
 
 mind of a, 308. 
 Hull Henry, Convincement of, through the instrumentality of 
 
 Daniel Offley, and comments, 138. 
 Humility, Observations upon, 319, 211. 
 Humphreys Whitehead, a professed infidel, Account of the 
 
 death of, 168. 
 Hunt William, Sketch of the life of, 33. 
 
 Incivility reproved by Samuel Emlen, 59. 
 
 Indian, Testimony of an, against war, 216, 219. 
 
 Indians, Interview of George Dillwyn and other Friends with 
 
 a deputation of Cherokee, 214. 
 Visit of Jacob Lindley and other Friends to attend a 
 
 treaty with, 311. 
 
 Individual Example, Observations on the influence of, 139. 
 Infidel, Dying expressions of a professed, 164, 169. 
 
 Testimony of a religious man against the conduct of an, 317. 
 Infidelity, Testimony of William Savery against, 161. 
 
 Jackson Isaac, Notice of 240. 
 Jackson William, Sketch of the life of, 240. 
 36
 
 422 INDEX. 
 
 Jacobs Isaac, Letter of, to Sarah Harrison, 352. 
 
 Jenkins Mehetabel, Anecdote of the effectual ministry of, 170. 
 
 Johnson Gervase, Prediction of the preservation of, and his 
 
 family its remarkable fulfilment, 408. 
 Jones Rebecca, Sketch of the life of, 80. 
 Jordan Richard, Observations on the powerful ministry of, 
 
 248, 249. 
 Remarks of, on ministry, 361. 
 
 Kirk Elisha, Remarks of, on the character of Moses Brown 
 
 405. 
 
 Anecdote of the ministry of, 405. 
 Kite Benjamin, Observation of, in reference to young men in 
 
 meetings for discipline, 96. 
 Kite Thomas, Remark of, on his death-bed, 360. 
 
 Labor, Precept and example of Anthony Benezet in regard to, 
 
 297. 
 Language, Experience of William Lewis in regard to the use 
 
 of the plain, 55. 
 Peace felt by George Dillwyn for faithfulness in the use 
 
 of the plain, 184. 
 
 Peter Yarnall required to use the plain, 274. 
 Lewis Ellis, Short account of, 35. 
 Lewis William, Convincement of, in regard to the testimony 
 
 of Friends to the use of the plain language, 54. 
 Lindley Jacob, Sketch of the life of, 305. 
 Lukens Joseph, Warning given to, through the ministry of 
 
 Sarah Harrison, 347. 
 
 Marriage, Experience of D. Ferris in relation to, and com- 
 ments, 18. 
 
 Of Thomas Ellwood, Account of the, 20. 
 Spiritual unity and fellowship of Eli Yarnall and his wife, 
 
 335. 
 Meetings Religious, A member among Friends reproved by 
 
 his landlord for non-attendance of, 76. 
 Consolation experienced by a child in, 88.
 
 INDEX. 423 
 
 Meetings Eeligious, Observations and anecdote upon the indul- 
 gence of wandering thoughts in, 110. 
 Remarks of George Dillwyn on the attendance of, 195. 
 Observations on silent exercise in, 280. 
 A member among Friends rebuked by Judge Hemphill 
 
 for non-attendance of, 196. 
 Maintenance of, in Philadelphia, during the prevalence 
 
 of the yellow fever in, 319, 321. 
 On the attendance of, in the middle of the week, 374. 
 Mercy, Remarkable illustration of the Lord's restraining and 
 
 saving, 200. 
 Mifflin Warner, Remarks of, to General Washington, upon the 
 
 Revolutionary War, 331. 
 
 Ministry, of women, Observations of David Ferris upon the, 13. 
 The gift of, at times, committed to very young persons, 33. 
 Anecdotes illustrating the necessity of being subject to 
 
 Divine openings in the, 69, 71. 
 Remarks upon a lifeless, 112. 
 Melody of sentences and beauty of ideas, not Gospel, 170, 
 
 171, 172. 
 
 The advice of elders to be taken by Friends in the, 197. 
 A spurious, detected by Richard Davies, 269. 
 Observations on the nature and authority of Gospel, 407. 
 Mitchell James and Ann, Letter of William Hunt to, 41. 
 Molleson Margaret, Holy rejoicing of, on the bed of death, 315. 
 
 Nesbitt Robert, Anecdote respecting inconsistency in dress 
 
 related by, 58. 
 
 Newland George, Short account of, 34. 
 " No Cross, No Crown," Instrumentality of, in the conviuce- 
 
 ment of Jonathan Evans, 129. 
 
 Obedience to manifested duty, On the danger of refusing, 231. 
 Offley Daniel, Sketch of the life of, 127. 
 
 Parker John, Sketch of the life of, 366. 
 Parnell James, Dying expressions of, 36.
 
 424 INDEX. 
 
 Patrickson Anthony, Rejoicing of, under affliction of the body, 
 
 315. 
 
 Paxson Oliver, Testimony of, concerning Nicholas Wain, 391. 
 Paxson Timothy, Anecdote of the attendance of week-day 
 
 meetings by, 374. 
 
 Payton Catharine, Letter of, to Rebecca Jones, 86. 
 Penn William, Remarks of, in reference to the ministry of 
 
 illiterate Friends, 172, 173. 
 Pemberton John, Notice of, 262, 265, 283, 328. 
 Letter of, to Peter Yarnall, 265. 
 Letter of Eli Yarnall to, 329. 
 Philadelphia, Incidents connected with the appearance of the 
 
 yellow fever in, 112, 137/143, 228, 319, 320. 
 Popularity, Observations on the danger to ministers of, 286. 
 Price Peter, Brief account of, 250. 
 
 Pride, Remarkable dream upon the danger of spiritual, 211. 
 Priestley Joseph, Brief reference to, 222. 
 Privateering, Peter Yarnall required to make restitution of 
 
 money obtained in, 275, 278. 
 Providential relief experienced by David Ferris in pecuniary 
 
 distress, 15. 
 
 Relief from starvation of Thomas Chalkley and compan- 
 ions, 16. 
 
 Deliverance from shipwreck, 208. 
 Warnings, 209, 210, 228, 232. 
 
 Removals of residence, Comments on, 23. 
 
 Resignation to the loss of friends and connections, On the duty 
 
 of, 360. 
 
 Richardson John, Remarks of, in reference to the ministry, 174. 
 Rodman Sarah, Interview of Daniel Offley with, and death 
 
 of, 145. 
 
 Ross Thomas, Anecdote of a prophetic intimation given by, 106. 
 Routh Martha, Divine intimation to, of the drowning of a 
 
 nephew, 220. 
 Visit of, to individuals in Philadelphia, with E. Foulke, 
 
 352.
 
 INDEX. 425 
 
 Savery William, Sketch of the life of, 149. 
 
 Dream of Peter Yarnall concerning himself and, 294. 
 Salkeld John, An admonition of, made instrumental in pre- 
 venting a person from committing suicide, 280. 
 Sands David, Letter of, to Thomas Scattergood, 194. 
 
 A person deterred from self-destruction through the min- 
 istry of, 281. 
 Scattergood Thomas, Remarkable confirmation of a religious 
 
 concern of, through Rebecca Jones, 114. 
 Interesting circumstance attending the acknowledgment 
 
 of, as a minister, 186. 
 Led to appoint a meeting in London for n.eorge Dillwyn, 
 
 192. 
 
 Letter of, to George Dillwyn, 193. 
 
 Scott Job, Testimony of, concerning Samuel Emlen, 54. 
 Scruples, Anecdote and observations upon religious, 308. 
 Simpson James, Remark of, upon humility, 119. 
 
 Remark of, upon a dependence on popular preachers, 287. 
 Divine intimation to, in reference to Eli Yarnall, and its 
 
 fulfilment, 339. 
 
 Ministry of, in a youth's meeting at Abington, 389. 
 Slave-holding, Observations of William Hunt upon, 40. 
 
 Apprehension of Jacob Lindley of an approaching judg- 
 ment upon the land on account of, 324. 
 Successful labor of Sarah Harrison against, 356. 
 Moses Brown led to testify against, 404. 
 Notice of the. efforts of Friends against, in New Eng- 
 land, 405. 
 
 Stanton Daniel, Brief notice of, 101, 104. 
 Steel John, Brief notice of, 172. 
 Swearing, Observations of George Dillwyn upon, 199. 
 
 Thomas Edward, Confirmation of, in his ministry, through the 
 instrumentality of John Richardson, 174. 
 
 Thornton James, Remarks of on the death of Anthony Ben- 
 
 ezet, 303. 
 
 Brief notice of, 388. 
 86*
 
 426 INDEX. 
 
 Truxton Thomas, Observation of, in relation to Rebecca 
 Jones, 107. 
 
 Universality of Divine Grace, Anecdotes and observations re- 
 specting, 198, 208. 
 
 Valentine Eobert, Providentially restrained from proceeding 
 
 on a religious visit, and led to speak at a funeral, 220. 
 Vision seen by Peter Price, Account of a, 250. 
 
 Wain Nicholas, Sketch of the life of, 381. 
 
 Observation of Sarah Harrison respecting, 118. 
 
 Labors of, against infidelity in Ireland, 163. 
 
 Effectual testimony of, on the freedom of Gospel ministry, 
 
 279. 
 War, Anecdotes of sufferings endured by Friends on account 
 
 of their testimony against, 158, 331. 
 Testimony of an Indian against, 216, 219. 
 Refusal of Eli Yarnall to collect taxes for purposes of, 327. 
 Wealth, Scruples of Anthony Benezet upon accumulating, 296. 
 Williams Sarah, Letter of, to Sarah Harrison, 357. 
 Testimony of Sarah Harrison respecting, 358. 
 Wilson William, Anecdote of humility in, 120. 
 Wistar Thomas, Notice of, during the yellow fever of 1793, 147. 
 Withy George, Prediction of Thomas Carrington in relation 
 
 to, 350. 
 Divine intimation to, during a religious visit, to return 
 
 home, 222. 
 Woman Friend in Canada, Remarkable incidents connected 
 
 with the ministry of a, 121. 
 Women, Observations of David Ferris on the Gospel ministry 
 
 of, 14. 
 Incidents connected with the establishment of a Yearly 
 
 Meeting of, in London, 108. 
 Woodward Increase, Brief notice of, 54. 
 Worship, On silent, 280. 
 
 Yarnall Eli, Sketch of the life of, 326. 

 
 INDEX. 427 
 
 Farnall Mordecai, Brief account of, 259. 
 
 Yarnall Mordecai, Jr., Letter of, to Peter Yarnall, 283. 
 
 Yarnall Peter, Sketch of the life of, 259. 
 
 Yarnall Peter, Letters to, from Daniel Offley, 131, 136, 139. 
 
 Yarnall Priscilla, Spiritual sympathy and fellowship of, with 
 
 her husband, 335. 
 Dying expressions of, 337. 
 
 Yearly Meeting of Women Friends in London, Incidents con- 
 nected with the establishment of, 108. 
 
 Yellow Fever in Philadelphia, Notice of the, 112, 137, 143, 228, 
 319, 320. 
 
 Zane Isaac, Brief notice of, 215. 
 
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