Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/annalsofearlyfriOObudgrich 1 A Series of Bioqraphical Sketched. BY FRANCES ANNE BUDGE. 1 1 [REPRINTED FROM "THE FRIENDS' QUARTERLY EXAMINER."] WITH PREFACE BY EDWARD BACKHOUSE. Wl WE ARE .NOTHING, CHRIST IS ALL." ^HT'^^''^^'^^ George Fox. 5j^ Off THB^-^ IIVERSITT] ^^^^I^^^ONDON: SAML. HARRIS & Co., 5, BISrfOPSGATE WITHOUT 1877. LONDON : BARRETT, SONS AND CO., PRINTERS, SEETHING LANE, B.C. pFlVERSITY CON TENTS William Caton I John Audland and his Friends ... 28 Edward Burrough ... 53 Elizabeth Stirredge ... 72 William Dewsbury and his Words of Counsel and Con- solation ... 92 John Crook ' ..." - 1 04 Stephen Crisp and his Sermons ... 119 John Banks ... ... ... 136 Humphry Smith and his Works ... 157 Mary Fisher ... 185 The Martyrs of Boston and their Friends ... 208 Passages in the Life of John Gratton ... ... 238 James Dickenson and his Friends ... 251 William Edmundson ... 285 William Ellis and his Friends ... 316 Richard Claridge ... 347 Thomas Story ... ... 372 Gilbert Latey and his Friends ... ... 401 George Whitehead ... 428 ♦. PP^EfACE. The Memoirs and Sketches of the lives of Friends of the Seventeenth Century, which have, from time to time, appeared in the pages of the Friends' Quar- terly Examiner, are, in this volume, presented as a whole, in the hope of thus obtaining for them a more extended circulation. They contain an account of the religious principles of the Early Friends, as well as narratives of the sufferings they underwent in maintaining the testimonies cornmitted to them by the Lord Jesus Christ; and it is hoped that their example may in^uence «s, their successors, with boldness to maintain the Truth as it is in Jesus, and keep unfurled before the Churches the same holy banner that He has given to ws also, "to be dis- played because of the Truth." As a contribution towards the modern literature of the Society of Friends, these memoirs are designed to revive the memory of those who were valiants in their day ; and to inform such as may not be con- versant with the history of Friends two centuries ago ; for they remind us of the costly price our fore- fathers paid — in blood, in loss of liberty and of this world's treasure — to procure for us the religious free- dom we enjoy.* • For more complete details of the foundation and progress of the Society of Friends we would refer to William Sewel's jlistory, which is doubtless to be found in most of the libraries attached to our meeting-houses; to George Fox's Journal; Besse's "Sufferings of Friends." &c. VI ' . PREFACE. Many are little aware of the faith, patience, and intrepidity, with which the Friends of the first gene- ration, not only endured insults and injuries, but persevered in their Christian course, triumphing over every difficulty, notwithstanding the virulence with which the opponents of vital religion persecuted them, in many cases even unto death. From the year 1662 to 1697 (inclusive) — namely, in the reigns of Charles II., James II., and William and Mary — John Field informs us that thirteen thousand, five hundred and sixty-two Friends suffered imprison- ment in England; while, if we add the persecutions of the Commonw^lth, under Oliver and Richard Cromwell, and of New England, and those of Ire- land and Scotland, frorn 1650 to 1697, we find the aggregate of these sufferers for conscience' sake, numbers more than twenty -three thousands : and that the total of those who died in gaol, or were executed, is three hundred and eighty-eight. The volumes published by Joseph Besse containing the account of the " Sufferings of Friends," show the terrible trials they underwent in those days; when, locked out of their meeting-houses, or their meeting-houses having been destroyed and razed to the ground. Friends held their assemblies for worship in the streets, or upon the ruins, notwithstanding the , furious attacks of the soldiery, who broke their swords ^ and muskets upon their heads, sometimes leaving fifty on the street most shamefully wounded and streaming with blood. Four were hanged in New England by the bigoted professors of religion there : one was squeezed for hours in a torture-hole in the PREFACE. Vll rock in Chester Gaol, called " Little Ease," in conse- quence of which he died ; while let it not be for- gotten that many honourable and educated women (among them Elizabeth Horton, the first Quaker^ minister of her sex), were stripped naked to the waist, by order of Governor Endicott and the Council of Massachusetts, and mercilessly flogged through three towns in succession. Endicott and his fellows raged against the life of religion manifested by the Friends ; though they only came into their jurisdic- tion to preach the Gospel, and specially to demand the repeal of their unrighteous laws, which made it penal for a Friend to enter the Colony. For this foijr Friends suffered death; for the Governor and Court of Assistants at Boston, who professed to have left Old England for the sake of liberty to worship according to their consciences, " knew not what spirit they were of." Thus our forefathers bought the Truth; and, having bought it, sold it not : for amid all their afflictions, they held that nothing in the whole world could compare with the glorious inheritance they had obtained. That inheritance was a heavenly one ; even the kingdom of heaven, into which they had entered ; and they valued its holiness and rest beyond the price of rubies or gold, or the treasures of this world, or liberty, or life itself. Well might they prefer the heavenly country of which they had even upon earth become citizens to anything the world could offer. William Dewsbury testifies to his own experience, and says, " My gar- ments are washed and made white in the blood of Vlll PREFACE. the Lamb, who hath led me through the gates . . . into the new Jerusalem, . . . where my soul now feeds upon the Tree of Life . . . that stands in the Paradise of God." Again and again the Early Friends record their faith in the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus, and their own blessed experience of its power; testifying that Christ had become their personal Saviour from the power of sin, and that eternal life was theirs ; " Yea," says Francis Howgill, " I am entered into the true rest, and lie down with the lambs in the fold of God, where all the sons [of God] do shout for joy, and all His saints keep hol}^- day." Their exalted views as to the perfection of Chris- tianity (bringing full salvation to every one that will receive it), caused them to express themselves in glowing language, worthy of the theme they dwelt upon ; but not more so than the glory of the Gospel of Christ manifested to His saints deserves. George Fox, in his Journal, says, " Now was I come up in spirit, through the flaming sword, into the Paradise of God; all things were [become] new . . . being renewed into the image of God by Christ Jesus." Ann Dewsbury, too, near her close, could say, " I have no guilt upon my spirit. In the covenant of light and life, sealed with the blood of Jesus, I am at eternal peace with the Lord." Stephen Hubbersty — encouraging Friends at a time when they were undergoing deep suffering from the violence of per- secution — says, " It is the enjoyment of the sweet presence of God will encourage you to stand. . . . for we are come, blessed be God 1 to the primitive PREFACE. IX Spirit, the Spirit of Christ which was in the primi- tive w^orshippers. . . . The Lord arm you with patience and boldness ; and let all these things drive you nearer and nearer to your Beloved. The Lord sanctify you to Himself, that you may be like the Holy Apostles, who, when charged to speak no more in Christ's name, would not obey, but chose rather to obey God. Let this be your choice : and ages and generations to come will bless God for you. , . . The Wonderful Counsellor preserve you single- hearted, and keep you over all storms : a calm will come again; and the joy of the Lord, which is as the joy of harvest, fill your souls with joy and peace in believing." John Audland desires that Friends " may be grounded, rooted, builded, established; and in the ever- lasting covenant of life, find peace ; where you may rest in the City of God, whose walls are salvation, and whose gates, praise." Ambrose Rigge, also, after ten years' incarceration in Horsham Gaol, could say, *' I have been made both able and willing to bear all, for the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God ; not counting my life dear unto me, that I might finish my testimony with joy ; being counted worthy not only to believe, but also to suffer for that ancient doctrine, faith, and practice, for which the ancient Christians suffered the loss of their liberties, and, many of them, of their lives." Their expositions of Scripture truth, and their application of the types and figures to their own experience, as well as to that of the Church, are also extremely interesting. They frequently quote from A 2 X PREFACE. the Book of Revelation (as well as from all parts of the Old and New Testaments) ; but, as regards the Apocalypse, George Fox observes, that too many re- ligious people view it as a sealed book, whereas it contains very precious truths, and vividly sets forth many things which it is most important for us to appreciate. He tells us respecting the New Jeru- salem, " I saw the beauty and glory of it, the length, the breadth, and the height thereof, all in complete proportion. I saw that all who are within . . . the grace, and truth, and power of God, which are the walls of the City, are within the City, . . \ and have right to eat of the Tree of Life, which yields her fruit every month, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations." This cannot be gainsaid ; because the New Jerusalem, we are told by the Apostle in describing his vision of it, is "the Bride the Lamb's Wife " ; that is to say, is the Church of, the redeemed ; which Church is one, whether on earth or in heaven. Thus George Fox held, that all converted persons, who attend to, and dwell within, the limitations of the grace and truth of God, and live in the power of the Holy Ghost, are in the Church, and belong to the family and household of God while here below. Would that we (who are the successors of the Early Friends), might understand from living ex- perience, as they did, the blessedness of being at rest in the kingdom of heaven : and, like them, know for ourselves that Paradise is regained. Our first parents were driven out of Eden (after they had sinned) lest they should put forth their hands, and PREFACE. XI take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live for ever." We also, if born again, are entered into the Paradise of God : and, like the Early Friends may eat of the glorious Tree of Life ; for the Tree of Life is Christ. They entered into rest : we too may enjoy the rest of the everlasting Sabbath, of which the Jewish Sabbath was but a symbol. This is the true rest ; and whether on earth or in heaven it is one. The saints on earth, and the saints in heaven, are at rest in Christ ; and drink of the River of the Water of Life ; which glorious River is the one Holy Spirit, into which all the redeemed of the Lord drink. We think there is a blessed future for the Society of Friends: if only our souls were possessed of a holy ambition to do the will of God on earth, as it is done in heaven : and to work in the Lord's vineyard. That was the ambition which possessed the whole soul of the Early Friends. Edward Burrough was " a son of thunder and consolation," who, (to his friend Francis Howgill's knowledge,) " scarcely spent one week to himself in ten years"; while Ames and Caton, and a host of others, would gladly have spread the '* Gospel net " over all. Such was the zeal which clothed their spirits, that they were men " who married as though they married not, and pos- sessed as though they possessed not." They stood in dominion over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. The language of William Dewsbury is, ** I can never forget the day of His [the Lord's] power, and blessed appearance, when He first sent me to preach His everlasting Gospel. ... for this I can say, I never Xll PREFACE. since played the coward, but joyfully entered prisons as palaces, telling mine enemies to hold me there as long as they could : and in the Prison House I sang praises to my God, and esteemed the bolts and locks put upon me as jewels ! . . . And this I have further to signify, that my departure draweth nigh : blessed be my God, I am prepared, I have nothing to do but to die, and put off this mortal tabernacle, this flesh that hath so many infirmities ; but the life that dwells in it transcends above all; out of the reach of death, hell, and the grave ; and immortality, eternal life, is my crown for ever and ever. Therefore you that are left behind, fear not, nor be discouraged, but go on in the name and power of the Lord, and bear a faithful and living testimony for him in your day ; and the Lord will prosper His work in your hand, and cause His Truth to flourish and spread abroad, for it shall have the victory. No weapon formed against it shall prosper; the Lord hath determined it shall possess the gates of its enemies, and the glory and the light thereof shall shine, more and more, until the perfect day." Would that wc^ the successors of these " Valiants for the Truth," may do our part towards the fulfil- ment of William Dewsbury's prophecy ! Edward Backhouse. Sunderland, ^.nitals of tljc (JBarlg Jfrkitbs. WILLIAM CATON. " I know that no visible created thing can satisfy that which longeth to be refreshed with the living streams which issue out from the fountain which watereth and refresheth the whole city of God. . . A living fountain hath the Lord set open for Judah and Jerusalem ; and all that are bathed and washed in it come to enter into the holy city." — W. Caton. It was on a winter day, early in 1652, that George Fox unexpectedly, and for the first time, arrived at Swarthmoor Hall, near Ulverston, the beautifully situated residence of Judge Fell, who was then absent on his circuit. This visit proved a very eventful one to not a few of the members of that large house- hold. William Caton was then in his sixteenth year, and had for some time resided at the hall, sharing the educational advantages of the Judge's only son, who was taught by a clergyman, a relative of the Catons ; he soon became a favourite of the whole family, so that difference in social position was lost sight of. He shared George Fell's chamber, and was his com- panion in field-sports and fishing as well as in study. From early childhood he had at times been the sub- ject of serious impressions, and had been very care- fully brought up by his parents. The sudden change 2 WILLIAM CATON. in his style of living had by no means the unfavour- able effect which might have been feared, for he says that his heart was softened whilst thus living in "much pleasure, ease, and fulness .... forasmuch as Providence had cast me into such a noble family, where there were such sweet children, with whose company I was more than a little affected. In those days there remained an integrity in my heart towards God, and often did I call upon His name." In order to be alone whilst engaged in prayer he would, of a morning, linger in the bedroom until his companion had gone down-stairs. He was much ex- posed to temptation during a few months spent by George Fell and himself at a country school, but, he writes, " The Lord was wonderfully gracious to me, and many times, when I have deserved nothing but stripes from Him, hath He broken and overcome my heart with His Divine love." At times his soul ardently longed for communion with God, and he found that he could not appease its cravings by taking notes of sermons or writing paraphrases of them, though such efforts were commended by the family at the Hall. Much did he marvel at the unfashionable dress and simple manners of their guest from Fenny Dray- ton, " Yet something in me," he writes, " did love him and own his testimony. And I began to find the truth of what he spoke in myself ; for his doctrine tended very much to the bringing of us to the light, with which Christ Jesus had enlightened us withal, which shined in our hearts and convinced us of sin and evil ; and into love with that and obedience to WILLIAM CATON. 3 that he sought to bring us, that thereby, through the Son, we might be brought into unity and covenant with the Lord." Deep, also, and lasting, was the effect of George Fox's ministry on the hearts of the mistress of Swarthmoor Hall (a descendant of the martyr, Anne Askew), her young daughters and their governess, as well as on the steward, Thomas Salthouse, the house- keeper, and most of the servants ; and when Judge Fell was crossing the sands of Leven, on his home- ward journey, he was told that his family were all bewitched. His son, too, we find, was " somewhat touched with the same power," which helped to smooth the path of William Caton, who was experi- - of his guests had on him ; but when, after visiting some neighbouring places, they had returned to Lydd, and another Baptist minister publicly preached against them and their doctrine, Samuel Fisher arose and said, ** Dear brother, you are very near and dear to me, but the Truth is nearer and dearer : this is the everlasting Truth and Gospel ! " To the preacher's exclamation, *' Our brother Fisher is also bewitched," he made no reply ; in the course of that year he joined the Society of Friends. For ten years he diligently laboured as a minister at home and abroad, and also as an author, often suffer- ing severe persecution for the cause which was dearer to him than life. He died in the White Lion jail, in Southwark, after a long imprisonment. So grateful were some of the open-hearted Kentish people to William Caton and John Stubbs, who had been enabled to labour very powerfully amongst them, that they urged them to receive gold, which was declined, with the reply that it was not theirs. but them they sought. But at Maidstone a different reception awaited them ; they were sent to the House 12 WILLIAM CATON. of Correction, deprived of their Bible, money, &c., then stripped, and, with their necks and arms placed in stocks, desperately whipped until bystanders wept at the sight. After irons and large clogs of wood had been laid on them they were ordered to work, and because they did not were kept without food for some days. The women who lived in the house showed their pity by privately offering them refreshment, which they did not think it well to accept. Before they were set at liberty a few things were restored to them ; but they were dismissed from the town in contrary directions, each accompanied by constables, to whom (so states an old MS. of Friends of East Kent) " their heavenly images and sober lives and words preached so much that they finally suffered them to travel alone whither they pleased." Neither knew where the other had gone, and great was their pleasure at meeting in London : but soon they felt bound to return to Maidstone and, though fearing the consequences of so bold a measure, their faith did not fail, and they were preserved from further persecution. On re-visiting other towns in Kent they were cheered by the belief that their patient suffering had tended to confirm the faith of those to whom their ministry had been an effectual message. From Dover William Caton crossed to Calais, where he had what he styles " a very gallant opportunity " at a mansion with some of the chief inhabitants, a Scotch nobleman acting as his interpreter. Soon afterwards he accompanied John Stubbs to Holland. They meant to sail from Yarmouth, whither they had walked from Dover, often travelling many miles a WILLIAM CATON. . I5. day — no hardship perhaps but for the fact that, in order to avoid expense, they sadly stinted themselves in food. Yet William Caton says that their reward was with them in all places and conditions. After a delay of three weeks they went on board a vessel, but, to their great disappointment, the captain refused to take them. As it seemed improbable that they would obtain a passage from that port, they thought it better to go northward. William Caton longed to visit his beloved friends at Swarthmoor, and a suitable opportunity for doing so occurred, to his extreme refreshment of body and soul. Before sail- ing some meetings were held in Durham, which were of great service. On returning from Holland, where very rough treatment was encountered, he again spent a short time at Swarthmoor Hall ; he writes, " a very pre- cious time we had together, whereby my very life was much revived ; and therefore did my soul magnify the Lord, with the rest of His lambs and babes in that place." Soon he started for Scotland with John Stubbs : many sufferings within and without were their portion, but the Lord sustained them through all, and their exceeding affection for each other was a continual source of comfort. In the following winter, in company with another Friend, William Caton visited Lancashire, Cheshire, &c., and says that time would fail him to relate ** the extraordinary good service " which they had. He also attended a laiige General Meeting in Leicestershire, which was a very blessed time ; George Fox, whom he had much wished to meet again, was present. A little later,. 14 WILLIAM CATON. whilst on his way to Scotland, he visited Ambleside, in which place courage and power were given him to address a congregation in a chapel, though the people first attacked him as if they had been wild beasts. At Edinburgh and Leith many large meetings were held, sometimes in the streets, and much power in the ministry was granted to William Caton and the Friend who was with him. About this time we find the former ill from the effect of " sore travel " from place to place. On their return to Cumberland they held meetings, which William Caton describes as being very large and precious, and he adds, " Friends were strength- ened and confirmed in the precious Truth which in those days did flourish and prosper very much ; and the Lord's power and presence was with'us, through which we were carried on in his work and service, in which our souls delighted to be exercised. There being such an effectual door open abroad in the country I was constrained, through the love of God which dwelt richly in my heart, to labour so much the more diligently, for I knew it was good work- ing whilst it was day ; and indeed a glorious and precious time we had, to make known unto the people the way of salvation, and what the Lord had ■done for our souls ; many believed and were con- verted, and brought to serve and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth." Many of these meetings were held around Swarth- moor ; soon afterwards he bade farewell to his friends there, and bent his steps southward. He was greatly cheered by his intercourse with Friends at WILLIAM CATOl ViivBRsifr) Bristol, and with the " large and gallant meetings " held in that city and neighbourhood, and says that he was enabled to '' communicate to them of the overflowing of the life and power dwelling in him." Then we find him travelling westward, usually alone and on foot, to visit George Fox and other Friends in Launceston jail. Their intercourse was " in the fulness of endeared love," and though William Caton's chief aim might be to carry comfort to the prisoners, his own cup was filled to overflowing. When at Totnes he was brought before the mayor, who threatened him with a whipping; but the other magistrates thought more moderate mea- sures might suffice. When they examined him a clergyman was present, and an excellent opportunity was afforded him to uphold the truth as it is in Jesus, for in that very hour, he says, the Lord was much with him. After spending the night in prison he was sent on with a pass from place to place ; an arrange- ment which had by no means the intended effect, for it soon became known, in one town after another, that William Caton was no pauper, but a Quaker, and peo- ple came out from their houses to see him, whom he addressed freely on the truths dear to his soul. Afte^ attending a General Meeting in Wiltshire, and some other services, he re-visited Kent ; he was but twenty years of age, yet his Saviour's grace and power were so manifestly granted him that he shared in th^ worfner felt by others at the abundance given for the multitudes who came to hear him. When he turned his thoughts to his own weakness he was ready to* faint, but when he placed his confidence in 1 6 WILLIAM CATON. Christ alone, he become strong. Often he did not know what he should say when he entered a meeting, and yet so much was given him to communicate that he would speak for two, three, or, occasionally, four hours. " Not unto me, not unto me, be the praise [he writes] , but unto the Lord alone. I can truly say that which I received from Him I delivered unto His people. ... An exceeding glorious day I had of it, and did much rejoice in the Lord, notwithstanding my great travails and suffer- ings ; neither were they much to me, with all the perils and dangers I went through, both by sea and land, in comparison of the power and presence of the Almighty." In the summer of the same year he again sailed for Holland, this time alone — though he longed for a companion — and in poor health from the effect of exposure to heat and cold during his almost in- cessant journeys. He met with scoffing and abuse from some fellow-voyagers, who were, however, ready to give heed to his words when he addressed them in their dismay, during a dangerous storm, which had filled them with terror. Deep trials were his portion during this visit, which were increased when he became aware of the evils wrought by the extreme views promulgated by some who had joined the Society. At Middleburgh, William Caton and his interpreter were imprisoned for some days, and then conveyed in a waggon to the coast. They were accompanied by several soldiers to protect them from the violence of the citizens ; but, as William Caton says, the Lord was their chief keeper. Great were WILLIAM CATON. I7 their sufferings during the following fortnight whilst prisoners on board a man-of-war, in which they were carried to England. Though the weather was very cold and stormy they were obliged to lie on the bare planks, and were not even allowed the covering of a piece of sail-cloth. But God had not forgotten to be gracious. Whilst undergoing this treatment William Caton's health and strength were, in a great measure, restored, though for a time he suffered severe pain in the feet, the result of keeping on shoes and stock- ings during so long a period of exposure to the cold. Soon afterwards ' he paid an extremely satisfactory visit to Sussex. At one place where a meeting was held, a rude crowd marched up to the house with a drum, seeming ready in their violence to pull down the building on the heads of those assembled. Wil- liam Caton went out to them and asked what they wanted. " Quakers ! " was the reply. *' I am one," he said, and then power was given him to address them in such a manner as to make them with- draw in shame and fear. He met with a some- what similar deliverance during his next visit to the Netherlands, where he spent more than a year engaged in ministerial service and authorship. On his return he was comforted by the blessed meetings held in London, where many were added to the Church ; and he speaks of how God bestowed ex- ceeding power and wisdom from above on His ser- vants and handmaids, who, in Christ's name, preached the Word of Life, not in meetings only, but in churches, markets, streets, and highways, indeed v/herever their Saviour led, and whenever He con- c l8 WILLIAM CATON. strained them. They gave themselves wholly to God, and marvellous was the result. " I made it my sole work to be found doing the work of God, unto which He had called me," writes William Caton, after describing meetings held in the north of England, where, as in many other parts of the country, the labours of Friends were producing ex- traordinary effect. Now and then he enjoyed extreme refreshment by intercourse with the family at Swarth- moor, *' whom," he says, " he found in the same love, life, and power in which he left them." The very remembrance of these days was sweet to him in after years, and the more so from the continued con- sciousness of the love of Christ, by whose realised presence those seasons had been hallowed. It was this, also, which had often made his weary journey- ings and arduous labours a source of delight. Early in 1659 he attended a meeting of ministers from various parts of the kingdom, held at the Bull and Mouth Meeting-house in London, which he describes as being "very large and exceedingly pre- cious." In the latter part of the day a meeting was held at Horselydown, where a great concourse seemed much impressed with the truths they heard. William Gaton writes : " Great v/as our rejoicing and comfort which we had in the work and service of the Lord, in which we were abundantly refreshed together. And in that great assembly did our souls, even with one accord, praise and magnify the God of our salvation." A visit to Holland in the same year, with its perilous return voyage, was soon followed by one to Scotland. He set out on the latter expedition from Swarthmoor, WILLIAM CATON. I9 and after his friends and himself had, as they thought, fully taken leave of each other, they felt that they could not yet part, and several hours were spent in waiting on the Lord, and in pouring out their souls in prayer. Whilst in Scotland he endeavoured to obtain an interview with General Monk, but, being unable to do so, he wrote an address to him and his army. The following winter a meeting which he attended, at Warrington, was broken up by some rough soldiers, who violently forced the worshippers out of the town ; but they re-assembled on the road-side, and had, we find, " a sweet and precious meeting." Before long the soldiers again interrupted them, and whilst Wil- liam Caton was preaching, seized him and, to the great distress of his friends, beat him with their muskets and spears ; then, having given vent to their fury, they allowed him to return to the meeting, where, he says, " The Lord's power and presence did exceedingly appear amongst us ; for, as our suffering at that time was greater than ordinary, even so was our refreshment in the Lord." About this time he records the death of his " dear mother" whilst he was paying her a visit. When in London, in 1660, he alludes in a letter to full and peaceable meetings on the previous Sab- bath; and, after stating that the common topic of con- versation was the expected coming of the King, he adds, ** But blessed be the Lord for ever, in whose power we can testify that our King is come who reigns in power and great glory.'' Nor can we wonder at these words from one who drew the strength and joy of his 20 WILLIAM CATON. life from the knowledge that his citizenship was in heaven ; who could unite with the sentiment of that good man who said, " When I die I shall change my place, but not my company!"* Redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, to Him William Caton freely dedicated his life, and the Lord, who loveth a cheerful giver, suffered not his faith to fail — to what- ever extent it might be tried. '* I have often observed," he says, "that, by how much the more I felt the weight of the service of the meeting before I went into it, by so much the more was my service in it, and my reward accordingly. Blessed and magnified be the name of the Lord for ever !" Before sailing for Holland, in the latter part of the year, he writes from Dover to George Fox. After mentioning the death of a Friend, of Staplehurst — probably a minister — who, he thought, would be greatly missed in that neighbourhood, he adds, " I believe there will now be more necessity for Friends visiting them pretty often than there was before ; I desire that thou wouldst be mindful of them Dearly beloved of my soul [he writes] let thy prayers be for me that I may be kept in the power, life, and wisdom of our God, to His praise and to the comfort and consolation of the brethren, with whom I can rest in the Lord, even in the heat of the day ; glory be to the Lord for ever." And, during the voyage, we find that he was " exceedingly filled with the Lord's love, * '' Have you a glimpse of Christ now that you are dying ? " was the question asked of an old Scottish saint, who, raising himself^ made the emphatic reply, " I'll hae none o' your glimpses now that I am dying, since that I have had a full look at Christ these forty years gane ! " WILLIAM CATON. 21 and with the power of His might." One of his fellow- passengers, a Roman Catholic, notwithstanding Wil- liam Caton's habitually courteous manners, openly avowed his hatred of him and his religion ; but before they parted there was a complete change in his behaviour. Well did George Fox say, "Love, patience, and wisdom will wear out all which is not of God." In a letter of sympathy written from Amsterdam to English Friends, William Caton remarks that he believes those amongst them who were not yet cast into prison were in no greater danger from persecution than were their brethren resident in that city, where it was said that fifty men had conspired to break up their meeting, and pull down the meeting-house. It Vv'as about this time that he published a volume with the lengthy title " An Abridgement or Compendious Commemoration of the Remarkablest Chronologies which are contained in that celebrated Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius," &c. In 1661 William Caton visited Germany with William Ames ; at Heidelberg they had interviews with the Prince, and laid before him the sufferings of the Friends in his dominions on account of their conscientious objection to the pay- ment of tithes : he gave them a courteous reception, and made them dine with him. When next at Heidelberg William Caton had the unexpected plea- sure of meeting with his friend John Stubbs who, with another Friend, was on the homeward routQ from Egypt. When the Prince heard they were at William Caton's lodgings, he sent his secretary to ask them to come to the Castle to see him, where, in the presence of his nobles, he conversed very freely 22 WILLIAM CATON. with them about their mission, &c. ; and, after what William Caton calls " a very gallant opportunity,"" he took an affectionate leave of them. The enjoyment of William Caton in the society of his brethren was soon shadowed by tidings from Amsterdam of the death of a beloved friend of hisy Niesie Dirrix, a faithful labourer for her Lord in her native land ; his sorrow was excessive until he was. comforted by the conviction that her mantle would fall on her sister Anneken and some others. On his return to Holland, some months later, he made pro- posals of marriage to Anneken Dirrix. Warm and enthusiastic as his disposition was, he took extreme care to act rightly in this matter: he wished her first to consider whether she "felt something in it as. from the Lord," and asked for no reply until she had deliberately weighed three things : — First the diffe- rence in their outward circumstances and how little he had to offer her ; secondly, the liberty — more to him than the treasures of Egypt — which he should still need to travel in the service of the Lord : and, thirdly, the possibility that their union might be dis- approved of by magistrates, by her relatives or others, and might thus bring trouble upon her. Her reply was to the following effect : — As to the first, it was not means that she looked to but virtue. As to the second, when the Lord needed him for any ser- vice she should not be the woman that would hinder him. As to the last, if they " were perfectly clear of the thing before the Lord, she hoped to bear what people without should say, for that would be one of the least crosses !" Still they did not think it right WILLIAM CATON. 23 for a time to bind themselves by promise. William Caton thus describes his own feelings during an in- terview which they had after several months had elapsed : — " Waiting awhile exceeding steadfastly in the light of the Lord, the life began to arise, and the Word of the Lord testified unto me thus, saying, * She is the gift of the Lord to thee.' Then was my heart also broken, and in the fulness of love and unity in the everlasting covenant did I receive her as the Lord's gift unto me." About three months after his marriage he em- barked for England. Whilst in London he received much spiritual refreshment from a visit to Edward Burrough [of whom there is a sketch in this volume] , then a prisoner in Newgate, where he died a week or two later. Their separation was riot a long one : each was early called to the ministry ; each accom- plished the labour of a long lifetime in ten or a dozen years. Like their Divine Master " clad with zeal as a cloak," ^Uhrough faith they wrought righteousness, obtained promises, . . . out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." On his next visit to England — for his home was now in Holland — William Caton was accompanied by his wife, who greatly longed to become acquainted with the Friends there, of v/hom she had no doubt often heard ; and with a similar desire some other Dutch members of the Society sailed with them. The London Friends rejoiced, William Caton says, ** to see people of another nation, and of a strange language, brought into the same living truth in 24 WILLIAM CATON. which they were established, and to bear the same image which they bore, — and to be comprehended in the same Love." At a General Meeting at Kings- ton he acted as interpreter for one of his Dutch sisters. His wife and the other Friends from Holland had returned sometime before his mission was accomplished, but in the autumn of 1663 he also set sail. When about ten leagues off Yarmouth, William Caton, who felt sure that a storm was at hand, unavailingly urged the .captain to put back. That night a tempest overtook them, and at its height the helm became useless, and, as the vessel was also very leaky, she was in extreme peril ; the sailors, wet to the skin and utterly wearied by toiling at the pumps and with the sails, were almost ready to despair. William Caton, who had been aiding them in their arduous work, now wrestled in prayer for their deliverance if in accordance with God's will ; " though, as for my own part," he says, whilst with deep gratitude recording their remarkable pre- servation, " I found myself exceeding freely given up to bequeath my soul into His bosom of everlasting love, and my body to be buried in that great deep." But soon storms of a different character had to be encountered. Whilst waiting at Yarmouth for a change in the wind he attended the meeting there, and, in company with seven other Friends, also strangers, was carried before the magistrates of the town. Because they declined to take the Oath of Allegiance they were committed to the common jail, where they were confined for more than six months ; when it was tendered to William Caton he said that WILLIAM CATON. 25 he had never uttered an oath but once, in his hoyhood, and having then incurred the displeasure of the Almighty he dared not swear again. So fully had the magistrates anticipated this steadfast adherence of the Friends to their conscientious con- victions, that they made out their mittimus before putting them to the test. In a letter, written a few days later, William Caton alludes to the cruelty of their oppressors, which some- times made it no easy matter to obtain their bread and water ; but says that the only wonder was that he had not earlier found himself in bonds, " unto which," he adds, *' I have long been freely given up in the will of God where my soul is in peace with the Lord." And again he writes of how " one day in prison, with the Lord, was better than a thousand elsewhere without the enjoyment of His presence, in whose love his soul solaced itself night and day." Some friends of the prisoners, thinking to beguile the long hours of their confinement, wished to give them a spinning-wheel, but were not allowed to do so. It was in the early part of 1664 that the Friends were liberated, after meeting with kind consideration from the judge who presided over the sessions, and from a justice of the peace. Five of William Caton's fellow-sufferers belonged to a vessel which had come to Yarmouth for herrings, and as, during this period, she was seized by the Turks, their English captivity was the means of saving them from Asiatic slavery. In the following winter William Caton wrote an •epistle from Rotterdam to his friends in England. 26 WILLIAM CATON. After referring to his powerlessness to express the fervency of his love, and of his prayerful longings for them, he adds, "Yet herein can I satisfy myself, in that we come to read and feel one another in that which is immortal." He says that, although his heart is often saddened by the many hindrances to the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom in Holland, he is supported by the "wonted goodness and tender mercy of the Most High, still perfectly continued to him.''' William Caton died in the latter part of the following year, at the age of nine-and-twenty. His wife did not long survive him. It has been remarked that " No truth or goodness realised by man ever dies, or can die ; " and surely such a life, though lived two centuries ago, has not ceased to convey a lesson. As we look around us we find no warrant for believing that the world no longer needs to be reminded of that cross to which every helpless soul may cling, and of such truths as Christ's Headship of His Church, the Spirituality of the Gospel dispensation, and the realit}^ of the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The fields are white unto harvest still ; still the Lord of the harvest has need of labourers ; of labourers, who, with the knowledge that they are bought with a price, and that " voluntary obedience is liberty" — completely yield themselves to Him to be trained for, and directed in, any service which He sees meet to assign to them, be it of what kind it may, for " all service is not work, and all work is not service ; "' endeavouring to consecrate to Him, as occasion may arise, every talent, whether natural or acquired, WILLIAM CATON. 2/ *' Ever by a mighty hope Pressing on and bearing up." ** Do not," it has been said, " let Satan have all the benefit of ambition in his kingdom." Excelsior is no unworthy device for the banner of Christian warriors who are learning that they " are nothing, Christ is all."* " Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save ; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear." He can " restore judges as at the first, aud Counsellors as at the beginning," and may no unbelief on our part hinder the performance of " mighty works " on His. * ♦' So long," writes the author of The Patience of Hope, "as we are resting on anything within ourselves — be it even in a work of grace — there remains, at least to honest hearts, a ground for con- tinual restlessness and continual disappointment. To know that we have nothing, are nothing, out of Christ, is to know the truth> which makes us free." 28 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. " In the Church of God there is no irrevocable golden age in the past In God's battles leaders cannot fail." — Author of " The Schdnherg-Cotta Family." When John Audland was about twenty-two years of age he was a very popular minister amongst the Independents. Sewell describes him as " a young man of a comely countenance, and very lovely quali- ties, very religious, and having a good understanding." One Sabbath morning, in 1652, he preached at Fir- bank Chapel, in Westmoreland. Before noon George Fox arrived at this place ; it was soon rumoured that he would preach there that day, and whilst some people went away for a time to dine, a large number remained. George Fox, having quenched his thirst at a stream, seated himself on the summit of a rock near the •chapel, and from this elevation he, in the afternoon, addressed the vast multitude gathered around him. In this congregation were several preachers, including John Audland, who had brought his wife, a young lady of good family, with him. Probably as their thirsty souls drank in the words which fell with heavenly power from the stranger's lips, they were hardly conscious that he continued speaking for about three hours, directing all to the Spirit of God in them- selves. Glorious was the heritage he pourtrayed as the present portion of believers in Christ ; that they JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 29 ** might know their bodies to be prepared, sanctified, and made fit templer, for God and Christ to dwell in." He strove to turn the thoughts of his hearers away from all figures and shadows to Christ the Substance ; " Christ was come," he said, " who ended both the temple and its worship, and the priests and their tithes ; and all now should hearken unto Him." Effectual as was George Fox's message to many that day, perhaps it was more so to none than John and Anne Audland, and it was to their house that he adjourned when the meeting was over. Both were " chosen vessels unto the Lord to declare His name," and the life-long ministry of each began in the follow- ing year. Deep was John Audland's distress when his eyes were opened to see that his high profession of religion was valueless. " It is a Saviour that I long for," was now his cry, — " it is He that my soul pants after, Oh, that I may be gathered into His life, and overshadowed with His glory, sanctified throughout by His word, and raised up by His eternal power ! " The answer to Jiis continued prayers was not long delayed ; the Lord, in accordance with His promise,, fulfilled his desire, heard his cry and saved him. " Oh, how wonderful His ways ! All in love begin and end : Whom His mercy means to raise, First His justice bids descend." Thus baptised into Christ John Audland was, ere long, qualified to preach the word with extraordinary power. The remuneration which he had previously 30 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. received for his ministerial services, he now returned to the parish of Colton. Anne Audland was the daughter of a gentleman of the name of Newby, who also became a Friend about this time ; she had been well educated, and during a ■seven years' residence with an aunt in London had often associated with Puritans. Before her marriage, when at her home at Kendal, she chose the most serious people of that town for her friends, uniting with some who often met together to wait on God in silence, or for religious conference and fervent prayer. Perhaps on the day of George Fox's memorable visit to Fir- bank she was already " not far from the kingdom." Two years later we find her, at the age of twenty- seven, preaching at Auckland, in Durham, on a market day, in consequence of which she was con- fined for some hours in the town jail, through the window of which she continued to address a not unmoved audience, one of whom, a gentleman named Langstaff, who was much respected in the neigh- bourhood, was so much impressed by her ministry that he accompanied her to prison, and afterwards took her to his house ; here, however, she declined remaining when she observed his wife's annoyance 'at the arrival of a Quaker guest, and went out into the fields to seek for some sheltered spot where she might spend the night. But Anthony Pearson, a justice of the peace, who had lately become a Friend, had been told by George Fox, who was staying at his house, of Anne Audland's arrival in the town, .and came with a horse and pillion to escort her to his residence. JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 3I During the following winter, whilst travelling with Mabel Camm (the wife of John Camm), she was committed to prison by the Mayor of Banbury, who had induced two witnesses to swear that she had spoken blasphemy; but, after some days, two resi- dents in the town gave bond for her appearance at the assizes, and thus an opportunity for holding a succession of meetings was afforded her. A remarkable blessing rested on these labours; several hundreds, including her two bondsmen, were effectually led to Christ ; many were added to the Society, and not only was a large meeting formed in Banbury, but several others were established in the neighbourhood. These things, of course, kindled the wrath of her enemies, who threatened that she should be burned. Her husband and other Friends were present at the trial, when the indictment drawn up against her was that she had said God did not live, because, when speaking of a clergyman at Banbury, she had remarked that " True words may be a lie in the mouth of some that speak them," quoting Jer. v. 2. When the judge had questioned her he soon dis- covered the falseness of the evidence adduced, nor did he fail to observe the innocent fearlessness of her deportment. Some gentlemen on the bench, being afraid that the case would fall to the ground, followed the jury, and induced them to bring in a verdict of " Guilty of misdemeanour." It is satisfactory to find that these gentlemen were told by one of their coadjutors that he would not sit with them until they had more regard for justice, and other officers in the Court strongly manifested their disapprobation. f4^^ Of TffJ -^ frrwrVTlPSTTX 32 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. On her refusal to give bond for " good behaviour,"" she v^as sent to prison again, although the judge was heard to say that she ought to be discharged. For seven or eight months she w^as confined in a filthy dungeon, by the side of which was a sewer which received much of the drainage of the town ; she had a companion in Jane Waugh, who was also a minis- ter, and had been imprisoned for no other offence than that of visiting Anne Audland. Here, unpro- tected from cold and damp and noxious gases, with frogs and toads crawling around them — kept by the peace of God — they abode, we are told, as in a palace,, for they could say : — " Thy presence makes my paradise, And where Thou art, is Heaven." After her release Anne Audland and her husband had the joy of meeting each other at Bristol, and after some religious service they returned to their home in Westmoreland. Frequent journeys for the advancemicnt of Christ's cause were undertaken by both, unitedly and separately, to most parts of the kingdom. During John Audland's absence on one of these missions she thus writes : — • " Dear Husband, — Thou art dearer to me than ever; my love flows out to thee, even the same love that I am loved withal of my Father. . . O, how am I refreshed to hear from thee of thy faithfulness and boldness in the work of the Lord. O ! dear heart, I cannot utter the joy I have concerning thee ; thy presence I have continually in spirit, therewith am I filled with joy ; all glory and honour be to our God for ever, O ! blessed be the day in which thou wast born, that thou art found worthy to labour in the work of the Lord. Surely the Lord hath JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. ^^ found thee faithful in little, and therefore He hath com- mitted much unto thee; go on in the name and power of our Lord Jesus Christ, whence all strength cometh, to whom be all glory and honour for ever. O ! dear heart, go on conquering and to conquer, knowing this that thy crown is sure. So, dear heart, now is the time of the Lord's work, and few are willing to go forth into it. The whole world lieth in wickedness doing their own work ; but blessed be the Lord for ever, who hath called us from doing our own work into His great work. ... I am full of love towards thee, never such love as this ; the mighty power of the Lord go along with thee, and keep thee faithful and valiant, and bold in His pure counsel, to stand single out of all the world. ... A joy- ful word it was to me, to hear that thou wast moved to ■go for Bristol. O ! my own heart, my own life, in that which now stands, act and obey, that thou mayst stand upon thy alone guard : so, dear heart, let thy prayers be for me that I may be kept pure, out of all tempta- tions, singly to dwell in the life. So, farewell ! — Anne AuDLAND." A series of meetings were held in 1654 by John Audland and his friend John Camm, near Bristol, in a field called Earl's Mead, and were very largely attended, nearly four thousand persons being some- times present. Edward Burrough and Francis How- gill were their fellow-labourers for a short time. These meetings were cootinued during three or four months, and Charles Marshall describes this period as " the glorious morning of the day of visitation of the love of God, in particular to the city of Bristol." He was then about seventeen, and an earnest seeker after God. Having been unable, as he says, to *' find the living among the dead professions," he had spent much time alone in fields and woods, where "strong, great, and many," were his cries unto the Lord. D 34 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. Charles Marshall, before the arrival of John Aud- land, had been in the habit of meeting with a few others on one day of the week, which they kept in fasting and prayer; they assembled early in the morning, and sometimes sat down in silence, but if any felt it right to engage in prayer vocally they did so, and even children occasionally uttered brief peti- tions. To one of these meetings John Audland and John Camm came; " They spake," writes Charles Marshall, " the powerful word of life in the dread of His name who lives for ever; and we were seized on and smitten even to the heart ; and that day, and the visitation of it, overtook us, which we had longed and waited for, and from darkness to the marvellous light of the Lord were we turned." On a Sabbath morning Charles Marshall went with the ministers about a mile and a half into the country, to a little spring of water, by the side of which he had spent many solitary hours ; here they sat down for a considerable time, and then Charles Marshall observed that the minds of his companions were greatly exercised, and soon John Audland said, " Let us be going into the city." When they reached Broadmead Street they found several people who -were inquiring for the strangers ; John Audland asked if any of them had an interest in a field, in which they might assemble, and an old man answered that he had one pretty near. Thither the company repaired, increasing in number whilst passing through the streets. John Audland is described by Charles Marshall as " of a sweet and amiable countenance, and cheerful spirit, one of the wise in heart, filled with JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 35 the excellent, bright, glorious power of the Lord God." After John Camm had spoken tenderly and fer- vently, John Audland arose, and to Charles Marshall it seemed that his face shone as, with a voice of thunder, he uttered the message of his Lord. '' I proclaim spiritual war," he began ''with the inhabi- tants of the earth who are in the fall and separation from God." And the word of the Lord had free course and was glorified : so intense was the emo- tion of some present that they fell on the ground, whilst others cried out as the preacher laid bare their inward states; many were effectually turned from dark- ness to light. " Indeed it was a notable day," writes Charles Marshall, " worthy to be left on record, that our children may read and tell to their children, and theirs to another generation, that the worthy, noble acts of the arm of God's salvation maybe remembered." After this day the meetings became larger and larger, so that it was necessary to hold them in the open air, even in frost and snow, and the ministers laboured unweariedly to lead their hearers " to look from dead ways and worships unto Christ Jesus, the Fountain of Life " ; and many of these sought eagerly night and day to obtain salvation through Him, giving up their hearts wholly to His govern- ment, and walking in the way of self-denial — for wc read that " This visitation of God's holy and blessed day was signal and inexpressible." Some, in their eagerness to obtain an opportunity for private con- versation with the ministers, called on them before they arose in the morning, so that their labours began at 36 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. six a.m., and did not end until eleven or even one o'clock at night. They w^ere, indeed, so sought after that " every day was like one long meeting." Soon persecution arose, causing a tumult in the city ; the houses of Friends w^ere broken into by the mob, under the pretence of preventing conspiracy, and they were themselves often treated with brutarvio- lence, whilst the law afforded them no protection, and the clergy stimulated the rage of the rioters. One day, as John Camm and John Audland were crossing a bridge on their way to a village where a meeting had been appointed, they found themselves surrounded by a rabble, by some of whom they were beaten and kicked, whilst others shouted, " Knock them down, kill them, hang them ! " — so that they narrowly escaped with their lives. Charles Marshall was one of those who found in John Audland "a dear friend and father in Christ Jesus," and he afterwards became a very powerful preacher, the deep conflicts through which he had himself passed, the better en- abling him to draw out his soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul. William Penn writes that '^ he was one that waited for the feeling of God's living and heavenly power ta carry him forth in his ministerial exercises," by which, we find, many were turned to righteousness, and some induced to more earnestly covet the best gifts. George Whitehead — who says that he " truly loved him for love's sake" — remarks, that "his sin- cere love and regard to Christ's ministers and mes- sengers appeared to be a good and necessary pre- paration for him to be a witness and partaker of the JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. ^J same ministry." His faith was strong ; and, un- hindered by the heat of persecution, he visited the various meetings throughout the land, his labours being attended by an abundant blessing. When, in 1670, at the age of thirty-two, God called him to the ministry, and laid this work before him, he said in his soul, " How shall I visit Thy people in these times, when the rod of the wicked is upon their backs ? '* Then this reply seemed to be given him, " Go, 1 will prosper thy way ; and this present exercise, which is over my people, shall be as a morning cloud, and I will be to them as the tender dew through the land of thy nativity." Although during the next two years he visited every county in England, no hand was laid on him, nor did he know of any one who lost five pounds on account of attending his meetings. When describing subsequent labours, he says that he believed thou- sands received the word of life ; and in some places, which had never before been visited by a Friend, meetings were established. *' Oh," he writes, "the tenderness which mine eye has seen in many places through the land : the watering showers that de- scended on the Lord's plantation is beyond descrip- tion." But long-continued painful labours were also allotted to him in consequence of the spirit of dissen- sion which prevailed in some counties where John Story, John Wilkinson, and their party had obtained a footing. Yet he tells us that God was with him in this day of deep exercise, making his bow strong, and daily replenishing his quiver with arrows, even though his soul was, as it were, baptised for the dead. 38 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. In one of his pamphlets, " The Way of Life Re- vealed," &c., he writes : — *' The travail in spirit of the messengers and servants of the Most High in ages past, was the same as now it is, viz., To turn people from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan to the power of the living God ; thereby in nowise invalidating Christ Jesus, His mani- festation in that bodily appearance, neither His suffer- ings, death, resurrection, nor ascension ; but brings all people guided thereby unto that which will open the eyes of their understanding, whereby they all come unto such a condition and spiritual understanding, as to see and know their benefit by the appearance of the Saviour of the world ; for this we testify, all are perfected by that One Offering that are sanctified." And again he says : — '' As there is a faithful abiding in inward watchful- ness, and continual obedience to this heavenly light, there will be a growing from strength to strength over sin and the nature thereof, until thou seest all the rule and authority of the enemy to be subdued under the feet of the Lord's anointed, and the government in the soul upon His shoulders, whose right it is to rule over all. And here salvation, redemption, and restoration, is effec- tually enjoyed through faith, and the effectual working of the Almighty power and arm of God, unto whom be the glory of His own work for ever ! And so here will be a growing and increasing, until there is a coming "into that precious state and image in which man was- before he fell." By profession Charles Marshall was a physician ; he was remarkable for his kindness and generosity to the poor, and when on his death-bed he urged this duty on others. In the year 1682, he was pro- secuted by a clergyman for the non-payment of tithes, in consequence of which he was committed JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 39 by the Barons of the Exchequer to the Fleet Prison. After he had been confined ^there for two years, the clergyman's conscience was so much troubled that he came in person to release him. Charles Marshall then settled with his family near London, where, during many years, he diligently worked for his Lord. He died in 1698, at the age of sixty-one.* Another of the converts of John Audland and John Camm during this extraordinary visit to Bristol was a lady named Barbara Blaugdon^ who had been seri- ously inclined from childhood ; she became a minister, and suffered much from persecution : once, when coming out from a private house at Bristol, where a meeting had been held, a man in the street stabbed her very severely, though no vital part was reached. After her release from a six weeks' imprisonment at Marlborough, she had some conversation with the gentleman who had committed her, in consequence of which he never again persecuted Friends, but behaved with much kindness to them, even aiding them when able to do so. He once called at Barbara Blaugdon's house at Bristol, and confessed to her that he was convinced of the truth of the views which she held, although he said that he could not himself walk in the way of self-denial. During a visit to Devon, where she was thrice • Charles Marshall's wife was the daughter of Mary Prince, who was another seal to the ministry of John Camm and John Audland, when at Bristol, in 1654. Two years later she visited New England as a minister, and, in 1660, travelled extensively on the European Continent with Mary Fisher. She was three times committed to prison in her native city of Bristol, during the severe persecution there in 1663 and 1664. 40 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. imprisoned, she called at the residence of the Earl of Bath — where she had formerly often been received as a visitor — with the intention of speaking to his family on the vanity of the pursuits in which she had once joined them. When she inquired for the Countess, a servant, who recognised her, asked her to go to the back-door, through which he said his lady would soon go into the garden. But when she reached the back premises a very fierce mastiff was unchained, in order that he might attack her ; but before he reached her his ferocity seemed to be altogether subdued, for he suddenly turned and v/ent away whining. Soon the Countess came to her, and after listening to her counsel, thanked her for it. When Barbara Blaugdon was at Great Torrington she was sent for by the mayor, who was not inclined to treat her with harshness ; but a clergyman, who was very anxious that she should be whipped as a vagabond, succeeded in persuading him to send her to Exeter Prison, where she was confined for some time, not being brought to trial when the assizes were held. One day the sheriff came and took her to another apartment, where a beadle, who had accom- panied him, whipped her until the blood ran down her back ; meanwhile such joy was granted her at being counted worthy to suffer for Christ as to cause her to sing His praise. " Do ye sing? I will make you cry, by-and-by ! " exclaimed the beadle, whilst increasing the severity of the strokes ; but so gra- ciously and wonderfully was she sustained, that she afterwards said that had she even been whipped to JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 4I death, in the state she then was, she should not have been terrified or dismayed. The sheriff, finding how unavailing their cruelty was, at length bade the beadle cease striking her. He had imagined that he had only a woman to deal with in her weakness, but found that he was fighting against God : the following day she was liberated. The Mayor of Bideford, before whom she was brought, was much impressed by some serious conversation which she had with him, and was so eager to resume it, that, when she left the town, he followed her on horseback, and rode three or four miles with her ; before parting she knelt down and prayed for him. Apparently the influence which she was permitted to -exert was blessed to him ; once, after leaving the ■county, she wrote him a letter, which he received not long before his death. In the winter of the following year, 1655, Barbara Blaugdon crossed to Ireland. The vessel in which she sailed was in great peril from a tremendous i5torm, which the superstitious sailors attributed to the presence of a Quaker, and conspired to throw her overboard. When she became aware of their design, she successfully appealed to the captain for protection, saying that, if he permitted such a deed, her blood would be required at his hands. The tempest continued, and as the chaplain was too much terrified to hold the usual service, Barbara Blaugdon went on deck, feeling that it was her duty to address the crew and pray for them. They were very grave and quiet, and afterwards remarked that they were "" more beholden '* to her than to their chaplain. 42 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. On landing at Dublin she went to the house of the Viceroy, but was told that it would be useless to seek for an interview with him, as only on the previous day he had banished Edward Burrough and Francis Howgill from the island; but after a while she was shown into a drawing-room^ and a gentleman came to her from the Deputy's chamber, before whom those who accompanied him stood uncovered. Notwith- standing this artifice she was convinced that he was not the Deputy but a clergyman ; and, when asked by those present why she did not speak to their lord, replied, ''When I see your lord, then I shall give my message to him." Ere long the Viceroy made his appearance, and after he had seated himself on a couch she addressed him, bidding him beware lest he should be fighting against God by opposing His cause and persecuting the innocent ; at the same time ex- pressing her belief that he was not so much in fault as were those who instigated him to this conduct. He was evidently impressed by her solemn words ; and, when she spoke of how the teachers of the people caused them to err, he said to the clergyman, " There's for 5^ou, Mr. Harrison!" and afterwards- asked him what reply he could make her. " It is all very true and very good," he said, " and I have no- thing to say against it if she speaks as she means."" Barbara Blaugdon answered that the Spirit of God was true and spoke as it meant, and meant as it spoke ; but men of corrupt minds perverted the Scrip- tures by putting their own construction on them and deceiving those they taught ; but the Scriptures were of no private interpretation, being written by holy JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 43 men of God as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. She was told that the Viceroy was so much impressed that after she left him he declined joining in bowls or any similar pastime. From Dublin she went to Cork, where some of her relatives and acquaintance dwelt ; frequent were her imprisonments, though whenever she preached there were some who willingly received her message, whilst many of her former friends trembled at her words of warning. Once, when she was addressing the people in a market-place, a butcher swore he would cleave her head, but whilst lifting his cleaver to do so a woman seized his arms, and presently some soldiers came to the rescue. On her next voyage to Ireland the ship foundered near Dungarvan, and she had a most narrow escape of her life, but was providentially saved by the bravery of the captain and one of the sailors. In Dublin she suffered much in a filthy prison,, having given great offence by a religious exhortation to the judges in a court of justice. After awhile she was arraigned at the bar, and when requested to plead Guilty or Not Guilty, answered that there was no guilt upon anyone's conscience for what was done in obedience to God. But as this was not considered a satisfactory answer she was sent back to prison ► Here she was visited by some of her friends, Sir William King, Colonel Fare, and Lady Brown, who afterwards went to the judge to endeavour to obtain her release ; they laughed when he told them, in allusion to Barbara Blaugdon, that he was afraid of his life — saying they had known her from child- 44 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. hood, and were so strenuous in their efforts for her liberation that they at last secured it. After she was set free she spoke very solemnly to the judge, who died the same night. A short time previously he had condemned six persons to death on a charge of murder, five of whom were apparently innocent ; for the only witness against them, when accused by Barbara Blaugdon, who shared the same prison, confessed, while trembling exceedingly, that his evidence was altogether false ; and he once made the same admission to the judge, to whom Barbara Blaugdon wrote, begging him to take care that he did not condemn the guiltless, also teUing him that the day of his death was at hand, and reminding him that he would have to render an account of his actions. But he took no notice of this remonstrance. At Limerick, also, Barbara Blaugdon found imprison- ment awaiting her ; and when on her homeward voyage she was robbed of all she had by the crew of a privateer, but ultimately reached England in safety. The last allusion made to her by Sewel is in reference to her being one of the one hundred and fifteen Friends who were imprisoned at Bristol in 1682, wfiilst, in the face of threats and persecution, the meetings in that city were kept up by the children with wonderful faith and courage. During John Audland and John Camm's remarkable visit there (twenty-eight years earlier), we find that George Bishop and Josiah Coale were also amongst those who " received their testimony." In 1664, George Bishop published the following JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 45. brief address, which was delivered to Charles II. and his Parliament : — " To the King and both Houses of Parliament ; thus. saith the Lord : " Meddle not with my people because of their con- science to me, and banish them not out of the nation because of their conscience; for if you do I will send my plagues upon you, and you shall know that I am the Lord. *' Written, in obedience to the Lord, by His servant,. " George Bishop. " Bristol, 25th of Ninth Month, 1664." It will be remembered that the Great Plague visited London in the following year. Whilst the pestilence was at its height the Friends were less frequently banished than before ; from his prison in Bristol George Bishop sent them a letter exhorting them to stand fast in the Lord, and assuring them that if they were exiled God would protect them whilst they were faithful to Him, — that " none should root them out, but that they should be planted and built up." At an earlier date he wrote a book giving an account of the cruel persecution of the Friends in New England, in which he quoted Major-General Denison's words to those who ventured to remonstrate with him, — " This year ye will go to complain to the Parliament, and the next year they will send to see how it is ; and the third year the Government will be changed ! " When this passage was read to the King he was much struck by it, and calling some of his courtiers to hear it he exclaimed, " So ! these are some of my good subjects of New England, but I will put a stop to them!" And when, after William Ledra's execution at Bos- ton, Edward Burrough besought him to terminate 46 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. «uch proceedings by sending a mandamus thither, he yielded to his request. jfosiah Coale was about twenty-one when the power- ful ministry of John Audland and John Camm proved an effectual message to his soul. '' I saw," he says, " that my heart was polluted, and that there was no habitation for God, which caused me to mourn in desolation, and to wander in solitary places, until I was ready to faint ; and I said in my heart. Never man's sorrow was like my sorrow. ... If Thou O God," was now his cry, "wilt help me thoroughly, then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee." This was no vain vow; it became his "life and joy" to declare the Gospel, and, with lips touched as with a live coal, he laboured valiantly for his Lord, at home and abroad ; on one occasion travelling with two other Friends from Virginia to New England through vast wildernesses and dense forests which had been thought impenetrable to all but the Indians, who treated the white strangers most kindly, although they had pre- viously been greatly exasperated by Europeans. Yet their lives were often endangered by the proximity of beasts of prey and serpents, the marshes which inter- cepted their path, and the effects of hunger and cold. Amongst some of the aboriginal tribes of Massa- chusetts, especially, Joshua Coale discovered true yearnings after God. " Through the goodness of the Lord," he writes, " we found these Indians more sober and Christian-like towards us than the Christians so- called." After his release from Sandwich gaol, the youthful minister laboured amongst the Algonquins, whose king said to him, "The Englishmen do not JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 47 love the Quakers, but the Quakers are honest men, and do no harm ; and this is no Englishman's sea or land, and Quakers shall come here and welcome." Two or three years later, when imprisoned in Lon- don, he wTites : — "Though great suffering and afflic- tions attended, as yet my heart, praised be the Lord, is not troubled, neither has fear seized me, because I see the intent of the Lord in it. . . . For the sake of the residue of the seed which is yet ungathered is my life freely sacrificed into the hand of the Lord. ... So let your prayer unto God be for me that I may be kept unto the end, and finish my course with joy, and in all things bring glory and honour to the name of the Lord." He died at the age of thirty- five, cheerfully laying down his life, we are told, *' With perfect understanding, and in an extraordinary enjoyment of the Lord's life, majesty, and presence." Amongst the many hundreds who attended his fune- ral was Sewel the historian, who, young as he then was, greatly loved and revered Josiah Coale, and highly appreciated his kindness ; always availing himself of opportunities to attend meetings where it was said that he would be present. In 1656, two years after they had held the memorable succession of meetings at Bristol, John Camm, and John Aud- land revisited that city. They were devoted friends, and had in the meantime often travelled together, whilst much blessing rested on their labours for their Lord.* Thomas Camm, in consequence of the deli- cacy of his father's health, often accompanied him. • Elizabeth Stirredge, of whom there is a sketch in this volume, was another on whose mind an indelible impression was made by the ministry of John Audland. 48 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. The strain on the voice and chest of the latter in large meetings, especially when held out of doors^ seemed greater than his consumptive constitution could withstand, and he did not long survive his second visit to Bristol. As his strength slowly ebbed away he told his friends that his " inward man re- vived and mounted upward towards its habitation in the heavens." On the day of his death, after addressing his family, he seemed to be in a sweet sleep, from which they thought he would never awake. But, hearing their loud lamentations, he said,. " Dear hearts, ye have wronged me, for I was at sweet rest ; ye should not so passionately sorrow for my departure ; this house of earth and clay must go to its place ; and this soul and spirit is to be gathered up to the Lord to live with Him for ever, where we shall meet with everlasting joy." Then, once more taking leave, he lay down and soon expired. His birthplace was Camsgill, Westmoreland, the ancestral seat of his family. From childhood he had been seriously in- clined, and, like John Audland, had eagerly received the truths taught by George Fox, when he visited their native county in 1652. At that time, we learn from his son, "the world seemed to smile upon him, and the riches and glory of it had exceeding in- creased and were then likely to increase more." But he willingly counted all things loss for the excel- lency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. He was a powerful minister, and was one of the Friends who visited London in 1654, and first preached and published the doctrines of our Society there. JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 49 John Audland, who was about twenty-six years younger than himself, keenly felt his death, though he found comfort in the companionship of Thomas Camm, who was often his associate in Gospel service. John Audland died at the age of thirty-four, his life being doubtless shortened by the hardships and perse- cution which he had endured ; for, in addition to close imprisonments, we find allusions to " great perils, sore beatings, and cruel mockings — both of the rabble and also of the bitter-spirited professors." He was very patient during his illness, and often said " Ah ! those great meetings in the orchard at Bristol, I may not forget ! I would so gladly have spread my net over all, and have gathered all, that I forgot myself, never considering the weakness of my body.* But it's well. My reward is with me, and I am content to give up and be with the Lord ; for that my soul values above all things." Notwithstanding his weakness, marvellous power was granted him to make the friends who visited him, in some measure, sharers of his joy and over- • In a letter written by Francis Howgill to Edward Burrough, when in London in 1656, we find the following allusion to these meetings : — •♦ From Bristol we have received letters from our dear brethren John Audland and John Camm ; the mighty power of the Lord is tHat way: that is a precious city and a gallant people; their net is like to break with fishes, they have caught so much there, and all the coast thereabout. Mighty is His work and power in this His day I Shout for joy all ye holy ones ! for the Lord rides on in power to get Himself a name." Another letter, wiih a similar signature, contains a reference to the same Friends:— "Our hearts were broken in separating one from another, for our lives are bound up in one, and we partake of one another's sufferings and of one another's joy." Like John Audland, Francis Howgill had been an ea£;er recipient of George Fox's message at Firbank Chapel, and had found that the seed then sown in his soul was destined to bring forth a hundredfold. 50 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. whelming sense of the love of God, with whose praise his heart was filled. As his strength failed he asked to be raised up in order to kneel, and then fervently- besought the Lord that His whole heritage might be preserved in the Truth, out of the evil of the world. Though tenderly sympathising with his beloved wife he said to her, " My will is in true subjection to the will of the Lord, whether life or death; and therefore give me up freely to His disposing." And she, we read, *' how dear soever he was to her, did so." Ten days after his death she became the mother of a little boy. In reference to her loss she writes : — " The Eternal God revealed His Son Christ in us, and gave us faith to believe in Him, the eternal Word of life, by which our souls came to be quickened and made alive. . . . Our hearts were knit together in the unspeakable love of Truth, which was our life, joy, and delight, and made our days together exceeding comfortable. . . . The dolour of my heart my tongue or pen is not able to declare ; yet in this I contented myself that it was the will of the Lord." Anne Audland afterwards became the wife of Thomas Camm, and for forty years, *' in the utmost harmony and nearness of affection," they mutually served their Lord and suf- fered for His sake. Once he was imprisoned at Appleby for six years, and again at Kendal for three. But trials seemed only to fan the flame of devotion in the heart of his wife, who was greatly gifted as a minister : she spent much time alone in fervent prayer, and in reading the Scriptures and religious books. Humble and retiring herself, she was always JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. 51 ready to encourage the weakest of the flock. During a very severe illness she spoke of how she had en- joyed unspeakable peace here, as well as the full assurance of everlasting joy. In the autumn of 1705, when in her seventy-ninth year, in a farewell sermon at a Monthly Meeting at Kendal, she implored her friends to be diligent in the -service of God. The following day she was attacked by the illness which terminated her chequered life. After begging her husband to freely give her up, she added, " I have loved thee with my soul and God has blessed us, and will bless thee and be with thee, and make up all thy losses. ... I am full of as- surance of eternal salvation and a crown of glory, through my dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. She spoke of how much she had desired to send a farewell epistle to Friends at Bristol and Banbury, to " tenderly advise professors of Truth to keep under the power of the Cross of Christ, by which they will be more and more crucified to the world, and baptised into Christ, and put Him on, the new and heavenly man, in whom they will become new creatures and be enabled to serve God in spirit." As she grew worse, her husband suggested sending for one or two of her relatives, but she answered, " Be not careful in the matter ; the Lord my God is near me and I have thy company, and it is enough. . . , The Lord gave us to each other ; let us bless His name, if He now take us from each other in the outward, that is all, for our joining in spirit remains for ever." One of the earnest messages she left was for her *' prodigal son," asking his stepfather to still labour 52 JOHN AUDLAND AND HIS FRIENDS. and pray for his return. Some of her last words were, " My hope is only in Thee, my dear Lord."" When, more than fifty years earlier, George Fox was enabled to sow the good seed of faith at Firbank Chapel, he probably little foresaw the marvellous results which would, directly, or indirectly, arise therefrom. Though the rough blasts of persecution were per- mitted in that age to be the means of causing Quakerism to take deeper root, can there be any need that it should droop and wither in the sunshine of this ? However true it may be that " New to the world at every hour, New runners find new races," yet are the conditions of discipleship the same as ever they were — an outward cross to be clung to, and an inward cross to be borne, for the sake of that Saviour who can inspire the heart with " a love so deep as to make obedience a delight.'' From one source, and one alone, must vitality ever spring, and Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 53 EDWARD BURROUGH. •* There is no created force in the universe greater than a feeble "human soul, that in simple faith yields up itself wholly to its Saviour as the mere instrument of His mighty power." " I HAVE loved Thee from my cradle — from my \'outh unto this day ; and have served Thee faithfully in my generation," were the words of that devoted follower of his crucified Lord, Edward Burrough, when at the age of twenty-eight he laid down his life in Newgate, a victim to the frightfully pestilential air of the gaol, where in one room nearly one hundred Friends were confined with a large number of felons. A fuller record of his inner life, pourtraying more plainly the hidden source of the wonderful outward one, would have been of deep interest, but he seems to have written comparatively little of himself in any way. Edward Burrough's ministry began at the age of eighteen, and, young as he was, it is evident that he had in all reality learnt by heart the lessons which it was his Lord's design that he should be instru- mental, in no common measure, in impressing on others. The messenger whose own soul dwells in the subject of his message cannot but speak with force of the things which, with the eye and ear of faith, he has seen and heard. Edward Burrough was born at Underbarrow, in Westmoreland, in 1634 ; his parents, who were mem- 54 EDWARD BURROUGH. bers of the Church of England, gave him a good education. He writes concerning his early life : — '* When I grew up towards twelve years of age some- thing stirred in me, and showed me that there was a higher religion than that I was exercised in. ... I got to be a Presbyterian, and followed the highest of the priests and professors of that form, and grew in favour with them. Then I left some little of my vanity and lightness, and pride grew up in me. When 1 was about seventeen it pleased God to show Himself a little to me,, and something struck me with terror. ... At this time I was much separated from the vain ways of the world and from worldly people. The preaching of those whom I had formerly much delighted in was withered and de- cayed. Yet it pleased the Lord to show Himself in love to me, and I had sweet refreshment coming in from Him to my soul, and had joy and peace in abundance, and openings of the living truth in me which the world knew not of. The mystery of the Scriptures was some- thing opened, and I saw many glorious things which lie hid under the letter. ... I was brought out of the land of darkness, and could say I was in the light. But not knowing the cross of Christ I ran forth in my wisdom comprehending the mysteries of God. . . . The former- terror was gone, pride grew more than ever, and my de- light was much in discoursing where I gave holy things unto dogs, and cast pearls before swine. . . . The earthly spirit ruled. I had left the Lord my Maker, who had so graciously made Himself manifest to me. I could tell of experiences, but they were dead to me, and something within began to question how it was with me ; for I saw myself to be ignorant more than formerly, and I saw that I knew nothing." He greatly longed for the peace which had once been his portion, for he found that it was in vain to try to comfort himself, as he would fain have done, v/ith the doctrine — very prevalent amongst the Cal- vinistic Puritans — " Whom God loves once, He loves. EDWARD BURROUGH. 55 for ever." He saw the shallowness of much of the religion professed by those around him, and felt that something of a very different nature would be needed to satisfy the cravings of his soul. It was at this crisis, and when he was about eighteen years old, that George Fox came to Underbarrow, and the young student confessed that this faithful servant of the Lord " spoke the language which he knew not, notwithstanding all his high talking;" yet, unwilling to ''endure the sound doctrine, he at first turned away his ears from the truth," endeavouring to refute it by skilful arguments. But these half- unconscious efforts to fight against God were unavail- ing. He soon saw the agreement of George Fox's teaching with the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit showed him the state of his own heart ; this sight was followed by a day of weeping, mourning, and misery. ** One vial of wrath after another," he writes, " was poured out, and then I separated from all the glory of the world and betook myself to the company of a poor, despised, and condemned people called Quakers. . . . But praised, praised be the Lord for evermore, who made me partaker of His love, in whom my soul hath full satisfaction, joy, and content." In Christ he had peace, and there- fore could be of good cheef whilst in the world he had tribulation. His parents were so incensed at his joining the Friends that they forbade his remaining in the family, i^ and even refused his request to work for them as a servant. Unchristian and cruel as this conduct was at best, one must not forget that to them Quakerism 56 EDWARD BURROUGH. seemed a dangerous heresy, and they knew that its upholders were in that day despised and condemned not only by members of the Church of England but by Dissenters also. Almost at once Edward Bur- rough felt that he was called of God to the ministry of the Gospel. Writing of his friends and himself he says : — " We tried all sorts of teachers, as many do at this day, and remain not gathered to the Lord. Such we were that sought the Lord and desired the knowledge of His ways more than anything beside. For one I may speak, who from a child, even a few years old, set his face to seek and find the Saviour. After our long seeking the Lord appeared to us, and revealed His glory in us, and gave us of His Spirit. . . . We found this light to be a sufficient teacher to lead us to Christ, from whom it came ; and it gave us to receive Christ, and to witness Him to dwell in us. . . . We hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and felt His word in our hearts to burn up and to beat down all that was contrary to God. Whilst waiting upon the Lord in silence, which we often did for many hours together, with our hearts towards Him, . . . we often received the pouring down of His Spirit upon us, and our hearts were made glad, and our tongues loosened. Things unutterable were made manifest, and the glory of the Father was revealed. Then we began to sing praises to the Lord God Almight}^ and to the Lamb who had redeemed us to God." -What was this but a realisation of the prophet's words, " Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it " ? In company with others who had, like himself, EDWARD BURROUGH. 57 been deeply reached by the ministry of George Fox, and had willingly given up the world for Christ, Edward Burrough visited the Northern counties of England and some parts of Scotland. In that " day •of good tidings " how could they hold their peace, though their onward path led them through perils and prisons, and brought " beatings and bruisings " upon them ? It was not possible that such labour should be in vain in the Lord ; and there were many who showed the reality of the change wrought in their hearts, by willingness to join a people who met with persecution on every side. Places of public worship, markets, and streets, alike witnessed the ministerial work of Edward Burrough, who was ena- bled very strikingly to discern the spiritual state of those to whom his words were directed. Whilst in prison he prepared a paper called " A Warning from the Lord," at the end of which he thus addressed his suffering brethren : "Be glad and rejoice in the Lord, for you hath He chosen to shine as lights in the world, and to be a burdensome stone to the nations." In the spring of 1654, Edward Burrough came to London. One of the first Friends who had visited this city was Gervaise Benson, a justice of the peace, who in the previous year told George Fox, in a letter, that he had been brought there by the love of God, and was kept there waiting on the Lord, to do what- ever He might require of him. A little before this time some works written by Friends had been pub- lished in the Metropolis, printed, we learn, " for Giles Calvert, and sold at his shop at the Black Spread Eagle, at the West end of Paul's." Many persons 58 EDWARD BURROUGH. who had heard of the rise and growth of the Society of Friends in the North of England wished to know more about their views, and to such Gervaise Ben- son's attention was turned. Soon afterwards, Isabel Buttery came from the North to distribute in Lon- don a paper by George Fox, on " The Kingdom of Heaven." Whilst engaged in this work one Sabbath evening in St. Paul's Churchyard, she was brought before the Lord Mayor, and committed by him to Bridewell for the offence of Sabbath-breaking ! There she and a maid-servant who had been with her were lodged in the common gaol, where only those of the lowest character were usually confined. At this period the first meetings of Friends were held in London, in the houses of two brothers named Dring, and were often times of silent waiting on the Lord,, though occasionally a little was said by Isabel Buttery. It was with Francis Howgill (who was about six- teen years older than himself) that Edward Bur- rough entered London. So greatly was his ministry blessed that many hundreds were effectually brought to the knowledge of the Lord. Having experienced much of Christ's teaching in his own soul, he was made skilful in speaking the word in season to others. Thomas EUwood describes him as "bold in his. Master's quarrels, yet open and free to every thirsty lamb ;" and he has been styled a Son of Thun- der, yet withal a Son of Consolation. His elo- quence and his powerful voice, like all else, were consecrated to his Saviour's cause ; and from Francis Howgill we learn that, " Oftentimes buffetted, and EDWARD BURROUGH. 59 sometimes knocked down, loaded with lies, bearing an exceeding weight of service, he made the work of the Lord his whole business," not spending even one week for himself during the ten years which lay be- tween his conversion and his early death. The " subtle spirit of the Londoners " was at first disheartening to these preachers from the Westmore- land dales, but it could prove no insurmountable obstacle, for they came " in the name of the Lord of Hosts," who so gave the increase, that ere long they could say, " Hundreds are convinced and thou- sands wait to see the issue ; very many societies we have visited are now able to stand." One incident is so characteristic of the age and of this young champion of the Cross, that even in this short sketch we cannot pass it by. At London, Sewel tells us, it was usual in the summer evenings for many young men, on leaving work, to meet in the fields to show their strength in wrestling, to a crowd of eager onlookers ; pas- sing near the ring at Moorfields, Edward Burrough, then about twenty years of age, stood still and saw how a strong and skilful youth, who had already thrown three combatants, vainly challenged others, none of whom would venture to enter the lists. At this crisis Edward Burrough stepped forward, whilst with bated breath the bystanders watched the issue, not knowing that " it was quite another fight he aimed at." Little was the successful wrestler prepared for such an adversary as now opposed him, and he quailed under the steadfast gaze and crushing words •6o EDWARD BURROUGH. of one whose strength had been sharply tested in the conflict with spiritual wickedness. Presently his powerful voice, a fitting medium for the overwhelm- ing words of his message from on high, was heard driving home to the hearts of the wondering and spellbound multitude the reality of the "good fight of faith," as "he reasoned of righteousness, tem- perance, and judgment to come." Seemingly the seed was sown in stony ground, yet none cared to continue the sports, and the crowd separated ; some to confess afterwards that this season had been the turning-point in their lives. Whilst Edward Burrough and Francis Howgill were still in London they were thus addressed in a letter from George Fox : — " Stir abroad whilst the door is open, and the light shineth. The Lord give you an understanding in all things, and His arm go along with you that ye may be to His glory. Dear Francis and Edward, in the life of God wait, that ye may with it be led, . . . that as good plow-men and good thresher-men ye may be able to bring out the wheat." How well Edward Burrough heeded this counsel we may learn from the Autobiography of William Crouch who, although six years his senior, says that the spiritual relation in which he stood to him was that of a child to a father. " He was a man — though iDut young — of undaunted courage;" William Crouch writes, " The Lord set him above the fear of his •enemies, and I have beheld him filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord. For instance, at the Bull .and Mouthy when the room, which was very large, EDWARD BURROUGH. 6r hath been filled with people many of whom have been in uproars, contending one^with another, some ex- claiming against the Quakers, accusing and charging them with heresy, blasphemy, sedition, and what not; that they were deceivers and deluded the people ; that they denied the Holy Scriptures, and the resurrection : others endeavouring to vindicate them, and speaking of them more favourably. In the midst of all which noise and contention, this servant of the Lord hath stood upon a bench, with a Bible in his hand, for he generally carried one about him, speaking to the people with great authority. . . . And so suitable to the present debate among them, that the whole multitude was overcome thereby, and became exceed- ing calm and attentive, and departed peaceably, and with seeming satisfaction." Two distinct kinds of meetings were then held in London. In one of these the Friends gathered quietly together in the name of Christ, the great Head of the Church, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, that the strength which was ofttimes severely strained might be renewed, that their sinking souls might mount up as on eagles' wings, and that, with hearts enlarged by the more conscious indwelling of the Comforter, they might run and not be weary, and walk — though through much tribulation — and not faint. In this time of our outward ease have we,, their successors, less need than they for putting on the inward armour ? The other class of meetings were *' for all sorts and all sects," and were often very large ; the service rest- ing, as George Fox suggested, " on three, or four, or 62 EDWARD BURROUGH. six Friends who were grown-up and strong in the Truth." With such workmen, — the secret language of whose souls was, " We have no might, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee " ; willing to wait, whilst willing also at their Master's bidding to go forward in faith ; *' steadfast, unmov- able, always abounding in the work of the Lord," because in Him their life was hid, — it was no marvel that many should be added to the Church.* " When we see such multitudes," writes Francis Howgill, ^' we are often put to a stand where one might get bread to satisfy so many ; but the wisdom and power of God has been with us." Very many eagerly drank in the words of these earnest Gospel ministers, who spoke in demonstration of the Spirit and of power ; for their doctrine was no new thing, but the uplifting of Christ as the Light of the World, as being made unto man "wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption " ; as bearing " our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.^^ In the summer of 1654 Edward Burrough and Francis Howgill went to Bristol, where persecution was already threatened. A meeting held in the Castle was attended by several hundreds. When it was over they went for rest to the country house of a captain in the army, whither they were followed by so many anxious to converse with them that the house was filled. Meetings were held daily in and around the city, which were largely attended, and * Twenty-five years later there were 10,000 Friends in London alone. EDWARD BURROUGH. 63 on which the Divine blessing manifestly rested. The following Sabbath morning they were in the city in the dwelling of a military officer; but his house proving quite too small to hold all who came, they went in the afternoon to the Fort, where about 2,000 persons assembled, including many of the chief people of the place. The company was a very quiet one ; but when leaving the spot Edward Burrough and Francis Howgill were so pressed by the awakened crowd as to be glad to turn aside into a private room. The following day they were summoned before the mayor, aldermen, justices of the peace, and clergy. Many officers and other gentlemen, whose hearts had been touched by their ministry, accompanied them, but were not allowed to be present during their examination. When asked why they came to the city, they answered, *' By the command of the Lord, to whose name we have to bear witness, and to declare the Gospel committed unto us." On being ordered to quit the town, they said, " We are freeborn Eng- lishmen, and have served the commonwealth in faith- fulness, being free in the presence of God from the transgression of any law. To your command we cannot be obedient ; but if by violence you put us out of the city, and have power to do it, we cannot resist." For a while longer they laboured in Bristol, and apparently without further interference. During this time some Baptists, from a town in Wiltshire, who had challenged them to a public dispute, having felt themselves obliged to lay down arms, were cowardly enough on their return home to report that the Friends denied Christ and the Scriptures. So when 64 EDWARD BURROUGH. the two Friends visited this town, its inhabitants, in. their indignation, had but a rough reception for them ; though granting them leave for a meeting in the market-place to clear themselves. With a deep sense of their own helplessness, they drew near the large assembly, silently seeking for strength from Him whose promise is, " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Very abundantly was it fulfilled whilst for two- hours they spoke with irresistible authority. That evening the mayor called on them, confessing that they had spoken the truth, and that if he did not witness to it his conscience would witness against him ; and a justice of the peace asked them to his house, and was, with his wife, we learn, " convinced of the Truth." This meeting was the means of opening a door for them in the county. After a few weeks of earnest work in London^ Edward Burrough and his friend again visited the country. A very large meeting was held in the Isle of Ely, to which Colonel Russell (whose son married a daughter of Oliver Cromwell) sent two ministers, who reported to him that the Quakers were " far before " them. This led the Colonel to invite them to his house, where, in a religious family gathering,, some hearts seemed to be truly touched, and the Colonel's wife shed many tears. In the spring of 1655, Edward Burrough believed that he was called on to preach the Gospel in Ireland. On the day of receiving this intimation of duty he felt that, although he must commit himself wholly into the hands of God, a promise was granted him EDWARD BURROUGH. 65 that his life should be preserved. Unknown to him, Francis Howgill was summoned to the same field of labour, and with a conviction that Edward Burrough would be his companion in it. From Dublin, the latter — who, notwithstanding his incessant active avocations, was a great writer — addressed a general epistle to his brethren, whom he styles " The camp of the Lord in England." Of himself, in a letter to Margaret Fell, he remarks : "As in suffering with Christ I do abound, so my joy by Him and consolation in Him are increased also. . . . We have not spared to wound on the right hand and on the left ; and ' Victory, Victory,' hath been our word of watch." Of this visit he elsewhere writes : "Truly great service for the Lord we had ; . . . there is a precious work begun and seed sown, w^hich shall never die." At the end of the year the two friends were placed by force on board a vessel bound for Chester. After travelling in the northern counties, Edward Burrough went to London, where he was soon joined by Francis Howgill, and, holding about twenty meetings a week, it is not to be wondered at that he was " almost spent " ; especially as much mental suffer- ing was endured by himself and his companion in contending with the evil around them. In the follow- ing year, sometimes with a prison for his study, he still freely used his pen : it is interesting to read his unequivocal reply to Bunyan's charge that the Friends said that " salvation was not fully and com- pletely wrought out for sinners, by that man Christ Jesus." He answers : " This accusation is clearly F 66 EDWARD BURROUGH. false, and wickedly cast upon us ; for there is not salvation in any other, nor is it wrought by any other, but by Jesus Christ. It is fully and completely brought forth by Him unto everyone who believes and receives the testimony of it in themselves." His simple definition of faith is as follows : " Faith is an act of God in the Creature. ... It gives the Creature to believe God in all that He hath promised." In an epistle of encouragement to " Such as are found worthy to suffer," this passage is found : "Be ye more watchful, and faithful, and valiant for the Truth upon the earth unto the end ; that you may . . . receive the fulfilling of the promise of God, and may witness God within you, the Emanuel, the Saviour, God with us. All that know this need not go forth to the right hand nor to the left, but salvation is come unto us. He takes away sin, and saves from it and from condemnation. . . . Believe not that spirit which draws back into the world, into its lusts and liberty and fashions, which pass away. That spirit forgets God." He repeatedly wrote addresses of re- monstrance to Oliver Cromwell, and in 1659 published a very remarkable prediction of the persecutions that awaited the persecutors of the Friends, and which was fully verified when, in the following year, Charles II. was made king. In it he says that whilst in Warwick- shire he was one day meditating on the woful wrongs of his people, when a cry went through him, " The Lord will be avenged ! The Lord will be avenged upon His enemies ! He will avenge the cause of His people ;" accompanied with the command, " Write unto the rulers, and yet once more warn them." EDWARD BURROUGH. 67 Soon after this Edward Burrough went with Samuel Fisher to Dunkirk (which was then possessed by the English), their object being to visit Jesuits, Friars, and Priests. After conversation with the Capuchin Friars, Edward Burrough sent them some queries in Latin : *' Is it an outward abstinence," he asks, " by the force of locks, and doors, and bolts, or self-sepa- X rated and secret places, that subdues the world's nature in men and women ? Is it by such means that Christ gives victory over sin and overcomes it in His people ? Or is it not by the power of God in the heart only ? " Many meetings were held here, and opportunities were found for satisfactory service in the army, leading Edward Burrough to remark that he *' must commend the spirit of our English- men for moderation more than the men of any other nation." Later in the year he published a long document, styled, ''A message to the present Rulers of Eng- land," containing the following prophetic words : ** Your estates shall not be spared from the spoiler, nor your necks from the axe ; your enemies shall charge treason upon you, and if you seek to stop the Lord's work you shall not cumber the earth very long." When, in 1661, a committee was appointed by the House of Commons to prepare and bring in a bill to prevent any injury to the Government from Quakers, &c., refusing to take oaths, and unlawfully convening together, Edward Burrough, George Whitehead, and Richard Hubberthorne, obtained an interview with its members. Characteristically, the last thing said to them by Edward Burrough was 68 EDWARD BURROUGH. that, should this measure be passed, " so far from yielding conformity thereunto, he should, through the strength of Christ, meet among the people of God to worship Him ; and not only so, but should make it his business to exhort all God's people everywhere to meet together for the worship of God, notwithstanding the law and all its penalties ; and that he desired this might be reported to the House ! " Well might Francis Howgill say that " he was of a manly spirit in the things of God." A little later he had an audience with the king on account of the persecuted Friends in New England, one of whom had already been put to death ; telling the monarch that a vein of innocent blood had been opened in his dominions which, if it were not stopped,^ would overrun all. " But I will stop that vein," was the reply. Owing to Edward Burrough's diligence in following up the matter, a mandamus was sent to Boston, compelling the cruel rulers to release their innocent victims. After labouring in the neighbourhood of his birth- place, and visiting Thomas Ellwood (who had been deeply impressed by his ministry), then ill of small- pox, in Oxfordshire, we find Edward Burrough once more in London. Then follows a visit to the Friends at Bristol ; both in meetings and in private he ex- horted them to " faithfulness and steadfastness to that wherein they had found rest unto their souls," and solemnly bade them farewell. " I am going to the city of London again," he said, " to lay down my life for the Gospel, and suffer amongst Friends in that place." Soon after his arrival he was- EDWARD BURROUGH. 69 violently arrested, whilst preaching at the Bull and Mouth Meeting-house, and committed by Alderman Brown to Newgate, in which filthy and frightfully crowded gaol his friend, Richard Hubberthorne — of whom he wrote a memorial — died, not long after- wards, in great peace; ''That faith which hath wTought my salvation," he said, " I well know. . . . Out of this straightness I must go, for I am wound into largeness, and am to be lifted up on high, far above all ! " Whilst confined amongst the vilest felons, Edward Burrough, in a letter to some of his friends in the country, says that it would be '' too large to relate, and too piercing to their hearts to hear, the violence and cruelty which Friends had suffered : " he begs them to be ready also to die rather than deny Christ before men, or cease from the free exercise of their •consciences. Slightly alluding to the extreme suffer- ings of his companions and himself — easy to read of, hard to realise — he adds, " but the Lord supports!'* King Charles, who greatly respected him, sent an order for his release, which Alderman Brown and others managed to evade. It soon became manifest that neither his youth nor strong constitution could withstand the pestilen- tial air. Calmly and patiently he awaited the close, night and day praying exceedingly for himself and his people, whilst not forgetting his enemies, *' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Almost his last words were, " Though this body of clay must return to the dust, yet I have a testimony that I have served God in my generation ; ajtd that 70 EDWARD BURROUGH. Spirit which has acted and nded in me shall yet break forth in thousands,'* Truly, those who rejoiced at his death — in the belief that the cause which he had advocated would have been injured or destroyed thereby— made, as Sewel says, "a wrong reckoning." "Shall days,, or months, or years," writes his friend Francis How- gill, " wear out thy name as though thou hadst na being ? Oh, nay ! . . The children that are yet un- born shall have thee in their mouths, and thy works shall testify of thee in generations who have not yet a being and shall count thee blessed. . . Oh, Edward Burrough ! I cannot but mourn for thee, yet not as one without hope or faith. . . I am distressed for thee, my brother, very pleasant hast thou been to me, and my love to thee was wonderful, passing the love of women." When George Fox heard of the death of this *' valiant warrior, more than a conqueror," so he calls him, — " being sensible how great a grief and exercise it would be to Friends to part with him," he wrote a few lines counselling them, in his deep spirituality, so to dwell in Christ as to " feel dear Edward Burrough among them," that they might thus "enjoy him in the life that doth not change^ which is invisible." It is difficult to bear in mind that the vast and varied labours of which this imperfect outline is given, were accomplished between the age of eighteen and twenty-eight. Without any doubt whatever, Edward Burrough was endowed, in common with many others of his time, with a powerful intellect, a large EDWARD BURROUGH. 7I amount of energy of character, and the good gift of physical strength : yet it would be in vain to attri- bute to these what Sewell speaks of as "his very glorious success." Surely it rather lay in this : — called and chosen, and faithful ; — conscious that, without Christ we can do nothing, and being well aware that " There can be nothing servile in the entire resignation of ourselves to be taught of Him, for He is the absolute truth — nothing unmanly in the yielding of our whole being to be wholly moulded by Him"* — he placed /w'msc// and his all at the dis- posal of his Lord. In the words of his faithful friend, Francis Howgill, ** his very strength was bended after God." ♦ Archbishop Trench. 72 ELIZABETH STIRREDGE. She " had a Guide, and in His steps When travellers have trod, Whether beneath was flinty rock Or yielding grassy sod. They cared not, but with force unspent, Unmoved by pain, they onward went. Unstayed by pleasures still they bent Their zealous course to God." T. T. Lynch. " I CAN truly say," remarks Elizabeth Stirredge, when describing the earlier years of her life — " I can truly say that I never coveted heaven's glory, nor to be made a partaker of the riches, glory, and ever- lasting well-being for ever, more than I desired to walk in the way that leads thereunto. And I did as truly believe that the Lord would redeem a people out of the world and its ways." She was born in 1634 at Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, and was the child of God-fearing parents (Puritans) by whom she was very carefully brought up. The consistent life of her father, and his fervent prayers in his family, were long remembered by her. " There is a day coming," he would say, " wherein Truth will glo- riously break forth; more glorious than ever since the apostles' days ; but I shall not live to see it." In spite of many advantages the childhood of Elizabeth Stirredge was far from being a happy one. Natu- rally timid and pensive as she was, it does not seem improbable that the training which might have ELIZABETH STIRREDGE. 73 suited a more vigorous mental constitution was scarcely adapted to her sensitive nature. She, how- ever, gives no intimation of this herself, and most likely when looking back at her early troubles she could thankfully set her seal to the truth of the blessed declaration, that all things shall work to- gether for good to them that love God. When only ten years old she felt that she could take no delight in the pleasures which the world could offer. As she grew older she found satisfaction in intercourse with some religious people, who she says lived up to what was made known to them. It was very delightful to her to listen to their conver- sation ; but soon her sadness returned with the con- viction that she was not living as the people of God did in former times. Unable to find relief in prayer, or comfort in reading the sacred Scriptures, she mourned because she had not lived in the days when the Lord spoke with Moses, in order that she might thus have known His will ; or else in the days when Christ was personally on earth, that she might have followed Him and sat at His feet ; all unconscious that, even in the midst of her trials, He who had loved her with an everlasting love was drawing her into closer fellowship with Himself than any outward one could be. In reference to Satan's subtle allure- ments she writes : — ** The enemy will befool as many as he can, there- fore look unto the Lord, and pray unto Him in the inward of your minds, though you cannot utter one word : know it assuredly that He is near to help His afflicted children at all times. Oh that I had known this in my young and tender years when the Lord was near 74 ELIZABETH STIRREDGE. me, and at work in my heart, and I knew it not ! . . . I had many times a concern upon my mind which brought great heaviness over my spirit; but I knew not what it was, and I little thought it was the Lord who was ever good and gracious, kind, merciful, and slow to anger. I little thought He looked so narrowly to my ways. . . . He took me by the hand and led me when I knew not of it ; and if I had not hearkened unto the enemy all would have been well." It was about this time, and when Elizabeth Stir- redge was twenty years of age, that she attended a meeting held by two Friends, John Audland and John Camm. The ministry of the former sank to the bottom of her heart ; and, leaving her companions, she walked home alone, the cry of her soul being, '' What shall I do to be saved ? I would do anything for the assurance of everlasting life." Her earnest aspirations for a new heart could but be answered by Him who had redeemed her v/ith His precious blood. Writing to her children she tells them that they may " know the way to heaven's glory and to the enjoy- ment of true peace and satisfaction, because it is a straight and narrow way " ; and she begs them to- keep their hearts with all diligence, in order that they may be brought nearer and nearer unto the "Lord and grow in fellowship with Him. " My very aim," she adds, " is to make you a little acquainted with the work of the Lord in my heart, and also with the subtle devices of the enemy ; ... his way is to set baits according unto people's nature, for therein he is most likely to prevail. And because I was of a sad heart and very subject to be cast down, there- fore did he with all his might endeavour to cast me pirJVBRSITTj ELIZABETH STIRREDGE. ^Z^ 75 down into despair ; . . . many things he cast before me that seemed too hard for me to go through." The precious consciousness of the comforting and sus- taining presence of her Saviour which had for a while been her joy was withdrawn ; and Satan in- sinuated that the sorrow which she felt at the loss of this sweet fellowship was most sinful, and that the fate of the murmurer was to fall in the wilderness. Just at this time William Dewsbury [of whom there is a sketch in this volume] visited Gloucester- shire. His soul seems to have been especially drawn out in sympathy for those who were passing through such sorrow as had at one time well-nigh overwhelmed himself. After hearing his comforting language in meeting, Elizabeth Stirredge felt a great longing to open her heart a little to him : and yet imagining that, stranger though he was, an insight would be given him of her spiritual state, she feared that he would speak to her about the hardness of her heart, and that such an additional affliction as this would be more than she could bear. She was not mistaken in supposing that he would understand her case. Before she had reached the spot where he stood the word in season was spoken. ** Dear lamb,"^ he said, "judge all thoughts and believe, for blessed are they that believe and see not. They were blessed that saw and believed, but more blessed are they that believe and see not." " Oh," she writes, " he was one that had good tidings for me in that day, and great power was with his testimony ; for the hard- ness was taken away, and my heart was opened by that ancient power that opened the heart of Lydia :. 76 ELIZABETH STIRREDGE. everlasting praises be given unto Him that sits upon the throne for ever." She seems to have simply accepted the truth that *' emotion is not faith " ; that when feeling is at its lowest ebb, faith — even from the fact of this great •strain on it — may grow the stronger. " I can only say, "she remarks, " that my heart and soul delighted in judgments. The Lord's end in chastening His chil-