A JOURNAL OF THE LIFE AND TRAVELS OF JOHN WOOLMAN,
In the Service of the Gospel
CHAPTER I
His Birth and Parentage, with some Account of the
Operations of divine Grace on his Mind in his Youth—His first Appearance in the Ministry—And his
Considerations, while young, on the keeping of Slaves
I have often felt a Motion of Love to leave some
Hints in Writing of my Experience of the Goodness of God; and now, in the
thirty-sixth Year of my Age, I begin this Work.
I was born in Northampton, in Burlington
County, West-Jersey, in the Year 1720; and before I was seven Years old
I began to be acquainted with the Operations of divine Love. Through the Care
of my Parents, I was taught to read nearly as soon as I was capable of it; and,
as I went from School one seventh Day, I remember, while my Companions went to
play by the Way, I went forward out of Sight, and, sitting down, I read the 22d
Chapter of the Revelations: "He shewed me a pure River of Water of
Life, clear as Chrystal, proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb, etc."
and, in reading it, my Mind was drawn to seek after that pure Habitation,
which, I then believed, God had prepared for his Servants.[Pg
18] The Place where I sat, and the Sweetness that attended my
Mind, remain fresh in my Memory.
This, and the like gracious Visitations, had that
Effect upon me, that when Boys used ill Language it troubled me; and, through
the continued Mercies of God, I was preserved from it.
The pious Instructions of my Parents were often
fresh in my Mind when I happened to be among wicked Children, and were of Use
to me. My Parents, having a large Family of Children, used frequently, on first
Days after Meeting, to put us to read in the holy Scriptures, or some religious
Books, one after another, the rest sitting by without much Conversation; which,
I have since often thought, was a good Practice. From what I had read and
heard, I believed there had been, in past Ages, People who walked in
Uprightness before God, in a Degree exceeding any that I knew, or heard of, now
living: And the Apprehension of there being less Steadiness and Firmness,
amongst People in this Age than in past Ages, often troubled me while I was a
Child.
A Thing remarkable in my Childhood was, that once,
going to a Neighbour's House, I saw, on the Way, a Robin sitting on her
Nest, and as I came near she went off, but, having young ones, flew about, and
with many Cries expressed her Concern for them; I stood and threw Stones at
her, till, one striking her, she fell down dead: At first I was pleased with
the Exploit, but after a few Minutes was seized with Horror, as having, in a
sportive Way, killed an innocent Creature while she was careful for her Young:
I beheld her lying dead, and thought these young ones, for which she was so
careful, must now perish for want of their Dam to nourish them; and, after some
painful Considerations on the Subject, I climbed up the Tree, took all the
young Birds, and killed them; supposing that better than to leave them to pine
away and die miserably: And believed, in this Case, that Scripture-proverb was
fulfilled, "The tender Mercies of the Wicked are cruel." I then went
on my Errand, but, for some Hours, could think of little else but the Cruelties
I had committed, and was much[Pg 19]
troubled. Thus he, whose tender Mercies are over all his Works, hath placed a
Principle in the human Mind, which incites to exercise Goodness towards every
living Creature; and this being singly attended to, People become tender
hearted and sympathising; but being frequently and totally rejected, the Mind
becomes shut up in a contrary Disposition.
About the twelfth Year of my Age, my Father being
abroad, my Mother reproved me for some Misconduct, to which I made an undutiful
Reply; and, the next first Day, as I was with my Father returning from Meeting,
he told me he understood I had behaved amiss to my Mother, and advised me to be
more careful in future. I knew myself blameable, and in Shame and Confusion
remained silent. Being thus awakened to a Sense of my Wickedness, I felt
Remorse in my Mind, and, getting home, I retired and prayed to the Lord to
forgive me; and do not remember that I ever, after that, spoke unhandsomely to
either of my Parents, however foolish in some other Things.
Having attained the Age of sixteen Years, I began
to love wanton Company; and though I was preserved from prophane Language, or
scandalous Conduct, still I perceived a Plant in me which produced much wild
Grapes; yet my merciful Father forsook me not utterly, but, at Times, through
his Grace, I was brought seriously to consider my Ways; and the Sight of my
Backslidings affected me with Sorrow; but, for want of rightly attending to the
Reproofs of Instruction, Vanity was added to Vanity, and Repentance to
Repentance: Upon the whole, my Mind was more and more alienated from the Truth,
and I hastened toward Destruction. While I meditate on the Gulph towards which
I travelled, and reflect on my youthful Disobedience, for these Things I weep,
mine Eyes run down with Water.
Advancing in Age, the Number of my Acquaintances
increased, and thereby my Way grew more difficult; though I had found Comfort
in reading the holy Scriptures, and thinking on heavenly Things, I was now
estranged therefrom: I knew I was going from the Flock[Pg
20] of Christ, and had no Resolution to return; hence serious
Reflections were uneasy to me, and youthful Vanities and Diversions my greatest
Pleasure. Running in this Road I found many like myself; and we associated in
that which is the reverse of true Friendship.
But in this swift Race it pleased God to visit me
with Sickness, so that I doubted of recovering; and then did Darkness, Horror,
and Amazement, with full Force, seize me, even when my Pain and Distress of
Body was very great. I thought it would have been better for me never to have
had a Being, than to see the Day which I now saw. I was filled with Confusion;
and in great Affliction, both of Mind and Body, I lay and bewailed myself. I
had not Confidence to lift up my Cries to God, whom I had thus offended; but,
in a deep Sense of my great Folly, I was humbled before him; and, at length,
that Word which is as a Fire and a Hammer, broke and dissolved my rebellious
Heart, and then my Cries were put up in Contrition; and in the multitude of his
Mercies I found inward Relief, and felt a close Engagement, that, if he was
pleased to restore my Health, I might walk humbly before him.
After my Recovery, this Exercise remained with me
a considerable Time; but, by Degrees, giving Way to youthful Vanities, they gained
Strength, and, getting with wanton young People, I lost Ground. The Lord had
been very gracious, and spoke Peace to me in the Time of my Distress; and I now
most ungratefully turned again to Folly; on which Account, at Times, I felt
sharp Reproof. I was not so hardy as to commit Things scandalous; but to exceed
in Vanity, and promote Mirth, was my chief Study. Still I retained a Love for
pious People, and their Company brought an Awe upon me. My dear Parents,
several Times, admonished me in the Fear of the Lord, and their Admonition
entered into my Heart, and had a good Effect for a Season; but, not getting
deep enough to pray rightly, the Tempter, when he came, found Entrance. I
remember once, having spent a Part of the Day in Wantonness, as I went to Bed
at Night, there lay in a Window, near my Bed, a[Pg
21] Bible, which I opened, and first cast my Eye on this
Text, "We lie down in our Shame, and our Confusion covers us:" This I
knew to be my Case; and, meeting with so unexpected a Reproof, I was somewhat
affected with it, and went to Bed under Remorse of Conscience; which I soon
cast off again.
Thus Time passed on: My Heart was replenished with
Mirth and Wantonness, and pleasing Scenes of Vanity were presented to my
Imagination, till I attained the Age of eighteen Years; near which Time I felt
the Judgments of God, in my Soul, like a consuming Fire; and, looking over my
past Life, the Prospect was moving.—I was often sad, and longed to be delivered
from those Vanities; then again, my Heart was strongly inclined to them, and
there was in me a sore Conflict: At Times I turned to Folly, and then again,
Sorrow and Confusion took hold of me. In a while, I resolved totally to leave
off some of my Vanities; but there was a secret Reserve, in my Heart, of the more
refined Part of them, and I was not low enough to find true Peace. Thus, for
some Months, I had great Troubles; there remaining in me an unsubjected Will,
which rendered my Labours fruitless, till at length, through the merciful
Continuance of heavenly Visitations, I was made to bow down in Spirit before
the Lord. I remember one Evening I had spent some Time in reading a pious
Author; and walking out alone, I humbly prayed to the Lord for his Help, that I
might be delivered from all those Vanities which so ensnared me. Thus, being
brought low, he helped me; and, as I learned to bear the Cross, I felt
Refreshment to come from his Presence; but, not keeping in that Strength which
gave Victory, I lost Ground again; the Sense of which greatly affected me; and
I sought Desarts and lonely Places, and there, with Tears, did confess my Sins
to God, and humbly craved Help of him. And I may say with Reverence, he was
near to me in my Troubles, and in those Times of Humiliation opened my Ear to
Discipline. I was now led to look seriously at the Means by which I was drawn
from the pure Truth, and learned this, that, if I would live in the Life which
the faithful Servants of[Pg 22]
God lived in, I must not go into Company as heretofore in my own Will; but all
the Cravings of Sense must be governed by a divine Principle. In Times of
Sorrow and Abasement these Instructions were sealed upon me, and I felt the
Power of Christ prevail over selfish Desires, so that I was preserved in a good
degree of Steadiness; and, being young, and believing at that Time that a
single Life was best for me, I was strengthened to keep from such Company as
had often been a Snare to me.
I kept steadily to Meetings; spent First-day
Afternoons chiefly in reading the Scriptures and other good Books; and was
early convinced in Mind, that true Religion consisted in an inward Life,
wherein the Heart doth love and reverence God the Creator, and learns to
exercise true Justice and Goodness, not only toward all Men, but also toward
the brute Creatures.—That as the Mind was moved, by an inward Principle, to
love God as an invisible incomprehensible Being, by the same Principle it was
moved to love him in all his Manifestations in the visible World.—That, as by
his Breath the Flame of Life was kindled in all animal sensible Creatures, to
say we love God, and, at the same Time exercise Cruelty toward the least
Creature, is a Contradiction in itself.
I found no Narrowness respecting Sects and
Opinions; but believed, that sincere upright-hearted People, in every Society,
who truly love God, were accepted of him.
As I lived under the Cross, and simply followed
the Openings of Truth, my Mind, from Day to Day, was more enlightened; my
former Acquaintance were left to judge of me as they would, for I found it
safest for me to live in private, and keep these Things sealed up in my own
Breast. While I silently ponder on that Change wrought in me, I find no
Language equal to it, nor any Means to convey to another a clear Idea of it. I
looked on the Works of God in this visible Creation, and an Awfulness covered
me; my Heart was tender and often contrite, and universal Love to my
Fellow-creatures increased in me: This will be understood by such as have
trodden the same Path. Some Glances of real Beauty may be seen in their Faces,
who dwell in true Meekness. There[Pg 23]
is a Harmony in the Sound of that Voice to which divine Love gives Utterance,
and some Appearance of right Order in their Temper and Conduct, whose Passions
are regulated; yet all these do not fully shew forth that inward Life to such
as have not felt it: But this white Stone and new Name is known rightly to such
only as have it.
Though I had been thus strengthened to bear the
Cross, I still found myself in great Danger, having many Weaknesses attending
me, and strong Temptations to wrestle with; in the feeling whereof I frequently
withdrew into private Places, and often with Tears besought the Lord to help
me, whose gracious Ear was open to my Cry.
All this Time I lived with my Parents, and wrought
on the Plantation; and, having had Schooling pretty well for a Planter, I used
to improve it in Winter Evenings, and other leisure Times; and, being now in
the twenty-first Year of my Age, a Man, in much Business at shop-keeping and
baking, asked me, if I would hire with him to tend Shop and keep Books. I
acquainted my Father with the Proposal; and, after some Deliberation, it was
agreed for me to go.
At Home I had lived retired; and now, having a
Prospect of being much in the Way of Company, I felt frequent and fervent Cries
in my Heart to God, the Father of Mercies, that he would preserve me from all
Corruption; that in this more publick Employment, I might serve him, my
gracious Redeemer, in that Humility and Self-denial, with which I had been, in
a small Degree, exercised in a more private Life. The Man, who employed me,
furnished a Shop in Mount-Holly, about five Miles from my Father's
House, and six from his own; and there I lived alone, and tended his Shop.
Shortly after my Settlement here I was visited by several young People, my
former Acquaintance, who knew not but Vanities would be as agreeable to me now
as ever; and, at these Times, I cried to the Lord in secret, for Wisdom and
Strength; for I felt myself encompassed with Difficulties, and had fresh
Occasion to bewail the Follies of Time past,[Pg
24] in contracting a Familiarity with libertine People; and,
as I had now left my Father's House outwardly, I found my heavenly Father to be
merciful to me beyond what I can express.
By Day I was much amongst People, and had many
Trials to go through; but, in the Evenings, I was mostly alone, and may with
Thankfulness acknowledge, that, in those Times, the Spirit of Supplication was
often poured upon me; under which I was frequently exercised, and felt my
Strength renewed.
In a few Months after I came here, my Master
bought several Scotchmen, Servants, from on-board a Vessel, and brought
them to Mount-Holly to sell; one of which was taken sick, and died.
In the latter Part of his Sickness, he, being
delirious, used to curse and swear most sorrowfully; and, the next Night after
his Burial, I was left to sleep alone in the same Chamber where he died; I
perceived in me a Timorousness; I knew, however, I had not injured the Man, but
assisted in taking Care of him according to my Capacity; and was not free to
ask any one, on that Occasion, to sleep with me: Nature was feeble; but every
Trial was a fresh Incitement to give myself up wholly to the Service of God,
for I found no Helper like him in Times of Trouble.
After a While, my former Acquaintance gave over
expecting me as one of their Company; and I began to be known to some whose
Conversation was helpful to me: And now, as I had experienced the Love of God,
through Jesus Christ, to redeem me from many Pollutions, and to be a Succour to
me through a Sea of Conflicts, with which no Person was fully acquainted; and
as my Heart was often enlarged in this heavenly Principle, I felt a tender
Compassion for the Youth, who remained entangled in Snares, like those which
had entangled me from one Time to another: This Love and Tenderness increased;
and my Mind was more strongly engaged for the Good of my Fellow-creatures. I
went to Meetings in an awful Frame of Mind, and endeavoured to be inwardly
acquainted with the Language of the true Shepherd; and,[Pg
25] one Day, being under a strong Exercise of Spirit, I stood
up, and said some Words in a Meeting; but, not keeping close to the divine
Opening, I said more than was required of me; and being soon sensible of my
Error, I was afflicted in Mind some Weeks, without any Light or Comfort, even
to that Degree that I could not take Satisfaction in any Thing: I remembered
God, and was troubled, and, in the Depth of my Distress, he had Pity upon me,
and sent the Comforter: I then felt Forgiveness for my Offence, and my Mind
became calm and quiet, being truly thankful to my gracious Redeemer for his
Mercies; and, after this, feeling the Spring of divine Love opened, and a
Concern to speak, I said a few Words in a Meeting, in which I found Peace; this,
I believe, was about six Weeks from the first Time: And, as I was thus humbled
and disciplined under the Cross, my Understanding became more strengthened to
distinguish the pure Spirit which inwardly moves upon the Heart, and taught me
to wait in Silence sometimes many Weeks together, until I felt that rise which
prepares the Creature.
From an inward purifying, and stedfast abiding
under it, springs a lively operative Desire for the Good of others: All the
Faithful are not called to the public Ministry; but whoever are, are called to
minister of that which they have tasted and handled spiritually. The outward
Modes of Worship are various; but, wherever any are true Ministers of Jesus
Christ, it is from the Operation of his Spirit upon their Hearts, first
purifying them, and thus giving them a just Sense of the Conditions of others.
This Truth was clearly fixed in my Mind; and I was
taught to watch the pure Opening, and to take Heed, lest, while I was standing
to speak, my own Will should get uppermost, and cause me to utter Words from
worldly Wisdom, and depart from the Channel of the true Gospel-Ministry.
In the Management of my outward Affairs, I may
say, with Thankfulness, I found Truth to be my Support; and I was respected in
my Master's Family, who came to live in Mount-Holly within two Years
after my going there.[Pg 26]
About the twenty-third Year of my Age, I had many
fresh and heavenly Openings, in respect to the Care and Providence of the
Almighty over his Creatures in general, and over Man as the most noble amongst
those which are visible. And being clearly convinced in my Judgment, that to
place my whole Trust in God was best for me, I felt renewed Engagements, that
in all Things I might act on an inward Principle of Virtue, and pursue worldly
Business no farther, than as Truth opened my Way therein.
About the Time called Christmas, I observed
many People from the Country, and Dwellers in Town, who, resorting to
Public-Houses, spent their Time in drinking and vain Sports, tending to corrupt
one another; on which Account I was much troubled. At one House, in particular,
there was much Disorder; and I believed it was a Duty incumbent on me to go and
speak to the Master of that House. I considered I was young, and that several
elderly Friends in town had Opportunity to see these Things; but though I would
gladly have been excused, yet I could not feel my Mind clear.
The Exercise was heavy; and as I was reading what
the Almighty said to Ezekiel, respecting his Duty as a Watchman, the
Matter was set home more clearly; and then, with Prayers and Tears, I besought
the Lord for his Assistance, who, in Loving-kindness, gave me a resigned Heart:
Then, at a suitable Opportunity, I went to the Public-house, and, seeing the
Man amongst much Company, I went to him, and told him, I wanted to speak with
him; so we went aside, and there, in the Fear of the Almighty, I expressed to
him what rested on my Mind; which he took kindly, and afterward shewed more
Regard to me than before. In a few Years afterwards he died, middle-aged; and I
often thought that, had I neglected my Duty in that Case, it would have given
me great Trouble; and I was humbly thankful to my gracious Father, who had
supported me herein.
My Employer having a Negro Woman, sold her, and
desired me to write a Bill of Sale, the Man being waiting who bought her: The
Thing was sudden; and, though[Pg 27]
the Thoughts of writing an Instrument of Slavery for one of my Fellow-creatures
felt uneasy, yet I remembered I was hired by the Year, that it was my Master
who directed me to do it, and that it was an elderly Man, a Member of our
Society, who bought her; so, through Weakness, I gave way, and wrote; but, at
the executing it, I was so afflicted in my Mind, that I said, before my Master
and the Friend, that I believed Slave-keeping to be a Practice inconsistent
with the Christian Religion: This in some Degree abated my Uneasiness;
yet, as often as I reflected seriously upon it, I thought I should have been
clearer, if I had desired to have been excused from it, as a Thing against my
Conscience; for such it was. And, some Time after this, a young Man, of our
Society, spoke to me to write a Conveyance of a Slave to him, he having lately
taken a Negro into his House: I told him I was not easy to write it; for, though
many of our Meeting and in other Places kept Slaves, I still believed the
Practice was not right, and desired to be excused from the writing. I spoke to
him in Good-will; and he told me that keeping Slaves was not altogether
agreeable to his Mind; but that the Slave being a Gift to his Wife, he had
accepted of her.
CHAPTER II
His first Journey, on a religious Visit, into East-Jersey, in Company with Abraham Farrington—His Thoughts on merchandizing, and
his learning a Trade—His second Journey, with Isaac
Andrews, into Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North
Carolina—His third Journey, with Peter Andrews,
through Part of West and East-Jersey—Some Account of his
Sister Elizabeth, and her Death—His
fourth Journey, with Peter Andrews, through
New-York and Long-Island, to New-England—And his fifth
Journey, with John Sykes, to the eastern Shore
of Maryland, and the lower Counties on Delaware
My esteemed Friend, Abraham Farrington,
being about to make a Visit to Friends on the eastern Side of this Province,
and having no Companion, he proposed to me to go with him; and, after a
Conference with some elderly Friends, I agreed to go: We set out the fifth Day
of the ninth Month, in the Year 1743; had an Evening-meeting at a Tavern in Brunswick,
a Town in which none of our Society dwelt; the Room was full, and the People
quiet. Thence to Amboy, and had an Evening-meeting in the Court-house;
to which many People came, amongst whom were several Members of the Assembly,
they being in Town on public Affairs of the Province: In both these Meetings my
ancient Companion was enlarged to preach, in the Love of the Gospel. Thence we
went to Woodbridge, Raway, and Plainfield; and had six or
seven Meetings in Places where Meetings of Friends are not usually held, being
made up chiefly of Presbyterians; and my beloved Companion was
frequently strengthened to publish the Word of Life amongst them: As for me, I
was often silent; and, when I spake, it was with much Care, that I might speak
only what Truth opened: And I learned some profitable Lessons.—We were out
about two Weeks.
Near this Time, being on some outward Business in[Pg 29] which several Families
were concerned, and which was attended with Difficulties, some Things relating
thereto not being clearly stated, nor rightly understood by all, there arose
some Heat in the Minds of the Parties, and one valuable Friend got off his
Watch; I had a great Regard for him, and felt a strong Inclination, after
Matters were settled, to speak to him concerning his Conduct in that case: But
I being a Youth, and he far advanced in Age and Experience, my Way appeared
difficult; but, after some Days Deliberation, and inward seeking to the Lord
for Assistance, I was made subject; so that I expressed what lay upon me in a
Way which became my Youth and his Years: And, though it was a hard Task to me,
it was well taken, and, I believe, useful to us both.
Having now been several Years with my Employer,
and he doing less at Merchandize than heretofore, I was thoughtful of some
other Way of Business; perceiving Merchandize to be attended with much Cumber,
in the Way of trading in these Parts.
My mind, through the Power of Truth, was in a good
degree weaned from the Desire of outward Greatness, and I was learning to be
content with real Conveniences, that were not costly; so that a Way of Life,
free from much Entanglement, appeared best for me, though the Income might be
small. I had several Offers of Business that appeared profitable, but did not
see my Way clear to accept of them; as believing the Business proposed would be
attended with more outward Care than was required of me to engage in.
I saw that a humble Man, with the blessing of the
Lord, might live on a little; and that where the Heart was set on Greatness,
Success in Business did not satisfy the craving; but that commonly, with an
Increase of Wealth, the Desire of Wealth increased. There was a Care on my Mind
so to pass my Time, that nothing might hinder me from the most steady Attention
to the Voice of the true Shepherd.
My Employer, though now a Retailer of Goods, was
by Trade a Taylor, and kept a Servant-man at that[Pg
30] Business; and I began to think about learning the Trade,
expecting that, if I should settle, I might, by this Trade and a little
retailing of Goods, get a Living in a plain Way, without the Load of great
Business: I mentioned it to my Employer, and we soon agreed on Terms; and then,
when I had Leisure from the Affairs of Merchandize, I worked with his Man. I
believed the Hand of Providence pointed out this Business for me; and was
taught to be content with it, though I felt, at Times, a Disposition that would
have sought for something greater: But, through the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
I had seen the Happiness of Humility, and there was an earnest Desire in me to
enter deep into it; and, at Times, this Desire arose to a Degree of fervent
Supplication, wherein my Soul was so environed with heavenly Light and
Consolation, that Things were made easy to me which had been otherwise.
After some Time, my Employer's Wife died; she was
a virtuous Woman, and generally beloved of her Neighbours; and, soon after
this, he left shop-keeping, and we parted. I then wrought at my Trade, as a
Taylor; carefully attended Meetings for Worship and Discipline; and found an
Enlargement of Gospel-love in my Mind, and therein a Concern to visit Friends
in some of the Back-settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia;
and, being thoughtful about a Companion, I expressed it to my beloved Friend, Isaac Andrews, who then told me that he had Drawings to the
same Places; also to go through Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina.
After considerable Time past, and several Conferences with him, I felt easy to
accompany him throughout, if Way opened for it. I opened the Case in our
Monthly-meeting; and, Friends expressing their Unity therewith, we obtained
Certificates to travel as Companions; his from Haddonfield, and mine
from Burlington.
We left our Province on the twelfth Day of the
third Month, in the Year 1746, and had several Meetings in the upper Part of Chester
County, and near Lancaster; in some of which, the Love of Christ
prevailed, uniting us together in his Service. Then we crossed the River[Pg 31] Susquehannah, and
had several Meetings in a new Settlement, called the Red-Lands; the
oldest of which, as I was informed, did not exceed ten Years. It is the poorer
Sort of People that commonly begin to improve remote Desarts: With a small
Stock they have Houses to build, Lands to clear and fence, Corn to raise,
Clothes to provide, and Children to educate; that Friends, who visit such, may
well sympathise with them in their Hardships in the Wilderness; and though the
best Entertainment such can give may seem coarse to some who are used to Cities,
or old settled Places, it becomes the Disciples of Christ to be content with
it. Our Hearts were sometimes enlarged in the Love of our heavenly Father
amongst these People; and the sweet Influence of his Spirit supported us
through some Difficulties: To him be the Praise!
We passed on to Monoquacy, Fairfax, Hopewell,
and Shanando, and had Meetings; some of which were comfortable and
edifying. From Shanando we set off in the Afternoon for the old
Settlements of Friends in Virginia; and, the first Night, we, with our
Pilot, lodged in the Woods, our Horses feeding near us; but he being poorly
provided with a Horse, and we young and having good Horses, were free the next
Day to part with him; and did so. In two Days after, we reached to our Friend John
Cheagle's, in Virginia; so we took the Meetings in our Way through Virginia;
were, in some Degree, baptized into a feeling Sense of the Conditions of the
People; and our Exercise in general was more painful in these old Settlements,
than it had been amongst the back Inhabitants: But, through the Goodness of our
heavenly Father, the Well of living Waters was, at Times, opened to our
Encouragement and the Refreshment of the sincere-hearted. We went on to Perquimons,
in North-Carolina, had several Meetings, which were large, and found
some Openness in those Parts, and a hopeful Appearance amongst the young
People. So we turned again to Virginia, and attended most of the
Meetings which we had not been at before, labouring amongst Friends in the Love
of Jesus Christ, as Ability was given; and thence went to the Mountains, up James-River,
to a new Settlement,[Pg 32]
and had several Meetings amongst the People, some of whom had lately joined in
Membership with our Society.
In our journeying to and fro, we found some
honest-hearted Friends, who appeared to be concerned for the Cause of Truth
among a backsliding People.
From Virginia, we crossed over the River Patowmac,
at Hoe's Ferry, and made a general Visit to the Meetings of Friends on the
Western Shore of Maryland; and were at their Quarterly-meeting. We had
some hard Labour amongst them, endeavouring to discharge our Duty honestly as
Way opened, in the Love of Truth: And thence taking sundry Meetings in our Way,
we passed homeward; where, through the Favour of divine Providence we reached
the sixteenth Day of the sixth Month, in the Year 1746; and I may say that,
through the Assistance of the Holy Spirit, my Companion and I travelled in
Harmony, and parted in the Nearness of true brotherly Love.
Two Things were remarkable to me in this Journey;
first, in Regard to my Entertainment, when I ate, drank, and lodged at
free-cost, with People who lived in Ease on the hard Labour of their Slaves, I
felt uneasy; and, as my Mind was inward to the Lord, I found, from Place to
Place, this Uneasiness return upon me, at Times, through the whole Visit. Where
the Masters bore a good Share of the Burthen, and lived frugally, so that their
Servants were well provided for, and their Labour moderate, I felt more easy;
but where they lived in a costly Way, and laid heavy Burthens on their Slaves,
my Exercise was often great, and I frequently had Conversation with them, in
private, concerning it. Secondly; this Trade of importing Slaves from their native
Country being much encouraged amongst them, and the white People and their
Children so generally living without much Labour, was frequently the Subject of
my serious Thoughts: And I saw in these southern Provinces so many Vices and
Corruptions, increased by this Trade and this Way of Life, that it appeared to
me as a Gloom over the Land; and though now many willingly run into it, yet, in
future,[Pg 33] the Consequence
will be grievous to Posterity: I express it as it hath appeared to me, not at
once nor twice, but as a Matter fixed on my Mind.
Soon after my Return Home, I felt an increasing
Concern for Friends on our Sea-coast; and, on the eighth Day of the eighth
Month, in the Year 1746, with the Unity of Friends, and in Company with my
beloved Friend and Neighbour, Peter Andrews, Brother
to my Companion before-mentioned, we set forward, and visited Meetings
generally about Salem, Cape May, Great and Little
Egg-Harbour; and had Meetings at Barnagat, Mannahocking, and Mane-Squan,
and so to the Yearly-meeting at Shrewsbury. Through the Goodness of the
Lord Way was opened, and the Strength of divine Love was sometimes felt in our
Assemblies, to the Comfort and Help of those who were rightly concerned before
him. We were out twenty-two Days, and rode, by Computation, three hundred and
forty Miles. At Shrewsbury Yearly-meeting, we met with our dear Friends Michael Lightfoot and Abraham Farrington,
who had good Service there.
The Winter following my eldest Sister, Elizabeth Woolman, jun. died of the Small-pox, aged
thirty-one Years. She was, from her Youth, of a thoughtful Disposition; and
very compassionate to her Acquaintance in their Sickness or Distress, being
ready to help as far as she could. She was dutiful to her Parents; one Instance
whereof follows:—It happened that she, and two of her Sisters, being then near
the Estate of young Women, had an Inclination, one First-day after Meeting, to
go on a Visit to some other young Women at some Distance off; whose Company, I
believe, would have done them no Good. They expressed their Desire to our
Parents; who were dissatisfied with the Proposal, and stopped them. The same
Day, as my Sisters and I were together, and they talking about their
Disappointment, Elizabeth expressed her Contentment under it;
signifying, she believed it might be for their Good.
A few Years after she attained to mature-Age,
through the gracious Visitations of God's Love, she was strengthened[Pg 34] to live a self-denying
exemplary Life, giving herself much to Reading and Meditation.
The following Letter may shew, in some Degree, her
Disposition.
Haddonfield, 1st Day, 11th Month, 1743.
Beloved Brother, John Woolman,—In
that Love which desires the Welfare of all Men, I write unto thee: I received
thine, dated second Day of the tenth Month last, with which I was comforted. My
Spirit is bowed with Thankfulness that I should be remembered, who am unworthy;
but the Lord is full of Mercy, and his Goodness is extended to the meanest of
his Creation; therefore, in his infinite Love, he hath pitied, and spared, and
shewed Mercy, that I have not been cut off nor quite lost; but, at Times, I am
refreshed and comforted as with the Glimpse of his Presence, which is more to
the immortal Part, than all which this World can afford: So, with Desires for thy
Preservation with my own, I remain
Thy affectionate Sister,Eliz. Woolman, jun.
In the fore Part of her Illness she was in great
Sadness and Dejection of Mind, of which she told one of her intimate Friends,
and said, When I was a young Girl I was wanton and airy, but I thought I had
thoroughly repented of it; and added, I have of late had great Satisfaction in
Meetings. Though she was thus disconsolate, still she retained a Hope, which
was as an Anchor to her: And sometime after, the same Friend came again to see
her, to whom she mentioned her former Expressions, and said, It is otherwise
now, for the Lord hath rewarded me seven fold; and I am unable to express the
Greatness of his Love manifested to me. Her Disorder appearing dangerous, and
our Mother being sorrowful, she took Notice of it, and said, Dear Mother, weep
not for me; I go to my God: And, many Times, with an audible Voice, uttered
Praise to her Redeemer.
A Friend, coming some Miles to see her the Morning
before she died, asked her, how she did? She answered, I have had a hard Night,
but shall not have another such,[Pg 35]
for I shall die, and it will be well with my Soul; and accordingly died the
next Evening.
The following Ejaculations were found amongst her
Writings; written, I believe, at four Times:
I. Oh! that my Head were as Waters, and mine Eyes
as a Fountain of Tears, that I might weep Day and Night, until acquainted with
my God.
II. O Lord, that I may enjoy thy Presence! or else
my Time is lost, and my Life a Snare to my Soul.
III. O Lord, that I may receive Bread from thy
Table, and that thy Grace may abound in me!
IV. O Lord, that I may be acquainted with thy
Presence, that I may be seasoned with thy Salt, that thy Grace may abound in
me!
Of late I found Drawings in my Mind to visit Friends
in New-England, and, having an Opportunity of joining in Company with my
beloved Friend, Peter Andrews, we, having obtained
Certificates from our Monthly-meeting, set forward on the sixteenth Day of the
third Month, in the Year 1747, and reached the Yearly-meeting at Long-Island;
at which were our Friends Samuel Nottingham, from England,
John Griffith, Jane Hoskins,
and Elizbeth Hudson, from Pennsylvania, and Jacob Andrews, from Chesterfield. Several of whom
were favoured in their publick Exercise; and, through the Goodness of the Lord,
we had some edifying Meetings. After this, my Companion and I visited Friends
on Long-Island; and, through the Mercies of God we were helped in the
Work.
Besides going to the settled Meetings of Friends,
we were at a general Meeting at Setawket, chiefly made up of other
Societies; and had a Meeting at Oyster-Bay in a Dwelling-house, at which
were many People: At the first of which there was not much said by way of
Testimony; but it was I believe, a good Meeting: At the latter, through the
springing up of living Waters, it was a Day to be thankfully remembered. Having
visited the Island, we went over to the Main, taking Meetings in our Way, to Oblong,
Nine Partners, and New-Milford.—In these back Settlements we met
with several People,[Pg 36]
who, through the immediate Workings of the Spirit of Christ in their Minds,
were drawn from the Vanities of the World, to an inward Acquaintance with him:
They were educated in the Way of the Presbyterians. A considerable
Number of the Youth, Members of that Society, used to spend their Time often
together in merriment; but some of the principal young Men of that Company
being visited by the powerful Workings of the Spirit of Christ, and thereby led
humbly to take up his Cross, could no longer join in those Vanities; and, as
these stood stedfast to that inward Convincement, they were made a Blessing to
some of their former Companions; so that, through the Power of Truth, several
were brought into a close Exercise concerning the eternal Well-being of their
Souls. These young People continued for a Time to frequent their publick
Worship; and, besides that, had Meetings of their own; which Meetings were a
while allowed by their Preacher, who, sometimes, met with them: But, in Time,
their Judgment, in Matters of Religion, disagreeing with some of the Articles
of the Presbyterians, their Meetings were disapproved by that Society;
and such of them as stood firm to their Duty, as it was inwardly manifested,
had many Difficulties to go through. And their Meetings were in a while
dropped; some of them returning to the Presbyterians; and others of
them, after a Time, joined our religious Society. I had Conversation with some
of the latter, to my Help and Edification; and believe several of them are
acquainted with the Nature of that Worship, which is performed in Spirit and in
Truth.
From hence, accompanied by Amos
Powel, a Friend from Long-Island, we rode through Connecticut,
chiefly inhabited by Presbyterians, who were generally civil to us; and,
after three Days riding, we came amongst Friends in the Colony of Rhode-Island.
We visited Friends in and about Newport, and Dartmouth, and
generally in those Parts; and then to Boston; and proceeded eastward as
far as Dover; and then returned to Newport; and, not far from
thence, we met our Friend, Thomas Gawthrop, from England,
who was then on a[Pg 37] Visit to these
Provinces. From Newport we sailed to Nantucket; were there near a
Week; and from thence came over to Dartmouth: And having finished our
Visit in these Parts, we crossed the Sound from New-London to Long-Island;
and, taking some Meetings on the Island, proceeded homeward; where we reached
the thirteenth Day of the seventh Month, in the Year 1747, having rode about
fifteen hundred Miles, and sailed about one hundred and fifty.
In this Journey, I may say, in general, we were
sometimes in much Weakness, and laboured under Discouragements; and at other
Times, through the renewed Manifestations of divine Love, we had seasons of
Refreshment, wherein the Power of Truth prevailed.
We were taught, by renewed Experience, to labour
for an inward Stillness; at no Time to seek for Words, but to live in the
Spirit of Truth, and utter that to the People which Truth opened in us. My
beloved Companion and I belonged to one Meeting, came forth in the Ministry
near the same Time, and were inwardly united in the Work; he was about thirteen
Years older than I, bore the heaviest Burthen, and was an Instrument of the
greatest Use.
Finding a Concern to visit Friends in the lower
Counties on Delaware, and on the eastern Shore of Maryland, and
having an Opportunity to join with my well-beloved ancient Friend, John Sykes, we obtained Certificates, and set off the
seventh Day of the eighth Month, in the Year 1748; were at the Meetings of
Friends in the lower Counties, attended the Yearly-meeting at Little-Creek,
and made a Visit to the chief of the Meetings on the eastern Shore; and so Home
by Way of Nottingham: Were abroad about six Weeks, and rode, by
Computation, about five hundred and fifty Miles.
Our Exercise, at Times, was heavy; but, through
the Goodness of the Lord, we were often refreshed; and I may say, by
Experience, He is a strong Hold in the Day of Trouble. Though our
Society, in these Parts, appeared to me to be in a declining Condition; yet, I
believe, the Lord hath a People amongst them, who labour to serve him
uprightly, but have many Difficulties to encounter.
CHAPTER III
His Marriage—The Death of his Father—His Journies into the
upper Part of New-Jersey, and afterwards into Pennsylvania—Considerations
on keeping Slaves, and his Visits to the Families of Friends at several Times
and Places—An Epistle from the General Meeting—His Journey to
Long-Island—Considerations on Trading, and on the Use of spirituous Liquors
and costly Apparel—And his Letter to a Friend
About this Time, believing it good for me to
settle, and thinking seriously about a Companion, my Heart was turned to the
Lord with Desires that he would give me Wisdom to proceed therein agreeable to
his Will; and he was pleased to give me a well-inclined Damsel, Sarah Ellis; to whom I was married the eighteenth Day of
the eighth Month, in the Year 1749.
In the fall of the Year 1750 died my Father, Samuel Woolman, with a Fever, aged about sixty Years.
In his Life-time he manifested much Care for us his
Children, that in our Youth we might learn to fear the Lord; often endeavouring
to imprint in our Minds the true Principles of Virtue, and particularly to
cherish in us a Spirit of Tenderness, not only towards poor People, but also
towards all Creatures of which we had the Command.
After my Return from Carolina, in the Year
1746, I made some Observations on keeping Slaves, which some Time before his
Decease I shewed him; and he perused the Manuscript, proposed a few
Alterations, and appeared well satisfied that I found a Concern on that
Account: And in his last Sickness, as I was watching with him one Night, he
being so far spent that there was no Expectation of his Recovery, but having
the perfect Use of his Understanding, he asked me concerning the Manuscript,
whether I expected soon to proceed to take the Advice[Pg
39] of Friends in publishing it? And, after some Conversation
thereon, said, I have all along been deeply affected with the Oppression of the
poor Negroes; and now, at last, my Concern for them is as great as ever.
By his Direction I had wrote his Will in a Time of
Health, and that Night he desired me to read it to him, which I did; and he
said it was agreeable to his Mind. He then made mention of his End, which he
believed was near; and signified, that, though he was sensible of many
Imperfections in the Course of his Life, yet his Experience of the Power of
Truth, and of the Love and Goodness of God from Time to Time, even till now,
was such, that he had no Doubt but that, in leaving this Life, he should enter
into one more happy.
The next Day his Sister Elizabeth came to
see him, and told him of the Decease of their Sister Ann, who died a few
Days before: He then said, I reckon Sister Ann was free to leave this
World: Elizabeth said, she was. He then said, I also am free to leave
it; and, being in great Weakness of Body, said, I hope I shall shortly go to
Rest. He continued in a weighty Frame of Mind, and was sensible till near the
last.
On the second Day of the ninth Month, in the Year
1751, feeling Drawings in my Mind to visit Friends at the Great-Meadows,
in the upper Part of West-Jersey, with the Unity of our Monthly-meeting,
I went there; and had some searching laborious Exercise amongst Friends in
those Parts, and found inward Peace therein.
In the ninth Month of the Year 1753, in Company
with my well-esteemed Friend John Sykes, and with the
Unity of Friends, we travelled about two Weeks, visiting Friends in Bucks-County.
We laboured in the Love of the Gospel, according to the Measure received; and,
through the Mercies of him, who is Strength to the Poor who trust in him, we
found Satisfaction in our Visit: And, in the next Winter, Way opening to visit
Friends Families within the Compass of our Monthly-meeting, partly by the
Labours of two Friends from Pennsylvania, I joined in some Part of the
Work; having had a Desire some Time that it might go forward amongst us.[Pg 40]
About this Time, a Person at some Distance lying
sick, his Brother came to me to write his Will: I knew he had Slaves; and,
asking his Brother, was told he intended to leave them as Slaves to his
Children. As Writing is a profitable Employ, and as offending sober People was
disagreeable to my Inclination, I was straitened in my Mind; but, as I looked
to the Lord, he inclined my Heart to his Testimony: And I told the Man, that I
believed the Practice of continuing Slavery to this People was not right; and
had a Scruple in my Mind against doing Writings of that Kind; that, though many
in our Society kept them as Slaves, still I was not easy to be concerned in it;
and desired to be excused from going to write the Will. I spake to him in the
Fear of the Lord; and he made no Reply to what I said, but went away: He, also,
had some Concerns in the Practice; and I thought he was displeased with me. In
this Case I had a fresh Confirmation, that acting contrary to present outward
Interest, from a Motive of divine Love, and in Regard to Truth and
Righteousness, opens the Way to a Treasure better than Silver, and to a
Friendship exceeding the Friendship of Men.
The Manuscript before-mentioned having lain by me
several Years, the Publication of it rested weightily upon me; and this Year I
offered it to the Revisal of Friends, who, having examined and made some small
Alterations in it, directed a Number of Copies thereof to be published, and
dispersed amongst Friends.
In the Year 1754, I found my Mind drawn to join in
a Visit to Friends Families belonging to Chesterfield Monthly-meeting;
and having the Approbation of our own, I went to their Monthly-meeting in order
to confer with Friends, and see if Way opened for it: I had Conference with
some of their Members, the Proposal having been opened before in their Meeting,
and one Friend agreed to join with me as a Companion for a Beginning; but, when
Meeting was ended, I felt great Distress of Mind, and doubted what Way to take,
or whether to go Home and wait for greater Clearness: I kept my Distress
secret; and, going with a Friend to his House, my[Pg
41] Desires were to the great Shepherd for his heavenly
Instruction; and in the Morning I felt easy to proceed on the Visit, being very
low in my Mind: And as mine Eye was turned to the Lord, waiting in Families in
deep Reverence before him, he was pleased graciously to afford Help; so that we
had many comfortable Opportunities, and it appeared as a fresh Visitation to
some young People. I spent several Weeks this Winter in the Service, Part of
which Time was employed near Home. And again, in the following Winter, I was
several Weeks in the same Service; some Part of the Time at Shrewsbury,
in Company with my beloved Friend, John Sykes; and have Cause humbly to
acknowledge, that, through the Goodness of the Lord, our Hearts were, at Times,
enlarged in his Love; and Strength was given to go through the Trials which, in
the Course of our Visit, attended us.
From a Disagreement between the Powers of England
and France, it was now a Time of Trouble on this Continent; and an
Epistle to Friends went forth from our General Spring-meeting, which I thought
good to give a Place in this Journal.
An EPISTLE from our General Spring-meeting of
Ministers and Elders for Pennsylvania and New-Jersey, held at Philadelphia,
from the 29th of the third Month, to the first of the fourth Month, inclusive,
1755.
To Friends on the Continent of America.
Dear Friends,—In an humble Sense of divine
Goodness, and the gracious Continuation of God's Love to his People, we
tenderly salute you; and are at this Time therein engaged in Mind, that all of
us who profess the Truth, as held forth and published by our worthy
Predecessors in this latter Age of the World, may keep near to that Life which
is the Light of Men, and be strengthened to hold fast the Profession of our
Faith without wavering, that[Pg 42]
our Trust may not be in Man but in the Lord alone, who ruleth in the Army of
Heaven, and in the Kingdoms of Men, before whom the Earth is as the Dust of
the Balance, and her Inhabitants as Grasshoppers. Isa. xl. 22.
We (being convinced that the gracious Design of
the Almighty in sending his Son into the World, was to repair the Breach made
by Disobedience, to finish Sin and Transgression, that his Kingdom might come,
and his Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven) have found it to be our Duty
to cease from those national Contests productive of Misery and Bloodshed, and
submit our Cause to him, the Most High, whose tender Love to his Children
exceeds the most warm Affections of natural Parents, and who hath promised to
his Seed throughout the Earth, as to one Individual, "I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee." Heb. xiii. 5. And as we, through the
gracious Dealings of the Lord our God, have had Experience of that Work which
is carried on, "not by earthly Might, nor by Power, but by my
Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts:" Zech. iv. 6. By which Operation,
that spiritual Kingdom is set up, which is to subdue and break in pieces all
Kingdoms that oppose it, and shall stand for ever; in a deep Sense thereof, and
of the Safety, Stability, and Peace, there is in it, we are desirous that all
who profess the Truth, may be inwardly acquainted with it, and thereby be
qualified to conduct ourselves in all Parts of our Life as becomes our
peaceable Profession: And we trust, as there is a faithful Continuance to
depend wholly upon the Almighty Arm, from one Generation to another, the
peaceable Kingdom will gradually be extended "from Sea to Sea, and from
the River to the Ends of the Earth." Zech. ix. 10. to the
Completion of those Prophecies already begun, that "Nation shall not lift
up a Sword against Nation, nor learn War any more." Isa. ii. 4. Micah
iv. 3.
And, dearly beloved Friends, seeing we have these
Promises, and believe that God is beginning to fulfil them, let us constantly endeavour
to have our Minds sufficiently disintangled from the surfeiting Cares of this
Life, and redeemed from the Love of the World, that no[Pg
43] earthly Possessions nor Enjoyments may bias our
Judgments, or turn us from that Resignation, and entire Trust in God, to which
his Blessing is most surely annexed; then may we say, "Our Redeemer is
mighty, he will plead our Cause for us." Jer. 1. 34. And if, for
the farther promoting his most gracious Purposes in the Earth, he should give
us to taste of that bitter Cup which his faithful Ones have often partaken of;
O! that we may be rightly prepared to receive it.
And now, dear Friends, with Respect to the
Commotions and Stirrings of the Powers of the Earth at this Time near us, we
are desirous that none of us may be moved thereat; "but repose ourselves
in the Munition of that Rock that all these Shakings shall not move, even in
the Knowledge and Feeling of the eternal Power of God, keeping us subjectly
given up to his heavenly Will, and feel it daily to mortify that which remains
in any of us which is of this World; for the worldly Part, in any, is the
changeable Part, and that is up and down, full and empty, joyful and sorrowful,
as Things go well or ill in this World; for as the Truth is but one, and many
are made Partakers of its Spirit, so the World is but one, and many are made
Partakers of the Spirit of it; and so many as do partake of it, so many will be
straitened and perplexed with it: But they who are single to the Truth, waiting
daily to feel the Life and Virtue of it in their Hearts, these shall rejoice in
the midst of Adversity," and have to experience, with the Prophet, that
"Although the Fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall Fruit be in the
Vines; the Labour of the Olive shall fail, and the Fields shall yield no Meat;
the Flock shall be cut off from the Fold, and there shall be no Herd in the Stalls;
yet will they rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of their
Salvation." Hab. iii. 17, 18.
If, contrary to this, we profess the Truth, and,
not living under the Power and Influence of it, are producing Fruits
disagreeable to the Purity thereof, and trust to the Strength of Man to support
ourselves, therein our Confidence will be vain. For he, who removed the Hedge
from his Vineyard, and gave it to be trodden under Foot,[Pg
44] by reason of the wild Grapes it produced, (Isa. v.
5.) remains unchangeable; And if, for the Chastisement of Wickedness, and the
farther promoting his own Glory, he doth arise, even to shake terribly the
Earth, who then may oppose him, and prosper!
We remain, in the Love of the Gospel, your Friends
and Brethren.
Signed by fourteen Friends.
Scrupling to do Writings, relative to keeping
Slaves, having been a Means of sundry small Trials to me, in which I have so
evidently felt my own Will set aside, I think it good to mention a few of
them.—Tradesmen and Retailers of Goods, who depend on their Business for a
Living, are naturally inclined to keep the Good-will of their Customers; nor is
it a pleasant Thing for young Men to be under any Necessity to question the
Judgment or Honesty of elderly Men, and more especially of such as have a fair
Reputation. Deep-rooted Customs, though wrong, are not easily altered; but it
is the Duty of every one to be firm in that which they certainly know is right
for them. A charitable benevolent Man, well acquainted with a Negro, may, I
believe, under some Circumstances, keep him in his Family as a Servant, from no
other Motives than the Negro's Good; but Man, as Man, knows not what shall be
after him, nor hath Assurance that his Children will attain to that Perfection
in Wisdom and Goodness necessary rightly to exercise such Power: It is clear to
me, that I ought not to be the Scribe where Wills are drawn, in which some
Children are made absolute Masters over others during Life.
About this Time, an ancient Man, of good Esteem in
the Neighbourhood, came to my House to get his Will written; he had young
Negroes; and I asked him privately, how he purposed to dispose of them? He told
me: I then said, I cannot write thy Will without breaking my own Peace; and
respectfully gave him my Reasons for it: He signified that he had a Choice that
I should have written it; but as I could not, consistent with my Conscience, he
did not desire it: And so he got it written[Pg
45] by some other Person. And, a few Years after, there being
great Alterations in his Family, he came again to get me to write his Will: His
Negroes were yet young; and his Son, to whom he intended to give them, was,
since he first spoke to me, from a Libertine, become a sober young Man; and he
supposed, that I would have been free, on that Account, to write it. We had
much friendly Talk on the Subject, and then deferred it: A few Days after, he
came again, and directed their Freedom; and then I wrote his Will.
Near the Time the last-mentioned Friend first
spoke to me, a Neighbour received a bad Bruise in his Body, and sent for me to
bleed him; which being done, he desired me to write his Will: I took Notes;
and, amongst other Things, he told me to which of his Children he gave his
young Negro: I considered the Pain and Distress he was in, and knew not how it
would end; so I wrote his Will, save only that Part concerning his Slave, and
carrying it to his Bed side, read it to him; and then told him, in a friendly
Way, that I could not write any Instruments by which my Fellow-creatures were
made Slaves, without bringing Trouble on my own Mind: I let him know that I
charged nothing for what I had done; and desired to be excused from doing the
other Part in the Way he proposed: We then had a serious Conference on the
Subject; at length he agreeing to set her free, I finished his Will.
Having found Drawings in my Mind to visit Friends
on Long-Island, after obtaining a Certificate from our Monthly-meeting,
I set off on the twelfth Day of the fifth Month, in the Year 1756. When I
reached the Island, I lodged the first Night at the House of my dear Friend, Richard Hallet; the next Day, being the first of the Week,
I was at the Meeting in New-town; in which we experienced the renewed
Manifestations of the Love of Jesus Christ, to the Comfort of the
honest-hearted. I went that Night to Flushing; and the next Day, in
Company with my beloved Friend, Matthew Franklin, we
crossed the Ferry at White-stone; were at three Meetings on the Main,
and then returned to the Island; where[Pg 46]
I spent the Remainder of the Week in visiting Meetings. The Lord, I believe,
hath a People in those Parts, who are honestly inclined to serve him; but many,
I fear, are too much clogged with the Things of this Life, and do not come
forward bearing the Cross in such Faithfulness as he calls for.
My Mind was deeply engaged in this Visit, both in
publick and private; and, at several Places, observing that they had Slaves, I
found myself under a Necessity in a friendly Way, to labour with them on that
Subject; expressing, as Way opened, the Inconsistency of that Practice with the
Purity of the Christian Religion, and the ill Effects of it manifested
amongst us.
The Latter-end of the Week, their Yearly-meeting
began; at which were our Friends John Scarborough, Jane Hoskins, and Susanna Brown,
from Pennsylvania: The publick Meetings were large, and measurably
favoured with divine Goodness.
The Exercise of my Mind, at this Meeting, was
chiefly on Account of those who were considered as the foremost Rank in the
Society; and, in a Meeting of Ministers and Elders, Way opened, that I
expressed in some Measure what lay upon me; and, at a Time when Friends were
met for transacting the Affairs of the Church, having set a while silent, I
felt a Weight on my Mind, and stood up; and, through the gracious Regard of our
heavenly Father, Strength was given fully to clear myself of a Burthen, which,
for some Days, had been increasing upon me.
Through the humbling Dispensations of divine
Providence, Men are sometimes fitted for his Service. The Messages of the
Prophet Jeremiah, were so disagreeable to the People, and so reverse to the
Spirit they lived in, that he became the Object of their Reproach; and, in the
Weakness of Nature, thought of desisting from his prophetic Office; but, saith
he, "His Word was in my Heart as a burning Fire shut up in my Bones; and I
was weary with forbearing, and could not stay." I saw at this Time, that
if I was honest in declaring that which Truth opened in me, I could not please
all Men; and[Pg 47] laboured to be
content in the Way of my Duty, however disagreeable to my own Inclination.
After this I went homeward, taking Woodbridge, and Plainfield in
my Way; in both which Meetings, the pure Influence of divine Love was
manifested; in an humbling Sense whereof I went Home, having been out about
twenty-four Days, and rode about three hundred and sixteen Miles.
While I was out on this Journey, my Heart was much
affected with a Sense of the State of the Churches in our southern Provinces;
and, believing the Lord was calling me to some farther Labour amongst them, I
was bowed in Reverence before him, with fervent Desires that I might find
Strength to resign myself up to his heavenly Will.
Until this Year, 1756, I continued to retail
Goods, besides following my Trade as a Taylor; about which Time, I grew uneasy
on Account of my Business growing too cumbersome: I had begun with selling
Trimmings for Garments, and from thence proceeded to sell Cloths and Linens;
and, at length, having got a considerable Shop of Goods, my Trade increased
every Year, and the Road to large Business appeared open; but I felt a Stop in
my Mind.
Through the Mercies of the Almighty, I had, in a
good degree, learned to be content with a plain Way of Living: I had but a
small Family; and, on serious Consideration, I believed Truth did not require
me to engage in much cumbering Affairs: It had been my general Practice to buy
and sell Things really useful: Things that served chiefly to please the vain
Mind in People, I was not easy to trade in; seldom did it; and, whenever I did,
I found it weaken me as a Christian.
The Increase of Business became my Burthen; for,
though my natural Inclination was toward Merchandize, yet I believed Truth
required me to live more free from outward Cumbers: and there was now a Strife
in my Mind between the two; and in this Exercise my Prayers were put up to the
Lord, who graciously heard me, and gave me a Heart resigned to his holy Will:
Then I lessened my outward Business; and, as I had[Pg
48] Opportunity, told my Customers of my Intention, that they
might consider what Shop to turn to: And, in a while, wholly laid down
Merchandize, following my Trade, as a Taylor, myself only, having no
Apprentice. I also had a Nursery of Appletrees; in which I employed some of my
Time in hoeing, grafting, trimming, and inoculating. In Merchandize it is the
Custom, where I lived, to sell chiefly on Credit, and poor People often get in
Debt; and when Payment is expected, not having wherewith to pay, their
Creditors often sue for it at Law. Having often observed Occurrences of this
Kind, I found it good for me to advise poor People to take such Goods as were
most useful and not costly.
In the Time of Trading, I had an Opportunity of
seeing, that the too liberal Use of spirituous Liquors, and the Custom of
wearing too costly Apparel, led some People into great Inconveniences; and
these two Things appear to be often connected; for, by not attending to that
Use of Things which is consistent with universal Righteousness, there is an
Increase of Labour which extends beyond what our heavenly Father intends for
us: And by great Labour, and often by much Sweating, there is, even among such
as are not Drunkards, a craving of some Liquors to revive the Spirits; that,
partly by the luxurious Drinking of some, and partly by the Drinking of others
(led to it through immoderate Labour), very great Quantities of Rum are every
Year expended in our Colonies; the greater Part of which we should have no Need
of, did we steadily attend to pure Wisdom.
Where Men take Pleasure in feeling their Minds
elevated with Strong-drink, and so indulge their Appetite as to disorder their
Understandings, neglect their Duty as Members in a Family or Civil Society, and
cast off all Regard to Religion, their Case is much to be pitied; and where such,
whose Lives are for the most Part regular, and whose Examples have a strong
Influence on the Minds of others, adhere to some Customs which powerfully draw
to the Use of more Strong-liquor than pure Wisdom allows; this also, as it
hinders the spreading of[Pg 49]
the Spirit of Meekness, and strengthens the Hands of the more excessive
Drinkers, is a Case to be lamented.
As every Degree of Luxury hath some Connection
with Evil, those who profess to be Disciples of Christ, and are looked upon as
Leaders of the People, should have that Mind in them which was also in Christ,
and so stand separate from every wrong Way, as a Means of Help to the Weaker.
As I have sometimes been much spent in the Heat, and taken Spirits to revive
me, I have found, by Experience, that in such Circumstances the Mind is not so
calm, nor so fitly disposed for divine Meditation, as when all such Extremes
are avoided; and I have felt an increasing Care to attend to that holy Spirit
which sets Bounds to our Desires, and leads those, who faithfully follow it, to
apply all the Gifts of divine Providence to the Purposes for which they were
intended. Did such, as have the Care of great Estates, attend with Singleness
of Heart to this heavenly Instructor, which so opens and enlarges the Mind, that
Men love their Neighbours as themselves, they would have Wisdom given them to
manage, without finding Occasion to employ some People in the Luxuries of Life,
or to make it necessary for others to labour too hard; but, for want of
steadily regarding this Principle of divine Love, a selfish Spirit takes Place
in the Minds of People, which is attended with Darkness and manifold Confusion
in the World.
Though trading in Things useful is an honest
Employ; yet, through the great Number of Superfluities which are bought and
sold, and through the Corruption of the Times, they, who apply to merchandize
for a Living, have great Need to be well experienced in that Precept which the
Prophet Jeremiah laid down for his Scribe:
"Seekest thou great Things for thyself? seek them not."
In the Winter, this Year, I was engaged with
Friends in visiting Families; and, through the Goodness of the Lord, we had
oftentimes Experience of his Heart-tendering Presence amongst us.[Pg 50]
A Copy of a Letter written to a Friend.
In this thy late Affliction I have found a deep
Fellow-feeling with thee; and had a secret Hope throughout, that it might
please the Father of Mercies to raise thee up, and sanctify thy Troubles to
thee; that thou, being more fully acquainted with that Way which the World
esteems foolish, mayst feel the Clothing of divine Fortitude, and be
strengthened to resist that Spirit which leads from the Simplicity of the
everlasting Truth.
We may see ourselves crippled and halting, and,
from a strong Bias to Things pleasant and easy, find an Impossibility to
advance forward; but Things impossible with Men are possible with God; and, our
Wills being made subject to his, all Temptations are surmountable.
This Work of subjecting the Will is compared to
the Mineral in the Furnace; "He refines them as Silver is refined.—He
shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver." By these Comparisons we
are instructed in the Necessity of the Operation of the Hand of God upon us, to
prepare our Hearts truly to adore him, and manifest that Adoration, by inwardly
turning away from that Spirit, in all its Workings, which is not of him. To
forward this Work, the all-wise God is sometimes pleased, through outward
Distress, to bring us near the Gates of Death; that, Life being painful and afflicting,
and the Prospect of Eternity open before us, all earthly Bonds may be loosened,
and the Mind prepared for that deep and sacred Instruction, which otherwise
would not be received. If Parents love their Children and delight in their
Happiness, then he, who is perfect Goodness, in sending abroad mortal
Contagions, doth assuredly direct their Use: Are the Righteous removed by it?
Their Change is happy: Are the Wicked taken away in their Wickedness? The
Almighty is clear: Do we pass through with Anguish and great Bitterness, and
yet recover, he intends that we should be purged from Dross, and our Ears
opened to Discipline.
And now that, on thy Part, after thy sore
Affliction[Pg 51] and Doubts of
Recovery, thou art again restored, forget not him who hath helped thee; but in
humble Gratitude hold fast his Instructions, thereby to shun those By-paths
which lead from the firm Foundation. I am sensible of that Variety of Company,
to which one in thy Business must be exposed: I have painfully felt the Force
of Conversation proceeding from Men deeply rooted in an earthly Mind, and can
sympathize with others in such Conflicts, in that much Weakness still attends
me.
I find that to be a Fool as to worldly Wisdom, and
commit my Cause to God, not fearing to offend Men, who take Offence at the
Simplicity of Truth, is the only Way to remain unmoved at the Sentiments of
others.
The Fear of Man brings a Snare; by halting in our
Duty, and giving back in the Time of Trial, our Hands grow weaker, our Spirits
get mingled with the People, our Ears grow dull as to hearing the Language of
the true Shepherd; that when we look at the Way of the Righteous, it seems as
though it was not for us to follow them.
There is a Love clothes my Mind, while I write,
which is superior to all Expressions; and I find my Heart open to encourage a
holy Emulation, to advance forward in Christian Firmness. Deep Humility
is a strong Bulwark; and, as we enter into it, we find Safety: The Foolishness
of God is wiser than Man, and the Weakness of God is stronger than Man. Being
unclothed of our own Wisdom, and knowing the Abasement of the Creature, therein
we find that Power to arise, which gives Health and Vigour to us.
CHAPTER IV
His Journey to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and
North-Carolina: Considerations on the State of Friends there; and the
Exercise he was under in travelling among those so generally concerned in
keeping Slaves: With some Observations in Conversation, at several Times, on
this Subject—His Epistle to Friends at New-Garden and
Cane-Creek—His Thoughts on the Neglect of a religious Care in the Education
of the Negroes
Feeling an Exercise in Relation to a Visit to the
southern Provinces, I acquainted our Monthly-meeting therewith, and obtained
their Certificate: Expecting to go alone, one of my Brothers, who lived in Philadelphia,
having some Business in North-Carolina, proposed going with me Part of
the Way; but, as he had a View of some outward Affairs, to accept of him as a
Companion seemed some Difficulty with me, whereupon I had Conversation with him
at sundry Times; and, at length, feeling easy in my Mind, I had Conversation
with several elderly Friends of Philadelphia on the Subject; and he
obtaining a Certificate suitable to the Occasion, we set off in the fifth Month
of the Year 1757; and, coming to Nottingham Week-day Meeting, lodged at John Churchman's; and here I met with our Friend Benjamin Buffington, from New-England, who was
returning from a Visit to the southern Provinces. Thence we crossed the River Susquehannah,
and lodged at William Cox's in Maryland; and,
soon after I entered this Province, a deep and painful Exercise came upon me,
which I often had some Feeling of since my Mind was drawn towards these Parts,
and with which I had acquainted my Brother before we agreed to join as
Companions.
As the People in this and the southern Provinces
live much on the Labour of Slaves, many of whom are used hardly, my Concern
was, that I might attend with Singleness[Pg 53]
of Heart to the Voice of the true Shepherd, and be so supported as to remain
unmoved at the Faces of Men.
The Prospect of so weighty a Work brought me very
low; and such were the Conflicts of my Soul, that I had a near Sympathy with
the Prophet, in the Time of his Weakness, when he said, "If thou deal thus
with me, kill me, I pray thee, if I have found Favour in thy Sight," Numb.
xi. 15. But I soon saw that this proceeded from the Want of a full Resignation
to the divine Will. Many were the Afflictions which attended me; and in great
Abasement, with many Tears, my Cries were to the Almighty, for his gracious and
Fatherly Assistance; and then, after a Time of deep Trial, I was favoured to
understand the State mentioned by the Psalmist, more clearly than ever I had
before; to wit: "My Soul is even as a weaned Child." Psalm cxxxi. 2.
Being thus helped to sink down into Resignation, I felt a Deliverance from that
Tempest in which I had been sorely exercised, and in Calmness of Mind went
forward, trusting that the Lord Jesus Christ, as I faithfully attended to him,
would be a Counsellor to me in all Difficulties.
The seventh Day of the fifth Month, in the Year
1757, I lodged at a Friend's House; and the next Day, being the first of the
Week, was at Potapsco Meeting; then crossed Patuxent River, and
lodged at a Public-house. On the ninth breakfasted at a Friend's House; who,
afterward, putting us a little on our Way, I had Conversation with him, in the
Fear of the Lord, concerning his Slaves; in which my Heart was tender, and I
used much Plainness of Speech with him, which he appeared to take kindly. We
pursued our Journey without appointing Meetings, being pressed in Mind to be at
the Yearly-meeting in Virginia; and, in my travelling on the Road, I
often felt a Cry rise from the Center of my Mind, thus: O Lord, I am a Stranger
on the Earth, hide not thy Face from me.
On the eleventh Day of the fifth Month, we crossed
the Rivers Patowmack and Rapahannock, and lodged at Port-Royal;
and on the Way we happening in Company with a Colonel of the Militia, who
appeared to[Pg 54] be a thoughtful
Man, I took Occasion to remark on the Difference in general betwixt a People
used to labour moderately for their Living, training up their Children in
Frugality and Business, and those who live on the Labour of Slaves; the former,
in my View, being the most happy Life: With which he concurred, and mentioned
the Trouble arising from the untoward, slothful, Disposition of the Negroes;
adding, that one of our Labourers would do as much in a Day as two of their
Slaves. I replied, that free Men, whose Minds were properly on their Business,
found a Satisfaction in improving, cultivating, and providing for their
Families; but Negroes, labouring to support others who claim them as their Property,
and expecting nothing but Slavery during Life, had not the like Inducement to
be industrious.
After some farther Conversation, I said, that Men
having Power too often misapplied it; that though we made Slaves of the
Negroes, and the Turks made Slaves of the Christians, I believed
that Liberty was the natural Right of all Men equally: Which he did not deny;
but said, the Lives of the Negroes were so wretched in their own Country, that
many of them lived better here than there: I only said, there are great odds,
in regard to us, on what Principle we act; and so the Conversation on that
Subject ended: And I may here add, that another Person, some Time afterward,
mentioned the Wretchedness of the Negroes, occasioned by their intestine Wars,
as an Argument in Favour of our fetching them away for Slaves: To which I then
replied, if Compassion on the Africans, in Regard to their domestic
Troubles, were the real Motive of our purchasing them, that Spirit of
Tenderness, being attended to, would incite us to use them kindly; that, as
Strangers brought out of Affliction, their Lives might be happy among us; and
as they are human Creatures, whose Souls are as precious as ours, and who may
receive the same Help and Comfort from the holy Scriptures as we do, we could
not omit suitable Endeavours to instruct them therein: But while we manifest,
by our Conduct, that our Views in purchasing them are to advance ourselves; and
while our buying Captives[Pg 55]
taken in War animates those Parties to push on that War, and increase
Desolation amongst them, to say they live unhappy in Africa, is far from
being an Argument in our Favour: And I farther said, the present Circumstances
of these Provinces to me appear difficult; that the Slaves look like a
burthensome Stone to such who burthen themselves with them; and that if the
white People retain a Resolution to prefer their outward Prospects of Gain to
all other Considerations, and do not act conscientiously toward them as fellow
Creatures, I believe that Burthen will grow heavier and heavier, till Times
change in a Way disagreeable to us: At which the Person appeared very serious,
and owned, that, in considering their Condition, and the Manner of their
Treatment in these Provinces, he had sometimes thought it might be just in the
Almighty so to order it.
Having thus travelled through Maryland, we
came amongst Friends at Cedar-Creek in Virginia, on the 12th Day
of the fifth Month; and the next Day rode, in Company with several Friends, a
Day's Journey to Camp-Creek. As I was riding along in the Morning, my
Mind was deeply affected in a Sense I had of the Want of divine Aid to support
me in the various Difficulties which attended me; and, in an uncommon Distress
of Mind, I cried in secret to the Most High, O Lord, be merciful, I beseech
thee, to thy poor afflicted Creature. After some Time, I felt inward Relief;
and, soon after, a Friend in Company began to talk in Support of the
Slave-Trade, and said, the Negroes were understood to be the Offspring of Cain,
their Blackness being the Mark God set upon him after he murdered Abel
his Brother; that it was the Design of Providence they should be Slaves, as a
Condition proper to the Race of so wicked a Man as Cain was: Then
another spake in Support of what had been said. To all which, I replied in
Substance as follows: That Noah and his Family were all who survived the
Flood, according to Scripture; and, as Noah was of Seth's Race,
the Family of Cain was wholly destroyed. One of them said, that after
the Flood Ham went to the Land of Nod, and took a Wife; that Nod
was a Land far distant,[Pg 56]
inhabited by Cain's Race, and that the Flood did not reach it; and as Ham
was sentenced to be a Servant of Servants to his Brethren, these two Families,
being thus joined, were undoubtedly fit only for Slaves. I replied, the Flood
was a Judgment upon the World for its Abominations; and it was granted, that Cain's
Stock was the most wicked, and therefore unreasonable to suppose they were
spared: As to Ham's going to the Land of Nod for a Wife, no Time
being fixed, Nod might be inhabited by some of Noah's Family,
before Ham married a second Time; moreover the Text saith, "That
all Flesh died that moved upon the Earth." Gen. vii. 21. I farther
reminded them, how the Prophets repeatedly declare, "That the Son shall
not suffer for the Iniquity of the Father; but every one be answerable for his
own Sins." I was troubled to perceive the Darkness of their Imaginations;
and in some Pressure of Spirit said, the Love of Ease and Gain is the Motive in
general for keeping Slaves, and Men are wont to take hold of weak Arguments to
support a Cause which is unreasonable; and added, I have no Interest on either
Side, save only the Interest which I desire to have in the Truth: And as I
believe Liberty is their Right, and see they are not only deprived of it, but
treated in other Respects with Inhumanity in many Places, I believe he, who is
a Refuge for the Oppressed, will, in his own Time, plead their Cause; and happy
will it be for such as walk in Uprightness before him: And thus our
Conversation ended.
On the fourteenth Day of the fifth Month I was at Camp-Creek
Monthly-meeting, and then rode to the Mountains up James-River, and had
a Meeting at a Friend's House; in both which I felt Sorrow of Heart, and my
Tears were poured out before the Lord, who was pleased to afford a Degree of
Strength, by which Way was opened to clear my Mind amongst Friends in those
Places. From thence I went to Fort-Creek, and so to Cedar-Creek
again; at which Place I had a Meeting; here I found a tender Seed: And as I was
preserved in the Ministry to keep low with the Truth, the same Truth in their
Hearts answered it, that it was a Time of mutual Refreshment[Pg
57] from the Presence of the Lord. I lodged at James Standley's, Father of William
Standley, one of the young Men who suffered Imprisonment at Winchester,
last Summer, on Account of their Testimony against Fighting; and I had some
satisfactory Conversation with him concerning it. Hence I went to the Swamp
Meeting, and to Wayanoke Meeting; and then crossed James-River,
and lodged near Burleigh. From the Time of my entering Maryland I
had been much under Sorrow, which so increased upon me, that my Mind was almost
overwhelmed; and I may say with the Psalmist, "In my Distress I called
upon the Lord, and cried to my God;" who, in infinite Goodness, looked
upon my Affliction, and in my private Retirement sent the Comforter for my
Relief: For which I humbly bless his holy Name.
The Sense I had of the State of the Churches
brought a Weight of Distress upon me: The Gold to me appeared dim, and the fine
Gold changed; and though this is the Case too generally, yet the Sense of it in
these Parts hath, in a particular Manner, borne heavy upon me. It appeared to
me, that, through the prevailing of the Spirit of this World, the Minds of many
were brought to an inward Desolation; and, instead of the Spirit of Meekness,
Gentleness, and heavenly Wisdom, which are the necessary Companions of the true
Sheep of Christ, a Spirit of Fierceness, and the Love of Dominion, too
generally prevailed. From small Beginnings in Errors, great Buildings, by
degrees, are raised; and from one Age to another are more and more strengthened
by the general Concurrence of the People; and, as Men obtain Reputation by
their Profession of the Truth, their Virtues are mentioned as Arguments in
Favour of general Error, and those of less Note, to justify themselves, say,
such and such good Men did the like. By what other Steps could the People of Judah
arise to that Height in Wickedness, as to give just Ground for the Prophet Isaiah
to declare, in the Name of the Lord, "that none calleth for Justice, nor
any pleadeth for Truth." Isaiah lix. 4. Or for the Almighty to call
upon the great City of Jerusalem, just before the Babylonish
Captivity: "If ye can find a[Pg 58]
Man, if there be any who executeth Judgment, that seeketh the Truth, and I will
pardon it." Jer. v. 1. The Prospect of a Road lying open to the
same Degeneracy, in some Parts of this newly-settled Land of America, in
Respect to our Conduct toward the Negroes, deeply bowed my Mind in this
Journey; and, though, to briefly relate how these People are treated is no
agreeable Work; yet, after often reading over the Notes I made as I travelled,
I find my Mind engaged to preserve them. Many of the white People in those
Provinces take little or no Care of Negro Marriages; and, when Negroes marry
after their own Way, some make so little Account of those Marriages, that, with
Views of outward Interest, they often part Men from their Wives by selling them
far asunder; which is common when Estates are sold by Executors at Vendue.
Many, whose Labour is heavy, being followed, at their Business in the Field, by
a Man with a Whip, hired for that Purpose, have, in common, little else allowed
but one Peck of Indian Corn and some Salt for one Week, with a few
Potatoes; the Potatoes they commonly raise by their Labour on the first Day of
the Week.
The Correction, ensuing on their Disobedience to
Overseers, or Slothfulness in Business, is often very severe, and sometimes
desperate.
The Men and Women have many Times scarce Clothes
enough to hide their Nakedness, and Boys and Girls, ten and twelve Years old,
are often quite naked amongst their Master's Children: Some of our Society, and
some of the Society called New-Lights, use some Endeavours to instruct those
they have in reading; but, in common, this is not only neglected, but
disapproved. These are the People by whose Labour the other Inhabitants are in a
great Measure supported, and many of them in the Luxuries of Life: These are
the People who have made no Agreement to serve us, and who have not forfeited
their Liberty that we know of: These are Souls for whom Christ died, and, for
our Conduct toward them, we must answer before him who is no Respecter of
Persons.
They who know the only true God, and Jesus Christ[Pg 59] whom he hath sent, and are
thus acquainted with the merciful, benevolent Gospel Spirit, will therein
perceive that the Indignation of God is kindled against Oppression and Cruelty;
and, in beholding the great Distress of so numerous a People, will find Cause
for Mourning.
From my Lodging I went to Burleigh Meeting,
where I felt my Mind drawn into a quiet resigned State; and, after long Silence,
I felt an Engagement to stand up; and, through the powerful Operation of divine
Love, we were favoured with an edifying Meeting. The next Meeting we had was at
Black-Water; and so to the Yearly-meeting at the western Branch: When
Business began, some Queries were considered, by some of their Members, to be
now produced; and, if approved, to be answered hereafter by their respective
Monthly-meetings. They were the Pennsylvania Queries, which had been
examined by a Committee of Virginia Yearly-meeting appointed the last
Year, who made some Alterations in them; one of which Alterations was made in
Favour of a Custom which troubled me. The Query was, "Are there any
concerned in the Importation of Negroes, or buying them after imported?"
Which they altered thus: "Are there any concerned in the Importation of
Negroes, or buying them to trade in?" As one Query admitted with Unanimity
was, "Are any concerned in buying or vending Goods unlawfully imported, or
prize Goods?" I found my Mind engaged to say, that as we professed the
Truth, and were there assembled to support the Testimony of it, it was
necessary for us to dwell deep, and act in that Wisdom which is pure, or
otherwise we could not prosper. I then mentioned their Alteration; and,
referring to the last-mentioned Query, added, as purchasing any Merchandize,
taken by the Sword, was always allowed to be inconsistent with our Principles;
Negroes being Captives of War, or taken by Stealth, those Circumstances make it
inconsistent with our Testimony to buy them; and their being our
Fellow-creatures, who are sold as Slaves, adds greatly to the Iniquity. Friends
appeared attentive to what was said; some expressed a Care and Concern about
their Negroes; none[Pg 60]
made any Objection, by Way of Reply to what I said; but the Query was admitted
as they had altered it. As some of their Members have heretofore traded in
Negroes, as in other Merchandize, this Query being admitted, will be one Step
farther than they have hitherto gone: And I did not see it my Duty to press for
an Alteration; but felt easy to leave it all to him, who alone is able to turn
the Hearts of the Mighty, and make Way for the spreading of Truth on the Earth,
by Means agreeable to his infinite Wisdom. But, in Regard to those they already
had, I felt my Mind engaged to labour with them; and said, that, as we believe
the Scriptures were given forth by holy Men, as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost, and many of us know by Experience that they are often helpful and
comfortable, and believe ourselves bound in Duty to teach our Children to read
them, I believe, that, if we were divested of all selfish Views, the same good
Spirit, that gave them forth, would engage us to teach the Negroes to read,
that they might have the Benefit of them: Some, amongst them, at this Time,
manifested a Concern in Regard to taking more Care in the Education of their
Negroes.
On the twenty-ninth Day of the fifth Month, at the
House where I lodged, was a Meeting of Ministers and Elders, at the ninth Hour
in the Morning; at which Time I found an Engagement to speak freely and plainly
to them concerning their Slaves; mentioning, how they, as the first Rank in the
Society, whose Conduct in that Case was much noticed by others, were under the
stronger Obligations to look carefully to themselves: Expressing how needful it
was for them, in that Situation, to be thoroughly divested of all selfish
Views; that living in the pure Truth, and acting conscientiously toward those
People in their Education and otherwise, they might be instrumental in helping
forward a Work so necessary, and so much neglected amongst them. At the twelfth
Hour the Meeting of Worship began, which was a solid Meeting.
On the thirtieth Day, about the tenth Hour,
Friends met to finish their Business, and then the meeting for Worship ensued,
which to me was a laborious Time; but,[Pg 61]
through the Goodness of the Lord, Truth, I believe, gained some Ground; and it
was a strengthening Opportunity to the Honest-hearted.
About this Time I wrote an Epistle to Friends in
the Back-settlements of North-Carolina, as follows:
To Friends at their Monthly-meeting at New-Garden
and Cane-Creek, in North-Carolina.
Dear Friends,—It having pleased the Lord to draw
me forth on a Visit to some Parts of Virginia and Carolina, you
have often been in my Mind; and though my Way is not clear to come in Person to
visit you, yet I feel it in my Heart to communicate a few Things, as they arise
in the Love of Truth. First, my dear Friends, dwell in Humility, and take Heed
that no Views of outward Gain get too deep hold of you, that so your Eyes being
single to the Lord, you may be preserved in the Way of Safety. Where People let
loose their Minds after the Love of outward Things, and are more engaged in
pursuing the Profits, and seeking the Friendships, of this World, than to be
inwardly acquainted with the Way of true Peace; such walk in a vain Shadow,
while the true Comfort of Life is wanting: Their Examples are often hurtful to
others; and their Treasures, thus collected, do many Times prove dangerous
Snares to their Children.
But where People are sincerely devoted to follow
Christ, and dwell under the Influence of his holy Spirit, their Stability and
Firmness, through a divine Blessing, is at Times like Dew on the tender Plants
round about them, and the Weightiness of their Spirits secretly works on the
Minds of others; and in this Condition, through the spreading Influence of divine
Love, they feel a Care over the Flock; and Way is opened for maintaining good
Order in the Society: And though we meet with Opposition from another Spirit,
yet, as there is a dwelling in Meekness, feeling our Spirits subject, and
moving only in the gentle peaceable Wisdom, the inward Reward of Quietness will
be greater than all our Difficulties. Where the pure Life is kept to, and
Meetings of Discipline are[Pg 62]
held in the Authority of it, we find by Experience that they are comfortable,
and tend to the Health of the Body.
While I write, the Youth come fresh in my
Way:—Dear young People, choose God for your Portion; love his Truth, and be not
ashamed of it: Choose for your Company such as serve him in Uprightness; and
shun, as most dangerous, the Conversation of those whose Lives are of an ill
Savour; for, by frequenting such Company, some hopeful young People have come
to great Loss, and have been drawn from less Evils to greater, to their utter
Ruin. In the Bloom of Youth no Ornament is so lovely as that of Virtue, nor any
Enjoyments equal to those which we partake of, in fully resigning ourselves to
the divine Will: These Enjoyments add Sweetness to all other Comforts, and give
true Satisfaction in Company and Conversation, where People are mutually
acquainted with it; and, as your Minds are thus seasoned with the Truth, you
will find Strength to abide stedfast to the Testimony of it, and be prepared
for Services in the Church.
And now, dear Friends and Brethren, as you are
improving a Wilderness, and may be numbered amongst the first Planters in one
Part of a Province, I beseech you, in the Love of Jesus Christ, to wisely
consider the Force of your Examples, and think how much your Successors may be
thereby affected: It is a Help in a Country, yea, and a great Favour and a
Blessing, when Customs, first settled, are agreeable to sound Wisdom; so, when
they are otherwise, the Effect of them is grievous; and Children feel
themselves encompassed with Difficulties prepared for them by their
Predecessors.
As moderate Care and Exercise, under the Direction
of true Wisdom, are useful both to Mind and Body; so by this Means in general,
the real Wants of Life are easily supplied: Our gracious Father having so
proportioned one to the other, that keeping in the true Medium we may pass on
quietly. Where Slaves are purchased to do our Labour, numerous Difficulties
attend it. To rational Creatures Bondage is uneasy, and frequently occasions
Sourness and Discontent in them; which affects the[Pg
63] Family, and such as claim the Mastery over them: And thus
People and their Children are many Times encompassed with Vexations, which
arise from their applying to wrong Methods to get a Living.
I have been informed that there is a large Number
of Friends in your Parts, who have no Slaves; and in tender and most
affectionate Love, I beseech you to keep clear from purchasing any. Look, my
dear Friends, to divine Providence; and follow in Simplicity that Exercise of
Body, that Plainness and Frugality, which true Wisdom leads to; so will you be
preserved from those Dangers which attend such as are aiming at outward Ease
and Greatness.
Treasures, though small, attained on a true
Principle of Virtue, are sweet in the Possession, and, while we walk in the
Light of the Lord, there is true Comfort and Satisfaction. Here, neither the
Murmurs of an oppressed People, nor an uneasy Conscience, nor anxious Thoughts
about the Events of Things, hinder the Enjoyment of it.
When we look toward the End of Life, and think on
the Division of our Substance among our Successors; if we know that it was
collected in the Fear of the Lord, in Honesty, in Equity, and in Uprightness of
Heart before him, we may consider it as his Gift to us; and with a single Eye
to his Blessing, bestow it on those we leave behind us. Such is the Happiness
of the plain Ways of true Virtue. "The Work of Righteousness shall be
Peace; and the Effect of Righteousness, Quietness and Assurance for ever."
Isa. xxxii. 17.
Dwell here, my dear Friends; and then, in remote
and solitary Desarts, you may find true Peace and Satisfaction. If the Lord be
our God, in Truth and Reality, there is Safety for us; for he is a Stronghold
in the Day of Trouble, and knoweth them that trust in him.
Isle of Wight County, in Virginia,29th of the 5th Month, 1757.
From the Yearly-meeting in Virginia, I went
to Carolina; and, on the first Day of the sixth Month, was at Wells
Monthly-meeting, where the Spring of the Gospel[Pg
64] Ministry was opened, and the Love of Jesus Christ
experienced amongst us: To his Name be the Praise!
Here my Brother joined with some Friends from New-Garden,
who were going homeward; and I went next to Simond's Creek
Monthly-meeting, where I was silent during the Meeting for Worship: When
Business came on, my Mind was exercised concerning the poor Slaves; but did not
feel my Way clear to speak: In this Condition I was bowed in Spirit before the
Lord; and with Tears and inward Supplication besought him so to open my
Understanding, that I might know his Will concerning me; and, at length, my
mind was settled in Silence: Near the End of their Business, a Member of their
Meeting expressed a Concern, that had some Time lain upon him, on Account of
Friends so much neglecting their Duty in the Education of their Slaves; and
proposed having Meetings sometimes appointed for them on a Week-day, to be only
attended by some Friends to be named in their Monthly-meetings: Many present
appeared to unite with the Proposal: One said, he had often wondered that they,
being our Fellow-creatures, and capable of religious Understanding, had been so
exceedingly neglected: Another expressed the like Concern, and appeared
zealous, that Friends, in future, might more closely consider it: At length a
Minute was made; and the farther Consideration of it referred to their next
Monthly-meeting. The Friend who made this Proposal had Negroes: He told me,
that he was at New-Garden, about two hundred and fifty Miles from Home,
and came back alone; and that in this solitary Journey, this Exercise, in
Regard to the Education of their Negroes, was, from Time to Time, renewed in
his Mind. A Friend of some Note in Virginia, who had Slaves, told me,
that he being far from Home on a lonesome Journey, had many serious Thoughts
about them; and that his Mind was so impressed therewith, that he believed that
he saw a Time coming, when divine Providence would alter the Circumstances of
these People, respecting their Condition as Slaves.
From hence I went to Newbegun Creek, and
sat a[Pg 65] considerable Time
in much Weakness; then I felt Truth open the Way to speak a little in much
Plainness and Simplicity, till, at length, through the Increase of divine Love
amongst us, we had a seasoning Opportunity. From thence to the Head of Little-River,
on a First-day, where was a crowded Meeting; and, I believe, it was, through
divine Goodness, made profitable to some. Thence to the Old-Neck; where
I was led into a careful searching out the secret Workings of the Mystery of
Iniquity, which, under a Cover of Religion, exalts itself against that pure
Spirit, which leads in the Way of Meekness and Self-denial. From thence to Pineywoods:
This was the last Meeting I was at in Carolina, and was large; and, my
Heart being deeply engaged, I was drawn forth into a fervent Labour amongst
them.
From hence I went back into Virginia, and
had a Meeting near James Cowpland's; it was a Time of
inward Suffering; but, through the Goodness of the Lord, I was made content:
Then to another Meeting; where, through the Renewings of pure Love, we had a
very comfortable Season.
Travelling up and down of late, I have had renewed
Evidences, that to be faithful to the Lord, and content with his Will
concerning me, is a most necessary and useful Lesson for me to be learning;
looking less at the Effects of my Labour, than at the pure Motion and Reality
of the Concern, as it arises from heavenly Love. In the Lord Jehovah is
everlasting Strength; and as the Mind, by a humble Resignation, is united to him;
and we utter Words from an inward Knowledge that they arise from the heavenly
Spring, though our Way may be difficult, and require close Attention to keep in
it; and though the Manner in which we may be led may tend to our own Abasement;
yet, if we continue in Patience and Meekness, heavenly Peace is the Reward of
our Labours.
From thence I went to Curles Meeting;
which, though small, was reviving to the Honest-hearted. Thence to Black-Creek
and Caroline Meetings; from whence, accompanied by William
Standley, before-mentioned, we rode[Pg
66] to Goose-Creek, being much through the Woods, and
about one hundred Miles.—We lodged the first Night at a Publick-house; the
second, in the Woods; and, the next Day, we reached a Friend's House, at Goose-Creek.
In the Woods we lay under some Disadvantage, having no Fire-works nor Bells for
our Horses; but we stopped a little before Night, and let them feed on the wild
Grass which was in plenty; in the mean Time cutting with our Knives a Store
against Night, and then tying them, and gathering some Bushes under an Oak, we
lay down; but, the Musquettoes being plenty, and the Ground damp, I slept but
little: Thus, lying in the Wilderness, and looking at the Stars, I was led to
contemplate on the Condition of our first Parents, when they were sent forth
from the Garden; but the Almighty, though they had been disobedient, continued
to be a Father to them, and shewed them what tended to their Felicity, as
intelligent Creatures, and was acceptable to him. To provide Things relative to
our outward Living, in the Way of true Wisdom, is good; and the Gift of
improving in Things useful is a good Gift, and comes from the Father of Lights.
Many have had this Gift; and, from Age to Age, there have been Improvements of
this Kind made in the World: But some, not keeping to the pure Gift, have, in
the creaturely Cunning and Self-Exaltation, sought out many Inventions; which
Inventions of Men are distinct from that Uprightness in which Man was created;
as the first Motion to them was evil, so the Effects have been and are evil. At
this Day, it is as necessary for us constantly to attend on the heavenly Gift,
to be qualified to use rightly the good Things in this Life amidst great
Improvements, as it was for our first Parents, when they were without any
Improvements, without any Friend or Father but God only.
I was at a Meeting at Goose-Creek; and next
at a Monthly-meeting at Fairfax; where, through the gracious Dealing of
the Almighty with us, his Power prevailed over many Hearts. Thence to Manoquacy
and Pipe-Creek, in Maryland; at both which Places I had Cause
humbly to adore him, who supported me through many[Pg
67] Exercises, and by whose Help I was enabled to reach the
true Witness in the Hearts of others: There were some hopeful young People in
those Parts. Thence I had Meetings at John Everit's in Monalen,
and at Huntingdon; and I was made humbly thankful to the Lord, who
opened my Heart amongst the People in these new Settlements, so that it was a
Time of Encouragement to the Honest-minded.
At Monalen, a Friend gave me some Account
of a religious Society among the Dutch, called Mennonists; and,
amongst other Things, related a Passage in Substance as follows:—One of the Mennonists
having Acquaintance with a Man of another Society at a considerable Distance,
and being with his Waggon on Business near the House of his said Acquaintance,
and Night coming on, he had Thoughts of putting up with him; but passing by his
Fields, and observing the distressed Appearance of his Slaves, he kindled a
Fire in the Woods hard by, and lay there that Night: His said Acquaintance
hearing where he lodged, and afterward meeting the Mennonist, told him
of it; adding, he should have been heartily welcome at his House; and, from
their Acquaintance in former Time, wondered at his Conduct in that Case. The Mennonist
replied, Ever since I lodged by thy Field, I have wanted an Opportunity to
speak with thee: The Matter was; I intended to have come to thy House for
Entertainment, but, seeing thy Slaves at their Work, and observing the Manner
of their Dress, I had no liking to come to partake with thee: Then admonished him
to use them with more Humanity; and added, As I lay by the Fire that Night, I
thought that, as I was a Man of Substance, thou wouldst have received me
freely; but, if I had been as poor as one of thy Slaves, and had no Power to
help myself, I should have received from thy Hand no kinder Usage than they.
Hence I was at three Meetings in my Way; and so I
went Home, under a humbling Sense of the gracious Dealings of the Lord with me,
in preserving me through many Trials and Afflictions in my Journey. I was out
about two Months, and travelled about eleven hundred and fifty Miles.
CHAPTER V
The draughting of the Militia in New-Jersey to serve in the Army; with some
Observations on the State of the Members of our Society at that Time—His
Visit to Friends in Pennsylvania, accompanied by Benjamin
Jones—Proceedings at the Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly-Meetings, in
Philadelphia, respecting those who keep Slaves
On the ninth Day of the eighth Month, in the Year
1757, at Night, Orders came to the military Officers in our County (Burlington),
directing them to draught the Militia, and prepare a Number of Men to go off as
Soldiers, to the Relief of the English at Fort-William-Henry, in New-York
Government: A few Days after which there was a general Review of the Militia at
Mount-Holly, and a Number of Men chosen and sent off under some
Officers. Shortly after, there came Orders to draught three Times as many, to
hold themselves in Readiness to march when fresh Orders came: And, on the 17th
Day of the eighth Month, there was a Meeting of the military Officers at Mount-Holly,
who agreed on a Draught; and Orders were sent to the Men, so chosen, to meet
their respective Captains at set Times and Places; those in our Township to
meet at Mount-Holly; amongst whom was a considerable Number of our
Society. My Mind being affected herewith, I had fresh Opportunity to see and
consider the Advantage of living in the real Substance of Religion, where
Practice doth harmonize with Principle. Amongst the Officers are Men of Understanding,
who have some Regard to Sincerity where they see it; and in the Execution of
their Office, when they have Men to deal with whom they believe to be
upright-hearted, to put them to Trouble, on account of Scruples of Conscience,
is a painful Task, and likely to be avoided as much as easily may be: But where
Men profess to be so meek[Pg 69]
and heavenly-minded, and to have their Trust so firmly settled in God, that
they cannot join in Wars, and yet, by their Spirit and Conduct in common Life,
manifest a contrary Disposition, their Difficulties are great at such a Time.
Officers, in great Anxiety, endeavouring to get
Troops to answer the Demands of their Superiors, seeing Men, who are insincere,
pretend Scruple of Conscience in Hopes of being excused from a dangerous
Employment, such are likely to be roughly handled. In this Time of Commotion
some of our young Men left the Parts, and tarried abroad till it was over; some
came, and proposed to go as Soldiers; others appeared to have a real tender
Scruple in their Minds against joining in Wars, and were much humbled under the
Apprehension of a Trial so near: I had Conversation with several of them to my
Satisfaction. At the set Time when the Captain came to Town, some of those
last-mentioned went and told him in Substance as follows:—That they could not
bear Arms for Conscience-sake; nor could they hire any to go in their Places,
being resigned as to the Event of it: At length the Captain acquainted them
all, that they might return Home for the present, and, required them to provide
themselves as Soldiers, and to be in Readiness to march when called upon. This
was such a Time as I had not seen before; and yet I may say, with Thankfulness
to the Lord, that I believed this Trial was intended for our Good; and I was
favoured with Resignation to him. The French Army, taking the Fort they
were besieging, destroyed it and went away: The Company of Men first draughted,
after some Days march, had Orders to return Home; and those on the second
Draught were no more called upon on that Occasion.
On the fourth Day of the fourth Month, in the Year
1758, Orders came to some Officers in Mount-Holly, to prepare Quarters,
a short Time, for about one hundred Soldiers: And an Officer and two other Men,
all Inhabitants of our Town, came to my House; and the Officer told me, that he
came to speak with me, to provide Lodging and Entertainment for two Soldiers,
there being[Pg 70] six Shillings a
Week per Man allowed as Pay for it. The Case being new and unexpected, I made
no Answer suddenly; but sat a Time silent, my Mind being inward: I was fully
convinced, that the Proceedings in Wars are inconsistent with the Purity of the
Christian Religion: And to be hired to entertain Men, who were then
under Pay as Soldiers, was a Difficulty with me. I expected they had legal
Authority for what they did; and, after a short Time, I said to the Officer, If
the Men are sent here for Entertainment, I believe I shall not refuse to admit
them into my House; but the Nature of the Case is such, that I expect I cannot
keep them on Hire: One of the Men intimated, that he thought I might do it
consistent with my religious Principles; To which I made no Reply; as believing
Silence at that Time best for me. Though they spake of two, there came only
one, who tarried at my House about two Weeks, and behaved himself civilly; and
when the Officer came to pay me, I told him I could not take Pay for it, having
admitted him into my House in a passive Obedience to Authority. I was on
Horseback when he spake to me: And, as I turned from him, he said, he was
obliged to me: To which I said nothing; but, thinking on the Expression, I grew
uneasy; and afterwards, being near where he lived, I went and told him on what
Grounds I refused taking Pay for keeping the Soldier.
Near the Beginning of the Year 1758, I went one
Evening, in Company with a Friend, to visit a sick Person; and, before our
Return, we were told of a Woman living near, who, of late, had several Days
been disconsolate, occasioned by a Dream; wherein Death, and the Judgments of
the Almighty after Death, were represented to her Mind in a moving Manner: Her
Sadness on that Account, being worn off, the Friend, with whom I was in
Company, went to see her, and had some religious Conversation with her and her
Husband: With this Visit they were somewhat affected; and the Man, with many
Tears, expressed his Satisfaction; and, in a short Time after, the poor Man
being on the River in a Storm of Wind, he, with one more, was drowned.[Pg 71]
In the eighth Month of the Year 1758, having had
Drawings in my Mind to be at the Quarterly-meeting in Chester County,
and at some Meetings in the County of Philadelphia, I went first to said
Quarterly-meeting, which was large, and several weighty Matters came under
Consideration and Debate; and the Lord was pleased to qualify some of his
Servants with Strength and Firmness to bear the Burthen of the Day: Though I
said but little, my Mind was deeply exercised; and, under a Sense of God's
Love, in the Anointing and fitting some young Men for his Work, I was
comforted, and my Heart was tendered before him. From hence I went to the
Youth's Meeting at Darby, where my beloved Friend and Brother, Benjamin Jones, met me, by an Appointment before I left
Home, to join in the Visit: And we were at Radnor, Merion, Richland,
North-Wales, Plymouth, and Abington Meetings; and had
Cause to bow in Reverence before the Lord, our gracious God, by whose Help Way
was opened for us from day to day. I was out about two Weeks, and rode about
two hundred Miles.
The Monthly-meeting of Philadelphia having
been under a Concern on Account of some Friends who this Summer (1758) had
bought Negro Slaves, the said Meeting moved it to their Quarterly-meeting, to
have the Minute reconsidered in the Yearly-meeting, which was made last on that
Subject: And the said Quarterly-meeting appointed a Committee to consider it,
and report to their next; which Committee having met once and adjourned, I
going to Philadelphia to meet a Committee of the Yearly-meeting, was in
Town the Evening on which the Quarterly-meeting's Committee met the second
Time; and, finding an Inclination to sit with them, was, with some others,
admitted; and Friends had a weighty Conference on the Subject: And, soon after
their next Quarterly-meeting, I heard that the Case was coming to our
Yearly-meeting; which brought a weighty Exercise upon me, and under a Sense of
my own Infirmities, and the great Danger I felt of turning aside from perfect
Purity, my Mind was often drawn to retire alone, and put up my Prayers to the
Lord, that he would be graciously[Pg 72]
pleased to strengthen me; that, setting aside all Views of Self-interest, and
the Friendship of this World, I might stand fully resigned to his holy Will.
In this Yearly-meeting, several weighty Matters
were considered; and, toward the last, that in Relation to dealing with Persons
who purchase Slaves. During the several Sittings of the said Meeting, my Mind
was frequently covered with inward Prayer, and I could say with David,
that Tears were my Meat Day and Night. The Case of Slave-keeping lay
heavy upon me; nor did I find any Engagement to speak directly to any other
Matter before the Meeting. Now, when this Case was opened, several faithful
Friends spake weightily thereto, with which I was comforted; and, feeling a
Concern to cast in my Mite, I said in Substance as follows:
"In the Difficulties attending us in this
Life, nothing is more precious than the Mind of Truth inwardly manifested; and
it is my earnest Desire that, in this weighty Matter we may be so truly humbled
as to be favoured with a clear Understanding of the Mind of Truth, and follow
it; this would be of more Advantage to the Society, than any Medium not in the
Clearness of divine Wisdom. The Case is difficult to some who have them; but if
such set aside all Self-interest, and come to be weaned from the Desire of
getting Estates, or even from holding them together, when Truth requires the
Contrary, I believe Way will open that they will know how to steer through
those Difficulties."
Many Friends appeared to be deeply bowed under the
Weight of the Work; and manifested much Firmness in their Love to the Cause of
Truth and universal Righteousness on the Earth: And, though none did openly
justify the Practice of Slave-keeping in general, yet some appeared concerned,
lest the Meeting should go into such Measures as might give Uneasiness to many
Brethren; alledging, that if Friends patiently continued under the Exercise,
the Lord, in Time to come might open a Way for the Deliverance of these People:
And, I finding an Engagement to speak, said, "My Mind is often led to
consider the Purity of the divine Being, and the Justice of his[Pg
73] Judgments; and herein my Soul is covered with Awfulness:
I cannot omit to hint of some Cases, where People have not been treated with
the Purity of Justice, and the Event hath been lamentable: Many Slaves on this
Continent are oppressed, and their Cries have reached the Ears of the Most
High. Such are the Purity and Certainty of his Judgments, that he cannot be partial
in our Favour. In infinite Love and Goodness, he hath opened our
Understandings, from one Time to another, concerning our Duty towards this
People; and it is not a Time for Delay. Should we now be sensible of what he
requires of us, and, through a Respect to the private Interest of some Persons,
or through a Regard to some Friendships which do not stand on an immutable
Foundation, neglect to do our Duty in Firmness and Constancy, still waiting for
some extraordinary Means to bring about their Deliverance, it may be by
terrible Things in Righteousness God may answer us in this Matter."
Many faithful Brethren laboured with great
Firmness; and the Love of Truth, in a good Degree, prevailed. Several Friends,
who had Negroes, expressed their Desire that a Rule might be made, to deal with
such Friends as Offenders who bought Slaves in future: To this it was answered,
that the Root of this Evil would never be effectually struck at, until a
thorough Search was made into the Circumstances of such Friends as kept Negroes,
with respect to the Righteousness of their Motives in keeping them, that
impartial Justice might be administered throughout. Several Friends expressed
their Desire, that a Visit might be made to such Friends as kept Slaves; and
many Friends said, that they believed Liberty was the Negroes Right: To which,
at length, no Opposition was made publickly. A Minute was made more full on
that Subject than any heretofore; and the Names of several Friends entered, who
were free to join in a Visit to such as kept Slaves.
CHAPTER VI
His visiting the Quarterly-meetings in Chester County; and afterwards joining with
Daniel Stanton and John
Scarborough in a Visit to such as kept Slaves there—Some
Observations on the Conduct such should maintain as are concerned to speak in
Meetings for Discipline—Several more Visits to such as kept Slaves; and
to Friends near Salem—Some Account of the Yearly-meeting in the Year
1759; and of the increasing Concern, in divers Provinces, to labour against
buying and keeping Slaves—The Yearly-meeting Epistle
On the eleventh Day of the eleventh Month, in the
Year 1758, I set out for Concord; the Quarterly-meeting, heretofore held
there, was now, by reason of a great Increase of Members, divided into two by
the Agreement of Friends, at our last Yearly-meeting. Here I met with our
beloved Friends, Samuel Spavold and Mary Kirby, from England, and with Joseph White, from Bucks County, who had taken Leave
of his Family in order to go on a religious Visit to Friends in England;
and, through divine Goodness, we were favoured with a strengthening Opportunity
together.
After this Meeting I joined with my Friends, Daniel Stanton and John Scarborough,
in visiting Friends who had Slaves; and at Night we had a Family-meeting at William Trimble's, many young People being there; and it
was a precious reviving Opportunity. Next Morning we had a comfortable Sitting
with a sick Neighbour; and thence to the Burial of the Corpse of a Friend at Uwchland
Meeting, at which were many People, and it was a Time of divine Favour; after
which, we visited some who had Slaves; and, at Night, had a Family-meeting at a
Friend's House, where the Channel of Gospel-love was opened, and my Mind was
comforted after a hard Day's Labour. The next Day we were at Goshen
Monthly-meeting; and thence, on the eighteenth Day of[Pg
75] the eleventh Month, in the Year 1758, attended the
Quarterly-meeting at London-Grove, it being the first held at that
Place. Here we met again with all the before-mentioned Friends, and had some
edifying Meetings: And, near the Conclusion of the Meeting for Business,
Friends were incited to Constancy in supporting the Testimony of Truth, and
reminded of the Necessity which the Disciples of Christ are under to attend
principally to his Business, as he is pleased to open it to us: And to be
particularly careful to have our Minds redeemed from the Love of Wealth; to
have our outward Affairs in as little Room as may be; that no temporal Concerns
may entangle our Affections, or hinder us from diligently following the
Dictates of Truth, in labouring to promote the pure Spirit of Meekness and
Heavenly-mindedness amongst the Children of Men in these Days of Calamity and
Distress, wherein God is visiting our Land with his just Judgments.
Each of these Quarterly-meetings was large, and
sat near eight Hours. Here I had Occasion to consider, that it was a weighty
Thing to speak much in large Meetings for Business: First, except our Minds are
rightly prepared, and we clearly understand the Case we speak to, instead of
forwarding, we hinder, Business, and make more Labour for those on whom the
Burthen of the Work is laid.
If selfish Views, or a partial Spirit, have any
Room in our Minds, we are unfit for the Lord's Work; if we have a clear
Prospect of the Business, and proper Weight on our Minds to speak, it behoves
us to avoid useless Apologies and Repetitions: Where People are gathered from
far, and adjourning a Meeting of Business is attended with great Difficulty, it
behoves all to be cautious how they detain a Meeting; especially when they have
sat six or seven Hours, and have a great Distance to ride Home. After this
Meeting I rode Home.
In the Beginning of the twelfth Month of the Year
1758 I joined in Company with my Friends, John Sykes
and Daniel Stanton, in visiting such as had Slaves:
Some, whose Hearts were rightly exercised about them, appeared[Pg
76] to be glad of our Visit; but in some Places our Way was
more difficult; and I often saw the Necessity of keeping down to that Root from
whence our Concern proceeded; and have Cause, in reverent Thankfulness, humbly
to bow down before the Lord, who was near to me, and preserved my Mind in
Calmness under some sharp Conflicts, and begat a Spirit of Sympathy and
Tenderness in me toward some who were grievously entangled by the Spirit of
this World.
In the first Month of the Year 1759, having found
my Mind drawn to visit some of the more active Members, in our Society at Philadelphia,
who had Slaves, I met my Friend John Churchman there,
by an Agreement: And we continued about a Week in the City. We visited some
that were sick, and some Widows and their Families; and the other Part of our
Time was mostly employed in visiting such as had Slaves.—It was a Time of deep
Exercise, looking often to the Lord for his Assistance; who, in unspeakable
Kindness, favoured us with the Influence of that Spirit, which crucifies to the
Greatness and Splendour of this World, and enabled us to go through some heavy
Labours, in which we found Peace.
On the twenty-fourth Day of the third Month of
this Year, I was at our general Spring-meeting at Philadelphia: After
which, I again joined with John Churchman on a Visit
to some more who had Slaves in Philadelphia; and, with Thankfulness to
our heavenly Father, I may say, that divine Love and a true sympathising
Tenderness of Heart prevailed at Times in this Service.
Having, at Times, perceived a Shyness in some
Friends, of considerable Note, towards me, I found an Engagement in Gospel Love
to pay a Visit to one of them; and, as I dwelt under the Exercise, I felt a
Resignedness in my Mind to go; So I went, and told him, in private, I had a
Desire to have an Opportunity with him alone; to which he readily agreed: And
then, in the Fear of the Lord, Things relating to that Shyness were searched to
the Bottom; and we had a large Conference, which, I believe, was of Use to both
of us, and am thankful that Way was opened for it.[Pg
77]
On the fourteenth Day of the sixth Month, in the
same Year, having felt Drawings in my Mind to visit Friends about Salem,
and having the Approbation of our Monthly-meeting therein, I attended their
Quarterly-meeting, and was out seven Days, and at seven Meetings; in some of
which I was chiefly silent, and in others, through the baptizing Power of
Truth, my Heart was enlarged in heavenly Love, and found a near Fellowship with
the Brethren and Sisters, in the manifold Trials attending their Christian
Progress through this World.
In the seventh Month, I found an increasing
Concern on my Mind to visit some active Members in our Society who had Slaves;
and, having no Opportunity of the Company of such as were named on the Minutes
of the Yearly-meeting, I went alone to their Houses, and, in the Fear of the
Lord, acquainted them with the Exercise I was under: And thus, sometimes, by a
few Words, I found myself discharged from a heavy Burthen.
After this, our Friend John
Churchman, coming into our Province with a View to be at some Meetings,
and to join again in the Visit to those who had Slaves, I bore him Company in
the said Visit to some active Members, and found inward Satisfaction.
At our Yearly-meeting, in the Year 1759, we had
some weighty Seasons; where the Power of Truth was largely extended, to the
strengthening of the Honest-minded. As Friends read over the Epistles, to be
sent to the Yearly-meetings along this Continent, I observed in most of them,
both this Year and last, it was recommended to Friends to labour against buying
and keeping Slaves; and in some of them closely treated upon. This Practice had
long been a heavy Exercise to me, and I have often waded through mortifying
Labours on that Account; and, at Times, in some Meetings been almost alone therein.
Now, observing the increasing Concern in our religious Society, and seeing how
the Lord was raising up and qualifying Servants for his Work, not only in this
Respect, but for promoting the Cause of Truth in general, I was humbly bowed in
Thankfulness before him.
This Meeting continued near a Week; and, for
several[Pg 78] Days, in the fore
Part of it, my Mind was drawn into a deep inward Stillness; and being, at
Times, covered with the Spirit of Supplication, my Heart was secretly poured
out before the Lord: And, near the Conclusion of the Meeting for Business, Way
opened, that, in the pure Flowings of divine Love, I expressed what lay upon
me; which, as it then arose in my Mind, was "first to shew how Deep
answers to Deep in the Hearts of the Sincere and Upright; though, in their
different Growths, they may not all have attained to the same Clearness in some
Points relating to our Testimony: And I was led to mention the Integrity and
Constancy of many Martyrs, who gave their Lives for the Testimony of Jesus; and
yet, in some Points, held Doctrines distinguishable from some which we hold:
And that, in all Ages, where People were faithful to the Light and
Understanding which the Most High afforded them, they found Acceptance with
him; and that now, though there are different Ways of Thinking amongst us in
some Particulars, yet, if we mutually kept to that Spirit and Power which
crucifies to the World, which teaches us to be content with Things really
needful, and to avoid all Superfluities, giving up our Hearts to fear and serve
the Lord, true Unity may still be preserved amongst us: And that if such, as
were, at Times, under Sufferings on Account of some Scruples of Conscience,
kept low and humble, and in their Conduct in Life manifested a Spirit of true Charity,
it would be more likely to reach the Witness in others, and be of more Service
in the Church, than if their Sufferings were attended with a contrary Spirit
and Conduct." In which Exercise I was drawn into a sympathizing Tenderness
with the Sheep of Christ, however distinguished one from another in this World;
and the like Disposition appeared to spread over others in the Meeting. Great
is the Goodness of the Lord toward his poor Creatures!
An Epistle went forth from this Yearly-meeting,
which I think good to give a Place in this Journal; being as follows:[Pg 79]
From the Yearly-meeting held at Philadelphia,
for Pennsylvania and New-Jersey, from the twenty-second Day of
the ninth Month, to the twenty-eighth Day of the same, inclusive, 1759.
To the Quarterly and Monthly-meetings of Friends
belonging to the said Yearly-meeting.
"Dearly beloved Friends and Brethren,—In an
awful Sense of the Wisdom and Goodness of the Lord our God, whose tender
Mercies have long been continued to us in this Land, we affectionately salute
you, with sincere and fervent Desires, that we may reverently regard the
Dispensations of his Providence, and improve under them.
The Empires and Kingdoms of the Earth are subject
to his almighty Power: He is the God of the Spirits of all Flesh, and deals
with his People agreeable to that Wisdom, the Depth whereof is to us
unsearchable: We, in these Provinces, may say, he hath, as a gracious and
tender Parent, dealt bountifully with us, even from the Days of our Fathers: It
was he who strengthened them to labour through the Difficulties attending the
Improvement of a Wilderness, and made Way for them in the Hearts of the
Natives; so that by them they were comforted in Times of Want and Distress: It
was by the gracious Influences of his holy Spirit, that they were disposed to
work Righteousness, and walk uprightly one towards another, and towards the
Natives, and in Life and Conversation to manifest the Excellency of the
Principles and Doctrines of the Christian Religion; and thereby they
retain their Esteem and Friendship: Whilst they were labouring for the
Necessaries of Life, many of them were fervently engaged to promote Piety and
Virtue in the Earth, and educate their Children in the Fear of the Lord.
If we carefully consider the peaceable Measures
pursued in the first Settlement of the Land, and that Freedom from the
Desolations of Wars which for a long Time we enjoyed, we shall find ourselves
under strong Obligations[Pg 80]
to the Almighty, who, when the Earth is so generally polluted with Wickedness,
gave us a Being in a Part so signally favoured with Tranquility and Plenty, and
in which the Glad-tidings of the Gospel of Christ are so freely published, that
we may justly say with the Psalmist, "What shall we render unto the Lord
for all his Benefits?"
Our own real Good, and the Good of our Posterity,
in some Measure, depend on the Part we act; and it nearly concerns us to try
our Foundations impartially. Such are the different Rewards of the Just and
Unjust in a future State, that, to attend diligently to the Dictates of the
Spirit of Christ, to devote ourselves to his Service, and engage fervently in
his Cause, during our short Stay in this World, is a Choice well becoming a
free intelligent Creature; we shall thus clearly see and consider that the Dealings
of God with Mankind in a national Capacity, as recorded in Holy Writ, do
sufficiently evidence the Truth of that Saying, "It is Righteousness which
exalteth a Nation;" and though he doth not at all Times suddenly execute
his Judgments on a sinful People in this Life, yet we see, by many Instances,
that where "Men follow lying Vanities, they forsake their own
Mercies;" and as a proud selfish Spirit prevails and spreads among a
People, so partial Judgment, Oppression, Discord, Envy, and Confusions, increase,
and Provinces and Kingdoms are made to drink the Cup of Adversity as a Reward
of their own Doings. Thus the inspired Prophet, reasoning with the degenerated Jews,
saith, "Thine own Wickedness shall correct thee, and thy Backslidings
shall reprove thee: Know, therefore, that it is an evil Thing and bitter, that
thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my Fear is not in thee, saith the
Lord God of Hosts." Jer. ii. 19.
The God of our Fathers, who hath bestowed on us
many Benefits, furnished a Table for us in the Wilderness, and made the Desarts
and solitary Places to rejoice; he doth now mercifully call upon us to serve
him more faithfully.—We may truly say, with the Prophet, "It is his Voice
which crieth to the City, and Men of Wisdom see his Name: They regard the Rod,
and him who hath[Pg 81] appointed
it."—People, who look chiefly at Things outward, too little consider the
original Cause of the present Troubles; but such as fear the Lord, and think
often upon his Name, see and feel that a wrong Spirit is spreading among the
Inhabitants of our Country; that the Hearts of many are waxed fat, and their
Ears dull of hearing; that the Most High, in his Visitations to us, instead of
calling, lifteth up his Voice and crieth; he crieth to our Country, and his
Voice waxeth louder and louder. In former Wars between the English and
other Nations, since the Settlement of our Provinces, the Calamities attending
them have fallen chiefly on other Places, but now of late they have reached to
our Borders; many of our fellow Subjects have suffered on and near our
Frontiers, some have been slain in Battle, some killed in their Houses, and
some in their Fields, some wounded and left in great Misery, and others
separated from their Wives and little Children, who have been carried Captives
among the Indians: We have seen Men and Women, who have been Witnesses
of these Scenes of Sorrow, and been reduced to Want, have come to our Houses
asking Relief.—It is not long since it was the Case of many young Men, in one
of these Provinces, to be draughted, in order to be taken as Soldiers; some
were at that Time in great Distress, and had Occasion to consider that their
Lives had been too little conformable to the Purity and Spirituality of that
Religion which we profess, and found themselves too little acquainted with that
inward Humility, in which true Fortitude to endure Hardness for the Truth's
Sake is experienced.—Many Parents were concerned for their Children, and in
that Time of Trial were led to consider, that their Care, to get outward
Treasure for them, had been greater than their Care for their Settlement in
that Religion which crucifieth to the World, and enableth to bear a clear
Testimony to the peaceable Government of the Messiah. These Troubles are
removed, and for a Time we are released from them.
Let us not forget that "The Most High hath
his Way in the Deep, in Clouds and in thick Darkness"—that it is his Voice
which crieth to the City and to the Country;[Pg
82] and oh! that these loud and awakening Cries may have a
proper Effect upon us, that heavier Chastisement may not become necessary! For
though Things, as to the Outward, may, for a short Time, afford a pleasing
Prospect; yet, while a selfish Spirit, that is not subject to the Cross of
Christ, continueth to spread and prevail, there can be no long Continuance in
outward Peace and Tranquility. If we desire an Inheritance incorruptible, and
to be at Rest in that State of Peace and Happiness, which ever continues; if we
desire, in this Life, to dwell under the Favour and Protection of that almighty
Being, whose Habitation is in Holiness, whose Ways are all equal, and whose
Anger is now kindled because of our Backslidings; let us then awfully regard
these Beginnings of his fore Judgments, and, with Abasement and Humiliation
turn to him, whom we have offended.
Contending with one equal in Strength is an uneasy
Exercise; but if the Lord is become our Enemy, if we persist to contend with
him who is omnipotent, our Overthrow will be unavoidable.
Do we feel an affectionate Regard to Posterity;
and are we employed to promote their Happiness? Do our Minds, in Things
outward, look beyond our own Dissolution; and are we contriving for the
Prosperity of our Children after us? Let us then, like wise Builders, lay the
Foundation deep; and, by our constant uniform Regard to an inward Piety and
Virtue, let them see that we really value it: Let us labour, in the Fear of the
Lord, that their innocent Minds, while young and tender, may be preserved from
Corruptions; that, as they advance in Age, they may rightly understand their
true Interest, may consider the Uncertainty of temporal Things, and, above all,
have their Hope and Confidence firmly settled in the Blessing of that Almighty
Being, who inhabits Eternity, and preserves and supports the World.
In all our Cares, about worldly Treasures, let us
steadily bear in Mind, that Riches, possessed by Children who do not truly
serve God, are likely to prove Snares that may more grievously entangle them in
that Spirit of Selfishness and Exaltation, which stands in Opposition to real[Pg 83] Peace and Happiness; and
renders them Enemies to the Cross of Christ, who submit to the Influence of it.
To keep a watchful eye towards real Objects of
Charity, to visit the Poor in their lonesome Dwelling-places, to comfort them
who, through the Dispensations of divine Providence, are in strait and painful
Circumstances in this Life, and steadily to endeavour to honour God with our
Substance, from a real Sense of the Love of Christ influencing our Minds
thereto, is more likely to bring a Blessing to our Children, and will afford
more Satisfaction to a Christian favoured with Plenty, than an earnest
Desire to collect much Wealth to leave behind us; for "Here we have no
continuing City;" may we therefore diligently "seek one that is to
come, whose Builder and Maker is God."
"Finally, Brethren, whatsoever Things are
true, whatsoever Things are just, whatsoever Things are pure, whatsoever Things
are lovely, whatsoever Things are of good Report; if there be any Virtue, if
there be any Praise, think on these Things and do them, and the God of Peace
shall be with you."
Signed, by Appointment, and on Behalf of our said
Meeting, by seven Friends.
On the twenty-eighth Day of the eleventh Month, in
the Year 1759, I was at the Quarterly-meeting in Bucks County: This Day
being the Meeting of Ministers and Elders, my Heart was enlarged in the Love of
Jesus Christ; and the Favour of the Most High was extended to us in that and
the ensuing Meeting.
I had Conversation, at my Lodging, with my beloved
Friend, Samuel Eastburn; who expressed a Concern to
join in a Visit to some Friends, in that County, who had Negroes; and as I had
felt a Draught in my Mind to that Work in the said County, came Home and put
Things in Order: On the eleventh Day of the twelfth Month following, I went
over the River; and on the next Day was at Buckingham Meeting; where,
through the Descendings of heavenly Dew, my Mind was comforted, and drawn into
a near Unity with the Flock of Jesus Christ.[Pg
84]
Entering upon this Visit appeared weighty: And
before I left Home my Mind was often sad; under which Exercise I felt, at
Times, the Holy Spirit, which helps our Infirmities; through which, in private,
my Prayers were, at Times, put up to God, that he would be pleased to purge me
from all Selfishness, that I might be strengthened to discharge my Duty
faithfully, how hard soever to the natural Part. We proceeded on the Visit in a
weighty Frame of Spirit, and went to the Houses of the most active Members, throughout
the Country, who had Negroes; and, through the Goodness of the Lord, my Mind
was preserved in Resignation in Times of Trial, and, though the Work was hard
to Nature, yet through the Strength of that Love which is stronger than Death,
Tenderness of Heart was often felt amongst us in our Visits, and we parted from
several Families with greater Satisfaction than we expected.
We visited Joseph White's
Family, he being in England; and also a Family-sitting at the House of
an Elder who bore us Company, and was at Makefield on a First-day: At
all which Times my Heart was truly thankful to the Lord, who was graciously
pleased to renew his Loving-kindness to us, his poor Servants, uniting us
together in his Work.
CHAPTER VII
His Visit, in Company with Samuel Eastburn, to
Long-Island, Rhode-Island, Boston, etc. in New-England—Remarks on the
Slave-Trade at Newport, and his Exercise on that Account; also on
Lotteries—Some Observations on the Island of Nantucket
Having, for some Time past, felt a Sympathy in my
Mind with Friends Eastward, I opened my Concern in our Monthly-meeting; and,
obtaining a Certificate, set forward on the seventeenth Day of the fourth
Month, in the Year 1760, joining in Company, by a previous Agreement, with my
beloved Friend, Samuel Eastburn. We had Meetings at Woodbridge,
Rahaway, and Plainfield; and were at their Monthly-meeting of
Ministers and Elders in Rahaway. We laboured under some Discouragement;
but, through the invisible Power of Truth, our Visit was made reviving to the
Lowly-minded, with whom I felt a near Unity of Spirit, being much reduced in my
Mind. We passed on and visited the chief of the Meetings on Long-Island.
It was my Concern, from Day to Day, to say no more nor less than what the
Spirit of Truth opened in me; being jealous over myself, lest I should speak
any Thing to make my Testimony look agreeable to that Mind in People, which is
not in pure Obedience to the Cross of Christ.
The Spring of the Ministry was often low; and,
through the subjecting Power of Truth, we were kept low with it; and from Place
to Place, such whose Hearts were truly concerned for the Cause of Christ,
appeared to be comforted in our Labours; and though it was in general a Time of
Abasement of the Creature, yet, through his Goodness, who is a Helper of the
Poor, we had some truly edifying Seasons, both in Meetings, and in Families
where we tarried; and sometimes found Strength to labour earnestly with the
Unfaithful, especially with[Pg 86]
those whose Station in Families, or in the Society, was such, that their
Example had a powerful Tendency to open the Way for others to go aside from the
Purity and Soundness of the blessed Truth. At Jericho, on Long-Island,
I wrote Home as follows:
24th of the 4th Month, 1760.
"Dearly beloved Wife,—We are favoured with
Health; have been at sundry Meetings in East-Jersey, and on this Island:
My Mind hath been much in an inward watchful Frame since I left thee, greatly
desiring that our Proceedings may be singly in the Will of our heavenly Father.
"As the present Appearance of Things is not
joyous, I have been much shut up from outward Cheerfulness, remembering that
Promise, 'Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord:'—As this, from Day to
Day, has been revived in my Memory, I have considered that his internal
Presence on our Minds is a Delight, of all others, the most pure; and that the
Honest-hearted not only delight in this, but in the Effect of it upon them. He
regards the Helpless and Distressed, and reveals his Love to his Children under
Affliction; they delight in beholding his Benevolence, and feeling divine
Charity moving upon them: Of this I may speak a little; for though, since I
left you, I have often found an engaging Love and Affection toward thee and my
Daughter, and Friends about Home, that going out at this Time, when Sickness is
so great amongst you, is a Trial upon me; yet I often remember there are many
Widows and Fatherless, many who have poor Tutors, many who have evil Examples
before them, and many whose Minds are in Captivity, for whose Sake my Heart is,
at Times, moved with Compassion; so that I feel my Mind resigned to leave you
for a Season, to exercise that Gift which the Lord hath bestowed on me; which
though small, compared with some, yet in this I rejoice, that I feel Love
unfeigned toward my Fellow-creatures. I recommend you to the Almighty, who, I
trust, cares for you; and, under a Sense of his heavenly Love, remain,—Thy
loving Husband,
"J. W."
We crossed from the East End of Long-Island
to New-London, about thirty Miles, in a large open Boat; while we were
out, the Wind rising high, the Waves several Times beat over us, so that to me
it appeared dangerous; but my Mind was, at that Time, turned to him, who made
and governs the Deep, and my Life was resigned to him: And, as he was
mercifully pleased to preserve us, I had fresh Occasion to consider every Day
as a Day lent to me; and felt a renewed Engagement to devote my Time, and all I
had, to him who gave them.
We had five Meetings in Narraganset; and
went thence to Newport on Rhode-Island. Our gracious Father
preserved us in an humble Dependence on him through deep Exercises, that were
mortifying to the creaturely Will. In several Families in the Country, where we
lodged, I felt an Engagement on my Mind to have a Conference with them in
private concerning their Slaves; and, through divine Aid, I was favoured to
give up thereto: Though, in this Concern, I appeared singular from many, whose
Service in Travelling, I believe, is greater than mine; I do not think hard of
them for omitting it; I do not repine at having so unpleasant a Task assigned
me, but look with Awfulness to him, who appoints to his Servants their
respective Employments, and is good to all who serve him sincerely.
We got to Newport in the Evening, and on
the next Day visited two sick Persons, and had comfortable Sittings with them;
and in the Afternoon attended the Burial of a Friend.
The next Day we were at Meetings at Newport,
in the Forenoon and Afternoon; where the Spring of the Ministry was opened, and
Strength given to declare the Word of Life to the People.
The next Day we went on our Journey; but the great
Number of Slaves in these Parts, and the Continuance of that Trade from thence
to Guinea, made deep Impression on me; and my Cries were often put up to
my heavenly Father in secret, that he would enable me to discharge my Duty
faithfully, in such Way as he might be pleased to point out to me.[Pg 88]
We took Swansea, Freetown, and Tanton,
in our Way to Boston; where also we had a Meeting; our Exercise was
deep, and the Love of Truth prevailed, for which I bless the Lord. We went
Eastward about eighty Miles beyond Boston, taking Meetings, and were in
a good Degree preserved in an humble Dependance on that Arm which drew us out;
and, though we had some hard Labour with the Disobedient, laying Things home
and close to such as were stout against the Truth; yet, through the Goodness of
God, we had, at Times, to partake of heavenly Comfort with them who were meek,
and were often favoured to part with Friends in the Nearness of true
Gospel-fellowship. We returned to Boston, and had another comfortable
Opportunity with Friends there; and thence rode back a Day's Journey Eastward
of Boston: Our Guide being a heavy Man, and the Weather hot, and my
Companion and I considering it, expressed our Freedom to go on without him, to
which he consented, and we respectfully took our Leave of him; this we did, as
believing the Journey would have been hard to him and his Horse.
We visited the Meetings in those Parts, and were
measurably baptized into a feeling of the State of the Society: And in
Bowedness of Spirit went to the Yearly-meeting at Newport; where I
understood that a large Number of Slaves were imported from Africa into
that Town, and then on Sale by a Member of our Society. At this Meeting we met
with John Storer from England, Elizabeth Shipley, Ann Gaunt, Hannah Foster, and Mercy Redman,
from our Parts, all Ministers of the Gospel, of whose Company I was glad.
At this Time my Appetite failed, and I grew
outwardly weak, and had a Feeling of the Condition of Habakkuk as there
expressed: "When I heard, my Belly trembled, my Lips quivered, I trembled
in myself that I might rest in the Day of Trouble;" I had many
Cogitations, and was sorely distressed: And was desirous that Friends might
petition the Legislature, to use their Endeavours to discourage the future
Importation of Slaves; for I saw that this Trade was a great Evil, and tended
to[Pg 89] multiply Troubles, and
bring Distresses on the People in those parts, for whose Welfare my Heart was
deeply concerned.
But I perceived several Difficulties in Regard to
petitioning; and such was the Exercise of my Mind, that I had Thought of
endeavouring to get an Opportunity to speak a few Words in the House of
Assembly, then sitting in Town. This Exercise came upon me in the Afternoon, on
the second Day of the Yearly-meeting, and, going to Bed, I got no Sleep till my
Mind was wholly resigned therein; and in the Morning I enquired of a Friend how
long the Assembly were likely to continue sitting; who told me, they were
expected to be prorogued that Day or the next.
As I was desirous to attend the Business of the
Meeting, and perceived the Assembly were likely to depart before the Business
was over; after considerable Exercise, humbly seeking to the Lord for
Instruction, my Mind settled to attend on the Business of the Meeting; on the
last Day of which, I had prepared a short Essay of a Petition to be presented
to the Legislature, if Way opened: And being informed that there were some
appointed, by that Yearly-meeting, to speak with those in Authority, in Cases
relating to the Society, I opened my Mind to several of them, and shewed them
the Essay I had made; and afterward opened the Case in the Meeting for
Business, in Substance as follows:
"I have been under a Concern for some Time,
on Account of the great Number of Slaves which are imported in this Colony; I
am aware that it is a tender Point to speak to, but apprehend I am not clear in
the Sight of Heaven without speaking to it. I have prepared an Essay of a
Petition, if Way open, to be presented to the Legislature; and what I have to
propose to this Meeting is, that some Friends may be named to withdraw and look
over it, and report whether they believe it suitable to be read in the Meeting;
if they should think well of reading it, it will remain for the Meeting, after
hearing it, to consider, whether to take any farther Notice of it at a Meeting
or not." After a short[Pg 90]
Conference some Friends went out, and, looking over it, expressed their
Willingness to have it read; which being done, many expressed their Unity with
the Proposal; and some signified, that to have the Subjects of the Petition
enlarged upon, and to be signed out of Meeting by such as were free, would be
more suitable than to do it there: Though I expected, at first, that if it was
done it would be in that Way; yet, such was the Exercise of my Mind, that to
move it in the hearing of Friends, when assembled, appeared to me as a Duty;
for my Heart yearned toward the Inhabitants of these Parts; believing that by
this Trade there had been an Increase of Inquietude amongst them, and a Way
made easy for the spreading of a Spirit opposite to that Meekness and Humility,
which is a sure Resting-place for the Soul: And that the Continuance of this
Trade would not only render their Healing more difficult, but increase their
Malady.
Having thus far proceeded, I felt easy to leave
the Essay among Friends, for them to proceed in it as they believed best. And
now an Exercise revived on my Mind in Relation to Lotteries, which were common
in those Parts: I had once moved it in a former Sitting of this Meeting, when
Arguments were used in Favour of Friends being held excused who were only
concerned in such Lotteries as were agreeable to Law: And now, on moving it
again, it was opposed as before; but the Hearts of some solid Friends appeared
to be united to discourage the Practice amongst their Members; and the Matter
was zealously handled by some on both Sides. In this Debate it appeared very
clear to me, that the Spirit of Lotteries was a Spirit of Selfishness, which
tended to Confusion and Darkness of Understanding; and that pleading for it in
our Meetings, set apart for the Lord's Work, was not right: And, in the Heat of
Zeal, I once made Reply to what an ancient Friend said, though when I sat down,
I saw that my Words were not enough seasoned with Charity; and, after this, I
spake no more on the Subject. At length a Minute was made; a Copy of which was
agreed to be sent to their several Quarterly-meetings,[Pg
91] inciting Friends to labour to discourage the Practice
amongst all professing with us.
Some Time after this Minute was made, I, remaining
uneasy with the Manner of my speaking to the ancient Friend, could not see my
Way clear to conceal my Uneasiness, but was concerned that I might say nothing
to weaken the Cause in which I had laboured; and then, after some close
Exercise and hearty Repentance, for that I had not attended closely to the safe
Guide, I stood up, and reciting the Passage, acquainted Friends, that, though I
durst not go from what I had said as to the Matter, yet I was uneasy with the
Manner of my speaking, as believing milder Language would have been better. As
this was uttered in some Degree of creaturely Abasement, it appeared to have a
good Savour amongst us, after a warm Debate.
The Yearly-meeting being now over, there yet
remained on my Mind a secret, though heavy, Exercise in regard to some leading
active Members about Newport, being in the Practice of Slave-keeping.
This I mentioned to two ancient Friends, who came out of the Country, and
proposed to them, if Way opened, to have some Conversation with those Friends:
And, thereupon, one of those Country Friends and I consulted one of the most
noted Elders who had Slaves; and he, in a respectful Manner, encouraged me to
proceed to clear myself of what lay upon me. Now I had, near the Beginning of
the Yearly-meeting, a private Conference with this said Elder and his Wife
concerning theirs; so that the Way seemed clear to me to advise with him about
the Manner of proceeding: I told him, I was free to have a Conference with them
all together in a private House; or, if he thought they would take it unkind to
be asked to come together, and to be spoke with one in the hearing of another,
I was free to spend some Time among them, and visit them all in their own
Houses: He expressed his Liking to the first Proposal, not doubting their
Willingness to come together: And, as I proposed a Visit to only Ministers,
Elders, and Overseers, he named some others, who he desired might be present
also: And, as[Pg 92] a careful Messenger
was wanted to acquaint them in a proper Manner, he offered to go to all their
Houses to open the Matter to them; and did so. About the eighth Hour, the next
Morning, we met in the Meeting-house Chamber, and the last-mentioned Country
Friend, also my Companion, and John Storer, with us;
when, after a short Time of Retirement, I acquainted them with the Steps I had
taken in procuring that Meeting, and opened the Concern I was under; and so we
proceeded to a free Conference upon the Subject. My Exercise was heavy, and I
was deeply bowed in Spirit before the Lord, who was pleased to favour us with
the seasoning Virtue of Truth, which wrought a Tenderness amongst us; and the
Subject was mutually handled in a calm and peaceable Spirit: And, at length,
feeling my Mind released from that Burthen which I had been under, I took my
Leave of them, in a good Degree of Satisfaction; and, by the Tenderness they
manifested in Regard to the Practice, and the Concern several of them expressed
in Relation to the Manner of disposing of their Negroes after their Decease, I
believed that a good Exercise was spreading amongst them; and I am humbly
thankful to God, who supported my Mind, and preserved me in a good Degree of
Resignation through these Trials.
Thou, who sometimes travellest in the Work of the
Ministry, art made very welcome by thy Friends, and seest many Tokens of their
Satisfaction, in having thee for their Guest, it is good for thee to dwell
deep, that thou mayst feel and understand the Spirits of People: If we believe
Truth points towards a Conference on some Subjects, in a private Way, it is
needful for us to take heed that their Kindness, their Freedom, and Affability,
do not hinder us from the Lord's Work. I have seen that, in the midst of
Kindness and smooth Conduct, to speak close and home to them who entertain us,
on Points that relate to their outward Interest, is hard Labour; and sometimes,
when I have felt Truth lead toward it, I have found myself disqualified by a
superficial Friendship; and as the Sense thereof hath abased me, and my Cries
have been to the Lord, so I have been[Pg 93]
humbled and made content to appear weak, or as a Fool for his Sake; and thus a
Door hath opened to enter upon it. To attempt to do the Lord's Work in our own
Way, and to speak of that which is the Burthen of the Word in a Way easy to the
natural Part, doth not reach the Bottom of the Disorder. To see the Failings of
our Friends and think hard of them, without opening that which we ought to
open, and still carry a Face of Friendship; this tends to undermine the
Foundation of true Unity.
The Office of a Minister of Christ is weighty; and
they, who go forth as Watchmen, had need to be steadily on their Guard against
the Snares of Prosperity and an outside Friendship.
After the Yearly-meeting, we were at Meetings at New-Town,
Cushnet, Long-Plain, Rochester, and Dartmouth: From
thence we sailed for Nantucket, in Company with Ann
Gaunt and Mercy Redman, and several other
Friends: The Wind being slack, we only reached Tarpawling-Cove the first
Day; where, going on Shore, we found Room in a Publick-house, and Beds for a
few of us, the rest sleeping on the Floor: We went on board again about Break
of Day; and, though the Wind was small, we were favoured to come within about
four Miles of Nantucket; and then, about ten of us getting into our
Boat, we rowed to the Harbour before dark; whereupon a large Boat, going off,
brought in the rest of the Passengers about Midnight: The next Day but one was
their Yearly-meeting, which held four Days; the last of which was their
Monthly-meeting for Business. We had a laborious Time amongst them: Our Minds
were closely exercised, and I believe it was a Time of great Searching of
Heart: The longer I was on the Island, the more I became sensible that there
was a considerable Number of valuable Friends there, though an evil Spirit,
tending to Strife, had been at Work amongst them: I was cautious of making any
Visits, but as my Mind was particularly drawn to them; and in that Way we had
some Sittings in Friends Houses, where the heavenly Wing was, at Times, spread
over us, to our mutual Comfort.[Pg 94]
My beloved Companion had very acceptable Service
on this Island.
When Meeting was over, we all agreed to sail the
next Day, if the Weather was suitable and we well; and, being called up the
latter Part of the Night, we went on board a Vessel, being in all about fifty;
but, the Wind changing, the Seamen thought best to stay in the Harbour till it
altered; so we returned on Shore; and, feeling clear as to any farther Visits,
I spent my Time in our Chamber chiefly alone; and, after some Hours, my Heart
being filled with the Spirit of Supplication, my Prayers and Tears were poured
out, before my heavenly Father, for his Help and Instruction in the manifold
Difficulties which attended me in Life: And, while I was waiting upon the Lord,
there came a Messenger from the Women Friends, who lodged at another House,
desiring to confer with us about appointing a Meeting, which to me appeared
weighty, as we had been at so many before; but, after a short Conference, and
advising with some elderly Friends, a Meeting was appointed, in which the
Friend, who first moved it, and who had been much shut up before, was largely
opened in the Love of the Gospel: And the next Morning, about Break of Day,
going again on board the Vessel, we reached Falmouth on the Main before
Night; where our Horses being brought, we proceeded toward Sandwich
Quarterly-meeting.
Being two Days in going to Nantucket, and
having been there once before, I observed many Shoals in their Bay, which make
Sailing more dangerous, especially in stormy Nights; also, that a great Shoal,
which encloses their Harbour, prevents their going in with Sloops, except when
the Tide is up; waiting without which, for the Rising of the Tide, is sometimes
hazardous in Storms; waiting within, they sometimes miss a fair Wind. I took
Notice, that on that small Island was a great Number of Inhabitants, and the
Soil not very fertile; the Timber so gone, that for Vessels, Fences, and
Firewood, they depend chiefly on the buying from the Main; the Cost whereof,
with most of their other Expences, they depend principally upon the
Whale-fishery to answer. I[Pg 95]
considered, that as Towns grew larger, and Lands near navigable Waters more
cleared, Timber and Wood require more Labour to get it: I understood that the
Whales being much hunted, and sometimes wounded and not killed, grew more shy
and difficult to come at: I considered that the Formation of the Earth, the Seas,
the Islands, Bays, and Rivers, the Motions of the Winds and great Waters, which
cause Bars and Shoals in particular Places, were all the Works of him who is
perfect Wisdom and Goodness; and, as People attend to his heavenly Instruction,
and put their Trust in him, he provides for them in all Parts where he gives
them a Being. And as, in this Visit to these People, I felt a strong Desire for
their firm Establishment on the sure Foundation, besides what was said more
publickly, I was concerned to speak with the Women Friends, in their
Monthly-meeting of Business, many being present; and, in the fresh Spring of
pure Love, to open before them the Advantage, both inward and outward, of
attending singly to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit, and therein to educate their
Children in true Humility, and the Disuse of all Superfluities, reminding them
of the Difficulties their Husbands and Sons were frequently exposed to at Sea;
and that, the more plain and simple their Way of Living was, the less Need of
running great Hazards to support them in it; encouraging the young Women in
their neat decent Way of attending themselves on the Affairs of the House;
shewing, as the Way opened, that, where People were truly humble, used
themselves to Business, and were content with a plain Way of Life, it had ever
been attended with more true Peace and Calmness of Mind, than they have had
who, aspiring to Greatness and outward Shew, have grasped hard for an Income to
support themselves in it: And, as I observed they had few or no Slaves amongst
them, I had to encourage them to be content without them; making mention of the
numerous Troubles and Vexations which frequently attend the Minds of People who
depend on Slaves to do their Labour.
We attended the Quarterly-meeting at Sandwich,
in Company with Ann Gaunt and Mercy
Redman, which[Pg 96]
was preceded by a Monthly-meeting; and in the whole held three Days: We were
various Ways exercised amongst them, in Gospel-love, according to the several
Gifts bestowed on us; and were, at Times, overshadowed with the Virtue of
Truth, to the Comfort of the Sincere, and stirring up of the Negligent. Here we
parted with Ann and Mercy,
and went to Rhode-Island, taking one Meeting in our Way, which was a
satisfactory Time; and, reaching Newport the Evening before their
Quarterly-meeting, we attended it; and, after that, had a Meeting with our
young People, separated from those of other Societies. We went through much
Labour in this Town; and now, in taking Leave of it, though I felt close inward
Exercise to the last, I found inward Peace; and was, in some Degree, comforted,
in a Belief, that a good Number remain in that Place, who retain a Sense of
Truth; and that there are some young People attentive to the Voice of the
heavenly Shepherd. The last Meeting, in which Friends from the several Parts of
the Quarter came together, was a select Meeting; and, through the renewed
Manifestation of the Father's Love, the Hearts of the Sincere were united
together.
That Poverty of Spirit, and inward Weakness, with
which I was much tried the fore Part of this Journey, have of late appeared to
me as a Dispensation of Kindness. Appointing Meetings never appeared more
weighty to me; and I was led into a deep Search, whether in all Things my Mind
was resigned to the Will of God; often querying with myself, what should be the
Cause of such inward Poverty; and greatly desired, that no secret Reserve in my
Heart might hinder my Access to the divine Fountain. In these humbling Times I
was made watchful, and excited to attend the secret Movings of the heavenly
Principle in my Mind, which prepared the Way to some Duties, that in more easy
and prosperous Times, as to the Outward, I believe I should have been in danger
of omitting.
From Newport we went to Greenwich, Shanticut,
and Warwick; and were helped to labour amongst Friends in the Love of
our gracious Redeemer: And then,[Pg 97]
accompanied by our Friend, John Casey, from Newport,
we rode through Connecticut to Oblong, visited the Meetings of
Friends in those Parts, and thence proceeded to the Quarterly-meeting at Ryewoods;
and, through the gracious Extendings of divine Help, had some seasoning
Opportunities in those Places: So we visited Friends at New York and Flushing;
and thence to Rahaway: And here, our Roads parting, I took Leave of my
beloved Companion, and true Yoke-mate, Samuel Eastburn;
and reached Home on the tenth Day of the eighth Month, 1760, where I found my
Family well: And, for the Favours and Protection of the Lord, both inward and
outward, extended to me in this Journey, my Heart is humbled in grateful
Acknowledgments; and I find renewed Desires to dwell and walk in Resignedness
before him.
CHAPTER VIII
His Visits to Pennsylvania, Shrewsbury, and Squan—His
publishing the second Part of Considerations on keeping Negroes—His
visiting the Families of Friends of Ancocas and Mount-Holly Meetings—His
Visits to the Indians at Wehaloosing on the River
Susquehannah
Having felt my Mind drawn toward a Visit to a few
Meetings in Pennsylvania, I was very desirous to be rightly instructed
as to the Time of setting off: And, on the tenth Day of the fifth Month, 1761,
being the first Day of the Week, I went to Haddonfield Meeting,
concluding to seek for heavenly Instruction, and come Home, or go on, as I
might then believe best for me; and there, through the springing up of pure
Love, I felt Encouragement, and so crossed the River. In this Visit I was at
two Quarterly and three Monthly-meetings; and, in the Love of Truth, felt my
Way open to labour with some noted Friends, who kept Negroes: And, as I was
favoured to keep to the Root, and endeavoured to discharge what I believed was
required of me, I found inward Peace therein, from Time to Time, and
Thankfulness of Heart to the Lord, who was graciously pleased to be a Guide to
me.
In the eighth Month, 1761, having felt Drawings in
my Mind to visit Friends in and about Shrewsbury, I went there, and was
at their Monthly-meeting, and their First-day-meeting; and had a Meeting at Squan,
and another at Squankum; and, as Way opened, had Conversation with some
noted Friends concerning their Slaves: And I returned Home in a thankful Sense
of the Goodness of the Lord.
From the Care I felt growing in me some Years, I
wrote Considerations on keeping Negroes, Part the Second; which was printed
this Year, 1762. When the Overseers[Pg 99]
of the Press had done with it, they offered to get a Number printed, to be paid
for out of the Yearly-meeting Stock, and to be given away; but I being most
easy to publish them at my own Expence, and, offering my Reasons, they appeared
satisfied.
This Stock is the Contribution of the Members of
our religious Society in general; amongst whom are some who keep Negroes; and,
being inclined to continue them in Slavery, are not likely to be satisfied with
those Books being spread amongst a People where many of the Slaves are taught
to read, and especially not at their Expence; and such often, receiving them as
a Gift, conceal them: But as they, who make a Purchase, generally buy that
which they have a Mind for, I believe it best to sell them; expecting, by that
Means, they would more generally be read with Attention. Advertisements being
signed by Order of the Overseers of the Press, directed to be read in
Monthly-meetings of Business within our own Yearly-meeting, informing where the
Books were, and that the Price was no more than the Cost of printing and
binding them, many were taken off in our Parts; some I sent to Virginia,
some to New-York, and some to Newport, to my Acquaintance there;
and some I kept, expecting to give Part of them away, where there appeared a
Prospect of Service.
In my Youth I was used to hard Labour; and, though
I was middling healthy, yet my Nature was not fitted to endure so much as many
others: So that, being often weary, I was prepared to sympathize with those
whose Circumstances in Life, as free Men, required constant Labour to answer
the Demands of their Creditors, and with others under Oppression. In the
Uneasiness of Body, which I have many Times felt by too much Labour, not as a
forced but as a voluntary Oppression, I have often been excited to think on the
original Cause of that Oppression, which is imposed on many in the World: And,
the latter Part of the Time wherein I laboured on our Plantation, my Heart,
through the fresh Visitations of heavenly Love, being often tender, and my
leisure Time frequently spent in reading the Life and Doctrines[Pg 100] of our blessed Redeemer,
the Account of the Sufferings of Martyrs, and the History of the first Rise of
our Society, a Belief was gradually settled in my Mind, that if such, as had
great Estates, generally lived in that Humility and Plainness which belongs to
a Christian Life, and laid much easier Rents and Interests on their
Lands and Monies, and thus led the Way to a right Use of Things, so great a
Number of People might be employed in Things useful, that Labour, both for Men
and other Creatures, would need to be no more than an agreeable Employ; and
divers Branches of Business, which serve chiefly to please the natural
Inclinations of our Minds, and which, at present, seem necessary to circulate
that Wealth which some gather, might, in this Way of pure Wisdom, be
discontinued. And, as I have thus considered these Things, a Query, at Times,
hath arisen: Do I, in all my Proceedings, keep to that Use of Things which is
agreeable to universal Righteousness? And then there hath some Degree of
Sadness, at Times, come over me, for that I accustomed myself to some Things,
which occasioned more Labour than I believe divine Wisdom intends for us.
From my early Acquaintance with Truth I have often
felt an inward Distress, occasioned by the striving of a Spirit in me against
the Operation of the heavenly Principle; and in this Circumstance have been
affected with a Sense of my own Wretchedness, and in a mourning Condition felt
earnest Longing for that divine Help, which brings the Soul into true Liberty;
and sometimes, in this State, retiring into private Places, the Spirit of
Supplication hath been given me; and, under a heavenly Covering, I have asked
my gracious Father to give me a Heart in all Things resigned to the Direction
of his Wisdom.
In visiting People of Note in the Society who had
Slaves, and labouring with them in brotherly Love on that Account, I have seen,
and the Sight hath affected me, that a Conformity to some Customs,
distinguishable from pure Wisdom, has entangled many; and the Desire of Gain,
to support these Customs, greatly opposed the Work of Truth: And sometimes,
when the Prospect of[Pg 101]
the Work before me has been such, that in Bowedness of Spirit, I have been
drawn into retired Places, and besought the Lord with Tears that he would take
me wholly under his Direction, and shew me the Way in which I ought to walk, it
hath revived, with Strength of Conviction, that, if I would be his faithful
Servant, I must, in all Things, attend to his Wisdom, and be teachable; and so
cease from all Customs contrary thereto, however used amongst religious People.
As he is the Perfection of Power, of Wisdom, and
of Goodness, so, I believe, he hath provided, that so much Labour shall be
necessary for Men's Support, in this World, as would, being rightly divided, be
a suitable Employment of their Time; and that we cannot go into Superfluities,
or grasp after Wealth in a Way contrary to his Wisdom, without having
Connection with some Degree of Oppression, and with that Spirit which leads to
Self-exaltation and Strife, and which frequently brings Calamities on
Countries, by Parties contending about their Claims.
In the eleventh Month of the Year 1762, feeling an
Engagement of Mind to visit some Families in Mansfield. I joined my
beloved Friend, Benjamin Jones, and we spent a few
Days together in that Service. In the second Month, 1763, I joined in Company
with Elizabeth Smith and Mary
Noble on a Visit to the Families of Friends at Ancocas; in both
which Visits, through the baptizing Power of Truth, the sincere Labourers were
often comforted, and the Hearts of Friends opened to receive us. And, in the
fourth Month following, I accompanied some Friends in a Visit to the Families
of Friends in Mount-Holly, in which my Mind was often drawn into an
inward Awfulness, wherein strong Desires were raised for the everlasting
Welfare of my Fellow-creatures; and, through the Kindness of our heavenly
Father, our Hearts were, at Times, enlarged, and Friends invited, in the
Flowings of divine Love, to attend to that which would settle them on the sure
Foundation.
Having many Years felt Love in my Heart towards
the Natives of this Land, who dwell far back in the[Pg
102] Wilderness, whose Ancestors were the Owners and
Possessors of the Land where we dwell; and who, for a very small Consideration,
assigned their Inheritance to us; and, being at Philadelphia, in the
eighth Month, 1761, in a Visit to some Friends who had Slaves, I fell in
Company with some of those Natives who lived on the East Branch of the River Susquehannah,
at an Indian Town called Wehaloosing, two hundred Miles from Philadelphia,
and, in Conversation with them by an Interpreter, as also by Observations on
their Countenances and Conduct, I believed some of them were measurably
acquainted with that divine Power which subjects the rough and forward Will of
the Creature: And, at Times, I felt inward Drawings toward a Visit to that
Place, of which I told none except my dear Wife, until it came to some
Ripeness; and, then, in the Winter, 1762, I laid it before Friends at our
Monthly and Quarterly, and afterwards at our general Spring-meeting; and,
having the Unity of Friends, and being thoughtful about an Indian Pilot,
there came a Man and three Women from a little beyond that Town to Philadelphia
on Business: And I, being informed thereof by Letter, met them in Town in the
fifth Month, 1763; and, after some Conversation, finding they were sober
People, I, by the Concurrence of Friends in that Place, agreed to join with
them as Companions in their Return; and, on the seventh Day of the sixth Month
following, we appointed to meet at Samuel Foulk's, at
Richland in Bucks County. Now, as this Visit felt weighty, and
was performed at a Time when Travelling appeared perilous, so the Dispensations
of divine Providence, in preparing my Mind for it, have been memorable; and I
believe it good for me to give some Hints thereof.
After I had given up to go, the Thoughts of the
Journey were often attended with unusual Sadness; in which Times my Heart was
frequently turned to the Lord with inward Breathings for his heavenly Support,
that I might not fail to follow him wheresoever he might lead me: And, being at
our Youths Meeting at Chesterfield, about a Week before the Time I
expected to set off,[Pg 103]
I was there led to speak on that Prayer of our Redeemer to his Father: "I
pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the World, but that thou
shouldest keep them from the Evil." And, in attending to the pure Openings
of Truth, I had to mention what he elsewhere said to his Father; "I know
that thou hearest me at all Times:" So that, as some of his Followers kept
their Places, and as his Prayer was granted, it followed necessarily that they
were kept from Evil: And, as some of those met with great Hardships and Afflictions
in this World, and at last suffered Death by cruel Men, it appears, that
whatsoever befals Men while they live in pure Obedience to God, as it certainly
works for their Good, so it may not be considered an Evil as if relates to
them. As I spake on this Subject, my Heart was much tendered, and great
Awfulness came over me; and then, on the first Day of the next Week, being at
our own Afternoon-meeting, and my Heart being enlarged in Love, I was led to
speak on the Care and Protection of the Lord over his People, and to make
mention of that Passage, where a Band of Assyrians endeavouring to take
captive the Prophet, were disappointed; and how the Psalmist said, "The
Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him." And thus, in
true Love and Tenderness, I parted from Friends, expecting the next Morning, to
proceed on my Journey, and, being weary, went early to Bed; and, after I had
been asleep a short Time, I was awaked by a Man calling at my Door; and,
arising, was invited to meet some Friends at a Publick-house in our Town, who
came from Philadelphia so late, that Friends were generally gone to Bed:
These Friends informed me, that an Express arrived the last Morning from Pittsburgh,
and brought News that the Indians had taken a Fort from the English
Westward, and slain and scalped English People in divers Places, some
near the said Pittsburgh; and that some elderly Friends in Philadelphia,
knowing the Time of my expecting to set off, had conferred together, and
thought good to inform me of these Things, before I left Home, that I might
consider them, and proceed as I believed best; so I, going again to Bed, told[Pg 104] not my Wife till Morning.
My Heart was turned to the Lord for his heavenly Instruction; and it was an
humbling Time to me. When I told my dear Wife, she appeared to be deeply
concerned about it; but, in a few Hours Time, my Mind became settled in a
Belief, that it was my Duty to proceed on my Journey; and she bore it with a
good Degree of Resignation. In this Conflict of Spirit, there were great
Searchings of Heart, and strong Cries to the Lord, that no Motion might be, in
the least Degree, attended to, but that of the pure Spirit of Truth.
The Subjects before-mentioned, on which I had so
lately spoken in publick, were now very fresh before me; and I was brought
inwardly to commit myself to the Lord, to be disposed of as he saw best. So I
took Leave of my Family and Neighbours, in much Bowedness of Spirit, and went
to our Monthly-meeting at Burlington; and, after taking Leave of Friends
there, I crossed the River, accompanied by my Friends, Israel
and John Pemberton; and, parting the next Morning
with Israel, John bore me
Company to Samuel Foulk's, where I met the
before-mentioned Indians, and we were glad to see each other: Here my
Friend, Benjamin Parvin, met me, and proposed joining
as a Companion, we having passed some Letters before on the Subject; and now,
on his Account, I had a sharp Trial; for, as the Journey appeared perilous, I
thought, if he went chiefly to bear me Company, and we should be taken Captive,
my having been the Means of drawing him into these Difficulties would add to my
own Afflictions: So I told him my Mind freely, and let him know that I was
resigned to go alone; but, after all, if he really believed it to be his Duty
to go on, I believed his Company would be very comfortable to me: It was indeed
a Time of deep Exercise, and Benjamin appeared to be
so fastened to the Visit, that he could not be easy to leave me; so we went on,
accompanied by our Friends, John Pemberton, and William Lightfoot of Pikeland, and lodged at Bethlehem;
and there, parting with John, William
and we went forward on the ninth Day of the sixth Month, and got Lodging on the
Floor of a House, about five Miles from Fort-Allen:[Pg
105] Here we parted with William;
and at this Place we met with an Indian Trader, lately come from Wioming;
and, in Conversation with him, I perceived that many white People do often sell
Rum to the Indians, which, I believe, is a great Evil; first, they being
thereby deprived of the Use of their Reason, and their Spirits violently
agitated, Quarrels often arise, which end in Mischief; and the Bitterness and
Resentments, occasioned hereby, are frequently of long Continuance; Again,
their Skins and Furs, gotten through much Fatigue and hard Travels in Hunting,
with which they intended to buy Clothing, when they become intoxicated, they
often sell at a low Rate for more Rum; and afterward, when they suffer for want
of the Necessaries of Life, are angry with those who, for the Sake of Gain,
took the Advantage of their Weakness: Of this their Chiefs have often complained,
at their Treaties with the English. Where cunning People pass
Counterfeits, and impose that on others which is good for nothing, it is
considered as a Wickedness; but, to sell that to People which we know does them
Harm, and which often works their Ruin, for the Sake of Gain, manifests a
hardened and corrupt Heart, and is an Evil, which demands the Care of all true
Lovers of Virtue to suppress: And while my Mind, this Evening, was thus
employed, I also remembered, that the People on the Frontiers, among whom this
Evil is too common, are often poor; who venture to the Outside of a Colony,
that they may live more independent on such as are wealthy, who often set high
Rents on their Land: Being renewedly confirmed in a Belief, that, if all our
Inhabitants lived according to sound Wisdom, labouring to promote universal
Love and Righteousness, and ceased from every inordinate Desire after Wealth,
and from all Customs which are tinctured with Luxury, the Way would be easy for
our Inhabitants, though much more numerous than at present, to live comfortably
on honest Employments, without having that Temptation they are often under of
being drawn into Schemes to make Settlements on Lands which have not been
purchased of the Indians, or of applying to that wicked Practice of
selling Rum to them.[Pg 106]
On the tenth Day of the Month we set out early in
the Morning, and crossed the Western Branch of Delaware, called the Great
Lehie, near Fort-Allen; the Water being high, we went over in a
Canoe: Here we met an Indian, and had some friendly Conversation with
him, and gave him some Biscuit; and he having killed a Deer, gave the Indians
with us some of it: Then, after travelling some Miles, we met several Indian
Men and Women with a Cow and Horse, and some Household Goods, who were lately
come from their Dwelling at Wioming, and going to settle at another
Place; we made them some small Presents, and, some of them understanding English,
I told them my Motive in coming into their Country, with which they appeared
satisfied: And, one of our Guides talking a While with an ancient Woman
concerning us, the poor old Woman came to my Companion and me, and took her
Leave of us with an Appearance of sincere Affection. So, going on, we pitched
our Tent near the Banks of the same River, having laboured hard in crossing
some of those Mountains called the Blue-Ridge; and, by the Roughness of the
Stones, and the Cavities between them, and the Steepness of the Hills, it
appeared dangerous; but we were preserved in Safety, through the Kindness of
him, whose Works in those mountainous Desarts appeared awful: Toward whom my
Heart was turned during this Day's Travel.
Near our Tent, on the Sides of large Trees peeled
for that Purpose, were various Representations of Men going to, and returning from
the Wars, and of some killed in Battle; this being a Path heretofore used by
Warriours: And, as I walked about viewing those Indian Histories, which
were painted mostly in red, but some in black; and thinking on the innumerable
Afflictions which the proud, fierce, Spirit produceth in the World; thinking on
the Toils and Fatigues of Warriours, travelling over Mountains and Desarts;
thinking on their Miseries and Distresses when wounded far from Home by their
Enemies; and of their Bruises and great Weariness in chasing one another over
the Rocks and Mountains; and of their restless, unquiet, State of Mind, who
live in this Spirit;[Pg 107]
and of the Hatred which mutually grows up in the Minds of the Children of those
Nations engaged in War with each other: During these Meditations, the Desire to
cherish the Spirit of Love and Peace amongst these People arose very fresh in
me. This was the first Night that we lodged in the Woods; and, being wet with
travelling in the Rain, the Ground, our Tent, and the Bushes, which we proposed
to lay under our Blankets, being also wet, all looked discouraging; but I
believed, that it was the Lord who had thus far brought me forward, and that he
would dispose of me as he saw good; and therein I felt easy: So we kindled a Fire,
with our Tent open to it; and, with some Bushes next the Ground, and then our
Blankets, we made our Bed, and, lying down, got some Sleep; and, in the
Morning, feeling a little unwell, I went into the River; the Water was cold,
but soon after I felt fresh and well.
The eleventh Day of the sixth Month, the Bushes
being wet, we tarried in our Tent till about eight o'Clock; when, going on, we
crossed a high Mountain supposed to be upwards of four Miles over; the
Steepness on the North Side exceeding all the others. We also crossed two
Swamps, and, it raining near Night, we pitched our Tent and lodged.
About Noon, on our Way, we were overtaken by one
of the Moravian Brethren, going to Wehaloosing, and an Indian
Man with him, who could talk English; and we, being together while our
Horses ate Grass, had some friendly Conversation; but they, travelling faster
than we, soon left us. This Moravian, I understood, had spent some Time
this Spring at Wehaloosing, and was, by some of the Indians,
invited to come again.
The twelfth Day of the sixth Month, and first of
the Week, it being a rainy Day, we continued in our Tent; and here I was led to
think on the Nature of the Exercise which hath attended me: Love was the first
Motion, and thence a Concern arose to spend some Time with the Indians,
that I might feel and understand their Life, and the Spirit they live in, if
haply I might receive some Instruction from them, or they be in any Degree
helped[Pg 108] forward by my
following the Leadings of Truth amongst them: And, as it pleased the Lord to
make Way for my going at a Time when the Troubles of War were increasing, and
when, by Reason of much wet Weather, Travelling was more difficult than usual
at that Season, I looked upon it as a more favourable Opportunity to season my
Mind, and bring me into a nearer Sympathy with them: And, as mine Eye was to
the great Father of Mercies, humbly desiring to learn what his Will was
concerning me, I was made quiet and content.
Our Guide's Horse, though hoppled, went away in
the Night; after finding our own, and searching some Time for him, his
Footsteps were discovered in the Path going back again, whereupon my kind
Companion went off in the Rain, and, about seven Hours after, returned with
him: And here we lodged again; tying up our Horses before we went to Bed, and
loosing them to feed about Break of Day.
On the thirteenth Day of the sixth Month, the Sun
appearing, we set forward; and, as I rode over the barren Hills, my Meditations
were on the Alterations of the Circumstances of the Natives of this Land since
the Coming in of the English. The Lands near the Sea are conveniently
situated for fishing; the Lands near the Rivers, where the Tides flow, and some
above, are in many Places fertile, and not mountainous; while the Running of the
Tides makes passing up and down easy with any Kind of Traffic. Those Natives
have, in some Places, for trifling Considerations, sold their Inheritance so
favourably situated; and, in other Places, been driven back by superior Force:
So that in many Places, as their Way of clothing themselves is now altered from
what it was, and they, far remote from us, have to pass over Mountains, Swamps,
and barren Desarts, Travelling is very troublesome, in bringing their Skins and
Furs to trade with us.
By the extending of English Settlements,
and partly by English Hunters, the wild Beasts, they chiefly depend on
for a Subsistance, are not so plenty as they were; and People too often, for
the Sake of Gain, open a Door for[Pg 109]
them to waste their Skins and Furs, in purchasing a Liquor which tends to the
Ruin of them and their Families.
My own Will and Desires were now very much broken,
and my Heart, with much Earnestness, turned to the Lord, to whom alone I looked
for Help in the Dangers before me. I had a Prospect of the English along
the Coast, for upwards of nine hundred Miles, where I had travelled; and the
favourable Situation of the English, and the Difficulties attending the
Natives in many Places, and the Negroes, were open before me; and a weighty and
heavenly Care came over my Mind, and Love filled my Heart toward all Mankind,
in which I felt a strong Engagement, that we might be obedient to the Lord,
while, in tender Mercies, he is yet calling to us; and so attend to pure
universal Righteousness, as to give no just Cause of Offence to the Gentiles,
who do not profess Christianity, whether the Blacks from Africa,
or the native Inhabitants of this Continent: And here I was led into a close
laborious Enquiry, whether I, as an Individual, kept clear from all Things
which tended to stir up, or were connected with Wars, either in this Land or Africa;
and my Heart was deeply concerned, that, in future, I might in all Things keep
steadily to the pure Truth, and live and walk in the Plainness and Simplicity
of a sincere Follower of Christ. And, in this lonely Journey, I did, this Day,
greatly bewail the Spreading of a wrong Spirit, believing, that the prosperous,
convenient, Situation of the English, requires a constant Attention to
divine Love and Wisdom to guide and support us in a Way answerable to the Will
of that good, gracious, and almighty Being, who hath an equal Regard to all
Mankind: And, here, Luxury and Covetousness, with the numerous Oppressions, and
other Evils attending them, appeared very afflicting to me; and I felt in that
which is immutable, that the Seeds of great Calamity and Desolation are sown
and growing fast on this Continent: Nor have I Words sufficient to set forth
that Longing I then felt, that we, who are placed along the Coast, and have
tasted the Love and Goodness of God, might arise in his Strength; and, like
faithful Messengers, labour to[Pg 110]
check the Growth of these Seeds, that they may not ripen to the Ruin of our
Posterity.
We reached the Indian Settlement at Wioming;
and here we were told, that an Indian Runner had been at that Place a
Day or two before us, and brought News of the Indians taking an English
Fort westward, and destroying the People, and that they were endeavouring to
take another; and also, that another Indian Runner came there about the
Middle of the Night before we got there, who came from a Town about ten Miles
above Wehaloosing, and brought News, that some Indian Warriours,
from distant Parts, came to that Town with two English Scalps, and told
the People, that it was War with the English.
Our Guides took us to the House of a very ancient
Man; and, soon after we had put in our Baggage, there came a Man from another Indian
House some Distance off; and I, perceiving there was a Man near the Door, went
out; and, having a Tomahawk wrapped under his Matchcoat out of Sight, as I
approached him, he took it in his Hand; I, however, went forward, and, speaking
to him in a friendly Way, perceived he understood some English: My
Companion then coming out, we had some Talk with him concerning the Nature of
our Visit in these Parts; and then he going into the House with us, and talking
with our Guides, soon appeared friendly, and sat down and smoked his Pipe.
Though his taking his Hatchet in his Hand, at the Instant I drew near to him,
had a disagreeable Appearance, I believe he had no other Intent than to be in
Readiness in case any Violence was offered to him.
Hearing the News brought by these Indian
Runners, and being told by the Indians where we lodged, that what Indians
were about Wioming expected, in a few Days, to move to some larger
Towns, I thought that, to all outward Appearance, it was dangerous Travelling
at this Time; and was, after a hard Day's Journey, brought into a painful
Exercise at Night, in which I had to trace back, and view over the Steps I had
taken from my first Moving in the Visit; and though I had to bewail some[Pg 111] Weakness which, at Times,
had attended me, yet I could not find that I had ever given way to a wilful
Disobedience: And then, as I believed I had, under a Sense of Duty, come thus
far, I was now earnest in Spirit, beseeching the Lord to shew me what I ought
to do. In this great Distress I grew jealous of myself, lest the Desire of
Reputation, as a Man firmly settled to persevere through Dangers, or the Fear
of Disgrace arising on my returning without performing the Visit, might have
some Place in me: Thus I lay, full of Thoughts, great Part of the Night, while
my beloved Companion lay and slept by me; till the Lord, my gracious Father,
who saw the Conflicts of my Soul, was pleased to give Quietness: Then I was
again strengthened to commit my Life, and all Things relating thereto, into his
heavenly Hands; and, getting a little Sleep toward Day, when Morning came we
arose.
On the fourteenth Day of the sixth Month, we sought
out and visited all the Indians hereabout that we could meet with; they
being chiefly in one Place, about a Mile from where we lodged, in all perhaps
twenty. Here I expressed the Care I had on my Mind for their Good; and told
them, that true Love had made me willing thus to leave my Family to come and
see the Indians, and speak with them in their Houses. Some of them
appeared kind and friendly. So we took our Leave of these Indians, and
went up the River Susquehannah, about three Miles, to the House of an Indian,
called Jacob January, who had killed his Hog; and the
Women were making store of Bread, and preparing to move up the River. Here our
Pilots left their Canoe when they came down in the Spring, which lying dry, was
leaky; so that we, being detained some Hours, had a good deal of friendly
Conversation with the Family; and, eating Dinner with them, we made them some
small Presents. Then, putting our Baggage in the Canoe, some of them pushed
slowly up the Stream, and the rest of us rode our Horses; and swimming them
over a Creek, called Lahawahamunk, we pitched our Tent a little above
it, there being a Shower in the Evening: And, in a Sense of God's Goodness in
helping me in my Distress, sustaining me under Trials,[Pg
112] and inclining my Heart to trust in him, I lay down in an
humble bowed Frame of Mind, and had a comfortable Night's Lodging.
On the fifteenth Day of the sixth Month, we
proceeded forward till the Afternoon; when, a Storm appearing, we met our Canoe
at an appointed Place; and, the Rain continuing, we stayed all Night, which was
so heavy, that it beat through our Tent, and wet us and our Baggage.
On the sixteenth Day, we found, on our Way,
abundance of Trees blown down with the Storm the Day before; and had Occasion
reverently to consider the kind Dealings of the Lord, who provided a safe Place
for us in a Valley, while this Storm continued. By the falling of abundance of
Trees across our Path, we were much hindered, and in some Swamps our Way was so
stopped, that we got through with extreme Difficulty.
I had this Day often to consider myself as a
Sojourner in this World; and a Belief in the All-sufficiency of God to support
his People in their Pilgrimage felt comfortable to me; and I was industriously
employed to get to a State of perfect Resignation.
We seldom saw our Canoe but at appointed Places,
by reason of the Path going off from the River; and, this Afternoon, Job Chilaway, an Indian from Wehaloosing, who
talks good English, and is acquainted with several People in and about Philadelphia,
met our People on the River; and, understanding where we expected to lodge,
pushed back about six Miles, and came to us after Night; and in a While our own
Canoe came, it being hard Work pushing up Stream. Job
told us, that an Indian came in Haste to their Town yesterday, and told
them, that three Warriours, coming from some Distance, lodged in a Town above Wehaloosing
a few Nights past; and that these three Men were going against the English
at Juniata. Job was going down the River to
the Province-store at Shamokin. Though I was so far favoured with Health
as to continue travelling, yet, through the various Difficulties in our
Journey, and the different Way of living from what I had been used to, I grew
sick; and the News of these Warriours being on their March so[Pg
113] near us, and not knowing whether we might not fall in
with them, was a fresh Trial of my Faith; and though, through the Strength of
divine Love, I had several Times been enabled to commit myself to the divine
Disposal, I still found the Want of my Strength to be renewed, that I might
persevere therein; and my Cries for Help were put up to the Lord, who, in great
Mercy, gave me a resigned Heart, in which I found Quietness.
On the seventeenth Day, parting from Job Chilaway, we went on, and reached Wehaloosing
about the Middle of the Afternoon, and the first Indian that we saw was
a Woman of a modest Countenance, with a Bible, who first spake to our Guide;
and then, with a harmonious Voice, expressed her Gladness at seeing us, having
before heard of our Coming: Then, by the Direction of our Guide, we sat down on
a Log; and he went to the Town, to tell the People we were come. My Companion
and I sitting thus together, in a deep inward Stillness, the poor Woman came
and sat near us; and, great Awfulness coming over us, we rejoiced in a Sense of
God's Love manifested to our poor Souls. After a While, we heard a Conkshell
blow several Times, and then came John Curtis, and
another Indian Man, who kindly invited us into a House near the Town,
where we found, I suppose, about sixty People sitting in Silence; and, after
sitting a short Time, I stood up, and in some Tenderness of Spirit acquainted
them with the Nature of my Visit, and that a Concern for their Good had made me
willing to come thus far to see them; all in a few short Sentences, which some
of them understanding interpreted to the others, and there appeared Gladness
amongst them. Then I shewed them my Certificate, which was explained to them;
and the Moravian, who overtook us on the Way, being now here, bade me
welcome.
On the eighteenth Day: We rested ourselves this
Forenoon; and the Indians, knowing that the Moravian and I were
of different religious Societies, and as some of their People had encouraged
him to come and stay a While with them, were, I believe, concerned that no
Jarring or Discord might be in their Meetings: And they, I[Pg
114] suppose, having conferred together, acquainted me, that
the People, at my Request, would, at any Time, come together, and hold
Meetings; and also told me, that they expected the Moravian would speak
in their settled Meetings, which are commonly held Morning and near Evening. So
I found Liberty in my Heart to speak to the Moravian, and told him of
the Care I felt on my Mind for the Good of these People; and that I believed no
ill Effects would follow it, if I sometimes spake in their Meetings when Love
engaged me thereto, without calling them together at Times when they did not
meet of course: Whereupon he expressed his Good-will toward my speaking, at any
Time, all that I found in my Heart to say: So, near Evening, I was at their
Meeting, where the pure Gospel-love was felt, to the tendering some of our
Hearts; and the Interpreters, endeavouring to acquaint the People with what I
said in short Sentences, found some Difficulty, as none of them were quite
perfect in the English and Delaware Tongues; so they helped one
another, and we laboured along, divine Love attending: And afterwards, feeling
my Mind covered with the Spirit of Prayer, I told the Interpreters that I found
it in my Heart to pray to God, and believed, if I prayed aright, he would hear
me, and expressed my Willingness for them to omit interpreting; so our Meeting
ended with a Degree of divine Love: And, before the People went out, I observed
Papunehang (the Man who had been zealous in labouring
for a Reformation in that Town, being then very tender) spoke to one of the
Interpreters; and I was afterwards told that he said in Substance as follows:
"I love to feel where Words come from."
On the nineteenth Day, and first of the Week: This
Morning, in the Meeting, the Indian, who came with the Moravian,
being also a Member of that Society, prayed; and then the Moravian spake
a short Time to the People: And, in the Afternoon, they coming together, and my
Heart being filled with a heavenly Care for their Good, I spake to them a While
by Interpreters; but none of them being perfect in the Work, and I, feeling the
Current of Love run strong, told the Interpreters, that I believed[Pg 115] some of the People would
understand me, and so I proceeded: In which Exercise I believe the Holy Ghost
wrought on some Hearts to Edification, where all the Words were not understood,
I looked upon it as a Time of divine Favour, and my Heart was tendered and
truly thankful before the Lord; and, after I sat down, one of the Interpreters
seemed spirited to give the Indians the Substance of what I had said.
Before our first Meeting, this Morning, I was led
to meditate on the manifold Difficulties of these Indians, who, by the
Permission of the six Nations, dwell in these Parts; and a near Sympathy with
them was raised in me; and, my Heart being enlarged in the Love of Christ, I
thought that the affectionate Care of a good Man for his only Brother in
Affliction does not exceed what I then felt for that People.
I came to this Place through much Trouble; and
though, through the Mercies of God, I believed, that if I died in the Journey,
it would be well with me; yet the Thoughts of falling into the Hands of Indian
Warriours were, in Times of Weakness, afflicting to me; and, being of a tender
Constitution of Body, the Thoughts of Captivity amongst them were, at Times,
grievous; as supposing, that they being strong and hardy, might demand Service
of me beyond what I could well bear; but the Lord alone was my Keeper; and I
believed, if I went into Captivity, it would be for some good End: And thus,
from Time to Time, my Mind was centered in Resignation, in which I always found
Quietness. And now, this Day, though I had the same dangerous Wilderness
between me and Home, I was inwardly joyful that the Lord had strengthened me to
come on this Visit, and manifested a fatherly Care over me in my poor lowly Condition,
when in mine own Eyes I appeared inferior to many amongst the Indians.
When the last-mentioned Meeting was ended, it
being Night, Papunehang went to Bed; and, one of the
Interpreters sitting by me, I observed Papunehang
spoke with an harmonious Voice, I suppose a Minute or two; and, asking the
Interpreter, I was told, that "He was expressing his Thankfulness to God
for the Favours he[Pg 116]
had received that Day; and prayed that he would continue to favour him with
that same, which he had experienced in that Meeting." And though Papunehang had before agreed to receive the Moravian,
and join with them, he still appeared kind and loving to us.
On the twentieth Day I was at two Meetings, and
silent in them.
The twenty-first Day: This Morning, in Meeting, my
Heart was enlarged in pure Love amongst them, and, in short plain Sentences, I
expressed several Things that rested upon me, which one of the Interpreters
gave the People pretty readily; after which, the Meeting ended in Supplication,
and I had Cause humbly to acknowledge the Loving-kindness of the Lord towards
us; and then I believed that a Door remained open for the faithful Disciples of
Jesus Christ to labour amongst these People.
I now feeling my Mind at Liberty to return, took
my Leave of them in general, at the Conclusion of what I said in Meeting; and
so we prepared to go homeward: But some of their most active Men told us, that,
when we were ready to move, the People would choose to come and shake Hands
with us; which those who usually come to Meeting did: And, from a secret
Draught in my Mind, I went amongst some who did not use to go to Meeting, and
took my Leave of them also: And the Moravian and his Indian
Interpreter appeared respectful to us at parting. This Town stands on the Bank
of Susquehannah, and consists, I believe, of about forty Houses, mostly
compact together; some about thirty feet long, and eighteen wide, some bigger,
some less; mostly built of split Plank, one End set in the Ground, and the
other pinned to a Plate, on which lay Rafters, and covered with Bark. I
understand a great Flood last Winter overflowed the chief Part of the Ground
where the Town stands; and some were now about moving their Houses to higher
Ground.
We expected only two Indians to be our
Company; but, when we were ready to go, we found many of them were going to Bethlehem
with Skins and Furs, who chose to go in Company with us: So they loaded two
Canoes,[Pg 117] which they desired
us to go in, telling us, that the Waters were so raised with the Rains, that
the Horses should be taken by such as were better acquainted with the
Fording-places: So we, with several Indians, went in the Canoes, and
others went on Horses, there being seven besides ours. And we meeting with the
Horsemen once on the Way by Appointment, and that near Night, a little below a
Branch called Tankhannah, we lodged there; and some of the young Men
going out a little before Dusk with their Guns, brought in a Deer.
On the twenty-second Day, through Diligence, we
reached Wioming before Night, and understood the Indians were
mostly gone from this Place: Here we went up a small Creek into the Woods with
our Canoes, and, pitching our Tent, carried out our Baggage; and before Dark
our Horses came to us.
On the twenty-third Day in the Morning their Horses
were loaded, and we prepared our Baggage, and so set forward, being in all
fourteen; and with diligent Travelling, were favoured to get near half-way to Fort-Allen.
The Land on this Road from Wioming to our Frontier being mostly poor,
and good Grass scarce, they chose a Piece of low Ground to lodge on, as the
best for grazing; and I, having sweated much in Travelling, and being weary,
slept sound; I perceived in the Night that I had taken Cold, of which I was
favoured to get better soon.
On the twenty-fourth Day we passed Fort-Allen,
and lodged near it in the Woods.
Having forded the westerly Branch of Delaware
three Times, we thereby had a shorter Way, and missed going over the Top of the
Blue Mountains, called the second Ridge. In the second Time fording, where the
River cuts through the Mountain, the Waters being rapid, and pretty deep, and
my Companion's Mare being a tall, tractable Animal, he sundry Times drove her
back through the River, and they loaded her with the Burthens of some small
Horses, which they thought not sufficient to come through with their Loads.
The Troubles westward, and the Difficulty for Indians
to pass through our Frontier, I apprehend, was one[Pg
118] Reason why so many came; as expecting that our being in
Company would prevent the outside Inhabitants from being surprised.
On the twenty-fifth Day we reached Bethlehem,
taking Care on the Way to keep foremost, and to acquaint People on and near the
Road who these Indians were: This we found very needful; for the
Frontier Inhabitants were often alarmed at the Report of English being
killed by Indians westward.
Amongst our Company were some whom I did not
remember to have seen at Meeting, and some of these, at first, were very
reserved; but, we being several Days together, and behaving friendly toward
them, and making them suitable Returns for the Services they did us, they
became more free and social.
On the twenty-sixth Day and first of the Week,
having carefully endeavoured to settle all Affairs with the Indians
relative to our Journey, we took Leave of them, and I thought they generally
parted with us affectionately; so we, getting to Richland, had a very
comfortable Meeting amongst our Friends: Here I parted with my kind Friend and
Companion, Benjamin Parvin; and, accompanied by my
Friend, Samuel Foulk, we rode to John
Cadwallader's, from whence I reached Home the next Day, where I found my
Family middling well; and they, and my Friends, all along appeared glad to see
me return from a Journey which they apprehended dangerous: But my Mind, while I
was out, had been so employed in striving for a perfect Resignation, and I had
so often been confirmed in a Belief, that whatever the Lord might be pleased to
allot for me, would work for Good, I was careful lest I should admit any Degree
of Selfishness in being glad over much, and laboured to improve by those Trials
in such a Manner as my gracious Father and Protector intends for me. Between
the English Inhabitants and Wehaloosing we had only a narrow
Path, which in many Places is much grown up with Bushes, and interrupted by
abundance of Trees lying across it; these, together with the Mountains, Swamps,
and rough Stones, make it a difficult Road to travel; and the more[Pg 119] so, for that
Rattle-snakes abound there, of which we killed four: People, who have never
been in such Places, have but an imperfect Idea of them; but I was not only
taught Patience, but also made thankful to God, who thus led me about and
instructed me, that I might have a quick and lively Feeling of the Afflictions
of my Fellow-creatures, whose Situation in Life is difficult.
CHAPTER IX
His religious Conversation with a Company met to
see the Tricks of a Juggler—His Account of
John Smith's Advice, and of the Proceedings of a
Committee, at the Yearly-meeting in 1764—Contemplations on the Nature of
true Wisdom, occasioned by hearing of the Cruelty of the Indians to
their Captives—His visiting the Families of Friends at Mount-Holly,
Mansfield, and Burlington, in 1764, and the Meetings on the
Sea-Coast, from Cape-May, toward Squan, in 1765—His Visit
to the lower Counties on Delaware, and the eastern Shore of
Maryland, in 1766, in Company with John Sleeper;
with some Account of Joseph Nichols and his
Followers; and Observations on the different State of the first Settlers in
Pennsylvania, who depended on their own Labour, and those of the southern
Provinces, who kept Negroes—His visiting the northern Parts of
New-Jersey the same Year, and the western Parts of Maryland and
Pennsylvania in 1767, and afterwards other Parts of Pennsylvania, and
the Families of Friends at Mount-Holly; and again, several Parts of
Maryland in 1768—Farther Considerations on keeping Slaves; and his
Concern for having formerly, as an Executor, been Party to the Sale of one; and
what he did in Consequence of it—Thoughts on Friends exercising Offices
in civil Government
The latter Part of the Summer, 1763, there came a
Man to Mount-Holly, who had before published, by a printed Advertisement,
that, at a certain Publick-house, he would shew many wonderful Operations,
which he therein enumerated.
This Man, at the Time appointed, did, by slight of
Hand, sundry Things; which, to those gathered, appeared strange.
The next Day, I, hearing of it, and understanding
that the Shew was to be continued the next Night, and the People to meet about
Sun-set, felt an Exercise on that Account: So I went to the Publick-house in
the Evening, and told the Man of the House that I had an Inclination[Pg 121] to spend a Part of the
Evening there; with which he signified that he was content. Then, sitting down
by the Door, I spake to the People as they came together, concerning this Shew;
and, more coming and sitting down with us, the Seats of the Door were mostly
filled; and I had Conversation with them in the Fear of the Lord, and laboured
to convince them that, thus assembling to see those Tricks or Slights of Hand,
and bestowing their Money to support Men, who, in that Capacity, were of no Use
in the World, was contrary to the Nature of the Christian Religion.
There was one of the Company, who, for a Time,
endeavoured, by Arguments, to shew the Reasonableness of their Proceedings
herein; but, after considering some Texts of Scripture, and calmly debating the
Matter, he gave up the Point. So, having spent about an Hour amongst them, and
feeling my Mind easy, I departed.
At our Yearly-meeting at Philadelphia, on
the twenty-fifth Day of the ninth Month, 1764, John Smith,
of Marlborough, aged upwards of eighty Years, a faithful Minister,
though not eloquent, stood up in our Meeting of Ministers and Elders, and,
appearing to be under a great Exercise of Spirit, informed Friends in Substance
as follows: to wit, "That he had been a Member of the Society upwards of
sixty Years, and well remembered, that in those early Times Friends were a
plain lowly-minded People; and that there was much Tenderness and Contrition in
their Meetings.—That, at twenty Years from that Time, the Society, increasing
in Wealth, and in some Degree conforming to the Fashions of the World, true
Humility was less apparent, and their Meetings, in general, not so lively and
edifying.—That, at the End of forty Years, many of them were grown very rich;
that wearing of fine costly Garments, and using of silver (and other) Watches,
became customary with them, their Sons and their Daughters, and many of the
Society made a specious Appearance in the World; which Marks of outward Wealth
and Greatness appeared on some in our Meetings of Ministers and Elders; and as
these Things[Pg 122] became more
prevalent, so the powerful Overshadowings of the Holy Ghost were less manifest
in the Society.—That there had been a continued Increase of these Ways of Life
even until now; and that the Weakness which hath now overspread the Society,
and the Barrenness manifest amongst us, are Matter of much Sorrow." He
then mentioned the Uncertainty of his attending these Meetings in future,
expecting his Dissolution was now near; and, having tenderly expressed his
Concern for us, signified that he had seen in the true Light that the Lord
would bring back his People from these Things into which they were thus
degenerated; but that his faithful Servants must first go through great and
heavy Exercises therein.
On the twenty-ninth Day, the Committee, appointed
by the Yearly-meeting to visit the Quarterly and Monthly-meetings, now gave an
Account in Writing of their Proceedings in that Service; in which they
signified, that, in the Course of it, they had been apprehensive that some Persons
holding Offices in Government, inconsistent with our Principles, and others,
who kept Slaves, remaining active Members in our Meetings of Discipline, had
been one Means of Weakness more and more prevailing in the Management thereof
in some Places. After this Report was read, an Exercise revived on my Mind,
which, at Times, had attended me several Years, and inward Cries to the Lord
were raised in me, that the Fear of Man might not prevent me from doing what he
required of me; and standing up, I spake in Substance as follows: "I have
felt a Tenderness in my Mind, towards Persons, in two Circumstances mentioned
in that Report; that is, toward such active Members as keep Slaves, and such as
hold Offices in civil Government; and have desired, that Friends, in all their
Conduct, may be kindly affectioned one toward another. Many Friends, who keep
Slaves, are under some Exercise on that Account; and, at Times, think about
trying them with Freedom; but find many Things in their Way: And the Way of
Living, and annual Expences of some of them, are such, that it seems
impracticable for them to set their Slaves free, without[Pg
123] changing their own Way of Life. It has been my Lot to be
often abroad; and I have observed in some Places, at Quarterly and Yearly-meetings,
and at some Houses where travelling Friends and their Horses are often
entertained, that the yearly Expence of Individuals therein is very
considerable: And Friends, in some Places, crouding much on Persons in these
Circumstances for Entertainment, hath often rested as a Burthen on my Mind for
some Years past; and I now express it in the Fear of the Lord, greatly desiring
that Friends now present may duly consider it."
In the Fall of this Year, having hired a Man to
work, I perceived, in Conversation, that he had been a Soldier in the late War
on this Continent; and, in the Evening, giving a Narrative of his Captivity
amongst the Indians, he informed me that he saw two of his
Fellow-captives tortured to Death in a very cruel Manner.
This Relation affected me with Sadness, under
which I went to Bed; and, the next Morning, soon after I awoke, a fresh and
living Sense of divine Love was spread over my Mind; in which I had a renewed
Prospect of the Nature of that Wisdom from above, which leads to a right Use of
all Gifts, both spiritual and temporal, and gives Content therein: Under a
Feeling thereof, I wrote as follows:
"Hath he, who gave me a Being attended with
many Wants unknown to Brute-creatures, given me a Capacity superior to theirs;
and shewn me, that a moderate Application to Business is proper to my present
Condition; and that this, attended with his Blessing, may supply all outward
Wants, while they remain within the Bounds he hath fixed; and no imaginary
Wants, proceeding from an evil Spirit, have any Place in me? Attend then, O my
Soul! to this pure Wisdom, as thy sure Conductor through the manifold Dangers
in this World.
"Doth Pride lead to Vanity? Doth Vanity form
imaginary Wants? Do these Wants prompt Men to exert their Power in requiring
that of others, which they themselves would rather be excused from, were the
same required of them?[Pg 124]
"Do these Proceedings beget hard Thoughts? Do
hard Thoughts, when ripe, become Malice? Does Malice, when ripe, become revengeful;
and, in the End, inflict terrible Pains on their Fellow-creatures, and spread
Desolation in the World?
"Doth Mankind, walking in Uprightness,
delight in each other's Happiness? And do these Creatures, capable of this
Attainment, by giving way to an evil Spirit, employ their Wit and Strength to
afflict and destroy one another?
"Remember then, O my Soul! the Quietude of
those in whom Christ governs, and in all thy Proceedings feel after it.
"Doth he condescend to bless thee with his
Presence? To move and influence to Action? To dwell in thee, and walk in thee?
Remember then thy Station, as a Being sacred to God; accept of the Strength
freely offered thee; and take heed that no Weakness, in conforming to
expensive, unwise, and hard-hearted, Customs, gendering to Discord and Strife,
be given way to. Doth he claim my Body as his Temple, and graciously grant that
I may be sacred to him? O! that I may prize this Favour; and that my whole Life
may be conformable to this Character!
"Remember, O my Soul! that the Prince of
Peace is thy Lord: That he communicates his unmixed Wisdom to his Family; that
they, living in perfect Simplicity, may give no just Cause of Offence to any
Creature, but may walk as he walked."
Having felt an Openness in my Heart toward visiting
Families in our own Meeting, and especially in the Town of Mount-Holly, the
Place of my Abode, I mentioned it in our Monthly-meeting the Fore-part of the
Winter, 1764; which being agreed to, and several Friends of our Meeting being
united in the Exercise, we proceeded therein; and, through divine Favour, were
helped in the Work, so that it appeared to me as a fresh reviving of godly Care
amongst Friends: And, the latter Part of the same Winter, I joined my Friend William Jones, in a Visit to Friends Families in Mansfield;
in which[Pg 125] Labour I had Cause
to admire the Goodness of the Lord towards us.
Having felt my Mind drawn toward a Visit to
Friends along the Sea-coast from Cape-May to near Squan; and also
to visit some People in those Parts, amongst whom there is no settled Worship;
I joined with my beloved Friend, Benjamin Jones, in a
Visit there, having Friends Unity therein: And, setting off the twenty-fourth
Day of the tenth Month, 1765, we had a prosperous and very satisfactory
Journey; feeling, at Times, through the Goodness of the heavenly Shepherd, the
Gospel to flow freely toward a poor People scattered in those Places: And soon
after our Return, I joined my Friends, John Sleeper
and Elizabeth Smith, in visiting Friends Families at Burlington,
there being at this Time about fifty Families of our Society in that City; and
we had Cause humbly to adore our heavenly Father, who baptized us into a
Feeling of the State of the People, and strengthened us to labour in true
Gospel-love amongst them.
An Exercise having, at Times, for several Years
attended me, in regard to paying a religious Visit to Friends on the eastern
Shore of Maryland: Such was the Nature of this Exercise, that I believed
the Lord moved me to travel on Foot amongst them, that, by so travelling, I
might have a more lively Feeling of the Condition of the oppressed Slaves, set
an Example of Lowliness before the Eyes of their Masters, and be more out of
the Way of Temptation to unprofitable Converse.
The Time now drawing near in which I believed it
my Duty to lay my Concern before our Monthly-meeting, I perceived, in
Conversation with my beloved Friend, John Sleeper,
that he was under a Concern to travel the same Way, and also to travel on Foot
in the Form of a Servant amongst them, as he expressed it. This he told me
before he knew aught of my Exercise.
We, being thus drawn the same Way, laid our
Exercise and the Nature of it before Friends; and, obtaining Certificates, we
set off the sixth Day of the fifth Month, 1766; and were at Meetings with
Friends at Wilmington,[Pg 126]
Duck-Creek, Little-Creek, and Motherkill; my Heart being
sundry Times tendered under the divine Influence, and enlarged in Love toward
the People amongst whom we travelled.
From Motherkill, we crossed the Country
about thirty-five Miles to Friends at Tuckahoe in Maryland, and
had a Meeting there and at Marshy-Creek.
At these, our three last Meetings, were a
considerable Number of People, Followers of one Joseph
Nichols, a Preacher; who, I understand, is not in outward Fellowship
with any religious Society of People, but professeth nearly the same Principles
as our Society doth, and often travels up and down appointing Meetings, to
which many People come. I heard some Friends speaking of some of their
Neighbours, who had been irreligious People, that were now his Followers, and
were become sober well-behaved Men and Women.
Some Irregularities, I hear, have been amongst the
People at several of his Meetings; but, from the whole of what I have
perceived, I believe the Man and some of his Followers are honestly disposed,
but that skilful Fathers are wanting amongst them: From hence we went to Choptank
and Third-Haven; and thence to Queen Anne's. The Weather having
some Days past been hot and dry, and we, to attend Meetings pursuant to
Appointment, having travelled pretty steadily, and had hard Labour in Meetings,
I grew weakly, at which I was, for a Time, discouraged; but, looking over our
Journey, and thinking how the Lord had supported our Minds and Bodies, so that
we got forward much faster than I expected before we came out, I now saw that I
had been in Danger of too strongly desiring to get soon through the Journey,
and that this bodily Weakness, now attending me, was a Kindness to me; and
then, in Contrition of Spirit, I became very thankful to my gracious Father,
for this Manifestation of his Love; and, in humble Submission to his Will, my
Trust was renewed in him.
On this Part of our Journey, I had many Thoughts
on the different Circumstances of Friends, who inhabit Pennsylvania and Jersey,
from those who dwell in[Pg 127]
Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina. Pennsylvania and New-Jersey
were settled by many Friends, who were convinced of our Principles in England
in Times of Suffering, and, coming over, bought Lands of the Natives, and
applied themselves to Husbandry in a peaceable Way; and many of their Children
were taught to labour for their Living.
Few Friends, I believe, came from England
to settle in any of these southern Provinces; but, by the faithful Labours of
travelling Friends in early Times, there were considerable Convincements
amongst the Inhabitants of these Parts. Here I remembered my reading of the
warlike Disposition of many of the first Settlers in those Provinces, and of
their numerous Engagements with the Natives, in which much Blood was shed, even
in the Infancy of those Colonies. These People, inhabiting those Places, being
grounded in Customs contrary to the pure Truth, when some of them were affected
with the powerful preaching of the Word of Life, and joined in Fellowship with
our Society, they had a great Work to go through. It is observable, in the History
of the Reformation from Popery, that it had a gradual Progress from Age
to Age: The Uprightness of the first Reformers, in attending to the Light and
Understanding given them, opened the Way for sincere-hearted People to proceed
farther afterward; and thus, each one truly fearing God, and labouring in those
Works of Righteousness appointed for him in his Day, findeth Acceptance with
him: Though, through the Darkness of the Times, and the Corruption of Manners
and Customs, some upright Men have had little more for their Day's Work than to
attend to the righteous Principle in their Minds, as it related to their own
Conduct in Life, without pointing out to others the whole Extent of that, which
the same Principle would lead succeeding Ages into. Thus, for Instance, amongst
an imperious warlike People, supported by oppressed Slaves, some of these
Masters, I suppose, are awakened to feel and see their Error; and. through
sincere Repentance, cease from Oppression, and become like Fathers to their
Servants; shewing, by their Example, a Pattern of Humility in living, and
Moderation[Pg 128] in governing, for
the Instruction and Admonition of their oppressing Neighbours; those, without
carrying the Reformation farther, I believe, have found Acceptance with the
Lord. Such was the Beginning; and those who succeeded them, and have faithfully
attended to the Nature and Spirit of the Reformation, have seen the Necessity
of proceeding forward, and not only to instruct others, by their Example, in
governing well, but also to use Means to prevent their Successors from having
so much Power to oppress others.
Here I was renewedly confirmed in my Mind, that
the Lord (whose tender Mercies are over all his Works, and whose Ear is open to
the Cries and Groans of the Oppressed) is graciously moving on the Hearts of
People, to draw them off from the Desire of Wealth, and bring them into such an
humble, lowly, Way of Living, that they may see their Way clearly, to repair to
the Standard of true Righteousness; and not only break the Yoke of Oppression,
but know him to be their Strength and Support in a Time of outward Affliction.
We, passing on, crossed Chester-River; and
had a Meeting there, and at Cecil and Sassafras. Through my
bodily Weakness, joined with a heavy Exercise of Mind, it was to me an humbling
Dispensation, and I had a very lively Feeling of the State of the Oppressed;
yet I often thought, that what I suffered was little, compared with the
Sufferings of the blessed Jesus, and many of his faithful Followers; and may
say, with Thankfulness, I was made content.
From Sassafras we went pretty directly
Home, where we found our Families well; and, for several Weeks after our
Return, I had often to look over our Journey: And though it appeared to me as a
small Service, and that some faithful Messengers will yet have more bitter Cups
to drink in those southern Provinces, for Christ's Sake, than we had; yet I
found Peace in that I had been helped to walk in Sincerity, according to the
Understanding and Strength given me.
On the thirteenth Day of the eleventh Month, 1766,
with the Unity of Friends at our Monthly-meeting, in[Pg
129] Company with my beloved Friend, Benjamin
Jones, I set out on a Visit to Friends in the upper Part of this
Province, having had Drawings of Love in my Heart that Way a considerable Time:
We travelled as far as Hardwick; and I had inward Peace in my Labours of
Love amongst them.
Through the humbling Dispensations of divine
Providence, my Mind hath been brought into a farther Feeling of the
Difficulties of Friends and their Servants south-westward; and being often
engaged in Spirit on their Account, I believed it my Duty to walk into some
Parts of the western Shore of Maryland, on a religious Visit; and,
having obtained a Certificate from Friends of our Monthly-meeting, I took my
Leave of my Family under the heart-tendering Operation of Truth; and, on the
twentieth Day of the fourth Month, 1767, I rode to the Ferry opposite to Philadelphia,
and from thence walked to William Horne's, at Derby,
that Evening; and next Day pursued my journey alone, and reached Concord
week-day Meeting.
Discouragements and a Weight of Distress had, at
Times, attended me in this lonesome Walk; through which Afflictions I was
mercifully preserved: And now, sitting down with Friends, my Mind was turned
toward the Lord, to wait for his holy Leadings; who, in infinite Love, was
pleased to soften my Heart into an humble Contrition, and did renewedly
strengthen me to go forward; so that to me it was a Time of heavenly
Refreshment in a silent Meeting.
The next Day I came to New-Garden week-day
Meeting, in which I sat with Bowedness of Spirit; and, being baptized into a
Feeling of the State of some present, the Lord gave us a heart-tendering
Season; to his Name be the Praise.
I passed on, and was at Nottingham
Monthly-meeting; and at a Meeting at Little-Britain on First-day: And in
the Afternoon several Friends came to the House where I lodged, and we had a
little Afternoon-meeting; and, through the humbling Power of Truth, I had to
admire the Loving-kindness of the Lord manifested to us![Pg
130]
On the twenty-sixth Day, I crossed Susquehannah;
and coming amongst People in outward Ease and Greatness, chiefly on the Labour
of Slaves, my Heart was much affected; and, in awful Retiredness, my Mind was
gathered inward to the Lord, being humbly engaged that in true Resignation I
might receive Instruction from him, respecting my Duty amongst this People.
Though travelling on Foot was wearisome to my
Body; yet thus travelling was agreeable to the State of my Mind.
I went gently on, being weakly; and was covered
with Sorrow and Heaviness, on Account of the spreading prevailing Spirit of
this World, introducing Customs grievous and oppressive on one Hand, and
cherishing Pride and Wantonness on the other. In this lonely Walk, and State of
Abasement and Humiliation, the State of the Church in these Parts was opened
before me; and I may truly say with the Prophet, "I was bowed down at the
hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it." Under this Exercise, I
attended the Quarterly-meeting at Gunpowder; and, in Bowedness of
Spirit, I had to open, with much Plainness, what I felt respecting Friends
living in Fullness, on the Labours of the poor oppressed Negroes; and that
Promise of the Most High was now revived: "I will gather all Nations and
Tongues; and they shall come and see my Glory."—Here the Sufferings of
Christ, and his tasting Death for every Man, and the Travels, Sufferings, and
Martyrdoms, of the Apostles and primitive Christians, in labouring for
the Conversion of the Gentiles, were livingly revived in me; and, according to
the Measure of Strength afforded, I laboured in some Tenderness of Spirit,
being deeply affected amongst them: And thus the Difference, between the
present Treatment which these Gentiles, the Negroes, receive at our Hands, and
the Labours of the primitive Christians for the Conversion of the
Gentiles was pressed home, and the Power of Truth came over us; under a Feeling
of which, my Mind was united to a tender-hearted People in those Parts; and the
Meeting concluded in a Sense of God's Goodness toward his humble dependent
Children.[Pg 131]
The next Day was a general Meeting for Worship,
much crouded; in which I was deeply engaged in inward Cries to the Lord for Help,
that I might stand wholly resigned, and move only as he might be pleased to
lead me: And I was mercifully helped to labour honestly and fervently amongst
them, in which I found inward Peace; and the Sincere were comforted.
From hence I turned toward Pipe-Creek, and
passed on to the Red-Lands; and had several Meetings amongst Friends in
those Parts. My Heart was often tenderly affected, under a Sense of the Lord's
Goodness, in sanctifying my Troubles and Exercises, turning them to my Comfort,
and, I believe, to the Benefit of many others; for, I may say, with
Thankfulness, that in this Visit, it appeared like a fresh tendering Visitation
in most Places.
I passed on to the western Quarterly-meeting in Pennsylvania;
during the several Days of this Meeting, I was mercifully preserved in an
inward feeling after the Mind of Truth, and my publick Labours tended to my
Humiliation, with which I was content: And, after the Quarterly-meeting of
Worship ended, I felt Drawings to go to the Women's Meeting of Business; which
was very full: And here the Humility of Jesus Christ, as a Pattern for us to
walk by, was livingly opened before me; and in treating on it my Heart was
enlarged; and it was a baptizing Time. From hence I went on; and was at
Meetings at Concord, Middletown, Providence, and Haddonfield,
and so Home; where I found my Family well. A sense of the Lord's merciful
Preservation, in this my Journey, excites reverent Thankfulness to him.
On the second Day of the ninth Month, 1767, with
the Unity of Friends, I set off on a Visit to Friends in the upper Part of Berks
and Philadelphia Counties; was at eleven Meetings in about two Weeks;
and have renewed Cause to bow in Reverence before the Lord, who, by the
powerful Extendings of his humbling Goodness, opened my Way amongst Friends,
and made the Meetings (I trust) profitable to us. And, the Winter following, I
joined Friends on a Visit to Friends Families, in some[Pg
132] Part of our Meeting; in which Exercise, the pure
Influence of divine Love made our Visits reviving.
On the fifth Day of the fifth Month, 1768, I left
Home under the humbling Hand of the Lord, having obtained a Certificate, in
order to visit some Meetings in Maryland; and to proceed without a Horse
looked clearest to me. I was at the Quarterly-meetings at Philadelphia
and Concord; and then went on to Chester-River; and, crossing the
Bay with Friends, was at the Yearly-meeting at West-River; thence back
to Chester-River; and, taking a few Meetings in my Way, proceeded Home.
It was a Journey of much inward Waiting; and, as my Eye was to the Lord, Way
was, several Times, opened to my humbling Admiration, when Things had appeared
very difficult.
In my Return, I felt a Relief of Mind, very
comfortable to me; having, through divine Help, laboured in much Plainness,
both with Friends selected, and in the more publick Meetings; so that (I trust)
the pure Witness, in many Minds, was reached.
The eleventh Day of the sixth Month, 1769. Sundry
Cases have happened, of late Years, within the Limits of our Monthly-meeting,
respecting that of exercising pure Righteousness toward the Negroes; in which I
have lived under a Labour of Heart, that Equity might be steadily kept to. On
this Account, I have had some close Exercises amongst Friends; in which, I may
thankfully say, I find Peace: And, as my Meditations have been on universal
Love, my own Conduct in Time past became of late very grievous to me.
As Persons, setting Negroes free in our Province,
are bound by Law to maintain them, in case they have Need of Relief, some, who
scrupled keeping Slaves for Term of Life, in the Time of my Youth, were wont to
detain their young Negroes in their Service till thirty Years of Age, without
Wages, on that Account; and with this Custom I so far agreed, that I, being
joined to another Friend, in executing the Will of a deceased Friend, once sold
a Negro Lad till he might attain the Age of thirty Years, and applied the Money
to the Use of the Estate.[Pg 133]
With Abasement of Heart, I may now say, that
sometimes, as I have sat in a Meeting, with my Heart exercised toward that
awful Being, who respecteth not Persons nor Colours, and have looked upon this
Lad, I have felt that all was not clear in my Mind respecting him; and as I
have attended to this Exercise, and fervently sought the Lord, it hath appeared
to me, that I should make some Restitution, but in what Way I saw not till
lately; when, being under some Concern that I may be resigned to go on a Visit
to some Part of the West-Indies, and under close Engagement of Spirit,
seeking to the Lord for Counsel herein, that of my joining in the Sale
aforesaid, came heavily upon me; and my Mind, for a Time, was covered with
Darkness and Sorrow; and, under this sore Affliction, my Heart was softened to
receive Instruction: And here I first saw, that, as I had been one of the two
Executors, who had sold this Lad nine Years longer than is common for our own
Children to serve, so I should now offer a Part of my Substance to redeem the
last Half of that nine Years; but, as the Time was not yet come, I executed a
Bond, binding me and my Executors to pay to the Man, he was sold to, what, to
candid Men, might appear equitable for the last four Years and a Half of his
Time, in case the said Youth should be living, and in a Condition likely to
provide comfortably for himself.
The ninth Day of the tenth Month, 1769. My Heart
hath often been deeply afflicted under a Feeling I have had, that the Standard
of pure Righteousness is not lifted up to the People by us, as a Society, in
that Clearness which it might have been, had we been so faithful to the
Teachings of Christ as we ought to have been: And, as my Mind hath been inward
to the Lord, the Purity of Christ's Government hath been opened in my
Understanding; and, under this Exercise, that of Friends being active in civil
Society, in putting Laws in force which are not agreeable to the Purity of
Righteousness, hath, for several Years, been an increasing Burthen upon me;
having felt, in the Openings of universal Love, that where a People, convinced
of the Truth of the inward Teachings of Christ, are active in putting Laws in
Execution which[Pg 134] are not consistent
with pure Wisdom, it hath a necessary Tendency to bring Dimness over their
Minds: And, as my Heart hath been thus exercised, and a tender Sympathy in me
toward my Fellow-members, I have, within a few Months past, in several Meetings
for Discipline, expressed my Concern on this Subject.
CHAPTER X
His preparing to visit Friends in England—His embarking at Chester, in
Company with Samuel Emlen, in a Ship bound to
London—His deep Exercise, in observing the Difficulties and Hardships the
common Sailors are exposed to—Considerations on the Dangers to which
Youth are exposed, in being trained to a sea-faring Life; and its Inconsistency
with a pious Education—His Thoughts in a Storm at Sea: With many
instructive Contemplations on the Voyage—And his Arrival at London
Having been some Time under a religious Concern to
prepare for crossing the Seas, in order to visit Friends in the northern Parts
of England, and more particularly Yorkshire; after weighty
Consideration, I thought it expedient to inform Friends, at our Monthly-meeting
at Burlington, of it; who, having Unity with me therein, gave me a
Certificate; and I afterward communicated the same to our Quarterly-meeting,
and they likewise certified their Concurrence therewith. Some Time after which,
at the general Spring-meeting of Ministers and Elders, I thought it my Duty to
acquaint them of the religious Exercise which attended my Mind; with which they
likewise signified their Unity by a Certificate, dated the twenty-fourth Day of
the third Month, 1772, directed to Friends in Great-Britain.
In the fourth Month following, I thought the Time
was come for me to make some Enquiry for a suitable Conveyance; being
apprehensive that, as my Concern was principally toward the northern Parts of England,
it would be most proper to go in a Vessel bound to Liverpool or Whitehaven:
And, while I was at Philadelphia, deliberating on this Occasion, I was
informed, that my beloved Friend, Samuel Emlen, jun.,
intending to go to London, and having taken a Passage for himself in the
Cabbin of a Ship, called Mary and Elizabeth, of which[Pg
136] James Sparks was Master, and John Head, of the City of Philadelphia, one of the
Owners; and I feeling a Draught in my Mind toward the Steerage of the same
Ship, went first and opened to Samuel the Feeling I
had concerning it.
My beloved Friend appeared glad that I had
Thoughts of going in the Vessel with him, though my Prospect was toward the
Steerage; and he, offering to go with me, we went on board, first in the
Cabbin, a commodious Room, and then into the Steerage; where we sat down on a
Chest, the Sailors being busy about us: Then the Owner of the Ship came, and
sat down with us.
Here my Mind was turned toward Christ, the
heavenly Counsellor; and I feeling, at this Time, my own Will subjected, my
Heart was contrite before him.
A Motion was made, by the Owner, to go and sit in
the Cabbin, as a Place more retired; but I felt easy to leave the Ship, and
made no Agreement as to a Passage in her; but told the Owner, if I took a
Passage in the Ship, I believed it would be in the Steerage; but did not say
much as to my Exercise in that Case.
I went to my Lodgings, and soon after went to Bed,
and my Mind was under a deep Exercise before the Lord; whose helping Hand was
manifested to me as I slept that Night, and his Love strengthened my Heart. In
the Morning I went with two Friends on board the Vessel again; and, after a
short Time spent therein, I went, with Samuel Emlen,
to the House of the Owner; to whom, in the Hearing of Samuel
only, I opened my Exercise, in relation to a Scruple with regard to a Passage
in the Cabbin.
After this I agreed for a Passage in the Steerage;
and, hearing in Town that Joseph White had a Desire
to see me, I felt the Reviving of a Desire to see him, and went then to his
House, and next Day Home; where I tarried two Nights; and then, early in the
Morning, I parted with my Family, under a Sense of the humbling Hand of God
upon me; and going to Philadelphia, had Opportunity with several of my
beloved Friends; who appeared to be concerned for me, on Account of the
unpleasant Situation of that Part of the Vessel where I was likely to lodge.[Pg 137]
Having stayed two Nights in Philadelphia, I
went the next Day to Derby Monthly-meeting; where, through the Strength
of divine Love, my Heart was enlarged toward the Youth then present; under
which I was helped to labour in some Tenderness of Spirit. Then, lodging at William Horne's, I, with one Friend, went to Chester;
where, meeting with Samuel Emlen, we went on board,
the first Day of the fifth Month, 1772; and, as I sat down alone, on a Seat on
the Deck, I felt a satisfactory Evidence that my Proceedings were not in my own
Will, but under the Power of the Cross of Christ.
Seventh Day of the fifth Month. We have had rough
Weather mostly since I came on board; and the Passengers, James
Reynolds, John Till-Adams, Sarah
Logan and her hired Maid, and John Bispham,
were all sea-sick, more or less, at Times; from which Sickness, through the
tender Mercies of my heavenly Father, I have been preserved; my Afflictions now
being of another Kind.
There appeared an Openness in the Minds of the
Master of the Ship and of the Cabbin-Passengers toward me: We were often
together on the Deck, and sometimes in the Cabbin.
My Mind, through the merciful Help of the Lord,
hath been preserved in a good Degree, watchful and inward; and I have, this
Day, great Cause to be thankful, in that I remain to feel Quietness of Mind.
As my lodging in the Steerage, now near a Week,
hath afforded me sundry Opportunities of seeing, hearing, and feeling, with
respect to the Life and Spirit of many poor Sailors, an inward Exercise of Soul
hath attended me, in regard to placing our Children and Youth where they may be
likely to be exampled and instructed in the pure Fear of the Lord; and I, being
much amongst the Seamen, have, from a Motion of Love, sundry Times taken
Opportunities, with one of them at a Time alone, and in a free Conversation
laboured to turn their Minds toward the Fear of the Lord: And this Day we had a
Meeting in the Cabbin, where my Heart was contrite under a Feeling of divine
Love.[Pg 138]
Now, concerning Lads being trained up as Seamen; I
believe a Communication from one Part of the World to some other Parts of it,
by Sea, is, at Times, consistent with the Will of our heavenly Father; and to
educate some Youth in the Practice of sailing, I believe, may be right: But how
lamentable is the present Corruption of the World! how impure are the Channels
through which Trade hath a Conveyance! how great is that Danger, to which poor
Lads are now exposed, when placed on shipboard to learn the Art of sailing!
O! that all may take Heed and beware of
Covetousness! O that all may learn of Christ, who was meek and low of Heart! Then,
in faithfully following him, he will teach us to be content with Food and
Raiment, without respect to the Customs or Honours of this World.
Men, thus redeemed, will feel a tender Concern for
their Fellow-creatures, and a Desire that those in the lowest Stations may be
assisted and encouraged; and, where Owners of Ships attain to the perfect Law
of Liberty, and are Doers of the Word, these will be blessed in their Deeds.
Rising to work in the Night is not commonly
pleasant in any case; but, in dark rainy Nights, it is very disagreeable, even
though each Man were furnished with all Conveniences: But, if Men must go out
at Midnight, to help manage the Ship in the Rain, and, having small Room to
sleep and lay their Garments in, are often beset to furnish themselves for the
Watch, their Garments or something relating to their Business being wanting and
not easily found, when, from the Urgency occasioned by high Winds, they are
hastened and called up suddenly, here is a Trial of Patience on the poor
Sailors and the poor Lads their Companions.
If, after they have been on Deck several Hours in
the Night, and come down into the Steerage soaking wet, and are so close stowed
that proper Convenience for change of Garment is not easily come at, but for
Want of proper Room, their wet Garments are thrown in Heaps, and sometimes,
through much crouding, are trodden under Foot in going to their Lodgings and
getting out of[Pg 139] them, and they
have great Difficulties, at Times, each one to find his own, here are Trials on
the poor Sailors.
Now, as I have been with them in my Lodge, my
Heart hath often yearned for them, and tender Desires have been raised in me,
that all Owners and Masters of Vessels may dwell in the Love of God, and
therein act uprightly; and, by seeking less for Gain, and looking carefully to
their Ways, may earnestly labour to remove all Cause of Provocation from the
poor Seamen, either to fret or use Excess of Strong-drink; for, indeed, the
poor Creatures, at Times, in the Wet and Cold, seem to apply to Strong-drink to
supply the Want of other Convenience.
Great Reformation in the World is wanting; and the
Necessity of it, amongst these who do Business on great Waters, hath, at this
Time, been abundantly opened before me.
The eighth Day of the fifth Month. This Morning
the Clouds gathered, the Wind blew strong from South-eastward, and before Noon
increased to that Degree that Sailing appeared dangerous. The Seamen then bound
up some of their Sails, and took down some; and, the Storm increasing, they put
the Dead-lights, so called, into the Cabbin-Windows, and lighted a Lamp as at
Night.
The Wind now blew vehemently, and the Sea wrought
to that Degree, that an awful Seriousness prevailed in the Cabbin, in which I
spent, I believe, about seventeen Hours; for I believed the poor wet toiling
Seamen had Need of all the Room in the crouded Steerage, and the
Cabbin-Passengers had given me frequent Invitations.
They ceased now from Sailing, and put the Vessel
in the Posture called, lying-to.
My Mind, in this Tempest, through the gracious
Assistance of the Lord, was preserved in a good Degree of Resignation; and I
felt, at Times, a few Words in his Love to my Ship-mates, in regard to the
All-sufficiency of him who formed the great Deep, and whose Care is so
extensive, that a Sparrow falls not without his Notice; and thus, in a tender
Frame of Mind, spake to them of the Necessity of our yielding, in true
Obedience, to the[Pg 140]
Instructions of our heavenly Father, who sometimes, through Adversities,
intendeth our Refinement.
About eleven at Night I went out on the Deck, when
the Sea wrought exceedingly, and the high-foaming Waves, all round about, had
in some Sort the Appearance of Fire, but did not give much, if any, Light.
The Sailor, then at the Helm, said he lately saw a
Corposant at the Head of the Mast.
About this Time I observed the Master of the Ship
ordered the Carpenter to keep on the Deck; and, though he said little, I
apprehended his Care was, that the Carpenter, with his axe, might be in
Readiness, in case of any Extremity.
Soon after this, the Vehemency of the Wind abated;
and, before Morning, they again put the Ship under Sail.
The tenth Day of the Month, and first of the Week,
it being fine Weather, we had a Meeting in the Cabbin, at which most of the
Seamen were present: This Meeting to me was a strengthening Time.
The thirteenth Day of the Month. As I continue to
lodge in the Steerage, I feel an Openness this Morning, to express something
farther of the State of my Mind, in Respect to poor Lads bound Apprentice to
learn the Art of Sailing. As I believe Sailing is of some Use in the World, a
Labour of Soul attends me, that the pure Counsel of Truth may be humbly waited
for in this Case, by all concerned in the Business of the Seas.
A pious Father, whose Mind is exercised for the
everlasting Welfare of his Child, may not, with a peaceable Mind, place him out
to an Employment amongst a People, whose common Course of Life is manifestly
corrupt and prophane; so great is the present Defect amongst Seafaring Men, in
regard to Piety and Virtue: And, through an abundant Traffic, and many Ships of
War, so many People are employed on the Sea, that this Subject of placing Lads
to the Employment appears very weighty.
Prophane Examples are very corrupting, and very
forcible. And as my Mind, Day after Day, and Night after Night, hath been
affected with a sympathizing Tenderness toward poor Children, put to the
Employment[Pg 141] of Sailors, I have
sometimes had weighty Conversation with the Sailors in the Steerage, who were
mostly respectful to me, and more and more so the longer I was with them: They
mostly appeared to take kindly what I said to them; but their Minds have appeared
to be so deeply impressed with that almost universal Depravity amongst Sailors,
that the poor Creatures, in their Answers to me on this Subject, have revived
in my Remembrance that of the degenerate Jews a little before the
Captivity, as repeated by Jeremiah the Prophet,
"There is no Hope."
Now, under this Exercise, a Sense of the Desire of
outward Gain prevailing amongst us hath felt grievous, and a strong Call to the
professed Followers of Christ hath been raised in me, that all may take Heed,
lest, through loving this present World, they be found in a continued Neglect
of Duty, with respect to a faithful Labour for a Reformation.
Silence, as to every Motion proceeding from the
Love of Money, and an humble Waiting upon God to know his Will concerning us,
has now appeared necessary: He alone is able to strengthen us to dig deep, to
remove all which lies between us and the safe Foundation, and so direct us in
our outward Employments, that pure universal Love may shine forth in our
Proceedings.
Desires arising from the Spirit of Truth are pure
Desires; and when a Mind, divinely opened toward a young Generation, is made
sensible of corrupting Examples, powerfully working, and extensively spreading
amongst them, how moving is the Prospect!
The sixteenth Day of the Month. Wind for several
Days past often high, what the Sailors call squally, rough Sea and frequent
Rains. This last Night a very trying Night to the poor Seamen: The Water, chief
Part of the Night, running over the main Deck, and sometimes Breaking-waves
came on the Quarter-deck. The latter Part of the Night, as I lay in Bed, my
Mind was humbled under the Power of divine Love; and Resignedness to the great
Creator of the Earth and Seas, renewedly wrought in me; whose fatherly Care
over his Children[Pg 142]
felt precious to my Soul: And Desires were now renewed in me, to embrace every
Opportunity of being inwardly acquainted with the Hardships and Difficulties of
my Fellow-creatures, and to labour in his Love for the spreading of pure
universal Righteousness on the Earth. The Opportunities were frequent of
hearing Conversation amongst the Sailors, in respect to the Voyages to Africa,
and the Manner of bringing the deeply-oppressed Slaves into our Islands. The
Thoughts of their Condition, frequently in Chains and Fetters on board the
Vessels, with Hearts loaded with Grief, under the Apprehensions of miserable
Slavery; my Mind was frequently opened to meditate on these Things.
On the seventeenth Day of the Month, and first of
the Week, we had a Meeting in the Cabbin; to which the Seamen generally came.
My Spirit was contrite before the Lord; whose Love, at this Time, affected my
Heart.
This Afternoon I felt a tender Sympathy of Soul
with my poor Wife and Family left behind; in which State, my Heart was enlarged
in Desires that they may walk in that humble Obedience wherein the everlasting
Father may be their Guide and Support, through all the Difficulties in this
World; and a Sense of that gracious Assistance, through which my Mind hath been
strengthened to take up the Cross and leave them, to travel in the Love of
Truth, hath begotten Thankfulness in my Heart to our great Helper.
On the twenty-fourth Day of the Month, and first
of the Week, a clear pleasant Morning: And, as I sat on Deck, I felt a Reviving
in my Nature; which, through much rainy Weather and high Winds, being shut up
in a close unhealthy Air, was weakened.
Several Nights of late I felt Breathing difficult;
so that a little after the rising of the second Watch (which is about Midnight)
I got up, and stood, I believe, near an Hour, with my Face near the Hatchway,
to get the fresh Air at the small Vacancy under the Hatch-door; which is
commonly shut down, partly to keep out Rain, and sometimes to keep the
Breaking-waves from dashing into the Steerage.[Pg
143]
I may, with Thankfulness to the Father of Mercies,
acknowledge, that, in my present weak State, my Mind hath been supported to
bear the Affliction with Patience; and have looked at the present Dispensation
as a Kindness from the great Father of Mankind, who, in this my floating
Pilgrimage, is in some Degree bringing me to feel that, which many thousands of
my Fellow-creatures often suffer in a greater Degree.
My Appetite failing, the Trial hath been the
heavier; and I have felt tender Breathings in my Soul after God, the Fountain
of Comfort, whose inward Help hath supplied, at Times, the Want of outward
Convenience: And strong Desires have attended me, that his Family, who are
acquainted with the Movings of his holy Spirit, may be so redeemed from the
Love of Money, and from that Spirit in which Men seek Honour one of another,
that in all Business, by Sea or Land, we may constantly keep in View the coming
of his Kingdom on Earth, as it is in Heaven; and, by faithfully following this
safe Guide, shew forth Examples, tending to lead out of that under which the
Creation groans!
This Day we had a Meeting in the Cabbin; in which
I was favoured in some Degree to experience the fulfilling of that Saying of
the Prophet, "The Lord hath been a Strength to the Poor, a Strength to the
Needy in their Distress;" for which, my Heart is bowed in Thankfulness
before him!
The twenty-eighth Day of the Month.—Wet Weather of
late, small Winds inclining to Calms: Our Seamen have cast a Lead, I suppose
about one hundred Fathoms, but find no Bottom: Foggy Weather this Morning.
Through the Kindness of the great Preserver of Men
my Mind remains quiet; and a Degree of Exercise, from Day to Day, attends me,
that the pure peaceable Government of Christ may spread and prevail amongst
Mankind.
The leading on of a young Generation in that pure
Way in which the Wisdom of this World hath no Place; where Parents and Tutors,
humbly waiting for the heavenly Counsellor, may example them in the Truth, as
it is in[Pg 144] Jesus;—this, for
several Days, hath been the Exercise of my Mind. O! how safe, how quiet, is
that State, where the Soul stands in pure Obedience to the Voice of Christ, and
a watchful Care is maintained not to follow the Voice of the Stranger!
Here Christ is felt to be our Shepherd, and, under
his Leading, People are brought to a Stability; and, where he doth not lead
forward, we are bound, in the Bonds of pure Love, to stand still and wait upon
him. In the Love of Money, and in the Wisdom of this World, Business is proposed;
then the Urgency of Affairs pushes forward; nor can the Mind in this State,
discern the good and perfect Will of God concerning us.
The Love of God is manifested in graciously
calling us to come out of that which stands in Confusion: But, if we bow not in
the Name of Jesus; if we give not up those Prospects of Gain, which, in the
Wisdom of this World, are open before us, but say, in our Hearts, I must needs
go on, and, in going on, I hope to keep as near to the Purity of Truth as the
Business before me will admit of; here the Mind remains entangled, and the
Shining of the Light of Life into the Soul is obstructed.
In an entire Subjection of our Wills the Lord
graciously opens a Way for his People, where all their Wants are bounded by his
Wisdom; and here we experience the Substance of what Moses the Prophet
figured out in the Water of Separation, as a Purification from Sin.
Esau is mentioned as a Child red all over, like a hairy Garment: In Esau
is represented the natural Will of Man. In preparing the Water of Separation, a
red Heifer, without Blemish, on which there had been no Yoke, was to be slain,
and her Blood sprinkled by the Priest seven Times toward the Tabernacle of the
Congregation; then her Skin, her Flesh, and all pertaining to her, were to be
burnt without the Camp; and of her Ashes the Water was prepared. Thus the
crucifying the old Man, or natural Will, is represented; and hence comes a
Separation from that carnal Mind, which is Death.
"He who toucheth the dead Body of a Man, and
purifieth not himself with the Water of Separation, he[Pg
145] defileth the Tabernacle of the Lord; he is
unclean." Numb. xix. 13.
If any, through the Love of Gain, go forth into
Business, wherein they dwell as amongst the Tombs, and touch the Bodies of
those who are dead; if these, through the infinite Love of God feel the Power
of the Cross of Christ to crucify them to the World, and therein learn humbly
to follow the divine Leader;—here is the Judgment of this World;—here the
Prince of this World is cast out.
The Water of Separation is felt; and, though we
have been amongst the Slain, and, through the Desire of Gain, have touched the
dead Body of a Man, yet, in the purifying Love of Christ, we are washed in the
Water of Separation; are brought off from that Business, from that Gain, and
from that Fellowship, which was not agreeable to his holy Will: And I have felt
a renewed Confirmation, in the Time of this Voyage, that the Lord, in his
infinite Love, is calling to his visited Children, so to give up all outward Possessions
and Means of getting Treasures, that his holy Spirit may have free Course in
their Hearts, and direct them in all their Proceedings.
To feel the Substance pointed at in this Figure,
Man must know Death, as to his own Will.
"No Man can see God, and live." This was
spoken by the Almighty to Moses the Prophet, and opened by our blessed
Redeemer.
As Death comes on our own Wills, and a new Life is
formed in us, the Heart is purified and prepared to understand clearly.
"Blessed are the Pure in Heart; for they shall see God." In Purity of
Heart the Mind is divinely opened to behold the Nature of universal
Righteousness, or the Righteousness of the Kingdom of God. "No Man hath
seen the Father, save he that is of God; he hath seen the Father."
The natural Mind is active about the Things of
this Life; and, in this natural Activity, Business is proposed, and a Will in
us to go forward in it. As long as this natural Will remains unsubjected, so
long there remains an Obstruction against the Clearness of divine Light
operating in us; but when we love God with all our Heart,[Pg
146] and with all our Strength, then in this Love, we love
our Neighbours as ourselves; and a Tenderness of Heart is felt toward all
People for whom Christ died, even such who, as to outward Circumstances, may be
to us as the Jews were to the Samaritans. Who is my Neighbour?
See this Question answered by our Saviour, Luke x. 30.
In this Love we can say, that Jesus is the Lord;
and the Reformation in our Souls is manifested in a full Reformation of our
Lives, wherein all Things are new, and all Things are of God; 2 Cor. v.
18. in this the Desire of Gain is subjected.
When Employment is honestly followed in the Light
of Truth, and People become diligent in Business, "fervent in Spirit,
serving the Lord;" Rom. xii. 11. here the Name is opened:
"This is the Name by which he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jerem. xxiii. 6. O! how precious is this Name! it
is like Ointment poured out. The chaste Virgins are in Love with the Redeemer;
and, for the promoting his peaceable Kingdom in the World, are content to
endure Hardness, like good Soldiers; and are so separated in Spirit from the
Desire of Riches, that in their Employments they become extensively careful to
give none Offence, neither to Jews nor Heathen, nor the Church of
Christ.
On the thirty-first Day of the Month, and first of
the Week, we had a Meeting in the Cabbin, with near all the Ship's Company; the
Whole being near thirty. In this Meeting, the Lord, in Mercy, favoured us with
the Extendings of his Love.
The second Day of the sixth Month. Last Evening
the Seamen found Bottom at about seventy Fathoms.
This Morning, fair Wind, and pleasant. As I sat on
Deck, my Heart was overcome with the Love of Christ, and melted into Contrition
before him; and, in this State, the Prospect of that Work, to which I have felt
my Mind drawn when in my native Land, being in some Degree opened before me, I
felt like a little Child: and my Cries were put up to my heavenly Father for
Preservation, that, in a humble Dependence on him, my Soul might be[Pg 147] strengthened in his Love,
and kept inwardly waiting for his Counsel.
This Afternoon we saw that Part of England
called the Lizard.
Some Dunghill-fowls yet remained of those the
Passengers took for their Sea-store; I believe about fourteen perished in the
Storms at Sea, by the Waves breaking over the Quarter-deck; and a considerable
Number with Sickness, at different Times. I observed the Cocks crew, coming
down the Delaware, and while we were near the Land; but afterward I
think I did not hear one of them crow till we came near the Land in England,
when they again crowed a few Times.
In observing their dull Appearance at Sea, and the
pining Sickness of some of them, I often remembered the Fountain of Goodness,
who gave Being to all Creatures, and whose Love extends to that of caring for
the Sparrows; and believe, where the Love of God is verily perfected, and the
true Spirit of Government watchfully attended to, a Tenderness toward all
Creatures made subject to us will be experienced, and a Care felt in us, that
we do not lessen that Sweetness of Life, in the animal Creation, which the
great Creator intends for them in our Government.
The fourth Day of the Month. About Noon a Pilot
came off from Dover; where my beloved Friend, Samuel
Emlen, went on Shore, and thence to London; but I felt easy in
staying in the Ship.
The seventh Day of the Month, and first of the
Week. Clear Morning; we lay at Anchor for the Tide, and had a Parting-meeting
with the Ship's Company; in which my Heart was enlarged in a fervent Concern
for them, that they may come to experience Salvation through Christ. We had a
Head-Wind up the Thames; lay sometimes at Anchor; saw many Ships
passing, and some at Anchor near; and had large Opportunity of feeling the
Spirit in which the poor bewildered Sailors too generally live.—That lamentable
Degeneracy, which so much prevails on the People employed on the Seas, so
affected my Heart, that I cannot easily convey the Feeling I have had to
another.
CHAPTER XI
His attending the Yearly-meeting in London; and, after it, proceeding towards
Yorkshire, visiting several Quarterly and other Meetings in the Counties of
Hertford, Warwick, Oxford, Nottingham, York, and Westmoreland; and
thence again into Yorkshire, and to the City of York; with some
instructive Thoughts and Observations, and Letters on divers Subjects—His
hearing of the Decease of William Hunt; and
some Account of him—His Sickness at York; and End of his
Pilgrimage there
On the eighth Day of the sixth Month, 1772, we
landed at London; and I went straightway to the Yearly-meeting of
Ministers and Elders, which had been gathered (I suppose) about half an Hour.
In this Meeting my Mind was humbly contrite: In
the Afternoon the Meeting of Business opened; which, by Adjournments, held near
a Week. In these Meetings I often felt a living Concern for the Establishment
of Friends in the pure Life of Truth; and my Heart was enlarged in the Meeting
of Ministers, Meeting of Business, and in several Meetings of publick Worship;
and I felt my Mind united in true Love to the faithful Labourers now gathered
at this Yearly-meeting.
On the fifteenth Day of the Month, I left London,
and went to a Quarterly-meeting at Hertford.
The first Day of the seventh Month. I have been at
Quarterly-meetings at Sherrington, Northampton, Banbury,
and Shipston; and had sundry Meetings between: My Mind hath been bowed
under a Sense of divine Goodness manifested amongst us; my Heart hath been often
enlarged in true Love, both amongst Ministers and Elders, and in publick
Meetings; that through the Lord's Goodness, I believe it hath been a fresh
Visitation to many, in particular to the Youth.
The seventeenth Day of the Month. Was this Day[Pg 149] at Birmingham:
Have been at Meetings at Coventry, Warwick, in Oxfordshire,
and sundry other Places; have felt the humbling Hand of the Lord upon me; and
through his tender Mercies find Peace in the Labours I have gone through.
The twenty-sixth Day of the Month. I have
continued travelling northward, visiting Meetings: Was this Day at Nottingham;
which, in the Forenoon especially, was, through divine Love, a Heart-tendering
Season: Next Day had a Meeting in a Friend's House with Friends Children and
some Friends; this, through the strengthening Arm of the Lord, was a Time to be
thankfully remembered.
The second Day of the eighth Month, and first of
the Week. Was this Day at Sheffield, a large inland Town: Have been at
sundry Meetings last Week; and feel inward Thankfulness for that divine
Support, which hath been graciously extended to me.
The ninth Day of the Month, and first of the Week,
was at Rushworth: Have lately passed through some painful Labour; but
have been comforted, under a Sense of that divine Visitation, which I feel
extended toward many young People.
The sixteenth Day of the Month, and first of the
Week, I was at Settle: It hath of late been a Time of inward Poverty;
under which my Mind hath been preserved in a watchful tender State, feeling for
the Mind of the holy Leader, and I find Peace in the Labours I have passed
through.
I have felt great Distress of Mind, since I came
on this Island, on Account of the Members of our Society being mixed with the
World in various Sorts of Business and Traffick, carried on in impure Channels.
Great is the Trade to Africa for Slaves! and, in loading these Ships,
abundance of People are employed in the Factories; amongst whom are many of our
Society. Friends, in early Times, refused, on a religious Principle, to make,
or trade in, Superfluities; of which we have many large Testimonies on Record;
but, for Want of Faithfulness, some gave way; even some, whose Examples were of[Pg 150] Note in our Society; and
from thence others took more Liberty. Members of our Society worked in
Superfluities, and bought and sold them; and thus Dimness of Sight came over
many: At length, Friends got into the Use of some Superfluities in Dress, and
in the Furniture of their Houses; and this hath spread from less to more, till
Superfluity of some Kinds is common amongst us.
In this declining State, many look at the Example
one of another, and too much neglect the pure Feeling of Truth. Of late Years,
a deep Exercise hath attended my Mind, that Friends may dig deep, may carefully
cast forth the loose Matter, and get down to the Rock, the sure Foundation, and
there hearken to that divine Voice which gives a clear and certain Sound; and I
have felt in that which doth not deceive, that if Friends, who have known the
Truth, keep in that Tenderness of Heart, where all Views of outward Gain are
given up, and their Trust is only on the Lord, he will graciously lead some to
be Patterns of deep Self-denial in Things relating to Trade and
Handicraft-labour; and that some, who have plenty of the Treasures of this
World, will example in a plain frugal Life, and pay Wages, to such as they may
hire, more liberally than is now customary in some Places.
The twenty-third Day of the Month. Was this Day at
Preston-Patrick, and had a comfortable Meeting. I have, several Times,
been entertained at the Houses of Friends, who had sundry Things about them
which had the Appearance of outward Greatness; and, as I have kept inward, Way
hath opened for Conversation with such in private, in which Divine Goodness
hath favoured us together with heart-tendering Times.
I rested a few Days, in Body and Mind, with our
Friend Jane Crosfield; who was once in America:
Was, on the sixth Day of the Week, at Kendal in Westmoreland; and
at Greyrig Meeting the thirtieth Day of the Month, and first of the
Week.
I have known Poverty of late, and been graciously
supported to keep in the Patience; and am thankful, under a Sense of the
Goodness of the Lord toward those that are of a contrite Spirit.[Pg 151]
The sixth Day of the ninth Month, and first of the
Week. Was this Day at Counterside, a large Meeting-house, and very full;
and, through the Opening of pure Love, it was a strengthening Time to me, and
(I believe) to many more.
The thirteenth Day of the Month. Was this Day at Richmond,
a small Meeting; but, the Town's People coming in, the House was crowded: It
was a Time of heavy Labour; and (I believe) was a profitable Meeting.
At this Place I heard that my Kinsman William Hunt, from North-Carolina, who was on a
religious Visit to Friends in England, departed this Life on the ninth
Day of the ninth Month, Instant, of the Small-pox, at Newcastle.—He
appeared in the Ministry when a Youth; and his Labours therein were of good
Savour. He travelled much in that Work in America. I once heard him say,
in publick Testimony, that his Concern was (in that Visit) to be devoted to the
Service of Christ so fully, that he might not spend one Minute in pleasing
himself: Which Words, joined with his Example, were a Means of stirring up the
pure Mind in me.
On this Visit to England I have felt some
Instructions sealed on my Mind, which I am concerned to leave in Writing, for
the Use of such as are called to the Station of a Minister of Christ.
Christ being the Prince of Peace, and we being no
more than Ministers, I find it necessary for us, not only to feel a Concern in
our first going forth, but to experience the renewing thereof, in the
Appointment of Meetings.
I felt a Concern, in America, to prepare
for this Voyage; and, being, through the Mercy of God, brought safe here, my
Heart was like a Vessel that wanted Vent; and for several Weeks, at first, when
my Mouth was opened in Meetings, it often felt like the raising of a Gate in a
Water-course, where a Weight of Water lay upon it; and in these Labours there
appeared a fresh Visitation to many, especially the Youth; but sometimes, after
this, I felt empty and poor, and yet felt a Necessity to appoint Meetings.
In this State I was exercised to abide in the pure
Life[Pg 152] of Truth, and in
all my Labours to watch diligently against the Motions of Self in my own Mind.
I have frequently felt a Necessity to stand up,
when the Spring of the Ministry was low; and to speak from the Necessity, in
that which subjecteth the Will of the Creature; and herein I was united with
the suffering Seed, and found inward Sweetness with these mortifying Labours.
As I have been preserved in a watchful Attention
to the divine Leader, under these Dispensations, Enlargement at Times hath
followed, and the Power of Truth hath risen higher, in some Meetings, than I
ever knew it before through me.
Thus I have been more and more instructed, as to
the Necessity of depending, not upon a Concern which I felt in America,
to come on a Visit to England, but upon the fresh Instructions of
Christ, the Prince of Peace, from Day to Day.
Now, of late, I felt a Stop in the Appointment of
Meetings, not wholly, but in Part; and I do not feel Liberty to appoint them so
quick one after another as I have heretofore.
The Work of the Ministry being a Work of divine
Love, I feel that the Openings thereof are to be waited for, in all our
Appointments.
O! how deep is divine Wisdom! Christ puts forth
his Ministers, and goeth before them: And O! how great is the Danger of
departing from the pure Feeling of that which leadeth safely!
Christ knoweth the State of the People; and, in
the pure Feeling of the Gospel-Ministry, their States are opened to his
Servants.
Christ knoweth when the Fruit-bearing Branches
themselves have Need of purging.
O! that these Lessons may be remembered by me! and
that all who appoint Meetings may proceed in the pure Feeling of Duty.
I have sometimes felt a Necessity to stand up; but
that Spirit which is of the World hath so much prevailed in many, and the pure
Life of Truth been so pressed[Pg 153]
down, that I have gone forward, not as one travelling in a Road cast up and
well prepared, but as a Man walking through a Miry place, in which are Stones
here and there, safe to step on, but so situated, that, one Step being taken,
Time is necessary to see where to step next.
Now I find that, in the pure Obedience, the Mind
learns Contentment, in appearing weak and foolish to that Wisdom which is of
the World; and in these lowly Labours, they who stand in a low Place, rightly
exercised under the Cross, will find Nourishment.
The Gift is pure; and, while the Eye is single in
attending thereto, the Understanding is preserved clear: Self is kept out. We
rejoice in filling up that which remains of the Afflictions of Christ, for his
Body's Sake, which is the Church.
The natural Man loveth Eloquence, and many love to
hear eloquent Orations; and, if there is not a careful Attention to the Gift,
Men who have once laboured in the pure Gospel-ministry, growing weary of
Suffering, and ashamed of appearing weak, may kindle a Fire, compass themselves
about with Sparks, and walk in the Light; not of Christ who is under Suffering;
but of that Fire which they, going from the Gift, have kindled; and that in
Hearers, which is gone from the meek suffering State, into the worldly Wisdom,
may be warmed with this Fire, and speak highly of these Labours. That which is
of God gathers to God; and that which is of the World is owned by the World.
In this Journey a Labour hath attended my Mind,
that the Ministers amongst us may be preserved in the meek feeling Life of
Truth, where we may have no Desire but to follow Christ and be with him; that,
when he is under Suffering, we may suffer with him, and never desire to rise up
in Dominion, but as he, by the Virtue of his own Spirit, may raise us.
A few Days after writing these Considerations, our
dear Friend, in the Course of his religious Visits, came to the City of York,
and attended most of the Sittings of the Quarterly-meeting there; but, before
it was over, was[Pg 154] taken ill of the
Small-pox. Our Friend, Thomas Priestman, and others
who attended him, preserved the following Minutes of his Expressions in the
Time of his Sickness and of his Decease.
First-day, the twenty-seventh of the ninth Month,
1772. His Disorder appeared to be the Small-pox.
Second-day. He said he felt the Disorder to affect
his Head, so that he could think little, and but as a Child.
Third-day he uttered the following Prayer.—O Lord
my God! the amazing Horrors of Darkness were gathered around me and covered me
all over, and I saw no Way to go forth; I felt the Depth and Extent of the
Misery of my Fellow-creatures separated from the divine Harmony, and it was
heavier than I could bear, and I was crushed down under it; I lifted up my
Hand, I stretched out my Arm, but there was none to help me; I looked round
about and was amazed; in the Depths of Misery, O Lord! I remembered that thou
art omnipotent, that I had called thee Father, and I felt that I loved thee,
and I was made quiet in thy Will, and I waited for Deliverance from thee; thou
hadst Pity upon me when no Man could help me: I saw that Meekness under
Suffering was shewed to us in the most affecting Example of thy Son, and thou
taughtest me to follow him, and I said, "Thy Will, O Father! be
done."
Fourth-day-morning, being asked how he felt
himself, he meekly answered, I do not know that I have slept this Night, I feel
the Disorder making its Progress, but my Mind is mercifully preserved in
Stillness and Peace: Sometime after he said he was sensible the Pains of Death
must be hard to bear; but, if he escaped them now, he must sometime pass
through them, and he did not know that he could be better prepared, but had no
Will in it. He said he had settled his outward Affairs to his Mind, had taken
Leave of his Wife and Family as never to return, leaving them to the divine
Protection; adding, and though I feel them near to me at this Time, yet I
freely give them up, having a Hope that they will be provided for. And a little
after said, This Trial is made[Pg 155]
easier than I could have thought, my Will being wholly taken away; for if I
were anxious for the Event, it would have been harder; but I am not, and my
Mind enjoys a perfect Calm.
In the Night a young Woman having given him
something to drink, he said, My Child, thou seemest very kind to me, a poor
Creature, the Lord will reward thee for it. A While after he cried out with
great Earnestness of Spirit, O my Father! my Father! and soon after he said, O
my Father! my Father! how comfortable art thou to my Soul in this trying
Season! Being asked if he could take a little Nourishment; after some Pause he
replied, my Child, I cannot tell what to say to it; I seem nearly arrived where
my Soul shall have Rest from all its Troubles. After giving in something to be
inserted in his Journal, he said, I believe the Lord will now excuse me from
Exercises of this Kind; and I see no Work but one, which is to be the last
wrought by me in this World; the Messenger will come that will release me from
all these Troubles; but it must be in the Lord's Time, which I am waiting for.
He said he had laboured to do whatever was required, according to the Ability
received, in the Remembrance of which he had Peace; and, though the Disorder
was strong at Times, and would like a Whirlwind come over his Mind, yet it had
hitherto been kept steady, and centered in everlasting Love; adding, and if
that be mercifully continued, I ask nor desire no more. Another Time he said,
he had long had a view of visiting this Nation, and, sometime before he came,
had a Dream, in which he saw himself in the northern Parts of it, and that the
Spring of the Gospel was opened in him much as in the Beginning of Friends,
such as George Fox and William
Dewsberry, and he saw the different States of the People, as clear as he
had ever seen Flowers in a Garden; but in his going along he was suddenly
stopt, though he could not see for what End; but, looking towards Home, fell
into a Flood of Tears which waked him.
At another Time he said, My Draught seemed
strongest towards the North, and I mentioned, in my own Monthly-meeting,[Pg 156] that attending the
Quarterly-meeting at York, and being there, looked like Home to me.
Fifth-day-night, having repeatedly consented to
take Medicine with a View to settle his Stomach, but without Effect, the
Friend, then waiting on him, said, through Distress, What shall I do now? He
answered with great Composure, Rejoice evermore, and in every Thing give
Thanks; but added a little after, this is sometimes hard to come at.
Sixth-day-morning, he broke forth early in
Supplication on this wise: O Lord! it was thy Power that enabled me to forsake
Sin in my Youth, and I have felt thy Bruises for Disobedience; but, as I bowed
under them, thou didst heal me, continuing a Father and a Friend: I feel thy Power
now, and I beg that, in the approaching trying Moment, thou wilt keep my Heart
stedfast unto thee.——Upon his giving Directions to a Friend concerning some
little Things, she said, I will take Care, but hope thou wilt live to order
them thyself. He replied, My Hope is in Christ; and, though I may seem a little
better, a Change in the Disorder may soon happen, and my little Strength be
dissolved; and, if it so happen, I shall be gathered to my everlasting Rest. On
her saying she did not doubt that, but could not help mourning to see so many
faithful Servants removed at so low a Time, he said, All Good cometh from the
Lord, whose Power is the same, and can work as he sees best. The same Day he
had given Directions about wrapping his Corpse, perceiving a Friend to weep, he
said, I would rather thou wouldst guard against weeping for me, my Sister; I
sorrow not, though I have had some painful Conflicts; but now they seem over,
and Matters well settled, and I look at the Face of my dear Redeemer; for sweet
is his Voice, and his Countenance is comely.
First-day, fourth of the tenth Month, being very
weak, and in general difficult to be understood, he uttered a few Words in
Commemoration of the Lord's Goodness, and added, How tenderly have I been
waited on in this Time of Affliction! in which I may say, in JOB'S Words,
Tedious Days and wearisome Nights are appointed unto[Pg
157] me: And how many are spending their Time and Money in
Vanity and Superfluities, while thousands and tens of thousands want the
Necessaries of Life, who might be relieved by them, and their Distresses, at
such a Time as this, in some degree softened, by the administering suitable
Things!
Second-day-morning, the Apothecary, who appeared
very anxious to assist him, being present, he queried about the Probability of
such a Load of Matter being thrown off his weak Body; and, the Apothecary
making some Remarks implying he thought it might, he spoke with an audible
Voice on this wise:—My Dependance is on the Lord Jesus, who, I trust, will
forgive my Sins, which is all I hope for; and, if it be his Will to raise up
this Body again, I am content; and, if to die, I am resigned; and, if thou
canst not be easy without trying to assist Nature, I submit. After which his
Throat was so much affected, that it was very difficult for him to speak so as
to be understood; and he frequently wrote when he wanted any Thing. About the
second Hour, on Fourth-day Morning, he asked for Pen and Ink, and, at several
Times, with much Difficulty, wrote thus: I believe my being here is in the
Wisdom of Christ; I know not as to Life or Death.
About a Quarter before six, the same Morning, he
seemed to fall into an easy Sleep, which continued about Half an Hour; when,
seeming to awake, he breathed a few Times with more Difficulty, and expired,
without Sigh, Groan, or Struggle!
End of the Journal
