WE having this Oportunity, it was in our Hearts to sig­nifie our Loves in writing a few words unto you, by these our dear Friends, Katherine Norton and Eliz. Cater; and we would have gladly visited you, if we could have gotten a Passage thither; for you have been often in our Remembrance, but in the Will of the Lord we stand, and in that Power that is unlimitted, where neither Earth nor Seas can seperate us from the Lord, nor one from another; but that is known which breathes for the Seed, and wrestles with the Lord, as Jacob did. So dear Friends, to whom the Salutation of our Unfeigned Love reach­eth, dwell at Home, keep in your Tents; for they that dwell at Home, they divide the Spoil, their Enemies shall become subject un­to them. Truly, dear Friends, we should have been glad to have seen your Faces, but in the Will of our Heavenly Father we stand; and we do believe, we should have been comforted together; in the mean time, let us all be diligent to stir up one the other, [Page 8]and to provoke one the other to Love and Good Works: So see that in Gods Vineyard ye may be all found, for they that la­bour there, they do receive their promise, which is an earnest of that Inheritance that God hath prepared for all that love him. So dear Friends, there are but twelve Hours in the Day, in which we may all work; in the Night none can work; there­fore said Christ Jesus, who is the true Light, While ye have the Light, walk in the Light, that ye may be the Children of the Light, lest Darkness come upon you. So dear Friends, in the un­feigned Love of our God (that can never be seperated, as we a­bide faithful) do we write unto you in that Love which first be­got us unto God, and is as precious unto us as ever it was; yea, the desire of our Hearts is, that in this feeling Life ye may all dwell, which is nearer then what can be declared either by Word or Writing: for blessed be the Lord God for evermore, this great and marvellous Light shines through Darkness, and shines in Peoples Hearts; and the Lord is working secretly, though they do little know it. And therefore, Friends, in the Holy Invisible Power of the Immortal Living God, all dwell Low and Humble in that quiet and meek Spirit that thinks no evil, but in Lowliness of Mind esteeming each other in the Lord, and tru­ly denying self; so will you dwell upon the Rock Christ Jesus, who is become our hiding-place, in this our Age and Generation, as he was in Ages past, unto whom we flee in time of Trouble, and we are saved; Everlasting Holy Praises be unto his blessed Name for evermore: So in this weighty Power, Christ Jesus, dwell Low, that you may spread at the Root as Lebanon, and bring forth Fruit upward, to the Praise and Glory of God, unto whom be Everlasting Holy 'Praises forever, and for evermore.

So dearly beloved Friends, Brethren and Sisters, in the true Fellowship of the Gospel, which is the Power of God unto Sal­vation, though this be the Day of Jacob's Troubles, and the Af­flictions of Joseph, yet the Worm Jacob shall rejoyce, and Israel shall dwell safely; and the true Israelite, in whose Heart is found no Guile, the Seed Christ Jesus, the Power of God, which doth and shall reign over all the Dark Powers of the Earth, who hath [Page 9]a Habitation in the Earth, which the Wo from the Lord is to. So in the Life and Power of God, and in this blessed Seed, which never sinned, nor consented to Sin, all dwell, that the Blessing of God eve­ry one may receive, & be kept in true Peace with the Lord, when Time shall be no more; for the Blessing of God is to the Seed; not unto Seeds many, but unto the one seed, Christ, that all may witness the Promise of God fulfilled, That the Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpents Head, in every particular where the Blessing is recei­ved, and where the Promise is Yea & Amen forever; for Caleb & Joshua did enter into the Promised Land, who were of a right Spirit. So, dear Friends, keep your Dominion, and be true to your Testimony, that he may reign whose right it is; for the Devil, the Serpent, hath no right to reign in the Hearts of Peo­ple; but Christ Jesus is come to destroy the Works of the De­vil, and to reign in Righteousness, and to set up his Government; and would have all People to come under his Government (for the Increase of his Government hath no End) that he may reign whose right it is: And here we can say, in the Truth of our Hearts, That the Son of God is come, and hath given us a good Understanding to understand and know the things of God; for the Light is broken forth, which comprehends all the Works of Darkness, and shines in the Hearts of the Righteous; and the Righteous do rejoyce in the Light, which gives the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so walk in the Light, and be encouraged, and you shall have the Light of Life; and stand fast in your Liberty and Freedom wherein Christ Jesus hath made you Free; and that none may be en­tangled with the Yoke of Bondage, which may cause the Just to suffer; For though Trouble and Sorrow may endure for a Night, yet Joy comes in the Morning; and ye shall come to sing the Song of Moses and the Lamb.

So dearly Beloved Friends, be encouraged to keep to the Word of Patience, and the Lord God will keep you in the Day of Tryal, and in the Hour of Temptation; For the Rod of the Wicked will not alwayes lie on the Back of the Righteous; for the Wicked, and they that forget God (who Repent not) shall be [Page 10]turned into Hell; Everlasting Holy Praises be unto the Lord our God forever, and for evermore.

For the Friends of Road-Island.

DEar Friends, in the openness of Gods blessed Life, in which our Unity stands, not only when we are together, but when we are separated; in this is the Salutation of our dear Love unto you, for the Lord our God hath shed his Love abroad in our Hearts, in which love we can truly say, the Lord laid it upon us to visit his Seed amongst you, though we be the least of many of the Lords People, and our Testimony is but little, yet we are sure it is true for the Lord. So in the feeling of God's blessed Life, which cannot be limited, but limits all under it, and brings into true Subjection to do the Will of God: This blessed Life and Love of God, oh our dear Friends, which reaches over Sea and Land, this Love constrains us, as it did to visit you, so to write unto you. Therefore, Friends, dwell together in Unity, and in this precious Love that thinks no Evil, nor is not easily provoked, but endureth all things; this Love seeketh not its own, but every one anothers good. Friends, we desire you, That you would bear with us a little; for we do not write these things unto you because ye know not the Truth, but because you know it; and therefore a necessity is upon us to write unto you, That no Prejudices, nor Evil Surmisings, nor Whisperings, nor Back-bitings be or remain among you; for [Page 11]these things work not the Righteousness of God, but where ye lie in the bottom, though covered over with a Profession of the Truth, yet ye will eat as a Canker: Therefore, Friends, we beseech you to stand in Awe, and in the Fear and Dread of the Lord God, and sin not; for we have known the Terrors of the Lord against Sin in our own Particulars, and also his Mercies, blessed be his Name forever and ever. And therefore, we be­seech you in the Love of God, that ye wait together to feel God's weighty Power, that so the ground Work ye may know, and the top Stone laid in the true Self-denyal, that so as Lambs of one Fold ye may feed together in the low Valleys; Everlasting Glory and Honour be unto the Lord our God for all his Mercies, for they are exceeding great unto the Children of men in this Day of God's Salvation, which is now broken forth, and is large­ly manifested; and the Voice of the Lord is heard, which Voice shakes the Earth terribly, and even removes it out of its place; and not only the Earth, but the Heaven also: And the Lord is gathering in both Professors and Prophane; Everlasting Blessing be to our God, the Work of the Lord prospers: Therefore, Friends, that ye may all be diligent, and Helpers on of this great Work, as Moses, and Aaron and Hurr, that so Miriam's Curse ye may escape.

So the Lord God Almighty, who separated us from our Na­tive Country, and from our dear Relations, the Lord of Hosts is his Name, he hath found us Worthy, with the rest of his Mes­sengers, to bear a Testimony unto his blessed Unchangeable Truth. Therefore, Friends, to the keeping of him who keeps his Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, we do commit the keeping of our Souls and Spirits, with yours also, who are of the Family of God; though we be far seperated, and cannot be­hold the faces one of another, but in the Mystery of the Fellow­ship, which is the Power of God, where the World knows us not, we bid you all Farewell.

Barbadoes, the 11th of the 9th Moneth, 1677.

DEar Friends, Thomas and Alice Curwen, whom I truly ho­nour in the Lord; My Soul is truly comforted in the re­membrance of you, and in the feeling of that Heavenly Life by which you are supported in God's Service amongst us; my Spi­rit doth rejoyce and Praise the Lord our God in your behalf, who hath been very bountiful in visiting of his Seed, by sending of his faithful Servants and Ministers amongst us, to declare God's Way, which is Life, among whom ye shall be numbred. Dear Friends, this is a Salutation of my unfeigned Love and honourable Esteem which lives in my Heart of you in the blessed Truth of God. And Dear Friends, I am not a little comforted, that ye have thought me worthy of a few Lines from you, which I have received; and do desire, that ye may bteathe to the Lord our God for my Preservation in the pure Truth, which is more to be desired than all the World, and the Glory of it. And so, dear Friends, I shall conclude this with my dear Love in the Truth to you both, and remain

An Epistle to Nathaniel Sylvester and his Wife, at Shel­ter-Island, the 6th of the 4th Moneth, 1676.

IF the Truth make us free, then are we free indeed: so let none grieve the Spirit of Truth, that the Power of the Lord may be felt, which keeps all in good Order, and brings the Mind into true subjection to do the Will of God, and not our own Wills; and therefore this is in our Hearts, as a Salutation of our Love, That you who are Parents may stand in the Truth of our God as Pillars, and watch over your Children in the Fear of the Lord, and keep them to Plainness of Speech, and not only you to them, and them to you, but to all people, that so the pure Cross they may come to know, which is the Power of God, that it may rule the Mind, and this will bring them, as they stand and wait in the Simplicity of it, to see and put a­way all their Needless Attire, and so they will grow as tender Plants, and this is our Love in the Simplicity of our Hearts, that ye may stand over them in the Fear and Wisdom of the Lord as Pillars; or else how will ye answer the Lord, who sees the secrets of all Hearts? we do leave it to that of God in you to judge.

To Friends in Gravesend in Long Island.

IN the Sense of God's infinite Presence and holy Power, in which our Life is preserved, and in which our Unity stands with the Father and the Son, and one with another, do we salute you (as we abide faithful to the Lord) and in his blessed [Page 14]Truth, a Measure whereof ye are Witnesses of, and therefore it is in our Hearts, in remembrance of God's living Presence, in which we were well refreshed when we were together, and therefore to stir up your pure Minds, and to put you in remem­brance of the blessed Presence of the Lord; for ye are Witnes­ses how good the Lord is: Oh Dear Friends! the Lord even filled our Cup, and made it for to overflow, which broke our Hearts before the Lord, and one to another; yea, he even cau­sed his living Presence to be manifested amongst us, to our great Satisfaction; Everlasting Holy Praises be returned to his blessed Name forever and for evermore, for his Mercies are exceeding great. And now, Friends, in a living Sense of the Lord's Pre­sence do we write unto you, that ye may feel in reading hereof the Springings of that Life in which we write unto you, that so as Epistles in one anothers Hearts we may be read and known of all men. Oh, dear Friends! abide in the Vine Christ Jesus, that so ye may bring forth precious Fruit to God, and this is a Christian's State indeed; for the Day of the Lord is come very near, and all that bear not this holy Fruit are nigh unto Cursing; Therefore do we dearly desire, that you and all the rest of our dear Friends, with whom we have been well refreshed in God's blessed Truth, may so walk as to adorn the same, and be Possessors of it; that so they that fear not God seeing our Light shining, may confess that ye are of God. Oh Friends! see that your Lamps be trimmed, and that ye have Oyl in your Ves­sels; for the Day of the Lord is near, when he will pour out his Wrath upon the Heathen that know him not, nor call not upon his Name in Righteousness: and therefore, Friends, do we write unto you in a living Sense, and in the Tenderness of our Spirits, that ye may be exercised in the Gift of God, every one in your several places; and none to hide the Lord's Money in the Earth, nor to account him a hard Master; for indeed he is exceeding good unto all that in the Simplicity of their Spirits seek after him, blessed be his Name forever and evermore. And if it be your Freedom, let Friends at New-York and at Flushen (as ye see convenient) see and read this Epistle in their Meeting; for our dear and unfeigned Love is unto you all more [Page 15]than we can here declare: And we cannot but return Praise and Thanksgiving unto the Lord, who raised his own Witness in you to receive our Testimony, though we be the least of many of the Lord's People; and truly the Remembrance thereof is ex­ceeding precious, blessed be the Name of our God forever and for evermore.

We are here waiting for our Passage to Barbadoes; and we desire you, if you have a convenient Oportunity, to let us hear from you, and to write to Barbadoes; for it is our Joy, and the Joy of all that truly Fear the Lord, to hear from one another, and not only to hear, but to feel one another in the Life and Pow­er of God's eternal Truth. So in the true Sense of the Love of our God, wherein our true Comfort and Consolation stands, we remain in the eternal Spirit of Truth, which hath made us free from the Law of Sin and Death; eternal Praises, Praises forever and for evermore be rendred and returned unto the Lord God of our Life, who is worthy forever and for evermore, Amen; in which we remain

To Friends at New-York in New-England.

IN that Love of our God which caused us to leave our Native Country, and all that was dear and near unto us, and come and visit you, and in Obedience we came, and we are well sa­tisfied in the Lord, and refreshed one in another, as you your selves very well know: and we wrote to you from Road-Island, and earnestly desired to hear from you to Barbadoes, which made us greatly to wonder that we did not receive one Line from you; we did expect to hear from you in writing by Lewes Morris; but indeed, we can truly say, That if our Exercise be great, yet the Lord is with us, who will not suffer us to be tryed but he also brings us through by the Arm of his holy Power: and so the Righteous can Rejoyce; Everlasting Holy Praises be unto the Lord our God forever and for evermore. So that which is chiefly in our hearts at this time is, That we may all serve the Lord in Fear, and Rejoyce in Trembling; and with the Holy Man of God we can sing of the Judgments of the Lord, and also of his Mercies; and so shall we all dwell together in the holy Fear low in our measures, where we offer up unto God a living Sacrifice well­pleasing in his sight. So mind our dear Love to Friends at the Gravesend, and Long-Island, and Oyster-Bay; and let them know, that the Love of our God, which is shed abroad in our Hearts, reaches to the Seed, and breathes for the Preservation of its Off-spring, that we may be comforted in our Travails concerning you; for we are very certain, that our Testimony is true for the Lord; for he rewards us an hundred fold into our Bosom; for we have had great Service in this Island, and the Lord hath given unto our two Talents two more, for which our Souls bless the Lord: Let all that feel his holy Power rejoyce [Page 17]with us, for the Work of the Lord goes on and Prospers in this Island since our coming hither; he is turning back the Wisdom of the Wise, though they laid many Baits and Snares for the In­nocent, yet the Snares are broken, and we are delivered; and Truth prospers over the Heads of them that do oppose; Everlast­ing holy Praises be unto the Lord our God, who carries his Lambs in his Arms, and prospers his own Work: Here is a great openness in this Island, and the Lord is working secretly in Peo­ples Hearts, though they little know it who it is that smites them.

So dear Friends, when you have read this Epistle, which is a Salutation of our Unfeigned Love, you may read it in your Mee­ting; and let Friends at Gravesend, Long-Island and Oyster-Bay see it, for you are all as one to us, whose Hearts are Up­right to God. Our dear Love to Matthew Pryer and his Fami­ly, to Mary Willis and her Family, and Alice Crabe and her Family, and to John Dickson and his Family, and to Friends about Flushen and Jamaco, to Hugh Couperwhete and his Wife; and though we cannot remember their Names, yet in that Un­changeable Love that can never be forgotten, in which the Lord refresht our Immortal Souls when we were together, do we dear­ly salute you all, and do bid you all Farewel. And if it be in any of your Hearts to write a few Lines to us, ye may write to Lon­don, for we should be glad to hear from Friends at so great a distance, and how things are; but we do not know at present when we shall go Home; but in the Will of the Lord we stand, who hath given us good Success, Holy Praises be to his Name for­ever and evermore, saith your Friends,

I Cannot pass by, but in Love write to thee, for in Love we came to visit thee, and to invite thee and thy Family to the Meeting; but thou for thy part art like him that was invited to work in the Vineyard, and went not: And as for thy Servants, whom thou callst thy Slaves, I tell thee plainly, thou hast no right to reign over their Conscience in Matters of Worship of the Living God; for thou thy self confessedst, that they had Souls to save as well as we: Therefore, for time to come let them have Li­berty, lest thou be called to give an Account to God for them, as well as for thy self: So in thy old Age chuse rather, as a good Man did, that both thou and thy whole Family may serve the Lord; for I am perswaded, that if they whom thou call'st thy Slaves, be Upright-hearted to God, the Lord God Almighty will set them Free in a way that thou knowest not; for there is none set Free but in Christ Jesus, for all other Freedom will prove but a Bondage,

VVE cannot pass by thee and thy muddy Stuff, but warn thee, because we know the Terrors of the Lord in our selves against Sin, and also his Mercies, though we be the least of many of the Lord's People, which thou calls our Tribe: And we finding thy Paper nothing worth, but for the Fire, there­fore we write a few Lines unto thee to put thee in mind of thy own words in Eliakim Wardall's House, which was more large than we shall here declare; therefore call to mind, and do not eat thy own words, and say, thou was not refreshed by T. C. & A. C. We are Instruments in the hand of the Lord, and thou mayst see thy own Folly and Madness, twisting as the Serpent did; and if not by T. C. & A. C. why did thou desire of us to have a Meeting at Midletown? Thou dark Sodomite, out of thy own Mouth thou art judged and condemned with the Light of Christ Jesus; for thou art turning backward from that of God in thy Conscience, by which the Children of Light are led and guided into all Truth. And like a Serpent, thou art shooting out thy Venom and thy Sting, the Foyson of Asps is under thy Tongue: Thou mayst read thy Condition, thou false Accuser, for thou first desiredst a Meeting at Midletown, to see if the [Page 20]Breaches can be made up, and then thou condemnest us for mee­ting together, with many Lyes and false Accusations, which was like the rest of thy confused Stuff, forged up in thy Paper. And as for our visiting of Friends in New-England, it is like the rest of thy Accusations; for we had been there before we did fee thy face: therefore let thy Mouth be stopt, and draw in thy Venom and Sting, and turn to the Light of God in thy Consci­ence, and deal plainly and honestly with thy own Heart, that if it be possible, thou mayst find Mercy with the Lord; for a Day of Blackness is over thee; for Rebellion is worse than Witchcraft: And if thou findst Mercy with the Lord, thou must pass through the Fire, and the Sword thou must witness to cut down that which is exalted. So in the Plainness and Honesty of our Hearts in the sight of the Lord we have cleared our Consciences, and remain.

This for a Priest at Barbadoes, the 20th of the 11th Moneth, 1676.

THe Day of the Lord's Power is come, and the marvellous Light now shines, and the Lord is making his People a Willing People, according to his Promise; and the Call of the [Page 21]Lord is gone forth to call People out of Darkness into his Mar­vellous Light; and the Trumpet of the Lord is Sounded and Sounding, that People may be awakened out of Sin and Transgres­sion; so I being moved in the true Fear of the living God, and in his holy Power, which works secretly, the Day is come, blessed be the Lord God forever, that that which is revealed in secret must be declared openly, that so all may hear, that many may be turned from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan to the Power of God; for I feeling a necessity to warn you of the Day of your Visitation, thou for thy part beekened to a man to drive us away; but if I had not Freely Declared, as I Freely Received, Wo and Misery would be my Portion; for the Search­er of all Hearts is known, from whom none can be hid: And the Day hastens that all Coverings shall be stript off, but the Spirit of the Lord; and therefore do I write unto thee, to mind the Day of thy Visitation; for it is safe for every one to try all things, and hold fast that which is good. So if it be in thy Heart to prove thy Practice by the Scriptures, as we are willing to prove ours, thou may come to Widow Wickame's the next Sixth day, call'd by the men of thy Generation Friday, being the 20th of this Moneth; for we keep our Doors open, and drive none away by Force and Cruelty, but the desire of our Hearts is to the Lord, That People may so hear, that they may know the thing that belongs to their Everlasting Peace, before the Day of their Vi­sitation be over; For the Spirit of the Lord will not alwayes strive. No more, but my Unfeigned Love to thee and all the Sons and Daughters of men; and the Desire of my Heart is, That every one may know Christ, who is the Power of God unto Salvation: From me,

This was given forth to another Priest of Barbadoes, called Daniel Dikes, on the 8th of the 1st Moneth, 1676.

IF thou hadst been invited to a Feast, where thou mightst have filled thy Belly, and have drunk Wine at thy pleasure, and have had the chiefest Seat, and have been called of men Master, we do believe thou wouldst have come; but thou art so far from being a Master, that thou art the Parish Servant, who hires thee, and thou receivest Wages of them; and therefore we tell thee plainly, that a mans Servant that is bought with his Money (whether black or white) is more honourable than thee; for in the invisible Light thou art seen with the same Eye as Daniel in his Day saw the Priests, their Wives and Children, though they went in at the Privy Door: but now the Light is broken forth, blessed be the Lord God forever, and that every Boy and Girle that abides in the Light, which is invisible, sees your Foot­steps: Therefore saith the Lord unto the Idol Shepherds, that feed not the Block of Christ, but their own Bellies, I will gather my Sheep, and they shall not alwayes he Meat for the Devourer, but I will feed them my self, and they shall not need to say, Know the Lord and his Spirit, for ye shall all know me, saith the Lord, from the greatest to the least; for I will write my Law in their Hearts, and put my Fear in their inward Parts, saith the Lord God Almighty. Therefore, Oh Priest! I tell thee plainly, 'twas to a Feast that thou wast invited; and the Lord is sending out in­to the High-wayes and Hedges to call in all, and even to compell them that will not come, that so his House may be filled, that so all may be lest without excuse, as he was that had not on his Wedding Garment, who was Speechless; for the Day is come, that that whcih is seen in secret must be declared openly: And therefore in the invisible Light we are moved to write unto thee, seeing thee in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ, which [Page 23]lighteth every man that cometh into the World, which hath long shined in Darkness, but now the commanding Power of the Lord is gone forth; and he hath commanded Light to shine out of Darkness, and it shines in Peoples Hearts, and will shine more and more untill the Perfect Day; for which a Remnant can bless the Lord, and sing Praises to his Name, and unto the Lamb for evermore, who was slain from the Foundation of the World, but is now alive, and lives forever and evermore, and rules in the Hearts of the Upright: And therefore, in the invisible Light, as I was waiting upon the Lord, my Heart was truly opened to write unto thee, seeing thee to be one of them that shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men, that will neither enter in themselves, nor suffer others: Therefore saith Christ Jesus, Wo unto you, ye Whited Walls, ye Painted Sepulchres, ye Blind Guides; and indeed you are so, and lead the Blind, and a Pit of Darkness is before you: Therefore is our Advice unto thee, and to all whom it may concern, That ye turn to this invisible Light, and as you wait in it, and abide with it, it will preserve your Hearts and Minds to God, and ye shall not fall into the Pit. And if thou enquire of us, What is our Way? We tell thee plainly, Christ Jesus, the Light of the World, who said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; he that believeth in me, out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water: And He, even Christ Iesus, the Power of God is the Original, and not Hebrew, Greek and Latin, which the Jews set over his Head when they Crucified him, as it is in these dayes; and as is said before, he is our Way, and he is the Hope of our Glory; and we are not ashamed to confess him before men; for if we should not confess him before men, but be ashamed of him, as too too many are, then he will not confess us before his Father in Heaven: Therefore, Oh Priest! we warn thee, that thou cease giving thy Meanings to the Scriptures: Thou mayst read thy Doom, in the Revelations; He that Adds or Diminishes, God will add unto him the Plagues written in that Book.

An Epistle written to Friends at Thickets and Clifts Meetings at Barbadoes, the 20th of the 1st Moneth, 1676.

TO you, Friends, of the Thickets and Clifts Meetings, and to all whom it may concern, in the Love of God that truly opens our Hearts, do we write unto you, to stir up the pure Mind, and to raise up that Love that brought us unto you, even the Love of God that first begat us by the Word of his Power, that we should be as the first Fruits unto God; and this makes us to Cry many a time in the secret of our Hearts, both in Mee­tings and out of Meetings; Oh! how great is thy Loving kindness, O Lord! Oh, that the World knew it! And in the feeling of it we can truly say as one did, Oh! that all the Lord's People were Prophets, that they might speak one by one, that all might be com­forted; and that the Lord would enlarge Japhet to dwell in the Tents of Shem; then there would be no complaining for want of Power, but the Lord would open even the Windows of Heaven, and pour out Blessings upon you, that ye shall not have room to hold it in, but the Overflowings of it you would feel in your own particulars; and when you were thus filled, you would bless the Lord, & you would cry unto others to come away & taste & feel how good the Lord is, for his Mercies endure forever to them that fear him and wait upon him. And therefore, Friends, we beseech you think it not hard to keep your Meetings apart, for the Blessing of the Lord is as truly witnessed in Meetings apart, both in Men and Womens Meetings; and though Women be the Weaker, yet he hath laid Help upon one that is Mighty, Oh! Praises, Praises, saith our Souls forever & for evermore, who feel his Power in our Hearts at this time: And therefore do we write unto all that may be concerned in it, That ye beware of that Spirit that was in the Children of Israel in the days of old; for the Lord knows right well, before whom we stand, who knows the In­nocency [Page 25]of our Hearts and Spirits, that we judge no mans Per­son, nor hint at no Particular, the Lord knows; but we have heard some say, That it was well in the Beginning, when there was not so many Meetings; and we say the same: But Friends, con­sider, we beseech you all, for our Spirits are bowed down in a Sence of the Work of the Lord in this Island; and therefore, ye that have known good dayes in your Infancy, rest not there, but come to your Growth, to a Young mans state, and to an Old mans state; for according to the manner of men, in Twenty Years time we come to our Growth; much more in the Work of the Lord can we come to teach others: And therefore look not back, as the Children of Israel did, who fainted in their Minds because of their long Travel; but take heed of that Spirit that would not have many Meetings, nor to have Truth to spread; for the E­nemy lies near that would betray the Simplicity: Therefore thus saith the Lord in our Hearts this day, as he did unto Moses in dayes past, Speak unto the Children of Israel, that they go for­ward; for this is the Day of the Lord's Appearance spiritually; he is bringing out of Aegypt by a strong Arm; and blessed is every one that helps on the Work, and puts his Shoulder to it. So faint not, Friends, in your Minds, nor be not weary, for the Work is the Lords, and he will carry it on; it shall Prosper; and God prospers it in this Island, Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord our God, can our Souls truly say, who feel the Work of the Lord to Prosper: and therefore we say again, Let none faint in the Day of Tryal; for that's a Testimony that their Strength is small: And therefore, Friends, be Bold and Valiant for God's blessed Truth, and take no thought, but wait upon the Lord; and if ye be called before Magistrates, the Lord will put a word into your Mouthes that they shall not be able to gain­say: And if it be so that ye suffer joyfully the Spoiling of your Goods, ye shall come to witness, That the Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness of it; and they that Fear the Lord shall want no no good thing, neither for Soul nor Body: And if it be so, that the Devil cast into Prison, fear it not, but in Patience possess your Souls, for the Lord will bring thorow; for we speak what we know; for the Lord has delivered us out of Prison in­wardly [Page 26]and outwardly, and his Presence has been with us in all our Troubles; and he has made us to sing in Prison, and in the Stocks, Praises be to the Lord God, and to the Lamb forever, sayour Souls: But Friends, we do not write this to make our Sufferings known, but to encourage all to abide patiently, that ye may come through as Gold purified; for the Wicked are but like Waters, and their Persecution is but like a Wave of the Sea; and though they rise never so high, yet it is our Faith in God, That he that hath put a Limit to the Bound of the Sea, and hath said unto it, Thus far shalt thou pass, and no further, and there shalt thou stay thy proud Waves: Oh Friends! bless the Lord with us; for it is a Day of fulfilling. Therefore, O let Truth spread in every Particular; let it take Root downward and grow upward, and bring forth Fruit to the Praise and Glory of our heavenly Father. And this we have to say, That every Plant that he hath not planted, shall be pluck't up; and every Plant that his right hand hath planted, he watereth it, that it may bring forth more Fruit; and in this is our heavenly Father Glorified and Well-pleased, that we bear much Fruit; Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord our God forever and ever­more. So with our Unfeigned Love, we take leave of you, and remain

For the Mayor of Plymouth in Devonshire.

VVE do read in the Scriptures of Truth, that in the A­postles dayes there was a noble Festus amongst the Magistrates: Therefore do I write unto thee, that thou be not stired up against a peaceable People that meets together singlely to worship God in Spirit & in Truth; for God is a Spirit, and will be worshipped in Spirit & in Truth; and until People turn to the Spirit of Truth, which is the Light within, with which he hath ligh­ted every one that comes into the World; and he that hates this Light has it, and though they may kick against it, yet it stands a faithful Witness for God; and whatever People may profess, they never worship the living God acceptably; for we know at this day, that God hears not Sinners, no more then he did in the dayes of Old; and that the Prayers of the Wicked are abomina­tion to him, as well in this day as in times past; but he that fears God and doth his Will, them he hears; and the Will of God is done in hearing and obeying the Light; and by this did they witness, in dayes past their Hearts to be Sanctified, and this is it that we meet together for; and we are but yet learning the Lord's Prayer; and as we are willing to wait that the Will of God may be done in Earth, as well as in Heaven, the Lord has blest us, and we shall spread over the face of the Earth; and though Balaam and Balack would rise up to Curse Israel at this day, yet this Testimony is in my Heart for God, That he hath blest us, and no man can Curse that which God hath blest: And as we keep the Word of his Patience, the Lord God will keep us in the Day of Tryal, which shall certainly come upon all that dwell on the Earth, and know not a Habitation in the God of Jacob; for the Day is come which many would have seen (wherein the Lord is bringing mighty Things to pass, who re­veals his Secrets to them that truly fear him) the same which was in the Apostles dayes, wherein the Everlasting Gospel was preached, which is the Power of God unto Salvation; and if [Page 28]any preach any other Gospel, let them be accursed: And this Gospel is a wonder to you, and is hid from you; and therefore ye perish in your Sins, which separate you from the Living God, and doth hinder good things from you, who live in the pleasure of the Flesh, and drink up Iniquity as the Ox drinks Water; but now in the Latter Dayes the Lord is pouring forth his Spirit upon all Flesh, his Sons and upon his Daughters; and they do Preach and Prophecy in his Name, and in his Name do wonder­ful things; and it is a great Wonder to all the World, who lies in Wickedness; and therefore the People perish for want of Knowledge; for the Lord would have gathered you in this Day, as he would have gathered Jerusalem in the dayes of old, but they would not be gathered, and therefore they were left Desolate: and the same is coming upon you, if you do not spee­dily Repent; for Jerusalem was destroyed, who would not be gathered, and then Lamentation, Wo and Misery did fall upon them, and remains upon them till this Day; but the Lord hath gathered a Remnant into Covenant with himself, wherein Jacob doth rejoyce, and Israel doth dwell safely: And therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed, though many be Jacob's Troubles, and the Afflictions of Joseph, which is now, as was in the Dayes of old; and they that suffer for him, they shall reign with him forever and for evermore, and fit at his right Hand in his Throne of Grace, and in his Kingdom of Glory forever and for evermore, where we shall Sing and Rejoyce with the Lord God and the Lamb forever; the Lamb that was slain in us in Sodom and Aegypt, while the World had a Foundation in us, who was dead, but is now alive, whose Name is called the Word of God, which was in the Beginning, as the Scripture doth declare, 1 John 1.

This was for the Priest of Ives, Joshua Herning, the 19th of the 10th Moneth, 1677.

I could not be clear in the sight of the Lord, untill I had written a few Lines unto thee, seeing thee come into our Meeting with the Constable and his great Staff; and I heard thee say, That thou wast an Informer; & I tell thee plainly it were better for thee to be a Hang-man; for they do but execute others that by their Law are condemned to dye; but many Informers have brought shameful Death upon themselves, and Ruin upon their Families, as it is on Record: Indeed, we confess we are a Suffering People at this day, as they were that went before us, who took joyfully the spoiling of their Goods, who were scoffed and mocked at, and said, That Bonds and Imprisonments were their portion, and it was for their Testimony which they held, as thou mayst read at large in the Scriptures of Truth, who hast nothing now against us but concerning the Law of our God, and there ye go about tocatch us, as they of Old did Daniel; but oh Priest! read what became of these Informers, and of those that informed against the three Children, thou blind Guide, which Christ cryed, We against, and said, They were whited Walls, and painted Sepulchres, and wore long Robes, and loved to be called of men Masters, and that they loved the upper most Romes at Feasts, and greetings in the Markets; and further he said, that By your Fruits your are known; and so it is this day: Wo unto you, said he, for ye lay heavy Burthens upon the People, and ye shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men, ye neither enter in your selves, nor suffer others: Therefore saith Christ Jesus, Wo unto you. And if thou ask, how I know these things? I tell thee plainly it is by the invisible Light which shines in my Heart, which manifests all things, as it is written in the Scriptures of Truth; and this Light was in the beginning, & will be when all visible things shall have an end, to which thou shalt be turned to give account of all thy Deeds done in thy Body all thy Life time, and of all thy hard Speeches against the Servants of the [Page 30]living God; therefore turn to it, and let it search thy Heart, and believe in it: for this is my living Testimony for God, that it will deceive no man, but it will bring the hidden things of Esau to Light, and believing in it and obeying it, it will lead out of Sin: Therefore Repent, & pray unto the Lord, that he take thee not away in the midst of thy Sins, lest thou go down into the Pit out of which there is no Redemption. And as for our Names and Place of abode, it is in Lancashire, in a little Village, call­ed Beaklife, in the Parish of Alldingham, where we were ha­led to Prison by such a proud Priest as thee, because we could not bow in this our day, no more than they could do in dayes past, but the Lord shortned that Priests dayes; and we do witness Christs words fulfilled in this our day, where he said, That it should come to pass that the Devil should cast some into Prison: But blessed be the Lord, who has delivered us; and we are at this day and time free of all the Goals in the World: therefore do we warn thee that thou come not upon thy Neighbours in pre­tence of a Fine for us, for we have to satisfie of our own, and according to the Act ye are to fetch it where we live, whose Names are here set down, Thomas and Alice Curwen.

And that further We do declare what the Lord hath done for us in the inncency of our Hearts, we Bless and Praise the Lord: Oh my Soul bless thou the Lord, that has witnessed that Scripture of Truth this day fulfilled in my Ears, where Christ Jesus said, That men should speak all manner of Evil against us for his Names sake, and that falsly; Rejoyce, said he, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven. Oh, Prai­ses, Praises, saith my Soul, with many Thousands more that God hath redeemed from Death to Life; And to his blessed Name be Everlasting holy Praises, and that for evermore, saith a Friend in the Truth of God, though the least of many;

For the Priest at Godmanchester, the 21st of the 11th Moneth, 1677.

YEsternight I spoke to thee, as thou passedst by, & thou wentst away laughing, like the rest of thy Brethren, making merry over God's Witness in thee, which is the Grace of God, which appears at this day as it did in the Apostles dayes; and unto all them that believe in it and obey it, it works the same effect; everlasting Praises be sounded out unto the Lord our God at this day for his blessed Appearance, saith my Soul, who is come the second time without Sin to save them that believe; Ever­lasting Holy Praises be sounded out aloud, saith my Soul in se­cret, unto the Lord for all his Mercies, and that for evermore. And truly Priest (for I do not know thee by any other Name) my Spirit is grieved when I do see any of you, or where-ever I do meet with you, that you should take upon you the charge of Peoples Souls, and to teach them the Way of the Lord; and in all my Travels I find no men so light and airy as you Priests are, who wear your long Robes; and by Christ's words (as you may read in the Scriptures) and by the Spirit of Truth (which God hath manifested in my particular) do I see you to be them which Christ cryed Wo against: therefore is the Word of the Lord as a Sword in my Mouth against the Mystery of Babylon, and the Merchants of her also; for the Lambs War is begun, and as it is written in the Scripture of Truth, The Beast and the false Prophet makes War against the Lamb and his followers, but God shall take the Beast and the false Prophet alive, and cast them into the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone forever and ever­more; and the Lamb and the Saints shall get the Victory. And so my Soul blesses the Lord that I have lived to see this day, where­in the Scriptures are fulfilled; for it is the Lords day: there­fore [Page 32]I desire thee in love to thy immortal Soul, to prise the day of thy Visitation; for I could not be clear till I had eased my Spirit, who am a Friend to thy Soul, and truly loves all Men and Women also with that Love that God hath loved me withal,

I With many more, are glad to hear of the Arrival of John Grove his Ship, and we hope you are all safe; you are often in my Mind, but more your Innocent Lives and Conversation amongst us, which shewed clear also your great Labour of Love amongst us, which will not be forgotten in the Hearts of the Faith­ful; and I hope will not go without its Reward. The Lord God of our Life preserve us in these Times of Troubles, which are at this time amongst us, of which I do believe you will have a full Account: I am straitned for Time at present, so cannot enlarge; only my dear Love (with my Childrens) is to you both, desiring, that we may be all kept in his blessed Fear to our Lives end. So my dear Friends, Farewel.

YOur good wills towards me and my Wife when you were with us, we cannot forget: And truly, Friends, would you know where I am, and how far I am grown in the Truth of our God, I cannot well resolve my self, by reason of the gross Darkness, and the Straitness of the Way: I seek Rest, but I cannot find it: I seek my Beloved, but cannot find him: I am often amongst those with whom God is not well-pleased, al­though not yet overthrown amongst those that lust after Evil Things, those that tempted Christ, and those that Murmured, though not yet, through the Riches of the Patience and Good­ness of God, not destroyed of the Destroyer: Sometimes I think I feel the Well springing up, the Day of the Lord's burn­ing, to burn like an Oven, and the Leaven working and the Seed of the Kingdom no more the least of all Seeds, the Grave opening, and the Dead arising at the Voice of the Son of God: And at other times as one that Dreamed, and meer Stranger in Israel, I am Hungry, I am Thursty, I am hardly filled; yet I must needs acknowledge, that sometimes I do meet with Manna; and blessed be the Shepherd of Israel, I sometimes drink, and am resreshed at the Brook by the Way: I still wait for the blessed Hope and the Glorious Appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ: I see that Patience must have its Perfect Work. that my Beloved must not be awakened until he please, and that Times and Seasons are in the Father's Hand; and am a Witness for him, That he is Faithful, who hath promised, by what of his Promises I have already found to be Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus: He doth not break the bruised Reed, nor quench the smoking Flax; on whom I do wait to bring forth Judgment into Victory, to kindle his Refiners Fire, to consume the Dross and take away the Tinn, and to answer & to save so as [Page 34]by Fire, that I may become a Vessel meet for the Masters Use. Oh, Travel for me! Help me forward with your Breath­ings, and that I fall not in the Wilderness.

YOur Letter I received, and I was very glad to hear of your Well-fare, and of your arrival safely in England; and truly Friends, I know you cannot easily be forgotten by me, nor ma­ny good Friends in this Island, for your faithful Service, Pains and Travel, whilst among us, in the Service and Work of the Lord; and the Desire of my Soul is, That we may be all kept in a living Sense of his Holy Fear dwelling in our Hearts at all times; for the Fear of the Lord is only that that keeps the Heart clean, and preserves us in the greatest Tryals and Exer­cises that we meet withal, that so continuing faithful to the end of our dayes, we may receive our Reward from our Heavenly Father, even the Salvation of our Immortal Souls. So dear Friends, I need not use many words unto you: I could not well omit sending these two or three Lines, though at present something s [...]itned in point of time. Friends are generally in pretty good Condition, though of late we were like to have had a further [Page 35]Breach here amongst us, by reason of altering Men and Womens Meetings, at the Bridge-Town; but blessed be the Lord, the Mee­tings at present are pretty well ordered and composed, so that I am in good hopes that all Difference and Strife will cease, and Truth will out-live all; here are good Friends, which I hope will keep down these Unruly Passions & Heats that were usual and too often accustomed by some to rise amongst us. My Wife desires dearly to be remembred to you. So with my True and Unfeign­ed Love to you both, I rest and remain

WE do dearly salute you in the blessed Truth of our God; and in the sence of the same do our Souls truly rejoyce, and our Hearts are made truly Glad, in that we feel one another in that blessed Life which keeps our Souls alive to God, toge­ther and assunder: And truly, our dear Friends, you have been often in our remembrance; and in the sensible feeling of that blessed Life hath our Souls been truly refreshed in you; though many Miles assunder, yet can we truly say, That oft-times our Hearts and Souls have been truly refreshed in you, and the Sence of that Living Testimony you left behind you, that oft-times lives in our Hearts: Oh! blessed be the Lord our God for evermore, that hath brought us to see this blessed Day, in that we can feel one another in this blessed Life, which keeps our Souls alive to God, and tender one to another: And so, our dear Friends, words are too short to tell of the goodness of God to our Souls, as our Minds have been truly staid on him: Oh! how hath his Love flown forth in our Hearts to the great [Page 36]Refreshment and Satisfaction of our Immortal Souls, together and assunder! We have known the Renewings of the Blessings and Mercies of the Lord unto our Souls; Oh, praised be the Name of our God forever and for evermore, that he hath brought a Remnant to see this blessed Day of the flowings forth of his Love in our Hearts, which makes us truly to rejoyce more than the Encrease of any Visible Thing. And so, our dear Friends, how have we known the bedewings of the Lord, as our Minds & Hearts have been kept low before him; and in the sence of the same we have been kept fresh and green, and alive to God; Oh! holy Praises be to the Name of the Lord our God forever & for evermore. And so, our dear Friends, having not much more in our Hearts to you at this time, our dear Love is to you, with the rest of Friends: We remain

MY True Love dearly salutes you both, and all True-hearted Friends that may enquire after me: Since your coming away good Friends have been much wanting, and things have been pretty high against me; but I hope, in the general, it will not prevail, and the Lord hath made me willing to bear; but the Lord's hand of Power will preserve the Simple and Upright in Heart, Amen, saith your Friend, in Brotherly Love,

I Could not be clear, without the Tender of my true Love unto you both, whose Labour of Love, Service and daily Travels for the Lord's Truth in this Place will never be for­gotten by a Remnant, and the Lord's Reward I know is with you; to whom belongs all Praise, Honour and Glory, both now and forever, and for evermore, Amen, saith your Friend,

IN the Unchangeable and Everlasting Love of God, do I dear­ly salute you both: I have received a Letter from you, which was very acceptable to me; in the reading of which I was sweet­ly consolated and refreshed; and your Love to us all I cannot, nor I hope shall not forget; Oh! the many precious Meetings and Opportunities which we enjoyed when ye were with us! the Remembrance of which was precious, but the glorious Pre­sence of God which we enjoyed was much more precious: Oh! the goodness of the Lord God is Unutterable, who continues his Love to us daily, and accompanies us with his living Presence at all Times, and in all Places, as we abide low in his Fear, and are found faithful in his Work and Service: Oh! my Soul's Desire is, That I may be kept low before him forever: And my Friends, I hope your Prayers to the Almighty will be for the same.

The Lord's Truth doth prosper mightily, and his Power is over this whole Island, though the Devil doth Rage in his Instru­ments mightily, even at this present time, more than ever before, as I think; and such Threatning Times against the poor Innocent Lambs, as have not been known; and only because of the Pro­sperity [Page 38]of God's blessed Truth in this little Island: But we fear not man, but are greatly encouraged to go on in the Work of the Lord, and be Valiant for God until Death; for I am per­swaded here is a little Remnant, whose Trust is in the Lord, that doth not regard any of their Threatnings and Unrighteous Laws, which are lately made, if they were ten times greater than they are; and I believe We shall have the Victory, through the Power of the Lord, as we abide stedfast in the Un­changeable Truth of our God, though many that are not faith­ful to the Lord God, but let their Testimony fall, who are the fear­ful and unbelieving, may lose the Crown of Eternal Life: And your Love to our Family was very large, and I am right sensible of it, in the Sence of which I am refreshed at this present; and so, in the same Love do I dearly salute you: And so with my Love to all Friends, I remain

An Epistle to Swarthmore Meeting.

DEar Friends at Swarthmore Meeting, to whem is my true Love; and I have an Honourable Esteem in my Heart for you all, who keep to your first Love, and retain your Integrity to this day, which is a blessed Day indeed of the Breakings-forth of the blessed weighty Truth, which we breathed for in the dayes of our Infancy. Oh! what shall I say to stir up your pure Minds, that ye may travail forward, that none may stand still, nor none may go backward! for this is the Day of God's spiri­tual Israel's Travel, God has made me a living Witness; and therefore my dear Friends, as one that has been nursed up there, can I not at this time contain my self, but in a living Sense of the dayes past, when we waited together for true Israel's Hope: And Oh! how is my Spirit bowed down in the weighty Power of the blessed Appearance of the Breakings-forth of the weighty [Page 39]Truth in the dayes of our Infancy, in that Meeting which I so dearly love and truly honour in the Lord, though the breakings out at first of the Power of the Living God was very Dreadful and very Terrible, yet (oh my Friends!) I cannot but ease my Spi­rit a little at this time, being loaded with the Power of the Lord, which causes me to write. And oh! what shall I say of the blessed heavenly Melody, and the spiritual Songs, yea, the new Song that God hath put into our Mouthes; Oh! endless Praises, saith my Soul, with you my dear Friends, with whom I would be glad that I might sit down with you once more, that we might sing together of the Mercies of the Lord, and of his pure Judg­ments in this our day, as poor David did. And oh! how am I affected in my Bowels for an Opportunity that we might be com­forted together! but I do not see my Service over, that I may come to my Place of Abode in the oatward; for I can truly say, that I have not taken up another; and I am as a Weaned Child at this time: and the Desire of my Heart to God is, That these few dayes I have to spend may be in his blessed Truth, which is more to me than all the World: therefore let none of you question in your Minds my coming home; for when I have done the Will of God, who am one of the least of the Lord's People, I shall be willing to come into the North, and sit down with you, and wait upon the Lord, who hath brought me thus far towards my Native Being, and yet my way is shut up, that I cannot come Home. Oh my Dear Friends! breath with me to the Lord for the Prosperity of this great Work, which the Lord hath made me Instrumental in; though but weak and little, yet bles­sed be the Lord who appears strong and weighty in every need­ful time, though in weak Instruments; let his Name be purely Praised, and had in Everlasting Reverence from Age to Age, and from Generation to Generation, saith my Soul, which is Im­mortal, and that for evermore. So, as I began in a Sence of the Love of God, and in his weighty Power, in that do I dearly sa­lute you, and bid you all Farewel; and remain as one of God's Flock, and that Family where we were begotten to God, for which my Soul shall bless the Lord, whilst I have a Day to live.

MY dear Love is to you both; and by this you may know that we received your Letter from Barbadoes, the which indeed was very acceptable to us, and I was refreshed thereby; I carried it to our General-Meeting at Oyster-Bay, and it was read in the Men & Womens Meeting; and I know many were truly glad to hear of your Well-fare, and the Prosperity of Truth. My Dear Friends, you are often in my remembrance, and the remembrance of your Savoury Life is very pleasant unto me; for I am a Witness with you, That the Glory of the Lord often filled his Temple when we were together; and the Lord's Eter­nal Love is not wanting to his People that wait upon him in the Uprightness of their Hearts, for he openeth of his pure Foun­tain, and refresheth his own, though many are the Exercises of his People: We are, as it were, a Song among a wild Genera­tion; and those Ranting Spirits are much as they were when ye were here; they come in the like manner Ranting, Roaring, Singing and Dancing int our Meetings; & it is the harder to bear because it casts stumbling-blocks in the way of the Simple; for some of the World think they are of us, and call them Quakers; saying, Look where they differ among themselves! These Ranters were very Wicked at Oyster-Bay the last Meeting; when the Meeting was near ended my Husband was taken violent Sick with a Vomiting and Gripes; some of them hearing of it were very glad, and said to me, I should lose my Right Eye and my Right Arm; and came near the Door where we were, and where my Husband lay sick; and cryed, Wo, Wo, Wo to that Damned Story and Jezebel his Wife. Friends are prety well over their Spirits in these Parts, and generally well at Cravesend, Oyster-Bay and Westchester; there is much Affiction on Josiah Parnel, his Family hath been much afflicted with Sickness. My dear Friends, I am glad to write to you now, not knowing when I may have the like time again, I being with Child, and wanting but about six Weeks of my Account. My dear Husband's dear Love [Page 41]is to you both. So not knowing how the Lord may be pleased to deal with me, I dearly salute you, and take my leave of you both, in that Love which is of the Lords begetting.

Salem in New-England, the 22d of the 5th Moneth, 1677.

IN the Blessed Everlasting Truth of our God, revealed and made manifest, do I at this time dearly salute you. My dearly Beloved in the Lord, unto whom the Salutation of my Love abounds, and with whom I have been well refreshed in that pure and heavenly Unity, which makes us near unto the Lord, and one to another, even in that endless love which cannot be bro­ken, & which nothing can separate from, but it reacheth over Sea & Land, for it is unlimited, neither can any Waters quench it: Oh! read me here and feel me here, even in that which Tongue cannot express, nor Lips declare; for truly in this are you dear and near unto me; for as the Truth is dear and precious unto me, so are they that dwell in it, even in this blessed Truth which the Lord God hath been pleased to make a Remnant partakers of in this our Day and Age, and hath caused us with them to taste of his heavenly divine Love, which floweth from the Fountain of End­less Life, in which we can feel one another, and truly rejoyce tegether in the Spirit, though separated in the outward, and may not see one anothers faces any more in the Flesh; yet as we dwell in that which is Immortal, we shall enjoy one another in the Invisible Life, which changeth not, where there is Joy and Pleasure for evermore: Oh! blessed and magnified be the Name of our God forever, who is not wanting unto them that [Page 42]put their Trust in him, but he supports and preserves in all Con­ditions and Tryals whatsoever. And dear Friends, for so you are to me in the Truth, that changeth not: for you are as an Epi­stle written in my Heart never to be blotted out, and the Re­membrance of you is a refreshing to me, when I call to mind the blessed Society and Fellowship we enjoyed when we were to­gether, in which the Lord God of Heaven preserve and keep us forever unto the end of our dayes, so shall we reap a good Harvest, if we faint not, and come to lay down our Heads in Peace and be at rest with the Lord when Time shall be no more. Dear Hearts, I have much to write unto you, but being in haste time will not permit, I being also but ill in Body. I am willing to give you an Account concerning Margaret Brewster, whom you know, who came lately from Barbadoes in the Lord's Service to Boston, where she performed it, I being also with her in her Ser­vice and in her Sufferings (except Whipping) as also was Lydia Wright and Barbary Bowers, and John Eston's Son also a Prisoner with us a Moneth. And Dear Hearts, I have met with many Tryals since I saw your Faces, but the Lord hath hitherto pre­served me through it all, blessed be his Name forever. I cannot now give you an account concerning my Mother and Brothers, who were taken Captives by the Cruel Indians some Moneths; but the Lord hath delivered them, and they are here now with me. So dear Friends, being in great Haste, I must take my leave of you, committing you to the Care and Keeping of the Lord, in which Everlasting Love I bid you Farewel, my dear Friends Farewel, who am

From Flushen in Long-Island in New-England, the 15th of the 7th Moneth, 1677.

YOu are both dear and near unto me, as my own Life; for I can truly say, that I have been often Refreshed in re­membrance of you, feeling you in that dear Love and Life which proceeds from him who is our Life, and length of our dayes, in whom we live and have our Being, who is our Strength in time of need, when Tryals come and Exercises come, we find him a God at hand, and not afar off, blessed and praised be his holy Name forever, saith my Soul, for his unspeakable Love, by which he hath gathered us near unto himself, and near one to another, by the Arm of his endless Power, which reaches over Sea and Land, and reaches to his own, wherein we have true Fellowship one with another in the Spirit of Truth, where the World knows us not; for therein doth his Worship stand, and such doth the Lord seek to worship him, that worship him in the Spirit and in the Truth, blessed be his holy Name, who is God over all, blessed be his holy Name forever and for evermore, who hath filled our Hearts with his living Presence, which doth engage us more and more to follow him, and to lean upon him; for his Judgments are pure, and he delights to abound in Mercy. And so in that Everlasting Love, which our Heavenly Father hath loved us from the beginning, I do dearly salute you both; for you have often been in my Remembrance since we have been seperated as outwardly, and have been often with you in that blessed Truth wherein our Unity stands, which endures forever, which will live over all, and out-last all the invented Worships which the Devil hath begot many into; but their Day is almost over; for they are all in Confusion, and all in Heaps; but bles­sed be the holy and sacred Name of the Lord forever, who has preserved a Remnant to stand in their Testimony for the Honour [Page 44]of his Everlasting Truth. Friends are generally well in Health, blessed be the Name of the Lord forever and for evermore. So having this opportunity I was willing to write these few Lines. Friends, you are dear and near unto me, and the Springs of Love and Life do often flow sorth unto you more than Tongue or Pen can express. So no more but

And as Opportunity presents let me hear from you. Friends have suffered pretty much at Boston since you were there; Mar­garet Brewster of Barbadoes hath been sorely Whipt, and many Friends more; and here are a great many Friends come over to Delaware, and I fear that there is great need of Faithful Labou­rers in these parts. No more, but my dear Love to you both.

IN that Love of God which is Everlasting and Endless in all his dear Babes and Children, whom he hath begotten by his Immortal Word, do I salute you, and you are often in my Re­membrance, although far seperated as to the Outward, yet near in that which is Invisible and Immortal, in the Life of Innocency, in which Life you were made instrumental in the Hand of our God to comfort me and hold me up in a living hope, when I was well nigh overwhelmed with Sorrow; but Praises are given by me unto our God that lives forever, who hath given me Patience to wait his time, and a Contented Heart, that into what Estate and Condition I may be brought, I hope I shall be contented. [Page 45] Dear Friends, I do own dearly your Labour of Love, and in the sense of the same do bid you Farewel;

DEar and Well-beloved Friends, Thomas and Alice Curwen' whom I love in the Truth; and as my Love was dear to you when you were with us, so it remains now when we are se­perated, and my Heart is truly knit unto you in Unfeigned Love; and as you were a Comfort and a Strengthning in my great Weakness when you were with me, which I cannot forget, though far seperated; but I do say, The Lord reward your La­bour of Love into your Bosoms; for the Lord hath of his abun­dant Love raised me from a weak estate, that I may yet remain in the Land of the Living, to declare his Praise, and to signifie my endeared Love to my Brethren and Sisters, and to bear a Li­ving Testimony for my God against the Wrong Spirits, that bur­den the Seed of God. So my dear Friends, I have not much to acquaint you with, only that which was fore-seen, That Bad Spirits are working their own Destruction. So in that Love which I began, I do take my leave, and remain

Antego, the 19th of the 4th Moneth, 1677.

MY true love is to you both, desiring your Everlasting Well-fare and Well-being in God's Everlasting Truth, that is broken forth amongst us, blessed be his Name forever, who does daily engage us with his Love, and gives us a living Experience of his Mercies and Goodness, who feeds our Immortal Souls, and keeps us fresh and green, and bears up our Heads in the time of great and deep Exercises and Tryals, which we do meet withal; Everlasting Praises and Glory be to his Name forever: so that we can say of a Truth, Good is the Lord to all that wait upon him, and chuse him to be their chiefest Beloved; who indeed is the chiefest of Ten Thousand to his little Remnant, that has none in Heaven but only the Lord Jesus Christ, nor none on Earth in comparison of him. And so desiring we may forever wait in sin­gleness upon the Lord, that he may keep us and preserve us in the sense of his Love, breathing and crying unto the Lord one for another in the blessed Seed and Gift and holy Spirit, that the Lord hath blessed through all Ages and Generations; Everlast­ing Praises be unto his holy Name forever. Oh Friends! your Faithfulness the Lord hath made me in my measure sensible of, wherein my Soul is comforted, being Members of the one Body, of which Christ Jesus is the Head and Leader, that goes before his People, and leads into the green Pastures of Life, which the World cannot give us, nor take from us.

I Received your Lines and your Friend R. J. and cannot but accept kindly of your Remembrance of me in the Lord, and was refreshed in them, and your true Love therein, as I have also been in your Company in several good Meetings by God's Power refreshed, for which let him have the Praise for­ever: and your tender and dear Advice in the Truth is owned, and I desire your Remembrance of me in the Lord may be con­tinued, and that I may be preserved through all Tryals to God's Praise, and worthy of his Mercies and Loving-kindness, which is large and incomparable. And, dear Friends; your Labour of Love in, and Service for the Lord, is not to be slipt out of Re­membrance in many Hearts in this Island, but is still very fresh and green; and your Reward (I question not) is in your Bo­som, and will be with the Lord, who was and is the exceeding great Reward of his Servants both in others and in this Age, who were willing to forsake their Country and Kindred at his Requirings. So dear Friends, in the Salutation of that Love which exceeds all other I remember you, and desire to be re­membred by you. And if you see G. F. mind me to him; I have him in due Respect and Honour, though I am as one of the least of the Thousands of Israel, yet of true Jacob's stock, the Stem is felt through the Goodness of Jacob's God, whose Pre­sence is better than this World's Glory.

TO whom is my dear Love, desiring these precious Seasons may never be forgotten, wherein we have been sweetly watered and refreshed together, but that the Glory of all may return to him in whom all our fresh Springs are. Your Service for God amongst us I believe will be owned forever, and a Te­stimony thereof is fresh in the Hearts of a Remnant in this Island; and a sad and bitter Condition are many reduced to who opposed your Testimonies, and so have come to wither and blast, as is wofully manifest by Henry Jones at this present, who is gone out of the Unity into the Enmity, and heaped up a parcel of dirty stuff in writing against Friends, and some others there: about stand by him, I think none but such as are out of the Pra­ctice of meeting with their Families: I write the less of these things, because I believe William Mullnex may give you a fuller account.

Dear Friends, your honourable Service and innocent Behavi­our amongst us cannot be forgotten by a Remnant in this Island, who would be glad (if the Lord saw meet) once more to see you; but in the mean time, I desire we may be bound up toge­ther in that one Spirit which partakes of the Dew from Heaven, and keeps alwayes green and fresh, blossoming and bringing forth Fruit well-pleasing to the Lord. And the Desire of my Heart is, that in your Breathings to the Lord, I may not be forgotten, who love and honour in my Soul all true-hearted and right-begotten Friends, who have the right Image, yea, the Father's Image stamped upon them, and with such I hope to be one for­ever. So no more at present, but mine with my Wife's dear Love to you both, I remain

MY dear and well-beloved Friends in God, who hath be­gotten us to himself in his blessed Truth, and so one to another, in which my Soul and Spirit doth salute you both: Ha­ving still in my Heart your faithful Labour and Courage in which you travailed amongst us here, to the refreshing of the Honest-hearted, and lives fresh in the Hearts of the Upright. Oh! how did the Lord make you as a Nursing-Father and Mo­ther to the tender weak Lambs of God! and laboured to gather in the straying Sheep, which were wandring from the Flock, la­bouring to bring them into the Fold again, where Rest is truly known: for in the Out-goings and Wandrings there is a Spirit that is seeking for Liberty, but not that of God, but that which will not bow to Christ's Yoke; in which your Spirits had a sore travel whilst here amongst us, and all the Valiant to this day do feel the same; yet as we keep to the Lord, we do find Victory over all the Contrary Opposing Spirits, and the Lord's Power and Living Presence is with us to our great Refreshings, and Spiritual Comfort of the little ones, who keep low in his Fear, and are made willing to follow him through whatsoever he will carry them; so that we can say, It is very good to keep near to the Lord, that we may feel him to bear us up continually, in Try­als, Troubles and Afflictions, in which we are made to Rejoyce more than in the Increase of Corn, Wine or Oyl, to God's Praise and Glory, and to the Comfort of our Souls, and to the carrying on of his great Work which he hath begun, and will carry on by his Faithful, Upright, Single-hearted Ones. The Lord raise up more Faithful Ones, that may stand up for God, and plead God's Cause against all that shall oppose it, as he did faithful Moses and Joshua in the day of Israel's Re­bellion, that like the good Spies, may give a good Report of the good Land, and so encourage, but not discourage any, but are willing to help forward the hindmost of the Flock, and en­courage [Page 50]the foremost, so that we may all come to travel on to the Land of Rest, that we may all come to praise God toge­ther with one Heart and one Mind, and bless him together for­ever, saith my Soul.

THE People of God called Quakers being met together in the Fear of the Lord to worship God, and to feel the Presence of the Lord, whereby we might strengthen and edifie one another, to the Praise and Glory of our God, who is wor­thy forever; and after we had been some hours in the Meeting, there came in a Constable, called, Constable Noyse, and a Mer­chant, called, Benjamin Gibs, with their Aid, having a Warrant from Simon Broadstreet, in his Majesty's Name (as they said) to break up our Meeting; some Friends desired them to read their Warrant, which was to this effect, That they were to bring every Person found at a Quakers Meeting; then a Friend said, This Warrant is to bring such Persons as are found at a Quakers Meeting to the House of Correction. Alice Curwen answered, This War­rant takes not hold on us; we are the Meeting; this Warrant is to bring such Persons as are found at a Quakers Meeting. So the Constable stood pretty moderately; but Benj. Gibs turned about to a Friend in the Ministry, and said, Come, ye are Blasphemers; we will not stand to sac the Devil Worshipped: Then Benj. Gibs being asked, What he heard us say? His answer was, He had not heard us speak one word; though before he had called us Blasphemers, and said, They would not stand there to see the Devil worshipped. Alice Curwen (in the Fear of the Lord) kneeling down to Pray­er, was violently haled along the Room and down Stairs to the House of Correction.

Concerning my Sufferings and Persecution by Thomas Shaw Priest of Aldingham in Fornis in Lancashire.

IN the year 1652. about the 14th day of the 7th moneth, I had a Mare taken away worth 6 l. also in the year 1654. I had a Cow taken away worth 2 l. 10 s. and in the year 1656. I had two Cows taken away worth 8 l. and in the year 1658. I had the most part of sixteen Acres of Corn taken away, which was worth at least 30 l. whose Bailiffs and Servants came forcibly & brake into the Barn: and also in the year 1660. about the 10th day of the 11th moneth, I had a Horse taken away [Page 52]worth 4 l. or there-about. And these Goods took Priest Shaw from me, besides Eleaven Years Imprisonment; and then short­ly after he ended his dayes in great Wo and Misery to the sight of all the World that did know him; for the Lord laid his Judg­ments upon him, who was struck into a Palsie, that he was not sensible what he did or said.

And then another with his Horns began to push, and make War with the Lamb, as the Scripture declares, That the Beast and the False Prophet shall make War with the Lamb, but the Lamb shall get the Victory, wherein the Redeemed of the Lord sing Praises, Praises to the Lord God and the Lamb forever in the Land of the Living; for it is the Lamb of God that takes away the Sins of the World, and blotteth out the Hand-writing, and come to know their Names written in the Book of Life: And I am a Witness that the Promise of the Lord is fulfilled, where the Lord hath written his Law in our Hearts, and put his Spirit into our inward parts, wherein we can read in the Book of Life in the great Mystery of Godsiness, which is manifest in the Flesh in this our Day; Praises to the Lord God and the Lamb forevermore.

The Priest's Name was Theophilus Ames, who continued in Persecuting the Innocent; but the Lord shortned his dayes in a little time, he was so very Cruel; he sent his Bailiffs to take away my Goods, who took sixteen Beasts at one time, which were worth 50 l. or there-about in the year 1665 about the 29th day of the 8th Moneth; and about the [...] of the 5th moneth in the year 1667. my self, my Wife & my Son were taken to Pri­son for not coming to their worship nor receiving the Sacrament, and carryed me to Prison in a Cart, who was so ill that I could neither go nor ride on Horse-back, who did carry me about twenty Miles, and did purpose to keep us in Prison for term of Life; but the Lord did deliver us, who is a present Help in time of need to the Faithful and Upright in Heart, who are kept in his Fear; blessed for evermore be his holy and blessed Name, which is a strong Tower for the Righteous to flee unto in time of Storm, when the Heathen rages, and the People imagin vain things: and after Priest Ames had cast us into Prison, in the year 1667. about the 29th of the 5th moneth the Priest caused [Page 53]to be taken from me eleaven Beasts and one Horse, which were worth about 40 l. and when he had taken these Beasts he fell on to plunder the House, and took all the Goods that he could get away, he took so near, that he took Garden-Mittans and the Cole-Rake; and when he had done this, then the measure of his Wickedness and Iniquity was filled up, and then the Lord shortly after shortned his dayes, who dyed a Woful and Mi­serable Death; for the Lord laid his Judgments upon him, who wa both Blind and Mad before he dyed, to the great Admiration and astonishment of all that did see his Death.

And then another Beast with his Horns began to push, and to make War with the Lamb, as the Scripture declares, and blessed are they who are called to make War in Righteousness; and if we put not into the false Prophets Mouthes, they will make War a­gainst us; and he that stands in the Gap makes himself a Prey.

The Priest's Name is Michael Stanford, who is driving on Pharaoh's Charriots as fast as he can, until the Lord shorten his dayes; for Pharaoh's Heart was hardened when he did persecute the Children of Israel in the dayes of old; and this Priest said, That his Heart was hardened against us: And what became of Pharaoh when his Heart was hardened that he would not let Is­rael go? So all read that can; for the Lord God will shorten the dayes of the Wicked for the Elect Seed's sake; for it was the full Intent and Purpose of my Heart to continue in this War­fare about Tythes, and Contend for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints, and to stand a faithful Witness for the Lord's Testimony against the Beast and the False Prophet whilst I had a being in this Earthly Tabernacle, until the Lord laid an Engagement upon me (wherein I durst not disobey) to go along with my dear Friend my Wife, to be her Companion for the Clearing of her Testimony, which the Lord had called her to; who did bear a faithful Testimony for the Lord, and hath laid down her Head in Peace.

And as for this Persecuting Priest, these are his Actions, and the Fruits of his Ministry at this time, who about the 2d of the first moneth, 1674. did take from me my Brewing-pan; and [Page 54]also in the year 1674. his Bailiffs took from me three Beasts worth 8 l. and that which he called his Due was but about 6 s. So all People may see and know (wheresoever this may come) the Fruits of this Persecuting Priest's Ministry.

Priest Stanford's Tythe-mongers in the year 1673. took from me as followeth, viz. Upon the 4th day of the 7th moneth James Chambers came forcibly, and broke into a Field of Corn of mine, and broke down the Hedge in several places, and took the Corn out of the Field before I took, and before one part of the Field was reapt, contrary to the Law of the Nation.

And also, James Chambers did break into another Corn-Field of mine upon the 11th day of the 7th moneth, who broke down the Hedge in several places, and did carry the Corn away before I took any.

And at another time James Chambers, Thomas Chamblay and James Geldert, went through a Field of Corn before the most of it was reapt, contrary to the Law of the Nation.

And also on another day James Geldert came, and broke into a Corn-Field of mine, and did break down the Hedge, and carryed away the Corn, contrary to the Law of the Nation.

And upon another day James Geldert came, and broke into a Field of Corn, and broke down the Hedge, and took away the Corn, contrary to theLaw of the Nation.

And also John Hawood, who rented the Fines, caused a Horse to be taken from me for a Fine of 15 s. which was worth 4 l. which was for Conscience sake towards God in Obedience to his holy Command.

The Bailiffs Names by whom Priest Shaw cansed my Body to be imprisoned, and my Goods to be taken away, were these, viz. Will. Garner, John Garner, Tho. Marshall, James Postelwhete, Tho. Poolton, Christopher Garner, John Poolton, Miles Fell, James Garner, Richard Fell, Will. Fell, John Sanford. The Constables Names, viz. John Garner, Christopher Chamblay, Timothy Mount, Leonard Cooper and Luke Benson Bailiff.

Priest Ames his Bailiffs Names, viz. William Struckland, Geo. Askew, William Garner, Tho. Poope, Thomas Poolton. James Chambers was Priest Ames his Constable to assist the Bailiffs for the Plundering of my House, and let the Priest have a House to put the plundered Goods in; and this Constable did provide a Horse and a Cart to carry me to Prison.

Priest Stanford's Bailiffs Names, viz. William Struckland, George Askew, John Garner, Richard Fell, Luke Benson, and also Roger Woodborn, who was the Steward of the Court and al­so Judge; there was a Jury appointed, but he did not put the Action to the Jury, but passed Judgment on it himself; but the Lord shortned his dayes, that he never tryed more Actions, but dyed shortly.

Oh! that all People would take Warning and Repent, lest they provoke the Lord to anger, and they perish in his Wrath! for the Indignation of the Lord burns like Fire against the Wicked and Ungodly upon the Earth, who is a Consuming Fire to the Wicked.