eral times say, upon the words of the preacher, Eccles. xi. 9. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Upon which subject he spoke so home to my father's state and condition, that he was convinced, and two others of his companions were reached and affected with the testimony of Christ's truth and gospel; my father and two young men had been walking in the fields, having religious conversation together, and were providentially directed to the meeting, by observing some friends going to it whom they followed thither: one of his companions was Samuel Hodges, who lived and died a faithful friend, at whose house in succeeding times a meeting was settled, and is there continued, and a meeting-house built at this day at Mims, in Hertfordshire.

My father was the first of the family who received the testimony of truth, as it is in Jesus, after which his father and mother were convinced, and all his brothers and sisters, who lived and died honest friends, except one who died young, continuing in the church of England persuasion. Soon after the convincement of my father and his two companions aforesaid, they met with a trial of their faith and patience; for being taken at a religious meeting of friends, they were all three committed to the new prison in Whitechapel, where having continued prisoners for some time, the magistrates, observing their christian courage, boldness, and innocency, and being touched with tenderness towards them, considering their youth, they discharged them.

My father, about the 25th year of his age, married my mother, a virtuous young woman, who was the widow of Nathaniel Harding, a friend who died under the sentence of banishment for his profession of Christ; the above account I had from my father's own mouth; what follows fell within my own observation.

My dear father met with great exercises and disappointments in his early days; he, dealing in his father's business, sold meal to some who broke in his debt, which

brought him low in the world, in which low estate he was aneminent example of patience, resignation, and industry, labouring with his hands for the support of his family, and conscientiously answering all his engagements; so that it may be justly said of him, he was careful that he might owe nothing to any man but love; and farther, he was very constant in keeping to meetings, being a good example therein, though in very hot times of persecu tion; for when friends were sorely and severely persecuted on account of keeping their religious meetings, and the prisons filled with them through the nation, and their goods taken away, and much spoil and havock made about the years 1680 to 1684, my father constantly attended meetings, and never missed, as I remember, when well; and though he was sometimes concerned to speak by way of exhortation to friends in their public meetings, when they were kept out of their meeting houses, by the then powers, to stand faithful to the truth and testifying of the solid comfort and satisfaction those had who truly waited on the Lord, which the faithful enjoyed, notwithstanding their deep and many sufferings for Christ's sake, and his gospel it pleased the Lord to preserve him by his divine providence, that he did not suffer imprison ment, though the wicked informers were very busy in that time of severe persecution. I may further add, that when father was about 60 years of age, he had a concern to visit friends in the north of England, and some other parts of the nation; and in the 75th year of his age, he travelled to Chester, and from thence, in company with James Bates, a public friend, of Virginia, went over for Ireland; in all which services he had good satisfaction, and was well received of friends: divers other journies and travels he performed not here noted; but this journey into another nation at 75 years of age, shews that age had not quenched his love and zeal for his Lord's work and service.

In our father's old age he was attended with very great exercises about the 77th year of his age, as he was assisting his men in the dusk of the evening, he missed his footing, and fell down, and broke his leg; and soon after

his leg was well, he met with another accident by a fall, which disabled him, and made him lame to his death, never recovering the hurt he had by that fall, which was after this manner; he was sitting in a chair by his door on a plank, which not being set fast, it fell, and he, to save himself from the stroke of the plank, fell with his hip on the stones, and got hurt exceedingly, notwithstanding he was remarkable for his activity; he would walk, though so aged, and also lame, as far as the Work-house, Devonshire-house, and Bull and Mouth meetings, two or three miles from home. The last bad accident that befel him was about three weeks before his death, when, being walking in the timber yard, a single plank, which stood against a pile, fell down, and striking him on his side, threw him down; he complained not much of the blow till about a week after, when he was taken with a violent pain in his side, on the very place where he received the stroke, and when his cough took him, with which he was often troubled, the pain was very great; howbeit, through means of a searcloth he received some ease, and the pain of his side abated, and the cough went off; but a vio lent flux followed, and it brought him very low, and extreme weak; so that it was thought he could not continue long; upon which notice was sent to me, and I went to see him, and found him very low; but he revived, and changed often in this last illness; I having been to see him five or six days before, having an account that he was ill, I then found him cheerful, and thought he might He continued all the time of his illness in a patient and resigned frame of mind; on a first day, in the afternoon, he took his bed, being the 6th of the first month, and in the evening, after the afternoon meeting, which was the first day before his death, several friends came to visit him, who finding him very weak, after a little stay, went to take their leave of him, whom he desired to sit down, and after some time of silence, he broke forth in declaration in an intelligible and lively manner, to this effect, saying, We have no continuing city here, but seek one to come, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God: Friends, may we all labour

to be prepared for our last and great change, that when this earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, we may have an habitation with the Lord, a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, and that it might be thus, the Lord hath shewed thee, Oh! man, what is good, viz. To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. I do not expect but that this will be the last night I shall have in this world, and I desire it may be remem. bered, as the words of a dying man, which came to pass, for he died the next day. Oh! that we may labour to be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven, so that when the finishing hour comes we may have nothing to do but to die. About one or two o'clock, the next morn. ing, he began to change, and desired to see me; I came to him, and found him very sensible, but expected his end quickly to approach; he saying, he was waiting for his change. My son-in-law, Samuel Thornton, being with me, and we sitting by the bedside, with his nurse, his housekeeper, and his man, about the fourth hour in the morning, he prayed fervently after this manner ;— Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, thou hast given thy Son, a light to enlighten the gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel; and now, Lord be with thy people and servants, and preserve my near and dear relations, and keep them from the snares and temptations of the enemy, that in thy truth they may fear thy great name.

After a little time of silence, he desired me to remember his dear love, in the life of Christ Jesus, to my dear brother, Thomas Chalkley, in Pennsylvania, and to all my old friends and acquaintance. About the 11th hour in the morning he inquired how the tide was, which no body present could exactly tell; some time after he asked again; his man then went out to see, returning, he told him, it would be high water about 3 o'clock in the afternoon; he then lay still a while, and after some pause spoke cheerfully out aloud, so that all in the room might hear him, I shall go off about five; his man said, master, how dost know? To which he answered, Know, I de

not know, but I believe it. After this the apothecary, one of his neighbours, among whom he was well belov ed, about noon came to see him, and asked him how he was? Father answered, that for three or four hours in the night he thought he should have gone. Why, said he, sir, it will be no surprise to you, I hope. No, no, said my father, very cheerfully. He taking leave of father, said, the Lord be with you. To whom father answered, and with thee also. The doctor having ordered him a comfortable cordial to drink, he drank it willingly, and then said, I do not think to drink any more in this world; but I hope I shall drink plentifully of the river of life: then drawing near his end, finding his strength fail, there being a cord by his order at the bed's feet, he raising himself up thereby as long as he had any strength left in his hands, and when his hands and shoulders failed, and his head, when last lifted up, he spoke very low and faultering, yet so as I could understand, and said, now I am going, and about an hour after, laying all the while without sigh or groan, departed this life, as in a slumber, in sweet peace, according as he had foretold, just as the clock struck five, in a perfect enjoyment of that legacy our Saviour left his followers; "My peace I leave with you," &c. leaving us, of the succeeding generation, a good example to follow; who, as he lived, so he died, like a lamb, in the 84th year of his age, the 7th day of the first month, 1725-6.

GEORGE CHALKLEY.

To which account I shall add the following short testimony concerning my dear and greatly beloved father, George Chalkley, viz.

"I have a great deal in my heart, more than I can write concerning my dear father's life, it having been a wonderful life to me from my youth up; his early care of me, and counsel to me, when I was too thoughtless and wild, melts me into tears now in the remembrance of it; and my tender mother was a partner with him in the