friends: we were heartily glad to see one another. From Enfield we went forward to London, and by the way we met with several friends of the meeting of Horsleydown, to which I did belong from my childhood, who came to meet me, and accompanied us to London.

I stayed in and about the city most of the winter, visiting meetings when I was well and in health; for through often changing the climates, I got a severe cold, and was ill for several weeks, so that I was not at any meeting, which time was very tedious to me; not so much be cause of my illness, as that I was deprived of divers opportunities and meetings, which are in that city every day of the week except the last. When I was a little got over this illness, I went into Hertfordshire, and some parts adjacent, and had meetings at Staines, Langford, Uxbridge, Walford, Hempstead, Bendish, Albans, Mar ket-Street, Hitching, Hertford, Hodgdon, and then returned again to London.

After I had been at London a while, I visited several other country meetings, as Winchmore-Hill, Tottenham, Wansworth, Plaistow, Deptford, and Epping, and then staid about London some weeks, waiting for a passage for Holland, which I intended to visit before I left my own habitation.

And on the 14th of the first month, 1708-9, I, with my companion, John Bell, after having acquainted our friends and relations, (having their consent) and taking our solemn leave of them, we went down to Gravesend, and staid there two or three days for a fair wind. We went on board the ship Ann, John Duck, Master, bound for Rotterdam, in company with a fleet of vessels waiting for wind, &c. When the wind was fair we sailed for the coast of Holland, and when we arrived on that coast the wind was contrary, and blew very hard, so that some of the ships in company lost their anchors, but in a day or two we all arrived safe at Rotterdam, in Holland: (we were but two days on this passage). On the first day morning we went to meeting at Rotterdam, where friends have a meeting-house; and we stayed at this city seven or eight days, and had six or seven meetings, and were com

forted with our brethren and sisters, and greatly refreshed in the Lord Almighty. At this city we spoke without an interpreter, because the most in the meeting understood English. From Rotterdam we travelled by the Trackscoot, a boat, being drawn by horses, which is a pleasant easy way of travelling, to a large town called Harlem, where we had a meeting, and spoke by an interpreter ; to which meeting came divers of those people called menonists: they were very sober and attentive, and stayed all the time of the meeting, and spoke well of it. From Harlem, we went to Amsterdam, the metropolis of Holland, where friends have a meeting-house. Here we had several meetings, and stayed about a week. On the first day we had a large meeting, to which came many people of divers persuasions and religions, as Jews, papists, and others; and we had a good opportunity among them, and several were tender. A Jew came next day to speak with us, and did acknowledge, "That Christ was the minister of that sanctuary and tabernacle that God had pitched, and not man; and that he was sensible of the ministry of Christ in his soul; and, (said he) my heart was broken while that subject was spoken of in the meeting." I was glad to see the man tender, and reached; but, too generally speaking, the poor Jews, the seed of good Jacob, are very dark and unbelieving. I have met with but very few of them in my travels, that have been tender; but I do love them for Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's sake. At this meeting, William Sewel, (the author of the history of the rise and progress of the people called quakers), a tender-spirited upright man, interpreted for me. From Amsterdam we went to North-Holland, and John Claus and Peter Reyard went with us to interpret for us; so by boat, or scoot, we travelled to a town called Twisk, where we had two meetings, friends having a meeting-house there; from Twisk we went back again to Amsterdam, and had two large meetings there on the first day, and second day in the evening we went on shipboard, in order to cross the South Sea to Herlingen, at which place we had two meetings, and we and friends were glad to see one another: and, indeed, we being as

one family all the world over, are generally glad to see each other. From this place we travelled eastward through East-Friesland, and went through several great towns and cities until we came to Embden, the chief city in East-Friesland, where we had a comfortable meeting by the bed-side of one of our friends that lay sick; and several of her neighbours came in and stayed till the meeting ended; some of them were very tender and loving, and wished us well, and were well satisfied. After meeting we set forward for Hamburgh, it being four days journey by waggon, and passed along through divers towns and cities: we also travelled through the city of Oldenburg, and a place of great commerce called Bremen. A magistrate of this city took notice of us, joined himself to us, and went with us to the inn, and then very lovingly took leave of us, and desired God to bless us. The people at our inns were generally very loving and kind to us, and some would admire at my coming so far only to visit my friends, without any views of advantage or profit outwardly. When we got to Hamburgh we had a meeting at Jacob Hagen's, and those that were there, were well satisfied with the doctrine of truth, blessed be God, who, I may say, was with us at that time and place! At Hamburgh there was at meeting one who had preached before the king of Denmark; who, as I understood by our interpreter, was turned out of his place, for preaching the same truths that we had preached there that day; at which meeting, were papists, lutherans, calvanists, menonists, Jews, &c. All of them were sober, and generally expressed their satisfaction. I had so much comfort in that meeting, that I thought it was worth my labour in coming from my habitation, the answer of peace was so much to my soul, that I greatly rejoiced in my labour in the work of Christ. From hence I travelled to Frederickstadt, it being two days journey, where friends have a meeting-house. We stayed about ten days, and had nine meetings in this city. Some of the meetings were very large, and the longer we stayed, the larger they were. This Freder, ickstadt is a city in the dominions of the duke of Hol

stein, and was the farthest place we travelled to eastward; and from hence I wrote a small piece, called, "A loving invitation unto young and old in Holland and elsewhere;" which was translated into the German and Low-Dutch languages: and divers impressions of them were also printed in England.

We travelled in this journey through some parts of the emperor of Germany's dominions, as also of the kings of Denmark and Swedeland, and of the duke of Oldenburg's, and prince of East-Friesland's territories, besides some parts of the Seven Provinces of the United States. We parted with our friends of this city of Frederickstadt, in much love and tenderness, and with our hearts full of good will, one towards another, and so went back to the city of Embden a nearer way, by two days journey, than to go by Hamburgh. We crossed the rivers Eyder, Elfe, and Weiser; over which last we were rowed by three women. The women in those parts of the world are strong and robust, and used to hard labour. I have seen them do not only the work of men, but of horses; it being common with them to do the most laborious, and the men the lightest and easiest work, I remember that I once saw near Hamburgh, a fair, well dressed woman, who, by her dress, or appearance, was a woman of some note, and a man, whom I took to be her husband, walking by her, and she was very great with child, and the way difficult, being up a very steep hill, and he did not so much as offer his hand, or assistance to her; which, however it might look to a man of that country, seemed very strange to me, being a Briton. For my part, I thought it unmanly, as well as unmannerly: on which I observe, that I never in any part of the world, saw women so tenderly dealt by as our English, or British women, which they ought to value and prize highly, and therefore to be the more loving and obedient to their husbands, the indulgent Englishmen; which indulgence I blame not, but commend, so far as it is a motive to stir them up to love and faithfulness.

In this journey between Frederickstadt and Embden, we had four days hard travelling, and were twice over

turned out of our waggons, but we got no harm, which was admirable to us; for once we fell, waggon and all, over a great bank, just by the side of a large ditch, and did but just save ourselves out of the ditch. The next time we overset upon stones: we wondered that none of us were hurt, particularly myself, I being much heavier than any of the rest; but through the mercy of God, we got well to Embden the second time, and had a meeting upon a first day, and immediately after meeting, we took ship for Delfzeel, which was from Embden about nine or ten English miles, by water, and with a fair gale of wind, got there in less than two hours time. We spoke by interpreters all along, and were divinely helped to preach the gospel to the satisfaction of others, and our own com fort; and the friend who interpreted for us, was sensible of the same divine assistance, to his admiration, for which we were all truly thankful. But, notwithstanding we were so opened, to the satisfaction of ourselves, our friends, and the people, yet we were sometimes emptied to exceeding great spiritual poverty, and in the sense of our want and need, we did many times pour out our souls and spirits in humble prayer and supplication to the Most High, for his help and strength, that it might be made manifest to us in our weakness; and we found him a God near at hand, and often a present help in the needful time, and had a sweet answer to our prayers. Oh! that my soul, with all the faithful, may dwell near to him, in whom alone is the help, and strength of all his faithful servants and ministers! Amen.

From Delfzeel we went to Groeningen, the chief city in Groeningland, and so on to a river called the Wouder, and to a town named Goradick, where we had a meeting with a few friends there, and some of their neighbours came to the meeting. It was to us a comfortable meeting, and they were glad of it, they being but seldom visited by friends. From this place we travelled by waggon to Hervine, where we lodged that night, and next day went by waggon to Leuwarden. It happened that we had generally very fine weather while in those open wag