may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' And afterwards the Lord required of me to go and give my testimony for Him, and to warn a company of people to think of their latter end, who were met to dance and to play, not far from my master's house. When I came within the room where they were dancing, the fiddler ceased playing, and they dancing; and I declared the word of the Lord among them. That which was chiefly before me was that of Job xxi. 11, 13. 'They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in mirth, and in a moment go down to the grave.' When I had discharged myself of what lay upon me, I parted from them in love and peace. They thanked me for my good exhortation, and some of them came to set me home.

"After this, I still waited to know the will and counsel of God, and that he might direct me in my way, and order my steps in this my spiritual travel. For I had none to look unto but Him alone, who was all-sufficient to carry on the work which He had begun, though often by weak, poor, mean, and contemptible instruments in the eye of the world. Well might I say with the apostle, 'But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.'

"About this time I went to visit some young men, my former companions in profession of religion. Two of them were convinced, and received the Truth. When we were come to the number of four, it was with me, that we ought to meet together in the name of the Lord; for I remembered the promise of Christ, who said, 'Where two or three

are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' So we all agreed to meet together; but none of us had a house of his own to meet in. We determined therefore to meet on a hill in a common, as near as we could for the convenience of each other, we living some miles apart. There we met in silence, to the wonder of the country. When the rain and weather beat upon us on one side of the hill, we went to the other side. We were not free to go into any neighbors' enclosures, for they were so blind, dark, and ignorant, that they looked upon us as witches, and would go away from us, some crossing themselves with their hands about their foreheads and faces.

"Thus we continued for some time, till two of them left me [to live elsewhere]. The third was William Davies: and we met together for some time; but one time he stayed [away] longer than usual, and a dark spirit possessed him, so that the little time we were together was not comfortable to me; and when we had broken up the meeting, he asked me, 'How I did think we should stand, in the face of the whole country?' I answered him with great zeal, 'The serpent, the serpent, the same that beguiled the woman in Paradise, hath beguiled thee;—thou wilt not be able to stand.' And while we were yet discoursing, I saw my master coming; two women followed him, the one being his wife, my cruel mistress, the other his sister. They both had staves in their hands, and when they came to us, my mistress began beating William Davies. So his trial came very quickly, and he came no more to meet with me, nor any other Friends for many years. It so happened that I had not a blow among them.

"These young men going away thus, I was left alone again, but still I kept waiting upon the Lord, to know his will concerning me. And when the time of my apprenticeship was over, I found freedom to go to London; and finding many Friends there, I settled to my trade; and well

satisfied I was that I could go to meetings and follow my business. When any thing would come into my mind of this my native country [Wales], barren and uninhabited with Friends and Truth, I endeavored to shut it out, and to keep where I was. But all my fair pretences and reasonings would not do. Disobedient to the Lord I was, and trouble and sorrow and judgment from the Lord came upon me, for not obeying his command, to go to my own country, and stand a witness for Him there. In this my disobedience I continued, till I lost His presence, and He smote me with trouble within, and pain in my bones, that I could not work. My pain of body and spirit increased, till at last I was forced to bow to the will of the Great God, who was too strong for me. And reasoning with Him one night upon the bed of my sorrows, he showed me clearly, that I was to go to my own country. And I was made willing to go, if He would be pleased to let me know his will and pleasure by this token, that He would remove my pain. I also reasoned with Him thus: that I was alone, like a pelican in the wilderness, or a sparrow on the house-top. The Lord still commanded me to go, showing that He would provide a help-meet for me. And when I had made a covenant with the Lord to go, immediately my pain was removed, and I had peace and quietness of mind. I arose next morning, and went to my work; and when those tender Friends that had a regard for me in my sickness, came to see me that morning, I was gone to work, to their admiration.

"The Lord, in a little time, provided a help-meet for me, for I prayed unto Him, that she might be of his own providing. We concluded to lay our proceedings before our elders, and especially George Fox-who desired the Lord to be with us. And when we saw our clearness in the Lord, we went to the meeting in Tower Street, London, in the morning, and in the afternoon to Southwark; and in that meeting, in the presence of God and that assembly, we took

each other to be man and wife. God alone knew our innocency and integrity in coming together. It was not for gold, nor silver, nor any outward thing; but to be serviceable to Him in our age and generation, and to stand witnesses for Him and His blessed Truth, where he should send us. Soon after, in the Lord's time, we made what haste we could to come to the country where we believed the Lord would have us to be, and we said, 'O Lord, if thou wilt be with us in our way, and give us bread to eat and raiment to put on, then, O Lord, thou shalt be our God.' And the Lord was with us, and gave us His sweet and comfortable presence."

Richard Davies continued to reside in Wales for many years, and became an eminent instrument in the hands of his Divine Master, in gathering many from the barren mountains of an empty profession, to sit down in the silence of all flesh, and learn from the great Minister of ministers the manifestations of His holy will, and the mysteries of pure spiritual religion.

CHAPTER XIV.

GEORGE ROBINSON GOES TO JERUSALEM, AND MARY FISHER

A

TO TURKEY.

BOUT the year 1657, several of the ministers raised

up to testify to the universal grace of God through Christ, as the free offer of salvation to all mankind, were called forth by their divine Master, to bear witness to his goodness, as with their lives in their hands, among the semibarbarous inhabitants of the coasts of the Mediterranean sea.

George Robinson, of London, believed it required of him to travel in the service of the gospel to Jerusalem, and there bear his testimony to pure and spiritual religion. Embarking from Leghorn in Italy, he landed at the port of Ptolemais, now called Acre, in the Levant, and thence proceeded to Joppa, and Ramlah, or Arimathea. But the Romish priests at Jerusalem, hearing of him, and understanding that his object was to decry the superstition of pilgrimages, which was their chief means of support, procured his arrest and confinement. After a short imprisonment, an old Turkish inhabitant of the place took him to his house, and for several days entertained him with much hospitality. At length there came an Irish friar from the Popish priests and friars at Jerusalem, who began to question him, whether he would, on his arrival at that ancient city, visit the various holy places, as they were called, pay the usual sums of money, and wear the customary habit of the pilgrims? He was also enjoined not to speak anything about religion, or against the Turkish laws which were in force there. George, however, was not at liberty to submit to terms, which would have fettered the operations of the Holy Spirit through him as an instrument of the divine will; and steadfastly refusing to comply with their wishes, he was carried back by a guard of horse and foot soldiers to Joppa, and thence conveyed to Acre, where he had first landed. Here he was kindly entertained by an old French merchant, who was secretly drawn in sympathy towards him; and feeling still a necessity laid upon him to endeavor to prosecute his journey, this merchant assisted him to return to Joppa, whence he again reached Ramlah on foot. On the road he was attacked by three robbers, who plundered him, but afterwards, moved perhaps by his innocent behavior, or by the special interposition of Divine Providence, one of them returned what they had taken, and in a friendly manner conducted him on his journey. Arriving at Ramlah, he