the Psalms for the day, my soul was much comforted. observes-At this awful period, the state of my I found also great consolation in the 2nd chap. of 1st mind was such as I pray from my heart it may be Samuel, particularly the 9th and 10th verses; as well when the moment of my dissolution shall arrive. I as in the 54th of Isaiah. Thus, after leaving this felt peace in my soul, and love to God and to all the place I felt my mind more strengthened in the Lord.' world.' On the 13th of June, the prisoners were For some days after this, he continued to wander tried. Those of whom they got a good character were through the country, endeavouring to reach home; received amongst themselves to fight against the Goyet afraid to walk the roads, or more frequented parts. vernment; but such as were opposed to their proceedDuring this time, he had many narrow escapes from ings, or were suspected of being Orangemen, were being taken by the rebels. I regret, writes his bio- ordered to Wexford, to be confined in the jail. When grapher, that my limits do not allow me to mention George Taylor's trial came on, he was soon acquitted, some of these. The exercises of his mind also, and and placed amongst those who were to be incorporthe high tone of his religious feelings in this interval, ated with themselves. Determined, however, to have would, I have no doubt, be read with much gratifica- nothing to do with the unclean thing, he, of his own tion. But I must pass on to his capture by the in-accord, stepped across the room, aud took his station surgents; which took place, when he was but three among the condemned. He was immediately pinioned, miles from his residence. He was immediately taken and marched off with his fellow-sufferers to Wexford. to Gorey, and lodged with the other prisoners in the On the way they suffered great hardships from cold, Market House. During his detention here, which hunger, and fatigue, and as soon as they arrived were continued for a week, he suffered every insult and in- thrust into prison; some in the jail, others, amongst dignity (short of personal violence), which the ingenuity whom was George Taylor, into the market-house. Here of his merciless captors could devise. He was mock- he remained in strict confinement for upwards of a ed, ridiculed, threatened, plundered of his clothes and week, during which time he constantly confessed his in hourly fear for his life. His food was of the worst Lord before man; fearlessly bearing his testimony for description, and so scantily supplied, that the miseries Jesus whenever an opportunity occurred. He suffered of hunger and thirst were frequently added to his much both in body and mind; being marked out by calamities; his bed was of comfortless straw, worn those who knew him for peculiar insult and annoyance, almost to dust, and loathsome with vermin. But that on account of his character for religion and steady prowhich entered into his soul more deeply than the suf-testantism. These, however, were but the beginning ferings of his body, was the painful state of mental exercise in which he was continually kept, by the unceasing endeavours of his adversaries to draw him from the faith of his fathers. Severe indeed was the conflict, strong and seducing the temptation: for what eloquence is so great-what argument so prevailing, as that which is backed by fire and slaughter? Against these powerful and deeply laid devices of his soul's enemy, George Taylor, however, found a strong and sure defence, in the supplies of grace which his heavenly Father poured into his soul, in answer to his earnest supplications. Strength proportioned to his day was given him; so that, in all these things he was more than conqueror through Him that loved him.' 'I felt,' he observes, a divine resignation to my Redeemer's heavenly will, and for the most part of the time enjoyed peace of mind, and an assurance of His favour. I saw the great necessity there was for applying constantly to the Friend of sinners, for grace to stand fast in the faith; and in the strength of God to combat the power of men and devils, and to glorify Him in this great furnace of affliction, I thought of the martyrs of old, and prayed for their faith, love, and zeal, that like them, I might be able to resist even unto blood. I bless His holy name, he granted my desire, and I felt strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.'

"While a prisoner here, the rebels one day, goaded on by mortification at the loss of the battle fought at the town of Ross, brought him and his fellow-captives to the top of Gorey hill, determined to wreak their unholy vengearce on these poor men, and were only prevented from executing their bloody purpose by the timely arrival of a message from the commander-inchief of the insurgent forces, strictly forbidding all unauthorized executions, under pain of death. Thus disappointed of their prey, their wrath and fury knew no bounds. Scarcely could they be restrained from falling on the poor trembling protestants; and even as it was, they sought to satisfy their thirst for blood by insidiously stabbing and piking them in the back as they were led away to prison. On this occasion, George Taylor received a most severe wound between the shoulders, the mark of which he carried to the grave. With respect to his feelings at the time, he

of sorrows; for, on Wednesday evening, the 20th of June, the rebels commenced slaughtering their prisoners on the bridge. Three times did these men of blood visit the market-house, on each occasion bearing off with them a number of the unfortunate protestants. At the last visit, they signified to George Taylor that he must go with them. He obeyed, remonstrating with them, however, strongly, and fearlessly, on the iniquity of their proceedings. When they reached the bridge, the prisoners were placed on their knees, and the slaughter began. They had already piked six of the number, throwing their bodies into the river, and were now within one of George Taylor; when, as God would have it, without whom a sparrow falls not to the ground, priest Curran, a man of humane and feeling mind, came up, and having with great difficulty persuaded them to defer the massacre of the remainder, conducted them back to their confinement. His (G. T.'s) remarks on this circumstance are worthy of being transcribed :- In this critical juncture, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, kept my heart in the knowledge and love of God; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, was with me of a truth. I thought long before this, that I should have heard the harpers harping with their harps; and have seen the face of Him whom my soul loved, without a veil between; but my warfare was not yet over. God had still more work for me to do.' For the present, however, his sufferings were at an end; for the decisive battle of Vinegar Hill, which took place the next day, effectually put an end to this formidable insurrection. The victorious army immediately marched to Wexford, and their first act was to liberate the prisoners. Immediately on his liberation, George Taylor went to Dublin to join his relations, who received him as one that 'had been dead, but was now alive again!' The providence of God, so evidently manifested on his behalf, made a salutary impression on their hearts; and, in particular, on his own. He now saw plainly that he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;' he said of the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress, and my God; in Him will I trust; and he felt determined, henceforth to give his heart fully to Him.”

KENDAL MEETING HOUSE.

REMINISCENCES AND REFLECTIONS.

Written for THE BRITISH FRIEND.

The first meeting which George Fox held in West-
morland, was the remarkable one at Firbank Chapel.
This was a large assembly for so secluded a place.
Upwards of a thousand were present. A religious re-

fostered by the recent introduction of the Presbyterian
in the place of the Episcopalian system, by which the
leading members of the congregations were vested
with a more active and responsible share in the church
government than before. At this meeting many of
the hearers were convinced, and the entire body of the
Fox's gospel declaration.
numerous teachers of the congregation received George

year

dal.
George Fox records five visits to the Town of Ken-
least eleven years, Friends met at a farm house, called
A meeting was soon established, and for at
Birch Cragg, about one mile from Kendal, behind the
Castle. George Fox's first visit took place in the
1652, soon after the occurrences at Firbank Chapel.
He held a meeting in the town hall, and remained
some time in the town. Many were favourably dis-
posed towards him, and several were convinced. The
practice of smoking tobacco was then very prevalent,
(in spite of King James' celebrated "counterblast,")
and one man who met George Fox in the street, pre-
tented him with a roll of that herb. George Fox ac-
knowledged the man's kindness but declined his gift.

THE County of Westmorland was one of those dis-vival was evidently in progress, and no doubt this was tricts in which the principles of the religious Society of Friends made the most rapid advances in early times. What particular reasons led to this result, time does not at present allow us to search into. Some causes, probably, might be found connected with the social, political, or religious situation of the county, or with the administration of its institutions, which produced the consequence adverted to. The unsophisticated minds of its pastoral inhabitants received with eagerness the truths presented to them. Possessed of all the independence which distinguishes the population of mountainous regions, added to that particular aptitude for self-action which the especial locality of a border county produced, the men of Westmorland filled an important position in the formation of the infant Society. Priests and people listened to the call, and numerous were the messengers, who, with all the zeal of early and ardent discipleship, spread the glad tidings to distant quarters. It is not improbable, that Westmorland, in proportion to its population, contributed during the first half century of the Society's existence, more ministers who travelled in the service of truth, than any other county. Howgill and Burrough, Halhead, Camm, Audland, and Whitehead, all appear to have been Westmorland men. It is deserving of notice, that the Society upon its first impulse, was particularly a north country movement. The churches were settled in the north by the year 1654, and flourished in all the glory and beauty of Christian purity. Sixty ministers proceeded from them to promulgate in the east, west, and south, the principles which afforded them consolation and peace. The energy of the north impressed itself upon the land, and raised up the body to which we belong. Does the impulse yet proceed from the north, and do we still sustain the edifice erected through the instrumentality of our forefathers? Examine the Friends who constitute our central yearly assembly, and we shall find that what the genius of the north created (if so we may speak) is nourished and sustained by the south. It is worthy of consideration, whether advantage might not arise from having our annual meetings to circulate from place to place.

his absence, his bitter and unscrupulous opponent, George Fox soon returned to Kendal, but during William Lampitt, the priest of Ulverston, had visited this quarter, and had succeeded in highly incensing the religious public against him. George Fox, however, obtained a meeting with them, which lasted through the entire night. He answered William Lampitt's objections, and so thoroughly exposed his deceit and falsehood, that his chief hearers forsook him.

Fox visited Kendal, on a market day, and preached For a third time in this same year, 1652, George through the town with remarkable power and effect, and several more were convinced.

we can only regret, that so promising a commenceThat extraordinary man, James Naylor, of whom ment should afterwards have become dimmed by delusion, visited Kendal in the same year. He had been

* See the remarkable expressions he uses, in his Journal.

a commonwealth soldier, of eight or nine years stand-assembling at Birch Cragg. Fifteen of them were ing. Some curious particulars are recorded of his taken and indicted; several were fined, and three imvisit, which space compels us materially to curtail. prisoned for nearly a year. The priests placed spies upon the steeple to ascertain In 1664, many of the inhabitants of Kendal were his movements, and on his approaching the town from distrained upon for nonattendance of the established the meeting at the widow's house at Birch Cragg, worship; and as their neighbours would not purchase they met him with several magistrates and a multitude goods so unjustly taken, the Magistrates animated some of people. The following conversation has reference unprincipled persons to buy them at ruinous prices to to the circumstances which gave rise to the peculiar the sufferers. And the next year, all the nonconformname by which the Society has been generally distin-ists of the town were summoned before the Mayor, but guished in the world. One of the priests addressed none appeared except twenty Friends, seventeen of him thus: "I conjure thee to tell me by what power whom were fined, and three underwent both imprisonthou inflictest such punishment upon the bodies of ment and distraint. And George Fox, writing in this creatures;" alluding to the effects produced by the year, records that there were many prisoners at Kensearching and conscience-awakening ministry of these dal, because they could not pay tithes; as Captain early witnesses upon the minds of their auditors, caus- Ward, Thomas Robertson, and the Widow Garland, ing their outward frames to sympathize with the dis- who had many small children. That others were in tress of their trembling spirits. This effect, being a Kendal prison who were moved of the Lord to speak thing wholly unknown to the established ministers, to the priests, and that others had been moved to go the priests called "inflicting punishment.' James clad with sackloth, in lamentation for the miserable Naylor replied, "If thou hast the Spirit of God, as state of the nation. thou sayest thou hast, then thou canst tell by what power it is done." The priest said, When God cometh, he comes to torment the souls, and not the bodies;" to which James Naylor replied, "He comes to redeem the souls." The priests afterwards got up a petition to the magistrates against him, in which this quaking and trembling was alluded to; upon which Justice Pearson (who afterwards joined the Society,) questioned of him, How it came to pass that people quaked and trembled? to which James Naylor replied, that the Scriptures witnessed the same condition in the saints formerly, as David, Daniel, Habakkuk, and others. The people threatened to throw James Naylor off the bridge into the river, but he passed through them, boldly preached in the market. place, and escaped without harm, although the excited populace followed him with threats and missiles above a quarter of a mile out of the town. He was soon after imprisoned for twenty weeks; and let it be observed once for all, that we cannot at this day form any adequate idea of the disgusting and pestilential nature of the horrid places which were then used for the incar-house, excites a depth of feeling which approaches the ceration of prisoners.

In 1684, one hundred and fifty-seven Friends were imprisoned in this county, on the absurd pretext of their being popish recusants.

This finishes the painful list we intend to give, of the persecutions and sufferings of the Society in and about Kendal, in its early days. Numerous individual cases existed, and many of them of peculiar harshness, of which no notice can here be given. Thirty-six printed folio pages are filled with a statement of them, so concise as to amount to little more than a mere list.

The members of the Society of Friends in Kendal, are, at the present time, tolerably numerous, and possess a pleasant Meeting-house. The harmony of Nature hovers around it. Melodies of various pleasing kinds continually unite their simple and sweet influences. The never-ceasing flow of the river Kent, the rustling of the leaves upon the trees of the adjacent burial ground, and the singing of birds, favourably dispose the mind for solemn impressions. The continued monotony of a large, yet broken and wide-spreading waterfall, such as exists at a proper distance from the sublime. The voice of many waters is heard, speaking In 1657, George Fox had a narrow escape from cap-in a language mysterious, yet full of meaning. The ture. In passing through the town he was recognised by the constables, who had long possessed a warrant against him. They ran to fetch their warrant, but before they could overtake him, he had passed the limits of their jurisdiction.

soul becomes withdrawn from outward things; and imperceptibly influenced by the continuous flow, it glides onwards in its course from depth to depth; from one rich pasture of thought to another; through mental scenes as full of beauty, of pleasantness, and of refreshIn the face of all opposition, the Society continued ment, as the contiguous stream; till, as the river falls to increase; of which we have melancholy evidence into the ocean from whence its particles originally profrom the fact, that, in 1660, the period of the so called ceeded, so does the soul arrive at its long desired haven. "joyful" restoration of the Stuart dynasty, and eight What words can describe the sensations it enjoys, or years after George Fox's first appearance in the county, who shall attempt to depict its emotions? It becomes no less than 132 Friends were confined in the jails of absorbed in the bosom of its Author and Creator; it Westmorland, by the order of the King's advisers. experiences the joy of a union for a time with the pleniOne hundred and thirty-two persons! Let us consider tude of bliss: it has every desire fulfilled without this, we who live in these days of ease. If only half weariness; every wish gratified, yet stimulated: it rea dozen of us get imprisoned in comfortable jails for poses on the divine love with all the confidence of filial our testimony against the Militia, what an outcry will affection; becomes unconscious, and, so to speak, half be raised! Let us be thankful for the privileges our annihilated as to itself, while rapt in the sacred vision, forefathers in the faith purchased for us, with their experiences celestial beatitude; and finally, when sent sufferings and their lives; and let us resolve, that the back to the outward world, finds itself strengthened to standard they set up shall not be permitted to fall. The run its course, and invigorated to contend against its courageous Francis Howgill laid down his life in West- besetments; full of hope for the future, and overflowing morland county jail, with lamb-like meekness; his last with thankfulness for the past. Oh! happy foretaste of recorded expression being, "I have sought the way the coming reward. Oh! true encouragement for the of the Lord from a child, and lived innocently amongst fainting wayfarer. This vale of tears has its scenes of men, and if any inquire concerning my latter end, let brightness. This weary wilderness its spots of verthem know that I die in the faith in which I lived and dure. Though black the firmament, it is spangled with suffered." He sweetly finished his course, aged forty-gems; though toilsome the path, there are places of nine years, a prisoner nine years.

In 1663, a severe blow fell upon the congregation

repose.

For such, let us be thankful, for we have need of

them. There are periods when the trials of the world distress us. There are more fearful occasions when the enemy of the soul intimidates us, going about like a roaring lion, or a howling wolf round a benighted traveller; when faith gives way to anguish and despair; when the very source of all consolation is shut up, a curtain drawn in front of our sun, a wall of iron interposed between us and our aim. When such is the case, and no direct access can be had to the fountain of hope, the recollection of past favours may cheer us, and former mercies give us encouragement.

a minor consideration. And it is no doubt well, that such should be the case. And here is one of the marvels of the gospel:-That notwithstanding the great diversity of sentiment amongst men, it affords to every temperament an object which each can regard as the height of desire, and the perfection of consolation. The encouragement afforded to inward souls has been spoken of, and the delights in store for the meditative and the reserved. For others, a different view is afforded. The unfathomable riches of the gospel can please every purified taste: the most opposite minds in the church of Christ can be accommodated. It is like some magnificent country which affords the most perfect, and yet the most diversified views at every turn. Some prefer one and some another. The reflective, the inthe choicest scenes; the consideration of which yields them pure delight, and the fulness of enjoyment. What view shall we next gaze upon? It shall be one of mystery, yet of stupendous magnitude; mysterious, because surpassing the limits of human comprehension; stupendous, because of its momentous importance to the souls of men. Fervent as may be our desires after Heaven, strong as are our wishes to be found walking with acceptance, we all know and admit our fallible and fallen condition. Who will dare to assert that he hath not committed errors; and never fallen into the snares of his ever-watchful enemy? Alas no! grievous are our deviations, and more than can be numbered are the instances in which we have yielded to temptation. Who is there that hath not sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed; through his fault, through his own fault, through his own most grievous fault? Is Heaven any place for such as us, where nothing sinful or imperfect can enter? Sin once committed, eannot, by any effort of ours, be removed. It must remain against us, ineffaceable by human means. The most virtuous life does not wipe away past transgressions. There is no outweighing misdeeds by good actions, because the perfect man does no more than he ought to do. Works of supererogation have no existence. Man is bound to do his utmost duty. Sin, therefore, cannot be counterbalanced. Suppose that an artificer, in constructing some piece of machinery, requires a bolt or straight rod of iron to pass through a closely fitted aperture. If it be crooked, and contain angles and bends, if, in fact, it deviate the smallest from a straight line, it is unfitted for its purpose, and must be rejected. And if there be only one angle in it, and it afterwards proceed perfectly straight, yet it suffers the same fate. What, then, must become of it, if it be full of deviations? So it is with the soul. Heaven requires perfection. Man is a tissue of imperfection. The celestial gate cannot admit sin; that straight and narrow entrance will not allow the passage of our crooked and deformed spirits, nor will the heavenly atmosphere tolerate the stay of unsound and imperfect existences.

And yet there are theological cynics, and self-styled divines, who inveigh against the state of mind in which these blessed glimpses of Heaven are afforded; who, ignorant possibly of the happy condition which they condemn, attempt to brand it with the name of "mys-tellectual, the hopeful, the desponding, all meet with ticism;" and without experience of the subject of their animadversions, boldly call the sensations of which we have been speaking, a state of "spiritual death.' Mistaken and misguided men! of what a happy privilege would you deprive all mankind. Is repose death? Is food poison? If so, then is this holy state one to be condemned. As surely as slumber strengthens the weary frame, so certainly does this admission to the celestial influence, console and invigorate the soul. As truly as food nourishes the body, so do these happy opportunities feed the immortal part. Man then goes forth refreshed: he is prepared like a strong man to run a race: he feels like a warrior incased in armour of proof, and is full of hope for the battle with his spiritual adversaries. In the midst of difficulties, he continues undisturbed; the greatest dangers he calmly confronts. His faith is crossed by no darkening shade, his confidence in his Saviour is undoubted. No. This happy condition is probably the nearest approach to heaven upon earth which is permitted to mortality; except in extraordinary cases. In its capacity of food to the spiritual part it constitutes the real Supper of of the Lord, the true participation of the body and blood of Christ. It is an inestimable privilege permitted to the believer, a merciful favour fulfilled to the humbleminded. Those who experience it know that language cannot describe it: even oriental metaphor, with all its bold gorgeousness, falls short of the glad reality of this "feast of fat things prepared by the Lord for his people, this feast of wines on the lees well refined, this introduction into 'His banquetting-house,' where the 'banner' that waves over us is love; where we sit down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit is sweet to our taste.

Let it not, however, be forgotten, that man's portion here is not enjoyment, but probation; that He has a conflict to maintain; the flesh to mortify, a race to run, and active duties to perform. He cannot enjoy the reward without performing the duties, nor must he expect continued happiness whilst a member of the church militant. He must brace himself to the work of action; and patiently, humbly, yet with Christian manfulness, endure the cross and despise the shame. If he neglect these active duties in search of the favoured state of which we have spoken, he willexperience disappointment: instead of growing in grace he will become a dwarf in the church, a useless and incumbering member; a visionary; and, in that case, without doubt a mystic.

Different are the minds of men. For the best of purposes, doubtless, the Creator has ordained that the feelings and views of individuals should be diverse. What affords pleasure to one person, does not yield the same degree to another. The mental constitutions of men probably differ more widely than their corporeal frames. The highest gratification to one person, is an object perhaps of indifference to another. What one esteems the summit of happiness, another regards as

Such is our condition, and hopeless it is. Where, then, is our hope; and to what quarter shall we look for succour? Is eternal exclusion from these realms of glory to be our lot, and may we never partake of those unspeakable enjoyments? Desponding Christian, mark the goodness of thy Heavenly Father. Turn thy eyes towards the overwhelming scene before thee. Note if thou canst, its exceeding loveliness. Inhale the exhilarating atmosphere which pervades it: adore the surpassing love of God to man. Thank the unbounded mercy of thy Creator; stand astonished at the condescension of thy suffering Saviour. He, for thy sake, left the bosom of his Father. To redeem thee, he laid aside his glory. To ransom man, he gave his life. To propitiate our sins, he tasted death. He left his heavenly mansion to walk this lower world, that erring man might have a perfect pattern. Omnipo