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Gov. Your reasons being grounded on scripture, you are well grounded; for no man can deny the scriptures. Then you say you are inspired?

T. C. I hope I am. I pray for it with great earnest.

ness.

Gov. Then it is but ask, and have, you think.

T. C. If we ask in faith, without wavering, we shall receive, according to the doctrine of Christ and his apostles in the New Testament.

Gov. Well, If any have a desire to hear you, you may preach and welcome.

After I had this discourse with the governor, it was reported, on the island, that the governor had given us a license to preach, which report was not true, further than the aforesaid discourse, and then we had larger meetings than before. We had a meeting at judge Stafford's house, and one at a house not far from his.

It is observable that this island hath formerly been a very healthy and fruitful place. Red-cedar, or sweetwood, is all the timber they have in the island, with which they build their houses, make their household goods, build their ships and sloops, and make their fires; so that there is continually a fragrant and pleasant smell, which we could smell at sea sometime before we saw the land; and it is yet a pretty healthy and fruitful island, but not so healthy and fruitful as formerly. In one of the meetings I was concerned to let them know, that it was the evil of their ways and doings that had caused the Almighty to withhold from them the fruits of the earth, and to make their island more unhealthy than formerly it was. After meeting, the judge told me I had said truly, for that was the cause; and if I had spoke more to that matter, or on that subject, I had done well. Several were convinced at this time on this island.

Soon after an opportunity offered, in a sloop belonging to this island, that was bound for Philadelphia, in which we (being clear) embarked, and on our voyage had indifferent good weather, only one hard gale of wind, which caused us to hand our jib. A mulatto man named Stavo, (the master's servant) went out upon the bowsprit

to hand the sail, and there came a sea and washed him off; and the vessel ran over him; and, in all probability, he had certainly been drowned, had he not been a good swimmer; for he swam, as we judged, three quarters of a mile, before he got to the sloop, it not coming into any one's mind to lower the sails, until I sharply ordered it to be done, which they then did readily; and the course of the vessel being stopped, he soon got on board, having stripped himself of his clothes in the sea, and brought them in his mouth. I was very thankful for the poor fellow's life, and praised the Lord in the secret of my soul for his preservation. In about two weeks time we arrived at Philadelphia, and I had great peace in my labours in this visit, in which I was from home about five months. The friends of Barbadoes were so well satisfied with this labour of love, that they certified the same by way of certificate, more than is proper for me to mention. But though they thought so well of me, yet I had occasion to think very meanly of myself, for I was emptied to exceeding great spiritual poverty at times.

After I came home from Barbadoes and Bermuda, I followed my calling, and kept to meetings diligently; for I was not easy to be idle, either in my spiritual or temporal callings; and, at times, travelled in the work of the ministry in our own province, in which there are many large meetings of friends, and they increase and multiply from time to time. Since my settling in this province, which is now about a year, some hundreds of people are come here to settle, and divers meeting-houses are built; and I do certainly know from above, that this province of Pennsylvania, and city of Philadelphia, will flourish both spiritually and temporally, if the inhabitants will love, and live, in righteousness, and in the fear of God; otherwise the hand that planted them can soon pluck them up. After some time, I was drawn forth to visit friends in Maryland, Virginia, and North-Carolina, and went with the unity of friends, having their certificate; according to the good order established among us; so about the 26th of the 1st month, 1703, I went

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through Maryland, and visited friends in Virginia and North-Carolina, to the river Pamlico, where no travelling, public friends, that ever I heard of, were before, and we had several meetings there on each side of the river. One day going out of our canoe through a marsh, I trod on a rattle-snake, which is accounted one of the most poisonous snakes; but it only hissed at me, and did no harm. This was one deliverance, among many, which the Lord, by his providence, wrought for me; and I bless his holy name for all his mercies. In going to, and coming from this place, we lay two nights in the woods, and I think I never slept better in all my life. It was the eighth hour in the evening, when I laid down on the ground, one night, my saddle being my pillow, at the root of a tree, and it was four o'clock in the morning when they called me. When I awoke, I thought of good Jacob's lodging he had on his way to Padan Aram, when he saw the holy vision of angels, with the ladder, whose top reached to heaven. Very sweet was the love of God to my soul that morning, and the dew of the everlasting hills refreshed me; and I went on my way, praising the Lord, and magnifying the God of my salvation. In this journey I met with another remarkable deliverance, going over a river eight miles broad, we put our horses, we being eight men and seven horses, into two canoes tied together, and our horses stood with their fore feet in one, and their hind feet in the other. It was calm when we set out, but when we were about the middie of the river, the wind rose, and the seas ran high, and split one of our canoes, so that with our hats we were obliged to cast out the water; and with much difficulty, at last, all of us, with our horses, got safe on shore, through the good providence of God. And on our return through North-Carolina, we had several large meetings, and an open time it was; as also at Nansemond and Chockatuck, and several other places in Virginia; and when my service was over in those two provinces, I went back to Maryland, and visited meetings there, and then went home. As near as I can compute it, I rode about a thousand miles in this journey; after which I staid at

home, following my business, in order to the maintenance of my family, being blessed with a wife, children, servants, and other things; for which I am truly thankful.

While I was at home I visited the neighbouring meetings, as I found a concern on my mind; and on the 6th day of the third month, 1704, I laid before our quarterly meeting of ministers and elders, an exercise that was upon my mind, to visit our friends' meetings on LongIsland, Rhode-Island, and in New-England, and the places adjacent; from which quarterly meeting I had a good certificate, which I thought it my duty to endeav. our to live up unto; and being accompanied by several friends to Burlington and Croswicks, Joseph Glaster being my fellow-labourer in the work of the gospel: at the two aforesaid places, we had meetings, and then we travelled to New-York and Long-Island, where we had divers meetings; as at Flushing, Westbury, Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethpage, Matinicock, and also at West-Chester, on the main; and from thence we travelled to RhodeIsland yearly meeting, which was large and serviceable to many. From hence Joseph Glaster went towards Boston, the inland way, and I went by the sea side; and we met together, after I had been at meetings in divers places, viz. Dartmouth and Nantucket-Island, at which island there are large meetings, people there being most ly friends, and a sober growing people in the best things; though not of our society when they first received the truth, yet they received it with gladness; and although divers of the people called Presbyterians were very cruel in their expressions, and bitter in their spirits against us, yet there were some who went under that name, who were more open and charitable towards us, and received us gladly with tenderness; and at some places we had meetings at their houses to our mutual satisfaction. We likewise had meetings at Suckanuset, Scituate, and Sandwich. About this time the Indians were very barbarous in the destruction of the English inhabitants, scalping some, and knocking out the brains of others, men, women, and children, by which the country was greatly alarmed, both night and day; but the Great Lord of all was

pleased wonderfully to preserve our friends, especially those who kept faithful to their peaceable principle, according to the doctrine of Christ in the holy scriptures, as recorded in his excellent sermon which he preached on the Mount, in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Mathew, which is quite opposite to killing, revenge, and destruction, even of our enemies: and because our friends could not join with those of fighting principles and practices, some of them were put into prison; divers people railing, and speaking very bitterly against their peace ble neighbours, and wishing the quakers might be cut off.

Some of the New-England priests and professors were so bitter against friends, that instead of being humbled, under the mighty hand of God upon them, in suffering the Indians to destroy them, they expressed their enmity against the poor quakers, on a day appointed for humiliation and a fast; and particularly in a sermon preached by one of their priests, which he divided into three heads, viz. First, That the judgments of God were upon them, in letting loose the savage Indians to destroy them. Secondly, In that he withheld the fruits of the earth from them (for there was great scarcity). Thirdly, That the quakers prevailed, and were suffered to increase so much among them; which he said, was worse than the Indians destroying of them, and gave this absurd reason for it; the Indians destroy our bodies, but the quakers destroy the soul*." This is an abominable falsehood; for it is sin that destroys the soul: and such as those that preach to the people that there is no freedom from it in this world, contradict Christ's doctrine, "Be ye perfect," &c. And that of the apostles, "He that is born of God cannot sin." And thus their blind guides mistake light for darkness, and darkness for light. Among the many hundreds that were slain, I heard but of three of our friends being killed, whose destruction was very re

* This priest was soon after killed by the Indians, as I was told by a min

ister.

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