without partiality and without hypocrisy. Dear Friends, let this pure, peaceable, gentle wisdom, that is from above, that is easy to be entreated, and is full of mercy and good fruits, be exercised and practised in all the true churches of Christ, so that wisdom may be justified of her children. For the works of the flesh, or fleshly spirit, are hatred, variance, wrath, strife, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, adultery, fornication, lasciviousness, uncleanness, &c., and they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruits of the Spirit of God are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, &c. So, dear Friends and brethren, strive to exceed one another, and all people upon the earth, in humility, meekness, gentleness, temperance, love, patience, pureness, and in mercy; then ye will show forth the fruits of the Spirit of God, and of his heavenly wisdom that is from above. In this, wisdom will be justified of her children; ye will be the salt of the earth, the light of the world set on a hill, that cannot be hid; and your moderation will appear to all men. Be ye just and righteous, faithful and true in all your words, dealings, and conversations, so that ye may answer the truth in all people; for Christ saith, his Father is glorified by such as bring forth fruits, when men do see their good works; for he that doeth righteousness, is accepted with God. And he that dwells in love, dwells in God; for love is his habitation. Let that be the habitation of every one that hath received the truth; for if it be not, such do not dwell in God, let them profess what they will. Therefore my desire is, that all you who have received Christ, the Seed, which bruises the serpent's head, may walk in Him, your sanctuary, life, and salvation, your rest and peace. Amen." G. F.

London, the 14th of the 6th Mouth, 1683.

I continued yet at LONDON, labouring in the work and service of the Lord both in and out of meetings; sometimes visiting Friends in prison for the testimony of Jesus, encouraging them in their sufferings, and exhorting them to stand faithful and steadfast in the testimony, which the Lord had committed to them to bear; sometimes also visiting those that were sick and weak in body, or troubled in mind, helping to bear up their spirits from sinking under their infirmities. Sometimes our meetings were quiet and peaceable; sometimes they were disturbed and broken up by the officers. One First-day it was upon me to go to the meeting at the SAVOY, which was large; for many professors and sober people were there. The Lord opened many precious, weighty things in me to the people, which I declared amongst them, and "directed them to the Spirit of God in themselves, which the Lord had given them a measure of; that all by the Spirit might understand the Scripture, which were given forth from the Spirit of God; and that by the Spirit of God, they might know God, and Christ whom God hath sent; whom to know is eternal life; and that by the Spirit, they might all come into Christ, and know Him to be their sanctuary, who destroys the devil, the destroyer, and his works, and bruises the serpent's head. For Christ was a sanctuary to them, to whom he was a Saviour, whom he saved from the destroyer. And Christ did baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire, and did thoroughly purge his floor, and burn up

their chaff with unquenchable fire; that is, sin and corruption, which is got into man by transgression; but Christ gathereth his wheat into his garner. So all that are baptized with Christ's baptism, their wheat is in God's garner; and no spoiler can get into God's garner to meddle with the wheat there, though they may be permitted to meddle with the outward goods," &c. As I was speaking in the power of the Lord, and the people were greatly affected therewith, suddenly the constables, with the rude people, came in like a sea. One of the constables said to me, "Come down;" and he laid hands on me. I asked him, "Art thou a Christian? We are Christians." He had hold of my hand, and was very fierce to pluck me down; but I stood still, and spoke a few words to the people; desiring of the Lord that the blessings of God might rest upon them all. The constable still called upon me to come down, and at length plucked me down, and bid another man with a staff take me, and carry me to prison. That man led me to another officer's house, who was more civil; and after a while they brought in four Friends more, whom they had taken. I was very weary and in a great perspiration; and several Friends hearing where I was, came to me in the constable's house; but I bid them all go their ways, lest the constables and informers should stop them. After a while the constables led us almost a mile to a justice, who was a fierce, passionate man; who, after he had asked me my name, and his clerk had taken it in writing, upon the constable's informing him that "I preached in the meeting," said in an angry manner, "Do not you know, that it is contrary to the king's laws to preach in such conventicles, contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England ?" There was present one ― Shad (a wicked informer, who was said to have broken jail at Coventry, and to have been burned in the hand at London), who hearing the justice speak so to me, stepped up to him, and told him, "that he had convicted them on the Act of the 22d of King Charles the Second." "What! you convict them ?" said the justice; "Yes," said Shad, "I have convicted them, and you must convict them too upon that Act." With that the justice was angry with him, and said, "You teach me! what are you? I'll convict them of a riot." The informer hearing that, and seeing the justice angry, went away in a fret; so he was disappointed of his purpose. I thought he would have sworn somebody against me, whereupon I said, "Let no man swear against me, for it is my principle 'not to swear;' and therefore I would not have any man swear against me." The justice thereupon asked me, “If I did not preach in the meeting;" I told him, "I confessed what God and Christ had done for my soul, and praised God; and I thought I might have done that in the streets, and in all places, viz., praise God and confess Christ Jesus; and this I was not ashamed to confess. Neither was this contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England." The justice said, "the laws were against such meetings as were contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England." I said, "I knew no such laws against our meetings; but if he meant that Act that was made against such as met to plot, contrive, and raise insurrections against the king, we were no such people, but abhorred all such actions; and bore true love and good-will to the king, and to all men upon the earth." The justice then asked me, “if I had

been in orders;" I told him, "No." Then he took his law-books and searched for laws against us; bidding his clerk take the names of the rest in the mean time: but when he could find no other law against us, the clerk swore the constable against us. Some of the Friends bid the constable "take heed what he swore, lest he were perjured; for he took them in the entry, and not in the meeting." Yet the constable, being an ill man, swore "that they were in the meeting." However, the justice said, "seeing there was but one witness, he would discharge the rest; but he would send me to Newgate, and I might preach there." I asked him, “ If it stood with his conscience to send me to Newgate for praising God, and for confessing Christ Jesus?" He cried, "Conscience! conscience!" but I felt my words touched his conscience. He bid the constable take me away, and he would make a mittimus to send me to prison when he had dined. I told him, "I desired his peace, and the good of his family, and that they might be kept in the fear of the Lord;" so I passed away. And as we went the constable took some Friends' word, that I should come to his house the next morning by eight. Accordingly I went with those Friends; and then the constable told us, that he went to the justice for the mittimus after he had dined, and he bid him come again after the evening service; which he did; and then the justice told him he might let me go. "So," said the constable, "you are discharged." I blamed the constable for turning informer, and swearing against us; and he said he would do so no more. Next day the justice meeting with Gilbert Latey, asked him, "if he would pay twenty pounds for George Fox's fine." He said, "No." "Then," said the justice, "I am disappointed; for being but a lodger I cannot come by his fine, and he having been brought before me, and being of ability himself, I cannot lay his fine on any other.”

After I was discharged, I went into the city. The same week the sessions coming on, where many Friends were concerned, some as prisoners, and some on trials of appeals upon the conventicle act, I went to a Friend's house not far off, that I might be in readiness to assist them with counsel, or otherwise, as occasion should offer; and I found service in it. But as my spirit was concerned on behalf of Friends, with respect to their outward sufferings by the persecutors without; so an exercise also came weightily upon me at this time, in the sense I had of the mischievous working of that adulterated spirit, which, being gone out from the heavenly unity, and having drawn out some that professed truth into enmity and opposition against Friends, endeavoured to trouble the church of Christ with their janglings and contention. And as a further discovery of the working of that seducing spirit, and a warning to all Friends to beware of it, I was moved to write the following epistle :

“To all the elect, faithful, called, and chosen of God, the flock and heritage of God, who have been acquainted with the dealings of the Lord, and have kept your habitations in his life, power, and truth, being built upon the holy, heavenly rock and foundation, Christ Jesus, who was the foun dation of the prophets and apostles; which foundation stands sure, "MANY foundations have been laid since the apostles' days, by such

as have gone from Christ, the true and sure Foundation; but their foundations have proved rotten, and come to nought; and they themselves have come to loss. Many, since the day of Christ and the truth hath appeared in this nation, have had some openings and sights, and come among us for a time; and then gone out from us again; these have been the comers and goers, like those in the apostles' days. Such had an outward profession of the truth, and have gone from the true foundation, Christ Jesus, and so from the heavenly society and unity of the saints in light. Then they set up foundations of their own; and having a form of godliness, but out of the power thereof, out of the order thereof, such have turned to janglings and vain disputings. This sort of spirit you have been acquainted with, who have kept your habitations in Christ Jesus, the First and the Last. And you are not insensible of the scurrilous and filthy books of lies and defamations, which have been spread abroad in this nation, and beyond the seas, against the faithful. It is very well that the Lord hath suffered them to publish their own shame in print, that truth's enemies may be discovered; that their fruits and spirits have appeared and manifested themselves both in print and otherwise. And I do believe, that the Lord will yet suffer this spirit so to publish its fruits, its shame and nakedness, to professor and profane, and to all sober, moderate, and innocent people, that its shame and nakedness shall more fully appear. Though for a time it hath been hid and covered with the fig-leaves of an outward profession, and sometimes with fawning and flattering words, as at other times, it hath discovered itself by rough, lying, and defaming words; yet the Lord God will blast all such vain talkers, that do not walk in the order of life, truth, and the gospel. Therefore, ye that are faithful, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free in his government. It is upon his shoulders; he bears it up; of the increase of it, and of its peace, there is no end. For all quarrellers against his order and government are not in him, nor in his heavenly, spiritual government and peace. Therefore, ye faithful ones, who have stood the trial through many persecutions, imprisonments, spoilings of goods; you know that there is a crown of glory laid up for you. that suffer with Christ, shall reign with him in his kingdom of glory; ye that die with Christ, shall live with him in eternal life, in the world that hath no end, who have gone through the sufferings without, and within, by false brethren, by comers and goers, that have caused the way of truth to be evil spoken of, and have been the persecutors of the faithful with their tongues; and by printing and publishing their lying, defaming books against the faithful, these have stirred up the magistrates and priests, who were willing to get any occasion to speak evil of the right way, and precious truth of Christ, by which his people are made free; it would have been better for such had they never been born. But God hath brought them to light, and their fruits and ravenous spirit are seen, savoured, and known; who are become Judases, and sons of perdition, to betray Christ now within (where he is made manifest) to the priests, magistrates, and profane, as Judas betrayed Christ without to the priests and Pilate; though some of the magistrates and sober people see their envy and folly, and that they have more malice than matter against the faithful. But the Lord

You

will consume this Judas, or son of perdition. The Lord will consume him with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming. So let all the faithful look unto the Lord. And let that wicked son of perdition know, though he may be got as high as Judas without (who was partaker of the ministry with the apostles), the Lord will consume him with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming.' That is his portion. The brightness of the Lord will destroy him, and the Spirit of his mouth will consume him. And when he is destroyed and consumed, there will not be a son of perdition to betray Christ in his people, and his people that live and walk in Christ, who hath all power in heaven (mark, in heaven) and in earth given to him; and with his holy and glorious power he limits and orders; so that nothing shall be done against his people, but what is suffered for their trial and their good, neither by apostates, persecutors with the tongue, Judases, sons of perdition to betray, or the outward powers to imprison, or spoil goods; all these are limited by Christ's power, who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him. Every one's faith is to stand in him and his power, and rejoice in his power, and see the increase of his righteous, holy, heavenly, spiritual, peaceable government, in which the glorious, holy order of life is lived and walked in, by all his sons and daughters. In his Spirit is the holy unity and bond of peace; though ye be absent in body one from another, yet all joying and rejoicing, being present in his Spirit, and beholding in the same Spirit your spiritual order, unity, and fellowship, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ Jesus, who is steadfast for ever, the First and the Last, whose presence is among his people, and who is their head. Here is heavenly Sion known, and heavenly Jerusalem, and the innumerable company of angels (which are spirits) and the spirits of the just men made perfect. Here is the general assembly, and a general, heavenly, holy, and spiritual joy and rejoicing, lauding and praising the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, that lives for evermore. Amen."

London, the 14th of the 8th Month, 1683.

"Read this in your assemblies amongst the faithful.”

G. F.

I tarried a little in LONDON, visiting Friends and meetings, and labouring in the work of the Lord there. And being on a First-day at the Bulland-Mouth, where the meeting had long been kept out, it was that day in the house, peaceable and large; the people were so affected with the truth, and refreshed with the powerful presence of the Lord, that when it was ended, they were loth to go away.

After some time, having several things upon me to write, I went to KINGSTON, that I might be free from interruptions. When I came there, I understood the officers had been very rude at the meeting, abusing Friends, and had driven them out of the meeting-place, and very abusive they continued to be for some time. Whilst I was there I wrote a little book (printed soon after), entitled, "The Saints' heavenly and spiritual worship, unity, and communion, &c., wherein is set forth what the true gospel worship is, and in what the true unity and communion of the saints