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

was again seized by the contrivance of the friars, and carried into one of the Mahometan mosques; where he was required, on pain of death, to profess the Mahometan religion, in compliance with the custom of the Turks, that whoever enters a mosque must embrace their religion or die. Some of their priests pressed him with much solicitation; but he persisting in his refusal, and in the true spirit of the martyrs declaring that he would rather die than violate his conscience by complying with their demand, they grew angry; and delivering him to the executioner, he was hurried away to the place of execution, to be burnt to death. Here he was made to sit down upon the ground, as a sheep among wolves; and as he sat, engaged in inward supplication, and resigned to the will of his divine Master, He whom he served was pleased to interpose for his deliverance; the Turks began to fall out among themselves; and a grave old man of note among them came up to him, and declared, that whether he would turn to their religion or not, he should not die. He was again interrogated, whether he would deny his Saviour; to which he firmly answered, No! The old man ordered his servants to conduct George to his house, where he treated him kindly for some days. But the friars still plotted against him, and hired a guard of horsemen to carry him to Gaza, before the Pacha, trusting that their insinuations had influenced this officer against him. But coming to Gaza, some of the Turks acquainted the Pacha with the malicious designs of the friars, and instead of complying with their wishes, he made them pay a considerable fine, and compelled them to convey George Robinson in safety to Jerusalem. Their own malice thus proving the means of his obtaining an official authority which they could not withstand, they now tried other arts on his arrival at their convent, to frustrate the object of his journey; and like sycophants, began to flatter him, telling him that his preservation through so many enemies

was miraculous, pretending that they had been misinformed about him, and offering that if he would visit their pretended holy places, as other pilgrims, he should do it without cost, instead of having to pay them considerable fees. But George, faithful to his testimony against the superstitious veneration for those places, replied, "I shall not visit them in your manner; for in so doing I should sin against God." They told him that if he would conform, they would honor him as much as they had honored any Englishman that had ever visited them; but he told them he should not conform, and as for their honor, he mattered it not. They then became angry, and began to threaten to make him an example to all Englishmen who should come thither; but he said, I choose your dishonor rather than your honor; and told them, that they, under pretence of doing service to God, in visiting the places where the holy men dwelt, opposed and resisted that life which the holy men of God lived and walked in; adding that he would have them turn from those evil practices, else the wrath of the Almighty would be kindled against them. They did not like such discourse, and replied that whether he would go to see their places or not, the Turks must be paid, and insisted that if he would not visit them, he must pay twenty-five dollars, "for the Turks" as they pretended; though if he would visit their favorite relics, "they would pay the money for him." But he told them that he would not comply with any such unreasonable demands.

They then brought him before one of the Turkish officers of the city, who, discoursing about the worship of the Christians, asked him the ground of his coming to Jerusalem. He answered, "that he came thither by the command of the Lord God of heaven and earth; and that the great and tender love of God was made manifest in visiting them; His compassionate mercies being such, that he would gather them in this the day of his gathering." Having