John Woolman, his life & our times; being a study in applied Christianity

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JOHN WOOLMAN

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TORONTO

JOHN WOOLMAN

HIS LIFE & OUR TIMES

BEING A STUDY IN APPLIED CHRISTIANITY

BY

W. TEIGNMOUTH SHORE

AUTHOR OF- 'a SOUl's AWAKENING,' ' EGOMET,' 'CANTERBURY,'
' CHARLES DICKENS AND HIS FRIENDS,' ETC.

" Get the writings of John Woolman by heart j and love
the early Quakers." — Charles Lamb.

" How very hard it is to be

A Christian ! " p„ ,„^, ^,^

drowning.

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

COPYEIGHT

/ ^/3

TO

M. J. M.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGE

Childhood ......... 1

CHAPTER II

The People called Quakers . . . . .10

CHAPTER III

The New Jersey Quakers . . . . . • 22

CHAPTER IV
Manhood ......... 32

CHAPTER V

Slavery . . . . . . . . • 45

CHAPTER YI

Woolman and the Negroes . . . . . . 55

vii

viii JOHN WOOLMAN

CHAPTER VII

PAGE

Philadelphia ........ 73

CHAPTER VIII
Other Friends . . . . . . . . 93

CHAPTER IX

Troubles . . . . . . . . . 105

CHAPTER X

Travels and Travail . . . . . . .117

CHAPTER XI
Turmoil ......... 134

CHAPTER XII
Travelling . . . . . . . .155

CHAPTER XIII
Characteristics . . . . . , . .169

CHAPTER XIV
Writings , , . . , , , . .179

CONTENTS ix

CHAPTER XV

PAGE

Into the Wilderness . . . . . . .199

CHAPTER XVI
1763-1769 220

CHAPTER XVII
1769-1770 231

CHAPTER XVIII

Across to England . . . . . . .240

CHAPTER XIX

England . . . . . . . . .251

CHAPTER XX

The End of the Journey ...... 262

EPILOGUE 272

A Map of the Settlements in part of the Eastern States of

ISTorth America, 1750 , , , . End of Volume

CHAPTER I

CHILDHOOD

^5 It is strange that the world should take so Httle
heed of John Woolman, of whose Mfe this work is a
narrative and a study. He was one of those who
have followed closely in the footsteps of Jesus of
Nazareth ; one of the few Christlike Christians.
In addition, therefore, to its intrinsic interest, his
hfe is worthy of close scrutiny in these latter days,
when the Church of Christ is held by many to
have strayed so far from Christianity and when
Christians by their acts and deeds often seem
determined to prove that it is impossible to render
complete obedience to the commands of their
Lord. That which John Woolman and some other
few have accomphshed has proved that Christianity
can be practised in and applied to the every- day
affairs of social, business and domestic hfe. Yet
only some score or so of years ago, one of the
leaders of the Church of England pronounced that

B

2 JOHN WOOLMAN

"the principles which order us to forgive onr
eneroies, to turn our other cheek to the smiter, and
to have all things in common and share with the
brethren, cannot be carried out hterally and strictly.
Still less can they serve as a foundation of a civil
pohty." 1

• •«••••

The materials for a Life of John Woolman are
scanty and scattered,^ the main authority being
his own Journal, from which it will be necessary
to quote often and at length. It is an almost
unconscious record of what he was, but it tells us
little of what he did. Throughout it is written in
a key of simple sincerity and of true humble-
ness. John Woolman was without pride, but
was one of whom the world can be proud.
The Journal strikes straight to the heart, and
has been to many a lamp and a guide. Says
Charles Lamb, in the Essay on "A Quakers'
Meeting " : " Get the writings of John Woolman
by heart."

It is a book which has influenced many, of which
the following two examples must suffice.

^ Archbishop Magee, at the Diocesan Conference at Leicester,
October 25, 1889.

2 For help, without which this book could not have been written,
I heartily acknowledge the unfaiHng kindness of Mr. Norman
Penney, F.S.A., Librarian of the Friends' Reference Library at
Devonshire House, Bishopsgate Street, London. The majority
of the quotations from Woolman's Journal are from the admirable
New Century edition,

CHILDHOOD 3

Henry Crabbe Eobinson, the diarist, writes,
under date January 22, 1824 :

Eode to London from Bury on the '' Telegraph.." I was
reading all tlie time it was light, Irving' s Argument of
Judgment to Come, which I have since finished.^ How
different this from John Woolman's Journal, I have been
reading at the same time — a perfect gem ! His is a scJione
seele (beautiful soul). An ilhterate tailor, he writes in the
style of the most exquisite purity and grace. His moral
quahties are transferred to his writings. Had he not been
so very humble, he would have written a still better book ;
for, fearing to indulge in vanity, he conceals the events in
which he was a great actor. His rehgion is love. His
whole existence and all his passions were love. If one
could venture to impute to his creed, and not to his personal
character, the dehghtful frame of mind which he exhibited,
one could not hesitate to be a convert. His Christianity is
most inviting — ^it is fascinating.

The second testimony comes from one Mildred
Ratcliff, who in early Hfe was a Baptist, living in
Virginia. She often went with her husband to
Friends' Meetings, and her testimony is vivid and
profound.

Going sometimes with my husband to these silent
meetings, I sat among them, wondering at such a manner
of holding a rehgious meeting, it being to me as lost time —
time that I might have improved at my own meeting.
Truly, a silent meeting was all foolishness to me. At that
time I had not read a page in a Friends' book that I re-
member. But after this, my mind being prepared, I

1 Edward Irving, founder of the Catholic ApostoKc Church,

4 JOHN WOOLMAN

picked up John Woolman's Journal, and said in my heart,
" I will look in this book to see if there is any sense in any-
thing a Quaker can write." Before I had read many pages
my spirit was broken and my heart contrited under a sense
that the want of sense was in me, and not in the Quakers.
I was bhnded with tears, and had to shut the book.

John Woolman was born in August of the year
1720, at the home of his father, Samuel Woolman,
a farm named '' The Plantation," Mount Holly,
Burlington County, New Jersey, America. Mount
Holly is situated in the western part of the township
of Northampton, on Rancocas Creek, which runs
into the Delaware, and in Woolman's time was
almost entirely occupied by members of the Society
of Friends. His own later home, pictured in a
woodcut in Bowden's History of the Society of
Friends in America, was a plain building of two
stories, whitewashed, surrounded by a four-barred
fence, and sheltered by trees which he loved and
tended ; situated upon the highest ground in the
county, a mount rising some two hundred feet
above the sea-level, from which was obtained a
broad view of the rich plain around, covered to a
great extent with dense woods, interspersed mth
comfortable farmsteads. This house was built by
John Woolman; therein his wife and daughter
continued to reside after his death. It stood a
little way out of the village, on the road to

CHILDHOOD 5

Springfield, and a late visitor to it described it
as a '' very humble " abode.

In the Testimony of the Monthly Meeting of
Friends, held in Burlington, the First Day of the
Eighth Month,^ 1774, " concerning our esteemed
friend, John Woolman, deceased," we read that he
was born " of rehgious parents, who instructed
him very early in the principles of the Christian
religion, as professed by the people called Quakers,
which he esteemed a blessing to him, even in his
younger years."

John was one of thirteen children, the others
being — ^Ehzabeth, born September 1715 ; Sarah,
in January 1717 ; Patience, in October 1718 ;
then John ; Asher, in April 1722 ; Abner, in May
1724 ; Hannah, in April 1726 ; Uriah, in April 1728 ;
Hester, in April 1730 ; Jonah, in February 1733 ;
Eachel, in September 1735 ; Abraham, in October
1737 ; Eber, in December 1739.

Of other members of the family, we shall meet
with a cousin John, and two aunts, sisters of his
father.

Concerning his childhood days Woolman does
not give many details in the Journal, which he did
not commence to write — '' Some hints in writing
of my experience of the goodness of God " — ^until

^ The Quaker way for August. Of course down to the middle
of 1752, the first month was March, and so on.

6 JOHN WOOLMAN

his thirty-sixtli year. He deals chiefly with the
internal rather than the external events of his hfe.
He learned to read at an early age, and narrates
that

... as I went from school one day, I remember that while
my companions were playing by the way, I went forward
out of sight, and, sitting down, I read the twenty-second
chapter of Revelation : " He showed me a pm:e river of
water of hfe, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb," etc. In reading it my mind was
drawn to seek after that pure habitation which I then
believed God had prepared for his servants. The place
where I sat, and the sweetness that attended my mind,
remain fresh in my memory. This, and the hke gracious
visitations, had such an effect upon me that when boys
used ill-language it troubled me ; and through the continued
mercies of God, I was preserved from that evil.

He relates an early incident, which illustrates
the tender love he bore not only to all his fellow-
men, but also to all Hving things :

I may here mention a remarkable circumstance that
occurred in my childhood. On going to a neighbour's
house, I saw on the way a robin sitting on her nest, and as I
came near she went ofi ; but having young ones, she flew
about, and with many cries expressed her concern for them.
I stood and threw stones at her, and one striking her, she
fell down dead. At first I was pleased with the exploit,
but after a few minutes was seized with horror, at having,
in a sportive way, killed an innocent creature while she was
careful of her young. I beheld her lying dead, and thought
those young ones, for wliich she was so careful, must now
perish for want of their dam to nourish them. After some

CHILDHOOD 7

painful considerations on the subject, I climbed up the tree,
took all the young birds, and killed them, supposing that
better than to leave them to pine away and die miserably.
In this case I believed that Scripture proverb was fulfilled,
" The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." I then
went on my errand, and for some hours could think of
little else but the cruelties I had committed, and was much
troubled.

What manner of schooling in worldly knowledge
he received cannot be stated with certainty. As
regards religious matters it is best to quote his own
words :

The pious instructions of my parents were often fresh
in my mind, when I happened to be among wicked children,
and were of use to me. Having a large family of children,
they used frequently, on first-days, after Meeting, to set
us one after another to read the Holy Scriptures, or some
religious books, the rest sitting by without much conversa-
tion ; I have since often thought it was a good practice.
From what I had read and heard, I believed there had been,
in past ages, people who walked in uprightness before God
in a degree exceeding any that I knew or heard of now
living ; and the apprehension of there being less steadiness
and firnmess among people in the present age often troubled
me while I was a child.

As we have seen, Woolman did not commence
to write his Journal until he had reached an age
when the events of childhood would not only be
blurred by distance, but coloured by the matured
spirit of the grown and experienced man. Much
stress should not be laid upon the wickedness of

8 JOHN WOOLMAN

the children who were his comrades. Still, it can
scarcely be doubted that Woolman early reached
years of discretion in matters spiritual, and that
his faith was very real to him even when a young
child. On the other hand, it must not be forgotten
that it was scarcely possible for him not to read
into the simple faith of the child the stronger and
more searching behefs of the man.

Of his parents we can gather no very distinct
pictures ; they were folk of a humble position,
and devout Quakers, so that we know that he was
bred up in an atmosphere devoted exclusively to
the following of the doctrines and behefs taught by
George Fox. Early in the Journal we obtain a
glimpse of his father and mother, and of the home
hfe. He writes :

About the twelfth year of my age, my father being
abroad, my mother reproved me for some misconduct, to
which I made an undutiful reply. The next first-day, as I
was with my father returning from Meeting, he told me
that he understood I had behaved amiss to my mother,
and advised me to be more careful in future. I knew myself
blamable, and in shame and confusion remained silent.
Being thus awakened to a sense of my wickedness, I felt
remorse in my mind, and on getting home I retired and
prayed to the Lord to forgive me, and I do not remember
that I ever afterwards spoke unhandsomely to either of my
parents, however foolish in some other things.

To which may be added this :

J. CHILDHOOD 9

Having attained the age of sixteen years, I began to
love wanton company ; and though. I was preserved from
profane language or scandalous conduct, yet I perceived a
plant in me which produced much wild grapes ; my merciful
Father did not, however, forsake me utterly, but at times,
through his grace, I was brought seriously to consider my
ways ; and the sight of my backslidings affected me with
sorrow, yet for want of rightly attending to the reproofs
of instruction, vanity was added to vanity, and repentance
to repentance. Upon the whole, my mind became more
and more ahenated from the truth, and I hastened toward
destruction. While I meditate on the gulf towards which
I travelled, and reflect on my youthful disobedience, for
these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water.

John Woolman was one of those who, while ever
magnifpng their own backslidings, are always
tender and sympathetic to the sins of others. Of
the many beautiful traits which made up his char-
acter, there is none which impresses more deeply
than his ability to forgive others their trespasses
and to feel grief over, not anger at, the errors into
which they fell.

CHAPTER II

THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKERS

Before proceeding further it is necessary to under-
stand somewhat of the faith into which John Wool-
man was born, and to learn something of the
Quaker settlement in New Jersey. It need scarcely
be said that an attempt will not be made to
attack or to defend the Quaker position ; but in
the course of this work it will have to be that the
outcome of the Quaker doctrines will be traced,
both the good fruit and the evil being set forth.

In the beginning of their history the Friends did
not count themselves as a " Pecuhar People," as
a sect in any way set apart from their fellow-
Christians of all Churches, but merely as holding to
the pure and simple doctrine of Christ and, there-
fore, called upon to preach to those who had strayed
from the narrow way. Cradually, however, as
they found that they were speaking to those who
having ears to hear with would not hear, they began
to a great extent to keep themselves to themselves,

10

cHAP.n THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKEES 11

to wMch seclusion must be attributed the lethargy
which for many later years quelled their spirit.
" The world- vision faded out, and the attention
focussed on ' Quakerism ' as an end in itself." ^

Wilham Penn, when asked by Charles II. wherein
their rehgious behefs differed, made reply, " The
difference is the same as between thy hat and
mine ; mine has no ornaments," which was witty,
and true as far as it went. Elsewhere he says :

The bent and stress of their ministry was conversion to
God, regeneration, and holiness. Not schemes of doctrines,
and verbal creeds, or new forms of worship ; but a
leaving in religion the superfluous, and reducing the cere-
monies, and formal part, and pressing earnestly the sub-
stantial, the necessary and profitable part, to the soul.

And again he tells us, in Some Fruits of Soli-
tude, speaking of Christ :

He was Holy, Humble, Harmless, Meek, Merciful, etc.,
when among us ; to teach us what we should be, when he
was gone. And yet he is among us still, and in us too, a
hving and perpetual Preacher of the same Grace, by his
Spirit in our consciences.

To George Fox, to his disciples and followers,
rehgion was not of man's life a thing apart ; it was
the whole of hfe ; social, political and rehgious
reform were one, not separate, or rather it should
be said they beheved that upon rehgion must be

^ The Quakers in the American Colonies, by Rufus M. Jones.

12 JOHN WOOLMAN

built the superstructure of social and poKtical life,
a doctrine which, as we have seen and as we know
from daily observation, does not to-day commend
itself to the whole of the Christian community.
In theory, doubtless, it does do so, but not in
practice. A recent writer put the Quaker aspira-
tion very clearly :

To live the Sermon on the Mount, and the rest of the
Gospel teaching, and in all things to listen for the hving
voice of the Good Shepherd, watching constantly that no
human tradition divert our attention from it — this is our
acknowledged aim and bond of union as a Society.^

In another place the same writer says :

The one corner-stone of belief upon which the Society of
Friends is built is the conviction that God does indeed
communicate with each one of the spirits He has made, in
a direct and hving inbreathing of some measure of the
breath of His own Life ; that He never leaves Himself
without a witness in the heart as well as in the surroundings
of man ; that the measure of life, light or grace thus given
increases by obedience ; and that in order clearly to hear
the Divine Voice speaking within us we need to be still ;
to be alone with Him, in the secret place of His Presence ;
that all flesh should keep silence before Him.

George Fox's younger days coincided with the
religious persecutions of Charles I., Laud and
Strafford ; then followed the years when the
Puritans proved themselves to be equally bigoted
and intolerant. The preaching of Fox, it must be

^ Quaker Strongholds, by Caroline Emilia Stephen.

THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKEES 13

borne in mind, was a protestation against the rule
of Papist, EpiscopaKan and Puritan alike ; lie cried
aloud for universal toleration and for the aboHtion
of dogma and ceremonies, for individual indepen-
dence of any Church government and individual
dependence upon the Hght and guidance given by
God to each soul ; "... it was a portable and
verifiable rehgion — a rehgion which required truth
in word and deed, plain deahng and kindness and
self-control, and which did not require ceremonial
observances or priestly guarantees " ; in short,
apphed Christianity. That the preachers and
practitioners of such a creed met with ridicule and
bitter persecution is only natural.

The Quaker attitude toward the Bible gave
great offence to Protestants of all communions,
with whom the verbal inspiration, and therefore
the infallibihty and all-sufficiency of the Scriptures
was accepted as a belief necessary to salvation ;
to the Protestant the Bible is the only court of
appeal for the conduct of a Christian hfe. " The
Bible was the rehgion of Protestants," says Ban-
croft, adding that to the Quakers " the Bible is not
religion, but a record of rehgion."

For authoritative statement upon any point of
primitive Quaker doctrine we cannot do better
than go to Eobert Barclay, who issued in 1675
An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, as the

14 JOHN WOOLMAN

same is Held Forth and Preached hy the People, in
scorn, called Quakers. He sets forth and argues in
detail fifteen propositions, of which it is well that
we quote a great part of the third, '^ Concerning
the Scriptures." He has been speaking of immediate
revelation by God to each human being, and then
says :

From these revelations of the Spirit of God to the Saints,
have proceeded the Scriptures of Truth, which contain,
(1 ) a faithful historical account of the acts of God's people
in divers ages, with many singular and remarkable provi-
dences attending them. (2) A prophetical account of
several things, of which some are already past, and some
yet to come.

So far no matter for controversy in those days,
but he continues :

(3) A full and ample account of all the chief principles
of the doctrine of Christ, held forth in divers precious de-
clarations, exhortations and Sentences, which, by the
moving of God's Spirit, were at several times, and upon
sundry occasions, spoken and written unto some churches
and their pastors : nevertheless, because they are only
a declaration of the fountain^ and not the fountain itself,
therefore they are not to be esteemed the principal ground
of all truth and knowledge, nor yet the adequate primary
rule of faith and manners. Nevertheless, as that which
giveth a true and faithful testimony of the first foundation,
they are and may be esteemed a secondary rule, subordinate
to the Spirit, from which they have all their excellency and
certainty ; for as by the inward testimony of the Spirit we

* The italics are Barclay's.

n THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKEES 15

do alone truly know tlxem, so they testify that the Spirit is
that guide by which the saints are led into all truth : there-
fore, according to the Scriptures, the Spirit is the first and
principal leader

— and so on, for a few lines more.

In the second proposition he argues that '' . . .
the testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which
the knowledge of God hath been, is, and can only
be revealed."

In short, the Quakers hold firmly to the behef
that while the Bible is a sure and steadfast guide
it is not the only guide, but that each man has in
his heart the voice of God directing him whither he
shall bend his steps and how he shall conduct his
life unto salvation; which guide is never contra-
dictory to the teaching of the Scriptures, but is
often supplementary and always of equal value.
Fox writes in his Journal :

Though I read the Scriptures that spoke of Christ and
of God, yet 1 knew Him not but by revelation, as He who
hath the key did open, and as the Father of Life drew me
to His Son by His Spirit.

WilKam Penn, in Primitive Christianity Revived,
says :

That which the Quakers lay down as a main fundamental
in rehgion is this : That_Grod through Christ hath placed
His Spirit in every man to inform him of his duty, and to
enable him to do it, and that those who liye up to this are

16 JOHN WOOLMAN

the people of God, and those that hve in disobedience to it
are not God's people, whatever name they may bear or
profession they may make of rehgion. This is their ancient
first-standing testimony. ... By this Spirit they understand
something that is Divine, and though in man yet not of man,
but of God. . . . There are divers ways of speaking by which
they declare and express what this spirit is, viz. they call
it the Light of Christ within man, or Light Within, which
is their ancient and most general or familiar phrase ; also
the manifestation or appearance of Christ, the Witness of
God, the Seed of God, the Seed of the Kingdom, Wisdom,
the Word in the heart, the grace that appears to all men,
the Spirit given to every man to profit withal, the truth in
the inward part, the spiritual leaven that leavens the
whole lump of man.

This doctrine of the Inner Light brought the
Quakers into bitter and often envenomed contro-
versy with their fellow-Christians, coupled as it
was with practices which seemed to be defiant of
all established authority and custom. In order to
understand the mainspring of the life of John
Woolman, it is essential to grasp fully the bearing
of this doctrine upon the conduct of life.

Cotton Mather, who bore a bitter and quite un-
christian hatred toward the Quakers, states :
" They call men to attend to the mystical dispensa-
tion of a Light within, as having the whole of
religion contained therein."

The Quakers held, and hold, that in every man
there is something of God Himself, an Inner Light

THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKEES 17

which enables each man to judge for himself un-
faiHngly between good and evil, a guide showing
him the way of light and life. A form of mysticism,
certainly, but one which did not set the Quakers
apart from the ordinary affairs of hfe. " Some
seek truth in books, some in learned men, but what
they seek for is in themselves."

In short, every human being must act in accord
with the dictates of the Light Within, a universal
and supreme conscience.

In 1747 Sophia Hume, a native of South Caro-
hna, sent forth a small book, printed in Philadelphia
by Benjamin Frankhn, entitled An Exhortation to
the Inhabitants of South Carolina, from which a few
extracts will make plain what this doctrine of the
Inner Light meant to a devout Friend. She says :

There is one truth on wHch all I have to say to you
greatly depends, namely, that all mankind have within
them a measure and manifestation of the Light, Spirit, or
Grace of God, so that salvation is a matter of personal
obedience.

And later :

Religion is a heart-work, the battle is an inward one,
nothing counts but victory over sin, nothing but the in-
ward possession of the Love of God. God visits you, the
voice of the Spirit calls you. Obedience will bring the
Light and Truth into your inward parts, and you may be
redeemed of the Lord.

0

18 JOHN WOOLMAN

Bancroft sums up the Quaker faith thus :

The nobler instincts of humanity are the same in every
age and in every breast The exalted hopes that have
dignified former generations of men will be renewed as long
as the race shall survive. A spiritual unity binds together
the members of the human family; and every heart contains
an incorruptible seed, capable of springing up and producing
all that man can know of God and duty and the soul. An
inward voice, uncreated by schools, independent of refine-
ment, opens to the unlettered hind, no less than to the
pohshed scholar, a sure pathway to immortal truth.

And in that excellent work, The Quakers in the
American Colonies, Professor Rufus M. Jones puts
this matter in a way wholly admirable and, we
hold, also wholly just :

The Quakers' supreme passion was the cultivation of
inward rehgion and an outward life consistent with the
vision of their souls. " Experiments in government,"
whether successful or unsuccessful, whether wise or unwise,
were never their primary aim. Beneath these ventures
there always existed a deeper purpose — ^to make a fresh
ex'periment in spiritual religion — as the Hving pulse of all
Quaker aspiration, and by this central aim the movement
must be finally estimated and judged. These American
Quakers . . . believed, with a white-hot intensity, that
they had discovered, or rediscovered, a new spiritual
Principle which they thought was destined to revolutionise
Hfe, society, civil government, and rehgion. The Principle
(and they always spelled it with a capital P) which they
claimed to have discovered was the presence of a Divine
Light in man, a radiance from the central Light of the
spiritual universe, penetrating the deeps of every soul,

II THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKERS 19

which if responded to, obeyed and accepted as a guiding
star, would lead into all truth and into all kinds of truth.
They thought that they had found a way to the direct
discovery of the Will of God, and that they could thereby
put the Kingdom of God into actual operation here in the
world. The whole momentous issue of hfe, they insisted,
is settled by personal obedience or disobedience to the
inward divine revelation. The wisdom of the infinite
God is within reach of the feeblest human spirit ; the will
of the eternal is voiced in the soul of every man ; it is life
to hear and obey ; it is death to follow other voices. This
underlying conception forms the spring and motive of all
the distinctive activities of Colonial Quakers. They risked
everything they had on the truth of this Principle, and they
must be judged by the way in which they worked out their
experiment in religion. They were champions of causes,
which seemed new and dangerous to those who heard
them, but behind all their propaganda there was one
hve central faith from which everything radiated — the
faith that God speaks directly to the human spirit, and
that rehgion, to be true and genuine, must be first-hand
experience.

That there are stumbKng-blocks in the way of
the acceptance of this doctrine of the Light Within
cannot be denied. For example, how is a Christian
to decide to which voice he is listening, the voice
of God or the voice of the devil ? In ordinary
matters of conscience, which are decided by what
may be termed social morals, this difficulty does
not exist, maybe, but there are crises of life, often
unrecognised as such, when a man has to determine
for himself what he shall or shall not do, and at

20 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

such times is it not diflB.cult to decide whether the
inner Hght be false or true ?

Nothing, I believe, can really teach us the nature and
meaning of inspiration but personal experience of it,

we read in Quaker Strongholds,

That we may all have such experience if we will but
attend to the Divine influences in our own hearts, is the
candid doctrine of Quakerism.

Which seems to beg the question, for who shall say
which influences are divine and which Satanic ?
In a later passage the same writer draws a subtle
distinction between conscience and the Light
Within ; the former she describes as '^ hable to
perversion, to morbid exaggeration, to partial
insensibility, to twists and crochets of all sorts,"
and as therefore not a '^ supreme and absolute "
guide. It is by the Light Within that this fallible
conscience must be ruled, that '' power in which we
live and move and have our being — the power and
the presence of God."

Without claiming to set out any authoritative
solution of the difficulty, we would urge that the
Light Within is in truth an intense and burning
desire to fulfil the spirit of the teaching of Christ
and to obey His commands in everything and
always. Such a faith is and must be a matter of
first-hand experience, when faithfully followed

THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKEES 21

leading the Christian to make every efiort to bring
about that for which he is taught to pray : " Thy
kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earthy as it is
in heaven." This desire may be, or may not be,
inherent in all human hearts, but, if it be so, surely
the surroundings of childhood can crush just as
they can cultivate and encourage it ? Is this voice
heard by the sybarite brought up to lust after every
selfish indulgence, or by, say, the son of a drunken
thief and a gin-sodden mother ? We must leave
the point in obscurity, and should not, indeed,
have alluded to it but that the Light Within guided
John Woolman in all his doings.

To other matters of Quaker faith and practice
allusion will be made as occasion arises in the
course of our story.

CHAPTEE III

THE NEW JERSEY QUAKERS

It was not long after the foundation of the Society
of Friends by George Fox and his immediate
disciples that members of it began to find their
way across the Atlantic, but our concern here is only
with those who settled in New Jersey and in Penn-
sylvania. For a full story, lucid and frank, of early
Quaker days in America, recourse should be had to
a work already cited, The Quakers in the American
Colonies, by Rufus M. Jones ; ^ other works which
should be consulted are James Bowden's History
of the Society of Friends in America, Robert Proud's
History of Pennsylvania, and that charming volume.
The Story of an Old Farm, byAndrewD. Melhck, Jun.
New Jersey, stretching south-west from New
York, is bounded upon the east by the ocean, upon
the west by the broad stream of the Delaware,
beyond which lies the State of Pennsylvania, and

^ Assisted by Isaac Sharpies, President of Haverford College,
and Amelia M. Gummere, the author of an interesting study in
Quaker costume.

22

CHAP, m THE NEW JEKSE Y QUAKEES 23

on the south by Delaware Bay, the farthest point
south being Cape May, round which many a tempest-
tossed barque fought its way in those far-off days,
and which gladdened the eyes of voyagers who had
forsaken an old world of persecution for the
promised land of peace and freedom.

New Jersey was at the first, as was New York, a
Dutch colony, but in 1664 New Amsterdam became
New York, and the country between the Hudson
River and the Delaware was designated New
Jersey. Again the Dutch reconquered it, but
finally, in 1674, it became British, remaining so till
the American colonies asserted their independence
of the mother-country. It should be mentioned
also, that, encouraged by Gustavus Adolphus, the
Swedes in 1637 formed a settlement in what is now
Pennsylvania. Quakers apparently first entered
New Jersey as fugitives from the bitter persecution
with which they were treated in the New England
States, gradually but slowly settlements forming
here and there in the north of the State, later on
in the vicinity of Delaware Bay.

In 1672 George Fox journeyed from Newcastle
across the Delaware opposite the south-western
corner of New Jersey, to Middletown in the north-
east, and his account gives some idea of the state of
the country some forty years only before John
Woolman was born.

24 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

I with some others, whose horses were strong, got to the
town that night, exceedingly tired and wet to the skin,
but George Pattison and Robert Widders, being weaker
horsed, were obhged to He in the woods also that night.
It was a Dutch town that we went to, called Newcastle. . . .
We departed thence and got over the river Delaware, not
without great danger of some of our hves. When we were
over we were troubled to procure guides, which were hard
to get and very chargeable. Then we had that wilderness
country to pass through, since called West Jersey, not
then inhabited by Enghsh, so that we have travelled a
whole day together without seeing man or woman, house or
dwelhng-place. Sometimes we lay in the woods by a fire,
and sometimes in the Indians' wigwams. We came one
night to an Indian town and lay at the Chief's house. Both
he and his wife received us very lovingly, and his attendants,
(such as they were) were very respectful to us. They laid
us mats to lie on; but provisions were very short with
them, having caught but httle that day. At another
Indian town where we stayed, the Chief came to us, and he
could speak some Enghsh. I spoke to him much, and also
to his people ; and they were very loving to us. At length
we came to Middletown, an Enghsh plantation in East
Jersey ; and there were some Friends ; but we could not
stay to have a meeting at that time, being earnestly pressed
in our spirits to get to the half-year's meeting of Friends
at Oyster Bay, in Long Island, which was near at hand.
We went with a Friend, Richard Hartshorn, brother to
Hugh Hartshorn, the upholsterer in London, who received
us gladly to his house, where we refreshed ourselves, and
then he carried us and our horses in his own boat over a
great water, which held us most part of the day in getting
over, and set us upon Long Island.

The return journey in June was equally strenuous.

m THE NEW JEESEY QUAKERS 25

Leaving the same Friend's house, at Middle-
town —

Next day we rode about thirty miles into that country
(Jersey), through the woods, and over very bad bogs ; one
worse than all the rest, the descent into which was so steep
that we were fain to shde down with our horses, and then
let them he and breathe themselves before they could go
on. This place the people of the country called Purga-
tory. We got at length to Shrewsbury in East Jersey, and
on the First day had af precious meeting there, to which
Friends and other people came far ; and the blessed pre-
sence of the Lord was with us. The same evening we had
a men's and women's meeting out of most parts of New
Jersey. They are building a meeting-place in the midst
of them, and there is a monthly and general meeting
set up. . . . Afterwards we went to Middletown Harbour,
about five miles, in order to take our long journey next
morning through the woods toward Maryland, having hired
Indians for our guides. I determined to pass through the
woods on the other side of Delaware Bay, that we might
head the creeks and rivers as much as possible. The
ninth of the Seventh month we set forward, passed through
many Indian towns, and over some rivers and bogs.

In 1664, what is now known as New Jersey was
granted to the Duke of York, who quickly trans-
ferred his property to others. It is no part of our
task to trace in detail the history of the colony ;
the main points for our purpose are that in 1674
John Fenwick, a Buddnghamshire yeoman, and
Edward Byllynge, a London merchant, both
Quakers, purchased the territory of West Jersey

26 JOHN WOOLMAN

for the price of one thousand pounds ; that later
on the property came into the hands of three other
Quakers, of whom one was Wilham Penn, and that
the " Concessions " under which the land was to be
governed were tolerant and free. In 1681 East
Jersey also came into the hands of Penn and eleven
other members of the Society of Friends.

Quaker emigration to West Jersey began with the
saiHng from London in 1675 of the Griffin, and the
landing of its passengers at a place afterwards called
Salem, near the mouth of the Delaware. Salem
cannot have been an altogether desirable place
of residence, having in the neighbourhood great
swamps, which emitted a *' disagreeable stench.
. . . The vapours of the putrid water are carried
to those inhabitants which hve next to the marshes ;
and enter the body along with the air, and through
the pores, and thus are hurtful to health." In the
fall of the year fever was rife. Other emigrants
followed in due course ; Burhngton, much farther
up the river, was founded, chiefly by Friends from
London and Yorkshire, the land being bought by
degrees from the native owners, the price being paid
in assorted goods such as jews'-harps, brass buttons,
kettles, guns, petticoats, knives, tobacco, tongs,
looking-glasses and so forth. The first Governor
of New Jersey was Eobert Barclay of Ury, from
whose Ajpology we have quoted.

THE NEW JEESEY QUAKEES 27

It was a rough country to wliich these Quaker
Pilgrims came, but they fled from a land of persecu-
tion and of rehgious intolerance to breathe the pure
air of rehgious freedom. Gradually the richer
portions of the land were brought into cultivation,
villages and towns sprang up, and the Quakers
ruled in the land, or at any rate in the western and
southern portions of it.

It was therefore in a thriving, busy country that
John Woolman spent his youth, in an atmosphere
almost purely Quaker.

As time went on Woolman found that the
enlarging circle of his friends interfered with his
study of the Scriptures, and he yielded to " youthful
vanities and diversions." A serious illness brought
in its train a very abasement of repentance and
horror, and so deep was his aflhction for a time that
he was filled with confusion :

At length that word wliich is as a fire and a hammer
broke and dissolved my rebellious heart ; and my cries were
put up in contrition ; and in the multitude of his mercies I
found inward rehef, and a close engagement that if He
was pleased to restore my health I might walk humbly
before Him.

He tells us that with the return of health came
renewed failure and further association with
wanton companions. But on his own statement
he did not commit anything scandalous, but

28 JOHN WOOLMAN

merely entertained himself with harmless jolUty
and mirth.

Still I retained a love and esteem for pious people, and
their company brought an awe upon me. My dear parents
several times admonished me in the fear of the Lord, and
their admonition entered into my heart and had a good
efEect for a season ; but not getting deep enough to pray
rightly, the tempter, when he came, found entrance. Once,
having spent a part of the day in wantonness, when I went
to bed at night, there lay in a window near my bed a Bible,
which I opened, and first cast my eye on the text, " We
he down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us."
This I knew to be my case, and meeting with so unexpected
a reproof I was somewhat affected with it, and went to bed
under remorse of conscience, which I soon cast off again.

That these alternations of remorse and of " back-
sliding " caused the boy acute suffering cannot for
a moment be questioned, and they lasted until he
reached the age of eighteen.

" At length," he writes, " through the merciful continu-
ance of heavenly visitations, I was made to bow down in
spirit before the Lord. One evening I had spent some
time in reading a pious author, and walking out alone I
humbly prayed the Lord for his help, that I might be de-
hvered from all those vanities which so ensnared me.
Thus being brought low. He helped me, and as I learned to
bear the cross, I felt refreshment to come from his presence,
but not keeping in that strength which gave victory, I lost
ground again, the sense of which greatly affected me. I
sought deserts and lonely places, and there, with tears,
did confess my sins to God and humbly craved his help.
And I may say with reverence, he was near to me in my

THE NEW JERSEY QUAKERS 29

troubles, and in those times of humiliation opened my ear
to discipline. I was now led to look seriously at the means
by which I was drawn from the pure truth, and learned
that if I would hve such a hfe as the faithful servants of
God hved, I must not go into company as heretofore, in
my own will, but all the cravings of sense must be governed
by a Divine principle. In times of sorrow and abasement
these instructions were sealed upon me, and I felt the power
of Christ prevail over selfish desires, so that I was preserved
in a good degree of steadiness, and being young, and be-
heving at that time that a single life was best for me, I was
strengthened to keep from such company as had often been
a snare to me.

Steady attendance at Meetings and constant
reading of the Bible proved very present helpers
in the time of his trouble, and gradually he settled
down to confident and complete trust in the Quaker
faith and unremitting endeavour to learn " to
exercise true justice and goodness, not only toward
all men, but also toward the brute creatures."
In tenderness to animals, as in many other matters,
the Quakers were far ahead of their contemporaries,
many of whom scarcely accounted them to be
Christians. Woolman also says of himself, and
truly, as his manner of life proved, " I found no
narrowness respecting sects and opinions, but
believed that sincere, upright - hearted people,
in every society, who truly love God, were
accepted of Him," and a little further on uses
a memorable phrase: " Some glances of real

30 JOHN WOOLMAN

beauty: ma^ be .semi J:n_ their _ fa dwell in

true meekness."

The Journal is written throughout without any
attempt at literary art or grace, with the natural
result that, being a true record of human emotions
and entirely successful in conveying the meaning
of the writer, it is a work of supreme literary merit.
The style is never pedantic, but simple, natural,
expressive, on occasion in its vividness reminding
us of the Defoe of Robinson Crusoe and The Journal
of the Plague.

The constant reading of the Scriptures, the
frequent retreat '' into private places," the teaching
of the Quaker faith in the Light Within, and attend-
ance at Meetings, must have stimulated to a high
degree of intensity the mysticism which was inborn
in his character. In the hves of most pious Quakers
is found a very strong leaven of mysticism, though
not of that character which destroys the will-power
and tempts to a withdrawal from the ordinary
interests of the work-a-day world.

Mysticism, unfortunately, as is the case with
so many other Enghsh words, has come to be used
loosely, its technical and its popular meaning being
far different. In the sense in which we here
apply it to John Woolman, it may be taken to be a
feeling of close and intimate, almost familiar com-
munion with God, and, also, that this and the

THE NEW JEESEY QUAKERS 31

other world are in close and daily touch. It was
not merely that Woolman felt that he could go to
God, but also that God would, and did, uncalled
upon, come to him, guiding him in all his actions
and in his every word and thought and desire. So
that this world came to be one with the world to
come, with death as a door between, a passing from
one room of hfe to another.

CHAPTER IV

MANHOOD

So, amid quiet surroundings, though not without
much spiritual strife, John Woolman grew to be a
man, and took his place in the work-a-day world.
He Kved with his parents, worked upon the planta-
tion, and received the schooling which was given
to the sons of Quakers who were not too well en-
dowed with wealth, improving himself in his evening
and other leisure hours. The school-house maybe
built of logs, the floor rough, perhaps simply mother
earth, the roof of bark or shingles ; the benches
rude enough. The practice of whipping was held
in high repute and carried to excessive severity,
even among the Gentle Quakers — quakers, in good
sooth, the small folk must have been. In his
twenty-first year he began to earn his Hving, working
as shopman and book-keeper with a baker at Mount
Holly, about ^ve miles from his home, hving at
the shop. Here his old acquaintances visited him,
but he preferred to spend his evenings alone, so

32

CHAP. IV MANHOOD 33

that after a while these young folk left him to him-
self. His feehng toward them was not in any way
one of superiority, but of love, tenderness and
sympathy for those who were not as happy as
himself. He attended Meeting regularly. It will
be well here to say somewhat of the organisation
of the Society of Friends and of their mode of
worship and their ministry.

The Quaker organisation, as is the case with
every institution which has hved, grew rather
than was created. Naturally those who belonged
to the faith would meet together upon Sunday, or,
as the Friends prefer to call it. First Day, for
worship, so forming a congregation, or Meeting.
Gradually it came about that these Meetings, in
convenient number, grouped themselves into
Monthly Meetings, these in turn into Quarterly
Meetings, and these in turn into a Yearly Meeting,
the chief authority in matters of doctrine, practice
and discipHne. From time to time it will be
necessary to refer to the duties and powers of these
several groups, but here it will best serve our
purpose to see something of the manner in which
the Quakers worship God, their practice differing
very greatly from that of other Christian Churches,
and approaching, as they maintain, far more closely
to the practices of the primitive Church and to the
commands and institutions of their Founder.

D

34 JOHN WOOLMAN

All members of the Society, men and women
alike, are held, to be equal, both, in matters of rule
and in matters of worship. Ministers, elders and
overseers are chosen simply for their spiritual
qualifications, and often from among the humblest
and poorest. Each Meeting regulates its own
particular affairs, subject not so much to discipHne
as to guidance by and advice from the authority
above, and so on, up to the Yearly Meeting. Ques-
tions of all kinds are settled not by voting, but by
simply taking the " sense of the meeting," which
the brotherly love which should be practised by all
Christians renders practicable. This procedure
has been found to work admirably, and, surely,
possesses advantages over the methods which in
other Churches have so often led to conflict and
schism.

There is not any distinction between laity and
clergy, as in other Christian bodies, Quaker ministers
not being ordained by human agency, or permitted
to take up the ministry as a calHng. They are
simply those members of the Society, men and
women, who are recognised by their brethren as
having been endowed by God mth the gift of
ministration, of speaking the word put into their
mouths by their Master. They do not possess
any power or authority, they simply render service,
and are free, even expected, to continue in their

IV MANHOOD 35

ordinary avocations and businesses. A passage
from Quaker Strongholds will help us here :

We do not regard those who have the gift of ministry
as infalHble, or even as necessarily closer to God than many
of the silent worshippers who form the great majority in
every congregation. We feel that the gift is from above,
and that on all of us lies the responsibility of being open to
it, willing to receive it, should it be bestowed, and to use it
faithfully while entrusted with it. But we fully recognise
that to do this perfectly requires a continual submission
of the will, and an increasing watchfulness. We know
that to " keep close to the gift " is not an easy thing.

Barclay argues that as by the Light of God

all this knowledge in things spiritual is received and re-
vealed ; so by the same, as it is manifested and received
in the heart, by the strength and power thereof, every true
minister of the Gospel is ordained, prepared, and supplied
in the work of the ministry ; and by the leading, moving and
drawing hereof, ought every evangelist and Christian
pastor to be led and ordered in his labour and work of the
Gospel, both as to the place where, as to the persons to
whom, and as to the times when he is to minister. More-
over, those who have this authority may and ought to
preach the gospel, though without human commission or
literature ; as, on the other hand, those who want the
authority of this divine gift, however learned or authorized
by the commissions of men and churches, are to be esteemed
but as deceivers, and not true ministers of the gospel. Also,
those who have received this holy and unspotted gift, as
they have freely received, so are they freely to give, without
hire or bargaining, far less to use it as a trade to get money
by it : yet if God hath called any fr^m their employments,
or trades, by which they acquire their livelihoods, it may be

36 JOHN WOOLMAN

lawful for such (according to the hberty which they feel
given them in the Lord) to receive such temporals (to wit,
what may be needful to them for meat and clothing) as
are freely given them by those to whom they have communi-
cated spirituals.

In short, the ministry must not be a business.

The ministry being such, and practically all
forms and ceremonies being abolished, a Quaker
Meeting differs widely from worship as practised
in other Churches. Again no better can be done
than to quote Barclay, who says :

All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the
inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own
Spirit, which is neither limited to places, times, nor persons.
For though we be to worship him always, in that we are to
fear before him ; yet as to the outward signification thereof
in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it
where and when we will, but where and when we are moved
thereunto by the secret inspiration of his Spirit in our hearts,
which God heareth and accepteth of, and is never wanting
to move us thereunto, when need is, of which he himself
is the alone proper judge.

Following upon this reasoning came the practice
of silent worship, a service — ^if so it can be called —
without prearrangement, and silent unless the
Spirit moved one or more to speak. Often there
was speech, often there was not.

Silence is the basis of their worship — silence not merely
of words, but that stilling of the whole being before the
infinite majesty of the Divine, which sets man in his true

IV MANHOOD 37

place, and tunes his pulses to spiritual keys. Out of such a
silence there may come words of prayer, of praise, of aspira-
tion, or it may be of confession or warning : they may come
from those recognised as Ministers, but just as truly may
they fall from other lips : any one may be called to vocal
service.^

In Some Fruits of Solitude, William Penn says :

Serving God, People generally confine to the Acts of
PubHck and Private Worship : and those, the more zealous
do oftener repeat, in hopes of Acceptance.

And in another place :

This World is a Form ; our Bodies are Forms ; and no
visible Acts of Devotion can be without Forms. But yet
the less Form in Religion the better, since God is a Spirit :
For the more mental our Worship, the more adequate to
the Nature of God ; the more silent, the more suitable to
the Language of a Spirit.

Before returning to John Woolman, it will be
helpful to visit some Quaker Meetings in varied
company.

Brissot de Warville thus describes a Quakers'
Meeting in old America :

The most profound silence reigned for near an hour ;
when one of their ministers, or elders, who sat on the front
bench, rose, pronounced four words — then was silent for a
minute, then spoke four words more ; and his whole dis-
course was pronounced in this manner. This method is
generally followed by their preachers ; for, another who
spoke after him, observed the same intervals. . . . The

^ For Fellowship and Freedom, by Joan Marj^ Fry.

38 JOHN WOOLMAN

prayer which terminated this meeting was fervent ; it was
pronounced by a minister who fell on his knees. The men
took of! their hats, and each retired, after having shaken
hands with his neighbour.

Catherine Phillips, who came from England in
1753 on a visit to Friends in America, writes, regard-
ing the matter of silent worship, of a meeting in
Piney Woods :

There is a number of valuable friends in this county,
who were under suffering from the prevalence of a spirit of
carnal ease, and also from the ministry of some who will
not be restrained by wholesome counsel ; wherewith a
number are amused rather than profitably fed ; and instead
of being solidly settled in a silent exercise of spirit, they are
in a continued expectation of words, and remain in sorrowful
ignorance of the operation of the Truth in themselves.

De Chastellux in 1780 attended a meeting at
Philadelphia, and has left us a curious and not
very sympathetic account :

The hall the Quakers meet in is square ; there are, on
every side, and parallel with the walls, benches and desks,
by which means they are placed opposite to each other,
without either altar or pulpit to attract attention. As
soon as they are assembled, one of the more elderly
makes an extempore prayer, of whatever comes upper-
most in his mind ; silence is then observed until some
man or woman feels inspired and rises to speak. ... I
arrived at the moment a woman was done holding forth ;
she was followed by a man who talked a great deal of
nonsense about internal grace, the illumination of the
spirit, and the other dogmas of his sect, which he bandied

MANHOOD 39

about, but took special care not to explain them, and
at length, finished his discourse to the great content of
the brethren, and the sisterhood, who had all of them a
very inattentive and listless air. After seven or eight
minutes' silence, an old man went on his knees, dealt us
all out a very unmeaning prayer, and dismissed the
audience.

Lastly, from Charles Lamb :

The Abbey Church of Westminster hath nothing so
solemn, so spirit-soothing, as the naked walls and benches of
a Quakers' Meeting. Here are no tombs, no inscriptions —

. . . Sands, ignoble things,
Dropt from the ruined sides of Kings —

but here is something which throws Antiquity herself into
the foreground — Silence — eldest of things — language of
old Night — primitive discourser — to which the insolent
decays of mouldering grandeur have but arrived by a violent,
and, as we may say, unnatural progression. ... I have seen
faces in their assemblies upon which the dove sate visibly
brooding. Others, again, I have watched, when my
thoughts should have been better engaged, in which I could
possibly detect nothing but a blank inanity. But quiet was
in all, and the disposition to unanimity, and the absence of
fierce controversial workings. If the spiritual pretensions of
the Quakers have abated, at least they make few pretences.
Hypocrites they certainly are not in their preachings. It
is seldom, indeed, that you shall see one get up amongst
them to hold forth. . . . More frequently the Meeting is
broken up without a word having been spoken. But the
mind has been fed. You go away with a sermon not made
with hands. . . . You have bathed with stillness. — 0, when
the spirit is sore fretted, even tired to sickness of the
j anglings and nonsense-noises of the world, what a balm

40 JOHN WOOLMAN

and solace it is to go and rest yourself for a quiet half -Lour
upon some undisputed corner of a bench among the gentle
Quakers. Their garb and stillness conjoined present a
uniformity, tranquil and herd-like — as in the pasture —
" forty feeding hke one." — The very garments of a Quaker
seem incapable of receiving a soil ; and cleanliness in them
something more than the absence of its contrary. Every
Quakeress is a hly ; and when they come up in their bands
to their Whitsun conferences, whitening the easterly streets
of the metropolis, . . . they show like troops of the Shining
Ones.

How did these silent Meetings of worshippers
affect John Woolman ? He tells us :

I went to meetings in an awful frame of mind, and
endeavoured to be inwardly acquainted with the language
of the true Shepherd. One day, being under a strong
exercise of spirit, I stood up and said some words in a meet-
ing ; but not keeping close to the Divine opening, I said
more than was required of me. Being soon sensible of my
error, I was afflicted in mind some weeks, without any
light or comfort, even to that degree that I could not take
satisfaction in anything. I remembered God and was
troubled, and in the depth of my distress He had pity upon
me, and sent the Comforter. I then felt forgiveness for
my offence ; my mind became calm and quiet, and I was
truly thankful to my gracious Redeemer for his mercies.
About six weeks after this, feeling the spring of Divine
love opened, and a concern to speak, I said a few words in
a meeting, in which I found peace. Being thus humbled
and disciplined under the cross, my understanding became
more strengthened to distinguish the pure spirit which
inwardly moves upon the heart, and which taught me to
wait in silence sometimes many weeks together, until I

IV

MANHOOD 41

felt that rise which, prepares the creature to stand hke a
trumpet, through which the Lord speaks to his flock.
From an inward purifying and steadfast abiding under it,
springs a hvely operative desire for the good of others. All
the faithful are not called to the pubhc ministry ; but
whoever are, are called to minister of that which they have
tasted and handled spiritually. The outward modes of
worship are various ; but whenever any are true ministers
of Jesus Christ, it is from the operation of his Spirit upon
their hearts, first purifying them, and thus giving them a
just sense of the conditions of others. This truth was early
fixed in my mind, and I was taught to watch the pure
opening, and to take heed lest, while I was staadiiig..to
speak, my own will should get uppermost, and cause me
to utteF words from worldly wisdom, and depart from the
channel of the true gospel ministry.

Elsewhere he writes more definitely and deliber-
ately on the subject of Silent Worship, and it will
be helpful to quote fully :

Worship in Silence hath often been refreshing to my
Mind, and a Care attends me that a young Generation may
feel the Nature of this Worship.

Great Expence ariseth in Relation to that which is
call'd Divine Worship.

A considerable part of this Expence is apphed toward
outward Greatness, and many poor People in raising of
Tithe, labour in supporting Customs contrary to the Sim-
phcity that there is in Christ, toward whom my Mind hath
often been moved with Pity.

In pure silent Worship, we dwell under the Holy Anoint-
ing, and feel Christ to be our Shepherd.

Here the best of Teachers ministers to the several
Conditions of his Flock, and the Soul receives immedi-

42 JOHN WOOLMAN

ately from the Divine Fountain, that with which it is
nourished.

As I have travelled at Times where those of other
Societies have attended our Meetings, and have perceiv'd
how little some of them knew of the Nature of silent
Worship ; Lhaye felt tender Desires in my Heart that we
who often sit silent in our Meetings may live answerable
to the Nature of an inward Fellowship with God, that no
Stumbling-block through us, may be laid in their Way.

Such is the Load of unnecessary Expence which lieth
on that which is called Divine Service in many Places,
and so much are the Minds of many People employ'd in
outward Forms and Ceremonies, that the opening of an
inward silent Worship in this Nation to me hath appeared
to be a precious Opening.

Within the last four Hundred Years, many pious People
have been deeply exercised in Soul on Account of the
Superstition which prevailed amongst the professed
Followers of Christ, and in support of their Testimony
against oppressive Idolatry, some in several Ages have
finished their Course in the Flames.

It appears by the History of the Reformation, that
through the Faithfulness of the Martyrs, the Understand-
ings of many have been opened, and the Minds of People,
from Age to Age, been more and more prepared for a real
spiritual Worship.

My Mind is often afiected with a Sense of the Condition
of those People who in different Ages have been meek and
patient, following Christ through great Afflictions : And
while I behold the several Steps, of Reformation, and that
Clearness, to which through Divine Goodness, it hath been
brought by our Ancestors ; I feel tender Desires that we
who sometimes meet in Silence, may never by our Conduct
lay Stumbling-blocks in the Way of others, and hinder the
Progress of the Reformation in the World.

IV

MANHOOD 43

It was a Complaint against some who were called the
Lord's People, that they brought polluted Bread to his
Altar, and said the Table of the Lord was contemptible.

In real silent Worship the Soul feeds on that which is
Divine ; but we cannot partake of the Table of the Lord,
and that Table which is prepared by the God of this World.

If Christ is our Shepherd, and feedeth us, and we are
faithful in following him, our Lives will have an inviting
Language, and the Table of the Lord will not be polluted.

Of the practical nature of his Christianity and
at the same time of the purity of his motives and
the humbleness of his heart he gives us a graphic
example : —

About the time called Christmas I observed many people,
both in town and country, resorting to pubhc-houses, and
spending their time in drinking and vain sports, tending to
corrupt one another ; on which account I was much
troubled. At one house in particular there was much dis-
order ; and I believed it was a duty incumbent on me to
speak to the master of that house. I considered I was
young, and that several elderly Friends in town had oppor-
tunity to see these things ; but though I would gladly have
been excused, yet I could not feel my mind clear. The
exercise was heavy ; and as I was reading what the
Almighty said to Ezekiel, respecting his duty as a watch-
man, the matter was set home more clearly. With prayers
and tears I besought the Lord for his assistance, and He
in loving-kindness, gave me a resigned heart. At a suitable
opportunity I went to the pubhc-house ; and seeing the
man amongst much company, I called him aside, and in the
fear and dread of the Almighty, expressed to him what
rested on my mind. He took it kindly, and afterwards

44 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.iv

showed more regard to me than before. In a few years
afterwards he died, middle-aged; and I often thought
that had I neglected my duty in that case, it would
have given me great trouble ; and I was humbly thankful
to my gracious Father, who had supported me herein.

In worldly matters his affairs progressed satisfac-
torily ; he secured the esteem of his fellows and was
respected by his master and his family, who came
to reside at Mount Holly about two years after he
himself had taken up his residence there.

CHAPTEE V

SLAVERY

In 1742 Woolman was appointed Minister at the
Mount Holly particular Meeting, and we are told
that —

His Ministry was sound, very deep and penetrating,
sometimes pointing out the dangerous Situation which
Indulgence and Custom lead into ; frequently exhorting
others, especially the Youth, not to be discouraged at the
difficulties which occur, but press after Purity. He often
expressed an earnest Engagement that jpure Wisdom should
be attended to, which would lead into LowHness of mind
and Resignation to the divine Will, in which state small
possessions here would be sufficient,

of which matter more anon. His keen interest in
the young was also proved by the fact that —

He several times opened a school at Mount Holly, for
the Instruction of poor Friends' children and others ; being
concerned for their Help and Improvement therein : His
love and care for the rising Youth among us were
truly great, recommending the Parents and those who
have the charge of them, to chuse conscientious and pious
Tutors, saying, "It is a lovely sight to behold innocent

45

46 JOHN WOOLMAN

Children " and that " to labour for their Help against that
which would mar the Beauty of their Minds, is a Debt we
owe them."

John Woolman fully paid the debt he owed to all
who were in need, in trouble, or in darkness.

Thus early in hfe his attention was called to the
question of slavery, by an incident which brought
it practically before him.

My employer, having a negro woman, sold her and
desired me to write a bill of sale, the man being waiting who
bought her. The thing was sudden ; and though I felt
uneasy at the thoughts of writing an instrument of slavery
for one of my fellow-creatures, yet I remembered that I
was hired by the year, that it was my master who directed
me to do it, and that it was an elderly man, a member of
our Society, who bought her ; so through weakness I gave
way and wrote it ; but at the executing of it I was so
afflicted in my mind, that I said before my master and the
Friend that I believed slave-keeping to be a practice incon-
sistent with the Christian religion. This in -some degree
abated my uneasiness ; yet as often as I reflected seriously
upon it I thought I should have been clearer if I had desired
to be excused from it, as a thing against my conscience ;
for such it was. Some time after this a young man of our
Society spoke to me to write a conveyance of a slave to him,
he having lately taken a negro into his house. I told him
I was not easy to write it ; for though many in our meeting
and in other places kept slaves, I still believed the practice
was not right, and desired to be excused from the writing.
I spoke to him in goodwill, and he told me that keeping
slaves was not altogether agreeable to his mind ; but that
the slave being a gift made to his wife, b,^. had accepted her*

V SLAVEEY 47

In the early part of November 1743, Woolman
set out, with his friend, Abraham Farrington, to
visit the Quakers resident in the eastern parts of
New Jersey, the journey occupying some two weeks.
At New Brunswick they held an evening Meeting,
unattended by other Friends, of whom there were
none resident in the town, the room being full and
the people attentive. New Brunswick was then a
small, pretty town, situated high on the banks of
the Raretan ; an old-fashioned place to our eyes,
the houses mostly of brick and wood, roofed with
shingles, and with stoops before them, where in the
cool of the day the good folk would gather for chat
and gossip. There was a ferry here, and hence set
out small yachts, which phed to New York, a
journey of about forty miles. It is on the oldest
highway in New Jersey, a road first trodden by the
aboriginal inhabitants of the land long years before
the white man came ; an Indian pathway through
vast and dark forests between the Delaware and the
sea. The colonists followed the same track, which
gradually grew to the dignity of what then passed
for a road ; the undergrowth was cut away ; clear-
ings made here and there, and primitive log bridges
built across the streams. In Woolman' s time a
considerable portion of the country had been re-
claimed from the wilderness ; there were wide
fields of corn, flourishing orchards, snug homesteads

48 JOHN WOOLMAN

and great barns, for which New Jersey was famous,
housing horses and cattle, sheltering grain and
threshing-floor.

Eight miles beyond the town the road divides,
and Woolman and his companion took the way to
the left to Amboy, journeying through a country
pretty and charming, hills and valleys well culti-
vated, a goodly prospect of " houses, farms,
gardens, corn-fields, forests, lakes, islands, roads
and pastures," as a traveller of those days tells us.

Amboy, or Perth Amboy, was one of the chief
centres of the slave-trade, there being barracks
there for stowing till scattered to the various
markets the newly imported " merchandise."
Woolman must have heard tell of the insurrection
of the negroes here in 1734, and of the mob who
gathered some years later when a '^ bad nigger "
was burned ahve for the salvation of his own soul
and as an edifying warning to the multitude of
his fellows who were compelled to witness his
punishment.

Perth Amboy was beautifully situated, com-
manding a ^e panorama of sea and land, " of
grove-crowned knolls, meadows of waving grass,
bay, rivers and varied beaches." In an early
advertisement issued by the proprietors it is
said that '' Amboy Point is a sweet, wholesome
and delightful place," also that " covered with

SLAVEEY 49

grass growing luxuriantly, the forest trees as
distributed in groups, diversifying the landscape
with light and shade, and all nature wearing the
fresh aspect of a new creation," in short, a new
Garden of Eden, with variations. The town-
green was the centre of life in Amboy, a pleasant,
open space, rendered unpleasing, however, to
evil-doers by reason of the prominence given to
stocks, pillory and whipping-post, and also by
the court-house and jail, which was the meeting-
place of the General Assembly. Of many queer
enactments issued by the members of the Assembly
one may be quoted —

That all women of whatever age, rank, profession, or
degree, whether virgins, maids or widows, who shall after
this act impose upon, seduce, and betray into matrimony
any of his Majesty's subjects by virtue of scents, cosmetics,
washes, paints, artificial teeth, false hair, or high-heeled
shoes, shall incur the penalty of the law now in force against
witchcraft and like misdemeanours.

A motley crowd greeted the eyes of John Wool-
man and his companion as they made their way
through the streets of Amboy to their lodging
and later to the Court-house, in which they held
a Meeting in the evening to which " came many
people, amongst whom were several members of
Assembly, they being in town on the pubhc affairs
of the province. In both these meetings my

50 JOHN WOOLMAN

ancient companion was engaged to preach largely
in the love of the gospel." A motley crowd :
Indians, be-feathered and be-painted, stately,
solemn, silent as Quakers at a meeting ; trappers,
lumberers, Irishmen, Dutchmen, Germans,
Enghshmen ; well-to-do cits and thriving farmers,
richly dressed and poorly, gay and grave, and
many slaves.

At that day it does not seem to have occurred
to Christians of any sect that there was anything
unchristian in the importation and keeping of
negro slaves. If a Christian was enslaved by an
Algerian, there was, of course, much to which
objection should be taken. Early, however, among
the Quakers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
there were individuals whose consciences were
uneasy in this matter, and as far back as 1688 the
Mennonites, the German Quakers, at Germantown,
sent a Memorial to the Yearly Meeting against
" the buying and keeping of negroes," and now and
again, with little practical result, there were
similar stirrings in the succeeding years. In 1712
William Southeby, a Friend, endeavoured to move
the legislature in Pennsylvania to abolish slavery,
with the only result of the imposition of a heavy
tax upon imported slaves, which the Queen in her
wisdom repealed.

As already mentioned, Perth Amboy was the

V SLAVEEY 51

chief port of unlading for " fresh " negroes, wild
from the New Gruinea coast. Kaw slaves would
be bought by the settlers at from £40 to
£100 for a grown male or female, a much
smaller sum being given for a child. Among
the chattels of a settler who died in 1764 were:
" One negro named Ham, valued at £70 ; one
negro named Isaac, valued at £30 ; one negro
named Sam, valued at £70 ; one negro girl named
Betty, valued at £10 ; one negro named Jane,
valued at £60 ; one negro wench named Sawr,
valued at £30 " — Sawr being a Dutch variant on
Sarah.

In order to keep the blacks in due order and
submission, laws of iniquitous severity were enacted
and abominable punishments inflicted.

In 1726 the population of New Jersey was
32,442, of which the slaves numbered 2581 ; in
1738, of a total of 47,369 the slaves were 3981 ;
in 1790, of a total of 169,954, the negroes accounted
for 11,423.

From Perth Amboy the travellers made their
way northward to Woodbridge, Kahway and
Plainfield, and then turned homeward.

Woolman tells us that at the Meetings they
attended during this journey, " I was often silent
through the Meetings, and when I spake, it was
with much care that I might speak only what

52 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

truth opened. My mind was often tender, and 1
learned some profitable lessons."

His employer not thriving in his general busi-
ness, Woolman decided to learn from him that
which was his real trade, namely tailoring, so
that he might settle himself down to an occupa-
tion which would provide him with a plain living,
for more than which he had no desire. He was
content with the necessary conveniences of life.
He tells us :

that a way of life free from much entanglement appeared
best for me, though the income might be small. I had
several ofEers of business that appeared to be profitable,
but I did not see my way clear to accept them, believing
they would be attended with more outward care and cumber
than was required of me to engage in. I saw that an
humble man, with the blessing of the Lord, might live on
a Httle, and that where the heart was set on greatness,
success in business did not satisfy the craving ; but that
commonly with an increase of wealth the desire of wealth
increased. There was a care on my mind so to pass my
time that nothing might hinder me from the most steady
attention to the voice of the true Shepherd.

In May 1746 Woolman, accompanied by
Isaac Andrews, set out on a journey south to
Maryland, Virginia and Carolina. Crossing the
Susquehanna, they reached a new settlement called
the Red Lands, and Woolman notes :

It is the poorer sort of people that commonly begin to
improve remote deserts; with a small stock they have houses

V SLAVEEY 53

to build, lands to clear and fence, corn to raise, clothes
to provide and children to educate, so that Friends who
visit such may well sympathise with them in their hardships
in the wilderness ; and though the best entertainment
that they can give may seem coarse to some who are used
to cities or old settled places, it becomes the disciples of
Christ to be therewith content.

It is characteristic of Woolman that he gives
us very few details of the happenings of this
journey. Now and again a hint peeps through
which shows us that much might have been told
of the hardships and dangers which he had to face
in travelling a wild country with equipment little
more comprehensive than that with which Jesus
Christ commanded the Apostles to go forth. Here
is one such hint. After mentioning that they held
meetings at various settlements, he continues :

From Shanando, we set off in the afternoon for the old
settlements of Friends in Virginia ; the first night we,
with our guide, lodged in the woods, our horses feeding
near us ; but he being poorly provided with a horse, and
we young, and having good horses, were free the next day
to part with him.

They went on into North Carolina, then back
again to Virginia, " labouring amongst the Friends."
There is a touch of depression in this :

Thence went to the mountains, up James Eiver to a new
settlement, and had several meetings amongst the people,
some of whom had lately joined in membership with our

54 JOHN WOOLMAN chap, v

Society. In our journejdngs to and fro, we found some
honest-hearted Friends, who appeared to be concerned for
the cause of truth among a backshding people.

They travelled on, visiting various Meetings,
by the western shore of Maryland, eventually
reaching home on August 16. At the conclusion
of his brief account of this long journey he writes :

Two things were remarkable to me in this journey :
first, in regard to my entertainment. When I ate, drank,
and lodged free-cost with people who hved in ease on the
hard labour of their slaves I felt uneasy ; and as my mind
was inward to the Lord, I found this uneasiness return
upon me, at times through the whole visit. Where the
masters bore a good share of the burden, and hved frugally,
so that their servants were well provided for, and their
labour moderate, I felt more easy ; but where they hved
in a costly way, and laid heavy burdens on their slaves,
my exercise was often great, and I frequently had conver-
sation with them in private concerning it. Secondly,
this trade of importing slaves from their native country
being much encouraged amongst them, and the white
people and their children so generally hving without much
labour, was frequently the subject of my serious thoughts.
I saw in these southern provinces so many vices and corrup-
tions, increased by this trade and this way of hfe, that it
appeared to me as a dark gloominess hanging over the land ;
and though now many wilhngly run into it, yet in future
the consequence will be grievous to posterity. I express
it as it hath appeared to me, not once nor twice, but as a
matter fixed on my mind.

CHAPTEE VI

WOOLMAN AND THE NEGKOES

WooLMAN did not rest for long at home, for on
October 8 he set out to visit the Friends on the
coast of New Jersey, accompanied by his neighbour
and friend, Peter Andrews, brother of his com-
panion on his recent journey to the south. He
tells us little of his travelling, save that " we were
out twenty-two days, and rode, by computation,
three hundred and forty miles."

During the winter his eldest sister, Elizabeth,
died of the smallpox, at the age of thirty -one.
Of this sister we have a pleasing account in the
Journal :

She was from her youth of a thoughtful disposition ; and
very compassionate to her Acquaintance in their sickness
or distress, being ready to help as far as she could. She
was dutiful to her Parents; one instance whereof follows: —
It happened that she and two of her Sisters, being then near
the estate of young women, had an inchnation one First-
day after Meeting, to go on a visit to some other young
women, at some distance off ; whose Company, I believe,

65

56 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

would have done them no Good. They expressed their
Desire to our Parents ; who were dissatisfied with the
Proposal, and stopped them. The same Day, as my
Sisters and I were together, and they talking about their
Disappointment, Elizabeth expressed her Contentment
under it ; signifying she believed it might be for their
Good.

A few Years after she attained to mature-Age, through
the gracious Visitations of God's Love, she was strengthened
to live a self-denying, exemplary Life, giving herself much
to Reading and Meditation.

The following Letter may shew, in some Degree, her
Disposition.

Haddonfibld 1st Day 11th Month 1743.

Beloved Brothee, John Woolman, — In that Love
which desires the Welfare of all Men, I write unto thee ;
I received thine, dated second day of the tenth Month last,
with which I was comforted. My Spirit is bowed with
Thankfulness that I should be remembered, who am un-
worthy ; but the Lord is full of Mercy, and his Goodness is
extended to the meanest of his Creation ; therefore in his
infinite Love he hath pitied and spared, and shewed Mercy,
that I have not been cut of! nor quite lost ; but at times I
am refreshed and comforted as with the Glimpse of his
Presence, which is more to the immortal Part, than all
which this World can afiord : So, with Desires for thy
Preservation with my own, I remain. Thy afiectionate
Sister, Eliz. Woolman jun.

In the fore Part of her Illness she was in great Sadness
and Dejection of Mind, of which she told one of her intimate
Friends, and said, When I was a young Girl I was wanton
and airy, but I thought I had thoroughly repented of it ;
and added, I have of late had great Satisfaction in Meetings.
Though she was thus disconsolate ; still she retained a

yi WOOLMAN AND THE NEGEOES 57

Hope, whicli was as an Anchor to her : And some time
after, the same Friend came again to see her, to whom she
mentioned her former Expressions, and said, It is otherwise
now, for the Lord hath rewarded me sevenfold ; and I am
unable to express the greatness of his Love manifested to
me. Her Disorder appearing dangerous, and oar Mother
being sorrowful, she took Notice of it, and said. Dear Mother,
weep not for me ; I go to my God : And many Times, with
an audible voice, uttered Praise to her Redeemer.

A Friend coming some Miles to see her the Morning
before she died, asked her, how she did ? She answered,
I have had a hard Night, but shall not have another such,
for I shall die, and it will be well with my Soul ; and accord-
ingly died the next Evening.

In May 1747 John Woolman and Peter
Andrews obtained certificates from their Monthly
Meeting, permitting them to visit the Friends in
New England, reaching home again in mid
September, " having rode about fifteen hundred
miles, and sailed about one hundred and fifty."

Another lengthy journey in the succeeding
year, 1748, is briefly dismissed by Woolman in a
few lines, concluding : '' We were abroad about
six weeks, and rode, by computation, about five
hundred and fifty miles."

In the summer of this year we find Woolman in
touch with a very difierent world from that in
which we have hitherto seen him. John Smith,
son of Richard Smith of Burlington, was a Quaker
of the Penn rather than of the Woolman pattern.

58 JOHN WOOLMAN

He was brought up to a business life, and practised
as a merchant in Philadelphia, his affairs going
well. He married Hannah, daughter of James
Logan, a very prominent member of the Govern-
ment in Pennsylvania and a man of considerable
scientific acquirements. Of his courtship John
Smith has left a singularly charming account in
his Journal.^ In this we are given a most agreeable
picture of the life of the cultured and well-to-do
Friends of Philadelphia, and we may note that
among the books he read were Pope's Poems,
Addison's Essays, Steele's plays, and the novels
of Henry Fielding. His wife died in 1762, and he
then retired to Burlington, where he died at the
early age of forty-nine.

In May 1748, we find from his diary that he
entertained at his house in BurHngton John
Woohnan, Abraham Farrington, P. Fearn and
Samuel Galloway, and that " the three former
lodged at my house, being come down to take
their leaves of the friends who are to leave us."
The rest, alas, is silence, and it is not for the writer
of biography to indulge in the pleasant recreation
of conjecture.

Burlington was situated on the eastern bank of
the Delaware, upon a fine turnpike road, about
twenty miles distant from Philadelphia. A small

^ Hannah Logan's CourtsJiip, edited by Albert Cook Myers.

VI WOOLMAN AND THE NEGEOES 59

town, or big village, of about 170 houses, chiefly
built of stone and set well apart ; described by
Governor Belcher in 1747 thus :

This is a fine Climate and a Country of great Plenty,
tho' but of little profit to a Governour. The inhabitants
are generally rustick and without education.

This self-same Governor, however, was apparently

comfortably housed, for he writes :

. . . have taken a house standing on the Banks of the
Beautiful River Delaware and from my window I have a
pleasant view up and down the River for 10 miles. I have
a handsome Garden of near an acre inclosed with a Brick
Wall, a good Orchard of 6 Acres, and 60 Acres of
Pasturing and mow^ Land and these things may give me
many necessaries of Life for my Family, as well as support
my horses, Cows, sheep and Poultry, and when I am tired
at my Library this httle Farm may be an Innocent Amuse-
ment as well as an Advantage to my Health.

This reminds one of the description given by
John Smith in his diary of an agreeable day :

The first appearance of greenness in the meadows, with
the Singing of Blackbirds, the chirping of Bluebirds, with
the Voice of the Turtle, a little Moderate Exercise, and a use-
ful Book by turns all helped to make this an Agreeable day.

Of the comfortable home life of the farmers

around the Httle town in 1788 we gain a peep in

Brissot de Warville :

Never was I so much edified as in this house ; it is the
asylum of union, friendship and hospitahty. The beds
were neat, the hnen white, the covering elegant ; the

60 JOHN WOOLMAN

cabinets, desks, chairs and tables, were of black walnut,
well polished, and shining. The garden furnished
vegetables of all kinds, and fruits. There were ten horses
in the stable ; the Indian corn of the last year, still on the
cob, lay in large quantities in a cabin, of which the narrow
planks, placed at small distances from each other, leave
openings for the circulation of the air. The barn was full
of wheat, oats, etc. ; their cows furnish dehcious milk for
the family, of which they make excellent cheeses ; their
sheep give them the wool of which the cloth is made which
covers the father and the children. The cloth is spun in the
house, wove and fulled in the neighbourhood. All the
linen is made in the house.

On December 4, 1739, John Smith records a
Monthly Meeting at Burlington, and continues :

. . . that Night, through the Carelessness (as was Sup-
posed) of Ann White (that us'd to mind It) the fire In the
Upper Chamber of the httle Meeting House kindled, and
(as it was Supposed) Some of it fell off the hearth on the
floor and so set It afire ; But it Was not Discovered till
about 11 o'clock the next Day, when (thro' Mercy) by the
help of the Engine and Many People Most Part of the
Roof of the Great house was saved and the Lower floor and
the timbers of the Upper In the little one, were also
Saved, but the Roof of the little House and the S.W. Side
of the Roof, and the Lanthorn of the Great House were
All Burnt. As the Engine was playing In the Great House,
some timbers of the terret fell and hurt Several people.

In John Smith's Journal we find, under date
November 8, 1746, this entry :

Had part of the Evening the Comp^ of B. Lay, the
Comi-Cynic Philosopher,

VI WOOLMAN AND THE NEGEOES 61

who was a companion in arms of John Woolman
in the warfare against slavery. This Benjamin
Lay was a quaintly pathetic figure, the exterior of
a Punchinello cloaking an intensity of enthusiasm
and of religious fervour. He was born at Col-
chester, England, in the year 1677, and was by
birthright a member of the Society of Friends.
Eccentricity of conduct brought him into disfavour,
and in 1718 he emigrated to Barbadoes, where
first his interest in the question of slavery was
aroused. His violent outspokenness upon the
subject naturally provoked the enmity of the
planters, and, hoping to find a better state of affairs
in Philadelphia, he proceeded thither in 1731, at
once embarking upon an anti-slavery crusade,
which he pursued with vigour and extravagance.
He was wont to visit Meetings for the purpose of
protesting against the abomination, and his out-
spoken denunciations were not always kindly
received. It is related of a visit of his to the
Market Street Meeting that a prominent Friend
requested his removal, which was promptly effected
by a brawny blacksmith, with the result that Lay
fell into the gutter. There, when the Meeting
closed, he was still sprawling, exclaiming, " Let
those who cast me here raise me up. It is their
business, not mine."

His appearance was as unusual as his conduct.

62 JOHN WOOLMAN

Robert Yaux, one of his biographers, thus describes
him :

He was only four feet seven inches in height ; his head
was large in proportion to his body ; the features of his face
were remarkable, and boldly delineated, and his countenance
was grave and benignant. He was hunch-backed, with a
projecting chest, below which his body became much con-
tracted. His legs were so slender as to appear almost
unequal to the purpose of supporting him, diminutive as
his frame was, in comparison with the ordinary size of
human stature. A habit he had contracted of standing
in a twisted position with one hand resting on his left hip,
added to the effect produced by a large white beard, that for
many years had not been shaved, contributed to render
his figure perfectly unique. It is singular that his wife
very much resembled him in size, having a crooked back
like her husband, and the similarity of their appearance
even excited the remark of the slaves in Barbadoes, who
used to say when they saw them together, " That ittle
backararar man, go all over world see for that backararar
woman for himself."

He determinedly refused to eat any food or to
clothe himself in any garment which was either
the product of slave labour or which was made at
the cost of animal life. This eccentric being lived
six miles out of Philadelphia, on the old York
Koad, at Abington, his dwelling-place being a
small cave, to which he made some little addition,
and around which was a small orchard and several
chestnut trees. Here he dwelt, living chiefly on
fruits, vegetables and milk, clothed in raiment

WOOLMAN AND THE NEGROES 63

spun by himself out of tow, and it is recorded that
on one occasion he attempted a forty days' fast,
with disastrous results.

Strange stories are told of the means wherewith
he strove to arouse the sleeping consciences of
his fellow Friends. For example, he made his
appearance at the Yearly Meeting at Burlington,
clad in his long white gown, and when in the
midst, cried out, " You slave-holders ! Why don't
you throw ofi your Quaker coats, as I do mine,
and show yourselves as you are ? " Thereupon
he threw ofi his gown, showing himself to the
amazed spectators in a military coat and armed
with a sword. In one hand he held a great book,
with the other he unsheathed his sword, exclaiming,
" In the sight of Grod you are as guilty as if you
stabbed your slaves to the heart as I do this book ! "
Whereupon he did stab a bladder filled with blood-
red juice of the poke-weed, sprinkling it over those
around.

It is not improbable that John Woolman was
a witness of this curious outburst.

Lay died February 3, 1759, aged eighty-two,
and was interred in the Friends' Burial Ground at
Abington. A fanatic, maybe, but withal on the
right side.

Of Woolman's marriage we must let himself
tell the story in brief :

64 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

About this time, believing it to be good for me to settle,
and thinking seriously about a companion, my heart was
turned to the Lord with desires that He would give me
wisdom to proceed therein agreeably to His will, and He
was pleased to give me a well-inclined damsel, Sarah Ellis,
to whom I was married the 18th of the eighth month 1749.

That his married life was happy we have not
any reason to doubt. Of his children but one
grew to maturity, a daughter, who married one
John Comfort. We are told, and can well believe,
that Woolman '' was a loving husband, a tender
father."

From the same source of information we take
this :

He was desirous to have his own and the Minds of others,
redeemed from the Pleasures and immoderate Profits of this
World, and to fix them on those Joys which fade not away ;
his principal Care being after a Life of Purity, endeavouring
to avoid not only the grosser Pollutions, but those also
which appearing in a more refined Dress, are not sufiiciently
guarded against by some well-disposed People. In the
latter Part of his Life he was remarkable for the Plainness
and Simplicity of his Dress, and as much as possible avoided
the Use of Plate, costly Furniture and feasting ; thereby
endeavouring to become an Example of Temperance and
Self-denial, which he believed himself called unto, and was
favoured with Peace therein, although it carried the Appear-
ance of great Austerity in the View of some. He was very
moderate in his Charges in the Way of Business and in his
Desires after Gain ; and, though a Man of Industry, avoided,
and strove much to lead others out of extreme Labour and
Anxiousness after perishable Things ; being desirous that

VI WOOLMAN AND THE NEGROES 65

the Strength of our Bodies might not be spent in procuring
Things unprofitable, and that we might use Moderation and
Kindness to the brute Animals under our Care, to prize the
Use of them as a great Favour, and by no Means abuse them ;
that the Gifts of Providence should be thankfully received
and applied to the Uses they were designed for.

It was the Quaker rule that Friend must marry
Friend, and the " keeping company " with one of
another creed was a matter which it was part of
the labour of the Monthly Meeting to put down
with severity. It was considered desirable, also,
that the contracting parties should obtain the
consent of their parents, armed with which they
severally announced their intention twice or three
times at Meeting. A committee of men and
another of women were entrusted with the duty
of inquiring into the " clearness from similar
engagement " of the parties ; the parents' consents
were announced by them publicly. The actual
ceremony was simplicity itself ; supported by their
fathers and mothers, the bride and bridegroom
took each other as man and wife before the Meeting ;
there was no joining in the bonds of matrimony
by priest or other official ; no ring ; no music ; they
took each for better or for worse, in some such
words as those used by John Pemberton in 1684 :

Friends, you are here to witness, in the presence of God
and this Assembly of his people, I take this maid, Margaret
Matthews, to be my loving and lawful wife, promising to be

F

66 JOHN WOOLMAN

a true and faithful husband unto her till death shall us
part.

To which the said Margaret :

Friends, before God, and you his people, I take John
Pemberton to be my husband, promising to be a loving and
faithful wife until death shall us part.

It is typical of the care extended to even the
most private affairs of life by the Meeting that it
was seen to that the wedding feast was orderly and
simple.

In the autumn of 1750 Woolman's father, aged
about sixty years, died of a fever. On his death-
bed he referred to a manuscript which his son had
written, being " Some Observations on keeping
Slaves," prepared by Woolman after his return
from Carolina. In the Journal we read :

After my return from Carolina in 1746, I made some
observations on keeping slaves, which some time before his
decease 1 showed to him ; he perused the manuscript,
proposed a few alterations, and appeared well satisfied that
I found a concern on that account. In his last sickness,
as I was watching with him one night, he being so far spent
that there was no expectation of his recovery, though he
had the perfect use of his understanding, he asked me
concerning the manuscript, and whether I expected soon
to proceed to take the advice of friends in publishing it ?
After some further conversation thereon, he said, " 1 have
all along been deeply afiected with the oppression of the
poor negroes ; and now, at last, my concern for them is as
great as ever."

VI WOOLMAN AND THE NEGKOES 67

The day following he was visited by his sister
EUzabeth, whose hard task it was to announce
to the dying man the death, a few days previously,
of their sister Ann. To her he said, " I reckon
sister Ann was free to leave this world ? " And
EUzabeth said she was. He then added, '^ I also
am free to leave it," and, being in great weakness,
'' I hope I shall shortly go to rest."

Passing over visits in 1751 to the upper part of
West Jersey and in 1753 to Bucks County, Penn-
sylvania, we come to an incident that once again
brought home to John Woolman the subject of
slavery. He tells us :

About this time, a person at some distance Ijmg sick,
his brother came to me to write his will. I knew he had
slaves, and, asking his brother, was told he intended to
leave them as slaves to his children. As writing is a profit-
able employ, and as ofiending sober people was disagreeable
to my inclination, I was straitened in my mind, but as I
looked to the Lord, He inclined my heart to his testimony.
I told the man that I believed the practice of continuing
slavery to this people was not right, and that I had a scruple
in my mind against doing writings of the kind ; that though
many in our Society kept them as slaves, still I was not
easy to be concerned in it, and desired to be excused from
going to write the will. I spake to him in the fear of the
Lord, and he made no reply to what I said, but went away ;
he also had some concerns in the practice, and I thought he
was displeased with me. In this case I had fresh con-
firmation that acting contrary to present outward interest
from a motive of Divine love, and in regard to truth and

68 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

righteousness, and thereby incurring the resentments of
people, opens the way to a treasure better than silver, and
to a friendship exceeding the friendship of men.

Other such incidents of a slightly later date fit
in well at this point. He tells us :

Scrupling to do writings relative to keeping slaves has
been a means of sundry small trials to me, in which I have
so evidently felt my own will set aside that I think it good
to mention a few of them. Tradesmen and retailers of
goods, who depend on their business for a living, are natur-
ally inclined to keep the goodwill of their customers ; nor
is it a pleasant thing for young men to be under necessity
to question the judgment or honesty of elderly men, and
more especially of such as have a fair reputation. Deep-
rooted customs, though wrong, are not easily altered ; but
it is the duty of all to be firm in that which they certainly
know is right for them. A charitable, benevolent man,
well acquainted with a negro, may, I beheve, under some
circumstances, keep him in his family as a servant, on no
other motives than the negro's good ; but man, as man,
knows not what shall be after him, nor hath he any assur-
ance that his children will attain to that perfection in
wisdom and goodness necessary rightly to exercise such
power ; hence it is clear to me, that I ought not to be the
scribe where wills are drawn in which some children are
made sale-masters over others during hfe.

About this time an ancient man of good esteem in the
neighbourhood came to my house to get his will written.
He had young negroes, and I asked him privately how he
purposed to dispose of them. He told me : I then said,
" I cannot write thy will without breaking my own peace,"
and respectfully gave him my reasons for it. He signified
that he had a choice that I should have written it, but as

VI WOOLMAN AND THE NEGROES 69

I could not, consistently with my conscience, he did not
desire it, and so he got it written by some other person.
A few years after, there being great alterations in his family,
he came to me again to get me to write his will. His
negroes were yet young, and his son, to whom he intended
to give them, was, since he first spoke to me, from a hbertine
become a sober young man, and he supposed that I would
have been free on that account to write it. We had much
friendly talk on the subject, and then deferred it. A few
days after he came again, and directed their freedom, and
I then wrote his will.

Near the time the last mentioned Friend first spoke
to me, a neighbour received a bad bruise in his body and
sent for me to bleed him, which having done, he desired
me to write his will. I took notes, and among other things
he told me to which of his children he gave his young
negro. I considered the pain and distress he was in, and
knew not how it would end, so I wrote his will, save only
that part concerning his slave, and carrying it to his bedside
read it to him. I then told him in a friendly way that I
could not write any instruments by which my fellow-
creatures were made slaves, without bringing trouble on
my own mind. I let him know that I charged nothing for
what I had done, and desired to be excused from doing the
other part in the way he proposed. We then had a serious
conference on the subject ; at length he agreeing to set her
free, I finished his will.

The manuscript to which reference has been
made was still unpublished, and Woolman now
obtained the assistance of several Friends in its
revision, the printing of the pamphlet being under-
taken by Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia.
The first part of Some Considerations on the Keeping

70 JOHN WOOLMAN

of Negroes recommended to the Professors of Chris-
tianity of every Denomination appeared in 1752,
followed ten years later by a second part. A few
extracts will show very clearly Woolman's attitude
of mind in this matter — and in some others.

To act continually with integrity of heart, above all
narrow or selfish motives, is sure token of our being par-
takers of that salvation which God hath appointed for
walls and bulwarks ; Isaiah, xxvi. 1, and is beyond all
contradiction a more happy situation than can ever be
promised by the utmost reach of art and power united,
not proceeding from heavenly wisdom.

A supply of Nature's lawful wants, joined with a peace-
ful, humble mind, is the truest happiness in this life ; and
if we arrive at this, and continue to walk in the path of the
just, our case will be truly happy.

As some in most religious societies among the English
are concerned in importing or purchasing the inhabitants
of Africa as slaves, and as the professors of Christianity of
several other nations do the like, these circumstances tend
to make people less apt to examine the process so closely
as they would do if such a thing had not hitherto been, but
was now for the first time proposed.

Man is born to labour, and experience abundantly showeth
that it is for our good ; but when the powerful lay the
burden on the inferior, without aJSording them a Christian
education, and suitable opportunity of improving the mind,
and such a treatment as we in their case should approve,
in order that the powerful may live at ease, fare sumptu-
ously, and lay up riches for their posterity, it seems to
contradict the design of Providence, and I doubt sometimes
the effect of a perverted mind.

WOOLMAN AND THE NEGROES 71

It is our duty, as Creatures accountable to our Creator,
to employ rightly the understanding which He hath given
us, in humbly endeavouring to be acquainted with his will
concerning us, and with the nature and tendency of those
things which we practise : for so long as justice remains
in the world, so many people of reputation being engaged
with wrong things, is no excuse for others joining with
them, nor does it make the consequence of their proceedings
less dreadful in the final issue than it would otherwise be.

It appears to me that the slave trade was founded, and
hath greatly been carried on, in a wrong spirit ; that the
effects of it are detrimental to the real prosperity of our
country ; and will become more so, except we cease from
the common motives for keeping them, and treat them
in future agreeably to truth, and pure justice. Negroes
may be imported who, for their cruelty to the countrymen,
and the evil disposition of their minds, may be unfit to be
set at liberty ; and if we, as lovers of righteousness, under-
take the management of them, we should have a full and
clear knowledge of their crimes, and of those circumstances
which might operate in their favour ; but the difficulty of
obtaining this is so great, that we have great reason to be
cautious therein. But, should it plainly appear, that
absolute subjection is a condition the most proper for the
persons purchased, yet the innocent children ought not to
be made slaves because their parents sinned.

Some who keep slaves have doubted the equity of the
practice ; but as they knew men, noted for their piety,
who were in it, this, they say, has made their minds easy.

Forced subjection of innocent persons of full age, is
inconsistent with right reason ; on one side the human
mind is not naturally fortified with that firmness in wisdom
and goodness, which are necessary to an independent
ruler ; on the other side, to be subject to the uncontrollable

72 JOHN WOOLMAN

will of man, liable to err, is most painful and afflicting to a
conscientious creature.

As members of society in a well-framed government, we
are mutually dependent. Present interest incites to duty,
and makes each man attentive to the convenience of others ;
but he whose will is a law to others, and who can enforce
obedience by punishment ; he whose wants are supplied
without feeling any obhgation to make equal return to his
benefactor, is in danger of growing hard, and inattentive
to their convenience who labour for his support ; his
irregular appetites find an open field for motion, and he
loses that disposition in which alone men are fit to govern.

Seed sown with the tears of a confined, oppressed people,
corn cut down by an over-borne, discontented reaper,
makes bread less sweet to the taste of an honest man, than
that which is the produce, or just reward of that voluntary
action which is one proper part of the business of human
creatures.

CHAPTER VII

PHILADELPHIA

On what date, and upon what occasion John
Woolman first visited Philadelphia we know not ;
but he must early have been acquainted with
what may be called the Quaker capital, and must
have had many good friends there, among them,
doubtless, Anthony Benezet, who was an ardent
opponent of slavery, and who may have been the
author of the letter to the Society which was issued
by the Yearly Meeting of 1754, and which set
forth very frankly the impossibility of being both
a Christian and a slave-owner : " If we continually
bear in mind the royal law of ' doing to others as
we would be done by,' we should never think of
bereaving our fellow-creatures of that valuable
blessing, liberty ; we endure to grow rich by their
bondage."

De Chastellux narrates an interview in 1780
with the said Benezet — " an old Quaker of the name
of Benezet, of diminutive figure and humble and

73

74 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

scanty physiognomy. This Mr. Benezet," he goes
on, " may rather be regarded as the model than
as a specimen of the sect of Quakers ; wholly
occupied with the welfare of mankind, his charity
and generosity made him held in great considera-
tion. ..."

Another describes him as " dear, quaint,
humorous, straightforward, kind-hearted," and,
indeed, he must have been a very human and
estimable Friend, ready of wit and of a playful
turn. Of his quickness we may quote a character-
istic example. One day, in Philadelphia, he met
a man who was noted for always being in a hurry,
who said in reply to Anthony's salutation, '' I am
now in haste, and will speak with you when we
next see each other." To which came the ready
response, " Dost thou think thou wilt ever find
time to die ? "

Benezet was born in the year 1713, at St.
Quentin in France, being descended from an old
and well - to - do family. Holding Protestant
opinions, his father lost both property and country,
emigrating to London. Anthony, his son, owning
and acting upon conscientious objections to trade,
was apprenticed to the calling of a cooper. His
father and himself joined the Society of Friends in
London. In 1731 the family passed over to
America, taking up their residence in Philadelphia,

Vll

PHILADELPHIA 75

Anthony securing occupation as a teacher and
proof-reader in Germantown. In 1742 he was
appointed to the mastership of the Friends' school
founded by Penn, and in 1755 started a school on
his own account. About 1750 he began his life-
work, interesting himself in the question of slavery,
and showing his practical goodwill by founding a
night school for negroes in Philadelphia. He
published much, writing chiefly, as became a
Quaker, against slavery, war and drink. In 1766
he went to reside at Burlington, but died at Phil-
adelphia in 1784. Disapproving of the fulsome
eulogies so often pronounced upon the dead, he
suggested for himself the eulogium, " Anthony
Benezet was a poor creature, and, through Divine
favour, was enabled to know it."

Another man of note with whom Woolman
must have come into touch was Samuel Fothergill,
who in 1754 came from England on a visit to
North America. His own account of his journey
is worth giving, if only because it is typical of
many such journeys undertaken by English Friends.
He writes :

I left Warrington on the 2nd of 8th month 1754 ;
dear wife, with some others, accompanied me to Leek,
where we parted on the 3rd, and I came to London, being
met at Albans by my sister, on the 5th, and stayed in
London until the 9th, when dear John Churchman

76 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

and myself, accompanied by many Friends, went down to
Gravesend.

1754, 8th Mo., 10th. — Went on board the Caroline,
Stephen Mesnard, commander ; had, with many friends
who went on board, a precious opportunity, in the humbUng
sense of divine regard. We returned to Gravesend to dine ;
and afterwards parted from our dear friends, and went on
board the ship. Fell down the river ; we were detained in
the Downs and the channel until the 17th, when we lost
the sight of land, and pursued our voyage. Had a comfort-
able passage, in which time we always kept up (though
only two) our religious meetings, and the Lord of all mercies
was often and mercifully near to our comfort.

9th Mo., 23rd. — We first discovered the Capes of Dela-
ware River, and took in a pilot, being favoured with a good
wind, we came 120 miles up the river, and cast anchor
above Wilmington.

24th. — Went ashore and hired horses to Wilmington,
where we were very kindly received by William and EHza-
beth Shipley ; immediately after our arrival WiUiam Brown
and Joshua Dixon came in, who were just landed, though
they sailed three weeks before us. Dear John Churchman
went home that evening, and William Brown, Joshua
Dixon and myself went up that evening to Philadelphia
and Schuylkill. I lodged at Israel Pemberton's, where
I met a kind reception.

Welcome, in truth, after the long days at sea,
must have been the sight of the shores of Delaware
Bay, finely wooded with oak, hiccory and firs,
which supplied timber for the shipyards of Phil-
adelphia. Eestful, too, sailing up the broad river —
the luxuriant forests, farmsteads surrounded by
golden cornfields, green meadows, pasture-lands

vn PHILADELPHIA 77

well stocked with kine, and on occasions the air
laden with the scent of flowers and of new-mown
hay.

Forty days was a quick voyage from Gravesend
to Philadelphia ; in winter time three months and
more was not unusual.

Of the powerful and persuasive speech of Samuel
Fothergill, Friend Emlen gives the following
example :

That during a visit which he paid to a few Friends
scattered in the back parts of Pennsylvania, they had to
endure much hardship, were sometimes obliged to pass the
night in the woods, having the sky for their canopy, and
using their saddles for pillows. Late one night they arrived
at a solitary house in a lonely place ; here they requested
lodgings for the night, which were granted. They found
that the house and extensive farm around it belonged to
an individual, the mistress of many servants employed
upon the land : she was of mascuhne character, and strong
powers of mind, but of an unregenerate heart, and under
the influence of unsubdued passions, and greatly addicted
to profane swearing. S. Fothergill told his companion
that from what he had observed, he thought her the most
wicked woman he had ever seen. She nevertheless treated
them with civility, and even kindness. The situation of the
family, with such a character for its head, caused some
exercise of mind to S. Fothergill, and in the morning he
requested that the household might be collected, and that
they might sit down together ; this was compUed with,
and the whole family was assembled. He addressed them
in a remarkable manner, and in particular he was led to
lay open the wickedness of the human heart in its unre-

78 JOHN WOOLMAN

generate state, and the awful consequences of remaining
in such a state ; his language and. expressions were so
powerful, that the mistress of the house was greatly affected,
her spirit was broken, and she wept much. After this,
feehng at hberty, the Friends prepared to depart, they
took leave of the family, and desired to pay for their enter-
tainment. She refused to accept anything, but said they
were quite welcome to everything they had had ; adding
that she was unworthy to receive such guests under her
roof ; and so powerfully had the word preached wrought
upon her heart, that she exclaimed, " You are angels, but
I am a devil ! "

Samuel Fothergill wrote in 1756, after his visit
to America :

To begin with Pennsylvania, where I landed. There
are a very great body of people who bear our name,^ and
many who deserve to bear it. A noble seed of several
classes respecting age, though too few of the aged amongst
them, who have kept their garments clean, and whose
hands are strong. Their fathers came into the country in
its infancy, and bought large tracts of land for a trifle ;
their sons found large estates come into their possession,
and a profession of rehgion which was partly national,
which descended like the patrimony from their fathers,
and cost as little. They settled in ease and affluence,
and while they made the barren wilderness as a fruitful
field, suffered the plantation of Grod to be as a field un-
cultivated, and a desert. Thus, decay of disciphne and other
weakenings prevailed, to the eclipsing of Zion's beauty ;
yet was there a noble remnant whose love was strong, and
who remembered the Lord of the whole earth and his
house, whilst they built their own.

^ Friends.

vn PHILADELPHIA 79

What manner of city was Philadelphia in those
days ? Let us see it as John Woolman saw it.

It is indeed essential that we should have some
general idea, at least, of the Philadelphia of Wool-
man's time, its outward appearance and the manner
of life led by its good citizens. In 1725 the poet
Thomas Makin wrote thus :

Fair Philadelphia next is rising seen,
Between two rivers plac'd, two miles between ;
The Delaware and Sculkil, new to fame,
Both ancient streams, yet of a modern name.
The city, form'd upon a beauteous plan,
Has many houses built, tho' late began ;
Rectangular the streets, direct and fair. . . .

and so on, prose in verse.

The town stood upon the bank of the beautiful
Delaware river, here about a mile broad, the stream
being frozen over every winter for some weeks ;
on the other hand, in summer the heat is excessive,
the climate varying thus from extreme heat to
extreme cold, and thunderstorms, cold winds and
rains being not infrequent in the warmer seasons.
'' The snows," we read in Proud's history, " are
frequently very deep in winter, and the frosts so
intense that it has not been very uncommon for
the large river Delaware, even, where it is near a
mile broad, to be frozen over in one night, so as
to bear people walking upon the ice in the morning ;
which river sometimes, in the winter season, for

80 JOHN WOOLMAN

several weeks together, even, opposite to Phil-
adelp}iia,k as much frequented with loaded carriages
of all sorts, bringing country produce upon the ice
to the city, as any part of terra firma.''

The New Jersey shore on the opposite side of
the river is low-lying, but in the other direction,
toward the Schuylkill, the surrounding country
was beautiful, as indeed it was all around the
city, a country of hills and valleys, streams and
fine woods. Approaching the town from the
south-west, and crossing the Schuylkill, a way
often pursued by John Woolman, the road passed
through dense woods, with here and there a
settler's house, the traveller now catching a glimpse
of the wild deer, now, perchance, of a flock of wild
turkeys. The Swedish traveller, Kalm, describes
his ride to a country seat some nine miles north-
west of the town, which will serve to show what
manner of country lay around Philadelphia :

The country on both sides of the road was covered with
a great forest. The trees were all with annual leaves, and
I did not see a single fir or pine. Most of the trees were
different sorts of oak; but we likewise saw chestnut, walnut,
locust and apple trees, with hiccory, blackberry bushes,
and the like. The ground ceased to be so even as it was
before, and began to look more hke the EngUsh ground,
diversified with hills and valHes. We found neither moun-
tains nor great stones, and the wood was so much thinned,
and the ground so uniformly even, that we could see a

vn PHILADELPHIA 81

great way between the trees, under which we rode without
any inconvenience, for there were no bushes to stop us. . . .
As we went on in the wood we continually saw, at moderate
distances, httle fields which had been cleared of the wood.
Each of them was a farm. These farms were commonly
very pretty, and a walk of trees frequently led from them
to the high-road. The houses were all built of brick, or of
the stone which is here commonly met with. . . . After a
ride of six Enghsh miles, we came to Germantown ; this
town has only one street, but is nearly two Enghsh miles
long.

In another place he writes that '^ every country-
man, even a common peasant, has commonly an
orchard near his house, in which all sorts of fruit,
such as peaches, apples, pears, cherries, and others,
are in plenty."

What like was the city set against this pleasant
background ?

Fenced around by dark woods and forests stood
the little town, from any part of which a short
walk took the citizens out into the country ; a
town of broad, roomy streets, with euphonious
names which breathed of sweet-scented trees, such
as Mulberry Street, Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, Pine,
Cedar and so forth. Proud, in his history of
Pennsylvania, tells us :

The original plan of this city, as confirmed by charter,
dated October 25th, 1701, extends, in length, between the
river Delaware, on the east, and Sculkil, on the west of it,
about two miles ; and is, in breadth, one mile nearly,

G

82 JOHN WOOLMAN chap

on each river. The streets which run right, and exactly
parallel to each other, nearly east and west, from river to
river, are nine in number, and they are intersected, at right
angles, by twenty-three others, running nearly parallel
with the rivers, north and south ; none being less than
fifty, nor more than a hundred feet broad.

Streets regular, indeed, and fine withal, the
majority fifty feet wide, and Market Street near a
hundred ; bordered with footways of brick and
sometimes of flag-stones, with gutters of brick or
wood, with stout posts to prevent vehicles, for the
most part handsome waggons, encroaching on the
pathway ; not always over cleanly, for in 1750
the Grand Jury speak of '' the extreme dirtiness
and miry state " of the streets ; fairly well lighted
at night. On October 21, 1749, John Smith
mentions attending at " the Tavern where the
Owners of Lamps were met to consult on methods
for the better Lighting them. We signed an
agreement with a man each of us to pay him
3/9£ per month for Lighting them every night for
g, month."

The houses were for the most part built of brick,
one or two stories high, covered with neat shingles
of cedar ; with garrets and cellars " in the interior
part of the town." A stoop before almost every
house, and a bench beside the doorway, whereon
the good folk sat in the heat of the day or at even-
tide, to survey man and womankind. The worthy

vn PHILADELPHIA 83

citizens of those days dwelt, as did those of old-time
London, at their places of business.

Among the more prominent buildings were the
State House, with its tall spire, where sat the
General Assembly and the Supreme Court, the
prison, the workhouse, Christ Church, belonging
to the Episcopalians, and the Meeting-Houses of
the Friends, of which more in their proper place.
It is claimed that the first hospital, the first medical
school, and the first dispensary in America were
set up in Philadelphia.

George Fox left by will a piece of ground near
the town "for a playground for the children of
the town to play on and for a garden to plant with
physical plants, for lads and lassies to know simples,
and learn to make oils and ointments." Nowa-
days they buy patent medicines.

It was a gay, bright, bustling, busy place. Let
us take a walk through its streets and an occasional
glance into its houses. Not a big town, though,
to our modern eyes, Franklin in 1766 estimating
the population at 160,000 whites, of whom one-
third would be Quakers and another third Germans.
It was a smaller place when Woolman was a young
fellow, far smaller — ^indeed no more than a fairish
country town. The streets will present many a
novel scene to our modern eyes. Then the centre
of the town, at any rate from a business, both

84 JOHN WOOLMAN

wholesale and retail, point of view, was Water
Street, skirting the bank of the river. As we turn
up one of the side streets, may be Chestnut Street,
we shall not unlikely have to stand aside for a gang
of negroes newly landed from the Guinea Coast.
Did John Woolman ever pause, sick at heart, at, say,
the London Coffee House, before which, at the
corner of Front and Walnut Streets, crowds would
gather to watch the slave sale ? The arrival of
a new cargo has been advertised ; the auctioneer
mounts an improvised rostrum, and the " goods "
also are set above the crowd, so that their points
may be seen. Men, women, children of all ages
and both sexes, are bid for, their limbs, muscles,
teeth, carefully and expertly examined by the
bidders. Kalm gives us the market rates : " The
price of negroes differs according to their age,
health, and abilities. A full-grown negro costs
from forty pounds and upwards to a hundred. A
negro boy or girl of two or three years old can
hardly be got for less than eight or fourteen
pounds."

Perhaps we shall meet a hunter from up-country,
with his train of horses laden with skins, or we
may pause to watch some unhappy wight expiating
his offence in the pillory, or tied to the tail of a
cart and shuddering beneath the merciless whip
of the constable which falls upon his bared back.

vn PHILADELPHIA 85

It was a picturesque period, but not a pleasant one,
at any rate for the evil-doer. Perchance it is the
weekly market-day, or, if May or November, the
gay doings of the fair will be keeping the city in a
merry uproar. At night, by ten of the clock at
latest, the streets will be quiet enough, the last
fashionable coach will have rumbled home, the
last sedan-chair have rocked by, and the silence
will be broken only by the call of the watchmen.

Frankhn, in his Autobiography, tells us that a
constable of Philadelphia was a very fine personage,
and that his office was one of considerable emolu-
ment. Into their hands was entrusted the charge
of the city watch, it being the duty of the constable
of each ward to summon a sufficient number of
trustworthy cits to aid him in keeping the peace
by night. Not an altogether welcome task, but
one which could be escaped by paying the sum
of six shilHngs for the hire of a substitute.

Of the " sights," let us take a look at the house
of WiUiam Penn in Second Street : a building as
stout as the man himself, the main portion set
back from the street and surrounding an open
court, with a fine garden at the back. Or we
may pause at Christ Church, whose spire was built
out of the profits of a lottery ; or at the red-brick
State House.

A quotation from that quite dehghtful book.

86 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

The Story of an Old Farm, will help us to realise
the aspect of the throng that crowded the footways :

It seemed very singular to meet so many long-drawn
Quakers, moving at measured pace, with solemn visage,
clad in lengthy, shad-breasted drab coats adorned with
horn buttons, their flapping waist-coats extending far
down over the small-clothes that covered their sober strides.
The long straight hair of these peripatetic monuments of
sedateness was covered by broad-brimmed felt hats, looped
at the side with strings. These Quakers offered an ex-
cellent foil to the brilhantly arrayed young gallants, who
tripped jauntily by, under gold-laced cocked hats, with
their gaily embroidered coats cut low at the neck behind,
that the great silver buckles fastening their plaited stocks
might be displayed. In that picturesque period it was the
fashion for young gentlemen to wear short, straight steel
rapiers, often with jewelled hilts, which gave them quite
a martial appearance, though not altogether in keeping with
their clocked silk stockings, paste-buckled shoes and ruffled
wrists and throats. Gay apparel was not confined by any
means to the younger men. Old gentlemen . . . were
frequently resplendent in plush breeches, vests of various
hues, and skirts stiffened with buckram till they stood out
at an angle. Often double rows of sohd silver buttons
extended down their coats, and it was not imcommon to see
suits decorated with conch-shells set in silver. A brilHant
sight they presented in all the ghnt of pohshed metal, as
they stamped along, shaking their powdered wigs, striking
the pavement with their long silver-headed canes, stopping
occasionally to greet some old friend and extend a pinch of
snuff, not so much because of generous prochvities, as the
desire to display their chased silver and gold snuff-boxes,
which were generally carried in the hand. The kaleido-
scopic changes of colours to be noted among the people

VII

PHILADELPHIA 87

thronging the streets . . . were not all to be attributed to
the well-to-do of the populace : body-servants contributed
their full share to the brilliant hues of the colonial
costumes, and as they minced over the pavements at a
respectful distance behind their masters and mistresses,
often presented a gorgeous appearance.

Many members of the Society of Friends in
Philadelphia yielded to the lust for finery which
distinguished that time, and even those who
remained fairly faithful succumbed to the charms
of gold-headed canes, gold snuff-boxes, silver
buttons and sumptuous buckles. In fact, Phil-
adelphia was a very gay, sprightly place, and not
a little worldly.

It is sad to learn that gout was a common

complaint ! Which may be accounted for by the

heady though excellent liquors drunk at home

and at the numerous taverns. Cheap lodgings

could be obtained by those who preferred them

in private houses. Kalm, writing in 1748, says :

I took up my lodging with a grocer who was a Quaker ;
and I met with very good honest people in this house,
such as most people of this profession appeared to me.
I . . . and the companion of my voyage had a room,
candles, beds, attendance and three meals a day, if we chose
to have so many, for twenty shillings per week in Pennsyl-
vanian currency. But wood, washing and wine, if required,
were to be paid for besides.

Those who cared for more robust entertainment
would naturally put up at a tavern. Curiously

88 JOHN WOOLMAN

enough, in this respectable town, at first tavern
licences were only granted to widows, and to old
decrepit men of blameless life. Private, and
quite unlicensed drinking - shops, however, soon
became a bane, and in 1744 the constable reported
no less than a hundred such, which, together
with the other sellers of liquor, made up no less
than a tenth part of the houses in the city ; surely
a drawing of the long bow ? The Crooked Billet
Inn, near Chestnut Street, was the first house in
Philadelphia entered by Mr. Benjamin FrankHn,
who, nevertheless, was a water drinker ; the front
of this inn was upon Water Street, with view over
the broad Delaware ; a low, one-story, rambling
house, where, as at other " houses " there were
suppers with a plenty of hard drinking. As to
what in the way of strong hquors could be obtained
at these taverns, Robert Proud tells us that *' Cyder
is the common drink of this country, and very
plentiful and easy to be procured, yet it is not
made by the inhabitants to such perfection as it
is capable of. Besides, Lisbon and Madeira wines,
among the higher rank, and West India rum and
spirits are much drunk, in mixture, by the people
in general. And sometimes a kind of weak beverage
is used, made of a mixture of molasses, etc., which
is called molasses beer."

At the corner of Second and Arch Street stood

vn PHILADELPHIA 89

the George Inn, from which started the New York
stages. The Blue Anchor, corner of Second and
Dock Street, was another well-known house of
call, as old as the town itself, said to be the first
house in Philadelphia entered by WilHam Penn.
Turning again to The Story of an Old Farm :

As (they) walked along the street the bordering, detached
houses had a kindly, domestic presence, due to their comely
Httle porches with pent-house roofs shading wooden seats,
seemingly extending to the passer-by a hospitable invitation
to tarry. This air of hospitality was further enhanced by
the attractive balconies that faced even the smaller dwell-
ings, on which their occupants were wont to gather to enjoy
the air at the cool of day. Occasional ghmpses of quaint
interiors were obtained, through open windows that swung
on hinges inward with small panes of glass set in their
leaden-framed lattices. In some of the finer houses the
best rooms were wainscotted in oak and red cedar, but in
most instances the walls were plainly whitewashed. No
carpets were to be seen, the floors being covered with silver
sand, drawn into fanciful figures by a skilful use of the
sweeping brush, in which the housekeepers took much
pride. Lofty chests of drawers, with round black balls
for legs, extended nearly to the ceihng, and all the family
china was to be seen through the diamond fights of odd
fittle corner cupboards. On the massive Dutch dresser
were displayed highly pofished porringers and plates of
pewter, the dinner plates of that day being nearly altogether
of that metal, though the use of wooden trenchers was not
entirely out of date. Sometimes, through farther doors
opening into the kitchen . . . before cavernous fireplaces,
often girt with ancient Dutch tiles, were set baking ovens,
whose spits were turned by Httle bow-legged dogs trained

90 JOHN WOOLMAN

to run in a hollow cylinder, like a squirrel, by which, means
was the roasting meat kept revolving. " Mine host "
Clark, of the State House Inn, advertises about this time
in Andrew Bradford's weekly Mercury, and in Benjamin
Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette that he has for sale several
dogs and wheels, much preferable to any jacks for roasting
any joints of meat.

There were notable housekeepers in those days,
and it was a woman's point of honour that her
establishment should be well-regulated and her
hospitality both lavish and of good quality. The
Marquis de Chastellux describes a Philadelphian
dinner of a somewhat later date as served " in
the American, or if you will, in the EngHsh fashion ;
consisting of two courses, one comprehending the
entrees, the roast meat, and the warm side dishes ;
the other the sweet pastry and confectionary.
When this is removed, the cloth is taken off, and
apples, nuts and chestnuts are served ; it is then
that healths are drank ; the coffee which comes
afterwards serves as a signal to rise from table."

The hour of dinner was from four to five.
Morning calls were fashionable, also afternoon
visits and tea.

Accomplished housekeepers were addicted to
the making of wine, from white and red currants,
from strawberries, which sounds rather too luscious,
blackberries, cherries and raspberries. It may
not be without interest to give the recipe for

PHILADELPHIA 91

blackberry wine : " The juice of the blackberries
is pressed out and put into a vessel, with half a
gallon of this juice, an equal quantity of water
is well mixed. Three pounds of brown sugar are
added to this mixture, which must then stand
for a while, and after that it is fit for use."

Yes, Philadelphia was quite a gay place to live
in, plenty of good company, and plenty of good
cheer, with society cultured and refined. Of this
bright hfe the Rev. Dr. Andrew Burnaby, Arch-
deacon of Leicester and Vicar of Greenwich, who
visited Philadelphia in 1759, was a partaker, and
writes :

Amusements are dancing in the winter, and in the
summer, forming parties of pleasure upon the Schuylkill
and in the country. There is a society of sixteen ladies
and as many gentlemen, called the fishing company, who
meet once a fortnight upon the Schuylkill. They have a
very pleasant room erected in a romantic situation upon the
banks of that river, where they generally dine and drink tea.

Philadelphia throve commercially as well as
socially, and the Friends were shrewd and successful
merchants and traders. In 1731 we have a
description of the commerce conducted by the
town, which shows not only its thriving but its
varied character. Wheat, flour, biscuits, beef,
bacon, butter, cider, apples, tanned leather,
candles, beer, skins, lumber, are amongst the

92 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.vii

exports ; 2000 tons of shipping were built for
sale each year, and 6000 for the use of the port ;
the trade was with England, Portugal, Spain,
Holland, Curagoa, Surinam, Hispaniola, the Azores
and elsewhere.

In that delightful land which is washed with the Delaware's

waters,
Guarding in sylvan shades the name of Penn, the apostle,
Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the city he

founded,

sings Longfellow, with poetic licence, for it stands
upon one bank only.

CHAPTER VIII

OTHER FRIENDS

John Woolman possessed many friends in Phil-
adelphia, with some of whom it will be pleasant
for us to make acquaintance.

Between John Woolman and Rebecca Jones,
whose brother lived at Mount Holly, there was
an affectionate friendship, and sometimes of a
summer she would be a visitor at his house, and
they often met in Philadelphia. He would set
copies for her scholars ; from those which survive
the following are selected :

Happy hours are quickly followed by amazing vexations.

Just be thy thought and every word sincere,
And know no wish but what the world may hear.

Censure none rashly ; Nature's apt to halt ;
Look inward ; he's unborn that has no fault.

On the night following the Select Quarterly
Meeting in February of the year 1762, or there-
abouts, there was a heavy fall of snow, which the
wind piled up in drifts against the doors of the

93

94 JOHN WOOLMAN

houses in Drinker's Alley. Prepared to sweep
the snow from her step in the morning, Rebecca
opened her door, but — ^the snow had been cleared
away by some kindly hand and a path swept
down to Front Street. Then, while the morning
meal was being made ready, enter John Woolman,
saying that he thought he had earned his breakfast.
It took a great deal to keep a worthy Quaker
from Meeting, as is noted in a Philadelphian rhyme,
which ran :

The Quakers will to meeting go,
And if their streets be full of snow,
They sweep it with their besom.

Rebecca Jones was a woman of striking character.
She was born in Drinker's Alley, Philadelphia,
in the year 1739 ; daughter of William and
Mary Jones, her father a sailor and therefore
often from home, her mother the mistress of a
school and an adherent of the Church of England.
Rebecca early in her childhood acquired the habit
of attending Meeting, not altogether to the pleasure
of her mother, who once asking why she did so,
received the reply, " I don't know ; but I beheve
they are a good people, and I like their way ; for
there is not so much rising up and sitting down
among them as at church." A healthy, sane
child, full of good spirits, so gay that Anthony
Benezet described her as " romping Beck Jones."

vm OTHER FRIENDS 95

She tells us that her mind was turned " towards
this people, not only to go to their Meetings, but
I loved even the sight of an honest Friend " ;
she admired " the beautiful order and becoming
deportment in their Meetings." She, like Wool-
man, counted herself a sinner in her youth : "I
loved vanity and folly, and to keep unprofitable
company, by which I was led into many evils. . . .
Frequently when in bed or alone, my heart was
made uneasy for the multitude of my transgres-
sions, so that I often promised to amend ; for I
greatly feared to die."

She attended Meeting regularly, though with
some compunction at going against her mother's
wish, and eventually formally joined the Society.
But for long her heart was troubled :

I went alone ; I kept silence ; I refrained from my
natural food, and my sleep departed from me ; "I was
stricken of God, and afflicted." ... In an evening Meeting
... I stood up in great fear and trembling, and expressed
a few sentences very brokenly, and returned home with
the promised reward of peace, which I had long sought in
vain.

In May 1760 she was approved as a minister.
When her mother heard this, she said, " Beck,
your friends have placed you on a pedestal ; take
care you don't fall." The warning was not needed ;
till her death in 1818 she was a fervent and wise
worker in good and charitable causes.

96 JOHN WOOLMAN

Philadelphia was a " Quaker " city, founded,
built, peopled and governed by the Society of
Friends, a Quaker " preserve." It is not necessary
here to recount the happenings which led up to
the founding of Pennsylvania in 1681 by WilHam
Perm, who himself landed at Newcastle, Delaware,
in October 1682, from the ship Welcome, after a
dreary voyage of over two months' duration*
The new province was rapidly settled, as far as
concerned its eastern parts, by " godly people,"
who sought for happiness, moral and physical,
under the broad-minded constitution of this new
world. The government was free and democratic,
and there were not any religious or pohtical hmita-
tions. In Pennsylvania the Quakers estabhshed
a Christian government, and experimented in
" applied Christianity."

The association between the Friends in New
Jersey and in Pennsylvania was naturally close,
and the Yearly Meetings from 1685 on till 1760
were held alternately in Burhngton and Phil-
adelphia ; from the later date they were held in
the latter centre.

As regards the secular government, it was
practically a Quaker preserve until after the
middle of the eighteenth century, the Friends
retaining till then an almost unquestioned suprem-
acy in the Colonial legislature, and, as we have

OTHER FRIENDS 97

said, applying the principles of Christianity to
affairs of state and to questions of social politics.

Of course all was not peace, which was only
to be expected where rival communities dwelt
in disunity. We find an Episcopalian minister
writing from Chester :

The flock committed to my charge is indeed small ; but
God be thanked, generally sound, which is as much as can
be expected, considering the religion of the bulk of the
people among whom they live. I need not tell you that
Quakerism is generally preferred in Pennsylvania, and in
no county of the province does the haughty tribe appear
more rampant than where I reside, there being by a modest
comparison twenty Quakers, besides dissenters, to one true
Churchman.

But on the whole, at any rate in the earHer years,
the government was conducted liberally and sanely ;
" free institutions brought free thought " ; the
province rapidly advanced in prosperity, and
Philadelphia soon became the leading, most
wealthy, and best -governed city in the colonies.
Liberty and peace was the motto.

" The wilderness and solitary deserts in which our
fathers passed the days of their pilgrimage," writes Wool-
man, " are now turned into pleasant fields ; the natives
are gone from before us, and we are peaceably established
in the possession of the land, enjopng our civil and religious
liberties ; and while many parts of the world have groaned
under the heavy calamities of war, our habitation remains
quiet, and our land fruitful."

H

98 JOHN WOOLMAN

It will be interesting and profitable to pay a
visit to what was probably the best known of the
Meeting-houses in Philadelphia. What was known
as the Friends' Bank Meeting-house, in Front
Street, above Mulberry Street, was erected in
1685, and taken down in 1789. It is thus de-
scribed : " The Bank Meeting . . . had its front
on the Front Street. The pediment at the front
of the house was supported by columns — at that
door the men entered. On the southern side was
a double door, covered by a shed, by one of which
the women entered." Elsewhere we read : " The
meeting on Front Street was opened first for
worship in the afternoon, and began on the 1st day
the 20th of 7th mo., 1685." The building was
elevated some twelve feet above the level of the
street, with a turfed yard in front. A quiet,
unadorned edifice ; inside, against the far wall,
stood a platform, rising in three equal steps, upon
which were set wooden benches, whereon sat the
ministers and elders ; no altar, no pulpit, no
organ, no " storied windows richly dight," Httle
more than a seemly shelter from the elements.
Down the centre of the body of the hall ran an
aisle, dividing the seats of the men from those of
the women.

Another Meeting-house, standing at the corner
of Centre Square, from which it took its name,

ym OTHEK FKIENDS 99

was built in 1684, in what then was the primeval
forest. Robert Turner writes to Penn in that
year : " We are now laying the foundation of
a large, plain brick building for a meeting-
house in the Centre, sixty feet long by fifty
feet broad, and hope to have it soon up, there
being many hearts and hands at work that will
do it."

A third was founded in High Street in 1695.

Of other friends of Woolman we must meet
with John Churchman, the Pembertons, and
Samuel Emlen.

John Churchman was born in June 1705, at
Nottingham, in the county of Chester, Pennsyl-
vania, his parents being members of the Society.
In his journal he relates of himself, when but
eight years of age : " As I sat in a small Meeting,
the Lord, by the reaching of his heavenly love
and goodness, overcame and tendered my heart —
Oh ! the stream of love which filled my heart
with sohd joy at that time, and lasted for many
days, is beyond all expression." Then in his
twentieth year : " My heart was made exceeding
tender ; I wept much, and an evidence was given
me that the Lord heard my cry." He and his
wife and son dwelt at East Nottingham, Penn-
sylvania, where Woolman sometimes lodged with
him when on his travels.

100 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

With him, as with so many other Quakers, the
mild sins of childhood seem to have borne an
extravagant weight. He writes : ''I saw myself
and what I had been doing, and what it was which
had reproved me for evil, and was made, in the
secret of my heart, to confess that childhood and
youth, and the foolish actions and words to which
they are propense, are truly vanity."

Notable, too, was what he describes as a
" humbling time," which " was of singular service
to me." He was attending the Yearly Meeting
at Flushing on Long Island :

On First-day I thought I had an engagement to stand up,
and considerable matter before me ; and after speaking
three or four sentences which came with weight, all closed
up, and I stood still and silent for several minutes, and saw
nothing more, not one word to speak. I perceived the eyes
of most of the people were upon me, they, as well as myself,
expecting more ; but nothing further appearing, I sat
down, I think I may say in reverent fear and humble
resignation, when that remarkable sentence of Job was
presented to my mind, " Naked I came out of my mother's
womb, and naked shall I return : the Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord."
I suppose for nearly a quarter of an hour I remained in a
silent quiet ; but afterwards let in great reasonings and fear
lest I had not waited the right time to stand up, and so was
sufiered to fall into reproach ; for the adversary, who is ever
busy and unwearied in his attempts to devour, persuaded
me to believe that the people would laugh me to scorn,
and I might as well return home immediately and privately,

vm OTHER FEIENDS 101

as attempt any further visit on tlie island. After Meeting
I Md my inward exercise and distress as mucli as I could.
I lodged tliat night with, a sympathizing friend and experi-
enced elder, who began to speak encouragingly to me ;
but I said to him, that I hoped he would not take it amiss
if I desired him to forbear saying anything, for if he should
say good things, I had no capacity to believe, and if other-
wise, I could not then understand so as to be profitably
corrected or instructed, and after some time I fell asleep.
When I awoke I remembered that the sentences I had
dehvered in the Meeting, were truths which could not be
wrested to the dis-advantage of Friends, or dishonour of
the cause of Truth, though they might look like roots or
something to paraphrase upon ; and although my standing
some time silent before I sat down might occasion the people
to think me a silly fellow, yet they had no cause to blame
me for dehvering words without sense or life. Thus I
became very quiet, and not much depressed, and was
favoured with an humble resignation of mind, and a desire
that the Lord would be pleased to magnify his own name
and truth, and preserve me from bringing any reproach
thereon.

This touching passage is typical of the Quaker
attitude of mind toward God and religion ; typical,
too, of innumerable passages of like character in
Quaker journals.

Of another occasion he writes :

One Meeting we were at was remarkably hard, and my
companion was exceedingly exercised, under a sense that
the people were too rich, full and whole in their own eyes ;
but he sat the Meeting through, and suffered in silence.
I had something to say which was very close,^ and felt a

^ To the circumstances of his hearers.

102 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

degree of the strength and power of Truth to clear myself
in an innocent and loving manner ; and remembering
they were brethren, I did not preach myself out of charity
toward them, and so had peace. We went home with an
elderly Friend, who, in a stern manner, asked me from
whence I came, and said I was a stranger to him. I answered
him with a cheerful boldness. He asked me what my
calhng was ; I told him husbandry. He queried if I was
used to sphtting wood ; I let him know I had practised it for
many years. He asked me if I knew the meaning of a
common saying among those who were used to that business,
" 'Tis soft knocks must enter hard blocks." I told him I
knew it well ; but that to strike with a soft or gentle blow
at a wedge in blocks of old wood that was rather decayed
at heart, would drive it to the head without rending
them, and the labour would be lost, when a few smart,
hkely strokes would burst them asunder. Whereupon
he laid his hand on my shoulder, saying, " Well, my lad,
I perceive thou art born for a warrior, and I commend
thee."

He died in 1775.

Israel Pemberton, a very leading Quaker, was
born in Pennsylvania in 1684 ; to him were born
three sons — Israel, who died in 1779, aged sixty-
four, ''feared as well as beloved"; James, who
died aged eighty-six, in 1809 ; and John, who
died aged sixty -seven, in 1795 — all friends of
John Woolman ; all friends, too, of the slaves and
of the Indians. James, on his death-bed, cried out,
" What a blessed company are already gone before
me ! " During the days of the Kevolution the

OTHER FEIENDS 103

tliree brothers suffered greatly because of their
testimony against war.

Samuel Emlen was a native of Philadelphia,
born in 1730, his parents being members of the
Society. He was a good classical scholar and an
accomphshed hnguist. He served his apprentice-
ship in the counting-house of John Pemberton,
but inheriting a considerable estate, did not embark
upon business for himself. He is described as a
" neatly built man of slender person, and a hght,
quick step. . . . His dress was generally of a
drab colour, and very neatly made. When the
weather rendered an over-coat necessary, he wore
one of a dark mixture, which he was wont to keep
folded over his breast, by the pressure of his left
arm. . . . Sometimes while passing along the
street at his usual quick pace, he would suddenly
fall into a slower motion, and his steps almost
cease. On such occasions he would frequently
turn into some neighbouring dwelhng ; and soon —
sometimes while still in the entry — commence
ministering in Gospel power, and in the true spirit
of prophetic discernment, to those within." ^
He was gifted, apparently, with a very keen insight
into character, and could, with a few direct words,
stir a slumbering conscience to activity. He

^ Biographical Studies and Anecdotes of the Members of the Eeligious
Society of Friends, Philadelphia, 1870.

104 JOHN WOOLMAN chap, vni

was of humble mind ; said lie on one occasion,
when desperately ill, " Thanks be to the Lord
for the hope I have in his mercy." .

So it will be seen that John Woolman numbered
among his friends those in all ranks of Quaker
society, but always men and women of humble
minds and contrite hearts.

CHAPTER IX

TROUBLES

The physical earthquake with which Philadelphia
was visited in 1755 may be taken as symbolical
of the social and pohtical upheavals which were
now to upset the serene rule of the Society of
Friends in Pennsylvania.

Samuel Fothergill wrote from Philadelphia in
November 1755 :

About four o'clock in the morning, on the 18th instant,
this province was pretty generally alarmed with the shock
of an earthquake, which occasioned great consternation,
but I do not hear of any damage that ensued, unless the
breaking of some chinaware and glasses. I was then at
Aaron Ash bridge's house, and being in some pain of mind,
my sleep was taken from me, and thereby I was enabled to
observe the progress of it with some accuracy. I heard no
noise hke that of a rushing wind, which was heard in many
places, but a gentle shaking of my bed in such a manner
as convinced me what it was, which continued to increase,
and the windows, by the increasing trepidation of the earth,
began to rattle ; some china upon a chest of drawers was
moved pretty much, as I conjectured ; it gradually

105

106 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

increased for one minute, and opened tlie door of my
chamber by drawing the bolt out of the staple.

As the increase was gradual, so was its decrease ; and
of the same duration, viz., about one minute ; it did not
much exceed in all two minutes, nor was it any less. . . .
Here are numbers, as in England, who, in order to take ofi
any awful impressions from the people, immediately resolve
their being ^ into natural causes, lest the Lord of nature
should be remembered and inquired after. True it is, he
hath commanded the subserviency of the elements to him-
self, and his merciful regard to unworthy mankind, yet
hath he them in readiness to execute his purposes of
chastisement and reproof. Though they bear a part in the
general song of praise to the author of their being, yet,
at times, their language relative to mortals is, " My Father,
shall I smite them, shall I smite them ? "

In 1755 Braddock's force of British and Colonial
troops and of Indian alKes was annihilated before
Fort Du Quesne by the French and their Indian
comrades — an event vividly described by Thackeray
in The Virginians, and in the same year the Friends
again won a large majority in the Pennsylvanian
Assembly. It was only natural that grave ques-
tioning should arise over the Quaker attitude
toward war and their policy of what may be called
" passive resistance " ; though, in truth, it was
something more, and something better ; they
argued that if only Christian men would obey the
law of Christ, to do as they would be done by,
there would not be ofience or cause for strife. That

^ I.e. earthquakes.

TKOUBLES 107

this contention is correct is beyond argument or
denial.

Quakers, both, those who were taking an active
part in the government of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, and private citizens, were placed, by the
tenets of the Society as regards war, in a situation
of extreme difficulty, which eventually led to the
fall of the rule of the Friends. Catherine Payton,
an EngHsh visitor, writes in this year, 1755 :

The minds of some members of our society were at this
time much unsettled through government affairs. A war
with the French seemed hkely to break out ; and some were
for deviating from our Christian testimony, which is against
defensive as well as offensive war ; consistently with that
pure charity which " beareth all things, and seeketh not its
own " by means contrary to the tendency of the peaceable
gospel dispensation. Against this spirit we had to testify,
I hope to good purpose, for the power of the Truth was over
the Meetings in an eminent degree, whereby the doctrine
preached was enforced.

And later she writes :

And now, as it was our lots in the wise direction of
Providence, to be in the province of Pennsylvania, at a
time when the minds of Friends were more than commonly
exercised, on account of publick and poHtical affairs ; by
reason of the French making encroachments on some of the
British colonies ; and some of the Indian tribes having
committed great outrages on their frontiers, and murdered
many of the back inhabitants ; the conduct of us who were
concerned to labour for the support of our peaceable
Christian testimony, was harshly censured by the unthinking

108 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

multitude ; and by such of our own society as were one
with them in spirit ; who insinuated that we intruded
into matters foreign to our proper business, and were in
part the cause of the continuation of the calamities which
attended the provinces, through our testifying against the
spirit of war, and advising Friends to support our Christian
testimony faithfully ;

and then an account of her own particular work
in this direction in Philadelphia in 1755.

Robert Barclay sets forth very clearly and
amply the Quaker position as regards resistance
to evil, to fighting and to war of any kind, urging
that revenge and war are contrary to the spirit
of the teaching of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
He quotes from the Gospel according to St.
Matthew, chapter v. verse 38 to the end of the
chapter — words often in men's mouths but seldom
in their hearts :

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and
a tooth for a tooth :

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil : but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him
twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you. Love your enemies, bless them that

IX TKOUBLES 109

curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you ;

That ye may he the children of your Father which is in
heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye ?
do not even the publicans the same ?

And if ye salute your brethren, what do ye more than others ?
do not even the heathens this ?

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.

Not being so wise in their generation as Arch-
bishop Magee was in his, Barclay and the Quakers
did take the express commandments of Christ
" as a foundation of a civil polity," and did make
effort to carry them out " literally and strictly."
The Quaker apologist puts it thus :

Truly the words are so clear in themselves, that, in my
judgment, they need no illustration to explain their sense :
for it is as easy to reconcile the greatest contradictions, as
these laws of our Lord Jesus Christ with the wicked practices
of wars ; for they are plainly inconsistent . . . whosoever,
I say, can find a means to reconcile these things, may be
supposed also to have found a way to reconcile God with
the devil, Christ with Antichrist, light with darkness, and
good with evil.

It would be useless, as well as out of place,
maybe, to follow his arguments in detail. To
those who object " That defence is of natural right,
and that religion destroys not nature,'' he answers :

no JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Be it so ; but to obey God and to commend ourselves
to him in faith, and patience, is not to destroy nature, but to
exalt and perfect it ; to wit, to elevate it from the natural
to the supernatural hfe, by Christ hving therein, and com-
forting it, that it may do all things, and be rendered more
than conqueror.

And lastly :

If to revenge ourselves, or to render injury, evil for
evil, wound for wound, to take eye for eye, tooth for tooth ;
if to fight for outward and perishing things, to go a warring
one against another, whom we never saw, and with whom
we never had any contests, nor anything to do ; being
moreover altogether ignorant of the cause of the war, but
only that the magistrates of the nations foment quarrels
one against another, the causes whereof are for the most
part unknown to the soldiers that fight, as well as upon
whose side the right or wrong is ; and yet to be so furious,
and rage one against another, to destroy and spoil all,
that this or the other worship may be received or abolished ;
if to do this, and much more of this kind, be to fulfil
the law of Christ, then are our adversaries indeed true
Christians, and we miserable heretics, that suffer ourselves
to be spoiled, taken, imprisoned, banished, beaten, and
evilly entreated, without any resistance, placing our trust
only in God, that he may defend us, and lead us by the
way of the cross unto his kingdom. But if it be otherwise,
we shall certainly receive the reward which the Lord hath
promised to those that cleave to him, and, in denying
themselves, confide in him.

In order to understand the story of John
Woolman, it is necessary not only to understand
the Quaker faith, but also to learn something of

IX TEOUBLES 111

the results of putting it into practice. We must
turn, therefore, to the question of the Indians,
with whom trouble was now brewing. Thanks
to Penn's treaty with them, its strict and faithful
observance, and the general pohcy of " doing as
you would be done by," even in deahngs with
uncivilised folk, the peace of Pennsylvania was
not broken until the French and Indian wars of
1755. An unkindly Indian chieftain is reported
to have declared that the Quakers — whom the
Indians called " Quekels " — could not be Christians
in that they neither got drunk nor quarrelled.

Penn's policy may be summed up as a prefer-
ence for purchasing over steahng ; he acknowledged
that the Indians owned the lands he wanted for
his settlers and he bought them.

Of a conference between some of the Friends,
by leave of the Governor, and some friendly-
disposed Indian chiefs, Catherine Payton writes :

As we were admitted to attend this conference, I mention
it. It evinces the veneration the Indians retained for
the memory of William Penn, and for his pacific principles ;
and their great regard to Friends, whom they stiled his
children. Several of their women sat in this conference,
who, for fixed stoHdity, appeared to me hke Eoman matrons.
They scarcely moved, much less spoke, during the time
it was held ; and there was a dignity in the behaviour and
countenance of one of them that I cannot forget. I was
informed that they admit their most respected women into
their counsels.

112 JOHN WOOLMAN

Fair treatment preserved the peace for some
sixty years, and never were the Friends molested, in
any serious way, by their friends the Indians. In
what manner the Friends dealt with the Indians
will be best shown by quoting a few extracts from
the minutes of the Yearly Meeting :

1685. This Meeting doth unanimously agree and give
as their judgment, that it is not consistent with the Honour
of Truth, for any that makes Profession thereof, to sell
Rum or other strong Liquors to the Indians, because they
use them not to moderation, hut to Excess and Drunken-
ness.

1722. When way was made for our worthy Friends,
the Proprietors and owners of Lands in these provinces to
make their first Settlements, it pleased Almighty God by
his over-ruling Providence to influence the native Indians
so as to make them very helpful and serviceable to those
early Settlers, before they could raise Stocks, or provisions
to sustain themselves and families : it being soon observed
that those people when they got Rum, or other strong
Liquors, set no Bounds to themselves, but were apt to be
abusive, and sometimes destroyed one another, there came
a Rehgious Care and Concern upon Friends both in their
Meetings and Legislature, to prevent those abuses. Never-
theless, some people preferring their filthy lucre before the
common Good, continued in this evil practice, so that our
Yearly Meeting, held in Philadelphia in the year 1687,
testified " That the practice of selling Rum, or other strong
Liquors to the Indians, directly or indirectly, or exchanging
the same for any Goods or Merchandise with them (con-
sidering the ahuse they make of it) is a thing displeasing
to the Lord, a Dishonour to Truth, and a Grief to all good
people."

TEOUBLES 113

1759. The Empires and Kingdoms of the Earth are
subject to the Almighty Power, he is the God of the Spirits
of all Flesh, and deals with his people, agreeable to that
Wisdom, the Depth whereof is to us unsearchable ; we in
these provinces may say, He hath, as a gracious and tender
parent, dealt bountifully with us, even from the Days of
our Fathers ; it was he who strengthened them to labour
thro' the Difficulties attending the Improvement of a
Wilderness, and made way for them in the Hearts of the
Natives, so that by them they were comforted in times of
Want and Distress.

Robert Proud quotes. Calden's History of the
Five Nations :

There is one vice which all the Indians have fallen into,
since their acquaintance with the Christians ; of which
they could not be guilty before that time, that is, drunken-
ness. It is strange how all the Indian nations, and almost
every person among them, male and female, are infatuated
with the love of strong drink ; they know no bounds to their
desire, while they can swallow it down ; and then indeed
the greatest man among them scarcely deserves the name
of a brute.

Calden declares that the traders encouraged
them in this vice, which " has destroyed greater
numbers than all their wars and diseases put
together."

But all was not either plain sailing or plain
dealing, and those in power were often out of
touch with Quaker sentiment and opposed to
Quaker policy. In September 1737, Thomas Penn
violated the spirit of an old agreement by which

114 JOHN WOOLMAN

William Penn had secured a right to certain
territory in Bucks County, land extending as far
northward as a man could walk in a day and a half.
By trickery the ^' Walk " was made by two trained
men ; the undergrowth was cleared away, horses
provided to carry the baggage, and boats for the
crossing of the streams ; so in the wild woodland,
their happy hunting-grounds — the trees bright
with the colouring of early autumn ; gum trees
with splashes of red, sumachs with their deeper
tones ; chestnuts with leaves of yellow-brown, the
oaks taking on the livery of brown and red, and
an undergrowth like brocade of glorious hues, —
amid all this wild beauty was sown the dishonest
seed of hatred and bloodshed, and the Delawares
robbed of their birthright. In 1754 the quarrel,
egged on by the French, came to a head, war was
declared by the Governor and his Council, and the
Quakers on the Legislature resigned.

But though the Friends gave up their place in
the Government, they founded " The Friendly
Association for gaining and preserving Peace with
the Indians by Pacific Measures," and did much
worthy work. Samuel Fothergill writes home to
his wife from Philadelphia in December 1755 :

The consternation in which this province hath been
thrown by the Indians is not diminished. The Assembly
have sold their testimony as Friends to the people's fears,

TKOUBLES 115

and not gone far enough to satisfy them ; the Indians have
complained without redress, and are now up in arms, and
have destroyed many people ; there were the bodies of two
men whom the Indians had killed and scalped, brought
down in great parade to this city, from the back parts ;
multitudes went to see them, and seem loudly to clamour
for war. The ancient methods of dealing with the Indians
upon the principles of equity and justice seem neglected,
the spirit of war and destruction endeavouring to break
loose, in order to reduce this pleasant, populous province to
its ancient wilderness condition. Few, very few there
are to stand in the gap, and spread innocent hands towards
the holy sanctuary, in intercession for the people ; too
many, under our name, and even among our professed
chiefs, unsound in the faith, having lost their habitation
in the fold of rest, are looking at and calling for the arm of
flesh, and the sword to defend them.

To which must be added that to relieve the
distress caused by the Indian raids, which were
accompanied by all the wonted horrors of the
tomahawk and the scalping knife, the Friends
raised a large sum at the Philadelphia Yearly
Meeting, and also, as noted, engaged in efforts to
bring about a reconciliation, which efforts were not
supported by the Government. It was in order
to arouse public rage that the mangled bodies
of the murdered settlers were conveyed to Phil-
adelphia, and displayed in the streets. Writes John
Churchman : " Many people following, cursing the
Indians, and also the Quakers, because they would
not join in war for their destruction. The sight

116 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.ix

of the dead bodies, and the outcry of the people,
were very afflicting and shocking."

At the same Yearly Meeting it was decided to
establish a Meeting for Sufferings, following the
example of the Friends in England. The objects
of this Meeting were :

To hear and consider the cases of any Friends under
sufferings, and to administer relief as necessity is found to
require, or to apply to the government, or persons in power,
on their behalf : To correspond with the Meetings for
Sufferings or the Yearly Meeting in London, and to represent
the state of Friends here, and in general to represent this
(the Yearly) Meeting, and to appear in all cases where the
reputation and interest of truth and our religious Society
are concerned, but not to interfere in matters of faith and
discipHne, which are not aheady determined by the Yearly
Meeting : To receive an account from the several particular
meetings, of any sufferings to which Friends may be sub-
jected for the testimony of truth.

Fothergill fairly summed up the situation thus :

The frontiers of Pennsylvania continue to be harassed
by barbarous Indians, who destroy man, woman and child ;
all attempts to defend themselves against them seem vain,
and the means of restoring peace, (to wit) doing the Indians
justice, by fully paying them for their lands, were in the
beginning shamefully neglected, and will now be very
difficult to bring about.

CHAPTER X

TRAVELS AND TRAVAIL

In May 1756, Woolman, armed — ^if sucli a word
may be used of a Quaker — ^with the necessary
Certificate from his Monthly Meeting, again visited
Long Island, of which expedition he writes :

My mind was deeply engaged in this visit, both in pubhc
and private, and at several places where I was, on observing
that they had slaves, I found myself under a necessity,
in a friendly way, to labour with them on that subject ;
expressing, as way opened, the inconsistency of that practice
with the purity of the Christian rehgion, and the ill effects
of it manifested amongst us.

The latter end of the week their Yearly Meeting began ;
. . . The public meetings were large and measureably
favoured with Divine goodness. The exercise of my mind
at this meeting was chiefly on account of those who were
considered as the foremost rank in the Society ; and in a
meeting of ministers and elders way opened for me to
express in some measure what lay upon me ; and when
Friends were met for transacting the affairs of the church,
having sat a while silent, I felt a weight on my mind,
and stood up ; and through the gracious regard of our
Heavenly Father strength was given fully to clear myself

117

118 JOHN WOOLMAN

of a burden wHch. for some days had been increasing
upon me.

Through the humbhng dispensations of Divine Provi-
dence, men are sometimes fitted for his service. The
messages of the prophet Jeremiah were so disagreeable
to the people, and so adverse to the spirit they hved in,
that he became the object of their reproach, and in the
weakness of nature he thought of desisting from his prophetic
ofiB.ce ; but saith he : " His word was in my heart as a
burning fire shut up in my bones ; and I was weary with
forbearing, and could not stay." I saw at this time that
if I was honest in declaring that which truth opened in me,
I could not please all men ; and I laboured to be content
in the way of my duty, however disagreeable to my own
inclination. After this I went homeward, taking Wood-
bridge and Plainfield in my way, in both which meetings
the pure influence of Divine love was manifested, in an
humbhng sense whereof I went home. I had been out
about twenty-four days, and rode about three hundred and
sixteen miles.

Woolman's mind was now turned to matters
which were to him of deep import, and we cannot
do better than quote at length what he has to say :

Until this year, 1756, 1 continued to retail goods, besides
following my trade as a tailor ; about which time I grew
uneasy on account of my business growing too cumbersome.
I had begun with selling trimmings for garments, and from
thence proceeded to sell cloths and hnens ; and at length,
having got a considerable shop of goods, my trade increased
every year, and the way to large business appeared open,
but I felt a stop in my mind.

Through the mercies of the Almighty 1 had in a good
degree learned to be content with a plain way of hving.

X TRAVELS AND TRAVAIL 119

I had but a small family ; and, on serious consideration,
believed truth did not require me to engage much in cumber-
ing affairs. It had been my general practice to buy and
sell things really useful. Things that served chiefly to
please the vain mind in people, I was not easy to trade in ;
seldom did it ; and whenever I did I found it weaken me
as a Christian.

The increase of business became my burden ; for though
my natural inchnation was towards merchandise, yet I
beheved truth required me to live more free from outward
cumbers ; and there was now a strife in my mind between
the two. In this exercise my prayers were put up to the
Lord, who graciously heard me, and gave me a heart resigned
to his holy will. Then I lessened my outward business,
and, as I had opportunity, told my customers of my inten-
tions, that they might consider what shop to turn to ; and
in a while I wholly laid down merchandise, and followed
my trade as a tailor by myself, having no apprentice. I
also had a nursery of apple trees, in which I employed
some of my time in hoeing, grafting, trimming and inocu-
lating. In merchandise it is the custom where I lived to
sell chiefly on credit, and poor people often get into debt ;
when payment is expected, not having wherewith to pay,
their creditors often sue for it at law. Having frequently
observed occurrences of this kind, I found it good for me
to advise poor people to take such goods as were most
useful, and not costly.

In the time of trading I had an opportunity of seeing
that the too hberal use of spirituous liquors and the custom
of wearing too costly apparel led some people into great
inconveniences ; and that these two things appeared to
be often connected with each other. By not attending to
that use of things which is consistent with universal
righteousness, there is an increase of labour which extends
beyond what our Heavenly Father intends for us. And by

120 JOHN WOOLMAN

great labour, and often by much, sweating, there is even
among such as are not drunkards a craving for Hquors to
revive the spirits ; that partly by the luxurious drinking
of some, and partly by the drinking of others (led to it
through immoderate labour), very great quantities of rum
are every year expended in our colonies ; the greater part
of which we should have no need of, did we steadily attend
to pure wisdom.

When men take pleasure in feeling their minds elevated
with strong drink, and so indulge their appetite as to dis-
order their understandings, neglect their duty as members
of a family or civil society, and cast off all regard to rehgion,
their case is much to be pitied. And where those whose
lives are for the most part regular, and whose examples
have a strong influence on the minds of others, adhere to
some customs which powerfully draw to the use of more
strong liquor than pure wisdom allows, it hinders the spread-
ing of the spirit of meekness, and strengthens the hands
of the more excessive drinkers. This is a case to be
lamented.

Every degree of luxury hath some connection with evil ;
and if those who profess to be disciples of Christ, and are
looked upon as the leaders of the people, have that mind in
them which was also in Christ, and so stand separate from
every wrong way, it is a means of help to the weaker.
As I have sometimes been much spent in the heat and have
taken spirits to revive me, I have found by experience,
that in such circumstances the mind is not so calm, nor so
fitly disposed for Divine meditation, as when all such
extremes are avoided. I have felt an increasing care to
attend to that Holy Spirit which sets right bounds to our
desires, and leads those who faithfully follow it to apply
all the gifts of Divine Providence to the purposes for which
they were intended. Did those who have the care of great
estates attend with singleness of heart to this heavenly

X TKAVELS AND TRAVAIL 121

Instructor, which so opens and enlarges the mind as to
cause men to love their neighbours as themselves, they
would have wisdom given them to manage their concerns,
without employing some people in providing the luxuries
of hfe, or others in labouring too hard ; but for want of
steadily regarding this principle of Divine love, a selfish
spirit takes place in the minds of people, which is
attended with darkness and manifold confusions in the
world.

Though trading in things useful is an honest employ,
yet through the great number of superfluities which are
bought and sold, and through the corruption of the times,
they who apply to merchandise for a hving have great need
to be well experienced in that precept which the Prophet
Jeremiah laid down for his scribe : " Seekest thou great
things for thyself ? seek them not."

In a letter to a friend who has been sorely ill, he
writes :

I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and to
commit my cause to God, not fearing to ofiend men, who
take ofience at the simphcity of truth, is the only way to
remain unmoved at the sentiments of others.

The fear of man brings a snare. By halting in our duty
and giving back in time of trial, our hands grow weaker,
our spirits get mingled with the people, our ears grow dull
as to hearing the language of the true Shepherd, so that
when we look at the way of the righteous, it seems as
though it was not for us to follow them.

A love clothes my mind while I write, which is superior
to all expression ; and I find my heart open to encourage
a holy emulation, to advance forward in Christian firmness.
Deep humihty is a strong bulwark, and as we enter into
it we find safety and true exaltation. The foolishness of

122 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

God is wiser than man, and tlie weakness of God is stronger
than man. Being unclothed of our own wisdom, and know-
ing the abasement of the creature, we find that power to
arise which gives health and vigour to us.

The year 1757 was occupied by much travelling.
On May 13 we find him staying at a Friend's
house in Burlington, and while there a strange
vision came to him :

" Going to bed about the time usual with me," he
writes, " I awoke in the night, and my meditations, as I
lay, were on the goodness and mercy of the Lord, in a sense
whereof my heart was contrited. After this I went to sleep
again ; in a short time I awoke ; it was yet dark, and no
appearance of day or moonshine, and as I opened mine
eyes I saw a light in my chamber, at the apparent distance
of five feet, about nine inches in diameter, of a clear, easy
brightness, and near its centre the most radiant. As I
lay still looking upon it without any surprise, words were
spoken to my inward ear, which filled my whole inward
man. They were not the effect of thought, nor any con-
clusion in relation to the appearance, but as the language
of the Holy One spoken in my mind. The words were :
Certain Evidence of Divine Truth. They were again
repeated in exactly the same manner, and then the light
disappeared."

On the fifth of the same month he set out,
accompanied by one of his brothers, who lived in
Philadelphia, on a journey to the south, stopping
at Nottingham, at John Churchman's. Proceeding
thence, they crossed the Susquehanna and so into
Maryland. Now again the question of slavery

TRAVELS AND TRAVAIL 123

pressed heavily upon him. His story, as usual,
is best told in his own words :

Soon after I entered this province a deep and painful
exercise came upon me, which I often had some feehng of,
since my mind was drawn toward these parts, and with
which I had acquainted my brother before we agreed to
join as companions. As the people in this and the Southern
provinces live much on the labour of slaves, many of whom
are used hardly, my concern was that I might attend with
singleness of heart to the voice of the true Shepherd, and
be so supported as to remain unmoved at the faces of men.

As it is common for Friends on such a visit to have enter-
tainment free of cost, a diflS.cuIty arose in my mind with
respect to saving my money by kindness received from
what appeared to me to be the gain of oppression. Receiv-
ing a gift, considered as a gift, brings the receiver under
obhgations to the benefactor, and has a natural tendency
to draw the obliged into a party with the giver. To prevent
difficulties of this kind, and to preserve the minds of judges
from any bias, was the Divine prohibition : " Thou shalt
not receive any gift ; for a gift bhndeth the wise, and
perverteth the words of the righteous " (Exodus xxiii.
8). As the disciples were sent forth without any provision
for their journey, and our Lord said the workman is worthy
of his meat, their labour in the Gospel was considered as
a reward for their entertainment, and therefore not received
as a gift ; yet in regard to my present journey, I could not
see my way clear in that respect. The difference appeared
thus : the entertainment the disciples met with was from
them whose hearts God had opened to receive them, from a
love to them and the truth they published ; but we, con-
sidered as members of the same religious society, look upon it
as a piece of civility to receive each other in such visits ; and
such reception, at times, is partly in regard to reputation,

124 JOHN WOOLMAN

and not from an inward unity of heart and spirit. Conduct
is more convincing than language, and where people, by
their actions, manifest that the slave-trade is not so dis-
agreeable to their principles but that it may be encouraged,
there is not a sound uniting with some Friends who visit
them.

The prospect of so weighty a work, and of being so
distinguished from many whom I esteem before myself,
brought me very low, and such were the conflicts of my
soul that I had a near sympathy with the Prophet, in the
time of his weakness, when he said : "If thou deal thus
with me, kill me, I pray thee, if I have found favour in
Thy sight " (Num. xi. 15). But I soon saw that this
proceeded from the want of a full resignation to the Divine
will. Many were the afflictions which attended me, and
in great abasement, with many tears, my cries were to the
Almighty for his gracious and fatherly assistance, and
after a time of deep trial I was favoured to understand
the state mentioned by the Psalmist more clearly than
ever I had done before ; to wit : " My soul is even as a
weaned child " (Psalm cxxxi. 2). Being thus helped to
sink down into resignation, I felt a dehverance from that
tempest in which I had been sorely exercised, and in
calmness of mind went forward, trusting that the Lord
Jesus Christ, as I faithfully attended to Him, would be a
counsellor to me in all difficulties, and that by his strength
I should be enabled even to leave money with the members
of society where I had entertainment, when I found that
omitting it would obstruct that work to which I believed
He had called me. As I copy this after my return, I may
here add, that often times I did so under a sense of duty.
The way in which I did it was thus : when I expected
soon to leave a Friend's house where I had entertainment,
if I believed that I should not keep clear from the gain of
oppression without leaving money, I spoke to one of the

TEAVELS AND TKAVAIL 125

teads of the family privately, and desired them to accept
of those pieces of silver, and give them to such of their
negroes as they beheved would make the best use of them ;
and at other times I gave them to the negroes myself, as
the way looked clearest to me. Before I came out, I had
provided a large number of small pieces for this purpose,
and thus ofiering them to some who appeared to be wealthy
people was a trial both to me and them. But the fear of
the Lord so covered me at times that my way was made
easier than I expected ; and few, if any, manifested any
resentment at the offer, and most of them after some
conversation, accepted of them.

Ninth of fifth month. — ^A Friend at whose house we
breakfasted setting us a little on our way, I had conversa-
tion with him in the fear of the Lord, concerning his slaves,
in which my heart was tender ; I used much plainness of
speech with him, and he appeared to take it kindly. We
pursued our journey without appointing meetings, being
pressed in my mind to be at the Yearly Meeting in Virginia.
In my travelhng on the road, I often felt a cry rise from
the centre of my mind, thus : "0 Lord, I am a stranger
on the earth, hide not thy face from me." On the 11th
we crossed the rivers Patowmack and Kapahannock, and
lodged at Port Koyal. On the way we had the company
of a colonel of the mihtia, who appeared to be a thoughtful
man. I took occasion to remark on the difference in
general betwixt a people used to labour moderately for
their hving, training up their children in frugality and
business, and those who five on the labour of slaves ; the
former, in my view, being the most happy life. He con-
curred in the remark, and mentioned the trouble arising
from the untoward, slothful disposition of the negroes,
adding that one of our labourers would do as much in a
day as two of their slaves. I replied, that free men, whose
minds were properly on their business, found a satisfaction

126 JOHN WOOLMAN

in improving, cultivating, and providing for their families ;
but negroes labouring to support others who claim them
as their property, and expecting nothing but slavery
.j^uring Hfe, had not the like inducement to be industrious.
After some further conversation, I said, that men
having power too often misappHed it ; that though we made
slaves of the negroes, and the Turks made slaves of the
Christians, I beheved that liberty was the natural right
of all men equally. This he did not deny, but said the
hves of the negroes were so wretched in their own country
that many of them hved better here than there. I replied,
" There is great odds in regard to us on what principle we
act " ; and so the conversation on that subject ended.
I may here add that another person, some time afterwards,
mentioned the wretchedness of the negroes, occasioned
by their intestine wars, as an argument for our fetching
them away for slaves. To which I replied, if compassion
for the Africans on account of their domestic troubles,
was the real motive of our purchasing them, that spirit
of tenderness being attended to, would incite us to use
them kindly, that, as strangers brought out of affliction
their lives might be happy among us. And as they are
human creatures whose souls are as precious as ours, and
who may receive the same help and comfort from the Holy
Scriptures as we do, we could not omit suitable endeavours
to instruct them therein ; but that while we manifest
by our conduct that our views in purchasing them are to
advance ourselves, and while our buying captives taken
in war animates those parties to push on the war, and
increase desolation amongst them, to say they live un-
happily in Africa is far from being an argument in our
favour. I further said, the present circumstances of these
provinces to me appear difficult ; the slaves look like a
burdensome stone to such as burden themselves with them ;
and that if the white people retain a resolution to prefer

X TRAVELS AND TEAVAIL 127

their outward prospects of gain to all other considerations, \
and do not act conscientiously toward them as fellow
creatures, I beheve that burden will grow heavier and
heavier, until times change in a way disagreeable to us.
The person appeared very serious, and owned that in
considering their condition and the manner of their treat-
ment in these provinces he had sometimes thought it \
might be just in the Almighty so to order it.

Having travelled through Maryland, we came amongst
Friends at Cedar Creek in Virginia, on the 12th ; and the
next day rode in company with several of them, a day's
journey to Camp Creek. As 1 was riding along in the
morning, my mind was deeply afiected in a sense 1 had of
the need of Divine aid to support me in the various diffi-
culties which attended me, and in uncommon distress of
mind I cried in secret to the Most High, " 0 Lord, be
merciful, 1 beseech thee, to thy poor afflicted creature ! "
After some time 1 felt inward rehef , and soon after a Friend
in company began to talk in support of the slave-trade,
and said the negroes were understood to be the offspring
of Cain, their blackness being the mark which God set
upon him after he murdered Abel his brother ; that it was
the design of Providence they should be slaves, as a condi-
tion proper to the race of so wicked a man as Cain was.
Then another spake in support of what had been said.
To all which I rephed in substance as follows : that Noah
and his family were all who survived the flood according
to Scripture ; and as Noah was of Seth's race, the family
of Cain was wholly destroyed. One of them said that after
the flood Ham went to the land of Nod and took a wife ;
that Nod was a land far distant, inhabited by Cain's race,
and that the flood did not reach it ; and as Ham was
sentenced to be a servant of servants to his brethren,
these two families being thus joined, were undoubtedly fit
only for slaves. 1 replied, the flood was a judgment upon

128 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

the world for their abominations, and it was granted that
Cain's stock was the most wicked, and therefore unreason-
able to suppose that they were spared. As to Ham's
going to the land of Nod for a wife, no time being fixed,
Nod might be inhabited by some of Noah's family before
Ham married a second time ; moreover the text saith
" That all flesh died that moved upon the earth "(Gen. vii.
21). 1 further reminded them how the prophets repeatedly
declare " that the son shall not suffer for the iniquity of
the father, but every one be answerable for his own sins."
1 was troubled to perceive the darkness of their imagina-
tions, and in some pressure of spirit said, '' The love of
ease and gain are the motives in general of keeping slaves,
and men are wont to take hold of weak arguments to
support a cause which is unreasonable. I have no interest
on either side, save only the interest which I desire to have
in the truth. I believe hberty is their right, and I see
they are not only deprived of it, but treated in other
respects with inhumanity in many places, I beheve he
who is a refuge for the oppressed will, in his own time,
plead their cause, and happy will it be for such as walk
in uprightness before him." And thus our conversation
ended.

Fourteenth of fifth month. — I was this day at Camp
Creek Monthly Meeting, and then rode to the mountains
up James River, and had a meeting at a Friend's house,
in both which I felt sorrow of heart, and my tears were
poured out before the Lord, who was pleased to afford a
degree of strength by which the way was opened to clear
my mind amongst Friends in those places. From thence
I went to Fork Creek, and so to Cedar Creek again, at
which place 1 now had a meeting. Here 1 found a tender
seed, and as I was preserved in the ministry to keep low
with the truth, the same truth in their hearts answered
it, that it was a time of mutual refreshment from the

X TKAVELS AND TRAVAIL 129

presence of the Lord. I lodged at James Standley's,
father of Wilham Standley, one of the young men who
suffered imprisonment at Winchester last summer on
account of their testimony against fighting, and I had
some satisfactory conversation with him concerning it.
Hence I went to the Swamp Meeting, and to Wayanoke
Meeting, and then crossed James River, and lodged near
Burleigh. From the time of my entering Maryland I have
been much under sorrow, which of late so increased upon
me that my mind was almost overwhelmed, and I may
say with the Psalmist, " In my distress I called upon the
Lord, and cried to my God," who, in infinite goodness,
looked upon my affliction, and in my private retirement
sent the Comforter for my rehef , for which I humbly bless
his holy name.

The sense I had of the state of the churches brought a
weight of distress upon me. The gold to me appeared
dim, and the jBne gold changed, and though this is the case
too generally, yet the sense of it in these parts hath in a
particular manner borne heavy upon me. It appeared
to me that through the prevaihng of the spirit of this world
the minds of many were brought to an inward desolation,
and instead of the spirit of meekness, gentleness and
heavenly wisdom, which are the necessary companions of
the true sheep of Christ, a spirit of fierceness and the love
of dominion too generally prevailed. From small begin-
nings in error great buildings by degrees are raised, and
from one age to another are more and more strengthened
by the general concurrence of the people ; and as men
obtain reputation by their profession of the truth, their
virtues are mentioned as arguments in favour of such
general error ; and those of less note, to justify themselves,
say, such and such good men did the like. By what other
steps could the people of Judah arise to that height in
wickedness as to give just ground for the Prophet Isaiah

K

130 JOHN WOOLMAN

to declare, in the name of the Lord, " that none calleth
for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth " (Isa. hx. 4), or for
the Almighty to call upon the great city of Jerusalem just
before the Babylonish captivity, "If ye can find a man,
if there be any who executeth judgment, that seeketh the
truth, and I will pardon it " ? (Jer. v. 1).

The prospect of a way being open to the same degeneracy,
in some parts of this newly settled land of America, in
respect to our conduct towards the negroes, hath deeply
bowed my mind in this journey, and though briefly to
relate how these people are treated is no agreeable work,
yet, after often reading over the notes I made as I travelled,
I find my mind engaged to preserve them. Many of the
white people in those provinces take httle or no care of
negro marriages ; and when negroes marry after their
own way, some make so little account of those marriages
that with views of outward interest they often part men
from their wives by selling them far asunder, which is
common when estates are sold by executors at vendue.
Many whose labour is heavy being followed at their business
in the field by a man with a whip, hired for that purpose,
have in common httle else allowed but one peck of Indian
corn and some salt, for one week, with a few potatoes ;
the potatoes they commonly raise by their labour on the
first day of the week. The correction ensuing on their
disobedience to overseers, or slothfulness in business, is
often very severe, and sometimes desperate.

Men and women have many times scarcely clothes
sufficient to hide their nakedness, and boys and girls ten
and twelve years old are often quite naked among their
master's children. Some of our Society, and some of the
society called Newlights, use some endeavours to instruct
those they have in reading ; but in common this is not only
neglected, but disapproved. These are the people by
whose labour the other inhabitants are in a great measure

X TKAVELS AND TRAVAIL 131

supported, and many of them in the luxuries of life. These
are the people who have made no agreement to serve us,
and who have not forfeited their liberty that we know of.
These are the souls for whom Christ died, and for our
conduct towards them we must answer before Him who
is no respector of persons. They who know the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, and are thus
acquainted with the merciful, benevolent Gospel spirit,
will therein perceive that the indignation of God is kindled
against oppression and cruelty, and in beholding the great
distress of so numerous a people will find cause for mourning.

Then later :

From my lodgings I went to Burleigh Meeting, where I
felt my mind drawn in a quiet, resigned state. After
long silence I felt an engagement to stand up, and through
the powerful operation of Divine love we were favoured
with an edifying meeting. The next meeting we had was
at Black- Water, and from thence went to the Yearly
Meeting at the Western Branch. When business began,
some queries were introduced by some of their members
for consideration, and, if approved, they were to be answered
hereafter by their respective Monthly Meetings. They
were the Pennsylvania queries, which had been examined
by a committee of Virginia Yearly Meeting appointed the
last year, who made some alterations in them, one of which
alterations was made in favour of a custom which troubled
me. The query was : " Are there any concerned in the
importation of negroes, or in buying them after imported ? "
which was thus altered : " Are there any concerned in the
importation of negroes, or buying them to trade in ? "
As one query admitted with unanimity was : " Are any
concerned in buying or vending goods unlawfully imported,
or prize goods ? " I found my mind engaged to say that
as we profess the truth, and were there assembled to support

132 JOHN WOOLMAN

the testimony of it, it was necessary for us to dwell deep
and act in that wisdom which is pure, or otherwise we
could not prosper. I then mentioned their alteration,
and referring to the last mentioned query, added, that as
purchasing any merchandise taken by the sword was always
allowed to be inconsistent with our principles, so negroes,
being captives of war, or taken by stealth, it was incon-
sistent with our testimony to buy them ; and their being
our fellow creatures and sold as slaves, added greatly to the
iniquity. Friends appeared attentive to what was said ;
some expressed a care and concern about their negroes ;
none made any objection by way of reply to what I said,
but the query was admitted as they had altered it.

As some of their members have heretofore traded in
negroes, as in other merchandise, this query being admitted
will be one step further than they have hitherto gone, and
I did not see it my duty to press for an alteration, but
felt easy to leave it all to Him who alone is able to turn
the hearts of the mighty, and make way for the spreading
of truth on the earth, by means agreeable to his infinite
wisdom. In regard to those they already had, I felt my
mind engaged to labour with them, and said that as we
beheve the Scriptures were given forth by holy men, as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and many of us know
by experience that they are helpful and comfortable, and
believe ourselves bound in duty to teach our children to
read them ; I believed that if we were divested of all
selfish views, the same good spirit that gave them forth
would engage us to teach the negroes to read, that they
might have the benefit of them. Some present manifested
r a concern to take more care in the education of their
negroes.

Twenty-ninth fifth month. — At the house where I
lodged was a meeting of ministers and elders. I found an
engagement to speak freely and plainly to them concerning

X TKAVELS AND TRAVAIL 133

their slaves ; mentioning how they as the first rank in the
society, whose conduct in that case was much noticed by
others, were under the stronger obhgation to look carefully
to themselves. Expressing how needful it was for them
in that situation to be thoroughly divested of all selfish
views ; that, hving in the pure truth, and acting con-
scientiously towards those people in their education and
otherwise they might be instrumental in helping forward
a work so exceedingly necessary, and so much neglected
amongst them. At the twelfth hour the meeting for
worship began, which was a sohd meeting.

He journeyed, pleading the cause of the negroes,
on through Virginia and CaroKna ; back into
Virginia, and eventually home, after having been
" out about two months, and travelled about
eleven hundred and fifty miles."

CHAPTER XI

TURMOIL

The question of payment of taxes levied in support
of troops and to provide munitions of war was one
which naturally exercised John Woolman. He
was told that of the Friends in England many
paid such taxes, and also, by several foremost
Friends, that they were in favour of such payment.
For a time this quieted him, but he was not of
a temperament for temporising, and he was
scrupulous over refusing to take up arms while
paying others to do so. Indeed such a position is
unreasonable, and the examples even of those whom
he respected did not suffice to set his conscience
at rest. On the other hand, it was no agreeable
action to him to refuse to pay that which other
Friends did pay. At the Yearly Meeting at
Philadelphia in 1755 he was glad to find that his
was not the only mind troubled in this matter.
Again it will be best to allow him to state his own
case :

134

CHAP. XI TURMOIL 135

As scrupling to pay a tax on account of the application
hath seldom been heard of heretofore, even amongst men
of integrity, who have steadily borne their testimony
against outward wars in their time, I may therefore note
some things which have occurred to my mind, as I have
been inwardly exercised on that account. From the
steady opposition which faithful Friends in early times
made to wrong things then approved, they were hated and
persecuted by men living in the spirit of this world, and
suffering with firmness, they were made a blessing to the
church, and the work prospered. It equally concerns men
in every age to take heed to their own spirits ; and in
comparing their situation with ours, it appears to me that
there was less danger of their being infected with the spirit
of this world in pa5dng such taxes, than is the case with
us now. They had httle or no share in civil government,
and many of them declared that they were, through the
power of God, separated from the spirit in which wars were,
and being afflicted by the rulers on account of their testi-
mony, there was less likehhood of their uniting in spirit
with them in things inconsistent with the purity of truth.
We from the first settlement of this land, have known
httle or no troubles of that sort. The profession of our
predecessors was for a time accounted reproachful, but at
length their uprightness being understood by the rulers,
and their innocent sufferings moving them, our way of
worship was tolerated, and many of our members in these
colonies became active in civil government. Being thus
tired with favour and prosperity, this world appeared
inviting ; our minds have been turned to the improvement
of our country, to the merchandise and the sciences,
amongst which are many things useful if followed in pure
wisdom ; but in our present condition I beheve it will not
be denied that a carnal mind is gaining upon us. Some
of our members, who are oflicers in civil government, are.

136 JOHN WOOLMAN

in one case or other, called upon in their respective stations
to assist in things relative to the wars ; but being in doubt
whether to act or to crave to be excused from their office,
if they see their brethren united in a payment of a tax
to carry on the said wars, may think their case not much
different, and so might quench the tender movings of the
Holy Spirit in their minds. Thus by small degrees we might
approach so near to fighting that the distinction would be
Httle else than the name of a peaceable people.

Then, dealing with a more general point, he
continues :

It requires great self-denial and resignation of ourselves
to God to attain that state wherein we can freely cease
from fighting when wrongfully invaded, if, by our fighting
there were a probability of overcoming the invaders.

A man's Christianity could scarcely be put to
a greater test.

Woolman notes how the stress of the Indian
war was increasing and relates briefly the bringing
into the streets of one — so he gives it — of the
victims who had been slain, in order to excite the
minds of the people. Notes also that refusal to
pay the tax might be counted as an act of dis-
loyalty and calculated to arouse the enmity of
the rulers, both in America and in England. The
outcome of a conference was that " an epistle
of tender love and caution to Friends in Penn-
sylvania was drawn up, and being read several
times and corrected, was signed by such as were

TURMOIL 137

free to sign it, and afterwards sent to the Monthly
and Quarterly Meetings."

On the night of August 8, 1757, orders were
delivered to the military commanders in Burhngton
County to draft the mihtia and to enrol men for
the rehef of Fort Wilham Henry in New York.
A few days later there was a review at Mount
Holly, and men and officers were duly despatched.
On the 17th there was a council of officers at the
same place to select men for a further draft, and
among those chosen were many members of the
Society of Friends.

" When officers who are anxiously endeavouring to get
troops to answer the demands of their superiors," writes
Woolman, " see men who are insincere pretend scruple of
conscience in hopes of being excused from a dangerous
employment, it is hkely they will be roughly handled.
In this time of commotion some of our young men left
these parts, and tarried abroad till it was over ; some came,
and proposed to go as soldiers ; others appeared to have
a real tender scruple in their minds against joining in wars,
and were much humbled under the apprehension of a
trial so near. I had conversation with several of them
to my satisfaction. When the captain came to town
some of the last mentioned went and told him in substance
as foUows : That they could not bear arms for conscience'
sake ; nor could they hire any to go in their places, being
resigned as to the event. At length the captain acquainted
them all that they might return home for the present,
but he required them to provide themselves as soldiers,
and be in readiness to march when called upon. This was

138 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

such a time as I liad not seen before ; and yet I may say
with thankfulness to the Lord, that I beheved the trial
was intended for our good ; and I was favoured with
resignation to Him. The French army having taken the
fort they were besieging, destroyed it, and went away ;
the company of men who were first drafted, after some
days' march, had orders to return home, and those on the
second draft were no more called upon on that occasion."

A more directly personal trial came to him in
April 1758, when he was ordered to prepare
lodging and entertainment in his house for two
soldiers, an allowance to be made him of six
shillings a week for each man.

The case being new and unexpected, I made no answer
suddenly, but sat a time silent, my mind being inward.
I was fully convinced that the proceedings in wars are
inconsistent with the purity of the Christian rehgion ;
and to be hired to entertain men who were then under pay
as soldiers, was a difficulty with me. I expected they had
legal authority for what they did ; and after a short time
I said to the officer, if the men are sent here for enter-
tainment I beheve I shall not refuse to admit them into
my house, but the nature of the case is such that I expect
I cannot keep them on hire ; one of the men intimated
that he thought I might do it consistently with my religious
principles. To which I made no reply, beheving silence
at that time best for me. Though they spake of two,
there came only one, who tarried at my house about two
weeks, and behaved himseK civilly. When the officer
came to pay me, I told him I could not take pay, having
admitted him into my house in a passive obedience to
authority. I was on horseback when he spake to me,

TURMOIL 139

and as I turned from him, he said he was obhged to me ;
to which I said nothing ; but, thinking on the expression,
I grew uneasy ; and afterwards, being near where he hved,
I went and told him on what grounds I refused taking pay
for keeping a soldier.

From a letter of Samuel Fothergill, written
some two years previously from Philadelphia, a
passage may be quoted, showing briefly but vividly
the situation :

The circumstances of this province still continue
fluctuating and unpleasant. Many thousand pounds of
the province's money have, by the Assembly's committee,
been laid out in erecting forts upon the frontiers, and
placing men in them ; a step as prudent and likely to be
attended with as much success, as an attempt to hedge
out birds or the deer. The neighbourhoods of these forts
have been, since their being erected, the scenes of the
greatest barbarity ; in contempt and mockery of the
attempt, eleven people being destroyed a few days ago
within a mile of one of their forts.

Later in the same year he writes :

" The distress of this province is great, its commotions
violent, — all the desolations of an Indian war impendent,
and the legislature in a great degree infatuated. . . .
Friends have interposed for the restoration of peace, and
borne their testimony faithfully ; I hope it will issue " — as
it did — " in their dismission from government, their con-
nexion with which hath been of great dis-service of later
times to the real end of our being raised up as a pecuhar
people, to bear testimony to Him whose kingdom is peace
and righteousness."

140 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Fothergill had departed far and dangerously
from the position taken up by George Fox, who
did not look upon the Friends as a pecuHar people,
but simply as simple Christians who would gather
all men into the true fold. This attitude of
" peculiarity " was the beginning of the end of the
Quaker power in the government of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey, and the first step toward their
dechne as a propagandist church.

Amid this turmoil Woolman steadily continued
his work in the cause of the slaves. A short
passage in the Journal shows the working of the
Quaker organisation very clearly :

The Monthly Meeting of Philadelphia having been under
a concern on account of some Friends who this summer
(1758) had bought negro slaves, proposed to their Quarterly
Meeting to have the minute reconsidered in the Yearly
Meeting, which was made last on that subject, and the said
Quarterly Meeting appointed a committee to consider it,
and to report to their next. This committee having met
once and adjourned, and 1, going to Philadelphia to meet
a committee of the Yearly Meeting, was in town the
evening on which the Quarterly Meeting's committee met
the second time, and finding an inclination to sit with them,
I, with some others, was admitted, and Friends had a
weighty conference on the subject. Soon after their next
Quarterly Meeting 1 heard that the case was coming up
to our Yearly Meeting. This brought a weighty exercise
upon me, and under a sense of my own infirmities, and the
great danger I felt of turning aside from perfect purity,
my mind was often drawn to retire alone, and put up my

XI

TURMOIL 141

prayers to the Lord that He would be graciously pleased
to strengthen me ; that setting aside all views of self-
interest and the friendship of this world, I might stand
fully resigned to his holy will.

This Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia was both
a crisis in the life-work of John Woolman and a
turning-point in the crusade which more than a
hundred years later culminated in the bloody
ending of negro slavery ^ in America. There were
many important matters discussed at this Meeting,
and, toward the close, the most important, namely
the policy which should be pursued with regard
to those members of the Society who purchased
slaves. But that we know from other sources the
great part played by Woolman, we should not
gather it from his own account :

During the several sittings of the said meeting, my
mind was frequently covered with inward prayer, and I
could say with David, " that tears were my meat day and
night." The case of slave-keeping lay heavy upon me,
nor did I find any engagement to speak directly to any
other matter before the meeting. Now when this case
was opened several faithful Friends spake weightily thereto,
with which I was comforted ; and feehng a concern to cast
in my mite, I said in substance as follows : —

In the difficulties attending us in this hfe nothing is
more precious than the mind of truth inwardly manifested ;
and it is my earnest desire that in this weighty matter
we may be so truly humbled as to be favoured with a clear

^ White slavery still flourishes.

142 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

understanding of the mind of truth, and follow it ; this
would be of more advantage to the Society than any
medium not in the clearness of Divine wisdom. The case
is dijB&cult to some who have slaves^ but if such set aside
all self-interest, and come to be weaned from the desire
of getting estates, or even from holding them together,
when truth requires the contrary, I believe way will so
open that they will know how to steer through those
difficulties.

Many Friends appear to be deeply bowed under the
weight of the work, and manifested much firmness in their
love to the cause of truth and universal righteousness on
the earth. And though none did openly justify the practice
of slave-keeping in general, yet some appeared concerned
lest the meeting should go into such measures as might
give uneasiness to many brethren, alleging that if Friends
patiently continued under the exercise the Lord in his
time might open a way for the dehverance of these people.
Finding an engagement to speak, I said, " My mind is
often led to consider the purity of the Divine Being, and
the justice of his judgments ; and herein my soul is covered
with awfulness. I cannot omit to hint of some cases where
people have not been treated with the purity of justice,
and the event hath been lamentable. Many slaves on
this continent are oppressed, and their cries have reached
the ears of the Most High. Such are the purity and cer-
tainty of His judgments, that He cannot be partial in our
favour. In infinite love and goodness he hath opened our
understanding from one time to another concerning our
duty towards this people, and it is not a time for delay.
Should we now be sensible of what he requires of us, and
through a respect to the private interest of some persons,
or through a regard to some friendships which do not
stand on immutable foundation, neglect to do our duty
in firmness and constancy, still waiting for some extra-

XI TURMOIL 143

ordinary means to bring about tbeir deliverance, God may
by terrible things in righteousness answer us in this matter."
Many faithful Brethren laboured with great firmness,
and the love of truth in a good degree prevailed. Several
who had negroes expressed their desire that a rule might
be made to deal with such Friends as offenders who bought
slaves in future. To this it was answered that the root of
this evil would never be effectually struck at until a
thorough search was made in the circumstances of such
Friends as kept negroes, with respect to the righteousness
of their motives in keeping them, that impartial justice
might be administered throughout. Several Friends
expressed their desire that a visit might be made to such
Friends as kept slaves, and many others said that they
beheved hberty was the negro's right ; to which, at length,
no opposition was pubhcly made. A minute was made
more fully on that subject than any heretofore ; and the
names of several Friends entered who were free to join in
a visit to such as kept slaves.

Woolman steadfastly carried out his duty of
visiting such Friends as kept slaves. In December
of this year, 1758, he attended the Quarterly
Meetings in Chester County, and found that there
was much division on account of the decision
arrived at by the Yearly Meeting. With Daniel
Stanton, his senior by some twelve years, a native
of Philadelphia, and another, one John Scar-
borough, he commenced the visiting of Friends
who owned slaves. Of the Meetings, which were
large, he tells us little in detail, but says of himself,
with his usual humility :

144 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

I had occasion to consider that it is a weighty thing to
speak much in large meetings for business, for except our
minds are rightly prepared, and we clearly understand the
case we speak to, instead of forwarding, we hinder business
and make more labour for those on whom the burden of
the work is laid. If selfish views or a partial spirit have
any room in our minds, we are unfit for the Lord's work ;
if we have a clear prospect of the business, and proper
weight on our minds to speak, we should avoid useless
apologies and repetitions. Where people are gathered
from far, and adjourning a meeting of business is attended
with great difficulty, it behoves all to be cautious how they
detain a meeting, especially when they have sat six or
seven hours, and have a great distance to ride home.

Commenting upon his visits, he tells us that in
some places and by some people his coming was
welcomed gladly, while in others the way was
difficult, adding :

I . . . have cause, in reverent thankfulness, humbly
to bow down before the Lord, who was near to me, and
preserved my mind in calmness under some sharp conflicts,
and begat a spirit of sympathy and tenderness in me
towards some who were grievously entangled by the
spirit of this world.

In the early part of 1759 he joined with his
friend John Churchman in visiting some of the
prominent members of the Society in Philadelphia,
who were slave- owners, and found peace in his
heavy labours. He relates :

Having at times perceived a shyness in some Friends of
considerable note towards me, I found an engagement in

XI

TUEMOIL 145

Gospel love to pay a visit to one of tliem ; and as I dwelt
under the exercise, I felt a resignedness in my mind to
go and tell him privately that I had a desire to have an
opportunity with him alone ; to this proposal he readily
agreed, and then, in the fear of the Lord, things relating
to that shyness were searched to the bottom, and we had a
large conference, which I beheve was of use to both of us,
and I am thankful that way was opened for it.

There is a touch of humble pathos in his com-
ment upon the Yearly Meeting at which, as usual,
he was attendant :

As the epistles which were to be sent to the Yearly
Meetings ^ on this continent were read, I observed that in
most of them, both this year and the last, it was recom-
mended to Friends to labour against buying and keeping
slaves, and in some of them the subject was closely treated
upon. As this practice hath long been a heavy exercise
to me, and I have often waded through mortifying labours
on that account, and at times in some meetings have been
almost alone therein, I was humbly bowed in thankfulness
in observing the increasing concern in our rehgious society,
and seeing how the Lord was raising up and quahfying
servants for his work, not only in this respect, but for
promoting the cause of truth in general.

The tone of this Meeting, and the Friends'
view of the general situation are very fully set
forth in the Epistle sent out to the Quarterly and
Monthly Meetings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
It is worth quoting in full :

^ Elsewhere than Philadelphia.

146 JOHN WOOLMAN

Dearly beloved Friends and Brethren, — In an
awful Sense of tlie Wisdom and Goodness of the Lord our
God, whose tender Mercies have long been continued to
us in this Land, we affectionately salute you, with sincere
and fervent Desires, that we may reverently regard the
Dispensations of his Providence, and improve under them.

The Empires and Kingdoms of the Earth are subject
to his almighty Power : He is the God of the Spirits of
all Flesh, and deals with his People agreeable to that
Wisdom, the Depth whereof is to us unsearchable : We,
in these Provinces, may say, he hath, as a gracious and
tender Parent, dealt bountifully with us, even from the
Days of our Fathers : It was he who strengthened them
to labour through the Difficulties attending the Improve-
ment of a Wilderness, and made Way for them in the
Hearts of the Natives ; so that by them they were com-
forted in Times of Want and Distress : It was by the
gracious Influences of his holy Spirit, that they were
disposed to workj Righteousness, and walk uprightly
one towards another, and towards the Natives, and in
Life and Conversation to manifest the Excellency of the
Principles and Doctrines of the Christian Rehgion ; and
thereby they retain their Esteem and Friendship : Whilst
they were labouring for the Necessaries of Life, many of
them were fervently engaged to promote Piety and Virtue
in the Earth, and educate their Children in the Fear of
the Lord.

If we carefully consider the peaceable Measures pursued
in the first Settlement of the Land, and that Freedom
from the Desolations of Wars which for a long Time we
enjoyed, we shall find ourselves under strong Obligations
to the Almighty, who, when the Earth is so generally
polluted with Wickedness, gave us a Being in a Part so
signally favoured with Tranquihty and Plenty, and in
which the Glad-tidings of the Gospel of Christ are so freely

XI TUEMOIL 147

published, that we may justly say with the Psalmist,
" What shall we render unto the Lord for all his Benefits ? "

Our own real Good, and the Good of our Posterity, in
some Measure, depend on the Part we act ; and it nearly
concerns us to try our Foundations impartially. Such
are the difierent Rewards of the Just and Unjust in a
future State, that, to attend diligently to the Dictates of
the Spirit of Christ, to devote ourselves to his Service,
and engage fervently in his Cause, during our short Stay
in this World, is a Choice well becoming a free intelhgent
Creature ; we shall thus clearly see and consider that the
Deahngs of God with Mankind in a national Capacity,
as recorded in Holy Writ, do sufficiently evidence the
Truth of that Saying, " It is Righteousness which exalteth
a Nation " ; and though he doth not at all Times suddenly
execute his Judgments on a sinful People in this Life,
yet we see, by many Instances, that where " Men follow
lying Vanities, they forsake their own Mercies " ; and as
a proud selfish Spirit prevails and spreads among a People,
so partial Judgment, Oppression, Discord, Envy, and
Confusions, increase, and Provinces and Kingdoms are
made to drink the Cup of Adversity as a Reward of their
own Doings. Thus the inspired Prophet, reasoning with
the degenerated Jews, saith, " Thine own Wickedness
shall correct thee, and thy Backshdings shall reprove
thee : Know, therefore, that it is an evil Thing and bitter,
that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my
Fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of Hosts." Jer. ii.
19.

The God of our Fathers, who hath bestowed on us
many Benefits, furnished a Table for us in the Wilderness,
and made the Desarts and solitary Places to rejoice ; he
doth now mercifully call upon us to serve him more
faithfully. — We may truly say, with the Prophet, " It
is his Voice which crieth to the City, and Men of Wisdom

148 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

see his Name : They regard the Eod, and him who hath
appointed it." — People, who look chiefly at Things out-
ward, too little consider the original Cause of the present
Troubles ; but such as fear the Lord, and think often
upon his Name, see and feel that a wrong Spirit is spread-
ing among the Inhabitants of our Country ; that the
Hearts of many are waxed fat, and their Ears dull of
hearing ; that the Most High, in his Visitations to us,
instead of calhng, hfteth up his Voice and crieth ; he
crieth to our Country, and his Voice waxeth louder and
louder. In former Wars between the English and other
Nations, since the Settlement of our Provinces, the
Calamities attending them have fallen chiefly on other
Places, but now of late they have reached to our Borders ;
many of our fellow Subjects have suffered on and near
our Frontiers, some have been slain in Battle, some killed
in their Houses, and some in their Fields, some wounded
and left in great Misery, and others separated from their
Wives and little Children, who have been carried Captives
among the Indians : We have seen Men and Women,
who have been Witnesses of these Scenes of Sorrow, and
been reduced to Want, have come to our Houses asking
Kehef. — It is not long since it was the Case of many
young Men, in one of these Provinces, to be draughted,
in order to be taken as Soldiers ; some were at that Time
in great Distress, and had Occasion to consider that their
Lives had been too little conformable to the Purity and
Spirituality of that Rehgion which we profess, and found
themselves too little acquainted with that inward Humihty,
in which true Fortitude to endure Hardness for the Truth's
Sake is experienced. — Many Parents were concerned for
their Children, and in that Time of Trial were led to con-
sider, that their Care, to get outward Treasure for them,
had been greater than their Care for their Settlement in
that Rehgion which crucifieth to the World, and enableth

TURMOIL 149

to bear a clear Testimony to the peaceable Government
of the Messiah. These Troubles are removed, and for a
Time we are released from them.

Let us not forget that " The Most High hath his Way
in the Deep, in Clouds and in thick Darkness " — ^that it
is his Voice which crieth to the City and to the Country ;
and oh ! that these loud and awakening Cries may have
a proper Efiect upon us, that heavier Chastisement may
not become necessary ! For though Things, as to the
Outward, may, for a short Time, afford a pleasing Prospect ;
yet, while a selfish Spirit, that is not subject to the Cross
of Christ, continueth to spread and prevail, there can be
no long Continuance in outward Peace and TranquiHty.
If we desire an Inheritance incorruptible, and to be at
Rest in that State of Peace and Happiness, which ever
continues ; if we desire, in this Life, to dwell under the
Favour and Protection of thatj almighty Being, ^ whose
Habitation is in Hohness, whose Ways are all equal, and
whose Anger is now kindled because of our Backshdings ;
let us then awfully regard these Beginnings of his fore
Judgments, and, with Abasement and Humihation turn
to him, whom we have offended.

Contending with one equal in Strength is an uneasy
Exercise ; but if the Lord is become our Enemy, if we
persist to contend with him who is omnipotent, our Over-
throw will be unavoidable.

Do we feel an affectionate Regard to Posterity ; and
are we employed to promote their Happiness ? Do our
Minds, in Things outward, look beyond our own Dis-
solution ; and are we contriving for the Prosperity of our
Children after us ? Let us then, hke wise Builders, lay
the Foundation deep ; and, by our constant uniform
Regard to an inward Piety and Virtue, let them see that
we really value it : Let us labour, in the Fear of the Lord,
that their innocent Minds, while young and tender, may

150 JOHN WOOLMAN

be preserved from Corruptions ; that, as they advance
in Age, they may rightly understand their true Interest,
may consider the Uncertainty of temporal Things, and,
above all, have their Hope and Confidence firmly settled
in the Blessing of that Almighty Being, who inhabits
Eternity, and preserves and supports the "World.

In all our Cares, about worldly Treasures, let us steadily
bear in Mind, that Riches, possessed by Children who do
not truly serve God, are hkely to prove Snares that may
more grievously entangle them in that Spirit of Selfish-
ness and Exaltation, which stands in Opposition to real
Peace and Happiness ; and renders them Enemies to the
Cross of Christ, who submit to the Influence of it.

To keep a watchful eye towards real Objects of Charity,
to visit the Poor in their lonesome Dwelhng-places, to
comfort them who, through the Dispensations of divine
Providence, are in strait and painful Circumstances in
this Life, and steadily to endeavour to honour God with
our Substance, from a real Sense of; the Love of Christ
influencing our Minds thereto, is more likely to bring a
Blessing to our Children, and will afford more Satisfaction
to a Christian favoured with Plenty, than an earnest
Desire to collect much Wealth to leave behind us ; for
" Here we have no continuing City " ; may we therefore
dihgently " seek one that is to come, whose Builder and
Maker is God."

" Finally, Brethren, whatsoever Things are true, what-
soever Things are just, whatsoever Things are pure, what-
soever Things are lovely, whatsoever Things are of good
Report ; if there be any Virtue, if there be any Praise,
think on these Things and do them, and the God of Peace
shall be with you."

In the winter of this year, 1759, smallpox was
rife at Mount Holly, and many persons tested the

XI

TURMOIL 151

efficacy of inoculation, not always with, satisfactory
results. Upon this matter Woolman wrote as
follows :

The more fully our hves are conformable to the will
of God, the better it is for us ; I have looked on the small-
pox as a messenger from the Almighty, to be an assistant
in the cause of virtue, and to incite us to consider whether
we employ our time only in such things as are consistent
with perfect wisdom and goodness. Building houses
suitable to dwell in, for ourselves and our creatures ;
preparing clothing suitable for the chmate and season,
and food convenient, are all duties incumbent on us.
And under these general heads are many branches of
business in which we may venture health and hfe, as
necessity may require.

This disease being in a house, and my business calhng
me to go near it, incites me to consider whether this is
a real, indispensable duty ; whether it is not in conformity
to some custom which would be better laid aside, or,
whether it does not proceed from too eager a pursuit of
some outward treasure. If the business before me springs
not from a clear understanding and a regard to that use
of things which perfect wisdom approves, to be brought to
a sense of it, and stopped in my pursuit is a kindness,
for when I proceed to business without some evidence of
duty, I have found by experience that it tends to weakness.
If I am so situated that there appears no probability
of missing the infection, it tends to make me think whether
my manner of hfe in things outward has nothing in it
which may unfit my body to receive this messenger in a
way the most favourable to me. Do I use food and drink
in no other sort and in no other degree than was designed
by Him who gave these creatures for our sustenance ?
Do I never abuse my body by inordinate labour, striving

152 JOHN WOOLMAN

to accomplisli some end which. I have unwisely proposed ?
Do I use action enough in some useful employ, or do I sit
too much idle while some persons who labour to support me
have too great a share of it ? If in any of these things
I am deficient, to be incited to consider it is a favour to
me. Employment is necessary in social life, and this
infection, which often proves mortal, incites me to think
whether these social acts of mine are real duties. If I
go on a visit to the widows and fatherless, do I go purely
on a principle of charity, free from any selfish views ?
If I go to a rehgious meeting it puts me on thinking whether
I go in sincerity and in a clear sense of duty, or whether it
is not partly in conformity to custom, or partly from a
sensible dehght which my animal spirits feel in the company
of other people, and whether to support my reputation as a
religious man has no share in it.

Do afiairs relating to civil society call me near this
infection ? If I go, it is at the hazard of my health and
life, and it becomes me to think seriously whether love to
truth and righteousness is the motive of my attending ;
whether the manner of proceeding is altogether equitable,
or whether ought of narrowness, party interest, respect
to outward dignities, names or distinctions among men,
do not stain the beauty of those assembhes, and render
it doubtful ; in point of duty, whether a disciple of Christ
ought to attend as a member united to the body or not.
Whenever there are blemishes which for a series of time
remain such, that which is a means of stirring us up to
look attentively on these blemishes, and to labour according
to our capacities, to have health and soundness restored
to our country, we may justly account a kindness from
our gracious Father, who appointed that means.

The care of a wise and good man for his only son is
inferior to the regard of the great Parent of the universe
for his creatures. He hath the command of all the powers

TURMOIL 153

and operations in nature, and " dotli not afflict willingly
nor grieve the cHldren of men." Chastisement is intended
for instruction, and instruction being received by a gentle
chastisement, greater calamities are prevented. By an
earthquake hundreds of houses are sometimes shaken
down in a few minutes, multitudes of people perish suddenly,
and many more, being crushed and bruised in the ruins of
the buildings, pine away and die in great misery.

By the breaking in of enraged, merciless armies, flourish-
ing countries have been laid waste, great numbers of people
have perished in a short time, and many more have been
pressed with poverty and grief. By the pestilence people
have died so fast in a city, that, through fear, grief and
confusion, those in health have found great difficulty in
burying the dead, even without coffins. By famine, great
numbers of people in some places have been brought to
the utmost distress, and have pined away for want of the
necessaries of life. Thus, when the kind invitations and
gentle chastisements of a gracious God have not been
attended to, his sore judgments have at times been poured
out upon people.

While some rules approved in civil society and con-
formable to human pohcy, so-called, are distinguishable
from the purity of truth and righteousness — while many
professing the truth are dechning from that ardent love
and heavenly mindedness which was amongst the primitive
followers of Jesus Christ, it is time for us to attend dihgently
to the intent of every chastisement, and to consider the
most deep and inward design of them.

The Most High doth not often speak with an outward
voice to our outward ears, but if we humbly meditate on
His perfections, consider that He is perfect wisdom and
goodness, and that to afflict his creatures to no purpose
would be utterly averse from his nature, we shall hear and
understand his language both in his gentle and more heavy

164 JOHN WOOLMAN chap. ti

chastisements, and shall take heed that we do not, in the
wisdom of this world, endeavour to escape his hand by
means too powerful for us.

Had He endowed men with understanding to prevent
this disease (the small-pox) by means which had never
proved hurtful nor mortal, such a discovery might be
considered as the period of chastisement by this distemper,
where that knowledge extended. But as Ufe and health
are his gifts, and are not to be disposed of in our own wills,
to take upon us by inoculation when in health a disorder
of which some die, requires great clearness of knowledge
that it is our duty to do so.

CHAPTER XII

TRAVELLING

In April 1760, Woolman again went out travelling,
and it will be helpful to our understanding of
his doings and of the difficulties which he over-
came, if we take a brief review of what, at its
best, travelHng meant in those days in the American
settlements, remembering always that Woolman
journeyed in humble manner, often on foot. Here
are extracts from two records. Joseph Wing, in
his Journal, tells us :

Sometimes travelled from 12 to 17 miles between houses,
and had the advantage of a footpath with marked trees to
Gide ns. Sometimes got but two meals a Day and them
were Corse tu ; There were Walks not very pleasant to the
Natural part, but so it is, and it is Not best that we should
have smooth things all the time : we had once to lay in
the bottom of a Small bote and covered us with our Sales,
once laid on the beach by the side of a Fier and had our
Saddle bags to lay our heads on and our Great Coats and
Misketers to cover us, and once Expected to have laid in
the woods without the advantage of Fier or victuals and
had Come to a Conclusion in what manner it should take

155

156 JOHN WOOLMAN

place, but jest before Dayligbt left us we saw a lite wbicli
proved to be a hous to our great joy and Satisfaction —
So the Great Master is pleased at times to try us with the
Site of Danger and then from time to time doth preserve
us from it : in this Dessolate Wilderness there was many
kinds of Wild Varmants which had been known to pray
upon people.

More closely applicable in date and detail this
quite graphic description of a mid - eighteenth
century Quaker on his travels :

During his preaching expedition, he went out mounted
on a pacing horse, a pair of leather saddle-bags, containing
his wardrobe, being behind the saddle, a silk oil-cloth
cover for his hat, and an oil-cloth cape over the shoulders,
which came down nearly to the saddle, as a protection
from storms. Stout corduroy overalls, with rows of
buttons down the outside to close them on, protected the
breeches and stockings. A hght walking-stick did double
duty, as a cane when on foot, and a riding whip when
mounted. . . .

He wore a black beaver hat, with a broad brim turned
up at the sides so as to form a point in front and rolled up
behind ; a drab coat, with broad skirts reaching to the
knee, with a low standing collar ; a collarless waistcoat,
bound at the neck, reaching below the hips, with broad
pockets, and pocket flaps over them ; a white cravat served
for a collar ; breeches with an opening a few inches wide
above and below the knee, closed with a row of buttons
and a silver buckle at the bottom ; ample silver buckles
to fasten the shoes with ; fine yarn stockings. ... In
winter, shoes gave place to high boots, reaching to the knee
in front, and cut lower behind to accommodate the limb.^

^ Mahlon S. Kirkbride, Domestic Portraiture of the Ancestors
Kirkbride, 1650-1824.

TKAVELLING 157

Of the roads, if such they can be called, there
are many painful accounts. In The Story of an
Old Farm, we read :

The road . . . was but little more than a broad path
cut through the woods ; the trees pressed close on either
side of the ruts and wheel tracks, often the bark of the flank-
ing oaks and hickories showing the marks made by the hubs
of passing vehicles. It must have been pleasant riding
along for miles under the arching branches, the air sur-
charged with the balsam of the aromatic breath of thousands
of acres of giant trees : monarchs of the forest that for
centuries had towered over the hills and dales, enriching
the ground with their yearly falhng leaves, tiU the soil,
rank with vitahty, only needed the warm sun and man's
commands, to blossom into fields of abundance. Occasion-
ally, on the roads emerging from its long green arcade, our
traveller came upon isolated dwellings, seated amid httle
clearings, from which, in many instances, the stumps had
not yet disappeared.

This was written of a more northern district,
but is equally true of that with which we are
concerned.

We must not be led astray, however, into
permitting distance of time to lend an unreal
enchantment to our view ; the ^' going " was by
no means pleasant ; a track not at all easy, ragged
with tree-stumps and punctured with holes ; rivers
and brooks to be crossed as best might be ; mud
and bogs. Franklin, speaking in 1768, said of the
roadways, '^ Even those which lie between the

158 JOHN WOOLMAN

two principal trading cities in North America are
seldom passable without danger or difficulty."
We may note that there were not any milestones
on the Philadelphia-Boston road until this practical
Benjamin Franklin set them there.
Kalm tells us :

The roads are good or bad according to the difference
of the ground, in a sandy soil the roads are dry and good ;
but in a clayey one they are bad. The people here are
likewise very careless in mending them. If a rivulet be
not very great, they do not make a bridge over it ; and
travellers may do as well as they can to get over : there-
fore many people are in danger of being drowned in such
places, where the water is risen by a heavy rain. When a
tree falls across the road, it is seldom cut off, to keep the
road clear, but the people go round it. . . . Hence the
roads here have so many bendings.

The journey between Philadelphia and New
York was made, at a dreadfully slow pace, by
coach, or on horseback, and partly by water.
An outline of such a three days' trip is given in an
advertisement in the Weekly Mercury, March 8,
1759, which runs as follows :

Philadelphia Stage AVaggon and New York Stage Boat
perform their stages twice a week. John Butler with his
waggon sets out on Monday from his house at the sign of the
" Death of the Fox " in Strawberry Alley, and drives the
same day to Trenton Ferry, where Francis Holman meets
him, and the passengers and goods being shifted into the
waggon of Isaac Fitzrandolph, he takes them to the New

TRAVELLING 159

Blazing Star to Jacob FitzrandolpL's the same day, where
Rubin Fitzrandolph, with a boat well suited, will receive
them and take them to New York that night : John Butler
returning to Philadelphia on Tuesday with the passengers
and goods dehvered to him by Francis Holman, will set out
again for Trenton Ferry on Thursday, and Francis Holman,
&c., will carry his passengers and goods with the same
expediation as above to New York.

In another advertisement of a " line " estab-
lished in 1751, we are notified of the starting of a
sloop from the Crooked Billet Wharf in Philadelphia,
weekly, for Burlington, '' from where at the
sign of the Blue Anchor, a stage waggon with a
good awning will run to the house of Obediah
Ayres at Perth Amboy, where good entertainment
is to be had for man and beast."

This stage would be a New Jersey waggon,
springless, with a hooped canvas shelter ; a bump-
ing, creaking, comfortless concern. The whole
journey might occupy some six days !

" Imagine," we read in the Farm, " for a moment the
discomforts and actual pains of such a journey during the
winter months. Huddled on a crowded sloop ^ for from
twelve to forty-eight hours, fighting icy head-tides, beating
against winds, chill, drear and contrary, eating cold snacks
supplied by yourself — even ' a fine cabin fitted up with
a tea-table ' ^ could hardly have palhated the miseries of
such a voyage. In October 1723 Benjamin Franklin, when

^ That is, starting from New York.
2 As advertised.

160 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

making his first visit to Philadelphia, was thirty hours
on his passage from New York to Amboy. His sloop was
nearly lost in a squall, and one of the passengers falHng over-
board narrowly escaped being drowned. . . . On reaching
Amboy passengers were lodged in uncomfortable taverns ;
they slept on straw-filled ticks, usually with two or three
bed-fellows, and with but Httle choice as to company."

Of the prices charged at these inns we find at
the Quarter Sessions in October 1748 the justices
at Amboy fixed the following rates : " Hot meal
of meat, etc., lOd. ; cold meat do., 7d. ; lodging
per night, 4d. ; rum by the quartern, 4d. ; brandy
do., 6d. ; wine by the quartern, 2s. 8d. ; strong
beer do., 5d. ; cyder do., 4d. ; metheghn^ do..
Is. 6d. ; lunch. Is. 2d."

Of a journey to Philadelphia in the Revolution
days the Marquis de Chastellux gives an interesting
account :

I took the road to Bristol, crossing the river three miles
below Trenton. Six miles from thence you pass a wood :
and then approach the Delaware, which you do not quit
till you arrive at Bristol. It was night when I got to this
town. The inn I alighted at is kept by a Mr. Benezet, of
French extraction, and of a very respectable Quaker
family ; but he is a deserter from their communion. . . .
His inn is handsome, the windows look upon the Delaware,

^ An English sixteenth-century writer gives this recipe : " Methe-
gl3ni is made of honny and water, and herbes boyled and soden
together ; yf it be fyned and stale, it is better in the regyment of
helth than meade," — which was also a honey-made Hquor, but
" not good for them the whiche have the colycke."

TEAVELLING 161

and the view from them is superb ; for this river is nearly
a mile broad, and flows through a very delightful country.
I left Bristol between nine and ten in the morning, and
arrived at Philadelphia at two. The road leading to this
city is very wide and handsome ; one passes through several
small towns or villages, nor can one go five hundred paces
without seeing beautiful country houses. As you advance
you find a richer and better cultivated country, with a
great number of orchards and pastures ; everything, in
short, answers the neighbourhood of a large town, and
this road is not unlike those round London. Four miles
from Bristol you pass the creek of Neshaminy over a ferry.
. . . The town of Frankfort, which is about fifteen miles
from Bristol, and five from Philadelphia, is pretty con-
siderable.

And a poet sings :

Long ago, at the end of the route.
The stage pulled up, and the folks stepped out.
They have all passed under the tavern door —
The youth and his bride and the gray three-score.
Their eyes were weary with dust and gleam,
The day had gone like an empty dream.
Soft may they slumber, and trouble no more
For their eager journey, its jolt and roar.
In the old coach over the mountain.

Of journeying by such roads and by such means,
of sojourning at such inns, of his adventures by
the way, Woolman tells very little. Here is how
he sums up his lengthy journey in April 1760 :

We had meetings at Woodbridge, Rahway, and Plain-
field, and were at their Monthly Meeting of ministers and
elders in Rahway. We laboured under some discourage-
ment, but through the invisible power of truth our visit

M

162 JOHN WOOLMAN

was made reviving to the lowly-minded, with, whom I felt
a near unity of spirit, being much reduced in my mind.
We passed on and visited most of the meetings on Long
Island.

On the 24th of the same month he writes from
Jericho, on Long Island :

24th of the fourth month, 1760.

Dearly beloved Wife, — We are favoured with health ;
have been at sundry meetings in East Jersey and on this
island. My mind hath been much in an inward watchful
frame since I left thee, greatly desiring that our proceedings
may be singly in the will of our Heavenly Father.

As the present appearance of things is not joyous, I
have been much shut up from outward cheerfulness, re-
membering that promise, " Then shalt thou dehght thyself
in the Lord " ; as this from day to day has been revived
in my memory, I have considered that his internal presence
in our minds is a delight of all others the most pure, and
that the honest hearted not only dehght in this, but in
the effect of it upon them. He regards the helpless and
distressed, and reveals his love to his children under
affiction, who delight in beholding his benevolence, and
in feeling Divine charity moving in them. Of this I may
speak a little, for though since I left you I have often an
engaging love and afiection towards thee and my daughter
and friends about home, and going out at this time when
sickness is so great amongst you, is a trial upon me ; yet
I often remember there are many widows and fatherless,
many who have poor tutors, many who have evil examples
before them, and many whose minds are in captivity ; for
whose sake my heart is at times moved with compassion,
so that I feel my mind resigned to leave you for a season,
to exercise that gift which the Lord hath bestowed upon

xn TRAVELLING 163

me, which, though small compared with some, yet in this
I rejoice, that I feel love unfeigned towards my fellow
creatures. I recommend you to the Almighty, who I trust,
cares for you, and under a sense of his heavenly love
remain — Thy loving husband, J. W.

Of the crossing from Long Island to New
London, a passage of some thirty miles made in
an open boat, we are allowed a slight glimpse :

While we were out, the wind rising high, the waves
several times beat over us, so that to me it appeared
dangerous, but my mind was at that time turned to Him
who made and governs the deep, and my hfe was resigned
to Him ; as He was mercifully pleased to preserve us I had
fresh occasion to consider every day as a day lent to me,
and felt a renewed engagement to devote my time, and all
I had, to Him who gave it.

From Newport, Rhode Island, he writes to his
brother Abner on June 17 :

Dear Brother, — I have remembered (since I left home)
thee and thy family very often with much nearness of love.

We are at Newport, and expect to go to Nantucket soon,
if way open. ... I am pinched for time, but wanted to
let thee know I often thought of you.

He was distressed to note the large number of
slaves in those parts and the continuance of their
importation from Guinea.

On a return visit to Newport for the Yearly
Meeting, he found that a great number of negroes
had been landed, and were on sale by a member of
the Society. He writes :

164 JOHN WOOLMAN

Understanding that a large number of slaves liad been
imported from Africa into that town, and were then on sale
by a member of our Society, my appetite failed, and I grew
outwardly weak, and had a feehng of the condition of
Habakkuk, as thus expressed, " When I heard, my belly
trembled, my lips quivered, I trembled in myself, that I
might rest in the day of trouble." I had many cogitations,
and was sorely distressed. I was desirous that Friends
might petition the Legislature to use their endeavours to
discourage the future importation of slaves, for I saw that
this trade was a great evil, and tended to multiply troubles,
and to bring distresses on the people for whose welfare
my heart was deeply concerned.

It was but to be expected that he would be
faced by difficulties in the way of such a plan of
procedure, and he was tempted to speak of the
matter before the House of Assembly, which was
then sitting. In the event he prepared a draft
of a Petition, and put his case to the Meeting for
Business, speaking thus :

I have been under a concern for some time on account of
the great number of slaves which are imported into this
colony. I am aware that it is a tender point to speak to,
but apprehend I am not clear in the sight of Heaven with-
out doing so. I have prepared an essay of a petition to
be presented to the Legislature, if way open ; and what I
have to propose to this meeting is that some Friends may
be named to withdraw and look over it, and report whether
they believe it suitable to be read in the meeting. If they
should think well of reading it, it will remain for the meeting
to consider whether to take any further notice of it, as a
meeting, or not.

TKAVELLINa 165

The draft was held over for consideration.
In a Minute adopted by the Meeting we find
this :

We fervently warn all in profession with us, that they be
careful to avoid being in any way concerned in reaping
the unrighteous profits of that iniquitous practice in dealing
in negroes. We can do no less than, with the greatest
earnestness, impress it upon Friends everywhere, that they
endeavour to keep their hands clear of this unrighteous gain
of oppression.

Later in the Meeting Woolman drew attention
to the matter of the lotteries, which were frequently
opened.

I had mentioned the subject in a former sitting of this
meeting, when arguments were used in favour of Friends
being held excused who were only concerned in such
lotteries as were agreeable to law. And now, on moving it
again, it was opposed as before ; but the hearts of some
solid Friends appeared to be united to discourage the
practice among their members, and the matter was zealously
handled by some on both sides. In this debate it appeared
very clear to me that the spirit of lotteries was a spirit of
selfishness, which tended to confuse and darken the under-
standing, and that pleading for it in our meetings, which
were set apart for the Lord's work, was not right. In
the heat of zeal I made reply to what an ancient Friend
said, and when I sat down I saw that my words were not
enough seasoned with charity. After this I spoke no more
on the subject. At length a minute was made, a copy of
which was to be sent to their several Quarterly Meetings,
inciting Friends to labour to discourage the practice amongst
all professing with us.

166 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Some time after this minute was made I remained uneasy
witb. the manner of my speaking to the ancient Friend, and
conld not see my way clear to conceal my uneasiness,
though I was concerned that I might say nothing to weaken
the cause in which I had laboured. After some close
exercise and hearty repentance for not having attended
closely to the safe guide, I stood up, and, reciting the
passage, acquainted Friends that though I durst not go
from what I had said as to the matter, yet I was uneasy
with the manner of my speaking, believing milder language
would have been better. As this was uttered in some
degree of creaturely abasement after a warm debate, it
appeared to have a good savour amongst us.

Of another visit to Nantucket he writes :

... I observed many shoals in their bay, which make
saihng more dangerous, especially in stormy nights ; also
that a great shoal, which encloses their harbour, prevents
the entrance of sloops, except when the tide is up. Waiting
without for the rising of the tide is sometimes hazardous
in storms, and by waiting within they sometimes miss a
fair wind. I took notice that there was on that small
island a great number of inhabitants, and the soil not very
fertile, the timber being so gone that for vessels, fences
and firewood, they depend chiefly on buying from the Main,
for the cost whereof, with most of their other expenses,
they depend principally upon the whale fishery. I con-
sidered that as towns grew larger, and lands near navigable
waters were more cleared, it would require more labour
to get timber and wood. I understood that the whales,
being much hunted and sometimes wounded and not
killed, grow more shy and difficult to come at. I con-
sidered that the formation of the earth, the seas, the
islands, bays and rivers, the motions of the winds, and
great waters, which cause bars and shoals in particular

xn TKAVELLING 167

places, were all tlie works of Him who is perfect wisdom
and goodness ; and as people attend to his heavenly
instruction, and put their trust in Him, He provides for
them in all parts where He gives them a being ; and as in
this visit to these people I felt a strong desire for their
firm establishment on the sure foundation, besides what
was said more pubhcly, I was concerned to speak to the
women Friends in their Monthly meeting of business,
many being present, and in the fresh springs of pure love
to open before them the advantage, both inwardly and out-
wardly, of attending singly to the pure guidance of the
Holy Spirit, and therein to educate their children in true
humihty and the disuse of all superfluities. I reminded
them of the difficulties their husbands and sons were
frequently exposed to at sea, and that the more plain
and simple their way of hving was the less need there
would be of running great hazards to support them. I also
encouraged the young women to continue their neat, decent
way of attending themselves on the afiairs of the house ;
showing, as the way opened, that where people were truly
humble, used themselves to business, and were content with
a plain way of hfe, they had ever had more true peace and
calmness of mind than they who, aspiring to greatness
and outward show, have grasped hard for an income to
support themselves therein. And as I observed they had
few or no slaves, I had to encourage them to be content
without them, making mention of the numerous troubles
and vexations which frequently attended the minds of
people who depend on slaves to do their labour.

On the return journey he visited New York,
then a town of spacious streets, many of them
lined with trees, which afiorded welcome shade ;
with houses mostly of brick, with shingle roofs.

168 JOHN WOOLMAN

There was then there an influential number of
members of the Society. Without doubt this
visit of Woolman's aided greatly the movement
against slavery in New York.

He reached home on August 10, and found his
family well.

This chapter will fitly conclude with an extract
from a Minute made by the Yearly Meeting at
Philadelphia :

As the growing concern which hath appeared amongst
ns for some years past to dis-courage the practice of making
slaves of our fellow creatures hath been visibly blessed
with success, we earnestly exhort that Friends do not
abate their diligence in this weighty matter. . . .

for the which blessing John Woolman was in no
small degree accountable.

CHAPTER XIII

CHAKACTERISTICS

During 1761 Woolman continued his travelling
and teaching on behalf of the slaves, and wrote
the second part of Considerations on the keeping
of Negroes, which was issued in the following year
at Philadelphia.

Of his attitude toward other worldly matters
we gain some knowledge from the following entry
in his Journal :

In my youth I was used to hard labour, and though I was
middling healthy, yet my nature was not fitted to endure so
much as many others. Being often weary, I was prepared
to sympathise with those whose circumstances in life, as
free men, required constant labour to answer the demands
of their creditors, as well as with others under oppression.
In the uneasiness of body which I have many times felt
by too much labour, not as a forced but a voluntary oppres-
sion, I have often been excited to think on the original
cause of that oppression which is imposed on many in the
world. The latter part of the time wherein I laboured
on our plantation, my heart, through the fresh visitations
of heavenly love, being often tender, and my leisure time

169

170 JOHN WOOLMAN

being frequently spent in reading the life and doctrines
of our blessed Kedeemer, the account of the sufferings of
martyrs, and the history of the first rise of our Society,
a behef was gradually settled in my mind, that if such as
had great estates generally lived in that humility and
plainness which belong to a Christian life, and laid much
easier rents and interests on their lands and moneys, and
thus led the way to a right use of things, so great a number
of people might be employed in things useful, that labour
both for men and other creatures would need to be no more
than an agreeable employ, and divers branches of business,
which serve chiefly to please the natural inchnations of
our minds, and which at present seem necessary to circulate
that wealth which some gather, might, in this way of pure
wisdom, be discontinued. As I have thus considered
these things, a query at times hath arisen : Do I, in all
my proceedings, keep to that use of things which is agree-
able to universal righteousness ? And then there hath
some degree of sadness at times come over me, because I
accustomed myself to some things which have occasioned
more labour than I beheve Divine wisdom intended for us.

From my early acquaintance with truth I have often
felt an inward distress, occasioned by the striving of a spirit
in me against the operation of the heavenly principle ;
and in this state I have been affected with a sense of my
own wretchedness, and in a mourning condition have felt
earnest longings for that Divine help which brings the soul
into true hberty. Sometimes on retiring into private
places the spirit of supphcation hath been given me, and
under a heavenly covering I have asked my gracious Father
to give me a heart in all things resigned to the direction
of his wisdom ; in uttering language hke this, the thought
of my wearing hats and garments dyed with a dye hurtful
to them, has made lasting impression on me.

In visiting people of note in the Society who had slaves.

xm CHAEACTERISTICS 171

and labouring with them in brotherly love on that account,
I have seen, and the sight has affected me, that a conformity
to some customs distinguishable from pure wisdom has
entangled many, and the desire of gain to support these
customs has greatly opposed the work of truth. Some-
times when the prospect of the work before me has been
such that in bowedness of spirit I have been drawn into
retired places, and have besought the Lord with tears that
He would take me wholly under His direction, and show me
the way in which I ought to walk, it hath revived with
strength of conviction that if I would be his faithful servant
I must in all things attend to his wisdom, and be teachable,
and so cease from all customs contrary thereto, however
used among rehgious people.

As He is the perfection of power, of wisdom and of
goodness, so I believe He hath provided that so much labour
shall be necessary for men's support in this world as would,
being rightly divided, be a suitable employment of their
time ; and that we cannot go into superfluities, or grasp
after wealth in a way contrary to his wisdom, without
having connection with some degree of oppression, and with
that spirit which leads to self-exultation and strife, and
which frequently brings calamities on countries by parties
contending about their claims.

In May and June he suffered from a severe
attack of fever, and for a week was in deep distress.
Then he tells us :

One day there was a cry raised in me that I might under-
stand the cause of my affliction, and improve under it, and
my conformity to some customs which I believed were not
right was brought to my remembrance. In the continuance
of this exercise I felt all the powers in me yield themselves
up into the hands of Him who gave me being, and was made

172 JOHN WOOLMAN

thankful tliat he had taken hold of me by his chastisements.
Feeling the necessity of further purifying, there was now
no desire in me for health until the design of my correction
was answered. Thus I lay in abasement and brokenness of
spirit, and as I felt a sinking down into a calm resignation,
so I felt, as in an instant, an inward healing in my nature,
and from that time forward I grew better.

One of these matters of conformity with hurtful
customs was the wearing of dyed clothes, and
though his mind was determined to alter his habit
in this regard, he felt himself at liberty to wear
those which he had already by him, continuing
to do so for some nine months. He procured a
hat of the natural colour of the fur, but was uneasy
in the wearing of it, fearing to present an appear-
ance of singularity. In a much later entry, made
when he was in England, he writes :

Having of late often travelled in wet weather through
narrow streets in towns and villages, where dirtiness under
foot and the scent arising from that filth which more or
less infects the air of all thickly settled towns were dis-
agreeable ; and, being but weakly, I have felt distress both
in body and mind with that which is impure. In these
journeys I have been where much cloth hath been dyed,
and have at sundry times walked over ground where much
of their dye-stufis has drained away. This hath produced
a longing in my mind that people might come into clean-
ness of spirit, cleanness of person, and cleanness about their
houses and garments.

Some of the great carry delicacy to a great height them-
selves, and yet real cleanliness is not generally promoted.

CHARACTERISTICS 173

Dyes being invented partly to please the eye and partly to
hide dirt, I have felt in this weak state, when travelling
in dirtiness, and afiected with unwholesome scents, a
strong desire that the nature of dyeing cloth to hide dirt
may be more fully considered.

Washing our garments to keep them sweet is cleanly,
but it is opposite to real cleanliness to hide dirt in them.
Through giving way to hiding dirt in our garments a spirit
which would conceal that which is disagreeable is
strengthened. Real cleanliness becometh a holy people ;
but hiding that which is not clean by colouring our garments
seems contrary to the sweetness of sincerity. Through
some sorts of dyes cloth is rendered less useful. And if
the value of dye-stuffs, and expense of dyeing, and the
damage done to cloth, were all added together, and that
cost applied to keeping all sweet and clean, how much more
would real cleanliness prevail.

And it was written of him :

He was desirous to have his own, and the Minds of others,
redeemed from the Pleasures and immoderate Profits of this
World, and to fix them on those Joys which fade not away ;
his principal Care being after a Life of Purity, endeavour-
ing to avoid not only the grosser Pollutions, but those also
which appearing in a more refined Dress, are not sufi&ciently
guarded against by some well-disposed People. In the
latter part of his Life he was remarkable for the Plainness
and Simplicity of his Dress, and as much as possible avoided
the Use of Plate, costly Furniture, and feasting ; thereby
endeavouring to become an Example of Temperance and
Self-denial, which he believed himself called unto, and
was favoured with Peace therein, although it carried the
Appearance of great Austerity in the View of some.

It may seem strange that a Quaker should fear

174 JOHN WOOLMAN

to be singular in his mode of attire, but it must
be recalled that the Quaker costume was not
'^ pecuhar " in the early years of the Society.
Penn summed up the Quaker view when he said,
'' Excess in Apparel is another costly Folly. The
very Trimming of the vain World would cloath
all the naked one." In its inception the Quaker
garb was a protest against prodigality in adornment,
and was httle more than a removal of, or rather
abstinence from, fashionable ornaments, the
abandonment of rich and costly materials, and so
forth. Their dress was a translation of the Court
costume into terms of simplicity and seemhness.
Fox but followed the example set by the Puritans
in condemning foppery and frippery. Their hats
were broad-brimmed because in those days all
folk wore broad-brimmed hats ; so far they were
in the fashion ; but feathers and lace they held in
distaste.

Brissot de Warville describes for us the Quaker
costume in America :

A round hat, generally white ; cloth coat ; cotton or
woollen stockings ; no powder on their hair, which is cut
short and hangs round. They commonly carry in their
pocket a httle comb in a case ; and on entering a house,
if the hair is disordered, they comb it without ceremony
before the first mirror that they meet.

And :

CHAKACTEEISTICS 175

The matrons wear the gravest colours, Httle black
bonnets and the hair simply turned back. The young
women curl their hair with great care and anxiety ; which
costs them as much time as the most exquisite toilette.
They wear httle hats covered with silk or sattin . . . (they)
are remarkable for their choice of the finest linens, mushns,
and silks. Elegant fans play between their fingers.

But this sad degeneracy was in the year 1788.
Yet as early as 1726 the Yearly Meeting at
Burlington drew attention to the love of dress
which was proving a stumbling-block in the way
of the Friends, and a message was sent out to their
fellow- women Friends, in which we read of that

immodest fashion of hooped petticoats or the imitation
either by something put into their petticoats to make them
set full, or any other imitation whatever, which we take
to be but a branch springing from the same corrupt root
of pride. And also that none of our ffriends accustom
themselves to wear the gowns with superfluous folds behind,
but plain and decent, nor go without aprons, nor to wear
superfluous gathers or plaits in their caps or pinners, nor
to wear their heads drest high behind ; neither to cut or
lay their hair on their foreheads or temples. . . . And
also that no firiends use that irreverent practice of taking
snuff or handing a snufi-box one to the other in meeting,

and so forth.

Still earlier there came a cry from Maryland :

It Lies very Waityly uppon us to Desir all friends
Profesing truth to be very CarefuU to keep out of all
Imytations of Fashghons which the world Kuns into : Butt
to keep to Plainness of Speach and Plainness in Dress in

176 JOHN WOOLMAN

our Selves, and our Children ; Labouring in our Selves and
with them to be clothed with ye meek spirit of Jesus as
such as are waiting for his coming.

In this matter of dress, as also in the use of
'' thee " and '^ thou " and in other minor " testi-
monies," the Quaker faith crystallised into meaning-
less peculiarities ; possibly their attitude of mind
also to a certain extent crystallised, and eventually
they came to mistake the habit for the body, and
the body for the soul. They tried to build a wall
between themselves and the world, instead of
setting up a ladder to heaven. From much, if
not all, of this formalism Woolman escaped ; his
religion was from within, and even if he had never
been taught the doctrines and the customs of
Quakerism he would have spoken and acted as he
did and have been what he was.

Of another pecuUarity of his we may here
make mention, quoting from the Friends' Review}

He was particularly guarded in his expressions, being
careful that his assertions should be strictly and literally
true ; and he appears to have inculcated a similar care in
others, in a gentle and yet impressive manner. It is re-
ported that being once employed, with the aid of an assistant,
in clearing an orchard of caterpillars that had formed webs
on the branches, and having gone, as he supposed, over
the orchard, he expressed his belief that they were done ;
but his companion perceiving that there was one left with

1 Vol. V. p. 485 (1852).

xm CHAEACTEKISTICS 177

a considerable collection on, mentioned tlie circumstance,
with tlie declaration, that it was as full as it could hold.
John Woolman going to the tree remarked, there was room
for a number more on it.

Two young men wishing to try whether he could not be
drawn to utter, by mistake, an expression not hterally
true, are said to have gone to his house, the first taking
a seat in his parlour, and the other coming a little after-
wards to his door. Upon the latter knocking at the door,
John Woolman went to receive him, and as soon as he
left the room where they were sitting, the young man went
out in another way. The one at the door then enquired for
his companion, expecting of course to be answered, " He
is in my parlor." But John was not so easily caught.
BQs answer was simple and literally true : "I left him in
my parlor."

His conduct was probably as guarded as his language.
Abel Thomas, a religious young man, residing for a while
in his family, was frequently reminded of his faults, until
he began to think himself rather closely scrutinized, and
concluded to reciprocate his kindness by pointing out some
of his faults ; but they must first be found, and to find
them was no easy task. After watching him for months,
he was unable to fix upon anything bearing the appearance
of a fault, except one trivial circumstance. He had passed
a man in the street without reciprocating a friendly recogni-
tion. But when told of it, his mind appeared to have been
otherwise occupied, for the man was not observed.

In the year 1762, as above mentioned, was
published the second part of Considerations on
the Keeping of Negroes, for the printing of which
the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting offered to provide
the funds, so that the work might be given away,

N

178 JOHN WOOLMAN

but Woolman preferred to undertake the issue at
his own expense. His principal reason for this
decision was that the fund — or '' stock " — ^from
which the money was to come, was subscribed by
the members in general, many of whom kept slaves
and some of whom did not exhibit any desire to
cease doing so.

" But," as Woolman puts it, " as they who make a
purchase generally buy that which they have a mind for,
I beheved it best to sell them, expecting by that means
they would more generally be read with attention. . . .
Many were taken off in our parts ; some I sent to Virginia,
some to New York, some to my acquaintance at Newport,
and some I kept, intending to give part of them away,
when there appeared a prospect of service."

On other subjects of importance Woolman
set his thoughts and opinions into print. A full
understanding of him can only be attained by
attentive study of these works, which often amplify
portions of the Journal.

CHAPTEE XIV

WEITINGS

Of Woolman's religious views we need to learn

little more than is set forth in the Journal, but of

his appHcation of these views to mundane matters

we gain much valuable information from his

other writings. The whole teaching of his hfe,

and he is one of those few teachers whose practice

is as helpful and as stimulating as their preaching,

is summed up in a paragraph in the Introduction

to Considerations on Pure Wisdom and Human

Policy. It runs thus :

It is with Keverence that I acknowledge the Mercies of
our Heavenly Father, who, in Infinite Love, did visit me
in my Youth, and wrought a Behef in me, that through
true Obedience a State of inward Purity may be known
in this Life, in which we may love Mankind in the same
Love with which our Redeemer loveth us, and therein
learn Resignation to endure Hardships, for the real Good
of others.

From the same, also, we quote this touch of
pure Christianity :

179

180 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Wtere violent Measures are pursued in opposing In-
justice^ the Passions, and Resentments, of the Injured,
frequently operate in the Prosecution of their Designs ;
and after Conflicts productive of very great Calamities,
the Minds of contending Parties often remain as httle
acquainted with the pure Principle of Divine Love, as they
were before, but where People walk in that pure Light in
which all their " Works are wrought in God," John iii. 21,
and under Oppression persevere in the meek Spirit, and
abide firm in the Cause of Truth, without actively comply-
ing with oppressive Demands, through those the Lord hath
often manifested his Power, in opening the Understandings
of others, to the promoting Righteousness in the Earth.

Eighteousness, the Kingdom of God upon
earth, that was the key-note of John Woolman's
teaching and practice.

It is always extremely difficult to convey the
message of a work unread by the reader to whom
one is appealing by any other method than that
of copious quotation, especially so in the case of
a writer who was, hke Woolman, so much out of
touch with average humans, and whose sayings
sound to us of to-day like whispers from another
and a better world. We expect to be forgiven,
therefore, for quoting rather than criticising.

In these Considerations, Woolman writes :

His People, who feel the Power of his Cross, to crucify
all that is selfish in them, who are engaged in outward
Concerns, from a Convincement that it is their Duty, and
resign themselves and their Treasures, to him ; these feel

WEITINGS 181

that it is dangerous to give way to that in us, which, craves
Riches and Greatness in this World.

Then a little later he speaks of those who

. . . have an Eye toward the Power of Men, and the
outward Advantage of Wealth, these are often attentive
to those Employments which appear profitable, even
though the Gains arise from such Trade and Business which
proceeds from the Workings of that Spirit, which is
estranged from the self-denying Life of an humble contrite
Christian.

He is not one of those who tell their fellows
only what they should not do, warning them
against the way which they should not pursue ;
he is also helpful with practical advice as to what
should be done. As, for example, this :

As wasting outward Substance, to gratify vain Desires,
on one hand ; so Slothfulness and Neglect, on the other,
do often involve Men and their Families in Trouble, and
reduce them to Want and Distress ; to shun both these
opposite Vices, is good in itself, and hath a Resemblance
of Wisdom ; but while People thus provident, have it
principally in View to get Riches, and Power, and the
Friendship of this World, and do not humbly wait for
the Spirit of Truth to lead them into Purity ; these,
through an anxious Care to obtain the End desired, reach
forth for Gain in worldly Wisdom, and, in regard to their
inward State, fall into divers Temptations and Snares.
And though such may think of applying Wealth to good
Purposes, and to use their Power to prevent Oppression,
yet Wealth and Power is often apphed otherwise ; nor
can we depart from the Leadings of our Holy Shepherd,
without going into Confusion.

182 JOHN WOOLMAN

Great Wealth, is frequently attended with. Power, which
nothing but Divine Love can qualify the Mind to use
rightly ; and as to the Humility, and Uprightness of our
Children after us, how great is the Uncertainty ! If, in
acquiring Wealth, we take hold on the Wisdom which
is from beneath, and depart from the Leadings of Truth,
and Example our Children herein, we have great Cause
to apprehend, that Wealth may be a Snare to them ;
and prove an Injury to others, over whom their Wealth
may give them Power.

There is much shrewd matter in the section
" On Labour," which may be quoted without
comment. This :

Having from my Childhood been used to bodily Labour
for a Living, I may express my Experience therein.

Right Exercise affords an innocent Pleasure in the Time
of it, and prepares us to enjoy the Sweetness of Rest ;
but from the Extremes each Way arise Inconveniences.

Moderate Exercise opens the Pores, gives the Blood a
hvely Circulation, and the better enables us to judge
rightly respecting that Portion of Labour which is the
true Medium.

And this :

Idle Men are often a Burden to themselves, neglect the
Duty they owe to their Famihes, and become burdensome
to others also.

And this :

I have observed that too much Labour not only makes
the Understanding dull, but so intrudes upon the Harmony
of the Body, that after ceasing from our Toil, we have

XIV WKITINGS 183

another to pass through, before we can be so composed
as to enjoy the Sweetness of Rest.

And this :

I have found that too much Labour in the Summer
heats the Blood, that taking strong Drink to support the
Body under such Labour increaseth that Heat, and though
a Person may be so far temperate as not to manifest the
least Disorder, yet the Mind, in such a Circumstance, doth
not retain that Calmness and Serenity which we should
endeavour to live in.

Simple, commonplace, but true and oft for-
gotten.

The paper " On Schools " contains little that
is germane to our present purpose.

" On the Eight Use of the Lord's Outward
Gifts " is brimful of applied Christianity.

This :

Hence such Buildings, Furniture, Food and Raiment,
as best answer our Necessities and are the least hkely to
feed that selfish Spirit which is our Enemy, are the most
acceptable to us.

Then this :

In beholding the customary Departure from the true
Medium of Labour, and that unnecessary Toil which many
go through, in supporting outward Greatness, and procuring
Delicacies.

In beholding how the true Calmness of Life is changed
into Hurry, and that many, by eagerly pursuing outward
Treasure, are in great Danger of withering as to the inward
State of the Mind.

184 JOHN WOOLMAN

In meditating on the Works of this Spirit, and on the
Desolations it makes amongst the Professors of Chris-
tianity, I may thankfully acknowledge, that I often feel
pure Love beget Longings in my Heart, for the Exalta-
tion of the peaceable Kingdom of Christ, and an Engage-
ment to labour according to the Gift bestowed on me,
for the promoting an humble, plain, temperate Way of
Hving. A Life where no unnecessary Care, nor Expences,
may incumber our Minds, nor lessen our Abihty to do
Good ; where no Desires after Riches, or Greatness, may
lead into hard Deahng ; where no Connections with
worldly-minded Men, may abate our Love to God, nor
weaken a true Zeal for Righteousness. A Life wherein
we may diligently labour for Resignedness to do, and
suffer, whatever our Heavenly Father may allot for us,
in reconcihng the World to himself.

A difficult doctrine ; the curious thing is that
John Woolman followed it faithfully.

A longer treatise was Considerations on the True
Harmony of Mankind and How It Is to Be Main-
tained, with an Introduction which must be unwise,
so contrary is it to modern practice. It reads thus :

As Mankind from one Parent are divided into many
Famihes, and as Trading to Sea is greatly increased within
a few Ages past ; amidst this extended Commerce how
necessary is it that the professed Followers of Christ keep
sacred His Holy Name, and be employed about Trade and
Traffic no farther than Justice and Equity evidently
accompanies ? That we may give no just Cause of Ofience
to any, however distant, or unable to plead their own
Cause ; and may continually keep in View the Spreading of
the true and saving Knowledge of God, and his Son Jesus

WKITINGS 185

Christ, amongst our fellow Creatures, which through his
infinite Love some feel to be more precious than any other
Treasure.

The gist of the matter is set out in the following
passages :

Walking is a Phrase frequently used in Scripture, to
represent our Journey thro' Life, and appears to com-
prehend the various Afiairs and Transactions properly
relating to our being in this World.

Christ being the Light, dwells always in the Light ;
and if our walking be thus, and in every Affair and Concern
we faithfully follow this Divine Leader, he preserves
from giving just Cause for any to quarrel with us : And
where this Foundation is laid, and mutually kept to, by
Famihes conversant with each other, the Way is open for
these Comforts in Society, which our Heavenly Father
intends as a Part of our Happiness in this World ; and
then we may experience the Goodness, and Pleasantness
of dwelling together in Unity ; but where Ways of Living
take place, which tend to Oppression, and in the Pursuit
of Wealth, People do that to others which they know
would not be acceptable to themselves, either in exercising
an absolute Power over them, or otherwise laying on them
unequitable Burdens ; here a Fear lest that Measure
should be meted to them, which they have measured to
others, incites a Care to support that by Craft and cunning
Devices which stands not on the firm Foundation of
Righteousness : Thus the Harmony of Society is broken,
and from hence Commotions and Wars do frequently arise
in the World.

This too is apt :

Though the Change from Night to Day, is by a Motion
so gradual as scarcely to be perceived, yet when Night

186 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

is come we behold it very difierent from the Day ; and
thus as People become wise in their own Eyes, and prudent
in their own Sight, Customs rise up from the Spirit of this
World, and spread by httle, and httle, till a Departure
from the Simphcity that there is in Christ becomes as
distinguishable as Light from Darkness, to such who are
crucified to the World.

And this :

I have here beheld how the Desire to provide Wealth,
and to uphold a dehcate Life, hath grievously entangled
many, and been like Snares to their Offspring ; and tho'
some have been affected with a Sense of their Difficulties
and appeared desirous, at Times, to be helped out of
them ; yet for want of abiding under the humbhng Power
of Truth, they have continued in these Entanglements ; for
in remaining comformable to this World, and giving
Way to a dehcate Life, this expensive Way of Living,
in Parents, and in Children, hath called for a large
Supply, and in answering this Call the Faces of the
Poor have been ground away, and made thin through
hard Deahng.

There is the chapter " On Merchandizing,"
which is almost bitter in its unconscious condemna-
tion of much that is accounted harmless. This,
for example :

Where Morality is kept to and supported by the In-
habitants of a Country, there is a certain Reproach attends
those Individuals amongst them, who manifestly deviate
therefrom. But where Iniquity is committed openly, and
the Authors of it are not brought to Justice, nor put to
shame, their Hands grow strong.

Quickly followed by :

WETTINGS 187

Now the faithful Friends of Christ, who hunger and
thirst after Righteousness, and inwardly breathe that his
Kingdom may come on Earth as it is in Heaven, he teacheth
them to be quick of Understanding in his Fear, and to be
very attentive to the Means he may appoint for promoting
pure Righteousness in the Earth ; and as Shame is due to
those whose Works manifestly operate against the gracious
Design of his Sufierings for us, a Care hves on their Minds
that no wrong Customs, however supported, may bias
their Judgments, but that they may humbly abide under the
Cross, and be preserved in a Conduct which may not con-
tribute to strengthen the Hands of the Wicked in their
Wickedness, or to remove Shame from those to whom it is
justly due.

From the chapter " On Divine Admonition "
this passage, written with a simple fervour which
touches eloquence, and burns with fire :

Such are the Perfections of our Heavenly Father, that
in all the Dispensations of his Providence, it is our Duty,
in every Thing, to give Thanks. Though from the first
Settlement of this Part of America, he hath not extended
his Judgments to the Degree of Famine, yet Worms at
Times have come forth beyond numbering, and laid waste
Fields of Grain and Grass, where they have appeared ;
another Kind, in great Multitudes, working out of Sight,
in Grass Ground, have so eat the Roots, that the Surface,
being loosened from the Soil beneath, might be taken off
in great Sheets.

These Eand of devouring Creatures appearing seldom,
and coming in such Multitudes, their Generation appears
different from most other Reptiles, and by the Prophet
were call'd God's Army sent amongst the People, Joel ii. 25.

There have been Tempests of Hail, which have very

188 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

mucli destroyed tlie Grain where they extended. Through
long Drought in Summer, Grain in some Places hath been
less than half the usual Quantity ; ^ and in the Continuance
thereof, I have beheld with Attention, from Week to
Week, how Dryness from the Top of the Earth, hath
extended deeper and deeper, while the Corn and Plants
have languished ; and with Reverence my Mind hath been
turned towards him, who being perfect in Goodness, in
Wisdom and Power, doeth all Things right. And after
long Drought, when the Sky hath grown dark with a
Collection of Matter, and Clouds hke Lakes of Water
hung over our Heads, from whence the thirsty Land hath
been soaked ; I have at Times, with Awfulness, beheld
the vehement Operation of Lightning, made sometimes
to accompany these Blessings, as a Messenger from him
who created all Things, to remind us of our Duty in a right
Use of those Benefits, and give striking Admonitions, that
we do not misapply those Gifts, in which an Almighty
Power is exerted, in bestowing them upon us.

In '' Remarks on Sundry Subjects " Woolman
deals, among other matters, with the very practical
one of " Loving Our Neighbours as Ourselves,"
which to him appears to be a command which
should be obeyed in letter and in spirit. He says :

If a Man successful in Business expends Part of his
Income in Things of no real Use, while the Poor employed
by him pass through great Difficulties in getting the
Necessaries of Life, this requires his serious Attention.

If several principal Men in Business unite in setting
the Wages of those who work for Hire, and therein have
Regard to a Profit to themselves answerable to unnecessary

^ When Crops fail, I often feel a tender Care that the Case of
poor Tenants may be mercifully considered {Woolman' s note).

XIV WRITINGS 189

Expence in their Families, while the Wages of the other
on a moderate Industry will not afiord a comfortable
Living for their Famihes, and a proper Education for their
Children, this is hke laying a Temptation in the Way of
some to strive for a Place higher than they are in, when
they have not Stock sufficient for it.

Now I feel a Concern in the Spring of pure Love, that
all who have Plenty of outward Substance, may Example
others in the right Use of Things ; may carefully look
into the Condition of poor People, and beware of exacting
on them with Regard to their Wages.

While hired Labourers, by moderate Industry, through
the Divine Blessing, may live comfortably, raise up Families,
and give them suitable Education, it appears reasonable
for them to be content with their Wages.

For which we must pardon this simple man ;
political economy had not been invented in his
day to supersede the teaching of the Son of the
carpenter of Nazareth. Had it been, he could
not have written thus :

When our Will is subject to the Will of God, and in
relation to the Things of this World, we have nothing
in View, but a comfortable Living equally with the rest
of our Fellow Creatures, then outward Treasures are no
farther desirable than as we feel a Gift in our Minds equal
to the Trust, and Strength to act as dutiful Children in
his Service, who hath formed all Mankind, and appointed
a Subsistence for us in this World.

A Desire for Treasures on any other Motive, appears to
be against that Command of our blessed Saviour, Lay not
up for yourselves Treasures here on Earth, Mat. vi. 19.

He forbids not laying up in the Summer against the
Wants of Winter ; nor doth he teach us to be slothful

190 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

in that which properly relates to our being in this World ;
but in this Prohibition he puts in yourselves, Lay not up
for yourselves Treasures here on Earth.

And certainly not this :

Now to act with Integrity, according to that Strength
of Mind and Body with which our Creator hath endowed each
of us, appears necessary for all, and he who thus stands
in the lowest Station, appears to be entitled to as com-
fortable and convenient a Living, as he whose Gifts of
Mind are greater, and whose Cares are more extensive.

Or this :

Riches in the Hands of Individuals in Society is attended
with some degree of Power ; and so far as Power is put
forth separate from pure Love, so far the Government
of the Prince of Peace is interrupted ; and as we know
not that our Children after us will dwell in that State
in which Power is rightly applied, to lay up Riches
for them appears to be against the Nature of His Govern-
ment.

Or this :

When Wages in a fruitful Land bear so small a Proportion
to the Necessaries of Life, that poor honest people who
have Families cannot by a moderate Industry attain to a
comfortable Living, and give their Children sufficient
Learning, but must either labour to a Degree of Oppression,
or else omit that which appears to be a Duty.

While this is the Case with the Poor, there is an Inclina-
tion in the Minds of most People to prepare at least so
much Treasure for their Children, that they with Care
and moderate Industry may live free from these Hardships
which the Poor pass through.

WKITINGS 191

There is an unwonted touch of stricture in the
following, but there is heart at the back of it :

Under all this Misery, had we none to plead our Cause,
nor any Hope of Belief from Man, how would our Cries
ascend to the God of the Spirits of all Flesh, who judgeth
the World in Righteousness, and in his own Time is a
Refuge for the Oppressed 1

If they who thus afflicted us, continued to lay Claim
to Religion, and were assisted in their Business by others,
esteemed pious People, who through a Friendship with
them strengthened their Hands in Tyranny.

In such a State, when we were Hunger-bitten, and could
not have sufficient Nourishment but saw them in fulness
pleasing their Taste with Things fetched from far :

When we were wearied with Labour, denied the Liberty
to rest, and saw them spending their Time at Ease : When
Garments answerable to our Necessities were denied us,
while we saw them cloathed in that which was costly and
delicate :

Under such Affliction, how would these painful Feehngs
rise up as Witnesses against their pretended Devotion !
And if the Name of their Religion was mention'd in our
Hearing, how would it sound in our Ears like a Word
which signified Self-exaltation, and Hardness of Heart !

When a Trade is carried on, productive of much Misery,
and they who suffer by it are some Thousands Miles off,
the Danger is the greater, of not laying their Sufferings
to Heart.

In procuring Slaves on the Coast of Africa, many
Children are stolen privately ; Wars also are encouraged
amongst the Negroes, but all is at a great Distance.

Many Groans arise from dying Men, which we hear not.

Many Cries are uttered by Widows and Fatherless
Children, which reach not our Ears.

192 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Many Cheeks are wet with Tears, and Faces sad with
unutterable Grief, which we see not.

Cruel Tyranny is encouraged. The Hands of Robbers
are strengthened, and Thousands reduced to the most
abject Slavery, who never injured us.

Were we for the Term of one Year only to be an Eye-
witness to what passeth in getting these Slaves :

Was the Blood which is there shed to be sprinkled on
our Garments :

Were the poor Captives bound with Thongs, heavy
laden with Elephants Teeth, to pass before our Eyes on
their Way to the Sea :

Were their bitter Lamentations Day after Day to ring
in our Ears, and their mournful Cries in the Night to hinder
us from Sleeping :

Were we to hear the Sound of the Tumult when the
Slaves on board the Ships attempt to kill the English,
and behold the Issue of those bloody Conflicts :

What pious Man could be a Witness to these Things,
and see a Trade carried on in this Manner, without being
deeply affected with Sorrow ?

And here a touch of insight :

Friends in early Time refused, on a religious Principle,
to make or trade in Superfluities, of which we have many
large Testimonies on Record, but for want of Faithfulness
some gave way, even some whose Examples were of Note
in Society, and from thence others took more Liberty :
Members of our Society worked in Superfluities, and
bought and sold them, and thus Dimness of Sight came
over many. At length. Friends got into the Use of some
Superfluities in Dress, and in the Furniture of their Houses,
and this hath spread from less to more, till Superfluity
of some Kind is common amongst us.

In this declining State many look at the Example one

WRITINGS 193

of another, and too much neglect the pure Feeling of
Truth. Of late Years a deep Exercise hath attended
my Mind, that Friends may dig deep, may carefully cast
forth the loose Matter, and get down to the Rock, the
sure Foundation, and there hearken to that Divine Voice
which gives a clear and certain Sound.

The most interesting and perhaps the most
important of the pubKshed writings of John
Woolman is A Word of Remembrance and Caution
to the Rich, printed at Dublin in 1793. At first
reading it strikes one as extraordinarily modern,
but a second thought shows that it only seems
new because it states views so old that they
appear novel to us ; views as old as Christianity
itself, for they are no more than the teaching of
Jesus Christ ; precepts which John Woolman
put into practice whenever opportunity afforded.
He did not take the standpoint that it was for hini"]
to select which commands of his Master were
possible of obedience nowadays ; it was his
creed that what was commanded by Christ must
by all true Christians be carried out, or at any
rate attempted, in spite of all difficulties and in
face of every opposition.

In this matter of riches he spoke very fearlessly
and acted without hesitation or regret.

It would scarcely be profitable to set forth his
argument at length, and the purport of this Word

o

194 JOHN WOOLMAN

of Remembrance can best be conveyed by plenteous
quotations. He sets out thus :

Wealth desired for its own sake obstructs the increase
of virtue, and large possessions in the hands of selfish men
have a bad tendency, for by their means too small a number
of people are employed in useful things, and some of them
are necessitated to labour too hard, while others would
want business to earn their bread, were not employments
invented which, having no real usefulness, serve only to
please the vain mind.

Kents on lands are often so high that persons of but
small substance are straitened in taking farms, and while
tenants are healthy and prosperous in business, they often
find occasion to labour harder than was intended by our
gracious Creator. Oxen and horses are often seen at work
when, through heat and too much labour, their eyes and
the motions of their bodies manifest that they are oppressed.
Their loads in wagons are frequently so heavy that when
weary with hauling them far, their drivers find occasion
in going up hills, or through mire, to get them forward
by whipping. Many poor people are so thronged in their
business that it is difficult for them to provide shelter for
their cattle against the storms. These things are common
when in health, but through sickness and inabihty to
labour, through loss of cattle, and miscarriage in business,
many are so straitened that much of their increase goes
to pay rent, and they have not wherewith to buy what they
require.

Hence, one poor woman, in providing for her family
and attending the sick, does as much business as would
for the time be suitable employment for two or three ;
and honest persons are often straitened to give their
children suitable learning. The money which the wealthy
receive from the poor, who do more than a proper share

XIV WKITINGS 195

of business in raising it, is frequently paid to other poor
people for doing business which is foreign to the true use
of things.

Here are some pregnant words :

Goodness remains to be goodness, and the direction of
pure Wisdom is obHgatory on all reasonable Creatures.

And :

Were all superfluities and the desire of outward great-
ness laid aside, and the right use of things universally
attended to, such a number of people might be employed
in things useful as that moderate labour with the blessing
of Heaven would answer all good purposes, and a sufficient
number would have time to attend to the proper affairs
of civil society.

Further on he writes :

Our blessed Redeemer, in directing us how to conduct
ourselves one towards another, appeals to our own feelings :
" Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them." Now, when some who have never
experienced hard labour themselves hve in fulness on the
labour of others, there is often a danger of their not having
a right feehng of the labourers' condition and of being
thereby disquahfied to judge candidly in their case, not
knowing what they themselves would desire, were they
to labour hard from one year to another to raise the neces-
saries of hfe, and pay high rent besides. It is good for
those who hve in fulness to cultivate tenderness of heart
and to improve every opportunity of being acquainted
with the hardships and fatigues of those who labour for
their hving ; and thus to think seriously with themselves.
Am I influenced by true charity in fixing all my demands 1

196 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

Have I no desire to support myself in expensive customs,
because my acquaintances live in such customs ?

And :

Many at this day who know not the heart of a stranger
indulge themselves in ways of hfe which occasion more
labour than Infinite Goodness intends for man, and yet
compassionate the distresses of such as come directly under
their observation ; were these to change circumstances
awhile with their labourers, were they to pass regularly
through the means of knowing the heart of a stranger and
come to a feehng knowledge of the straits and hardships
which many poor innocent people pass through in obscure
hfe ; were these who now fare sumptuously every day to
act the other part of the scene until seven times had passed
over them and return again to their former states, I beheve
many of them would embrace a less expensive hfe, and
would hghten the heavy burdens of some who now labour
out of their sight, and who pass through straits with which
they are but httle acquainted. To see their fellow-creatures
under difficulties to which they are in no degree accessory
tends to awaken tenderness in the minds of all reasonable
people, but if we consider the condition of those who are
depressed in answering our demands, who labour for us
out of our sight while we pass our time in fulness, and
consider also that much less than we demand would supply
us with things really useful, what heart will not relent,
or what reasonable man can refrain from mitigating that
grief of which he himself is the cause, when he may do so
without inconvenience ? :

Then :

If more men were usefully employed, and fewer ate
bread as a reward for doing that which is not useful.

WRITINGS 197

food and raiment would on a reasonable estimate be
more in proportion than they are at present ; for
if ;four men working eight hours per day can do a
portion of labour in a certain number of days, then
five men equally capable may do the same business in
the same time by working only six hours and twenty-
four minutes per day.

Which, of course, like the Sermon on the Mount,
is not practical politics.
Then:

If we consider the havoc that is made in this age, and
how numbers of people are hurried on, striving to collect
treasure to please that mind which wanders from perfect ^
resignedness and in that wisdom which is foolishness with
God ; are perverting the true use of things, labouring as in
the fire, contending with one another even unto blood,
and exerting their power to support ways of hving foreign
to the hfe of one wholly crucified to the world ; if we con-
sider what great numbers of people are employed in pre-
paring implements of war, and the labour and toil of armies
set apart for protecting their respective territories from
invasion, and the extensive miseries which attend their
engagements ; while they who till the land and are employed
in other useful things in supporting not only themselves
but those employed in mihtary affairs, and all those who
own the soil, have great hardships to encounter through
too much labour ; while others, in several kingdoms, are
busied in fetching men to help to labour from distant
parts of the world, to spend the remainder of their fives
in the uncomfortable condition of slaves, and that seK
is the bottom of these proceedings ; — amidst all this
confusion and these scenes of sorrow and distress, can
we remember that we are the disciples of the Prince

198 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.xiv

of Peace, and the example of humility and plainness
which He set for us, without feehng an earnest desire
to be disentangled from everything connected with
selfish customs in food, in raiment, in houses, and in all
things else ?

CHAPTER XV

INTO THE WILDEENESS

With all sorts and conditions of men Woolman
was in sympathy, and it is not unexpected, there-
fore, to find that his mind was turned toward the
Indians, " the natives of this land who dwell far
back in the wilderness, whose ancestors were
formerly the owners and possessors of the land
where we dwell."

At Philadelphia, in August 1761, he had met
with some Indians who lived on a branch of the
Susquehanna, at a place called Wahaloosing,
some two hundred miles distant. He felt drawn
to visit them, and mentions that he spoke of the
matter to his wife only.

Of this Indian town Anthony Benezet, writing
from Philadelphia in 1763, says : " There are about
one hundred and fifty Indians at a place called
Wyaloosing, situate upon the north branch of
Susquehanna, about seventy miles above Wyoming.
These Indians are an industrious, rehgiously

199

200 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

minded people. The name of their chief is Papun-
obal ; they absolutely refused to join the other
Indians in the last war, though threatened with
death on that account."

In 1762 Woolman laid his project before the
Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, and later before
the General Spring Meeting. Then in the early
part of the next year he met with an Indian, who,
it was thought, might serve him as guide, and
agreed to join with him on his return journey,
meeting at Richland in Bucks County in June.
It was not an easy task that he was undertaking,
but one of rare danger.

As usual, it is best to allow him to tell us the
story in his own sincere words :

After I had given up to go, the thoughts of the journey
were often attended with unusual sadness ; at which times
my heart was frequently turned to the Lord with inward
breathings for his heavenly support, that I might not fail
to follow Him wheresoever He might lead me. Being at
our youth's meeting at Chesterfield, about a week before
the time I expected to set of!, I was there led to speak on
that prayer of our Redeemer to the Father : "I pray not
that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldst keep them from the evil." And in attending
to the pure openings of truth, I had to mention what He
elsewhere said to His Father : "I know that thou hearest
me at all times " ; so, as some of his followers kept their
places, and as his prayer was granted, it followed necessarily
that they were kept from evil ; and as some of those met
with great hardships and afflictions in this world, and

INTO THE WILDEKNESS 201

at last suffered death by cruel men, so it appears that
whatsoever befalls men while they hve in pure obedience
to God certainly works for their good, and may not be
considered an evil as it relates to them. As I spake on
this subject my heart was much tendered, and great
awfulness came over me. On the first day of the week,
being at our own afternoon meeting, and my heart being
enlarged in love, I was led to speak on the care and pro-
tection of the Lord over His people, and to make mention
of that passage where a band of Syrians, who were
endeavouring to take captive the prophet, were dis-
appointed ; and how the Psalmist said : " The angel of
the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him."
Thus, in true love and tenderness, I parted from Friends,
expecting the next morning to proceed on my journey.
Being weary, I went early to bed. After I had been asleep
a short time I was awoke by a man calhng at my door, and
inviting me to meet some Friends at a pubhc-house in our
town, who came from Philadelphia so late that Friends
were generally gone to bed. These Friends informed me
that an express had arrived the last morning from Pitts-
burg, and brought news that the Indians had taken a fort
from the Enghsh westward, and slain and scalped some
English people near the said Pittsburg, and in divers places.
Some elderly Friends in Philadelphia, knowing the time of
my intending to set off, had conferred together, and thought
good to inform me of these things before I left home, that
I might consider them and proceed as I beheved best.
Going to bed again, I told not my wife till morning. My
heart was turned to the Lord for his heavenly instruction ;
and it was an humbling time to me. When I told my dear
wife, she appeared to be deeply concerned about it ; but
in a few hours' time my mind became settled in a belief that
it was my duty to proceed on my journey, and she bore it
with a good degree of resignation. In this conflict of

202 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

spirit there were great searchings of heart and strong cries
to the Lord, that no motion might in the least degree be
attended to but that of the pure spirit of truth.

He took leave of his family and friends, and
went to the Monthly Meeting at Burlington ;
then, escorted by Israel and John Pemberton,
crossed the river and journeyed to Richland.
Here he was joined by Benjamin Parvin, who
purposed being his companion. But Woolman
was troubled upon his account ; the perils that
for himself he did not shirk he did fear for his
friend ; in the event Parvin prevailed.

For once Woolman narrates his doings with
some fulness of detail :

... So we went on, accompanied by our friends John
Pemberton and William Lightfoot of Pikeland. We lodged
at Bethlehem, and there parting with John, WilHam and we
went forward on the 9th of the sixth month, and got lodging
on the floor of a house, about five miles from Fort Allen.
Here we parted with William, and at this place we met
with an Indian trader lately come from Wyoming. In
conversation with him, I perceived that many white people
often sell rum to the Indians, which I beheve is a great
evil. In the first place, they are thereby deprived of
the use of reason, and their spirits being violently agitated,
quarrels often arise which end in mischief, and the bitter-
ness and resentment occasioned hereby are frequently
of long continuance. Again, their skins and furs, gotten
through much fatigue and hard travels in hunting, with
which they intended to buy clothing, they often sell at a
low rate for more rum, when they become intoxicated ; and

INTO THE WILDEENESS 203

afterwards, when they suffer for want of the necessaries
of life, are angry with those who for the sake of gain, took
advantage of their weakness. Their chiefs have often
complained of this in their treaties with the Enghsh.
Where cunning people pass counterfeits and impose on
others that which is good for nothing, it is considered as
wickedness ; but for the sake of gain to sell that which
we know does people harm, and which often works their
ruin, manifests a hardened and corrupt heart, and is an
evil which demands the care of all true lovers of virtue
to suppress. While my mind this evening was thus em-
ployed, I also remembered that the people on the frontiers,
among whom this evil is too common, are often poor ; and
that they venture to the outside of a colony in order to hve
more independently of the wealthy, who often set high
rents on their land. I was renewedly confirmed in a behef,
that if all our inhabitants hved according to sound wisdom,
labouring to promote universal love and righteousness,
and ceased from every inordinate desire after wealth, and
from all customs which are tinctured with luxury, the way
would be easy for our inhabitants, though they might be
much more numerous than at present, to live comfortably
on honest employments, without the temptation they are
so often under of being drawn into schemes to make settle-
ments on lands which have not been purchased of the
Indians, or of applying to that wicked practice of selling
rum to them.

Eobert Proud tells us of the Indians :

As to their persons, they are generally more upright
and straight, in their Hmbs, than Europeans are ; their
bodies strong, but more adapted to endure hardships than
to sustain labour ; they are very rarely crooked or de-
formed. Their features are regular ; their countenances
fierce, in common rather resembling Jews than Christians ;

204 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

the colour of their skin, a tawny, reddish-brown, or copper
colour ; they all have long, straight black hair on their
heads, which they grease, and make it shine, with bears'
fat, especially the women, who tie it behind in a large knot,
and sometimes in a bag. They are hardy, lean, and squaHd,
and the whole manner of their Hves uniform. They some-
times paint, or streak, their faces with black, when in
mourning ; but with red when their affairs go well.

We now return to Woolman's narrative :

Tenth of sixth month. — ^We set out early this morning
and crossed the western branch of Delaware, called the
Great Lehie, near Fort Allen. The water being high, we
went over in a canoe.^ Here we met an Indian, had some
friendly conversation with him, and gave him some biscuit ;
and he, having killed a deer, gave some of it to the Indians
with us. After travelHng some miles, we met several
Indian men and women with a cow and horses, and some
household goods, who were lately come from their dwelHng
at Wyoming, and were going to settle at another place.
We made them some small presents, and, as some of them

^ Longfellow sings of the canoe :

.... the forest's life was in it,
All its mystery and magic.
All the hghtness of the birch-tree,
AU the toughness of the cedar.
All the larch's supple sinews,
And it floated on the river
Like a yellow leaf in autumn.

An eighteenth-century traveller, Mrs. Knights, a Boston school-
mistress, writes : " The Cannoo was very small and shallow, which
greatly terrify' d me and caused me to be very circumspect, sitting
with my hands fast on each side, my eyes steady, not daring so
much as to lodge my tongue a hair's breadth more on one side of
my mouth than tother, nor so much as think on Lott's wife, for a
very thought would have oversett our wherry."

XV INTO THE WILDEKNESS 205

understood English, I told them my motive for coming
into their country, with which they appeared satisfied.
One of our guides talking awhile with an ancient woman
concerning us, the poor old woman came to my companion
and me and took her leave of us with an appearance of
sincere affection. We pitched our tent near the banks of
the same river, having laboured hard in crossing some of
those mountains called Blue Eidge. The roughness of the
stones and the cavities between them, with the steepness
of the hills, made it appear dangerous. But we were pre-
served in safety, through the kindness of Him whose works
in these mountainous deserts appeared awful, and towards
whom my heart was turned during this day's travel.

Near our tent, on the sides of large trees peeled for that
purpose, were various representations of men going to
and returning from the wars, and of some being killed in
battle. This was a path heretofore used by warriors,
and as I walked about viewing those Indian histories,
which were painted mostly in red or black, and thinking
on the innumerable afflictions which the proud, fierce
spirit produceth in this world, also on the toils and fatigues
of warriors in travelling over mountains and deserts ; on
their miseries and distresses when far from home and
wounded by their enemies ; of their bruises and great
weariness in chasing one another over the rocks and moun-
tains ; of the restless, unquiet state of mind of those who
live in this spirit, and of the hatred which mutually grows
up in the minds of their children, — the desire to cherish
the spirit of love and peace among these people arose very
fresh in me. This was the first night that we lodged in
the woods, and being wet with travelhng in the rain, as
were also our blankets, the ground, our tent, and the
bushes under which we purposed to lay, all looked dis-
couraging ; but I beheved that it was the Lord who had
thus far brought me forward, and that He would dispose

206 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

of me as He saw good, and so I felt easy. We kindled a
fire, with our tent open to it, then laid some bushes next
the ground, and put our blankets upon them for our bed,
and lying down got some sleep. In the morning, feehng
a Httle unwell, I went into the river ; the water was cold,
but soon after I felt fresh and well. About eight o'clock
we set forward and crossed a high mountain supposed to be
upward of four miles over, the north side being the steepest.
About noon we were overtaken by one of the Moravian
brethren going to Wehaloosing, and an Indian man with
him who could talk Enghsh ; and we being together while
our horses ate grass had some friendly conversation ; but
they travelhng faster than we, soon left us. This Moravian,
I understood, had this spring spent some time at Wehaloos-
ing, and was invited by some of the Indians to come again.

Twelfth of sixth month being the first of the week and
a rainy day, we continued in our tent, and I was led to
think on the nature of the exercise which hath attended
me. Love was the first motion, and thence a concern
arose to spend some time with the Indians, that I might
feel and understand their fife and the spirit they five in,
if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or
they might be in any degree helped forward by my following
the leadings of truth among them ; and as it pleased the
Lord to make way for my going at a time when the troubles
of war were increasing, and when by reason of much wet
weather, travelling was more difficult than usual at that
season, I looked upon it as a more favourable opportunity
to season my mind, and to bring me into a nearer sympathy
with them. As mine eye was to the great Father of Mercies,
humbly desiring to learn His will concerning me, I was made
quiet and content.

Our guide's horse strayed, though hoppled, in the night,
and after searching some time for him his footsteps were
discovered in the path going back, whereupon my kind

INTO THE WILDERNESS 207

companion went back in the rain, and after about seven
hours returned with him. Here we lodged again, tying up
our horses before we went to bed, and loosing them to feed
about break of day.

Thirteenth of sixth month. — The sun appearing, we set
forward, and as I rode over the barren hills my meditations
were on the alterations in the circumstances of the natives
of this land since the coming in of the Enghsh. The lands
near the sea are conveniently situated for fishing ; the
lands near the rivers, where the tides flow, and some above,
are in many places fertile, and not mountainous, while
the changing of the tides makes passing up and down easy
with any kind of traffic. The natives have in some places,
for trifling considerations, sold their inheritance so favour-
ably situated, and in other places have been driven back
by superior force ; their way of clothing themselves is also
altered from what it was, and they being far removed
from us have to pass over mountains, swamps and barren
deserts, so that travelHng is very troublesome in bringing
their skins and furs to trade with us. By extension of
Enghsh settlements, and partly by the increase of Enghsh
hunters, the wild beasts on which the natives chiefly depend
for subsistence are not so plentiful as they were, and people
too often for the sake of gain, induce them to waste their
skins and furs in purchasing a hquor which tends to the
ruin of them and their famihes.

My own will and desires were now very much broken, and
my heart was with much earnestness turned to the Lord, to
whom alone I looked for help in the dangers before me.
I had a prospect of the Enghsh along the coast for upwards
of nine hundred miles, where I travelled, and their favour-
able situation and the difficulties attending the natives
as well as the negroes in many places, were open before
me. A weighty and heavenly care came over my mind
and love filled my heart towards all mankind, in which I

208 JOHN WOOLMAN

felt a strong engagement that we might be obedient to the
Lord while in tender mercy He is yet calhng to us, and
that we might so attend to pure universal righteousness as
to give no just cause of offence to the gentiles, who do
not profess Christianity, whether they be the blacks from
Africa, or the native inhabitants of this continent. Here
I was led into a close and laborious enquiry whether I,
as an individual, kept clear from all things which tended
to stir up or were connected with wars, either in this land
or in Africa ; my heart was deeply concerned that in
future I might in all things keep steadily to the pure truth,
and Hve and walk in the plainness and simpHcity of a
sincere follower of Christ. In this lonely journey I did
greatly bewail the spreading of a wrong spirit, beheving
that the prosperous, convenient situation of the Enghsh
would require a constant attention in us to Divine love
and wisdom in order to their being guided and supported
in a way answerable to the will of that good, gracious and
Almighty Being, who hath an equal regard to all mankind.
And here luxury and covetousness, with the numerous
oppressions and other evils attending them, appeared very
afflicting to me, and I felt in that which is immutable that
the seeds of great calamity and desolation are sown and
growing fast on this continent. Nor have I words sufficient
to set forth the longing I then felt, that we who are placed
along the coast, and have tasted the love and goodness of
God, might arise in the strength thereof, and hke faithful
messengers labour to check the growth of these seeds, that
they may not ripen to the ruin of our posterity.

On reaching the Indian settlement at Wyoming, we
were told that an Indian runner had been at that place a
day or two before us, and brought news of the Indians
having taken an Enghsh fort westward, and destroyed the
people, and that they were endeavouring to take another :
also that another Indian runner came there about the middle

INTO THE WILDEENESS 209

of the previous night from a town about ten miles from
Wehaloosing, and brought the news that some Indian
warriors from distant parts came to that town with two
Enghsh scalps, and told the people that it was war with
the Enghsh.

Our guides took us to the house of a very ancient man.
Soon after we had put our baggage in there came a man from
another Indian house some distance off. Perceiving there
was a man near the door, I went out ; the man had a toma-
hawk wrapped under his match-coat out of sight. As I
approached him he took it in his hand ; I went forward,
and speaking to him in a friendly way, perceived he under-
stood some Enghsh. My companion joining me, we had
some talk with him concerning the nature of our visit in
these parts ; he then went into the house with us, and
talking with our guides, soon appeared friendly, sat down,
and smoked his pipe. Though taking his hatchet in his
hand the instant I drew near to him had a disagTeeable
appearance, I beheve he had no other intent than to be in
readiness in case any violence were oSered to him.

On hearing the news brought by these Indian runners,
and being told by the Indians where we lodged that the
Indians about Wyoming expected in a few days to move to
some larger towns, I thought, to all outward appearance,
it would be dangerous travelling at this time. After a
hard day's journey I was brought into a painful exercise
at night, in which I had to trace back and view the steps
I had taken from my first moving in the visit ; and though
I had to bewail some weakness which at times had attended
me, yet I could not find that I had ever given way to wilful
disobedience. Beheving I had under a sense of duty
come thus far, I was now earnest in spirit, beseeching the
Lord to show me what I ought to do. In this great distress
I grew jealous of myself, lest the desire of reputation as a
man firmly settled to persevere through dangers, or the

210 JOHN WOOLMAN

fear of disgrace from my returning without performing
the visit, might have some place in me. Full of these
thoughts I lay great part of the night, while my beloved
companion slept by me, till the Lord, my gracious Father,
who saw the conflicts of my soul, was pleased to give quiet-
ness. Then I was again strengthened to commit my hfe,
and all things relating thereto, into his heavenly hands,
and got a little sleep towards day.

Fourteenth of sixth month. — We sought out and visited
all the Indians hereabouts that we could meet with, in
number about twenty. They were chiefly in one place,
about a mile from where we lodged. I expressed to them
the care I had on my mind for their good, and told them
that true love had made me willing thus to leave my family
to come and see the Indians and speak with them in their
houses. Some of them appeared kind and friendly. After
taking leave of them, we went up the river Susquehanna
about three miles, to the house of an Indian called Jacob
January. He had killed his hog, and the women were
making store of bread and preparing to move up the river.
Here our pilots had left their canoe when they came down
in the spring, and lying dry it had become leaky. This
detained us some hours, so that we had a good deal of
friendly conversation with the family ; and eating dinner
with them we made them some small presents. Then
putting our baggage into the canoe, some of them pushed
slowly up the stream, and the rest of us rode our horses.
We swam them over a creek called Lahawahamunk, and
pitched our tent above it in the evening. In a sense of
God's goodness in helping me in my distress, sustaining
me under trials, and inchning my heart to trust in Him, I
lay down in a humble, bowed frame of mind, and had a
comfortable night's lodging.

Fifteenth of the sixth month. — We proceeded forward
till the afternoon, when, a storm appearing, we met our

XV INTO THE WILDERNESS 211

canoe at an appointed place and stayed all night, the rain
continuing so heavy that it beat through our tent and
wet both us and our baggage. The next day we found
abundance of trees blown down by the storm yesterday, and
had occasion reverently to consider the kind deahngs of
the Lord, who provided a safe place for us in a valley
while this storm continued. We were much hindered by
the trees which had fallen across our path, and in some
swamps our way was so stopped that we got through with
extreme difficulty. I had this day often to consider my-
self as a sojourner in this world. A belief in the all-
sufficiency of God to support his people in their pilgrimage
felt comfortable to me, and I was industriously employed
to get to a state of perfect resignation.

We seldom saw our canoe but at appointed places, by
reason of the path going off from the river. This after-
noon Job Chilaway, an Indian from Wehaloosing, who
talks good Enghsh and is acquainted with several people
in and about Philadelphia, met our people on the river.
Understanding where we expected to lodge, he pushed back
about six miles and came to us after night ; and in a while
our own canoe arrived, it being hard work pushing up the
stream. Job told us that an Indian came in haste to their
town yesterday and told them that three warriors from a
distance lodged in a town above Wehaloosing a few
nights past, and that these three men were going against
the Enghsh at Juniata. Job was going down the river to
the province store at Shamoldn. Though I was so^far
favoured with health as to continue travelhng, yet, through
the various difficulties in our journey, and the different
way of hving from which I had been used to, I grew sick.
The news of these warriors being on their march so near us,
and not knowing whether we might not fall in with them,
was a fresh trial of my faith; and though by the strength
of Divine love I had several times been enabled to commit

212 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

myself to the Divine disposal, I still found tke want of a
renewal of my strength, that I might be able to persevere
therein ; and my cries for help were put up to the Lord,
who, in great mercy gave me a resigned heart, in which
I found quietness.

Parting from Job Chilaway on the 17th, we went on and
reached Wehaloosing about the middle of the afternoon.
The first Indian that we saw was a woman of a modest
countenance, with a Bible, who spake first to our guide,
and then with a harmonious voice expressed her gladness
at seeing us, having before heard of our coming. By the
direction of our guide we sat down on a log, while he went
to the town to tell the people we were come. My com-
panion and I, sitting thus together in a deep inward still-
ness, the poor woman came and sat near us ; and great
awfulness coming over us, we rejoiced in a sense of God's
love manifested to our poor souls. After a while we heard
a conch shell blow several times, and then came John Curtis
and another Indian man, who kindly invited us into a
house ^ near the town, where we found about sixty people
sitting in silence. After sitting with them a short time, I

^ Proud gives a description of their houses — " or wigwams^ . . .
mostly moveable, and occasionally fixed near springs, or other
waters, for conveniency of hunting, fishing, basket-making, etc.,
built of poles laid on forked sticks fixed in the ground, with bark,
flags, or bushes, on the tops and sides ; having an opening to the
south, and their fire in the middle. In the night they slept on the
ground, with their feet toward the fire. Their cloathing was a
coarse blanket, or skin, thrown over their shoulders, which covered
to the knee, and a piece of the same tied round their legs ; with
part of a deer skin sewed round their feet, for shoes. When a
company travelled together, they generally followed each other, in
a row singly, and in silence ; scarcely ever two being seen abreast,
or by the side of each other : the man went before with his bow and
arrow ; the woman followed after, not uncommonly with a child
on her back, and other burdens besides ; the woman generally
carrying the luggage."

INTO THE WILDERNESS 213

stood up, and in some tenderness of spirit acquainted
them, in a few short sentences with the nature of my visit,
and that a concern for their good had made me wiUing
to come thus far to see them ; which some of them under-
standing interpreted to the others, and there appeared
gladness among them. I then showed them my certificate,
which was explained to them ; and the Moravian who over-
took us on the way, being now here, bade me welcome.
But the Indians knowing that this Moravian and I were
of different rehgious societies, and as some of their people
had encouraged him to come and stay awhile with them,
they were, I beheve, concerned that there might be no
jarring or discord in their meetings ; and having, I suppose,
conferred together, they acquainted me that the people,
at my request, would at any time come together and hold
meetings. They also told me that they expected the
Moravian would speak in their settled meetings, which are
commonly held in the morning and near evening. So
finding hberty in my heart to speak to the Moravian, I
told him of the care I felt on my mind for the good of these
people, and my behef that no ill effects would follow if I
sometimes spake in their meetings when love engaged me
thereto, without calhng them together at times when they
did not meet of course. He expressed his good- will towards
my speaking at any time all that I found in my heart to say.
On the evening of the eighteenth I was at their meeting
where pure gospel love was felt, to the tendering of some
of our hearts. The interpreters endeavoured to acquaint
the people of what I said, in short sentences, but found
some diflB-Culty, as none of them were quite perfect in
the Enghsh and Delaware tongues, so they helped one
another, and we laboured along, Divine love attending.
Afterwards, feehng my mind covered with the spirit of
prayer, I told the interpreters that I found it in my heart
to pray to God, and beheved, if I prayed aright. He would

214 JOHN WOOLMAN

hear me ; and I expressed my willingness for them to
omit interpreting ; so our meeting ended with a degree
of Divine love. Before the people went out, I observed
Papunehang (the man who had been zealous in labouring
for a reformation in that town, being then very tender)
speaking to one of the interpreters, and I was afterwards
told that he said in substance as follows : "I love to feel
where words come from."

Nineteenth of sixth month and first of the week. — This
morning the Indian who came from the Moravian, being
also a member of that society, prayed in the meeting, and
then the Moravian spake a short time to the people. In
the afternoon, my heart being filled with a heavenly care
for their good, I spake to them awhile by interpreters ;
but none of them being perfect in the work, and I feehng
the current of love run strong, told the interpreters that
I beheved some of the people would understand me, and
so I proceeded without them ; and I believe the Holy
Ghost wrought on some hearts to edification where all the
words were not understood. I looked upon it as a time of
Divine favour, and my heart was tendered and truly thank-
ful before the Lord. After I sat down, one of the inter-
preters seemed spirited to give the Indians the substance
of what I said.

Before our first meeting this morning I was led to
meditate on the manifold diflS.culties of these Indians who,
by the permission of the Six Nations, dwell in these parts.
A near sympathy with them was raised in me, and my
heart being enlarged in the love of Christ, I thought that
the affectionate care of a good man for his only brother
in affliction does not exceed what I then felt for that people.
I came to this place through much trouble ; and though
through the mercies of God I beheved that if I died in the
journey it would be well with me, yet the thoughts of
falhng into the hands of Indian warriors were, in times of

INTO THE WILDERNESS 215

weakness, afflicting to me ; and being of a tender con-
stitution of body, the thoughts of captivity among them
were also grievous ; supposing that as they were strong
and hardy they might demand service of me beyond what
I could well bear.

But the Lord alone was my keeper, and I beheved that
if I went into captivity it would be for some good end.
Thus from time to time my mind was centred in resigna-
tion, in which I always found quietness. And this day,
though I had the same dangerous wilderness between me
and home, I was inwardly joyful that the Lord had
strengthened me to come on this visit, and had manifested
a fatherly care over me in my poor lowly condition, when,
in my own eyes, I appeared inferior to many among the
Indians.

When the last-mentioned meeting was ended, it being
night, Papunehang went to bed ; and hearing him speak
with an harmonious voice, I suppose for a minute or two,
I asked the interpreter, who told me that he was expressing
his thankfulness to God for the favours he had received that
day, and prayed that He would continue to favour him with
the same, which he had experienced in that meeting.
Though Papunehang had before agreed to receive the
Moravian and join with them, he still appeared kind and
loving to us.

I was at two meetings on the 20th, and silent in them.
The following morning in meeting my heart was enlarged
in pure love among them, and in short plain sentences I
expressed several things that rested upon me, which one of
the interpreters gave the people pretty readily. The
meeting ended in supphcation, and I had cause humbly to
acknowledge the loving-kindness of the Lord towards us ;
and then I believed that a door remained open for the
faithful disciples of Jesus Christ to labour among these
people. And now, feeling my mind at liberty to return,

216 JOHN WOOLMAN

I took my leave of them in general at the conclusion of
what I said in meeting, and we then prepared to go home-
ward. But some of their most active men told us that
when we were ready to move the people would choose to
come and shake hands with us. Those who usually came
to meeting did so ; and from a secret draught in my mind
I went among some who did not usually go to meeting, and
took my leave of them also. The Moravian and his Indian
interpreter appeared respectful to us at parting. This
town, Wehaloosing, stands on the bank of the Susquehanna,
and consists, I believe, of about forty houses, mostly com-
pact together, some about thirty feet long and eighteen
wide, — some bigger, some less. They are built mostly
of spht plank, one end being set in the ground, and the other
pinned to a plate on which rafters are laid, and then covered
with bark. I understand a great flood last winter over-
flowed the greater part of the ground where the town
stands, and some were now about moving their houses to
higher ground.

We expected only two Indians to be of our company, but
when we were ready to go we found many of them were
going to Bethlehem with skins and furs, and chose to go
in company with us. So they loaded two canoes in which
they desired us to go, telhng us that the waters were so
raised with the rains that the horses should be taken by
such as were better acquainted with the fording-places.
We, therefore, with several Indians, went in the canoes,
and others went on horses, there being seven besides ours.
We met with the horsemen once on the way by appointment,
and at night we lodged a httle below a branch called
Tankhannah, and some of the young men, going out a little
before dusk with their guns, brought in a deer.

Through diligence we reached Wyoming before night,
the 22nd, and understood that the Indians were mostly
gone from this place. We went up a small creek into the

INTO THE WILDERNESS 217

woods with, our canoes, and pitching our tent, carried out
our baggage, and before dark our horses came to us. Next
morning, the horses being loaded and our baggage prepared,
we set forward, being in all fourteen, and with diligent
travelling were favoured to get near haK-way to Fort
Allen. The land on this road from Wyoming to our
frontier being mostly poor, and good grass being scarce,
the Indians chose a piece of low ground to lodge on, as
the best for grazing. I had sweat much in travelhng,
and, being weary, slept soundly. In the night I perceived
that I had taken cold, of which I was favoured soon to
get better.

Twenty-fourth of sixth month. — This day we passed
Fort Allen and lodged near it in the woods. We forded the
westerly branch of the Delaware three times, which was a
shorter way than going over the top of the Blue Mountains
called the Second Ridge. In the second time of fording
where the river cuts through the mountain, the waters
being rapid and pretty deep, my companion's mare, being
a tall, tractable animal, was sundry times driven back
through the river, being laden with the burdens of some
smaU horses which were thought unable to come through
with their loads. The troubles westward, and the diffi-
culty for Indians to pass through our frontier, was, I appre-
hend, one reason why so many came, expecting that our
being in company would prevent the outside inhabitants
being surprised. We reached Bethlehem on the 25th,
taking care to keep foremost, and to acquaint people on
and near the road who these Indians were. This we found
very needful, for the frontier inhabitants were often alarmed
at the report of the Enghsh being kiUed by Indians west-
ward. Among our company were some whom I did not
remember to have seen at meeting, and some of these at
first were very reserved; but we being several days together,
and behaving in a friendly manner towards them, and

218 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

making them suitable return for the services they did us,
they became more free and sociable.

Twenty -sixth of sixth month. — Having carefully
endeavoured to settle all affairs with the Indians relative
to our journey, we took leave of them, and I thought they
generally parted from us afiectionately. We went forward
to Richland, and had a very comfortable meeting among
our friends, it being the first day of the week. Here I
parted with my kind friend and companion Benjamin
Parvin, and, accompanied by my friend Samuel Foulk,
we rode to John Cadwallader's, from whence I reached
home the next day, and found my family tolerably well.
They and my friends appeared glad to see me return from
a journey which they apprehended would be dangerous ;
but my mind while I was out had been so employed in
striving for perfect resignation, and had so often been
confirmed in a behef, that, whatever the Lord might be
pleased to allot for me, it would work for good, that I was
careful lest I should admit any degree of selfishness in
being glad overmuch, and laboured to improve by those
trials in such a manner as my gracious Father and Protector
designed. Between the Enghsh settlements and Weha-
loosing we had only a narrow path,^ which in many places
is much grown up with bushes, and interrupted by abun-
dance of trees lying across it. These, together with the
mountain swamps and rough stones, make it a difficult
road to travel, and the more so because rattle-snakes
abound here, of which we killed four. People who have
never been in such places have but an imperfect idea of
them ; and I was not only taught patience, but also made
thankful to God, who thus led about and instructed me,
that I might have a quick and hvely f eehng of the afflictions
of my fellow-creatures, whose situation in hfe is difficult.

^ The Indian pathways through the forest were some two or
three feet wide at best.

XV INTO THE WILDEKNESS 219

To comment upon that vivid narrative would
be an impertinence. We will merely quote an
entry from the minutes of the Mount Holly
Meeting :

1st of 8 mo. 1763. Our friend John Woolman being
returned from his visit to some religiously disposed Indians
up Susquehannah, informed the last meeting that he was
treated Idndly, and had satisfaction m his visit.

CHAPTER XVI

1763-1769

In 1763 Mount Holly was visited by an itinerant
conjuror, who set forth an advertisement of his
wonderful performances, wherewith the innocent
country folk were highly entertained. Of the
entertainment, which took place at an inn, a
repetition was announced, and Woolman, going
to the house at night, told the inn-keeper that
he was minded to spend part of the evening
there.

" Then," says he, " sitting down by the door, I spoke
to the people in the fear of the Lord, as they came together,
concerning this show, and laboured to convince them that
their thus assembling to see these sleight-of-hand tricks,
and bestowing their money to support men who, in that
capacity, were of no use to the world, was contrary to the
nature of the Christian religion. One of the company
endeavored to show by arguments the reasonableness of
their proceedings herein ; but after considering some texts
of Scripture and calmly debating the matter he gave up
the point. After spending about an hour among them,
and feehng my mind easy, I departed."

220

CHAP. XVI 1763-1769 221

In September 1764 Woolman attended the
Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia, where was present
also John Smith of Marlborough, an aged minister
of over eighty years of age, whose touching speech
is given in the Journal. Though not an eloquent
speaker, he

stood up in our meeting of ministers and elders, and,
appearing to be under a great exercise of spirit, informed
Friends in substance as follows : " That he had been a
member of our Society upwards of sixty years, and he well
remembered that in those early times. Friends were a plain,
lowly-minded people, and that there was much tenderness
and contrition in their meetings. That, at twenty years
from that time, the Society increasing in wealth and in
some degree conforming to the fashions of the world, true
humihty was less apparent, and their meetings in general
were not so hvely and edifying. That at the end of forty
years many of them were grown very rich, and many of the
Society made a specious appearance in the world ; that
wearing fine costly garments, and using silver and other
watches became customary with them, their sons and their
daughters. These marks of outward wealth and greatness
appeared on some in our meetings of ministers and elders ;
and, as such things became more prevalent, so the lowerful
over-shadowings of the Holy Ghost were less manifest in the
Society. That there had been a continued increase of
such ways of life, even until the present time ; and that
the weakness which hath now overspread the Society and
the barrenness manifest among us is a matter of much
sorrow." He then mentioned the uncertainty of his attend-
ing these meetings in future, expecting his dissolution was
near ; and having tenderly expressed his concern for us,
signified that he had seen in the true Hght that the Lord

222 JOHN WOOLMAN

would bring back his people from these things, into which
they had degenerated, but that his faithful servants must
go through great and heavy exercises.

On the twentieth of the same month the com-
mittee, which had been appointed by the Yearly
Meeting to visit the Quarterly and Monthly Meet-
ings, reported their work. They said that they
feared that the weakness visible among the Friends
in some quarters had at any rate partly been
caused by members of the Society holding positions
in the government which were incompatible with
the tenets of the Society and by the fact that others
were known as holders of slaves. To this point
Woolman spoke as follows :

I have felt a tenderness in my mind towards persons in
two circumstances mentioned in that report ; namely, to-
ward such active members as keep slaves and such as hold
offices in civil government ; and I have desired that Friends
in all their conduct, may be kindly affectioned one towards
another. Many Friends who keep slaves are under some
exercise on that account ; and at times think about trjdng
them with freedom, but find many things in their way.
The way of hving and the annual expenses of some of them
are such that it seems impracticable for them to set their
slaves free without changing their own way of life. It
has been my lot to be often abroad ; and I have observed
in some places, at Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, and at
some houses where travelhng Friends and their horses are
often entertained, that the yearly expense of individuals
therein is very considerable. And Friends in some places
crowding much on persons in these circumstances for

XVI 1763-1769 223

entertainment hath rested as a burden on my mind for
some years past. I now express it in the fear of the Lord,
greatly desiring that Friends here present may duly con-
sider it.

In the autumn of this year, 1764, Woolman
had in his employ an old soldier, who had fought
during the recent wars, who had been a captive
among the Indians, and who narrated how he had
witnessed the torture and death of two of his
fellow-captives. This relation affected Woolman
deeply, and in the stress of his distress he wrote :

Hath He who gave me a being attended with many
wants unknown to brute creatures given me a capacity
superior to theirs, and shown me that a moderate applica-
tion to business is suitable to my present condition ; and
that this, attended with his blessing, may supply all my
outward wants while they remain within the bounds He
hath fixed, and while no imaginary wants proceeding from
an evil spirit have any place in me ? Attend then, 0 my
soul ! to this pure wisdom as thy sure conductor through
the- manifold dangers of this world.

Doth pride lead to vanity ? Doth vanity form imaginary
wants ? Do these wants prompt men to exert their power
in requiring more from others than they would be wilhng
to perform themselves, were the same required of them ?
Do these proceedings beget hard thoughts ? Do hard
thoughts when ripe, become malice ? Does malice, when
ripe, become revengeful, and in the end inflict terrible pains
on our fellow creatures and spread desolations in the world ?

Do mankind, walking in uprightness, dehght in each
other's happiness ? And do those who are capable of this
attainment, by giving way to an evil spirit, employ their

224 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

skill and strength to afflict and destroy one another ?
Remember then, 0 my soul ! the quietude of those in
whom Christ governs, and in all thy proceedings feel after it.
Doth He condescend to bless thee with his presence ?
To move and influence thee to action ? To dwell and to
walk in thee ? Remember then thy station as a being
sacred to God. Accept of the strength freely offered to
thee, and take heed that no weakness in conforming to
unwise, expensive and hard-hearted customs, gendering
to discord and strife, be given way to. Doth he claim my
body as his temple, and graciously require that I may be
sacred to Him ? Oh that I may prize this favour, and
that my whole hfe may be conformable to this character !
Remember, 0 my soul ! that the Prince of Peace is thy
Lord ; that He communicates his unmixed wisdom to his
family, that they, hving in perfect simphcity, may give no
just cause of offence to any creature, but that they may
walk as He walked !

The early part of the winter Woolman devoted
to visiting the members of the Mount Holly Meeting,
more particularly those who lived in that place,
and much of his time in 1765 was devoted to
similar ministration, including a journey along the
coast of New Jersey. The words of the aged
minister, John Smith, already quoted, are fairly
indicative of the condition of the Society in and
about this time.

In 1765 John Griffiths, an English visitor,
wrote :

The affairs of the church were carried on in much
brotherly love and condescension, a very great deal of

XVI 1763-1769 225

becoming plainness and honest simplicity being coupled
together in the fear of God. The Meetings for the most
part have been large, comfortable, and to edification, many
mothers with their infants attending, the zeal of the mothers
I thought sufficiently compensating for the cries of the
babes. The Meeting held fresh and green mostly for six
hours.

It will not be out of place to quote some of the
^' Queries " which were set forth by the Yearly
Meeting in order to obtain uniformity of conduct
and obedience to the faith.

This Meeting directs that the following queries may be
read in the several Monthly and Preparative Meetings
within the verge of this Meeting, at least once in each
quarter of the year ; to the end that the overseers, or other
weighty Friends, may make such answers to them as they
may be able to do, and their respective circumstances may
require. The members of such meetings may, by this
means, be from time to time reminded of their duty.

Among the " Queries " we find :

Are Friends careful to attend their meetings for worship,
both on first-days and other days of the week appointed
for that service ? And are they careful to meet at the
hour appointed ? Do they refrain from sleeping in meet-
ings ? or do any accustom themselves to snuffing or
chewing tobacco in meetings ?

Do Friends keep clear of excess, either in drinking drams
or other strong drink ?

Do Friends keep clear from tattling, tale-bearing,
whispering, backbiting, and meddhng in matters wherein
they are not concerned ?

Q

226 JOHN WOOLMAN

Are the poor taken care of, and are their children put
to school and apprenticed out (after sufficient learning)
to Friends ?

Are Friends careful to settle their affairs and make
their wills in time of health ?

Verily — Applied Christianity !

The next journey upon which Woolman set
forth was a visit to Maryland, which he undertook
upon foot, so that he might be able more closely
to observe the condition of the slaves, might set
an example of lowliness to their owners, and " be
more out of the way of temptation to unprofitable
converse." In this undertaking he was joined by
his friend John Sleeper, and together they started
on May 6, 1766. Some way upon his journey, he
tells us :

The weather for some days past having been hot and
dry, and we having travelled pretty steadily and having
had hard labour in meetings, I grew weakly, at which I
was for a time discouraged ; but looking over our journey,
and considering how the Lord had supported our minds and
bodies, so that we had gone forward much faster than I
expected before we came out, I saw that I had been in
danger of too strongly desiring to get quickly through the
journey, and that the bodily weakness now attending me
was a kindness, and then in contrition of spirit I became
very thankful to my gracious Father for this manifestation
of his love, and in humble submission to his will my trust
in Him was renewed.

Then he gives us a touch of history, which

XVI 1763-1769 227

brings home to us very vividly the times in which
he Hved and worked :

In this part of our journey I had many thoughts on the
difierent circumstances of Friends who inhabit Pennsyl-
vania and Jersey from those who dwell in Maryland,
Virginia, and Carohna. Pennsylvania and New Jersey
were settled by Friends who were convinced of our principles
in England in times of suffering ; these, coming over,
bought lands of the natives, and apphed to husbandry in
a peaceable way, and many of their children were taught
to labour for their hving. Few of these, I believe, settled
in any of the southern provinces ; but by the faithful
labours of travelhng Friends in early times there was
considerable convincement among the inhabitants of these
parts. I also remember having read of the warhke dis-
position of many of the first settlers in those provinces,
and of their numerous engagements with the natives in
which much blood was shed even in the infancy of the
colonies. Some of the people inhabiting those places,
being grounded in customs contrary to the pure truth,
were affected with the powerful preaching of the Word
of Life and joined in fellowship with our Society, and in
so doing they had a great work to go through. In the
history of the reformation from Popery it is observable
that the progress was gradual from age to age. The
uprightness of the first reformers in attending to the hght
and understanding given them opened the way for sincere-
hearted people to proceed further afterwards ; and thus
each one truly fearing God and labouring in the works
of righteousness appointed for him in his day findeth
acceptance with Him. Through the darkness of the times
and the corruption of manners and customs, some upright
men may have had little more for their day's work than to
attend to the righteous principle in their minds as it related

228 JOHN WOOLMAN

to their own conduct in life without pointing out to others
the whole extent of that into which the same principle
would lead succeeding ages. Thus, for instance, among
an imperious warlike people, supported by oppressed
slaves, some of these masters, I suppose, are awakened to
feel and to see their error and through sincere repentance
cease from oppression and become hke fathers to their
servants, showing by their example a pattern of humility
in living, and moderation in governing, for the instruction
and admonition of their oppressing neighbours ; these,
without carrying the reformation further, have, I believe,
found acceptance with the Lord. Such was the beginning ;
and those who succeeded them, and who faithfully attended
to the nature and spirit of the reformation, have seen the
necessity of proceeding forward, and have not only to
instruct others by their own example in governing well,
but have also to use means to prevent their successors
from having so much power to oppress others.

The journey was on the whole uneventful.

Again, in November, he found a call of duty
'^ to walk into some parts of the western shore of
Maryland," and, after taking leave of his family
" under the heart-tendering operation of truth,"
set out on April 20, 1767, riding from Mount
Holly to the ferry opposite Philadelphia, thence
to Derby, and

next day I pursued my journey alone and reached
Concord Week-Day Meeting.

Discouragements and a weight of distress had at times
attended me in this lonesome walk, but through these
afflictions I was mercifully preserved. Sitting down
with Friends, my mind was turned towards the Lord to

XVI 1763-1769 229

wait for his lioly leadings ; and in infinite love He was
pleased to soften my heart into humble contrition, and
renewedly to strengthen me to go forward, so that to me
it was a time of heavenly refreshment in a silent meeting.

Is there not some pathos in that ?

Twenty-sixth of fourth month. — I crossed the Susque-
hanna, and coming among people in outward ease and
greatness, supported chiefly on the labour of slaves, my
heart was much affected, and in awful retiredness my
mind was gathered inward to the Lord, humbly desiring
that in true resignation I might receive instruction from
Him respecting my duty among this people. Though
travelling on foot was wearisome to my body, yet it was
agreeable to the state of my mind. Being weakly I was
covered with sorrow and heaviness on account of the pre-
vaihng spirit of this world by which customs grievous and
oppressive are introduced on the one hand, and pride and
wantonness on the other.

In this lonely walk and state of abasement and humilia-
tion, the condition of the church in these parts was opened
before me, and I may truly say with the Prophet, " I was
bowed down at the hearing of it ; I was dismayed at the
seeing of it." Under this exercise I attended the Quarterly
Meeting at Gunpowder, and in bowedness of spirit I had
to express with much plainness my feelings respecting
Friends living in fulness on the labours of the poor oppressed
negroes ; and that promise of the Most High was now
revived, " I will gather all nations and tongues, and they
shall come and see my glory." Here the sufferings of
Christ and his tasting death for every man, and the travels,
sufferings, and martyrdom of the Apostles and primitive
Christians in labouring for the conversion of the Gentiles,
were livingly revived in me, and according to the measure

230 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.xvi

of the strength afforded I laboured in some tenderness of
spirit, being deeply affected among them. The difference
between the present treatment which these gentiles, the
negroes, receive at our hands, and the labours of the
primitive Christians for the conversion of the Gentiles,
were pressed home, and the power of truth came over us,
under a feehng of which my mind was united to a tender-
hearted people in these parts. The meeting concluded
in a sense of God's goodness towards his humble, dependent
children.

CHAPTER XVII

1769-1770

In March 1769, Woolman was suffering much
from ill-health. Here, as so often before, we will
do best to quote his own words :

Having for some time past dieted myself on account of
illness and weakness of body, and not having ability to
travel by land as heretofore, I was at times favoured to
look with awfulness towards the Lord, before whom are all
my ways, who alone hath the power of life and death, and
to feel thankfulness raised in me for this his Fatherly
chastisement, believing that if I was truly humbled under
it, all would work for good.

It was probably of this period that he narrates
the following :

In a time of sickness, a little more than two years and
a half ago, I was brought so near the gates of death that
I forgot my name. Being then desirous to know who
I was, I saw a mass of matter of a dull gloomy colour
between the south and the east, and was informed that this
mass was human beings in as great misery as they could
be, and live, and that I was mixed with them, and that
henceforth I might not consider myself as a distinct or

231

232 JOHN WOOLMAN

separate being. In this state I remained several hours.
I then heard a soft melodious voice, more pure and har-
monious than any I had heard with my ears before ; I
beheved it was the voice of an angel who spake to the other
angels ; the words were, " John Woolman is dead." I
soon remembered that I was once John Woolman, and being
assured that I was alive in the body, I greatly wondered
what that heavenly voice could mean. I believed beyond
doubting that it was the voice of an holy angel, but as yet
it was a mystery to me.

I was then carried in spirit to the mines where poor
oppressed people were digging rich treasures for those
called Christians, and heard them blaspheme the name of
Christ, at which I was grieved, for his name to me was
precious. I was then informed that these heathens were
told that those who oppressed them were the followers of
Christ, and they said among themselves : "If Christ
directed them to use us in this sort, then Christ is a cruel
tyrant."

All this time the song of the angel remained a mystery ;
and in the morning my dear wife and some others coming to
my bedside, I asked them if they knew who I was, and they
telling me I was John Woolman, thought I was light-headed,
for I told them not what the angel said, nor was I disposed
to talk much to any one, but was very desirous to get so
deep that I might understand this mystery.

My tongue was often so dry that I could not speak till
I had moved it about and gathered some moisture, and as
I lay still for a time I at length felt a Divine power prepare
my mouth that I could speak, and I then said : "I am
crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I but
Christ hveth in me. And the life which I now hve in the
flesh I hve by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me." Then the mystery was opened
and I perceived there was joy in heaven over a sinner who

xvn 1769-1770 233

Lad repented, and that the language " John Woolman is
dead," meant no more than the death of my own will.

During this illness he was minded to pay a visit
to the West Indies, and feared lest the unpleasant-
ness of the task should cause him to disobey the
call. Then

. . as I one day walked in a solitary wood, my mind
being covered with awfnlness, cries were raised in me to
my merciful Father, that He would graciously keep me in
faithfulness ; and it then settled on my mind, as a duty,
to open my condition to Friends at our Monthly Meeting,
which I did soon after, as follows : —

" An exercise hath attended me for some time past, and
of late hath been more weighty upon me, which is, that I
believe it is required of me to be resigned to go on a visit
to some parts of the West Indies." In the Quarterly and
General Spring Meetings I found no clearness to express
anything further than that I beheved resignation herein
was required of me. Having obtained certificates from
all the said Meetings, I felt like a sojourner at my outward
habitation, and kept free from worldly encumbrances, and
I was often bowed in spirit before the Lord, with inward
breathings to Him that I might be rightly directed. I
may here note that the circumstance before related of my
having, when young, joined with another executor in selhng
a negro lad till he might attain the age of thirty years,
was now the cause of much sorrow to me ; and, after having
settled matters relating to this youth, I provided a sea-
store and bed, and things for the voyage. Hearing of a
vessel likely to sail from Philadelphia for Barbadoes, I
spake with one of the owners at Burlington, and soon after
went to Philadelphia on purpose to speak to him again.
He told me there was a Friend in town who was part owner

234 JOHN WOOLMAN

of tlie said vessel. I felt no inclination to speak with the
latter, but returned home. Awhile after I took leave of
my family, and going to Philadelphia, had some weighty
conversation with the first mentioned owner, and showed
him a writing, as follows : —

" On the 25th of eleventh month, 1769, as an exercise
with respect to a visit to Barbadoes hath been weighty on
my mind, I may express some of the trials which have
attended me, under which I have at times rejoiced that I
have felt my own self-will subjected.

" Some years ago I retailed rum, sugar, and molasses,
the fruits of the labour of slaves, but had not then much
concern about them save only that the rum might be used
in moderation ; nor was this concern so weightily attended
to as I now believe it ought to have been. Having of late
years been further informed respecting the oppressions
too generally exercised in these islands, and thinking often
of the dangers there are in connections of interest and
fellowship with the works of darkness (Eph. v. 11), I have
felt an increasing concern to be wholly given up to the
leadings of the Holy Spirit, and it hath seemed right that
my small gain from this branch of trade should be applied
in promoting righteousness on the earth. This was the
first motion towards a visit to Barbadoes. I beheved
also that part of my outward substance should be apphed
in paying my passage, if I went, and providing things in
a lowly way for my subsistence ; but when the time drew
near in which I believed it required of me to be in readiness,
a difficulty arose which hath been a continual trial for some
months past, under which I have, with abasement of mind
from day to day, sought the Lord for instruction, having
often had a feeling of the condition of one formerly, who
bewailed himself because the Lord hid his face from him.
During these exercises my heart hath often been contrite,
and I have had a tender feeling of the temptations of my

xvn

1769-1770 235

fellow-creatures, labouring under expensive customs not
agreeable to tbe simplicity tbat ' there is in Christ '
(2 Cor. ii. 3), and sometimes in the renewings of Gospel
love I have been helped to minister to others.

" That which hath so closely engaged my mind, in
seeking to the Lord for instruction, is, whether, after the
full information I have had of the oppression which the
slaves He under who raise the West India produce, which I
have gained by reading a Caution and warning to Great
Britain and her colonies, written by Anthony Benezet, it is
right for me to take passage in a vessel employed in the
West India trade.

" To trade freely with oppressors without labouring to
dissuade them from such unkind treatment, and to seek for
gain by such traffic, tends, I believe, to make them more
easy respecting their conduct than they would be if the
cause of universal righteousness was humbly and firmly
attended to by those in general with whom they have com-
merce ; and that complaint of the Lord by his Prophet,
' They have strengthened the hands of the wicked,' hath
very often revived in my mind. I may here add some
circumstances which occurred to me before I had any
prospect of a visit there. David longed for some water in
a well beyond an army of Phihstines who were at war with
Israel, and some of his men, to please him, ventured their
hves in passing through this army, and brought that water.
It doth not appear that the Israelites were then scarce
of water, but rather that David gave way to dehcacy of
taste ; and having reflected on the danger to which these
men had been exposed, he considered this water as their
blood, and his heart smote him that he could not drink it,
but he poured it out to the Lord. The oppression of the
slaves which I have seen in several journeys southward
on this continent, and the report of their treatment in
the West Indies, have deeply affected me, and a care to

236 JOHN WOOLMAN

live in the spirit of peace and minister no just cause of
offence to my fellow-creatures having from time to time
hvingly revived in my mind, I have for some years past
declined to gratify my palate with those sugars.

" I do not censure my brethren in these things, but I
believe the Father of Mercies, to whom all mankind by
creation are equally related, hath heard the groans of this
oppressed people, and that He is preparing some to have a
tender feeling of their condition. Trading in or the frequent
use of any produce known to be raised by the labour of
those who are under such lamentable oppression hath
appeared to be a subject which may hereafter require the
more serious consideration of the humble followers of
Christ, the Prince of Peace.

" After long and mournful exercise I am now free to
mention how things have opened my mind, with desires that
if it may please the Lord further to open his will to any of
his children in this matter they may faithfully follow Him
in such further manifestation.

" The number of those who decline the use of West India
produce, on account of the hard usage of the slaves who
raise it, appears small, even among people truly pious ;
and the labours in Christian love on that subject of those
who do, are not very extensive. Were the trade from this
continent to the West Indies to be stopped at once, I
beheve many there would suffer for want of bread. Did
we on this continent and the inhabitants of the West Indies
generally dwell in pure righteousness, I beheve a small
trade between us might be right. Under these considera-
tions, when the thoughts of wholly declining the use of
trading vessels and of trying to hire a vessel to go under
ballast have arisen in my mind, I have beheved that the
labours in Gospel love hitherto bestowed in the cause of
universal righteousness have not reached that height. If
the trade to the West Indies were no more than was con-

xvn 1769-1770 237

sistent with pure wisdom, I believe the passage money
would for good reasons be higher than it is now ; and there-
fore, under deep exercise of mind, I have beheved that I
should not take advantage of this great trade and small
passage-money, but, as a testimony in favour of less trading,
should pay more than is common for others to pay, if I go
this time."

The first mentioned owner, having read the paper, went
with me to the other owner, who also read over the paper,
and we had some solid conversation, under which I felt
myself bowed in reverence before the Most High. At
length one of them asked me if I would go and see the vessel.
But not having clearness in my mind to go, I went to my
lodging and retired in private under great exercise of mind ;
and my tears were poured out before the Lord with inward
cries that He would graciously help me under these trials.
I believed my mind was resigned, but I did not feel clear-
ness to proceed ; and my own weakness and the necessity
of Divine instruction were impressed upon me.

I was for a time as one who knew not what to do, and
was tossed as in a tempest ; under which aflfliction the
doctrine of Christ, " Take no thought for the morrow,"
arose hvingly before me, and I was favoured to get into
a good degree of stillness. Having been near two days in
town, I beheved my obedience to my Heavenly Father
consisted in returning homeward ; I therefore went over
among Friends on the Jersey shore and tarried till the
morning on which the vessel was appointed to sail. As I
laid in bed the latter part of that night my mind was
comforted, and I felt what I esteemed a fresh confirmation
that it was the Lord's will that I should pass through some
further exercises near home ; so I went thither, and still
felt hke a sojourner with my family. In the fresh spring
of pure love I had some labours in a private way among
Friends on a subject relating to truth's testimony, under

238 JOHN WOOLMAN

which. I had frequently been exercised in heart for some
years. I remember, as I walked on the road under this
exercise, that passage in Ezekiel came fresh upon me,
" Whithersoever their faces were turned thither they went."
And I was graciously helped to discharge my duty in the
fear and dread of the Almighty.

Shortly afterward he was attacked by pleurisy,
and after a few days' illness was troubled as to
what might be the end of it. Again he must be
allowed to tell his own story :

... I had of late, through various exercises, been much
weaned from the pleasant things of this hfe ; and I now
thought if it were the Lord's will to put an end to my
labours and graciously to receive me into the arms of his
mercy, death would be acceptable to me ; but if it were his
will further to refine me under affiiction, and to make me
in any degree useful in his church, I desired not to die. I
may with thankfulness say that in this case I felt resigned-
ness wrought in me and had no inclination to send for a
doctor, believing, if it were the Lord's will through out-
ward means to raise me up, some sympathizing Friends
would be sent to minister to me ; which accordingly was
the case. But though I was carefully attended, yet the
disorder was at times so heavy that I had no expectation
of recovery. One night in particular my bodily distress
was great ; my feet grew cold, and the cold increased up
my legs towards my body ; at that time I had no inchna-
tion to ask my nurse to apply anything warm to my feet,
expecting my end was near. After I had lain near ten
hours in this condition, I closed my eyes, thinking whether
I might now be delivered out of the body ; but in these
awful moments my mind was livingly opened to behold
the church ; and strong engagements were begotten in me

xvn 1769-1770 239

for the everlasting well-being of my fellow creatures. I
felt in the spring of pure love that I might remain some
time longer in the body, to fill up according to my measure
that which remains of the afflictions of Christ, and to
labour for the good of the church ; after which I requested
my nurse to apply warmth to my feet, and I revived. The
next night, feehng a weighty exercise of spirit and having
a sohd friend sitting up with me, I requested him to write
what I said, which he did as follows : —

" Fourth day of the first month, 1770, about five in
the morning. — I have seen in the Light of the Lord that
the day is approaching when the man that is most wise in
human pohcy shall be the greatest fool ; and the arm that
is mighty to support injustice shall be broken to pieces ;
the enemies of righteousness shall make a terrible rattle,
and shall mightily torment one another ; for He that is
omnipotent is rising up to judgment, and will plead the
cause of the oppressed ; and He commanded me to open
the vision."

Near a week after this, feehng my mind hvingly opened,
I sent for a neighbour, who, at, my request, wrote as
f oUows : —

" The place of prayer is a precious habitation ; for I now
saw that the prayers of the saints were precious incense ;
and a trumpet was given to me that I might sound forth
this language ; that the children might hear it and be
invited together to this precious habitation, where the
prayers of the saints, as sweet incense, arise before the
throne of God and the Lamb. I saw this habitation to be
safe, — to be inwardly quiet when there were great stirrings
and commotions in the world.

" Prayer, at this day, in pure resignation, is a precious
place : the trumpet is sounded ; the call goes forth to the
church that she gather to the place of pure inward prayer ;
and her habitation is safe."

CHAPTER XVIII

ACROSS TO ENGLAND

It was but natural that Jolin Woolman's thoughts
should often have turned toward the Friends in
England and that he should desire to cross the
seas to visit them. In April 1772, he commenced
making practical inquiries, and, as his intention
was to visit chiefly the northern parts of England,
he looked for a ship bound to Liverpool or White-
haven. While at Philadelphia upon this errand,
he learned that his friend Samuel Emlen, purpos-
ing to go to London, had secured a passage in the
cabin of the Mary and Elizabeth.

Woolman had it in his mind to travel in the
steerage, and together with Emlen visited the ship.
Later in the day he discussed his plan with a Friend,
who pointed out the great inconvenience of travel-
ling as Woolman suggested, and so forcibly that
for a time he was discouraged. The next morning,
with two other Friends, he returned to the ship,
afterwards going with Emlen to the house of the

240

CHAP, xvm ACEOSS TO ENGLAND 241

owner, to whom he put clearly his scruple as to
taking a passage in the cabin. What he said was
in substance as follows :

That on the outside of that part of the ship where the
cabin was I observed sundry sorts of carved work and
imagery ; that in the cabin I observed some superfluity
of workmanship of several sorts ; and that according to
the ways of men's reckoning, the sum of money to be paid
for a passage in that apartment has some relation to the
expense of furnishing it to please the minds of such as give
way to a conformity to this world ; and that in this, as
in other cases, the moneys received from the passengers
are calculated to defray the cost of these superfluities, as
well as the other expenses of their passage. I therefore
felt a scruple with regard to paying my money to be applied
to such purposes.

In the event he booked a passage in the steerage.

It is not easy to realise to-day how great an
undertaking then was a voyage across the Atlantic ;
more dangerous by far than it is now, more difficult,
and accompanied by very considerable hardships.
Two short extracts will help us to forget our own
times.

Catherine Payton, on her way to America,

writes from on board the Alexander, in October

1753:

After taking ship at Spit head on the 25th of 8th mo.,
we were about nine days before we got out of the Channel.

Later, in November, from Charles Town, South
Carolina, she writes :

R

242 JOHN WOOLMAN

We landed here on the 26th ult., after being greatly
tried with stormy, contrary winds, which kept us near a
week upon this coast, without suffering us to land ; but
through infinite goodness we were preserved patient and
resigned in the midst of a scene of distress. Weakness
of body attended at the same time, which was chiefly
occasioned by the hardships we endured in the storm.

Peter Kalm embarked at Gravesend on August 5,
1748, on board the Mary galley, Captain Lawson,
bound for Philadelphia ; weighed anchor at six
o'clock in the afternoon and sailed some consider-
able distance before anchoring for the night.
Early the next morning they resumed their voyage,
sailing along the Kentish coast, arriving at six
o'clock at Deal, '^ a little well known town, situate
at the entrance of a bay exposed to the southern
and easterly winds. Here commonly the outward
bound ships provide themselves with greens, fresh
victuals, brandy, and many more articles." Then
on, past the Isle of Wight, past Portsmouth and
Plymouth, with poor winds, and so out of the
Channel on August 13, an eight days' voyage !
They made their way across the Bay of Biscay,
past the Azores, which were held to be a half-way
house. On September 13 misfortune, which might
have been disaster, befell the voyagers :

Captain Lawson who had kept his bed for the greater
part of the voyage, on account of an indisposition, assured
us yesterday we were in all appearance very near America :

xvm ACKOSS TO ENGLAND 243

but as the mate was of a different opinion, and as the
sailors could see no land from the head of the mast, nor
find ground by the lead, we steered on directly towards the
land. About three o'clock in the morning, the Captain
gave orders to heave the lead, and we found but ten fathom ;
the second mate himself took the lead, and called out ten
and fourteen fathoms ; but a moment after the ship struck
on the sand, and this shock was followed by four other very
violent ones. The consternation was incredible, and very
justly might it be so ; for there were above eighty persons
on board, and the ship had but one boat : but happily our
ship got off again, after having been turned.

To which may be added what teetotal Benjamin
Franklin writes in this very year, 1772 :

Whatsoever right you may have by your agreement
with him ^ to the provisions he has taken on board for the
use of the passengers, it is always proper to have some
private store, which you may make use of occasionally.
You ought, therefore, to provide good water, that of the
ship being often bad ; but you must put it into bottles,
without which you cannot expect to preserve it sweet.
You ought also to carry with you good tea, ground coffee,
chocolate, wine of that sort which you hke best, cider, dried
raisins, almonds, sugar, capillaire, citrons, rum, eggs dipped
in oil, portable soup, bread twice baked. With regard to
poultry, it is almost useless to carry any with you, unless
you resolve to undertake the office of feeding and fattening
them yourself. With the httle care which is taken of them
on board ship, they are almost all sickly, and their flesh is
as tough as leather.

Parting with his family, Woolman returned to
Philadelphia, where he remained two nights, and

^ The captain of the ship.

244 JOHN WOOLMAN

after a brief visit to Derby for the Monthly Meeting,
he went on to Chester, a small market town lower
down the river. Here he was joined by Emlen,
and they embarked upon May 1.

The first few days of the voyage were rough,
and many of the passengers were sea-sick, from
which affiiction, however, Woolman was free.
Now, as at other times, readers of the Journal
cannot but wish that Woolman had filled in at
any rate some portion of the background of his
picture. He gives us some few details :

" As my lodging in the steerage, now near a week," he
writes, " hath afforded me sundry opportunities of seeing,
hearing and feeling with respect to the life and spirit of many
poor sailors, an exercise of soul hath attended me in regard
to placing out children and youth where they may be likely
to be exampled and instructed in the pure fear of the
Lord.

" Being much among the seamen I have, from a motion
of love taken sundry opportunities with one of them at a
time, and have in free conversation laboured to turn their
minds towards the fear of the Lord. This day we had a
meeting in the cabin, where my heart was contrite under a
feeling of Divine love.

" I beheve a communication with different parts of the
world by sea is at times consistent with the Will of our
Heavenly Father, and to educate some youth in the practice
of sailing, I believe may be right ; but how lamentable is
the present corruption of the world ! How impure are the
channels through which trade is conducted ! How great is
the danger to which poor lads are exposed when placed on
shipboard to learn the art of sailing ! "

xvm ACROSS TO ENGLAND 245

Then closely follow a few realistic touches :

A ship at sea commonly sails all night, and the seamen
take their watches four hours at a time. Kising to work
in the night, it is not commonly pleasant in any case, but
in dark rainy nights it is very disagreeable, even though
each man were furnished with all conveniences. If, after
having been on deck several hours in the night, they come
down into the steerage soaking wet, and are so closely
stowed that proper convenience for change of garments is
not easily come at, but for want of proper room their wet
garments are thrown in heaps, and sometimes, through
much crowding, are trodden under foot in going to their
lodgings and getting out of them, and it is difficult at times
for each to find his own. Here are trials for the poor
sailors.

Now, as I have been with them in my lodge, my heart
hath often yearned for them, and tender desires have been
raised in me that all owners and masters of vessels may
dwell in the love of God and therein act uprightly, and by
seeking less for gain and looking carefully to their ways
they may earnestly labour to remove all cause of provoca-
tion from the poor seamen, so that they may neither fret
nor use excess of strong drink ; for, indeed, the poor
creatures, in the wet and cold seem to apply at times to
strong drink to supply the want of other convenience.
Great reformation is wanting in the world, and the necessity
of it among those who do business on great waters hath at
this time been abundantly opened before me.

Followed by this :

Eighth day of fifth month. — This morning the clouds
gathered, the wind blew strong from the south-east, and
before the noon so increased that saihng appeared dangerous.
The seamen then bound up some of their sails and took

246 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

down others, and the storm increasing, they put the dead-
hghts, so-called, into the cabin windows and hghted a lamp
as at night. The wind now blew vehemently, and the sea
wrought to that degree that an awful seriousness prevailed
in the cabin, in which I spent, I beheve, about seventeen
hours, for the cabin passengers had given me frequent
invitations, and I thought the poor wet toihng seamen
had need of all the room in the crowded steerage. They
now ceased from saihng, and put the vessel in the posture
called Ijdng-to. . . .

About eleven at night I went on the deck. The sea
wrought exceedingly, and the high, foaming waves round
about had in some sort the appearance of fire, but did not
give much, if any, hght. The sailor at the helm said he
lately saw a corposant at the head of the mast. I observed
that the master of the ship ordered the carpenter to keep
on the deck ; and though he said httle, I apprehended
his care was that the carpenter with his axe might be in
readiness in case of any extremity. Soon after this the
vehemency of the wind abated, and before morning they
again put the ship under sail.

With the sailors Woolman set himself upon a
kindly footing :

. . . And as my mind day after day and night after night
hath been affected with a sympathizing tenderness towards
poor children who are put to the employment of sailors, I
have sometimes had weighty conversation with the sailors
in the steerage, who were most respectful to me and became
more so the longer I was with them. They mostly appeared
to take kindly what I said to them ; but their minds were
so deeply impressed with the almost universal depravity
among sailors that the poor creatures in their answers
to me have revived in my remembrance that of the de-

ACEOSS TO ENGLAND 247

generate Jews a little before the captivity, as repeated by
Jeremiah, the prophet, " There is no hope."

Sixteenth of sixth month. — Wind for several days past
often high, what the sailors call squally, with a rough
sea and frequent rains. This last night has been a very
trying one to the poor seamen, the water the most part of
the night running over the main deck, and sometimes break-
ing waves come on the quarter-deck. The latter part of
the night, as I lay in bed, my mind was humbled under the
power of Divine love ; and resignedness to the great Creator
of the earth and the seas was renewedly wrought in me, and
his Fatherly care over his children felt precious to my soul.
I was now desirous to embrace every opportunity of being
inwardly acquainted with the hardships and difficulties
of my fellow creatures, and to labour in his love for the
spreading of pure righteousness on the earth. Oppor-
tunities were frequent of hearing conversation among
the sailors respecting the voyages to Africa and the
manner of bringing the deeply oppressed slaves into
our islands. They are frequently brought on board
the vessels in chains and fetters, with hearts loaded with
grief under the apprehension of miserable slavery ; so
that my mind was frequently engaged to meditate on
these things.

Seventeenth of fifth month and first of the week. — We
had a meeting in the cabin, to which the seamen generally
came. My spirit was contrite before the Lord, whose love
at this time affected my heart. In the afternoon I felt
a tender sympathy of soul with my poor wife and family
left behind, in which state my heart was enlarged in desires
that they may walk in that humble obedience wherein the
everlasting Father may be their guide and support through
all their difficulties in this world ; and a sense of that
gracious assistance, through which my mind hath been
strengthened to take up the cross and leave them to travel

248 JOHN WOOLMAN

in the love of truth, hath begotten thankfulness in my
heart to our great Helper.

Twenty -fourth of fifth month. — A clear, pleasant
morning. As I sat on deck I felt a reviving in my nature,
which had been weakened through much rainy weather and
high winds and being shut up in a close unhealthy air.
Several nights of late I have felt my breathing difficult ;
and a little after the rising of the second watch, which is
about midnight, I have got up and stood near an hour with
my face near the hatchway, to get the fresh air at the small
vacancy under the hatch door, which is commonly shut
down, partly to keep out rain and sometimes to keep the
breaking waves from dashing into the steerage. I may with
thankfulness to the Father of Mercies acknowledge that in
my present weak state my mind hath been supported
to bear this affliction with patience ; and I have looked at
the present dispensation as a kindness from the great Father
of mankind, who, in this my floating pilgrimage, is in some
degree bringing me to feel what many thousands of my
fellow-creatures often sufler in a greater degree.

My appetite faihng, the trial hath been the heavier ;
and I have felt tender breathings in my soul after God,
the fountain of comfort, whose inward help hath supplied
at times the want of outward convenience ; and strong
desires have attended me that his family, who are acquainted
with the movings of his Holy Spirit, may be so redeemed
from the love of money and from that spirit in which men
seek honour one of another, that in all business, by sea or
land, they may constantly keep in view the coming of his
kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, and by faithfully
following this safe guide, may show forth examples tending
to lead out of that under which the creation groans. This
day we had a meeting in the cabin, in which I was
favoured in some degree to experience the fulfilhng
of that sapng of the prophet, " The Lord hath been a

xvm ACROSS TO ENGLAND 249

strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in their
distress " ; for which my heart is bowed in thankfulness
before Him.

Twenty-eighth fifth month. — Wet weather of late and
small winds, inchning to calms. Our seamen cast a lead,
I suppose about one hundred fathoms, but found no bottom.
Foggy weather this morning.

Second of Sixth month. — Last evening the seamen found
bottom at about seventy fathoms. This morning a fair
wind and pleasant. I sat on deck ; my heart was over-
come with the love of Christ, and melted into contrition
before him. In this state the prospect of that work to which
I found my mind drawn when in my native land being, in
some degree, opened before me, I felt like a httle child ; and
my cries were put up to my Heavenly Father for preserva-
tion, that in an humble dependence on Him my soul might
be strengthened in his love and kept inwardly waiting for
his counsel. This afternoon we saw that part of England
called the Lizard.

Some fowls yet remained of those the passengers took
for their sea-store. I beheve about fourteen perished in
the storms at sea, by the waves breaking over the quarter-
deck, and a considerable number with sickness at different
times. I observed the cocks crew as we came down the
Delaware, and while we were near the land, but afterwards
I think I did not hear one of them crow till we came near
the English coast, when they again crowed a few times.
In observing their dull appearance at sea, and the pining
sickness of some of them, I often remembered the Fountain
of goodness, who gave being to all creatures, and whose
love extends to caring for the sparrows. I beheve where
the love of God is verily perfected, and the true spirit of
government watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards
all creatures made subject to us will be experienced, and
a care felt in us that we do not lessen that sweetness of hfe

250 JOHN WOOLMAN chap, xvm

in the animal creation which the great Creator intends for
them under our government.

Fourth of sixth month. — Wet weather, high winds, and
so dark that we could see but a little way. I perceived
our seamen were apprehensive of the danger of missing the
channel, which I understood was narrow. In a while it
grew lighter, and they saw the land and knew where we were.
Thus the Father of Mercies was pleased to try us with the
sight of dangers, and then graciously, from time to time,
dehver us from them ; thus sparing our hves that in
humility and reverence we might walk before him and put
our trust in Him. About noon a pilot came off from Dover,
where my beloved friend Samuel Emlen went on shore and
thence to London, about seventy-two miles by land ; but
I felt easy in staying in the ship.

Seventh of sixth month and first of the week. — A clear
morning ; we lay at anchor for the tide, and had a parting
meeting with the ship's company, in which my heart was
enlarged in a fervent concern for them, that they may come
to experience salvation through Christ. Had a head wind
up the Thames ; lay sometimes at anchor ; saw many ships
passing, and some at anchor near ; and I had large oppor-
tunity of feehng the spirit in which the poor bewildered
sailors too generally live. That lamentable degeneracy
which so much prevails in the people employed on the seas
so affected my heart that I cannot easily convey the feehng
I had to another.

CHAPTER XIX

ENGLAND

Each for liimself we must imagine what were Jolm
Woolman's thoughts as he sailed up the Thames
and on his entry into London, which must surely
have appeared to him dark, shut-in, squalid,
compared with Philadelphia. But all that he
tells us is :

On the 8th of sixth month, 1772, we landed at London,
and I went straightway to the Yearly Meeting of ministers
and elders, which had been gathered, I suppose, about half
an hour.

In this meeting my mind was humbly contrite. In the
afternoon the meeting for business was opened, which by
adjournments held near a week. In these meetings I often
felt a hving concern for the establishment of Friends in
the pure hfe of truth. My heart was enlarged in the meet-
ings of ministers, that for business, and in several meetings
for public worship, and I felt my mind united in true love
to the faithful labourers now gathered at this Yearly
Meeting.

The Meeting was held in White Hart Court,
where, in the house of Henry Goldney, George Fox

251

252 JOHN WOOLMAN

had died in 1691, preaching two days before his
death in the adjoining Meeting-house.

Fortunately we have an account of Woolman's
arrival, traditional, but well authenticated :

This simple disciple arriving late in the Meeting un-
announced, and very pecuUar in his appearance, was hkely,
at first sight, to be regarded as some itinerant enthusiast.
His certificate was presented and read, when someone
remarked, that perhaps the dedication of the Friend might
be accepted, and he might feel himself easy to return to
his native land. John Woolman entered into the closet
of his heart, there to seek, in meekness and wisdom, instruc-
tion from his safe Counsellor. No feeling of resentment
prevailed, but, conscious that the spirits of the prophets
are subject to the prophets, he was humbled and deeply
afiected by the want of unity of the brethren, and his tears
flowed freely. In the constraining love of Christ, and in
love for his church and people, he had, at costly sacrifice,
taken his life in his hands and left behind him his home
and its endearments. That love still gushed out to the
people of England, yet, for the moment, it seemed as though
it must be pent within his heart. He rose with meekness,
and stated that he did not feel any release from his prospect,
but he could not travel in Truth's service without the
unity of his Friends, and that, while this was withheld, he
should not be easy to be at any cost to them ; that he was
acquainted with the trades of a tailor and a shoemaker,
and that he hoped, while the impediment continued to be
felt. Friends would be kindly willing to employ him in
such business as he was capable of, that he might not be
chargeable to any. A season of silence ensued, during
which tears flowed freely from many eyes. After a time, in
the pure openings of truth, John Woolman spoke a few

ENGLAND 253

words in the ministry, in wliich capacity his voice had not,
till that moment, been heard in Great Britain. The Church
was favoured with true discernment. The spirit of his
blessed Master bore witness to his gift. All obstruction
was removed, and the flow of unity (first expressed by the
Friend who had before spoken his doubts) became a " river
to swim in," and John Woolman, owned by the brethren,
passed on to his labours, in all humihty realizing that, as
an instrument and messenger and servant of servants, he
had nothing wherein to glory ; that the work was not his
own ; that the ability to perform it was not of himself ;
and reverently thankful to his Lord, who had given him a
place in the love of his friends, which was so acceptable to
his tender spirit.

And here is a thumb-nail sketch in a letter
from Dr. Fothergill to his brother Samuel, written
from London on June 9, the day after Woolman's
arrival ; he says :

The American friends help us much. John Woolman
is sohd and weighty in his remarks ; he has some singulari-
ties but his real worth outweighs them.

Of the ordinary happenings and doings of his
life Woolman seems to have been as uncommuni-
cative in his letters as in his Journal. Here is a
note dated London, June 14, to his cousin, John
Woolman, in America :

I have often felt tender desires that my cousin John
Woolman may be preserved in a watchful frame of mind,
and know that which supports innocent young people
against the snares of the wicked. The deep tryals of thy
Father, and his inward care for you are often in my re-

254 JOHN WOOLMAN

membrance, with, some concern tliat you his children may
be acquainted with that inward Hfe to which his mind
whilst among us was often gathered.

On June 15 Woolman left London for Hertford,
where he attended the Quarterly Meeting. He
provides us with scarcely more than the names of
the towns he visited ; how fascinating a travel
book he would have left us if only he had kept the
baldest diary of each day's doings. Birmingham,
Coventry, Warwick, Nottingham, Northampton —
but what help is a Kst of places seen when we know
not what he saw, or what he said ? Here and
there a quotable bit ; strikingly so this :

On inquiry in many places I find the price of rye about
five shillings ; wheat, eight shillings per bushel ; oatmeal,
twelve shilhngs for a hundred and twenty pounds ; mutton
from threepence to fivepence per pound ; bacon from seven-
pence to ninepence ; cheese from fourpence to sixpence ;
butter from eightpence to tenpence ; house rent for a poor
man from twenty-five shillings to forty shillings per year,
to be paid weekly ; wood for fixe very scarce and dear ;
coal in some places two shillings and sixpence per hundred-
weight ; but near the pits not a quarter so much. Oh,
may the wealthy consider the poor !

The wages of labouring men in several counties towards
London at tenpence per day in common business, the
employer finds small beer and the labourer finds his own
food ; but in harvest and hay-time wages are about one
shilling per day and the labourer hath all his diet. In some
parts of the north of England poor labouring men have their
food where they work, and appear in common to do rather

ENGLAND 255

better than nearer London. Industrious women who spin
in the factories get some fourpence, some fivepence, and so
on to six, seven, eight, nine or ten pence per day, and find
their own house room and diet. Great numbers of poor
people hve chiefly on bread and water in the southern
parts of England, as well as in the northern parts ;
and there are many poor children not even taught to
read. May those who have abundance lay these things
to heart !

Stage coaches frequently go upwards of one hundred
miles in twenty-four hours ; and I have heard Friends say
in several places that it is common for horses to be killed
with hard driving, and that many others are driven till
they grow bhnd. Post-boys pursue their business, each
one to his stage, all night through the winter. Some boys
who ride long stages suffer greatly in winter nights, and at
several places I have heard of their being frozen to death.
So great is the hurry in the spirit of this world, that in
aiming to do business quickly and to gain wealth the
creation at this day doth loudly groan.

As my journey hath been without a horse, I have had
several offers of being assisted on my way in these stage-
coaches, but have not been in them ; nor have I had freedom
to send letters by these posts in the present way of their
riding, the stages being so fixed, and one boy dependent
on another as to time, and going at great speed, that in
long cold winter nights the poor boys suffer much. I heard
in America of the way of these posts, and cautioned Friends
in the General Meeting of ministers and elders at Phil-
adelphia, and in the Yearly Meeting of ministers and elders
in London, not to send letters to me on any common
occasion by post. And though on this account I may be
likely not to hear so often from my family left behind, yet
for righteousness' sake I am, through Divine favour, made
content.

256 JOHN WOOLMAN

Yet again he is troubled over the question of
slavery and the worldhness of many members of
the Society :

I have felt distress of mind since I came on this island,
on account of the members of our society being mixed
with the world in various sorts of traffic, carried on in
impure channels. Great is the trade to Africa for slaves ;
and for the loading of these ships a great number of people
are employed in their factories, among whom are many of
our Society. Friends in early times refused on a rehgious
principle to make or trade in superfluities, of which we
have many testimonies on record ; but for want of faithful-
ness, some, whose examples were of note in our Society,
gave way, from which others took more hberty. Members
of our Society worked in superfluities, and bought and sold
them, and thus dimness of sight came over many ; at length
Friends got into the use of some superfluities in dress and
in the furniture of their houses, which hath spread from
less to more, till superfluity of some kinds is common
among us.

In this declining state many look at the example of
others and too much neglect the pure feehng of truth. Of
late years a deep exercise hath attended my mind, that
Friends may dig deep, may carefully cast forth the loose
matter and get down to the rock, the sure foundation, and
there hearken to that Divine voice which gives a clear and
certain sound ; and I have felt in that which doth not
deceive, that if Friends who have known the truth keep in
that tenderness of heart where all views of outward gain
are given up, and their trust is only in the Lord, He will
graciously lead some to be patterns of deep self-denial in
things relating to trade and handicraft labour ; and others
who have plenty of the treasures of this world will be
examples of a plain frugal life, and pay wages to such as

ENGLAND 257

they may hire more liberally than is now customary in some
places.

On August 30 he wrote the following letter to
his friend Rachel Wilson, an English Friend living
at Kendal, Westmorland :

Beloved Feiend, — My mind is often afiected as I pass
along under a sense of the state of many poor people who
sit under that sort of ministry which requires much out
ward labour to support it ; and the loving-kindness of our
Heavenly Father in opening a pure Gospel ministry in this
nation hath often raised thankfulness in my heart to Him.
I often remember the conflicts of the faithful under per-
secution, and now look at the free exercise of the pure gift
uninterrupted by outward laws, as a trust committed to
us, which requires our deepest gratitude and most careful
attention. I feel a tender concern that the work of re-
formation so prosperously carried on in this land within a
few ages past may go forward and spread among the nations
and may not go backward through dust gathering on our
garments, who have been called to a work so great and so
precious.

Last evening during thy absence I had a httle
opportunity with some of thy family, in which I rejoiced,
and feehng a sweetness on my mind towards thee, I now
endeavour to open a little of the feehng I had there.

I have heard that you in these parts have at certain
seasons Meetings of Conference in relation to Friends hving
up to our principles, in which several meetings unite in
one. With this I feel unity, having in some measure felt
truth lead that way among Friends in America, and I have
found, my dear friend, that in these labours all super-
fluities in our own hving are against us. I feel that pure
love towards thee in which there is freedom.

S

258 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

I look at that precious gift bestowed on thee with
awfulness before Him who gave it, and feel a desire that
we may be so separated to the gospel of Christ, that those
things which proceed from the spirit of this world may
have no place among us. — Thy friend,

John Woolman.

In a letter dated the last day of July, Woolman
mentions that he is only " middling well in health."
He tells us later in the Journal :

On this visit to England I have felt some instructions
sealed on my mind, which I am concerned to leave in writing
for the use of such as are called to the station of a minister
of Christ.

Christ being the Prince of Peace, and we being no more
than ministers, it is necessary for us not only to feel a
concern in our first going forth, but to experience the
renewing thereof in the appointment of meetings. I felt a
concern in America to prepare for this voyage, and being
through the mercy of God brought safe hither, my heart was
like a vessel that wanted vent. For several weeks after
my arrival when my mouth was opened in meetings, it was
like the raising of a gate in a water course when a weight
of water lay upon it. In these labours there was a fresh
visitation to many, especially to the youth ; but sometimes
I felt poor and empty, and yet there appeared a necessity
to appoint meetings. In this I was exercised to abide in
the pure hfe of truth, and in all my labours to watch
dihgently against the notions of self in my own mind.

I have frequently found a necessity to stand up when
the spring of the ministry was low, and to speak from the
necessity in that which subjecteth the will of the creature :
and herein I was united with the suffering seed, and found
inward sweetness in these mortifying labours. As I have

XIX ENGLAND 259

been preserved in a watchful attention to the Divine Leader,
under these dispensations enlargement at times hath
followed and the power of truth hath risen higher in some
meetings than I ever knew it before through me. Thus I
have been more and more instructed as to the necessity of
depending, not upon a concern which I felt in America to
come on a visit to England, but upon the daily instructions
of Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Of late I have sometimes felt a stop in the appointment
of meetings, not wholly, but in part : and I do not feel at
liberty to appoint them so quickly, one after another, as
I have done heretofore. The work of the ministry being a
work of Divine love, I feel that the openings thereof are
to be waited for in all our appointments. Oh, how deep
is Divine wisdom ! Christ puts , forth His ministers and
goeth before them ; and Oh, how great is the danger of
departing from the pure feeling of that which leadeth
safely ! Christ knoweth the state of the people, and in the
pure feeling of the gospel ministry their states are opened
to His servants. Christ knoweth when the fruit-bearing
branches themselves have need of purging. Oh that these
lessons may be remembered by me ! and that all who
appoint meetings may proceed in the pure feeUng of
duty !

I have sometimes felt a necessity to stand up, but that
spirit which is of the world hath so much prevailed in
many, and the pure life of truth hath been so much pressed
down, that I have gone forward, not as one travelhng in a
road cast up and well prepared, but as a man walking
through a miry place in which stones are here and there
safe to step on, but so situated that, one step being taken,
time is necessary to see where to step next. Now I find
that in a state of pure obedience the mind learns content-
ment in appearing weak and foohsh to that wisdom which is
of the world ; and in these lowly labours, they who stand

260 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

in a low place and are rightly exercised, under the cross
will find nourishment. The gift is pure ; and while the
eye is single in attending thereto the understanding is
preserved clear ; self is kept out. We rejoice in filhng
up that which remains of the afflictions of Christ for his
body's sake, which is the church.

The natural man loveth eloquence, and many love to hear
eloquent orations, and if there be not a careful attention
to the gift, men who have once laboured in the pure gospel
ministry, growing weary of suffering, and ashamed of
appearing weak, may kindle a fire, compass themselves
about with sparks, and walk in the light, not of Christ, who
is under suffering, but of that fire which they in departing
from the gift have kindled, in order that those hearers who
have left the meek, suffering state for worldly wisdom may
be warmed with this fire and speak highly of their labours.
That which is of God gathers to God, and that which is of
the world is owned by the world.

The rest, as far as the Journal is concerned, is
silence. From York, on September 22, he writes
to John, son of the afore-named Eachel, at Kendal :

Beloved Friend, — When I followed the trade of a
Taylor I had a Feeling of that which pleased the proud
Mind in People, and growing uneasy was strengthened to
leave off that which was superfluous in my Trade ; When
I was at your House I believe I had a sense of the Pride of
People being gratified in some part of the Business thou
followest, and feel a Concern in pure Love to endeavour
thus to inform thee of it. Christ our Leader is worthy of
being followed in his Leadings at all Times, the Enemy gets
many on his side ; 0 that we may not be divided between
the Two, but may be wholly on the Side of Christ !

In true Love to you all I remain thy Friend.

ENGLAND 261

On the following day he writes to America :

Beloved Cousins, — I am now at York, at a Quarterly-
Meeting, Ninth Month 23rd, 1772, so well in health as to
continue travelling. I appoint a few meetings, but not so
fast as I did some time ago. I feel quiet in my mind,
believing it is the Lord's will that I should for a time be in
this part of the world. I often remember you, and Friends
in your parts, as I pass along in this journey, and the Truth
as it is separate from all mixture, the Truth as it is in Jesus,
was never more precious to me than I feel it in this my
sojourning, in which my mind is often deeply afiected with
that which is not of the Father, but of the world.

I hear that dear W. Hunt departed this life, with the
small-pox, Ninth Month 9th, 1772, and that some of his last
words were " The Truth is over all." The rest of the
American friends on the visit were lately living, and mostly
middhng well so far as I hear.

I left my bed and some things on board the ship I came
in, directing the people to convey them to you if they
arrived safe at Philadelphia.

John Woolman.

CHAPTER XX

THE END OF THE JOURNEY

On Sunday, September 27, 1772, Woolman was at
York, seriously ill. There he had already made
many friends, among whom were various members
of the Tuke family, all prominent Quakers ; in-
cluding Henry Tuke, who was associated with
his father William in a thriving wholesale tea
business, and his sister Sarah ; also Esther Tuke,
the second wife of William, of whom Rebecca
Jones spoke as '' a sort of Princess." They seem to
have been kindly, hospitable, appreciative folk. Of
the unflourishing condition of the Society at about
this date, Samuel Tuke, eldest son of Henry, tells us :

It had come in many places (and truly York was not an
exception) to be managed not only by a few, but also by
dry, formal members, wholly unable rightly to sympathize
with the awakened, or with those who err and are out of
the way,

but among such members the Tukes were not
to be counted.

262

CHAP. XX THE END OF THE JOUKNEY 263

When Woolman came to York, Henry Tuke,
then in his eighteenth year, went out to meet him
at the last stage of his journey, to conduct him into
the city. '' I have frequently," says Samuel Tuke,
" heard my father speak of this walk with John
Woolman, and of the indescribable sweetness
of J. W.'s company and the pleasure with which
he remembered it."

Preferring to stay in " the clean country "
rather than in the city itself, Woolman took up
his abode in the house of Thomas Priestman,
Almery Garth, Marygate, a plain, commodious
dwelhng-place. In his Journal Priestman wrote :

John Woolman of Mount Holly in West Jersey in America
who came on a religious Visit to this Nation and attended
the Q(uarterly) Meeting here to good satisfaction and on 6th
day after was much indisposed and on seventh day being
26 of 9 mo. the small pox appear'd upon him of which
disorder he sufferd abundance during which time he was a
pattern of resignation and Patience.

He was tenderly and carefully nursed by Esther
Tuke, and by Sarah, and himself watched narrowly
the progress of the disease. He was urged to take
a doctor's advice, but answered that he did not
feel free to do so, " standing wholly resigned to his
will who gave him hfe, and whose power he had
witnessed to raise and heal him in sickness before,
when he seemed nigh unto death." Fortunately,

264 JOHN WOOLMAN

a young apothecary, uncalled upon, came to the
house the next day, and Woolman felt at liberty
to consult with him and with the other Friends
present, saying that " if anything should be
proposed as to medicine that did not come through
defiled channels or oppressive hands, he should be
willing to consider and take it, so far as he found
freedom."

Esther Tuke wrote to Samuel Emlen :

I scarce ever expected his recovery during his sickness,
though there were many favourable symptoms ; for looking
at the path, the unspeakable difficulties that would have
attended his travelling, etc., it seemed often clear to me
that he would either be delivered from it by death, or have
more liberty in his mind respecting the use of some things.
I have sometimes thought there might be a providential
hand in his taking and dying of the small-pox ; for if he
had gone ofi in almost any other disorder, we might have
feared his manner of living, and the hardships he was
exposed to had occasioned it ; but in this disorder, his
manner of living might be a fit preparative ; and the
apothecary (so skilful in it) said, before he saw him that no
person, living as he understood he had, could be much
afflicted by having a great load of small-pox ; but he found
his mistake, and diligently attended him, expressing an
anxious solicitude for his recovery, and divers times, with
tears in his eyes, expressed his astonishment to see, as
he said, such a perfect and upright man upon earth. John
Woolman frequently conversed with him, with great
openness, and when he differed in his judgment from
the doctor, he gave him such reasons as were to him
satisfactory.

THE END OF THE JOUKNEY 265

In another letter she writes :

The state of his mind throughout the whole of his un-
speakable affliction was one of continued calm ; a firm
trust in the Lord, with perfect resignation to his disposal,
appeared throughout the whole ; patient beyond descrip-
tion ; his hope and confidence so firmly fixed, that no out-
ward distress seemed able to discompose or ruffle him.

I think it is a favour we had the privilege of attending
him. He could bear but a low voice, nor seldom more
than one or two in the room at a time ; and mostly without
shoes ; his head at times being violent bad, he said the
hfting up a door latch, or stepping hard on the floor, was
as if we had beat him with hammers, and yet throughout
his understanding was perfect ; could bear to speak but
little, but when he did about his nursing, or anything
needful, it was so expressive that every word seemed a
sentence, and carried frequently deep instruction with it.

As the disorder progressed, his mind growing
light and thinking becoming burdensome, he
begged that if his faculties should become grossly
disordered nothing might be given to him to which
it was known that he had a conscientious objection.

On the 29th he prayed thus :

0 Lord, my God ! the amazing horrors of darkness were
gathered around me and covered me all over, and I saw no
way to go forth. I felt the depth and extent of the misery
of my fellow-creatures separated from the Divine harmony,
and it was heavier than I could bear, and I was crushed
down under it. I hfted my hand, I stretched out my arm,
but there was none to help me ; I looked round about
and was amazed. In the depth of misery, 0 Lord ! I

266 JOHN WOOLMAN chap.

remembered that thou art omnipotent ; that I had called
Thee Father ; and I felt that I loved Thee, and I was made
quiet in thy will, and I waited for deliverance from Thee.
Thou hadst pity upon me when no man could help me. I
saw that meekness under suffering was showed to us in the
most affecting example of Thy Son, and thou taught me to
follow Him, and I said, " Thy will, 0 Father, be done 1 "

The next day, on being asked how he felt himself,
he made reply, " I don't know that I have slept
this night ; I feel the disorder making its progress,
but my mind is mercifully preserved in stillness
and peace." He added that he was aware that
the pains of death must be difficult to bear, but
that they must come upon him if not now then
later, and " he did not know that he could be better
prepared." Worldly affairs he had settled in
accordance with his wishes, with his wife and
family he had parted, " as never to return, leaving
them to the protection of God," adding : '' Though
I feel them near to me at this time, yet I have
freely given them up, having a hope that they
will be provided for." And : '' This trial is made
easier than I could have thought, my will being
wholly taken away ; if I was anxious for the event
it would have been harder ; but I am not, and my
mind enjoys a perfect calm."

In the night, a young woman having given him something
to drink, he said, " My child, thou seemest very kind to me,
a poor creature ; the Lord mil reward thee for it." After

XX THE END OF THE JOUKNEY 267

a while he cried out with great earnestness of spirit, " 0
my Father ! my Father ! " and soon after he said, " 0 my
Father ! my Father ! how comfortable art Thou to my
soul in this trying season ! " Being asked if he could take
a Httle nourishment, after some pause he rephed, " My
child, I cannot tell what to say to it ; I seem nearly arrived
where my soul shall have rest from all its troubles." After
giving in something to be inserted in his journal, he said,
" I beheve the Lord will now excuse me from exercises of
this kind ; and I see no work but one, which is to be the last
wrought by me in this world ; the messenger will come that
will release me from all these troubles, but it must be in
the Lord's time, which I am waiting for." He said he had
laboured to do whatever was required according to the
ability received, in the remembrance of which he had
peace ; and though the disorder was strong at times, and
would hke a whirlwind come over his mind, yet it had
hitherto been kept steady and centred in everlasting love ;
adding, " And if that be mercifully continued, I ask and
desire no more." Another time he said he had long had a
view of visiting this nation, and, some time before he came,
had a dream, in which he saw himself in the northern parts
of it, and that the spring of the Gospel was opened in him
much as it was in the beginning of Friends such as George
Fox and Wilham Dewsbury, and he saw the different states
of the people as clear as he had ever seen flowers in a garden ;
but in his going along he was suddenly stopped, though he
could not see for what end ; but, looking towards home,
fell into a flood of tears, which waked him.

Fifth day night. — Having repeatedly consented to take
medicine, but without eflect, the friend then waiting on
him said through distress, " What shall I do now ? " He
answered with great composure, " Rejoice evermore, and
in everything give thanks " ; but added a httle after,
" This is sometimes hard to come at."

268 JOHN WOOLMAN

On the sixth, day morning he broke forth early in supphca-
tion on this wise, " 0 Lord, it was Thy power that enabled
me to forsake sin in my youth, and I have felt Thy bruises
for disobedience ; but as I bowed under them thou healedst
me, continuing a father and a friend ; I feel thy power now,
and I beg that in the approaching trying moment Thou wilt
keep my heart steadfast unto Thee." On his giving
directions to a friend concerning some little things, she
said " I will take care, but hope thou wilt live to order
them thyself." He repHed, " My hope is in Christ ; and
though I may seem a little better, a change in the disorder
may soon happen, and my Httle strength be dissolved, and
if it so happen I shall be gathered to my everlasting rest."
On her saying she did not doubt that, but could not help
mourning to see so many faithful servants removed at so
low a time, he said, " All good cometh from the Lord, whose
power is the same, and He can work as He sees best." The
same day he gave directions about wrapping his corpse ;
perceiving a friend to weep, he said, " I would rather thou
wouldst guard against weeping for me, my sister ; I sorrow
not, though I have had some painful conflicts, but now they
seem over, and matters well settled ; and I look at the face
of my dear Redeemer, for sweet is his voice, and his counte-
nance is comely."

He left a memorandum with directions for
" an ash coffin made plain without any manner of
superfluity ; the corpse to be wrapt in cheap
flannel, the expense of which I leave my wearing
clothes to defray as also the digging of the grave."

On Sunday, October 4, he was very weak,
though his mind remained clear ; he had been
quite blind for some days, and the contraction of

THE END OF THE JOURNEY 269

his throat caused acute distress. Esther Tuke
writes :

He was exceedingly afraid from the first of giving need-
less trouble to any, but his disorder increasing so much that
constant attendance was necessary, he desired I would stay
with him and not sleep out of the house till I saw an altera-
tion, which I very wilhngly comphed with ; and though
it was exceedingly trying to see him labour under unspeak-
able aflOiction and could render so little relief, yet I have
many times been thankful, in being favoured to attend
him ; for as I never saw one bear so much before, so I never
beheld the hke fortitude, patience and resignation — his
hope and confidence was so strong and firmly fixed, that
the greatest storms of affliction were not able to move him,
or even cause him to utter an impatient word — indicating
(that) he thought anything too hard ; and though he was
not free to take much medicines, yet he attended so much
(to) the progress of the disorder, and his own feehngs as
to what was suited for heahng or cause nourishment, that
our apothecary (a man we think of singular judgment in
that complaint, not a Friend) said, he did not know he
could be better ordered than he ordered himself ; except
toward the last he seemed to need something more cordial,
which he was not unwilling to take ; but his throat was
then so closed, that he could not swallow but with the
greatest difficulty ; and often strove, when it was distress-
ing to see him under his great weakness, and the pain it
occasioned, and at times he quietly said, " I believe I must
in a little time give it over and try no more " ; and it seemed
twice wholly closed up. But as a further detail of these
painful circumstances cannot be of use, and exceedingly
afflicting to me to relate, I shall leave them and say, though
he appeared to us in some things singular, and the path he
trod straiter than the liberty some of us have thought

270 JOHN WOOLMAN

the truth gives, yet I may say to thee that I cannot help
thinking it was the way truth led him ; and though it is
not for us to endeavour to step in the same strait way,
except from the hke call, yet we may be thankful we are
allowed more hberty, and can in a more comfortable manner
enjoy the temporal blessings afforded us ; and, at looking
at this, and at the httle comfort he had, it was cause of
humbhng to my mind, and brought to an enquiry, what
returns I made, and whether I walked answerable to what I
enjoyed far beyond merit ; and I sometimes thought his
singular and abstemious way so striking and conspicuous,
may be a means to draw divers others to the like examina-
tion.

Then one morning :

The apothecary, who appeared very anxious to assist him,
being present, he queried about the probabihty of such a
load of matter being thrown off his weak body ; and the
apothecary making some remarks implying he thought it
might, he spoke with an audible voice on this wise : " My
dependence is on the Lord Jesus, who I trust will forgive
my sins, which is all I hope for ; and if it be his will to
raise this body again I am content ; and if to die, I am
resigned ; but if thou canst not be easy without trying to
assist nature, I submit." After which his throat was so
much affected that it was very difficult for him to speak
so as to be understood, and he frequently wrote when he
wanted anything. About the second hour on fourth-day
morning he asked for a pen and ink, and at several times,
with much difficulty, wrote thus : " I believe my being here
is in the wisdom of Christ ; I know not as to life or death."

Let Esther Tuke tell the end :

The day before he died, his throat was closed up, that he
could scarce speak intelligibly, which distressed me much.

THE END OF THE JOURNEY 271

but he in great measure removed this difficulty by asking
for pen and ink, which we got, and held the paper, and he
wrote the words very legibly, though he was quite bhnd
and had been so for some days ; twice his throat was quite
closed, that he could not swallow one drop of anything,
and we had the most distressing prospect that he might
continue some days in that situation. The Doctor syring'd
his throat, but at last gave it up the night before he died
and said nothing could be done ; but my husband who
will never give up using means, so long as there is the least
rehef, set on to foment with his consent ; and continued
it for two hours ; and had the great satisfaction to find it
open again, and he swallowed better than he had done
for some days before ; and we were ready to flatter our-
selves with hojpe ; but it was of short duration ; for tho'
he got a little ease in that respect, yet he was several hours
exceeding bad, and could not he in bed ; was got up in a
chair, and towards morning had on some of his cloathes,
and with leaning on two, walked over the room, but wearied
out was laid down again upon the bed, and after some time
fell asleep, waked about the sixth hour, and breathed a
few times, and departed without struggle, sigh, or groan.

Thus departed this life John Woolman, a little
after six o'clock in the morning of October 7, 1772

EPILOGUE

He was interred in the Friends' Burial-ground at
York on October 9, 1772 ; a large and solemn
meeting was held on the occasion in the great
Meeting-house, and several Testimonies borne, one
setting forth the cause of his leaving his native
country and '^ travelling here thro' many hard-
ships and that now the Lord had removed him
from Works to a Glorious Keward."

II

We read in the Testimony of Friends in York-
shire at their Quarterly Meeting, held at York the
24th and 25th of the third month, 1773, concerning
John Woolman :

He was a man endued with a large natural capacity, and
being obedient to the manifestations of Divine Grace,
having in patience and humility endured many deep
baptisms, he became thereby sanctified and fitted for the
Lord's work, and was truly serviceable in his church.
DwelHng in awful fear and watchfulness, he was careful in his

272

EPILOGUE 273

public appearances to feel the putting forth of the Divine
Hand, so that the spring of the Gospel ministry often flowed
through him with great sweetness and purity, as a refresh-
ing stream to the weary travellers towards the city of God.
Skilful in dividing the word, he was furnished by Him in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
to communicate freely to the several states of the people
where his lot was cast. His conduct at other times was
seasoned with hke watchful circumspection and attention
to the guidance of Divine wisdom, which rendered his whole
conversation uniformly edifying.

He was fully persuaded that as the life of Christ comes
to reign in the earth, all abuse and unnecessary oppression
both of the human and brute creation, will come to an end ;
but under the sense of a deep revolt and an overflowing
stream of unrighteousness, his life has been often a life of
mourning.

Ill

Dying, Joseph White cried out :

The door is open ; I see an innumerable company of
saints, of angels, and of the spirits of just men, and long to
be unembodied to be with them, but not my will, but Thy
will be done, 0 Lord ! . . . I cannot express the joy I
feel. My heart (if it were possible) would break for joy.
If any inquire after me, after my end, let them know all
is well with me.

THE END

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2

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John Woolman, his life & our times; bein

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Shore, W. Teignmouth 1865-
1932

John Woolman, his life & our
times