what judgments have come upon them that have spoiled friends' goods, and have cast them into prison for tithes and maintenance. And therefore in the power of the Lord maintain the war against the beast, and do not put into his mouth, lest he cry peace to you; which peace you must not receive; but it must be broken, and thrown out by the Spirit of God: and then in the same spirit, ye will receive the peace from the son of peace, which the beast, and the whore, and the world, with all their earthly teachers for the earth, which are made by man, cannot receive, nor bereave you of. And therefore keep your authority and dominion in the power, and spirit, and name of Jesus; in whom my love is to you.'

Third Month, 1677.

G. F.

I came to London on the 23d of the third month, some ten or twelve days before the yearly meeting, in which time I fell in with friends in the service of truth, visiting them at the meetings; and the parliament then sitting, we prepared something to lay before them, concerning the seizing of the third part of friends' estates as popish recusants, which was a great suffering, and a grievance we complained of; but no redress we got.

To the yearly meeting many friends came from most parts of the nation; and some out of Scotland, Holland, &c. and very glorious meetings we had, wherein the Lord's powerful presence was very largely felt; and the affairs of truth were sweetly carried on in the unity of the spirit, to the satisfaction and comfort of the upright-hearted; blessed be the Lord for ever! Then, after the yearly meeting was over, and I had staid a week or two with friends in London, I went down with William Penn to his house in Sussex; John Burnyeat and some other friends went with us; and as we passed through Surrey, hearing that the quarterly meeting for that county was that day, William Penn, John Burnyeat and I went from the road to it; and after the meeting returning to our other company on the road, went on with them to William Penn's that night; which is forty miles from London. I staid at Worminghurst about three weeks, in which time John Burnyeat and I (at such times as we were not amongst friends in meetings) answered a very envious and wicked book, which one Roger Williams, a priest of New England (or some colony thereabouts) had written against truth and friends. When we had finished that service, we went with Stephen Smith (who was there with us) to his house at Warpledon in

Surrey, where we had a large meeting. Friends thereaway had been exceedingly plundered about two months before on the priest's account; for they took from Stephen Smith five kine (being all he had) for about fifty shillings tithes. From thence we went to Kingston, and so to London, where I staid not long; for it was upon me from the Lord to go into Holland, to visit friends there, and to preach the gospel there, and in some parts of Germany. Wherefore setting things in order for my journey as fast as I could, I took leave of friends at London; and with several other friends went down to Colchester in Essex, in order to my passage for Holland. Next day, being the first-day of the week, I was at the public meeting of friends there, which was very large and peaceable; and in the evening I had another large meeting, but not so public, at John Furly's house, where I lodged. The day following was the women's meeting there, which also was very large, and I was at that too. From thence next day we passed to Harwich, where Robert Duncon and several other friends out of the country, came to see us, and some from London came to us there that intended to go over with me. The packet-boat in which we were to go not being ready, we went to the meeting in the town, and a precious opportunity we had together; for the Lord, according to his wonted goodness, by his over-coming, refreshing power, opened many mouths to declare his everlasting truth, and to praise and glorify him. After the meeting we returned to John Vandewall's, where I had lodged, and when the boat was ready, (taking leave of those friends that had accompanied us thither, and that met us there) we that were bound for Holland went on board about the ninth hour in the evening, on the 25th day of the fifth month, 1677.

The friends that then went over with me were William Penn, Robert Barclay, George Keith and his wife, John Furly and his brother, William Tailcoat, George Watts, and Isabel Yeomans, who is one of my wife's daughters. About the first hour in the morning we weighed anchor, having a fair brisk wind, which by the next morning brought us within sight of Holland. But that day proving very clear and calm we got forward but little, till about the fourth hour in the afternoon, when a fresh gale arose, which carried us within a league of land. Then being becalmed again, we cast anchor for that night, it being between the hours of nine and ten in the evening: but William Penn and Robert Barclay (understanding that Benjamin Furly was come from Rotterdam to the Brill to meet us) got two of the boatmen to let down a small

boat that belonged to the packet boat, and row them to shore, but before they could get to shore the gates were shut; and there being no house without the gate, they were fain to lie in a fisher's boat all night. As soon as the gates were opened in the morning, they went in and found Benjamin Furly with other friends of Rotterdam, that were come thither to receive us; and they sent a boat, with three young men in it, that lived with Benjamin Furly, who brought us to the Brill, where the friends received us with great gladness.

We staid about two hours at the Brill to refresh ourselves, and then took boat with the Holland friends for Rotterdam, where we arrived about the eleventh hour that day, which was the 28th of the fifth month, 1677. I was very well this voyage, but some of the friends were sea sick; yet a fine passage we had, and all came safe and well to land; blessed and praised be the name of the Lord for ever.

The next day, being the first day of the week, we had two meetings at Benjamin Furly's, where many of the town's people and some officers came in, and all were civil. Benjamin Furly or John Claus (a friend of Amsterdam) interpreted, when any friend declared. I spent the next day in visiting friends there, and the day following William Penn and I, and some other of the friends, went towards Amsterdam with some friends of that city, who came to Rotterdam to conduct us thither. We took boat in the afternoon, and passing by a town called Overkirk, we came to Delft, through which we walked on foot, and then took boat again to Leyden, where we lodged that night at an inn: this is counted six Dutch miles from Rotterdam, which are eighteen English miles, and five hours sail or travel; for our boat was drawn by an horse that went on the shore. Next day taking boat again, we went to Harleam, fourteen miles from Leyden, where we had appointed a meeting, which proved very large; for many of the town's people came in, and two of their preachers, and the Lord gave us a blessed opportunity, not only with respect to friends, but to other sober people (baptists and other profossors) that were there, and the meeting ended peaceably and well. After meeting we passed to Amsterdam, accompanied by several friends of that city and of Alkmaer, some by waggon, some by boat.

Next day was the quarterly meeting at Amsterdam, to which came friends from Harleam and Rotterdam, and with them those friends of our company, whom we had left behind at Rotterdam, viz. Robert Barclay, George

Keith and his wife, &c. The meeting was at Gertrude Dirick Nieson's house, and a very large and serviceable meeting it was; for both William Penn and I were drawn forth to open many things concerning the order of the gospel, and to shew the benefit and service of yearly, quarterly, and monthly meetings of men and women. We had another meeting at Gertrude's the next day, more public, and very large, at which were professors of several sorts, unto whom the way of life and salvation was largely and livingly opened; which they hearkened very attentively to, none making any objection to what was declared. In the afternoon we had another meeting in the same place, but less, and more private. The day following we had a meeting of friends only, wherein by joint agreement of friends were settled several meetings, to wit, monthly, quarterly, and a yearly meeting, to be held at Amsterdam for friends in all the United Provinces of Holland, and in Embden, the Palatinate, Hamburgh, Frederickstadt, Dantzic, and other places in and about Germany, which friends were very glad of, and it hath been of great service to truth.

Next day an exercise came upon me concerning that deceitful spirit, which wrought in some amongst friends, to make divisions in the church; and the care of the churches being upon me, I was moved to write a few lines to warn friends of it, as followeth :

All friends, keep over that spirit of separation and division, in the peaceable truth, and in the seed of life, which will wear it all out, and out last it. For the Lamb will have the victory over all the spirits of strife, as it hath had since the beginning; and they will wither, as others have done; but all that do keep in the seed, which is always green, shall never wither; as friends have been to this day kept. And if any have gone out and backslidden, and thrown off the cross, and are grown loose and full, and are gone into strife and contention with their earthly spirits, and therein plead for a liberty; this spirit taketh with loose earthly spirits, and cries imposition to such as do admonish them to come to the life, light, and spirit and power of God, that they may be alive, and may live again with the living. And then upon this admonishment, their spirits do arise into contention and strife, and a separation, turning against the living, in their loose earthly spirits, which would have the name of truth, but is not in the nature of it, but is for eternal judgment of VOL. II.

P

the living seed. And this is it which doth deceive; but it is judged by that which doth undeceive and save.'

Amsterdam in Holland,

the 5th of the 6th month, 1677.

G. F.

This being the first-day of the week, we had a very large meeting again, there coming to it a great concourse of people of several opinions, as baptists, seekers, socinians, brownists, and some of the collegians. Robert Barclay, George Keith, William Penn, and I, did all severally declare the everlasting truth among them; opening the estate of man in the fall, and shewing by what way man and woman may come into the restoration by Christ Jesus: and indeed, the mystery of iniquity, and the mystery of godliness were very plainly laid open, and the meeting ended quietly and well.

The day following, George Keith, Robert Barclay, and William Penn, leaving me and some other friends at Amsterdam, set forward on their journey towards Germany; where they travelled many hundred miles, and had good service for the Lord; Benjamin Furly going with them and interpreting.

That day and the next I staid at Amsterdam, visiting the friends, and assisting them in some businesses concerning their meetings: and there came three baptists to discourse with me, unto whom I opened things to their satisfaction, and they parted from me in kindness. I wrote a letter also to the princess Elizabeth, which Isabel Yeomans delivered to her, when George Keith's wife and she went to visit her.

'Princess Elizabeth,

'I have heard of thy tenderness towards the Lord and his holy truth, by some friends that have visited thee, and also by some of thy letters, which I have seen; which indeed is a great thing for a person of thy quality to have such a tender mind after the Lord and his precious truth; seeing so many are swallowed up with voluptuousness, and the pleasures of this world, and yet all make an outward profession of God and Christ one way or other, but without any deep inward sense and feeling of him. For it is not many mighty, nor wise of the world, that can become fools for Christ's sake, or can become low in the humility of Christ Jesus from their mighty state, through which they might receive a mightier estate, and a mightier