{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_10369/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_10369","id":"gutenberg_10369","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10369","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Parenthood & Family Relations","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Clergy -- United States -- Biography","Quakers -- Biography","Yeardley, John, 1786-1858"],"text":"Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Sheila Vogtmann and PG Distributed\nProofreaders\n\n\n\n\n\nMEMOIR AND DIARY\n\nOF\nJOHN YEARDLEY,\n\nMinister of the Gospel.\n\n\nEDITED BY CHARLES TYLOR.\n\n\"Should time with me now close, I die in peace with my God, and in that\nlove for mankind which believes 'every nation to be our nation, and every\nman our brother.'\"--_Diary of J. Yeardley._.\n\nPHILADELPHIA:\nHENRY LONGSTRETH,\n1336 CHESTNUT STREET.\n1860.\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nFROM JOHN YEARDLEY'S CONVERSION TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS PUBLIC\nMINISTRY, 1803-15.\n\nBirth and occupation\nJoseph Wood, of Newhouse\nAnecdote of Thomas Yeardley\nJohn Yeardley's conversion\nHe enters T. D. Walton's linen warehouse\nJoins the Society of Friends\nMarriage with Elizabeth Dunn--Commencement of his Diary\nA. Clarke's \"Commentary\"\nEnters into business on his own account\nVisit of Sarah Lameley\nCall to the ministry\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nFROM HIS ENTRANCE ON THE MINISTRY IN 1815, TO HIS COMMISSION TO RESIDE IN\nGERMANY IN 1820.\n\nFirst offerings in the ministry\nIs unsuccessful in business\nRemoves to Bentham\nHis views on the Christian ministry\nVisit of Hannah Field\nIs recorded a minister\nVisits Kendal and Lancaster, in company with Joseph Wood\nVisit to Friends at Barnsley\nJourney to York\nLetters to Thomas Yeardley\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nFROM HIS COMMISSION TO RESIDE ABROAD IN 1820, TO HIS REMOVAL TO GERMANY\nIN 1822.\n\nProspect of residing in Germany\nVisit from John Kirkham\nLiverpool Quarterly Meeting\nPublic meeting at Wray\nVisit of Ann Jones\nJourney to Leeds\nDeath of Joseph Wood\nIllness of Elizabeth Yeardley\nHer death\nJohn Yeardley goes to Hull\nExtracts from Elizabeth Yeardley's letters\nTestimony concerning Joseph Wood\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nHIS FIRST RESIDENCE IN GERMANY, 1822-24.\n\nSails to Hamburg--His lodging at Eppendorf\nArrives at Pyrmont\nFriedensthal\nReligious service with Thomas Shillitoe\nEstablishment of the Reading and Youths' meetings at Pyrmont\nMode of bleaching\nVisiters at the Baths attend Pyrmont meeting\nJ.Y. visits Minden and Eidinghausen\nPlan for helping the Friends of Minden\nJourney to Leipzig\nReturns to England\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nFROM HIS RETURN TO ENGLAND IN 1824, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS FIRST\nCONTINENTAL JOURNEY IN 1825.\n\nMental depression\nJourney with Elizabeth H. Walker through the Midland Counties\nYearly Meeting\nReturns to Friedensthal\nHumiliation\nCertificate for the South of France\nMartha Savory's visit to the Continent\nJourney to Rotterdam\n\n\nChapter VI.\n\nHIS FIRST CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1825-26.\n\nJohn Yeardley and his companions leave Pyrmont\nVisit Elberfeld, Creveldt, Muehlheim, &c.\nNeuwied--the Inspirirten\nJourney to Berlenburg\nAre placed under arrest at Erndebrueck\nSet at liberty by the Landrath of Berlenburg\nThe Old and New Separatists\nGelnhausen and Raneberg\nPforzheim--H. Kienlin\nStuttgardt, Basle, &c.\nZurich--the Gessner family\nBerne\nGeneva\nJourney to Congenies\nReligious service in the South of France\nSt. Etienne\nReturn to England\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nHIS MARRIAGE WITH MARTHA SAVORY, 1826-27.\n\nJohn Yeardley goes into Yorkshire\nDeath of his parents\nMarriage with Martha Savory\nBiographical notice of Martha Savory\nLetter from Martha Yeardley\nJ. and M. Y. take up their abode at Burton, near Barnsley\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE SECOND CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1827-28.\n\nPART I.--GERMANY.\n\nJ. and M.Y. sail to Rotterdam\nMinden, &c.\nJourney to the shores of the North Sea\nVisit to the colonists on the _Grodens_\nFredericks-Oort\nFrankfort\nDarmstadt--Durkheim\nStuttgart\nKornthal\nWilhelmsdorf\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE SECOND CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1827-28.\n\nPART II.--SWITZERLAND.\n\nSchaffhausen\nBeuggen\nZurich\nHofwyl--Geneva--A. Bost\nLausanne\nNeufchatel\nBerne and the neighborhood\nMontmirail--Neufchatel\nLocle--Mary Anne Calame\nJourney through France\nGuernsey--Accident on the water\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nHOME OCCUPATIONS AND TRAVELS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1828-33.\n\nIllness of Martha Yeardley\nLetter from M.A. Calame\nYearly Meeting\nLetter from Auguste Borel--Public meetings in Yorkshire\nDeath of James A. Wilson--Journey through the Western Counties\nVarious religious engagements\nJourney through Wales with Elizabeth Dudley\nVisit to Lancashire\nRemoval to Scarborough\nEstablishment of a Bible-class at ditto\nProspects of a journey to Greece\nArgyri Climi\nYearly Meeting of Ministers and Elders\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, OR THE JOURNEY TO GREECE, 1833-34.\n\nPART I.--THE JOURNEY TO ANCONA.\n\n\nParis\nDeath of Rachel Waterhouse\nNancy\nPhalsbourg--Strasburg--Pastor Majors\nBan de la Roche\nBasle\nNeufchatel\nPolish Count and Countess\nGeneva\nJourney through Italy\nLetters from Friends in England\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1833-34.\n\nPART II.--GREECE.\n\nCorfu\nCount F. Sardina\nSanta Maura\nWigwam village on the mainland\nCephalonia--Zante\nPatras--the Gulf of Corinth\nGalaxidi--Trying situation\nCastri (the ancient Delphi)\nJourney to Athens\nAthens\nCorinth\nDetentions--Vostizza\nPatras\nCorfu\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1833-34.\n\nPART III.--THE RETURN FROM GREECE.\n\nLetters from John Rowntree and William Allen\nAncona\nFlorence\nThe Custom-house--Piedmont\nGeneva\nLausanne\nBerne\nZurich--Schaffhausen\nBasle--Death of Thomas Yeardley\nDeath of M.A. Calame\nNeufchatel\nReturn to England--Death of A.B. Savory\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nFROM THE END OF THE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY IN 1834 TO THE COMMENCEMENT\nOF THE FOURTH IN 1842.\n\nDivisions in the Society of Friends\nEmployment of leisure time\nGirls' Lancasterian school at Scarborough\nDeath of Elizabeth Rowntree--Letter from M.Y. to Elizabeth Dudley\nVisit to Thame\nVisit to Lancashire\nVisits to the Isle of Wight\nDeath of John Rutter\nProspect of revisiting the Continent\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nTHE FOURTH CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1842-43.\n\nAmiens\nParis\nLetters from E. Dudley and J. Rowntree\nLyons\nNismes--Boarding-school for girls\nLetter from John Rowntree\nMontpelier\nLesengnan\nMaux\nSaverdun\nToulouse\nMontauban--Castres\nTullins--Grenoble\nGeneva\nLausanne\nNeufchatel--Paul Petavel\nLocle\nBerne\nBasle\nCarlsruhe--Frankfort\nAccident to J.Y.--Vlotho\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nREMOVAL TO STAMFORD-HILL, AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIFTH CONTINENTAL\nJOURNEY, 1843-48.\n\nRemoval to Berkhamstead\nRemoval to Stamford-hill\nVisit to the families of Gracechurch-St. Monthly Meeting\nDeath of J.J. Gurney and I. Stickney\nPrepare for revisiting the Continent\nBrussels\nH. Van Maasdyk\nCharleroi--Spa\nBonn\nMannheim, Strasburg\nBasle\nBerne-Neufchatel\nGrenoble\nPrivas--Vals\nNismes--Congenies\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nCOMPLETION OF THE FIFTH CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, 1849-50.\n\nLetter from J.Y. to John Kitching\nElberfeld--Muehlheim\nBonn\nKreuznach--J.A. Ott\nMannheim\nStuttgardt--Death of Elizabeth Dudley\nKornthal\nKreuznach\nBonn\nReturn home--Resume their journey\nBerlin--A. Beyerhaus\nWarmbrunn\nIllness of Martha Yeardley-Toeplitz\nPrague--Translation of tracts into the Bohemian language\nKreuzuach--Neuwied\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nDEATH OF MARTHA YEARDLEY, AND JOHN YEARDLEY'S JOURNEY TO\nNORWAY, 1851-52.\n\nIllness and death of Martha Yeardley\nJ.Y. visits Ireland\nProspect of a journey to Norway\nHomburg--Illness of J.Y.\nChristiana--Christiansand\nStavanger\nExcursion up one of the fiords\nBergen\nMeetings at Foedde and other places\nObernkirchen\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nHIS JOURNEY TO SOUTH RUSSIA, 1853.\n\nPassport--Sails from Hull\nPetersburg\nMoscow\nJourney to Iekaterinoslav\nKharkov\nRybalsk--The German Colonies\nThe Molokans\nThe Crimea--The Tartars\nA suspicious halting-place--Simpheropol\nFeodosia\nOdessa--Constantinople\nSmyrna\nSyra--Malta\nNismes--Bagneres de Bigorre\nPialoux\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nFROM HIS RETURN FROM RUSSIA TO HIS LAST JOURNEY, 1853-1858.\n\nVisits Bath\nThe Yearly Meeting--Life of J. J. Gurney\nVisit to Minden--Religious service in Yorkshire\nGoes again to Minden\nNeuveville\nParis\nVisit to Bristol and Gloucester Quarterly Meetings\nMinden\nVisit to Birmingham, Leicester, &c.\nGoes to Nismes\nVisits Chelmsford, &c.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nLAST JOURNEY AND DEATH, 1858. CONCLUDING REMARKS.\n\nReligious Mission to Asiatic Turkey\nVoyage to Constantinople\nSun-stroke\nMeetings in the neighborhood of Constantinople\nIs seized with paralysis, and returns home\nHis death--Remarks on his character\nNotes of some of his public testimonies\n\n\n\nMEMOIR\n\nOF\n\nJOHN YEARDLEY.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nFROM JOHN YEARDLEY's CONVERSION TO THE COMMENCEMENT\nOF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\n1803--1815.\n\nJohn Yeardley was born on the 3rd of the First Month, 1786, at a small\nfarm-house beside Orgreave Hall, in the valley of the Rother, four miles\nsouth of Rotherham. His parents, Joel and Frances Yeardley, farmed some\nland, chiefly pasture, and his mother is said to have been famous for her\ncream-cheeses, which she carried herself to Sheffield market. She was a\npious and industrious woman; but, through the misconduct of her husband,\nwas sometimes reduced to such straits as scarcely to have enough food for\nher children.\n\nBefore they left Orgreave they were attracted towards the worship of\nFriends, and several of the family, including two of Joel Yeardley's\nsisters, embraced the truth as held by the Society. In the year 1802 they\nremoved to a farm at Blacker, three miles south of Barnsley, and attended\nthe meeting at Monk Bretton, or Burton, near that town, where the\nmeeting-house then stood. At Blacker it was John's business to ride into\nBarnsley daily on a pony, with two barrels of milk to distribute to the\ncustomers of his mother's dairy. His elder brother Thomas worked on the\nfarm.\n\nTheir attendance at Burton meeting brought the family under the notice of\nJoseph Wood, a minister of the Society, residing at Newhouse, near\nHighflatts, four miles from Penistone. Joseph Wood had been a Yorkshire\nclothier, but relinquished business in the prime of life, and spent the\nrest of his days in assiduous pastoral labor of a kind of which we have\nfew examples. To attend a Monthly Meeting he would leave home on foot the\nSeventh-day before, with John Bottomley, also a Friend and preacher, and\nat one time his servant, for some neighboring meeting. He would occupy the\nevening with social calls, dropping at every house the word of exhortation\nor comfort. The meeting next day would witness his fervent ministry. In\nthe afternoon they would proceed to the place where the Monthly Meeting\nwas to be held the following day, which they would attend, filling up the\ntime before and after with social and religious visits. In the intervals\nof the Monthly Meetings, when not engaged on more distant service, it was\nhis practice to appoint meetings for worship in the villages around\nHighflatts, and very frequently to visit those places where individuals\nwere \"under convincement,\" particularly Barnsley and Dewsbury, where at\nthat time many were added to the Society. On his return home from these\nservices he would spend the day in an upper room, without a fire, even in\nthe severest weather, writing a minute account of all that had happened.\n\nIt was in 1803 that Joseph Wood first had intercourse with Joel Yeardley's\nfamily. Under date of the 19th of the Fourth Month, he says, speaking of\nhimself and some other concerned Friends:--\n\n\nWe felt an inclination to visit Joel Yeardley's family, who are under\nconvincement, and who have lately removed from near Handsworth Woodhouse.\nWe went to breakfast. He and Frances his wife, with Thomas and John their\nsons, the former about nineteen, the latter seventeen years of age,\nreceived us in a very kind and affectionate manner, expressing their\nsatisfaction at our coming to see them. They appeared quite open, and gave\nus a particular account of the manner of their convincement and beginning\nto attend Friends' meetings, which was about four years ago. I believe\nthere is a good degree of sincerity in the man and his wife, and the two\nsons appear to be tender and hopeful.\n\n\nThe next month Joseph Wood repeated his visit, and gives an account of the\ninterview in the following words:--\n\n\n5 _mo_., 1803.--Having ever since I was at Joel Yeardley's the last\nmonth, felt my mind drawn to sit with the family, and this appearing to me\nto be the right time, I set out from home the 14th of the Fifth Month, in\ncompany with John Bottomley. Got to Joel Yeardley's betwixt four and five\no'clock. After tea, Thomas Dixon Walton and Samuel Coward of Barnsley came\nto meet us there. In the evening we had a precious opportunity together,\nin which caution, counsel, advice, and encouragement flowed plentifully,\nsuited to the varied states of the family. I had a long time therein\nfirst, from 1 Cor. xv. 58; John Bottomley next. Afterwards I had a pretty\nlong time, after which J.B. was concerned in prayer. At the breaking up of\nthe opportunity I had something very encouraging to communicate to their\nson Thomas, who, I believe, is an exercised youth, to whom my spirit felt\nvery nearly united.\n\n\nJoel Yeardley unhappily did not long remain faithful to his convictions.\nHe not only himself drew back from intercourse with Friends, but was\nunwilling his sons should leave their work to attend week-day meetings,\nand did all in his power to prevent them. This is shown by the following\nnarrative from Joseph Wood's memoranda:--\n\n\nAs William Wass and I were going to attend a Committee at Highflatts, on\nour Monthly Meeting day, in the morning, we met with Thomas Yeardley of\nBlacker, near Worsbro', a young man who is under convincement. I was a\nlittle surprised to see him having on a green singlet and smock frock. He\nburst out into tears; I inquired the matter, and if something was amiss at\nhome; he only replied, \"Not much;\" and we not having time to atop,\nproceeded, and he went forward to my house. This was on the 19th of the\nNinth Month, 1803.\n\nAfter the Monthly Meeting was over, I had an opportunity to inquire into\nthe cause of his appearance and trouble, and found that he was religiously\nconcerned to attend weekday meetings, which his father was much averse to;\nand in order to procure his liberty he had worked almost beyond his\nability; but all would not do, his father plainly telling him that he\nshould quit the house. The evening before, he applied to him for leave to\ncome to the meeting at Highflatts to-day; but he refused, and treated him\nwith very rough language. However, as the concern remained with him, he\nrose early in the morning and got himself ready; but his father came and\nviolently pulled the clothes off his back, and his shirt also, and took\nall his other clothes from him but those we met him in, telling him to get\na place immediately, for he should not stop in his house. Being thus\nstripped, he went to his work in the stable; but, not feeling easy without\ncoming to meeting, he set out as he was, not minding his dress, so that he\nmight but be favored to get to the meeting.\n\nThis evening we had an opportunity with him in my parlor, much to our\nsatisfaction. The language of encouragement and consolation flowed freely\nand plentifully towards him through William Wass, John Bottomley, and\nmyself; and afterwards, in conference with him, we found liberty to advise\nhim to return home (he having before thought of procuring a place),\nbelieving if he was preserved faithful, way would in time be made for him,\nand that it might perhaps be a means of his father's restoration; as at\ntimes, he said, he appeared a little different, not having wholly lost his\nlove to Friends, and always behaved kindly to them. He took our advice\nkindly, and complied therewith. After stopping two nights at my house, he\nreturned home.\n\n\nJoseph Wood did not suffer much time to elapse before he paid another\nvisit to Blacker, to comfort the afflicted family. It was from this visit,\nas we apprehend, that John Yeardley dated his change of heart. \"I was\nconvinced,\" he said on one occasion, \"at a meeting which Joseph Wood had\nwith our family.\"\n\n\n7 _mo_. 17, 1803.--Thomas Walker Haigh and William Gant accompanied\nus to Joel Yeardley's, where we tarried all night; but the two young men\nfrom Barnsley returned home after supper. Joel was from home, but after\ntea we had a religious opportunity with the rest of the family, in which I\nhad a very long consolatory and encouraging testimony to bear to the\ndeeply-suffering exercised minds from John xvi. 33. Afterwards I had a\npretty long time, principally to their son John, who I believe was under a\nprecious visitation from on high. He was much broken and tendered, and I\nhope this season of remarkable favor will not soon be forgotten by him.\n\n\nOn his return home Joseph Wood wrote him the following letter:--\n\n\nNewhouse, 10 mo. 24, 1803\n\nBELOVED FRIEND, JOHN YEARDLEY,\n\nThou hast often been in my remembrance since I last saw thee, accompanied\nwith an earnest desire that the seed sown may prosper and bring forth\nfruit in its season, to the praise and glory of the Great Husbandman, who,\nI believe, is calling thee to glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life.\nAnd O mayest thou be willing in this the day of his power to leave all and\nfollow him who hath declared, \"Every one who hath forsaken houses, or\nbrethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or\nlands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall\ninherit everlasting life.\"\n\nNot that we should be found wanting in our duty to our near connexions,\nfor true religion does not destroy natural affection, but brings and\npreserves it in its proper place. When our earthly parents command one\nthing, and the Almighty another, it is better for us to obey God than man,\nand herein is our love manifested unto him by our obedience to his\ncommands though it may sometimes clash against our parents' minds. At the\nsame time it is our duty to endeavor to convince them, that we are willing\nto obey all their lawful commands, where they do not interfere with our\nduty to Him who hath given us life, breath, and being, and mercifully\nvisited us by his grace. I thought a remark of this kind appeared to be\nrequired of me, apprehending if thou art faithful unto the Lord, thou wilt\nfind it to be thy duty at times to leave thy worldly concerns to attend\nreligious meetings, which may cause thee deep and heavy trials; but\nremember for thy encouragement, the promise of the hundred-fold in this\nworld, and in that which is to come, eternal life.\n\nThou art favored with a pious though afflicted mother, and a\nreligiously-exercised elder brother, who, I doubt not, will rejoice to see\nthee grow in the truth. May you all be blessed with the blessing of\npreservation, and strengthened to keep your ranks in righteousness, and\nmay you be a strength and comfort to each other, and hold up a standard of\ntruth and righteousness in the neighborhood where your lot is cast. Do not\nflinch, my beloved friend; be not ashamed to become a true follower of\nChrist. When little things are required of thee, be faithful; thus shalt\nthou be made ruler over more; when greater things are manifested to be thy\nduty, remember the Lord is able to support, who declared by the mouth of\nhis prophet formerly, \"Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the\nbirds round about are against her.\" But if the Lord be on our side, it\nmatters little who may be permitted to arise against us, for his power is\nabove all the combined powers of the wicked one, and he will bless and\npreserve those who above all things are concerned to serve him faithfully,\nwhich that thou mayest be is the sincere desire of thy truly loving and\naffectionate friend,\n\nJOSEPH WOOD.\n\n\nThe word which had been so fitly spoken took deep root in John Yeardley's\nheart, and on the following New-year's day he went up to Newhouse to\nconverse with his experienced and sympathizing friend.\n\n\nOn the 1st of the First Month, 1804, (writes Joseph Wood,) John Yeardley\ncame to my house, on purpose to see me. He got here betwixt ten and eleven\no'clock in the forenoon, attended our meeting and tarried with us until\nafter tea, and then returned home. He is a hopeful youth, tender in\nspirit, and of a sweet natural disposition; was convinced of the truth in\nan opportunity I had at his father's house, and, I hope, is likely to do\nwell. I love him much, and much desire his preservation, growth, and\nestablishment upon the everlasting foundation, against which the gates of\nHell are not able to prevail.\n\n\nShortly after this, we obtain from John Yeardley's own hand an insight\ninto the depth of those religious convictions which had so mercifully been\nvouchsafed to him. The manner in which this interesting memorandum\nconcludes is quaint, but it expresses a resolution to which he was enabled\nto adhere in a remarkable degree throughout the course of his long life;\nfor of him it may be said that, beyond many, his pursuits, his aims, and\nhis conversation were not of the world, but were bounded by the line of\nthe Gospel, and animated by its self-denying spirit.\n\n\n_Blacker_, 2 _mo_. 9, 1804.--As I pursued these earthly\nenjoyments, it pleased the Lord, in the riches of his mercy to turn me\nback in the blooming of my youth, and favor me with the overshadowing of\nhis love, to see the splendid pleasures that so easily detained my\nprecious time. He was graciously pleased to call me to the exercise of\nthat important work which must be done in all our hearts, which appears to\nme no small cross to my own will, and attended with many discouragements;\nyet I am made to believe it is the way wherein I ought to go; and I trust\nThou, O Lord, who hast called, will enable me to give up, and come forward\nin perfect obedience to the manifestations of thy divine light, so as a\nthorough change may be wrought, that I may be fitted and prepared for a\nplace in thy everlasting kingdom. Though at times I am led into great\ndiscouragement, and almost ready to faint by the way, fearing I shall\nnever be made conqueror over those potent enemies who so much oppose my\nhappiness, O be Thou near in these needful times, and underneath to bear\nme up in all the difficulties which it is necessary I should pass through\nfor my further refinement, whilst I have a being in this earthly\npilgrimage. Strong are the ties that seem to attach me to the earth; but\nO! I have cause to believe, from a known sense, stronger are the ties of\nthy overshadowing Spirit than all the ties of natural affection. Great and\nfrequent are the trials and temptations, and narrow is the way wherein we\nought to walk; alas! too narrow for many. O may I ever be preserved,\nfaithfully forward to the eternal land of rest!\n\nDear Lord, who knowest the secret of all hearts, thou knowest I am at\ntimes under a sense of great weakness; but thou, who art always waiting to\ngather the tender youth into thy flock and family, hast mercifully reached\nover me with thy gathering arm. Mayst thou ever be near to strengthen me\nin every weakness; and make me willing to leave all, take up my daily\ncross, and follow thee in the denial of self, not fearing to confess thee\nbefore men. Always give me strength to perform whatsoever thou mayest\nrequire at my hands; wean my affections more and more; attract me nearer\nto thyself; and lead me through this world as a stranger, never to be\nknown to it more but by the name of JOHN YEARDLEY.\n\n\nIn the Third Month Joseph Wood again addressed his young friend by letter,\nencouraging him to be steadfast in trial, and to beware of the gilded\nbaits of the enemy; and promising him, that if he followed the Lord\nfaithfully, his works should appear marvellous in his eyes, his wonders be\ndisclosed to him in the deeps, and he on his part would be made willing to\nserve him with a perfect heart.\n\nIn the Sixth Month, again visiting Blacker, he had a \"precious,\nheart-tendering religious opportunity with all the family.\"\n\nAbout this time Joel Yeardley was so much reduced in his circumstances as\nto be obliged to give up farming, which compelled his sons to seek their\nown means of livelihood. Thomas and John went into Barnsley, where they\napplied themselves to the linen manufacture, and were taken into the\nwarehouse of Thomas Dixon Walton, a Friend, who afterwards married a\ndaughter of Thomas Shillitoe.\n\nIn the First Month, 1806, Joseph Wood records another interesting\ninterview with his young friend:--\n\n\n1 _mo_. 7.--I called on Thomas Dixon Walton and John Yeardley, with\nwhom I had a religious opportunity in which the language of encouragement\nflowed freely; I being opened unto them from Luke xii. 32; \"Fear not,\nlittle flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the\nkingdom.\"\n\n\nIn the Third Month of this year John Yeardley made application for\nmembership in the Society of Friends, and was admitted in the Fifth Month\nfollowing, being then twenty years of age. His brother Thomas had joined\nthe Society some time before. The brothers are thus described by one who\nknew them intimately:--Thomas, as a man of homely manners, of hearty and\ngenial character, and greatly beloved; John, as possessing a native\nrefinement which made it easy for him in after-life to rise in social\nposition, but whose reserved habits caused him to be less generally\nappreciated.\n\nThe call which John Yeardley received, and which he so happily obeyed, to\nleave the world and enter by the strait gate into the kingdom of heaven,\nwas accompanied, as we shall afterwards see more fully, by a secret\nconviction that he would one day have publicly to preach to others the\nGospel of salvation. A sense that such was the case seems to have taken\nhold of Joseph Wood's mind, in a visit which he made him some time after\nhis admission into the Society.\n\n\n1 _mo_. 29, 1808.--Sat with T.D. Walton and his wife, and his man\nJohn Yeardley. I had two pretty long testimonies to bear from Colossians\niv. 17. I had to show the necessity there was for those who had received a\ngift in the ministry to be faithful, and, as Satan was as busy about these\nas any others, to be careful to withstand his temptations, that nothing\nmight hinder our fulfilment of this gift, nor anything be suffered to\nprevail over us that might hinder its proper effect upon others.\n\nAfter Thomas was gone to breakfast, my mind was unexpectedly opened in a\npretty long encouraging testimony to John, from John xxi. 22--\"What is\nthat to thee? follow thou me;\" having gently to caution him not to look at\nothers to his hurt, but faithfully follow his Master, Jesus Christ, in the\nway of his leadings.\n\n\nIn 1809 John Yeardley married Elizabeth Dunn. She was much older than\nhimself, \"plain in person,\" but \"full of simplicity and goodness,\" and of\na \"most lovable\" character. Like her husband she had come into the Society\nby convincement; and like him she had partaken in a large degree of the\npaternal sympathy and oversight of Joseph Wood. She had been a Methodist,\nand was one of the first who joined with Friends at Barnsley in the\nawakening which took place there in the beginning of the century.\n\nJohn Yeardley and his wife inhabited, on their marriage, a small house at\nthe southern extremity of the town, whither very soon afterwards was\ntransferred the afternoon meeting which it was customary to hold at some\nFriend's house in Barnsley. The morning meeting continued to be held at.\nBurton until 1816, when a new meeting-house was built in the town.\n\nThey had only one child, a son, who died in infancy.\n\nJohn Yeardley commenced his Diary in 1811; and this valuable record of his\nreligious experience, and of his travels in the service of the Gospel, was\nmaintained with more or less regularity to the end of his life. The motive\nwhich induced him to adopt this practice is given in the following lines,\nwith which the manuscript commences:--\n\n\nIt may seem a little strange that I should, in my present situation,\nattempt to keep any memorandums of the following kind; but feeling\ndesirous simply to pen down a few broken remarks as they may at times\noccur to my mind, I apprehend no great harm can arise; and if, by causing\na closer scrutiny into my future stepping along, they should in any degree\nexercise my mind to spiritual improvement, the intended purpose will be\nfully answered.\n\n\nThe first entry is dated the 6th of the Tenth Month, 1811:--\n\n\n_First-day_.--Have been sweetly refreshed at our little meeting this\nmorning. I have long felt assured that Time calls for greater diligence in\nme than has hitherto been rendered. And when I consider the innumerable\nfavors and privileges which I enjoy at the hands of Divine Providence,\nbeyond many of my fellow-creatures, and the few returns of gratitude I am\nmaking, it raises in me an inexpressible desire that my few remaining days\nmay be dedicated, in humble obedience, to Him whose great and noble cause\nI am professing to promote.\n\nHow unstable is human nature! On sitting down in meeting this evening I\ngot into a state of unwatchfulness, which continued so long as to deprive\nme of the refreshment my poor mind so often stands in need of.\n\n\nIn the entries which follow, the progress of the inward work and the\npreparation for future service are very evident:--\n\n\n13_th_.--Went to our morning gathering in a low frame of mind, and\nwas made afresh to believe that were we more concerned to dwell nearer the\npure principle of Truth when out of meetings, we should not find such\ndifficult access when thus collected, but each one would be encouraged to\ncome under the precious influence of that baptizing power which would\ncement and refresh our spirits together. O then, I firmly believe, our\nHeavenly Father would in an eminent manner condescend to crown our\nassemblies with the overshadowing of his love, and enable us not only to\nroll away the stone, but to draw living water as out of the wells of\nsalvation.\n\n17_th_.--\"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit\nwithin me,\" was a language which secretly passed my mind in meeting this\nmorning; and though inwardly poor as I am, yet I dare not but acknowledge\nit a privilege to be favored even with a good desire.\n\n24_th_.--Was a little refreshed at our morning gathering, my spirit\nbeing exercised under a concern that I might not rest satisfied with\nanything short of living experience; and I felt comforted with a lively\nhope that He whom my soul loveth will not fail to manifest his divine\nregard to one who is sincerely desirous to become acquainted with his\nways. O, how shall I render sufficient thankfulness for such a favor, thus\nto be made once more sweetly to partake of the brook by the way.\n\nThought the evening sitting rather dull, though the ministry of T. S. was\nlively, which is a confirming proof that however favored we may be at\ncertain seasons, yet if at any time we suffer our attention to be diverted\nfrom the real object, it frustrates the design of Him who I believe\nintends that we should wait together to renew our strength.\n\n\nIn the Eleventh Month Henry Hull, from the United Slates, accompanied by\nJohn Hull of Uxbridge, visited Burton, and had good service their, both\namongst Friends and with the public. They lodged at John Yeardley's, and,\nin describing their labors and the pleasure he derived from their society,\nhe records his thankfulness at being placed in a situation in life such as\nafforded him the opportunity of entertaining the Lord's servants.\n\nHis disposition was lively and strongly inclined to humor, and he early\nfelt the necessity of having this natural trait of character subjected to\nthe rule of heavenly wisdom. Under date 27th of the Eleventh Month he\nsays:--\n\n\nI feel a little compunction for having these few days past given way too\nmuch to the lightness of my disposition, and not being sufficiently\nconcerned to seek after that stability and serious reflection which never\nfails to improve the mind.\n\n\nOn the 26th of the Twelfth Month he records a state of spiritual poverty.\n\n\nSuch, he says, has been the instability of my mind, that my \"Beloved is\nunto me as a fountain sealed.\" But, he adds, I feel a little tendered this\nevening, on reading over a few comfortable expressions in a letter from my\nfriend, Joseph Wood.\n\n\nThis condition of mind continued for some months, when he thus breaks\nforth:--\n\n\n3 _mo_. 8, 1812.--How pleasant it is once more to be favored with a\nfew drops of living water from the springs of that well which my soul has\nhad for many weeks past to languish after, and which I trust has been\nwisely withheld in order to show me that, although it is our indispensable\nduty to persevere in digging for it, yet it is only in His own time that\nwe are permitted to drink thereof.\n\n\nHis just appreciation of the nature of meetings held for the discipline of\nthe Church, and of the spirit in which they are to be conducted, is shown\nin an early part of the Diary.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 15.--Was at our Preparative Meeting. The queries having to be\nanswered, I was led into deep thoughtfulness respecting the same, and\ninwardly solicited that the Father of mercies would lend his divine aid,\nin the performance of such important duties; which I have reason to\nbelieve was in some measure answered, for they were gone through with a\ndegree of ease and comfort to my own mind. May I ever keep in remembrance\nthe testimonies of his love which are so often manifested!\n\n8 _mo_. 17.--Meeting for discipline at Burton. The forepart was\nconducted, I think, to edification; but in the latter, one subject\noccupied much time unnecessarily, and did not conclude to general\nsatisfaction. When some whose spirits are not well seasoned, speak to\ncircumstances which they may not have sufficiently considered, it\nsometimes does more harm than they may at first apprehend.\n\n\nThe entries in the Diary at this time shew many alternations of\ndiscouragement and comfort, and of that deep searching of his own heart\nfrom which he seldom shrank, and which is the only way to the liberty and\npeace of the soul.\n\n\n4 _mo_. 12.--In contemplating the gracious dealings of the Almighty\nwith me from time to time, I have been led to query, Is it not that I\nmight, by patiently submitting to the turnings and overturnings of his\nmost holy hand, become fashioned to show forth his praise? But alas! where\nare the fruits? Is not the work rather marring as on the wheel; can I, in\nsincerity say, I am the clay, Thou art the potter? I feel weary of my own\nnegligence; for it seems as if the day with me was advancing faster than\nthe work, I fear lest I should be cast off for want of giving greater\ndiligence to make my calling sure. O may he who is perfect in wisdom\nstrengthen the feeble desire which remains, and melt my stubborn will into\nperfect obedience by the operation of his pure spirit.\n\n\nIn the next memoranda which we shall transcribe we see when and how his\nmind was imbued with the love of Scriptural inquiry and illustration. Two\nor three good books well read and digested in younger life often form the\nthinking habits of the man, and supply no small part of the substance, or\nat any rate the nucleus, of his knowledge. This shows the vast importance\nof a wise choice of authors, at the time when the mind is the most\nsusceptible of impressions, and the most capable of appropriating the food\nwhich is presented to it. Those who knew John Yeardley will recognise the\nintimate connexion between these early studies and the character of his\nfuture life and ministry. If any should think his language on this or\nkindred subjects marked by excessive caution, they must bear in mind the\ncomparative by unintellectual circle in which he moved.\n\n\nI trust, he writes, under date of 4 mo. 28, a few of my leisure hours for\ntwo or three weeks past have been spent profitably in perusing some of A.\nClarke's Notes on the Book of Genesis; and although I am fully aware that\nthe greatest caution is necessary, when these learned men undertake to\nexercise their skill on the sacred text, yet I am of opinion, if used with\nprudence and a right spirit attended to, it may tend considerably to\nillustrate particular passages. I think this pious man has not only shown\nhis profound knowledge of the learned languages, but some of his\nobservations are so pertinent and so judiciously made, as may have a\ntendency to produce spiritual reflection in the mind of the reader.\n\n5 _mo_. 24.--Having read with some attention Fleury's \"Manners of the\nIsraelites,\" by A. Clarke, I am convinced that even a slight knowledge of\nthose ancient customs tends to facilitate the proper study of the sacred\nwritings; for many of the metaphors so beautifully made use of by the\nprophets and apostles, and even our dear Redeemer himself, to convey a\nspiritual meaning, seem to have had an evident allusion to the antique\nmanners and customs which I find explained in this little volume.\n\n\nThe commotions referred to in the reflections which follow, were no doubt\nthe great European war which was then raging. Buonaparte, it may be\nremembered, was at that time making preparation for his Russian campaign,\nand a universal alarm prevailed as to the final result of his insatiable\nlust of conquest.\n\n\n5 _mo_. 7.--In viewing the commotions of the times, it has induced me\nseriously to consider the great importance of procuring, as far as ability\nmay be afforded, a free access to the never-failing source of our help;\nand in a little contemplating this subject I have been comforted in a hope\nthat, if we only abide stedfast and immovable, He whom the waves of the\nsea obeyed will in his own time speak peace to the minds of his tossed\nones, and a calm will ensue.\n\n\nThe perusal of Elizabeth Smith's \"Fragments\" occasions him to remark how\nprofitable it is to read the writings of others; but he wisely adds:--\n\n\nI am often desirous not to rest satisfied with a bare perusal of these,\nbelieving they are only advantageous to us so far as they stimulate to a\ncloser attention to that inward gift, which alone can enable us to witness\nthe same experience. It is often a query with me, how am I spending this\nprecious time, which passes so swiftly away never to return? and, in order\nto answer this query aright, how desirable it is to dwell with thee, sweet\nsolitude! to turn inward, to examine and correct the defects of our own\ndisordered minds; how delightful it is to walk alone and contemplate the\nbeautiful scenes of nature. Yet in these retired moments, when viewing the\nworks of a divine hand springing up to answer the great end for which they\nwere created, I am often deeply perplexed with a distressing fear lest I\nshould not be found coming forward faithfully to answer the end of Him who\nhas created man for the purpose of his own glory.\n\n\nThe meetings for the discipline of the Society were often times of\nspiritual refreshment to him.\n\n\n6 _mo._ 23.--I left home to attend our Quarterly Meeting at York. The\nmeetings for business were generally satisfactory; on re-examining the\nanswers to the queries, divers very weighty remarks were made. I thought\nthe two meetings for worship favored seasons; and, although I left home\nwith reluctance, I cannot but rejoice at having given up a little time to\nbe made a partaker of the overflowing of that precious influence which, I\ntrust, made glad the hearts of many present.\n\n\nThe extracts which follow develope still further the progress of his inner\nlife, and the secret preparation of the future preacher of the Gospel and\noverseer of the flock of Christ.\n\n\n6 _mo._ 29.--A deep-searching time at meeting yesterday, wherein I\nwas given to see a little of my own unworthiness The secret breathings of\nmy spirit were to the Father and fountain of life, that he might be\npleased more and more to redeem me from this corrupted state of human\nnature, and draw me by the powerful cords of his love into a nearer union\nwith the pure spirit of the Gospel.\n\n7 _mo._ 6.--Thought an awful solemnity was the covering of our small\ngathering yesterday morning, under which I felt truly thankful to the\nDispenser of every gift; and was enabled to crave his assistance to\nmaintain the watch with greater diligence, and pursue the ways of peace\nwith alacrity of soul.\n\n29_th and_ 30_th._--The General Meeting at Ackworth was large,\nand I thought very satisfactory through all its different sittings. The\nmeeting for worship was a remarkable time; the pure spring of gospel\nministry seemed to flow, as from vessel to vessel, until it rose into such\ndominion as to declare the gracious presence of Him who is ever worthy to\nbe honored and adored for thus condescending to own us on such important\noccasions. Iron is said to sharpen iron; and I thought it was a little the\ncase with me at this season, feeling very desirous to enjoy that within\nmyself which I so much admire in others.\n\n8 _mo_. 13.--Many days have I gone mourning on my way, for what cause\nI know not; but if I can only abide in patience till the day break and the\nshadows flee away, then I trust the King of righteousness will again\nappear.\n\n25_th_.--In contemplating a little the character of that good man,\nNehemiah, I cannot but think it worthy our strictest imitation, when we\nconsider the heartfelt concern he manifested for the welfare of his\npeople, in saying, \"Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that\nwe be no more a reproach.\" This proved him to be a man of a noble spirit\nand a disinterested mind, and, I say, worthy our strictest imitation; for\nto what nobler purpose can we dedicate our time than in endeavoring to\nbuild up the broken places which are made in the walls of our Zion?\n\n\nIn the following entry is shown a just insight into the nature of man, and\na discernment of the uses and limits of human knowledge. Although John\nYeardley's talents were not brilliant, and his opportunities were scanty,\nhe possessed that intellectual thirst which cannot be slaked but at the\nfountain of knowledge. At the same time he was sensitively alive to the\nnecessity of having all his pursuits, of whatever kind, kept within the\ngolden measure of the Spirit of Truth.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 11.--In taking a view of some of the temporal objects to\nwhich my attention has of late been more particularly turned, with a\ndesire to enlarge my ideas and improve my understanding in some of the\nmore useful and extended branches of literature, it has excited in me a\nconsiderable degree of caution, lest thereby I should, in this my infant\nstate of mind, too much exclude the operation of that pure in-speaking\nword which has undoubtedly a prior right to govern all my actions. But I\nhave long been convinced that the active mind of man must have some object\nin pursuit to engage its attention when unemployed in the lawful concerns\nof life, otherwise it is apt to range at large in a boundless field of\nunprofitable thoughts and imaginations. I am aware that we may be\nseasonably employed in suitable conversation to mutual advantage, and I\ntrust I am not altogether a stranger to the value of _sweet\nretirement_; but there is a certain something in every mind which\nrenders a change in the exercise of our natural faculties indispensable,\nin order to make us happy in ourselves and useful members of society; and\nit is under these considerations that I am induced to apply a few of my\nleisure hours towards some degree of intellectual attainment, in the\nhumble hope that I may be preserved in that path which will procure at the\nhands of a wise Director that approbation which I greatly desire should\nmark all my steps.\n\n\nThe next extract from the diary will find a response in the hearts of many\nwho read these pages.\n\n\n1813. 2 _mo_. 17.--Never, surely, was any poor creature so weary of\nhis weakness! Almost in everything spiritual, and even useful, I have not\nonly been as one forsaken, but it has seemed as though I was to be utterly\ncast off. When I have desired to feel after good, evil has never failed to\npresent itself. O, when will He whose countenance has often made all\nwithin me glad, see meet to return and say, \"It is enough!\"\n\n\n6 _mo_. 27.--The thoughts which he put into writing under this date\nseem to have been occasioned by entering into business on his own account.\n\n\nAm now about to enter the busy scenes of life, which sinks me into the\nvery depth of humility and fear, lest the concerns of an earthly nature\nshould deprive me of my heavenly crown, which I have so often desired to\nprefer even to life itself. But O, should there remain any regard in the\nbreast of the Father of mercies, for one who feels so unable to cope with\nthe world, may he still be pleased to preserve me in his fear, and not\nonly to take me under the shadow of his heavenly wing, but make me willing\nto abide under the guidance of his divine direction!\n\n7 _mo_. 15.--\"Cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the\nscribe, lest I die there.\" These words of our weeping prophet have\nsensibly affected my heart this morning, under a prevailing desire that my\ngracious rather may not permit me to remain as in the prison-house of\nworldly affairs, lest I die my spiritual death there.\n\n\nWe shall see that he was not successful in business; and it may be that\nthe disappointments he experienced in this way were in some sort an answer\nto these ardent prayers to be kept from the spirit of the world.\n\nUnder date 21_st_ of the First Month, 1814, he writes:\n\n\nI trust the few temporal disappointments I have met with of late have been\nconducive to my best interest, having had a tendency to turn my views from\na too anxious pursuit after the things of time to a serious consideration\nof the very great importance of a more strict reliance on the\nnever-failing arm of divine support, for the want of which I believe I\nhave suffered unspeakable loss.\n\n\nAbout this time he had frequently to mourn over the difficulty of fixing\nhis mind in meetings for worship. He often complains of \"wandering in the\nunprofitable fields of vain imagination;\" but sometimes also he bears a\njoyful testimony to the Lord's power in enabling him to unite in spirit\nwith the living worshippers.\n\nThe fear of man is one of the most universal of the besetments which try\nthe faith of the Christian; and it may be encouraging to some to see on\nthis point the confession of one whose natural character was that of a\nstrong and independent mind.\n\n\n2 _mo_. 6.--I am too apt to let in that slavish fear about men and\nthings which render me unable to cope with the world, and even unfits me\nfor properly seeking after the assistance of my Maker. O, may He who sees\nmy weakness enable me to overcome it!\n\n\nDuring the summer of this year, several parties of Friends travelling in\nthe work of the ministry came to Burton; Sarah Lamley of Tredington, with\nAnn Fairbank of Sheffield; Ann Burgess (afterwards Ann Jones); Elizabeth\nCoggeshall from New York, with Mary Jefferys of Melksham; and John Kirkham\nof Earl's Colne. The labors of these Friends are recorded by John Yeardley\nwith delight and thankfulness. He accompanied John Kirkham to Sheffield,\nwhere they found Stephen Grellett.\n\n\nHow sweet it is, he remarks, to enjoy the company of these dedicated\nservants, whom their great Master seems to be sending to and fro to spread\nrighteousness in the earth! I often think it has a tendency to help one a\nlittle on the way towards the Land of Promise. When I consider these\nfavors, I am led to covet that a double portion of the spirit of the\nElijahs may so rest on the Elishas that others may also be raised to fill\nup the honorable situations of those worthies, when they shall be removed\nfrom works to rewards.\n\n\nBut of all the above-named, the visit of Sarah Lamley and Ann Fairbank was\nfor him by far the most memorable, and was the means of developing that\nprecious gift of ministry to which he had been called from his youth. The\nextracts from his Diary which are given below speak of this visit, and\nmost instructively describe the time and manner in which he first received\nhis gift, as well as the weight which the approaching exercise of it\nbrought upon his mind.\n\n\n5 _mo_. 27.--Sarah Lamley and Ann Fairbank lodged six nights with us,\nand I accompanied them to Dirtcar and Wakefield. I can acknowledge their\ninnocent and agreeable company has been truly profitable to me, and has\nunited me very closely to their spirits in tender sympathy.\n\n7 _mo_. 30.--Such a load of exercise prevails over my spirit, that it\nrequires some extra exertion to support it with my usual cheerfulness of\ncountenance. If I go into company, I find no satisfaction; for I cannot\nappear pleasant in the society of my friends, feeling it irksome to\ndiscourse even on matters of common conversation. From the feelings which\nhave attended my mind, it is evident that the cloud is at present resting\non the tabernacle, and I never saw more need for me to abide in my tent.\nAnd O that patience may have its perfect work! for there is much to be\ndone in the vineyard of my own heart, before I can come to that state of\nusefulness which I believe the Great [Husbandman] designs for me. The\nsecret language of my heart is, May his hand not spare nor his eye pity\nuntil he has subdued all in me which obstructs the progress of his divine\nwork!\n\n31_st_.--I trust I was once more favored, in meeting this morning, to\nput up my secret petition in humble sincerity to the Shepherd of Israel,\nthat he would be graciously pleased to help my infirmities. In the\nafternoon meeting I thought the petition was measurably answered; for\ntowards the conclusion the rays of divine light so overshadowed my mind as\nto induce a belief that I should be assisted to overcome that spirit of\nopposition which has too long existed to the detriment of my best\ninterests, if there was only a willingness to abide under the forming\nhand.\n\n8 _mo_. 1.--I now feel freedom to give a short account how it was\nwith me under this concern from its commencement down to the present time.\n\nI remember well, about the year 1804, when in my father's house at\nBlacker, once being in my chamber, in a very serious, thoughtful frame of\nmind, receiving an impression that if ever I came to receive the truth\nwhich I was then convinced of, to my everlasting benefit, I should have\npublicly to declare of the gracious dealings of Divine Goodness to my\nsoul. The impression passed away with this remark deeply imprinted in my\nmind, that if ever a like concern should come to be matured, I should date\nthe first intimation of it from this time. I was apt to view it for a\nlong, time as the mere workings of the enemy on my mind, and when it has\ncome before my view, I have often secretly said, \"Get thee behind me, I\nwill not be tempted with such a thing.\" By these means I put it from me,\nas it were, by force, not thinking it worthy of notice and often praying\nto be delivered from such a gross delusion. At other times it would come\nwith such, weight on my spirit, that I could not avoid shedding tears, and\nacknowledging the power which accompanied the revival of so important a\nmatter; and was led to query, If there is no real intention of a heavenly\nnature, why am I thus harassed? and O the fervent sincerity in which I\ndesired that the right thing might have place, and if it was wrong, that I\nmight be enabled to find a release in His time who had appointed the\nconflict! And I do believe, could I then have come at a perfect\nresignation to the divine will, I might have been brought forward in a way\nwhich would have afforded permanent relief to my own mind; but such was my\ndislike to the work, that I suffered myself to be lulled into a state of\nunbelief as to the rectitude of the concern.\n\nThus many outward circumstances transpired, and some years passed over,\nwith my only viewing the matter at a distance, until He who first laid the\nconcern upon me was pleased to bring it more clearly home to me, and\nseemed at times to engage his servants, both in public and private, to\nspeak very clearly to my condition. And although I had a concurring\ntestimony in my own mind to their declarations, yet I had always an excuse\nto flee unto by secretly saying, It may be intended for some one else;\nuntil the Most High was graciously pleased, by the services of his sincere\nhandmaids, Sarah Lamley and Ann Fairbank, in their family visits to\nFriends of Barnsley, as mentioned last Fifth Month, to speak so clearly to\nmy situation in their private opportunity with us, as to leave no room for\nexcuse; but I was forced to acknowledge, Thou art the man. Indeed, Sarah\nLamley was led in such an extraordinary manner, that I had no doubt at all\nbut that she was favored with a clear and fall sense of my state. She\nbegan by enumerating the many fears which attended the apostles in their\nvarious situations; how that Satan had desired to have some of them that\nhe might sift them as wheat in a sieve; \"but,\" added she, \"I have prayed\nfor thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted\nstrengthen thy brethren.\" And how it was with Moses when the Almighty\nappeared to him in a flame of fire in the bush, and that it was not until\nthe Most High had condescended to answer all Moses' excuses that he was\nangry with him, and even then he condescended to let him have Aaron, his\nbrother, to go with him for a spokesman. Also how it was with Peter when\nthe threefold charge was given him to feed the lambs and the sheep. \"It is\nnot enough,\" said she, \"to acknowledge that we love the Lord, but there\nmust be a manifesting of our love by doing whatsoever he may command.\"\nMethinks I still hear her voice, saying, \"And O that there may not be a\npleading of excuses, Moses-like!\" Thus was this valuable servant enabled\nto speak to my comfort and encouragement, which I trust I shall ever\nremember to advantage; but O that I may be resigned to wait the appointed\ntime in watchful humility, patience, and fear! for I find there is a\ndanger of seeking too much after outward confirmations, and not having the\nattention sufficiently fixed on the great Minister of ministers, who alone\nis both able and willing to direct the poor mind in this most important\nconcern, and in his own time to say, \"Arise, shine; for thy light is\ncome.\"\n\n12 _mo_. 22.--My poor mind has been so much enveloped in clouds of\nthick darkness for months past, that I have sometimes been ready to\nconclude I shall never live to see brighter days. Should even this be the\ncase I humbly hope ever to be preserved from accusing the just Judge of\nthe earth of having dealt hardly with me, but acknowledge to the last that\nhe has in mercy favored me abundantly with a portion of that light which\nis said to shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.\n\n\nWe shall leave for the next chapter the relation of his first offerings in\nthe ministry, and conclude this with a striking passage which we find in\nthe Diary for this year.\n\nJohn Yeardley was all his life very fond of the occupations of the garden.\nA small piece of ground was attached to his house at Barnsley, which he\ncultivated, and from which he was sometimes able to gather spiritual as\nwell as natural fruit.\n\nUnder date of the 22nd of the Seventh Month, he writes:--\n\n\nA very sublime idea came suddenly over my mind when in the garden this\nevening. It was introduced as I plucked a strawberry from a border on\nwhich I had bestowed much cultivation before it would produce anything;\nbut now, thought I, this is a little like reaping the fruit of my labor.\nAs I thus ruminated on the produce of the strawberry-bank, I was struck\nwith the thought of endless _felicity_, and the sweet reward it would\nproduce for all our toils here below. My mind was instantly opened to such\na glorious scene of divine good that I felt a resignation of heart to give\nup all for the enjoyment of [such a foretaste] of _endless felicity_.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nFROM HIS ENTRANCE ON THE MINISTRY IN 1815, TO HIS COMMISSION TO RESIDE IN\nGERMANY IN 1820.\n\n1815.--After the long season of depression through which John Yeardley\npassed, as described in the last chapter, the new year of 1815 dawned with\nbrightness upon his mind. He now at length saw his spiritual bonds loosed;\nand the extracts which follow describe his first offerings in the ministry\nin a simple and affecting manner.\n\n\n1 _mo._ 5.--The subject of the prophet's going down to the potter's\nhouse opened so clearly on my mind in meeting this morning that I thought\nI could almost have publicly declared it; but not feeling that weight and\ncertainty which I had apprehended should accompany the performance of such\nan important act, I was afraid of imparting that to others which might be\nintended only for my own instruction; and so it has ended for the present.\nBut I am thankful in hoping that I am come a little nearer to that state\nof resignation which was so beautifully exemplified by our great Pattern\nof all good, who when He desired the bitter cup might pass from Him,\nnevertheless added, \"Not my will, but thine be done.\" And if I am at all\nacquainted with my inward feelings, I trust I can in some degree of\nsincerity say that my heart desires to rejoice more in the progress of\nthis state of happy resignation, than at the increase of corn, wine, or\noil.\n\n\nHe first opened his mouth in religious testimony in the First Month of\nthis year. The occurrence seems to have taken place in his own family; it\nyielded him a \"precious sense of the Divine Presence.\" He began to preach\nin public a few months later, but not without another struggle against the\nheavenly impulse.\n\nThe friendship which Joseph Wood entertained for John Yeardley\nstrengthened with revolving years. When he visited Barnsley, he was\naccustomed to lodge at his house; and writing to him in the year 1811,\nabout a public meeting which he felt concerned to hold, he says, \"I can\nwith freedom write to thee, feeling that unity with thy spirit which\npreserves us near and dear to each other, and in which freedom runs.\"\n\nIn the Fourth Month of this year, when Joseph Wood received a certificate\nto visit some of the midland counties, J.Y. felt desirous \"of setting him\na little on his way.\"\n\n\nOn the 14th, he says, we went to Woodhouse, where we had a meeting, and my\nfriend was enabled to speak very closely to the states of many present.\nWhen in the meeting, I felt a very weighty exercise to attend my mind\nwith an intimation publicly to express it. But this exposure I dared not\nyield to, under an apprehension that it might be wrong in me, considering\nthe occasion on which I had come out; but truly I left the place under a\nburden which I was scarcely able to bear.\n\n\nIt was on the 20th of the Fourth Month that he began to speak in public as\na minister of the Gospel. He thus records the event:--\n\n\nI felt myself in such a resigned frame of mind in our little week-day\nmeeting, that I could not doubt the time was fully come for me to be\nrelieved from that state of unspeakable oppression which my poor mind had\nbeen held in for so many years past. Soon after I took my seat, my mind\nbecame unusually calm, and the presence of the Most High seemed so to\nabound in my heart and spread over the meeting, that after some inward\nconflict I was unavoidably constrained publicly to express it, in nearly\nthe following words: \"I think I have so sensibly felt the precious\ninfluence of divine love to overshadow our little gathering, that I have\nbeen ready to say, It is good for us to be here; or I might rather say, It\nis good for us to feel ourselves under the precious influence of that\nprotecting power which can alone preserve us from the snares of death.\"\nThis first [public] act of submission to the divine will was done with as\nmuch stability of mind and body as I was capable of; and I thought the\nFriends present seemed sensible of my situation and sympathized with me\nunder the exercise. I trust the sweet peace which I afterwards felt was a\nseal to my belief that I had been favored with divine compassion and\napprobation in the needful time.\n\n\nIn the Fifth Month John Yeardley attended for the first time the Yearly\nMeeting in London. He describes the business as very various and\ninstructive, but bewails his own condition as that of \"one starving in the\nmidst of every good thing.\"\n\n\nIt seemed at times, he says, as though Satan himself was let loose upon\nme, and permitted to try my faith and patience to the utmost; but I hope\nthe conflict had its use in teaching me to know that it is not by might,\nnor by power, but by the Lord's Spirit, that we are enabled to prevail.\n\n\nThis was the commencement of another season of spiritual poverty. In\nreading a few of his memoranda during this time, many a Christian\ntraveller may see his own mourning countenance reflected as in a glass.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 8.--I have for a long time felt so depressed in spirit, and\nso inwardly stripped of every appearance of good, that I have often\nsecretly had to say with tried Job, \"O that I were as in months past, as\nin the days when God preserved me!\"\n\n16_th_.--Death and darkness are still the covering of my poor mind,\nand I am ashamed to acknowledge that I have for months past sat meeting\nafter meeting a victim to the baneful consequences of wandering thoughts,\nscarcely being able to recollect myself so much as to ask excuse of Him\nwho sees in secret. In these times of deepest desertion I am selfish\nenough to feel a longing desire for a ray of light or a smile from the\ncountenance of Him, under whose banner I have many times sat with the\ngreatest delight in days that are past.\n\nO, how hard it is to regain divine favor when once sacrificed through the\nsorrowful act of disobedience! O may I sit as in dust and ashes, and, with\nthe noble resignation and spirit of a true, dedicated follower, say, I\nwill patiently hear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned\nagainst him!\n\n\nNevertheless, even in his times of deepest humiliation, moments of\nheavenly comfort were interspersed.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 23.--A more improved meeting than I had reason to hope from\ncross occurrences, which are too apt to ruffle the unstable mind. Daring\nour silent sitting together, I was comforted in contemplating the many\nencouraging passages we have left on sacred record; two of which, spoken\nby one of large experience, were particularly solacing to my exercised\nfeelings: \"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord\ndelivereth him out of them all;\" and \"The young lions do lack and suffer\nhunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.\" O,\nthought I, if we could only procure Him on our side who has the thoughts\nof all men in his keeping, what should we have to fear! We should then be\nbrought to acknowledge that it behooves a Christian traveller to crave the\nassistance of Him who can enable us to suffer with becoming fortitude and\nresignation all the afflicting dispensations of life, rather than desire\nto be preserved from meeting them.\n\n\nThe hard mutter which is the subject of the next extract embodies a\ndifficulty that has perplexed many. It is always encouraging to find\ncompanionship in doubts and trials, and perhaps the consideration which\npacified the mind of John Yeardley may be helpful to some who are tried in\nthe same way. The passage, no doubt, has reference to his own want of\nbetter success in business.\n\n\n11 _mo._ 30.--When any circumstance in the common course of life,\nwhich has appeared to turn up in the direction of Divine Providence, has\nnot answered my expectation, or on deliberate consideration it has not\nseemed prudent for me to step into it, I have sometimes felt greatly\ndiscouraged, and been ready to conclude, How could this thing be ordered\nunder the direction of best wisdom! But let me ever remember, He who has\nhis way in the whirlwind knows what is best for us; and were it not for\nthese incitements to an exercise of feeling, the mind would be apt to lie\ndormant, and not be preserved alive in a proper state to prove all things\nand hold fast that which is best.\n\n\nAbout the end of the year he was obliged to spend several days in London\non business. The course of his affairs seems to have been uneven, and the\ngreat city was probably uncongenial to his retired habits. He says:--\n\n\n12 _mo_. 15.--I do not remember that my feelings were ever more\ndiscouraging, both inwardly and outwardly. When the mind is ruffled about\nthe things of time, it is hard work to make any progress towards the land\nof peace. I try to get to the well of water; but truly it may be said I\nhave nothing to draw with.\n\n\nYet even under these circumstances his daily religious practices--those\nwhich no competitor for the meed of peace and the crown of glory can\ndispense with--were not without avail.\n\n\n16_th_.--In reading and retirement before I left my room, I received\na little hope that I should be preserved in a good degree of patience\nthrough the cross occurrences of the day, which was measurably the case.\n\n\nThe life of a Christian is very much the history of outward and inward\ntrials. How happy it is when these serve only to deepen his experience!\nThe nature of John Yeardley's spiritual trials has been fully shown: his\ntemporal crosses have also been glanced at; they consisted mainly of want\nof success in business, in which, indeed, he was little fitted to excel,\nunder the keen competition of modern times.\n\n\n1816. 1 _mo_. 4.--A new year has commenced, but the old afflictions\nare still continued, both inwardly and outwardly; for even in temporal\naffairs disappointments rage high. But O what a privilege to sink down to\nthe anchor-hope of divine support! This is what I can feelingly\nacknowledge this evening to be as a brook by the way to refresh my poor\nand long-distressed mind. O, how ardently do I desire that this season of\nadversity may be sanctified to me for everlasting good, and prove the\nmeans of slaying that will in me, which has too long been opposed to the\nwill of Him who paid the ransom for my soul with nothing less than the\nprice of his own precious blood.\n\n\nThe difficulty of making his way in the commercial world increased until\nthe risk of \"failure began to stare him in the face.\" The fear of such a\nresult sank him exceedingly low; but through all he was permitted to keep\nhis footing upon the rock, and to behold a spiritual blessing under the\nguise of temporal adversity.\n\n\n7_th_.--Surely it is a mark of divine favor to feel the supporting\nhand of my heavenly Father underneath, to bear up my drooping spirits in\nthis time of adversity. I think I was never more sensible of his powerful\narm being made bare for my deliverance; and yet, unaccountable to tell, I\nam almost afraid to trust in him. O, my soul, wherefore dost thou doubt,\nwhen thou feelest the glorious presence of thy Redeemer's countenance to\nshine upon thee?\n\nIn the meeting this morning, he continues, my mind was profitably\nexercised in contemplating the following subject. When our dear Lord was\nabout to perform the miracle of feeding the multitude, he commanded them\nto sit down upon the grass. They were undoubtedly hungry, and this might\ncreate in them too great an anxiety to be satisfied in their own time; but\nthat all things might be done in order, and without interruption, they\nwere commanded to sit down and wait the disposal of their food from the\nbountiful hand of their great Master. In looking at the subject, I thought\nit a lively representation of the state of mind we ought to labor after,\nwhen favored to feel hunger and thirst after righteousness; not\nfrustrating the design of the Most High by being too anxious to be filled\nin our own will and way, but patiently waiting the time of Him who giveth\nto all their meat in due season, and that which is most convenient for\nthem. And what greater privilege could we desire than to be fed at the\nLord's table?\n\n9_th_.--As my precious wife and I were consoling each other this\nevening, she remarked that the dispensation we were now suffering under\nwas probably in answer to our prayers. This brought strikingly to my\nremembrance a secret petition which I have frequently put up in the most\nfervent manner I have been capable of, when deeply lamenting my\nunsubjected will; I have even cried out aloud, \"O make me willing; do,\nLord, make me willing, make me willing!\"\n\nO then may I submit to the means, if for this end they are appointed, and\nresign my all, body, soul and spirit, into the hands of Him who gave them;\nand may I patiently endure the swelling of Jordan in a manner that will\nenable me to bring from the bottom, stones of everlasting memorial.\n\n\nAfter this he was led for a while by the Good Shepherd into the green\npastures and beside the still waters.\n\n\n1_st mo_. 15.--Our Monthly Meeting at Wakefield, and a heavenly\nmeeting it was.\n\n29_th_.--I left home for a journey into the north on business. I had\nmany precious seasons of retirement as I rode along, and I humbly trust my\nsoul has been enabled to cultivate a more intimate acquaintance with her\nBeloved, in such a way as will not easily be erased from my remembrance.\n\n\nNotwithstanding the deep and varied experience he had passed through, his\nunwillingness to expose himself as a preacher of the gospel was still\nstrong, and sometimes obstructed the performance of his duty.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 20.--Joseph Wood had a public meeting at Pilley. I felt\nsomething on my spirit to communicate to the people in the early part, but\nthinking the meeting was not sufficiently settled to receive it, I\nreasoned away the right time; another did not offer during the whole\nmeeting for me to relieve my poor mind, so I brought my burden home with\nme, which indeed proved such as I really thought I should have sunk under.\n\n\nThe \"severe stripes,\" as he terms it, which he received on this occasion\nat length produced a willing mind.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 10.--I went with my dear wife to attend the burial of my\ncousin Joseph Watts at Woodhouse, and was at the meeting there on\nFourth-day the 11th. It was largely attended by relations and friends. I\nfelt so sensibly the danger that some present were in of trifling away the\nreproofs of conviction, that I could not forbear reviving the language\nwhich was proclaimed to the Prophet Jonah, when he had fled from the\npresence of the Lord and was fallen asleep in the ship, \"What meanest\nthou, O sleeper, arise, call upon thy God.\" After commenting a little on\nthe subject, I sat down under great solemnity which seemed to cover the\nmeeting, and I can thankfully say the fruit of obedience was sweet to my\ntaste.\n\n12 _mo_. 1.--Went to meeting this morning with a fearful apprehension\nlest I should have to expose myself in that which is so contrary to my\nnatural inclination. And so it proved; for I had not sat long, before I\nwas made willing to express what rested weightily on my mind, and that was\nthe case of Gideon, when the angel appeared to him under the oak as he\nthreshed wheat. I commented a little on the subject, which afforded me\ngreat satisfaction and joy.\n\n\nIn the following entry, notwithstanding the tardy obedience which it\nrecords, we find his commission as one of the Lord's watchmen sealed upon\nhis mind.\n\n\n1817. 4 _mo_. 7. In meeting yesterday morning I was enabled publicly\nto relieve myself of a little matter which had been a burden on my mind\nfor two or three meetings past, in which I had felt pretty smartly the rod\nwhich, is held over the head of the disobedient. In this instance, human\nnature seemed stubborn in a double degree, but after it was over I felt my\npeace flow as a river. Methinks I now hear this language proclaimed in the\nsecret of my heart: I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;\ntherefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. O what\nan important charge! May I duly consider the weight of it, and so watch\nover my own conduct, in thought, word and action, that I may not be\npulling down with one hand that which I may be endeavoring to build up\nwith the other. If I am to be an instrument in the hand of the Almighty,\nmay he graciously condescend to prepare and sharpen the arrows he may see\nmeet to shoot through the medium of his poor servant, so that they may\nsink deep, wound the hypocrite, and comfort the pure divine life in the\nhearts of his children.\n\n\nA few weeks after this, John Yeardley attended a remarkable meeting held\nby Joseph Wood, in which they were made to sit in heavenly places in\nChrist Jesus.\n\n\n4 _mo_. 29.--I attended another public meeting appointed by J.W. at\nMiddletown, about ten miles from here. When I entered the town I felt very\nflat, and was ready to say, The fear of the Lord is not in this place; but\nafter the meeting was gathered, I soon found what poor creatures we are,\nto judge of these things without waiting for best direction; for I think\nit was the most extraordinary time I ever knew. My friend bore a long and\npowerful testimony, to the tendering of many present. If I ever forget it\nwhile in my natural senses, I fear I shall be near losing my habitation\nthe truth; for it was as if heaven opened, and the Most High poured down\nhis blessed Spirit in an unbounded degree.\n\n\nAll this time his business affairs went on more and more adversely; and\nalthough he never failed punctually to meet all his money engagements, his\nwant of success led in this year to a change of residence to Bentham.\n\nThree months before he left Barnsley he writes:--\n\n\n\"Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they\nfine it.\" Pecuniary difficulties seem as if they would eat up every green\nthing; but I hope and trust that He who has often said, Peace, be still,\nwill so regulate the heat of the furnace that I may be able to bear it\nwith becoming patience, until there be nothing left in me but what\nresembles the pure gold fit for the Master's use. When I reflect on what\nmy poor mind has passed through for more than two years past, I am\nconvinced nothing short of that Arm which brought the Israelites through\nthe Red Sea could have supported me. And O, should he ever loose my hands,\nthat I may serve Him freely, may I never forget the many covenants made\nwith Him who has so often heard and answered my prayer when in deep\ndistress!\n\n\nThrough the assistance of some of his Barnsley friends, an offer was made\nto him of a situation in a flax-spinning mill at Bentham, which was then\nor had lately been the property of Charles Parker, a minister in the\nSociety of Friends. He accepted the offer; and an extract from a letter to\nhis wife, when on a journey, will show the motives under which he acted in\nthis important step.\n\n\nHawkshead, 6 mo. 28, 1817.\n\nMY VERY PRECIOUS DEAR,\n\nWhen I wrote thee last, my time and feelings would not permit me to say\nmuch on our impending prospect of leaving Barnsley; but since then this\nvery important subject has obtained my most serious and weighty\nconsideration, and I am now free to communicate to thee my feelings, in\norder that thou mayest weigh them duly and compare them with thy own while\nwe are separated. In the first place, in taking such a step, we must be\nreconciled to sacrifice our present comfortable home, our relations and\nfriends--in short, all that may seem near and dear to us as to the\noutward. With respect to our spiritual prospect, I must confess, if any\nservice is designed for me in the Church militant, I have sometimes\napprehended it might be within the compass of our present Particular and\nMonthly Meetings; but should this be ordered otherwise in best wisdom, I\ntrust I shall be relieved from the oppressive feeling, and in a short time\nsee my way clear. On the other hand, if this change takes place, we have a\nprobability of a comfortable living, and of being relieved from the\nextreme anxiety attendant on trade, when the whole responsibility rests on\nour own shoulders.\n\nH.R. [one of the firm who had offered to employ him] seemed rather\ndesirous for me to come. If we should agree, he wants me to go over\ndirectly to lay down plans for a few weavers' houses, and to make other\narrangements to save time until we could remove.\n\nI don't much like the situation of the house in the town, but I think\nanother might be had if required. They have a nice one in Low Bentham,\nwith a good garden attached, which would be at liberty in next Fifth\nMonth; this would be a pleasant walk from the mill by the water-side all\nthe way, which might be useful to my health after being confined in the\nwarehouse, and much nearer to the meeting. It is a very small meeting\nindeed; there are only about two female Friends; but, should we be in the\nright place, the smallness of the number would not preclude our access to\nthe divine spring.\n\nI don't know how we shall come on with the thread trade, but it seems as\nif we were to be done out with both thread and linens, for there is\nscarcely any thing selling with me on this journey.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley and his wife removed to Bentham in the Eighth Month, 1817.\nBentham is a considerable village on the north-west border of Yorkshire, a\nfew miles from the foot of Ingleborough; and it was at that time,\naccording to the division of the county adopted by the Society of Friends,\ncomprised in the Monthly Meeting of Settle.\n\nAfter a season of deep spiritual poverty, during which he found no place\nfor the exercise of his gift, John Yeardley began to speak in ministry in\nthe little meeting to which he now belonged. On recording the circumstance\nhe remarks:--\n\n\nThus does a gracious Father lead on his children step by step, baptizing\nthem first into one state and then into another, in order to qualify them\nto drop a word in season for the comfort of others. Little did I think\nunder the recent buffetings of the Enemy, that I should ever have had to\nopen my mouth again in the way of declaring the everlasting goodness of a\ngracious Redeemer.\n\n\nThis memorandum was made a few days after the occurrence to which it\nrefers, on his return from Settle Monthly Meeting, and is accompanied\nthe record of a fresh unfolding to his mental eye of the need of gospel\nlaborers, and of his own vocation to the work. In my return I had rather\nan unusual opening into the state of society, and the great want of\nlaborers therein; and querying with myself, By whom shall the Lord send? I\nthought I felt the weight and power of the everlasting gospel upon me to\npreach, so that I was willing to say, Here am I; send me. O the importance\nof this language! May the same Spirit, which I trust raised it in my heart\npreserve me in every state to the end of time! Amen.\n\n\nThe extract which follows treats of the same subject,--the calling and\nexercise of the ministry. From this, and from the whole tenor of what has\nbeen extracted from the Diary, will be seen in what his ministry\nconsisted, and what was the call and the power which was required in every\nsuccessive exercise of it. May it serve as a word of caution and\ninstruction to such as are disposed to reduce this heavenly gift to a mere\neffort of Christian good-will, or to consider the exercise of it as\nplaced, whether in regard to time or subject, at the disposal of the\nminister. It will be observed how John Yeardley, in after life so abundant\nin word and doctrine, and so catholic in his ideas and sympathies,\nreceived his vocation as a divine gift immediately from above, and served\nin it an apprenticeship altogether spiritual, and apart from human\nlearning or instruction.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 26.--I have been very much instructed to-day in reading and\nreflecting on the 37th chapter of Ezekiel. When the prophet was asked if\nthe dry bones could live, he was wise enough cautiously to answer, \"O Lord\nGod, thou knowest;\" but when he was commanded to prophesy unto them, and\nsay, \"O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord,\" this was hard work, yet\nthere was no conferring with flesh and blood. No reasoning from\nprobabilities, nothing but an implicit faith and dependence on the divine\npower which was then upon him, could have enabled him to do it. O what an\ninstructive lesson! When the poor instruments may feel so weak and the\nstate of things so low, that there may not be the least probability of\ngood arising, it is enough if they can only do the will of their great\nMaster, and be enabled to say with the holy prophet, \"I prophesied as the\nLord commanded.\"\n\n\nJohn Yeardley did not take his actual farewell of Barnsley until the end\nof the year. The reflections which he has recorded on leaving his home of\nso many years are very characteristic of the man:--\n\n\n1818. 1 _mo_.--The Twelfth Month was spent at Barnsley in settling my\naffairs. Just before I left Bentham for that purpose, I was exceedingly\nunhappy at the idea of leaving my home, friends, &c. at Barnsley, and\nthought the parting feeling would be almost more than I could support. I\nwas enabled to pray fervently to the Father of spirits, that he would be\npleased to afford me strength to bear the change with Christian fortitude,\nand resign all to the disposal of his divine will; and thankful I am to\nrelate, he so answered my request that I could leave the place to which I\nhad been so long attached without a sigh. I have no doubt my removal,\nwithout consulting more of my friends, will appear strange to many. This I\ncould never feel liberty to do; nor could I make any person living\nacquainted with my entire motive, but my precious wife. Whatever may be\nthe opinion of others, this is a matter which rests between me and my God;\nand I often think it a favor that we are not accountable to man, who views\ntoo much the outside appearance, while He with whom we have to do looks at\nthe heart.\n\nAfter I had left Barnsley I went to Pontefract, to spend a few days with\nmy friends there, where my poor lass had been for a week. I don't know\nthat this time was unprofitably spent; but this I know--it never requires\nmore care and watchfulness to be preserved in a seasonable frame of spirit\nthan when the mind is set at ease to enjoy the company of a few intimate\nfriends. We are too apt to get our thoughts dissipated, and thus our\nconversation becomes less seasoned with grace than it would be if the\ngirdle of truth were kept tightly bound.\n\n\nThe next entry notices a remarkable interview which, he had with a woman\nFriend from America:--\n\n\n15_th_.--This day a meeting has been held at the desire of Hannah\nField from North America. I stepped down to see her at J. Stordy's; and in\nthe few minutes we were together, before she took leave, she addressed\nherself to me in a very feeling manner. Although she was an entire\nstranger, she spoke so pointedly to my state of mind, and expressed the\nreward of faithfulness in such encouraging terms, that my feelings were in\nnowise able to resist the power which attended, but I was forced to\nacknowledge it as a nail fastened in a sure place.\n\n\nAmongst some letters addressed by Elizabeth Yeardley to Susanna Harvey of\nBarnsley, is one in which mention is made of the visit of Hannah Field to\nBentham; and, although the passage does not relate to the private\ninterview described above, it is interesting as the reminiscence of a\nremarkable woman.\n\nBentham, 2 _mo_. 2, 1818.\n\nWe have been favored lately with a visit, unexpected but highly\nacceptable, from that great minister, Hannah Field, from America. She very\nmuch resembles Sarah Lamley; and when she began, it seemed as if one had\nbeen informing her of the state of the meeting. Her discourse began with\nthe parable of the Ten Virgins, which was very beautiful but awful.\nAddressing herself again, she was very consolatory and affecting. She is\ntall and inclined to _embonpoint_; her age fifty-three.\n\n\nIn the Third Month of this year, the Monthly Meeting from which he had\nrecently removed, that of Pontefract, recorded its approval of his\nministry. It is not usual for meetings to do this in the case of one who\nhas gone to reside elsewhere. The practice at that time was, in Yorkshire\nat least, in issuing a certificate of removal for a Friend who had begun\nto exercise the ministry and was still under probation, to notice the fact\nof his preaching, without pronouncing a judgment upon it. But when the\nusual document of removal was asked for at the Monthly Meeting, on behalf\nof John Yeardley, the meeting paused upon the words which noticed his\nofferings in the ministry, and solemnly resolved then and there to give\nhim a full certificate as a minister in unity, and to \"recommend him as\nsuch to the Quarterly Meeting.\" It happened that men and women Friends\nwere together, the latter remaining whilst Joseph Wood laid a concern for\nsome religious service before the joint meeting.\n\nJohn Yeardley remarks on this act of his late Monthly Meeting:--\n\n\nThe concurrence of my friends with my small offerings cannot but feel\ncomfortable and encouraging to a poor timorous creature like me; but the\nawful consideration of ranking among the servants who speak in the Lord's\nname humbles me to the dust. Surely those who are designed to minister\nbefore the Lord in his holy temple ought to bear the inscription of\nholiness upon them. The means by which this inscription, is obtained is so\npainful to flesh and blood that we are always ready to shrink from the\noperation. When we have borne the furnace heated to a certain degree, we\nare ready to fancy nothing but pure gold remains; until the refining hand\nsees meet to administer fresh [trials], then we are ready again to cry\nout, If it be thy will, let this cup pass by.\n\n\nIn the Sixth Month he joined Joseph Wood and William Midgley of Rochdale,\nin visiting some neighboring meetings. Of Kendal, which was one, he says\nit appeared to him \"as if a remarkable revival was taking place in those\nparts;\" and he concludes his short account of the journey with an\nacknowledgment of the satisfaction he felt in having given up to this\nlittle service.\n\nJoseph Wood in his diary relates the same visit more at large. We have\nextracted the account of that portion of it in which John Yeardley was\nengaged, and believe the reader will find it interesting in several\nrespects.\n\n\n1818. 6 _mo_. 10.--Reached my beloved friend John Yeardley's house,\nin Bentham, about half-past eight o'clock, where we took up our quarters,\nand where we were favored with a renewed feeling of that love which had\nmany times nearly united our spirits together.\n\nOn the 11th we spent this day very comfortably with these long-beloved and\ntruly valuable friends, and in the evening Lad a public meeting appointed\nfor Friends and people of other societies in their meeting-house in\nBentham, about a mile and a half from their house. We walked thither, it\nbeing very pleasant through the fields. The meeting began at half-past\nsix, and held two hours and a quarter. A pretty many who usually attend\nmeetings, and a great concourse of people of other societies, attended,\nthat the meeting-house, both above and below stairs, was well filled, and\nseveral were in the passage and in an adjoining room. A precious solemnity\nmercifully overshadowed us, whereby the minds of many were prepared to\nreceive what the Lord was pleased instrumentally to communicate to the\nmany different states; and O that they may individually profit thereby!\nfor sure it was a time of favor unto many. I had a very long testimony to\nbear therein, first from Isaiah lviii. 1, 2. John Yeardley held a pretty\nlong time next, from John ii. 4. I next, from 1 Cor. xiv. 19.\n\nOn the 12th we set out for Wray in Lancashire, five miles, John Yeardley\nbeing our guide, taking his wife and Ann Stordy along with him in a taxed\ncart. We had a very pleasant ride thither, down a beautiful valley,\nthrough which the river Wenning runs; had on our right hand a line view of\nHornby Castle, now in part gone to decay. Got to Wray about half-past ten,\nand went to the meeting, which began at eleven o'clock. Twenty-three\npersons attended, one of whom appeared to be of another society. I sat\ntherein for a considerable time in a very low state, and feeling a concern\nto stand up, I gave up, although in great weakness: different states\nopened and were spoken to in the authority of the gospel; and I had a long\ntestimony to bear from Luke xv. 8. John Yeardley had a pretty long time\nnext, from Lam. iii. 26; afterwards I was concerned in prayer, and felt\ntruly thankful for the renewed mark of divine favor, and secretly rejoiced\nthat my lot was cast here.\n\n\nOn the 13th John Yeardley accompanied Joseph Wood to Kendal.\n\n\nIt was with difficulty, says J.W., we got into the town for the crowd of\npeople; the Parliament being dissolved, and a new election of members\nabout to take place; and there being an opposition in this county; Henry\nBrougham, the favorite candidate of the people, against the Lonsdales.\nThey were waiting his arrival in the town to canvass for votes. After tea\nI went to Thomas Wilson's; his house was nearly opposite the inn where\nHenry Brougham put up. When he arrived the populace took his horses from\nthe carriage, and hurried him into the town, and to the inn, four flags\nflying and a band of music went before him. After he alighted he went into\nan upper room, and addressed the largest multitude of people that I ever\nsaw collected, from the window, for about an hour, in a very impressive\nmanner; and so great was the crowd in the street that many fainted. All\nwas quiet, and, after he had done, they separated in a becoming manner.\n\nOn the 14th we attended their meetings in Kendal. The forenoon meeting\nbegan at ten o'clock. It is large, and was pretty open and satisfactory. I\nhad a long testimony to bear therein, first, from John xv. 14. John\nYeardley had a pretty long time next. He opened from these words: \"O thou,\nthe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, manifest thyself that thou yet\nreignest in Israel.\" I next, from Proverbs ix. 12.\n\n\nAfter visiting several other meetings, Joseph Wood came to Lancaster,\nwhere he was again met by John Yeardley.\n\n\nOn the 21st we attended both their meetings in Lancaster. The forenoon\nmeeting began at ten o'clock. When we got there we were agreeably\nsurprised to find dear John Yeardley, who had walked this morning fifteen\nmiles to meet us. The meeting was large of Friends, and it proved a time\nof renewed visitation unto many who were afar off, and of encouragement to\nthose who were nigh. I had a very long testimony to bear therein, from\nMatt. xxii. 12. John Yeardley had a short but very acceptable time next,\nfrom Esther iv. 14. Afterwards I was concerned in prayer.\n\n\nElizabeth Yeardley speaks of this visit in one of her letters:--\n\n\nJ.Y. went to Lancaster, though the day was unfavorable. He trudged on foot\nto meet Joseph Wood, and got in good time for the meeting, fifteen miles\ndistant, and returned home the same evening. J. W. was very much favored\nall the time he was in those parts; he really appears endowed with\nastonishing powers.\n\n\nThe same letter affords a glimpse of the social position, which John and\nElizabeth Yeardley occupied at Bentham:--\n\n\nWe are very quiet, have kind neighbors, a very pleasant habitation, and\nlittle society, plenty of books both of the religious and amusing kind,\nand leisure to meditate on the one thing needful, which is to fit us for\nthat place to which we are fast hastening:--\n\n\n     \"For who the longest lease enjoy\n       Have told us with a sigh,\n     That to be born seems little more\n       Than to begin to die.\"\n\n(13_th of Seventh Month_, 1818.)\n\n\n\nJohn Yeardley, no less than his wife, found in Bentham a seasonable\nretreat from the harassing cares of the world. A memorandum made in the\nautumn of this year shows that the doubts with which he was perplexed on\nthe subject of his removal from Barnsley, were entirely dispelled, and\nthat the change in his abode and position had been the happy means of\nrelieving him from the load of anxiety which once seemed ready to crush\nhim.\n\n\n1819. 9 _mo_. 15.--The tender, merciful Father who shelters our heads\nin battle has covered mine when many things were hot upon me. He has\nprovided a retreat for me until the fury of the oppressor be overpast. I\nhave often wondered at the cause which drove me from my former residence,\nbut I now begin to see pointedly the hand of Providence bringing me to\nthis place of quiet retreat. Should He who has brought me thus far see it\nto be for my good to set me on the banks of deliverance, may I have no\ndesire to live for anything but to sing his praise!\n\n\nAfter being recognised by the Church as a minister, he was again tried\nwith a season of spiritual desertion; and this phase in his religious\nhistory, with his reflections upon it, and the holy resolution and hope\nwith which he concludes, may be useful in strengthening the faith of\nothers under similar circumstances.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 4.--O what a stripping time have I had since I wrote last!\nMy pen would fail to set forth the inward desertion I have experienced for\nmonths past, so that my poor mind is almost worn out with waiting and\nwatching in the absence of the Bridegroom of souls. My enemy seems to have\nset up his throne in me, and leads my wandering thoughts captive at his\npleasure. I have no weapons of my own to fight him with, and it seems as\nif Infinite Goodness had refused me the grant of that armor which I have\nbefore experienced the means of putting my adversary to flight. For what\nend this may be I know not, but the suffering time is hard to the natural\npart. If I am left to perish, O may it be in praying, trusting and\nbelieving in my Redeemer's love! and if I am not suffered to behold again\nthe brightness of his glorious countenance here on earth, may I be favored\nwith it shining on me in heaven!\n\n\nAt the commencement of this year, 1819, apprehending himself required to\npay a religious visit to the families of Friends in Barnsley, he consulted\nJoseph Wood on the subject, who encouraged him \"not to be afraid to\npursue\" the path which had been opened before him. In relation to this\nprospect of service, J.Y. has the following pertinent remarks on the\nministry:--\n\n\n2 _mo_. 19.--If I am suffered to go, may the humble spirit of Jesus\ngo with me, and put a word in my heart that may prove as a sword in my\nhand, with which I may fight his battles! This is the only way in which\nhis servants can minister so as to reach the witness in the hearts of his\nchildren. We might speak on subjects which might seem right and fit in\nthemselves, but it is as our hearts come to be acted upon immediately by\nthe Spirit of truth, the same principle which prepares us to utter sound\nwords, prepares also a counterpart in the minds of others to receive them.\nThus it may be said we become _one_ in spirit and truly edified\ntogether in the love of the Gospel.\n\n\nIn order to perform the visit, J.Y. had, in the good order in use amongst\nFriends, to receive the concurrence of his Monthly Meeting.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 10.--Was at the Monthly Meeting, where I mentioned to my\nfriends my prospect of visiting Barnsley, and obtained their sympathetic\nconcurrence, with a copy of a minute expressing their full unity and\napprobation.\n\nMy feelings on the occasion were very different from what I had\nanticipated. A divine solemnity appeared so to cover the minds of all\npresent, that the enemy was trodden under foot, and not a fear was\nsuffered to approach. What condescending goodness of a tender Father to\nhis weak children!\n\n\nSome interesting notice of this service, and of the journey which he made\nto perform it, is contained in his Diary.\n\n\n13_th_.--The evening before I set off, I was earnestly engaged in\nsupplicating for divine protection both inward and outward; and an\nassurance was given me that it should be granted, and in a manner so clear\nas I had no right to expect. These words were as if spoken distinctly in\nmy outward ears: \"A hair of thy head shall not be hurt.\" In the confidence\nof this promise I went forth, and found it mercifully made good; for\nthough I was overturned in the mail on the road, a hair of my head was not\nhurt, and not so much as a fear was suffered to come near.\n\n\nOn the 18th, after visiting all the families, he attended the Week-day\nMeeting, where he had to review his labors, and to address the assembled\nFriends \"nearly in these words:--In the course of my little proceedings\namong my friends in this place, I have sometimes been baptized for the\ndead, while at other times I have been made to rejoice in the resurrection\nof life: I hope this is a language my friends will understand.\" After this\nhe preached to them on the case of Nicodemus, saying that there may be a\ntime when our Heavenly Father, in his tender compassion for our infant\nstate, permits us to come to Jesus by night or in secret; yet when he is\npleased to say, \"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the\nLord is risen upon thee,\" danger will betide us if we then flinch from an\nopen confession. Some time after he had finished, a woman Friend rose and\nuttered a few words. She had never before been able to overcome the force\nof her natural fears.\n\nIn noticing this circumstance, J.Y. says he does so because, before he\nwent to Barnsley, he asked that if his small services were acceptable, the\nMost High would give him a sign, by owning his labors with his sensible\napprobation, and making him an instrument to help forward his work in the\nhearts of his children.\n\nOn another occasion, in allusion to a similar occurrence, he has the\nfollowing reflections:--\n\n\n\"The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach\nChrist crucified.\" I am like the two former, because I dare even to ask a\nsign and to seek after wisdom; but to be like the latter is what I covet\nmost sincerely--to preach Christ crucified, not only in words, but in life\nand conversation. If I err in sometimes asking for a sign, I trust it will\nbe forgiven, because it is done in the simplicity of my heart, to know my\nFather's will, and we have examples of this having been granted to the\nworthies in times of old.--(12 _mo_. 8.)\n\n\nIn the Twelfth Month of 1819, John Yeardley attended the Quarterly Meeting\nat York, and has some religious service on the way. His account of this\nlittle journey is preceded by some instructive reflections on his own\ninfirmities and lack of ready obedience.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 15.--I feel exceedingly discouraged at my own obstinacy in\nnot keeping more humble, watchful, and attentive to the inward monitor. I\nam sensible loss is sustained in a religions sense by giving way too much\nto an airy disposition.\n\n12 _mo_. 12.--When I consider the many years which have elapsed since\nI first enlisted under the Lord's banner, I find cause deeply to reproach\nmyself for want of a more early and implicit obedience to the _divine\nwill_; the want of which, I fully believe, has been the means of\nplunging me into seas of trouble and years of perplexity. I fear the time\nlost will never be redeemed. O, should I ever have to warn others to\nbeware of the rock on which I have split, surely it may be done through\nheartfelt experience indeed! And as the glorious light of the sun begins\nmercifully to verge from under the cloud, O, may I never, never forget the\nsacred covenant made in the days of my deep distress, that if the Lord\nwould loosen my bonds, then would I serve him freely.\n\n25_th_.--I went to Thornton to R.W.'s, and next day to Lothersdale\nMeeting, accompanied by D.W. and some other part of R.W.'s family. The\nforepart of that meeting was very trying, at which I did not wonder, if we\nmight judge from a previous feeling; for ever since the prospect of this\nlittle visit presented to my view, I felt a load on my spirit which I\ncould not by any means cast off. On entering the place, I thought, when\nour dear Lord sent forth his disciples, he commanded them to take neither\npurse nor scrip; and that if this state of poverty of spirit was any badge\nof discipleship, some of us might claim to wear it. The language of the\nweeping prophet came also before me--\"O that my head were waters, and mine\neyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of\nthe daughter of my people.\" It was hard work for me, a poor stripling, to\nhave to intimate such close things; but the conclusion was easier to the\nnatural part, I having to address a few to whom the language seemed to go\nforth, of \"Mary, the Master is come, and calleth for thee.\"\n\nI went from thence to the Quarterly Meeting at York, which was thinly\nattended. The meeting for worship seemed a cloudy season; however a little\nmatter impressed my mind which I was thankful in being enabled to get rid\nof, though hard to flesh and blood, it being the first time my voice has\nbeen heard in this Quarterly Meeting in ministry. The meeting for business\nwas long and tedious, being protracted four and a half days by an appeal.\nIt was disagreeable in its nature, but was conducted in a way to afford\ninformation and instruction to the minute observer of men, manners and\nthings.\n\n\n1820.--Our first extract from this year's diary contains a short but\nbeautiful reflection:--\n\n\n2 _mo_. 18.--I am convinced it would be better for us to live more in\nthe inward spirit of prayer; we should live in nearer union with the\nFather of love; receive more of his heavenly embraces; the heart would be\nprepared to know more of his holy will, and receive power to perform it.\n\n\nWhen John Yeardley left Barnsley he commenced a correspondence with his\nbrother Thomas, which lasted until the death of the latter, J.Y.'s letters\nhave been preserved, and supply us with much that is valuable in his\ncharacter and Christian experience. The following extract shows the power\nof sympathy which he possessed towards those with whom he was entirely\nintimate:--\n\n\n4 mo. 24, 1820.\n\nThy affectionate letter I received with pleasure, though some parts of its\ncontents penetrated the deepest recesses of my heart, and excited in me\nevery tender sympathetic feeling of a brother and a friend.\n\nI rejoice that thou hast found freedom to speak so candidly the\nundisguised language of thy heart; to me it seems like a voice from the\ndead, because I conceive it to be the voice of that awakened principle in\nthee which, as in many others, may have been held too long in captivity\nthrough the predominance of the surfeiting cares of the world. Whenever\nthou inclinest to unbosom to me thou mayest do it with freedom and in\nconfidence, for, be assured, if thy complaints cannot meet with relief,\nthey will at least meet with a welcome reception and a heartfelt\ncondolence; for I could have no claim to the least of the Christian\nvirtues, if I were destitute of a feeling regard for the sufferings of a\nfriend, and especially a brother.\n\n\nA few months afterwards he was again called upon deeply to sympathise with\nhis brother. The occasion this time was the perplexity in matters of\nbusiness in which Thomas Yeardley was involved. He expressed his feelings\nin a letter in which he not only gives the soundest Christian counsel, but\nalso shows how he was himself indebted to the same maxims for the\npreservation of his honor and of his spiritual life and usefulness. The\nfirm and practical manner in which the subject is treated render his\nremarks of permanent value.\n\n\nBentham, 8 mo. 7, 1820,\n\nMY DEAR BROTHER,\n\nThy affectionate letter of the 24th I have received, and need not tell\nthee how sensibly I am concerned for thy present situation.\n\nI do hope thou wilt not lose sight of the object thou hast now in view, to\nget relieved in some way from the excessive load of business which presses\nupon thee, for we can none of us carry fire in our bosoms too long without\nbeing burnt. We shall not be justified in the sight of Him with whom we\nhave to do, if we do not endeavor to place ourselves in such a situation\nas will best answer the end for which he has designed us. It would convict\nus of a very weak and erroneous idea of a Supreme Being, to suppose that\nhe could not or would not prosper our endeavors with equal success in a\nmore restricted way of trade, when our motives are purely to serve him\nfaithfully. Surely, He who cares for the sparrows will not suffer\n_us_ to fall to the ground without his notice.\n\nThou wilt be ready to say it is an easy matter to speak of these things on\npaper; but believe me, my dear brother, I know a little of what I say.\nThere was a time when I was as extensively engaged in business,\n_according to my means_, as you are now. I have had large sums of\nacceptances to provide for, with nothing towards them but what was in the\nuncertainty of the drapers' hands. When I have set out on a journey I have\nhad to take the distressing fear along with me, that if I failed of\ngetting in almost every shilling that was due to me, I failed in paying my\nacceptances. Add to this, the painful prospect of losing my property until\nI could not pay my just debts, and then mention a situation which would\nplace an honest mind in a greater degree of perplexity. O! had it not been\nfor the preserving hand of my gracious Redeemer, I had never lifted up my\nhead above the waters which were ready to overwhelm me. In the midst of\nall this I received a firm conviction, that if I wound up as speedily as\ncircumstances would admit, I should measurably be safe; but if I suffered\nthe impression to pass away disregarded, I might be hurled along with the\nstream and never more be able to recover myself. It seemed as if my eye\nwas fixed on a star which shone quite on the other side of the [waters];\nand I was thus enabled to wade through, without, knowing what course to\ntake when I got to the other side. I do not mention this as being in the\nwhole applicable to thy case; but as a fellow Christian traveller towards\nthe celestial city, I earnestly intreat thee, in the love of the gospel,\nnever to consider thyself on a level, or at liberty to act in full scope,\nwith the man of business, who thinks himself created to pursue the things\nof time without being responsible to his Creator for endeavoring to reach\na situation in life which would enable him to prepare for eternity. Thou\nwilt not be long at a loss what to do if thou dost not overlook the secret\nmotive in thy own breast. Do not grieve at losing a little of what thou\nhast; it will come again, if for the best, and may bring the double reward\nof peace. If thou attendest to that directing Hand which has hitherto\npreserved thee as a monument of thy Heavenly Father's mercy, thy victory\nis already sure, though thou mayst not know it. It is not for the test,\nconsequently not permitted, that we should always see our way. Were this\nthe case there would be no exercise of faith. The servant of the prophet\nwas blind as to the power which preserved them, when he saw a host of the\nenemy encamped against them: he cried out, \"Alas, my master, how shall we\ndo!\" But his master answered, \"Fear not; for they that be with us are more\nthan they that be with them;\" and the prophet prayed that the young man\nmight be made to see. And when his eyes were opened, what did he see? Why,\nhe saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about them.\nThe Lord's chosen people are continually encircled with these chariots of\nfire, otherwise it would not be possible to be so mercifully preserved\nfrom harm. Should it be insinuated to thee that thou art not of this\nchosen race, let me tell thee, we become children of the Most High as soon\nas he has raised in us a desire to serve him, and we become willing to\nabide under his protecting wing whatever changes may take place in our own\nfeelings during the operation of his holy hand upon us.\n\n\nNothing is more important in the life of a Christian than the manner in\nwhich he turns to account the opportunities for serving his Lord which\ncontinually spring up before him.\n\n\n6 _mo_. 23.--Going last evening to Wenington, to repeat my French\nlesson, my friends there asked me to call with them on a sick person;\nfeeling quite free to do so, I went with them. On sitting quietly by the\nbedside, a little matter came before me, which was communicated from these\nwords: \"Affliction cometh not forth of the dust.\"\n\nOn my return home, I could not but reflect on the necessity of having our\nbow strung, and being always alive to the interest of souls, and\nendeavoring to imitate the example of our great Master, whose whole life\nwas employed in continually going up and down doing good.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nFROM HIS COMMISSION TO RESIDE ABROAD IN 1820 TO HIS REMOVAL TO GERMANY\nIN 1822.\n\nIn 1822 John Yeardley went to reside in Germany. As his residence abroad\nconstituted one of the most remarkable turns in his life, and exercised a\npowerful influence on the rest of his career, we shall develop as fully as\nwe are able the motives by which he was induced to leave his native\ncountry. By means of his Diary we can trace the early appearance and\ngrowth, if not the origin, of the strong Christian sympathy he ever\nafterwards manifested with seeking souls in the nations on the continent\nof Europe, and especially amongst the German people.\n\nThe first hint concerning his desire to go abroad is contained in the\naccount of a dream, under date of the 2nd of the Ninth Month, 1818,\nregarding which he felt much disappointed, because he could not recollect\nthe names of the places in Germany about which he had in his dream been\ninterested. The next year (the 19th of the Fifth Month) he had a second\ndream on the same subject, in which he supposed his friend Joseph Wood was\nabout to go on a religious mission to the Continent, and he brought out\nhis Atlas to find the places for him. On being asked if he meant to\naccompany him, he said he \"was not prepared to answer at present.\" In the\nrelation of a third dream, which he had the next year (the 25th of the\nEighth Month, 1820), the locality to which his mind was attracted is first\nindicated. \"Pyrmont and Minden,\" he says, \"rested very closely with me,\nand to them I felt bound.\"\n\nIt might not have been worth while to have made allusion to these dreams,\nwhich ought perhaps to be rather as the continuation or echo of his\nthoughts than as their original source, but for the deep importance which\nJohn Yeardley himself attached to them. He considered that by them was\nfirst made known to him the divine will respecting his future course; and\nthat his longing desire to recover the name of the forgotten locality of\nthe first dream was answered in the last. It can admit of little doubt\nthat the same conviction of their more than common significance, which led\nhim to cherish as sacred the remembrance of these night-visions, helped to\nform and sustain his resolution in carrying out the project with which he\nconnected them.\n\nJust before the occurrence of the last dream, his faith in the heavenly\nsource of the invitation which, whether waking or sleeping, he had\nreceived, to go over and help his Christian brethren on the Continent, was\nconfirmed by a prophetic message from John Kirkham, who, in the course of\nhis religious travels, again visited Yorkshire.\n\n\n8 _mo_.--Our dear friend, John Kirkham, from Earl's Colne, Essex,\nslept at our house on Second-day, the 7th, and had a meeting with our few\non Third-day. How wonderfully was he enlarged; and I could not but admire\nhow he was favored to speak to the states of some present. I could set my\nseal to every word he uttered, and say, This is the very truth. Before he\nleft us he had a select opportunity in our family, and said a great deal\nstout being faithful to our own vision. He seemed to answer a question in\nmy mind as fully as I had any right to expect; for I had almost asked it\nas a sign that if I were not deceived in my vision he should be led to\nspeak on the subject. He said emphatically, \"We cannot be faithful to the\nvision of another man, we do not know it except it be revealed to us; but\nwe must be FAITHFUL TO OUR OWN VISION.\"\n\nOn the 9th I accompanied him to the Monthly Meeting at Settle, and I once\nmore desired that, if my feeling in former times had not deceived me, this\nservant of the Lord might be led to speak on the same subject; and indeed\nhe scarcely said anything else but what had the strongest bearing on my\nrequest. What encouraging favors do I receive at the hands of so good a\nMaster!\n\n\nA few months later we find the charge to foreign labor renewed, with\nintimation of the wide field in which he would have to work; an intimation\nwhich was amply verified in his future travels.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 26.--At meeting something involuntarily entered my mind like\nthis, I will make thee a preacher of righteousness to many nations. I felt\nnot only a desire to be made willing to be sent, but also a desire to be\nprepared.\n\n\nA few days after noting this impression he thus communes with himself on\nthis topic, which now began to absorb the greater portion of his thoughts.\n\n\n12 _mo_. 3, _First-day_.--As I walked alone to the meeting this\nmorning, I thought within myself, What can be the cause that I so often\nfeel drawn in spirit towards the land of ----? My thoughts have now for a\nlong time past so frequently and so involuntarily revolved on the subject\nthat I begin to be very jealous over them, and to query whether it is the\nworkings of self-imaginations. If this is the case, O that I may be\nrelieved from them. But however unaccountable my feelings may be, a secret\nlove towards some unknown souls in ---- is so strong at times, that if I\nhad wings I should for my own inward peace visit them in body as I now do\nin spirit. It seems as if my spiritual eye saw in those parts what we may\ncall a seed (the seed of the kingdom sown in the heart) that wants to take\nroot downwards and spring upwards, but which is almost choked with the\ntares of superstition. Are there not scattered up and down in ----, many\nwhose souls are verging from under the clouds of thick darkness, and from\nunder the bonds of idolatrous superstition, towards that glorious liberty\nwhich is brought to light by the gospel? Something in me secretly craves\nan opportunity to tell those precious creatures that the time appears near\nat hand when this glorious gospel light will shine so clearly that they\nwill discover a Saviour in the secret of their own hearts; and it is to\nhim (I could tell them) that they must look for the perfection of their\nsalvation. Should there be anything of the right savor in my heart\nconcerning this matter, I humbly hope that in due time it will be brought\nto maturity, and my way made plain and easy--_plain_, so that I\ncannot possibly mistake the pointing hand of divine wisdom, and\n_easy_, so that when I hear the command I may be enabled to obey.\n\nA very instructive time at meeting. The subject abovementioned glanced in\nmy view, and with it the Dover-failing objection, If I am at all \"apt\nto teach,\" can it or will it be required of me to leave those here and\nothers in this land who have need of instruction? This objection was\nimmediately answered in a way which I never before experienced. They\nhave, besides many teachers, the unerring light of Jesus in their own\nhearts unto which they know they ought alone to look for direction. And if\nthey neglect or overlook the means in themselves, it is not in my power, a\npoor instrument, to do them any good. So it may be said of others to whom\nI may apprehend myself called. It all revolves on this single and\nimportant point,--What is the _divine will_ concerning me? If I can\nonly know this and am enabled to do it, all will be well.\n\n\nIn the Autumn he attended Liverpool Quarterly Meeting, an occasion which\nwas one of the most memorable seasons of his life. His narrative of it is\nvery characteristic:--\n\n\n9 _mo_. 19.--My dear wife and I left home to attend Liverpool\nQuarterly Meeting. Through mercy we arrived safe there, but I, as usual\nwhen from home, felt very low and poor in spirit, and was ready to call in\nquestion my coming to the place. For although I received, as I thought, a\nproper signal before I left home, yet one or two circumstances occurred to\ndiscourage me from going, which I pressed through with some firmness;\nhowever, such was my uneasiness the first night in Liverpool, that I was\nvery desirous, if my being there was in right wisdom, something might turn\nup to convince me that I had not done wrong in leaving home. And blessed\nbe the name of Jesus, I had not been long in the first meeting (their\nMonthly Meeting the day before the Quarterly,) before I was perfectly\nsatisfied. There were present Willett Hicks and Huldah Sears from America,\nand Mary Watson from Ireland. In the early part of the meeting my mind was\nengaged in meditating on--\"God will enlarge Japhet and dwell in the tents\nof Shem,\" and so it proved. The silence was broken by W. Hicks with these\nwords: \"Great men are not always wise, neither do the ancients understand\nwisdom.\" Others present were much favored, and the meeting ended in\nheavenly harmony.\n\nAfter it was over I found to my surprise and joy, my brother and sister\nfrom Barnsley, whom I had expected to come to Bentham to accompany us to\nLiverpool, and their not coming to Bentham first was one of the causes\nwhich had discouraged me in leaving home; for I once had concluded, in my\nwavering, to leave my going for their determination, thinking if they came\nit would be the means of getting me off, if not, I should give it up; but\nit so fell out that they took the nearest way to meet us there, without\nwriting us word, and it would have been a great disappointment had I not\nbeen there. I should not have written so much about a seeming trifle but\nto show the necessity of firmness in doing what is pointed out, unless\nsome reasonable cause prevents.\n\nNow to the opening of the Quarterly Meeting for worship, which was like\nthe day of Pentecost, when the place was filled with a rushing mighty wind\nfrom heaven. The first stream of ministry flowed again through W.H., who\nappeared from these words: \"In the last day, that great day of the feast,\nJesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and\ndrink.\" It was indeed applicable; for all seemed athirst, and were invited\nand admitted to drink of the waters of life freely; those who were afar\noff drew nigh, and those who were near were enabled to acknowledge the\nmight of Him who had called them to his footstool, and crowned them with\nhis presence. Huldah Sears and Mary Watson were also much favored in\ntestimony. What opened on my mind to express was this: \"God speaketh once,\nyea, twice; yet man perceiveth it not.\" I thought we were bound to\nacknowledge that our God still reigned in Israel, and was condescending to\nspeak to his people. Immediately afterwards M.R. appeared a long time in\nsupplication, and then H.S. both very powerfully; so that goodness seemed\nto rise higher and higher, until we swam in divine life. This blessed,\nheavenly meeting will be remembered by some to the latest period of time.\n\n\nAfter this event John Yeardley speaks of being favored with more\nenlargement of love towards the members of his small meeting; and also of\nhaving, when attending a public meeting at Wray with Joseph Wood, to kneel\ndown in prayer for the congregation.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 20.--To my humbling admiration, he writes, I had in the\nconclusion to kneel down and call on the name of the holy and high God of\nthe whole earth, that he would be pleased to continue the blessing which\nhe had already condescended to pour down on our heads. This is a most\nawful act of worship: I trust the intimation to it was attended with\nproper weightiness of spirit.\n\n\nThis meeting was a remarkable season, and is thus described in Joseph\nWood's journal:--\n\n\n_Bentham_, 10 _mo_. 20.--We [J.W. and James Harrison] set out\nfor Wray, our beloved friend John Yeardley being our guide. We called by\nthe way at Thomas Barrow's, of Wenington Hall, and drank tea; then\nproceeded to Wray. There were but few Friends here, but they have a very\nlarge ancient meeting-house, and my concern being principally towards the\ninhabitants, and proper information thereof being given, abundance\nattended; the meeting-house both above and below stairs was pretty well\nfilled; and their behavior was deserving of commendation. The Lord's\npresence eminently crowned the assembly, and the truths of the gospel were\nlargely and livingly declared amongst them, and it was a time of\nextraordinary favor to many. I had first a long testimony to bear therein,\nfrom Luke iv. 41. A pretty long time of silence then ensued, and great was\nthe solemnity which appeared to cover the assembly. After which John\nYeardley stood up and said, Some were ready to say there was no worship\nwithout words, but from the precious solemnity which he believed had\ncovered many minds since the former communication, he was ready to\nconclude many were feelingly convinced to the contrary. He was then pretty\nlargely led forth in opening the advantage of silently waiting upon God. I\na pretty long time next, from Isaiah liv. 11,13. James Harrison next, from\nMatt. xiii. 44. John Yeardley was next concerned in prayer. The meeting\nheld about two hours and a half.\n\n21_st_.--About the middle of the day my companion (J.H.) called upon\nme, and betwixt twelve and one o'clock we left here for Lancaster, Thomas\nBarrow being our guide, and his wife, Charlotte Russell, and Emma Hodgson,\naccompanying us. Emma Hodgson is the daughter of a clergyman of Rochdale:\nshe had been some time on a visit at Thomas Barrow's and went with the\nfamily to the meeting at Bentham when we were there, and was much reached\nand tendered therein; and attending the meeting at Wray last evening she\ndeclared after her return that she was fully convinced of the truth.\n\n\nReturning to John Yeardley's diary for this year, we find some passages\nfrom which profitable instruction may be gathered.\n\n\n11 _mo._ 8 was the Monthly Meeting at Settle; my dear love and I both\nattended. To me it was a poor low season; if there were any good, I was\ntoo much like the heath in the desert,--I knew not when it came. In\naddition to this, it felt as if I had to mourn over the barren state of\nsome others. O, how I dread the state of a lukewarm Quaker! May I ever be\npreserved from this sorrowful state of a lukewarm Quaker! I believe it is\noften the means of bringing a damp over our solemn assemblies.\n\n12 _mo._ 7.--_Query._ What is the most likely means for me to\nadopt to approach nearer to holiness? _Answer._ To spend more time in\nretirement silently to wait upon God. The more conversant I am with him,\nthe more I shall know of his will and receive power to do the same. To do\nthe will of the Almighty is the way to perfect holiness. The nearer\nacquaintance we cultivate with him, the stronger will become the ties of\nhis affection. The more devoted we are to him, the more confidence will he\nrepose in us.\n\n\nCatching then a glimpse of the glorious calling of the Gospel minister, he\nbreaks forth in the following strain:--\n\n\nIf I am ambitious in anything on earth, it is to be eminently useful in\nHis cause. I can say with the wise man, I ask neither riches nor honor,\nexcept the honor which cometh from doing the will of God; but I do ask for\n\"an understanding heart.\" I trust I can say in the deepest sincerity that\nI could renounce, if they were in my power, the riches and honor of ten\nthousand earthly worlds in purchase of a double portion of that holy\nunction which rested on Elisha's spirit. These are bold sayings, but my\nSaviour tells me that as there is no limitation to his goodness to grant,\nso there is no limitation in asking of him for the gift of his Holy\nSpirit. But then what manner of man ought this to be on whom shall be\nconferred such great honor! Surely it must be left to Himself to prepare\nthe vessel before he pours in the oil.\n\n\nWe have already made an extract from the diary of the 3rd of the Twelfth\nMonth in connection with John Yeardley's call to visit Germany. The same\ndiary supplies us with the description of a spiritual opening for the\nbenefit of others with which he was favored in the same meeting.\n\n\nIn my minute for First-day last I mentioned its being an instructive\nmeeting to me. Towards the conclusion a simile of this kind arose and\nspread before my view: As wax when melted by the fire or the candle is\nthen only capable of receiving the impression of the stamp put upon it, so\nalso are our minds only capable of receiving impressions of divine good\nwhen our spirits are melted and contrited before the Lord. As these\nseasons are not at our command, it appeared to me to be of the highest\nimportance for us to endeavor to preserve and improve them as the best\nmeans of testifying our gratitude to the great Donor. The impression which\nthe above contemplation made on my spirit proved like a morsel of bread to\nmy soul, which I found I could not conceal, though I struggled hard to eat\nit alone, it seeming so insignificant to hand to others; but at length I\ngave up, and felt it to be a time wherein some among the few present were\nmelted as wax before the fire, and had a portion of divine goodness afresh\nimprinted on their minds; and my spirit craved that they might not prove\nas \"the morning cloud and as the early dew that goeth away.\"\n\n\nOn the 7th of the Twelfth Month Elizabeth Yeardley was suddenly prostrated\nby an alarming attack of illness, from which, however, she soon rallied,\nthough she never entirely regained her previous state of health. Possibly\nher husband alludes to this afflictive occurrence in the following\nmemorandum:--\n\n\n12 _mo_. 10.--How varied is our passing along in this vale of tears!\nFirst-day last was a day of brightness, and this day has been one of\ncomparative death and darkness. I have been made to know something of the\nsaying recorded by the prophet,--\"Who is among you that feareth the Lord,\"\n&c., \"that walketh in darkness and hath no light.\" This has appeared to be\nmy portion this day, and I find it hard work to \"trust in the name of the\nLord and stay upon my God.\"\n\n\nSome further remarks in his diary for this day turn upon the subject of\nthe ministry, and the passage he quotes shows how deep and heart-searching\nis the work of preparation for an enlarged and effectual gospel ministry,\nwhatever be the denomination among men to which the preacher belongs:--\n\n\nIn the course of reading the life of Mary Fletcher I find much deep\ninstruction and encouragement. Many of her remarks have proved like a goad\nto spur me on in the way of holiness. An extract made by her from Dr.\nDoddridge's life aptly speaks the language of my heart, when in my silent\nbreathing to the Almighty I am led to crave an enlargement of my gift in\nspiritual things:--\n\n\"There must be an enlargement of soul before any remarkable success on\nothers; and a great diligence in prayer and strict watchfulness over my\nown soul previous to any remarkable and habitual enlargement in my\nministry; and deep humiliation must precede both.\"\n\n\n1821.--The first entry in the diary of this year turns upon the\never-present subject of his going abroad, and is penned under feelings of\nthe deepest solemnity. It is followed the next day by another on the great\nduty of self-examination.\n\n\n1 _mo_. 2. This day I have felt singularly impressed with a desire to\nbe more devoted to my Maker. I believe it is his will that I should be\nmore given up to serve him; and if spared with life and strength, my few\nremaining days must be spent in his cause. A presentiment of this kind has\nfor some time past prevailed with me; and from the calm, awful, and\nweighty manner in which it is at times brought over my spirit, I am\ninduced to think it cannot be the mere phantom of the imagination. The\nprospect of a temporary residence on the ---- seems rather to increase\nthan otherwise. How it may terminate, or the time when to move, is yet\nuncertain to me. O, how the prospect humbles me! I trust I can, in some\ndegree say, with the good old patriarch, that his God shall be my God, and\nif He will only give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, I desire to\nserve him.\n\n1 _mo_. 3.--This day I am thirty-five years old. Whether I may be\nspared as many more, or whether I may only survive as many months, weeks,\ndays or hours, as I have now lived years, is altogether in the breast of\nHim who has hitherto preserved me as a monument of his mercy. How awful\nthe consideration! To think that we may be called to give an account at\nany hour of the day, and not frequently to examine the state of affairs\nbetween us and our God, is complete infatuation. Strange as it may seem,\nas it regards myself I stand condemned. I am sensible sufficient attention\nis not paid to the important work of self-examination. O that this fresh\nyear may produce fresh vigilance!\n\n\nIn the Second Month, Ann Jones, accompanied by her husband and Isabel\nRichardson, visited Bentham on a religious mission. Ann Jones had much\nservice, both in public and private. What she had to declare to John\nYeardley in particular was very remarkable, and reminded him of the\ndiscourse of Sarah Lamley in 1814. He says;--\n\n\nShe said a good deal which so struck home to my feelings, that I have not\nbeen so deeply reached in the same manner since dear Sarah Lamley visited\nfamilies at Barnsley. (_Letter to his brother._)\n\n\nIn the Third Month he found it to be his duty to attend some meetings of\nFriends in going and returning from the Quarterly Meeting at Leeds. In his\ndiary of the 14th of the Third Month he speaks of making the necessary\napplication to the Monthly Meeting for its sanction, and, in that and some\nsucceeding entries, records his feelings on the occasion, and the help\nwhich he received by the way.\n\n\nThis was new work to me; how I was humbled before I could be made willing\nto mention my concern to my friends! which was done in such a faltering\nmanner that I believe many sympathized with me. When I had received the\nmeeting's approbation, I was thoughtful how I should get most conveniently\non my way. After our meeting I received a letter from dear S.S., saying\nthat he had felt a prayer raised in his heart, that I might be helped in\nmy undertaking by Him from whom best help comes, and that he was most easy\nto propose accompanying me on my way in his gig. A very agreeable\ncompanion he proved to be, and for this little act of dedication he shall\nnot lose his reward.\n\nI left home on First day, the 25th, for Newton, over the Fells. There fell\nmuch rain the day before, which swelled the waters so that my wife and I\nbecame very thoughtful how I should get over the river to Newton, over\nwhich there is no bridge. I thought that should I be favored to get over\nsafe and dry I would take it as a sign for good in the journey; and so it\nwas in mercy granted; for when I came to the water-side, I met a man on\nhorseback who let me ride his horse over. This was in a wild part of the\ncountry, with not a house near. Simple as this may appear to some, I could\nnot but acknowledge in it a providence for which I was thankful.\n\nAt Newton, where I expected to meet only three or four, more assembled\nthan the larger end of the house would hold. I was met by dear D.W. from\nStockton; I could not but think we looked like two poor striplings before\na great army. I should have sunk under my fears, had I not been enabled to\nget down to that Power which can bear up above the fear of man.\n\nIn the afternoon I went to Thornton, and sat down with the family. This\nwas a precious season, and it felt doubly so from our having been on the\nbarren mountains, both literally and spiritually.\n\nI went next morning, accompanied by D.W., to Lothersdale. This was also a\ngood meeting: I had reason to believe the God whom I was endeavoring to\nserve had answered my prayer in sending his angel before to prepare the\nway; I seemed almost borne off my feet by the power of Divine love.\n\nWe dined at S.S.'s; and after dinner I could not quit the room without\nexpressing what I felt towards him, which melted us all into tears. S.S.\njoined me, and we went to Skipton to be at the meeting at five o'clock.\nBefore we came there I felt such a sense of poverty that it seemed as if\nmy spiritual life was going to be taken from me; and even when I got to\nmeeting, the same feeling remained, which introduced my spirit into a\nstate of suffering not easily to be conceived. On our sitting down I felt\nthere was something on the mind of S.S., and I feared lest, by suffering\nthe reasoner to prevail, he should be unfaithful; but he expressed a few\nwords which seemed as the key to the treasury.\n\nI went that evening to Addingham, and had a meeting next morning, where I\nsensibly found a little strength: we seemed to sit under our own vine and\nfig-tree, where none could make us afraid. We lodged and dined at our kind\nfriend J. Smith's, in whose family I had something given to me to minister.\n\n\nFrom Addingham they went to the Quarterly Meeting at Leeds, where John\nYeardley received intelligence of the sudden decease of his beloved friend\nJoseph Wood. J.W. had been engaged in testimony and supplication in the\nmeeting at Highflatts on First-day morning, and was taken unwell during\nthe evening, and died in a few hours. After the Quarterly Meeting John\nYeardley went to attend the interment, and on his way had a meeting with\nthe Friends at Barnsley.\n\n\nIt was, he says, a favored time, and we were humbled and instructed\ntogether. We went to Highflatts to tea; when I got to the place where the\nremains of my dear friend were laid, I stood silently by the coffin in\ntears, saying in spirit, If it be thy mantle I am designed to wear, may I\nreceive it with humility, reverence and fear! This feeling awfully\nimpressed my mind, because my dear friend had said more than once to me,\nIf I have any place in the body, I bequeath it to thee. The meeting was\nvery large and was a precious season; the occasion on which we were met\nseemed to give wings to our spirits to fly upwards.\n\n\nThis spring Elizabeth Yeardley's disorder began to assume a serious form.\nA short memorandum from her hand discloses in a touching manner her state,\nboth physical and spiritual.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 29.--\"Regard not distant events: this uneasiness about the\nfuture is in opposition to the grace received.\" This sentence from my old\nfavorite, Fenelon, was much blest to my spirit this evening, when I had\nfoolishly been thinking about future sufferings. O, sufficient for the day\nis the evil thereof. Perhaps a few rolling suns may, through the merits\nand mercies of my Lord, see this poor worm translated to his Paradise.\n\n\nThe first direct allusion to anxiety on her account which appears in her\nhusband's diary bears date the 5th of the Fifth Month. Her debilitated\nstate seems to have been the cause of their deferring to a future day\ntheir contemplated removal to Germany, which was otherwise to have taken\nplace about this time.\n\nIn the summer of this year he was himself laid for some weeks upon a bed\nof sickness, with a complaint of the stomach. He viewed this time of\nsuffering as profitable in assisting his resolution to undertake the\nreligious mission to which his mind was still continually directed. In a\nletter to Thomas Yeardley, of the 1st of the Ninth Month, he says, \"Such\nis my stubborn will that I am not to be effectually pleaded with, until I\nam brought down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, or judgment.\" His wife,\nwho was too ill to leave her chamber, has a memorandum respecting her\nhusband's illness, under date of the 29th of the Eighth Month. It seems to\nhave been the last which her pen ever traced.\n\n\nSince I wrote, my dear husband has had an awful attack; but the Lord has\nagain been merciful in restoring him to ease once more. Yesterday (may the\nLord enable us to keep covenant) we laid our _Isaac_ on the altar. O,\nto be wholly our kind, our Heavenly Master's, who cares to provide for us,\nfor soul and body; who takes nothing from us but what he knows would harm\nus, and gives us a hundred-fold of that which is good in lieu.\n\n\nPrior to this time John Yeardley had not confided to his brother the\nthought which so long had occupied his mind. In the letter just referred\nto he speaks of it as \"an important concern which had long been the\ncompanion of his secret thoughts by day and his visions by night,\"\nand says:--\n\n\nIt now seems to be approaching so near a state of maturity that I feel\nfreedom to communicate it to thee.\n\nFor about three years past I have had an increasing apprehension that it\nwould be required of me to take up a _temporary residence_ among\nthose who profess with Friends on the other side of the water,\nparticularly with the few in the neighborhood of Minden and Pyrmont, and\nprobably at some time with those in the South of France. But my visit is\nlikely to be paid in a way different from any that have been made before.\nI have never seen that the nature of my concern would require any document\nfrom the Quarterly or Yearly Meetings; neither do I think it would answer\nmy present views; because the secret language of my heart has been for\nmany months past, \"Go dwell among them, go dwell with them.\"\n\nI should be in want of some employment, and the first thing that presents\nto my view is to offer my services to a few of my friends in the yarn and\nflax trade; articles which are largely imported into Yorkshire, and which\nseem to be the natural production of the country, within the circle where\nI should be likely to reside.\n\n\nHis brother's answer to this letter was most consoling and encouraging: in\nreference to it he says, it seemed with him as it was with Peter in the\nprison, when the angel smote him and the irons fell off.\n\n\nAnd O, he adds, that I may be willing, now that a little light begins to\nshine, to gird myself, bind on my sandals, cast my garment about me, and\nfollow my Lord, thinking no hardship too much to endure for so good a\nMaster. (_Diary, 9 mo. 21_.)\n\n\nAlthough in reality not far from her end, his wife's state had not as yet\nexcited immediate alarm. On the 23rd of the Ninth Month J.Y. writes:--\n\n\nMy precious E.Y. is yet so weak that there is a probability of its being\nan obstacle in the way of our removal; but there is this consolation,--if\nthe work be of the Lord he will not frustrate his own design; if it be not\nhis doing we must submit to have the whole overturned.\n\n\nIn a few days he became aware of her critical state.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 29.--The indisposition of my dear wife has taken such an\nalarming turn that I yesterday began to have serious apprehensions as to\nthe issue. I have watched with her night and day, and my prayers have been\nunceasing for her restoration, I trust not without a due reverence to the\ndivine will. But I did not feel as though nature could give her up until\nyesterday, when as I stood retired by the bed-side of my dear lamb,\nendeavoring to feel after resignation, I gave her up as fully as human\nnature, through divine aid, was capable of. Then it sprang in my heart,\nWhere is the man that can offer up an Isaac? He shall go for me, and I\nwill send him. There seems a spark of hope that even now, when the knife\nis lifted up, the voice may yet be heard,--\"Lay not thy hand upon the lad,\nfor now I know that thou fearest me.\"\n\nMy precious dear has been to me in my late exercise a never-failing\ninstrument of strength, comfort, and encouragement: in general her faith\nhas been much stronger than my own. Should it please Heaven to restore\nher, O that there may be an increased desire that it may be for no other\ncause, but that her heart, her hands and her feet, may unite with mine in\nsounding forth our Redeemer's praise, if required, even to the ends of the\nearth.\n\n\nThe following entries record the last hours of the dying Christian wife,\nand the feelings of her bereaved husband:--\n\n\n10 _mo_. 25.--Last night we expected my dear lamb would have sunk\naway. How the awful event is to terminate is known only to Him on whose\nbosom I trust she has always rested; for in no other place could she be\npreserved in the state of peace which she appears to possess.\n\n29_th_.--A most awful morning; my dear lamb is no more! She sweetly\nfell asleep in the bosom of her Saviour, at one o'clock this morning. The\nclosing scene was perfect ease and peace. From the first of her illness\nshe seemed aware how it would terminate, and was perfectly resigned.\nDuring our being at Bentham she has often said it was a place provided by\nProvidence to afford her that religious retirement she had long desired,\nand which she took the most scrupulous care to improve. When in health she\nwould tell me of late that perhaps she might be taken away in order to set\nme more fully at liberty to do the Lord's work.\n\n11 _mo_. 18.--This day two weeks was the solemn ceremony of\ncommitting to the silent dust the remains of my very precious and dearly\nbeloved Elizabeth. I had dreaded the day very much; but through prayer,\nmixed with a degree of faith, which was mercifully granted, I was\nwonderfully supported. In the meeting I felt the divine influence so near,\nand so to prevail over my spirit, that I was constrained publicly to thank\nthe Father of mercies for his goodness.\n\nThis day I visited, perhaps for the last time, the place which encloses\nthe cold relics of one so dearly beloved; and as I stood weeping over the\ngrave, it sprang in my heart, She is not here but (she) is risen. What an\nunspeakable consolation to be enabled to leave the dust behind, and hold\nsweet communion and converse with the spirit. Ever since her departure it\nfeels as though her spirit had never left me, but was hovering and\nfluttering around me to administer comfort on every afflicting occasion;\nand O, saith my spirit, that this precious feeling may remain with me for\never.\n\n12 _mo_. 20.--I feel to lament the loss of my dear lamb more than\never, at least so far as I dare. No one but myself knows the comfort which\nthe late awful event has deprived me of; but I no sooner remember the hand\nwhich administered it than all complaining is hushed into silence, and I\nam made to rejoice that she is so safely deposited where trouble cannot\nreach.\n\n\nFrom this moment John Yeardley felt himself quite free to pursue the path\nof duty which had been opened before him, viz., to go and reside in\nGermany.\n\nIn the Eleventh Month he left Bentham to sojourn awhile with his brother,\nand on the 9th of the First Month, 1822, he received a certificate of\nremoval from Settle Monthly Meeting, addressed to the Friends of Pyrmont\nand Minden, which certified that he was a member of the Society of\nFriends, and a minister well approved by the church.\n\nBefore we pursue further the sequence of events, two passages from the\ndiary may be here transcribed, which could not have been inserted in the\norder of time without interrupting the narrative. The first of these\nconveys a lesson of practical wisdom, and exhibits the method by which the\nwriter was able to succeed and to excel in what he undertook. It is the\ntrue comprehension and resolute acting upon maxims such as these, which\nmakes so much of the difference between one man and another.\n\n\n1821. 7 _mo_. 2.--No man can excel in everything; therefore it is\nhighly important for each mind to consider attentively for what it is\ncalculated, and what end it is designed to answer by him who created it.\nAs secular affairs are often more expedited by a judicious arrangement,\nthan by hard doing indiscriminately at the mass; so will undertakings of\nsuperior importance be more advantageously attained by keeping a single\neye, and looking for best direction to make a proper selection of what\nought to be done and what ought not to be done. I was long too much\nwavering on this head, to my great loss; but I now hope it is become a\nsettled point, find I have clearly seen for what service I am designed in\nthe church militant here on earth; therefore, through the assistance of\ndivine grace, I hope to pursue nothing but in subordination to this main\ndesign. For a little mind to aim at great things would be to thwart the\nwhole; but to endeavor to be faithful in small things, seems to be the way\nto attain the end.\n\n\nFrom the other entry we shall extract only a few words, but they are words\nfraught with deep instruction:--\n\n\n9 _mo_. 7.--\"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.\" Without\npurity of heart we cannot see the pointing of the Divine Finger.\n\n\nOn the 18th of the Second Month, John Yeardley attended Pontefract Monthly\nMeeting, held at Wakefield.\n\n\nIt was, he says, a precious season; I felt my friends very near to me in\nspirit, and expressed to them in tenderness and love what lay on my mind;\nand in the conclusion the power and goodness of the Most High were so\nawfully felt that I could not forbear kneeling down to offer him thanks,\nand to supplicate that he would he pleased once more to bind up the\nbreaches in the walls of our Zion, and grant that when we were separated\none from another we might never he separated from his presence.\n\nI now begin, he continues, to feel very anxious to set forward for my\ndestination on the other side of the water. What an awful situation mine\nappears to be! O that faith and patience may be granted equal to the\noccasion!\n\n1822. 2 _mo_. 26.--I never read in my dear lamb's diary but it feels\nto season my heart with good. It is as though her writings were\nimpregnated with a degree of sincerity and resignation which, were so\neminently the characteristics of her innocent spirit. O, I repeat it, that\nmy precious Saviour may be pleased to appoint her angel spirit to be my\nguardian through life, until I shall be joined with her in heaven and\nwe both unite in singing his praise.\n\n\nAbout this time his brother, Thomas Yeardley, began to exercise the\nministerial office.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 3.--Attended Woodhouse Meeting, which was to me a very trying\none. My brother Thomas spoke the feeling of my heart in something like\nthese words:--\"They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit\nbefore thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do\nthem.\"\n\n3 _mo._ 18.--This day was held the Monthly Meeting at Barnsley. The\nTestimony concerning our much-esteemed friend Joseph Wood was read and\nsigned by the meetings at large. When I consider the legacy, so to speak,\nwhich this dear friend used to say he should bequeath to me, this language\nseems to prevail in my heart:--\"Moses my servant is dead; now therefore\narise. As I was with Moses, so I will he with thee; I will not fail thee,\nnor forsake thee.\"--Joshua i. 2, 5. This is an awful consideration; but\nwhy should any despair? May not the faithful mind say, \"This God is our\nGod; he will be our guide, even unto death.\" I desire most sincerely to be\nkept in humility, whatever the probations may be which are necessary to\nfit me for the design of Him who hath given me life, breath and being.\n\n\nOn the 2d of the Fourth Month he quitted Barnsley, accompanied by his\nbrother Thomas.\n\n\nI think it a favor indeed, he says, to be relieved from a doubting mind as\nto whether I should go or stay; for I can truly say that, let the result\nprove what it may. I go with an undivided heart.\n\nElizabeth Dell had a meeting at Pontefract this day, where I met her; it\nwas a very satisfactory meeting, and it was pleasant to meet with several\nFriends here whom I did not expect to have seen again. The parting\nopportunity with E.D. has left a savor on my mind which I hope will not\nsoon be forgotten.\n\nBefore he left England he opened negotiations with several mercantile\nhouses, who gave him orders for linen yarn from Germany. At Hull he\nwrites:\n\n\n4 _mo._ 12.--My detention here, waiting for a fair wind to Hamburg,\nhas not been unpleasant; my friends are exceedingly kind, but my feelings\nin a religious sense have been rather depressing.\n\n\nHis heart was full of serious thoughts in anticipation of the voyage,\nwhich was then more formidable than it is now; but the joyful hope of a\nglorious immortality, if death should be suffered to overtake him, bore\nhim up above his fears.\n\n\n14_th_.--May I be preserved in a holy reliance on the Arm of strong\nPower for help. \"O Lord God, who is a strong Lord like unto Thee, or to\nthy faithfulness round about Thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when\nthe waves thereof arise, Thou stillest, them.\" O may it please him to\ncarry me in his bosom, and protect me from the dangers of the sea. But\nshould it please him to permit that I go down to the bottom, may I be\nfully resigned in humble confidence that I shall again arise to shine\nbrighter with him in everlasting glory. Amen.\n\n\nWe shall conclude this chapter with a few extracts from Elizabeth\nYeardley's letters, which well depict her character and experience; and\nwith a copy of the weighty and pertinent testimony regarding Joseph Wood\nwhich was issued by Pontefract Monthly Meeting.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n7 _mo._ 13, 1818.--The broad way seems more and more crowded, while\nthe road to Zion is thinly scattered with poor wayworn travellers; each,\nor nearly so, of the former living as if there were to be no hereafter,\nand earth was to be their eternal home. I have thought that as our Blessed\nRedeemer's arms were extended wide on the cross to embrace perishing\nsinners, so do these short-sighted mortals extend their arms and their\nwishes in grasping unsubstantial vanities, and that craving one of\n_Mammon_, the most fascinating of all, as it increases with age.\n\n9 _mo_. 24, 1819.--I hope by what I have felt of the keen arrow of\nadversity piercing the heart, it will teach me, when I see it wounding any\nof my fellow-mortals, to endeavor to soothe, if I have nothing else in my\npower towards healing the wound. Let thee and me be determined, in the\nname of the holy Jesus, to follow him and not look on others. He is\nleading us into the pure green, ever green, pasture of humiliation, where\nthe sheep of his pasture love to lie. I own the road is not very pleasant;\nthe descent is rugged, and many times the poor traveller is ashamed of\nbeing seen hobbling down by his former acquaintance; but when once within\nthe sacred enclosure, the sweet air that breathes humility hushes all\nstormy passions to rest. I read and read again of all those holy folks\nbeing divested of self, and anxiously do I desire to be so too, but by the\nmarks they lay down I am very far from that attainment. However, He who\nsaid, Let there be light, and there was light, can add this to the rest of\nhis inestimable blessings showered on my unworthy head.\n\n4 _mo_. 14, 1820.--We are sometimes led to expect pity from people\nwhere we think we have a sort of claim, and here we often feel\ndisappointed. Persons at ease cannot feel for the sensations of pain in\nothers, any more than prosperity can feel the seasons of adversity.\nCouldst thou have a look into the houses and bosoms of the inmates of most\nin B. or other places, thou wouldst find a something sorrowful, a burden\nthe possessor would be glad to be quit of. Let us, then, go forward with\nhope, and endeavor to be truly thankful for the many mercies showered on\nour heads, who have not rendered as we ought that gratitude so greatly His\ndue. O look at the bulk of the population in England, whose children are\nlooking up to them for a meal, and they have it not for them; and then let\nthe tear of thankfulness fall. To be thankful is to feel a spark of\nheavenly flame; to be thankful is to increase the blessing already poured\nforth. O that I possessed more of this blessed spirit; for truly it is\nangelic!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_A Testimony of Pontefract Monthly Meeting concerning_ JOSEPH WOOD,\n_deceased_.\n\nThis our esteemed friend was born at Newhouse, near Highflatts, within the\ncompass of this Monthly Meeting, on the 26th of the Fourth Month, 1750.\nHis parents, Samuel and Susanna Wood, members of our Society, were\nconcerned for the best interest of their children. In his youth he gave\nway to some of the vanities incident to that period of life, but when\napproaching manhood he was happily brought under the restraining power of\nTruth, and often humbled in deep inward exercise. Once being in the fields\nin the night season, he exclaimed, Lord what shall I do, or whither shall\nI go? The answer in the secret of his own heart was as intelligible as if\nspoken to his outward ear,--Whither wilt thou go, Have not I the words of\neternal life? Soon after this he attended a neighboring meeting, when a\nministering Friend, who was a stranger, stood up with the words which he\nhad received as an answer to his inquiry, and enlarged upon the subject in\na manner suited to his tried state of mind.\n\nIn the year 1779, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, was his first\nappearance in the ministry, in great fear and broken-ness of spirit: but\nbeing obedient to the manifestations of truth, he experienced an\nadvancement therein, and was a good example, adorning his profession by a\ncircumspect life. His testimony was not with the enticing words of man's\nwisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Neither was he\nforward to offer his gift, patiently abiding in the deep till he felt the\nholy fire burn. He was at times led in a plain close manner to the\nunfaithful professors of truth, but had the word of consolation to the\nrightly exercised, unto whom he was indeed a nursing father. He was\nespecially useful to such as the Lord was gathering from the barren\nmountains of an empty profession to the knowledge of the truth, and he was\nfrequent, in solemn supplication for these, and for the awakening of those\nwho were at ease in Zion. His heart being enlarged in gospel love, he was\nanxious for the salvation of all, and was frequently engaged to appoint\nmeetings amongst those not in profession with us. For this service he was\neminently gifted, and his ministry on these occasions was often attended\nwith the powerful baptizing influence of the Spirit, to the convincement\nof many. He was concerned to impress on the minds of his friends the\nnecessity of a due attendance of week-day meetings, believing that such as\nwere negligent in this duty never experienced an attainment to the state\nof strong men in the truth. That our dear friend was zealous for the\nproper support of discipline in our religious body was sufficiently\nevident from the part he took in the exercise of it in his own Monthly\nMeeting; for active service in this important branch of church government\nhe was eminently gifted.\n\nIn the course of his religious labors, he visited the meetings of Friends\ngenerally in most of the Quarterly Meetings in England, and many meetings\nwithin the principality of Wales; and divers of them repeatedly.\n\nDuring the latter period of his life, feeling his bodily strength decline,\nhe was anxiously desirous that no service required of him should be\nomitted. His zeal increased with his years, and he became more abundant in\nlabor for the promotion of the Christian cause. In a memorandum made about\na year before his death, he writes, \"This day I attained the seventieth\nyear of my age. May the remainder of my days be so devoted to the Lord's\nservice, as, when the solemn message of death is sent, I may have nothing\nto do but to render up my accounts with joy!\" In the last Monthly Meeting\nhe attended, he expressed amongst us that he had seen in the vision of\nlife that day, that there were of the youth there present those who, if\nthey were faithful and kept in their innocency, would become instruments\nof good, and finally would shine as the stars, for ever and ever.\n\nThe day before his death, the first day of the week, he appeared in his\nown meeting at Highflatts, in a powerful testimony, beginning with these\nwords of Moses to Hobab: \"We are journeying unto the place of which the\nLord said, I will give it you. Come thou with us, and we will do thee\ngood; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.\" In the course of\nhis testimony he had in strong terms to urge the necessity of a\npreparation for an awful eternity. In the afternoon of the same day he\ncomplained of a pain in his breast and arms, but was not considered in\ndanger. He retired to bed at his usual hour; but he slept little, and\nquietly departed about five o'clock the following morning, the 26th of the\nThird Month, 1821; and was buried at Highflatts the 31st of the same;\n(many Friends and others attended the meeting on this solemn occasion,\nwhich was eminently owned by the presence of the Great Shepherd of\nIsrael;) aged seventy-one years, a minister about forty-two years.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nHIS FIRST RESIDENCE IN GERMANY.\n\n1822-24.\n\nJohn Yeardley left Hull on the 14th of the Fourth Month, and arrived at\nHamburg on the 21st. For the purpose of attending the Exchange, and of\nbecoming acquainted with the language, he hired a lodging in the\nneighborhood of the city, where he remained for some weeks. Writing to his\nbrother, under date of the 23rd of the Fourth Month, he says,--\n\n\nIn the neighborhood of Hamburg, lodgings are not easily obtained for so\nshort a time as a month. We succeeded in procuring a room three miles from\nthe town, at Eppendorf, in the house of three young women, sisters. It is\na charming walk, mostly over the fields. It is quite a cross for me to go\non 'Change; but as it is the only place for information, I must submit to\nit, my visit to this place being for instruction in the language and mode\nof conducting business: but, from what I have yet seen, it will be quite\nthe best for me to proceed into the interior of the country in a few\nweeks.\n\n\nWhat his reflections were when he found himself actually an inhabitant of\nthe land where for so long a time he had mentally dwelt, will be seen by\nthe following entry in his Diary. The maxim with which it concludes may be\nsaid to be the motto which he inscribed on his shield for the remainder of\nhis life.\n\n\nThis morning I am thankful to feel something of a peaceful serenity to\ncover my mind, and am well contented in being placed on this side of the\nGerman Ocean. I consider it an unspeakable blessing that I do not feel so\nmuch as a wish to return, until the time may come that I can see clearly\nthat it is right for me so to do. Should I not be favored with health and\nstrength to do what I have sometimes thought designed for me before I set\nmy foot in this land, or should my Heavenly Father see meet to cut short\nthe work in righteousness and not permit that I ever see my native country\nagain, his gracious _will be done_. I leave this as a testimony that\nnone need to fear his rightly sending forth those who ask and rightly wait\nfor his counsel. I do not know why I should thus write: I trust it\nproceeds from a resigned heart; and I will add, for fear I should never\nhave another opportunity, that I should wish all to know who have known\nme, that I have no reason to doubt the rectitude of my crossing the water\nwith a prospect of a residence in this country, and that should time with\nme now close, I die in peace with my God, and in that love for mankind\nwhich believes \"every nation to be our nation, and every man our\nbrother.\"--(6 _mo._ 8.)\n\n\nThe next day's diary consists of a short but earnest prayer.\n\n\n_First-day morning,_--O, gracious and most merciful Father, be\npleased to strengthen my hands for the work that is before me; be pleased\nto give me the power of speech; be pleased to give me thy word, with\npower to publish it to those whose hearts thou shalt be pleased to prepare\nfor the reception of it.\n\n\nThe family with whom he lodged at Eppendorf strongly engaged his religious\nsympathy.\n\n\nI spent, he says in his diary of the 8th of the Seventh Month, about nine\nweeks at E. in a very agreeable manner with the family of three young\nwomen. The one who is the mistress of the house is very seriously\ninclined. She told me she had read a play-book giving a description of our\nSociety in the character of one of its members, and ever since she had had\na particular desire to see one of us, and that she could not but admire\nwith thankfulness that she had been gratified in having one to reside\nunder her roof. She had heard of Thomas Shillitoe's being in Hamburg; and\nwhen I told her he was now in Norway, she asked me his business there, I\ntold her that our Friends had sometimes a desire to visit their brethren\nand other religiously-disposed people in foreign lands, and that such was\nhis errand. She replied, \"Yes, and I believe it is also yours: this is\nGospel love indeed; while so many here will not think for themselves, you\ncome so far to visit and help them.\" In saying this she was overcome with\ntears.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley left Hamburg on the 2nd of the Seventh Month, and arrived at\nPyrmont on the 5th. Writing to his brother, he says:\n\n\nI have now had a specimen of German travelling. Thou wilt be sure I was\nvery bold to set off quite alone except the driver, but it proved far\neasier than I had anticipated. Instead of having a conveyance to seek when\nI got over to Harburg, there was a man on the steam-packet who offered to\ntake me in his carriage, and the whole of my packages, to Pyrmont.\n\nA great part of the country between Harburg and Hanover is very dreary and\nbarren, much resembling Bentham Moor; but the road is much worse, being in\nmany places not less than eighteen inches or two feet deep in sand. When\nwe came near Celle and Hanover, the country became quite different, being\nvery fruitful, and the prospect charming. Nearly all the way from Hanover\nto Pyrmont it is beautiful travelling, and the road mostly good. Pyrmont\nand the scenery in the surrounding neighborhood is beautiful beyond\ndescription.\n\n\nAt Eppendorf he had been cheered by a visit from Benjamin Seebohm and John\nSnowdon, from Bradford, who informed him that a committee from the Yearly\nMeeting were on their way to Pyrmont. This was to him most welcome news,\nand the Friends reached Pyrmont almost as soon as he did; but though their\ncompany was so cordial to his mind, their presence did not relieve him\nfrom the burden of religious exercise which he began to feel on behalf of\nthe members of the Society in that place, as soon as he took up his\nresidence amongst them.\n\n\n_Diary.--7 mo._ 16.--The Committee from the Yearly Meeting--viz.,\nJosiah Forster, Joseph Marriage, and Peter Bedford--have visited the\nfamilies of Friends here, and attended the Preparative Meeting which was\nheld on First-day last. Things here appear to be very low every way among\nthose who profess with us; yet there are a few sincere-hearted to whom I\nalready begin to feel closely united in spirit.\n\nFrom the time of my arrival until First-day last, I do not remember ever\nto have been more oppressed in mind. I could, if I dared, almost have\nwished myself in England again, for I feared I should not be able to\nobtain any relief. I went to meeting on First-day in fear and trembling;\nbut, as is sometimes the case, it proved better than I had expected.\nWhen we are stripped of all help but what comes from the Lord alone, it is\nthen that he delights most to help us. Through the acceptable assistance\nof my friend B. Seebohm, I was enabled to communicate what came before me,\nand the great dread which I had always had of speaking through an\ninterpreter was mercifully removed, for which I was truly thankful. The\nthree Friends were favored most instructively to labor in the meeting for\nbusiness. They are now gone to Minden; I feel tenderly united to their\nspirits in much love.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley's residence was at Friedensthal, a hamlet about a mile from\nthe town of Pyrmont. In a letter to his brother he thus describes the\nsituation of the place, and his own comfortable accommodation:--\n\n\nMy mother inquires as to my mode of living, and if I have comfortable\naccommodations. Please to tell her that I am provided for in a way which\nis exceedingly agreeable to me. I have a large airy sitting-room with\nthree windows, and a bed-room adjoining, situated, on one side, under the\nshelter of a wood, and the other opens to a beautiful and romantic dale.\nThe mode of cooking is just as I would wish it; I am only anxious\nsometimes that my very kind friends of the house are too much concerned\nfor my help and comfort. It seems scarcely possible to find an outward\nsituation more suited to my wishes. When I have studied in the house, I\ntake my books in suitable weather into the wood, and there walk and read\nand think. It is true I am sometimes very flat for want of company; but if\nI incline to go to Pyrmont, they are always pleased to see me, and would\nwillingly have me always with them.--(2 _mo._ 17, 1823.)\n\n\nVery soon after his arrival at Pyrmont, John Yeardley entered into active\nservice in behalf of the gospel. In what religious state he found the\npeople towards whom he had so long been attracted in spirit, and how he\nwas enabled to preach to them the word of life, is exhibited in several\nentries in his Diary.\n\n\n7 _mo._ 21.--The Two-months' Meeting was held at Minden; I went,\nalong with several of my friends from here. The first sitting was very\nlarge, many coming in who do not usually attend. It was a very solid\nmeeting; I thought there was the good savor of an honest-hearted few to be\nfelt among a mixed multitude. Such was the sweet, peaceful satisfaction I\nfelt after this meeting, that I almost said in my heart, This is enough to\nrepay me for setting my feet in Germany. These are precious seasons, yet I\nalways recur to such in fear, and rejoice with trembling; for in the midst\nof the Lord's goodness to his children one seems to be falling on one\nhand, and another on another; so that the language seems to be, \"Will ye\nalso go away?\" and truly we shall never be able to stand if we look not\nfor help to Him who has the words of eternal life.\n\n\nAbout this time Thomas Shillitoe arrived in Germany, in the course of his\nreligious visit on the Continent; and John Yeardley, on his return to\nPyrmont, united with him in a visit to the families of Friends belonging\nto that meeting.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 13.--My feelings are this morning deeply discouraged. I am\nentering on a visit to the families here with my dear friend T.S., whose\ncompany I have had since the 23rd ult. This service is to me a very\nimportant one. It is an easy matter to say to a brother or a sister, Be\ncomforted, be strengthened; but it is no light matter to dip so feelingly\ninto the state of our fellow-mortals, as to feel as though we could place\n_our_ soul in their soul's stead, in order that they might be\nstrengthened and comforted.\n\n8 _mo_. 20.--The visit has been got over to our great satisfaction.\nIn some sittings, deep exercise and mourning; in others, cause of\nrejoicing over the precious seed of the kingdom, which is alive in the\nhearts of some. There seems to be a remarkable visitation once more\nextended, especially to the youth.\n\n\nIn conjunction with Thomas Shillitoe he proposed to the Friends, as only\none meeting was held on First-days, to have one in the evening for\nreligious reading, holding it at Friedensthal in the summer, and at\nPyrmont in the winter. The proposal was immediately complied with, and the\ninstitution proved a valuable auxiliary to the edification of the members.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 25.--The reading meeting this evening has been a precious\nseason; O, how all spirits were melted together! May the blessing of the\nLord rest upon this humble endeavor as a means of bringing us nearer to\nhimself.\n\n28_th_,--Our English Friends [Benjamin Seebohm and John Snowdon] have\ntaken their departure. I feel a little solitary, but I think it a great\nfavor to be preserved from a wish to go with them; nothing will do for me\nbut entire resignation to the Lord's will and work. Little did I think\nwhen I left my home in England, that a work of this sort awaited me in\nGermany; indeed, I came blind in the gospel; I knew nothing; but now I see\nsuch a field of labor if I am faithful: how shall it ever be accomplished?\nO, prepare me, dearest Lord, for without thy heavenly hand to assist me I\nmust faint. O, may I ever seek thy counsel; and be thou pleased to lead me\nstep by step, and give strength according to the day.\n\n29_th._--To-day I have for the first time expressed a few sentences\nin broken German in our little meeting. I do not know whether they might\nbe very clearly understood, but I hope the attempt to do what I conceived\nto be the Lord's will, will be accepted by him. O, that he may he pleased\nto give me the power of speech!\n\n\nIn the Ninth Month he went to Hanover with Thomas Shillitoe, who had a\nconcern to see the authorities regarding the observance of the First-day.\nThey did not meet with much success in their object; but they made the\nacquaintance of Pastors Gundel and Hagemann, the latter \"nearly blind and\nvery grey, but truly green in the feeling sense of religion,\" and who\nrejoiced in his heart to find a brother concerned to reform those things\nwhich had long laid heavy on his mind.\n\nThe two friends travelled together to Minden, where they parted, and John\nYeardley returned to Pyrmont by Bielefeld.\n\n\nThe neighborhood of this town, he says, is remarkably fine. There is a\nvery high hill, partly formed by nature, and partly by art, from which we\ncan see quite round, without any interruption, even into Holland. Here,\nfrom the appearance of the bleach-grounds, I could fancy myself in\nBarnsley. But, as Sarah Grubb says, I can have no pleasure in fine\nprospects; my mind in these journeys is always too much exercised with\nmatters of a more serious nature.\n\n\nIn the latter part of the month John Yeardley went again to Minden, to\nunite with Thomas Shillitoe in a visit to the families of Friends. They\ncommenced their visit at Bueckeburg, where they had a remarkable interview\nwith the family of the Kammer-rath Wind, which is related at length in\nT. S.'s journal (vol. i., p. 388).\n\nThe place which seems in these visits to have engaged J.Y.'s sympathies\nthe most strongly was the village of Eidinghausen.\n\n\nWe had, he says, a very favored meeting in the room where their meeting\nis usually held. In the sitting in the evening, with the family where we\nlodged, many of the neighbors came in, who seemed to have no wish to leave\nus. I thought of the words of the dear Saviour, when seeing the multitudes\nhe had compassion on them, because they were as sheep having no shepherd.\nTruly these have no outward shepherd who cares much for their spiritual\ninterests. I felt my heart much warmed in gospel love towards them, and we\ninvited them to give us their company again next day, which most of them\ndid. In this meeting there was something expressed so remarkably suited to\nthe states of some present, that after it was over a woman confessed it\nhad been as was declared, that she herself was one to whom it belonged;\nand she gave us a short relation how it had been with her in former days.\n\nThe love which these simple, honest-hearted creatures manifest towards us\ndoes away with all distinctions and the difference of language. O, that He\nwho teaches as never man taught may be pleased to guide them and bring\nthem to himself that there may be one shepherd and one sheep-fold. All our\ntoils in this weary land will not be too much if we can he made the\ninstruments of helping only one poor soul on its way Zionwards.\n\n10 _mo_. 8.--I returned yesterday evening from Minden, with a\nthankful heart, to come again to my quiet and romantic habitation in\nPeacedale. The strong fortifications which are made, and now making,\naround Minden, give it an appearance of gloom and oppression which is\nscarcely to be borne. O, how uncomfortable do I feel when within its\nwalls; but in its neighborhood there are a few friends to whom I am\ntenderly united in spirit.\n\n\nHe concludes this entry with an allusion to the homely and even hard\nmanner of life to which many of these were accustomed.\n\n\nTo some of our Friends in England who are dissatisfied with their outward\nsituation, I would say, Come and see how these live on the Continent.\n\n\nThe 29th of the Tenth Month was the anniversary of his wife's death. His\ndiary for this day is an affecting transcript of his feelings on the\noccasion.\n\n\nThe shock which my earthly happiness received this day twelvemonths has\nbeen, this evening, piercingly renewed in the recollection of almost every\nminute transaction which accompanied the awful event of the closing\nmoments of my precious lamb. For truly like a lamb she lived, and was well\nprepared to become an angel-spirit. O, happy spirit, thou art at rest;\nthen why should I mourn thy loss? Surely He who knows the weakness of our\nframe will forgive, for he himself gave us the example in weeping over\nthose he loved. The Almighty has been very good to me; he has put it in\nthe hearts of those with whom I reside to care for me with an affectionate\ninterest. O, for greater diligence, that the day's work may keep pace with\nthe day. What shall I do, but pray for more strength to be made able to do\nall that may be required of me. I never saw the advice of our dear Saviour\nmore necessary for myself than at the present time, \"Be ye wise as\nserpents and harmless as doves.\"\n\n\nSoon after this he had a return, of his complaint in the stomach, which\ncaused him to exclaim--\n\n\nWe are indeed but dust and ashes; how quickly the slender thread may be\ncut, and reduce this frail tabernacle to that state of earthly composition\nfrom which it was formed. But the spiritual part in us must have an\nabiding somewhere _for ever_; this is the awful consideration which\nought continually to affect our hearts. Is it not a strange infatuation to\nrank the moments of affliction among the evil events of our lives, when\nthese may prove the very means of bringing back our wandering feet to the\npath which leads to everlasting life?\n\n\nHe then reviews his own situation, his calling and his work.\n\n\nIt is often the consideration of my heart, What has brought me into this\ncountry? what have I done? what am I doing? and what have I to do? The\nenemy is not wanting to distress my poor mind on the point of these four\nimportant queries. But to the first I can answer, An humble submission to\nwhat I believe to be the leadings of Divine Wisdom. To the second, through\nthe assistance of never-failing love, I have done what I could and have\nfound peace. To the third, I am desirous through divine aid to do what I\ncan; and to the fourth, which refers to the future, I must commit it into\nthe hands of the Judge of the whole earth, who alone is able to guide my\nfeet in the sure path. I feel in the present moment desirous to keep\neternity continually before my view, and to let outward things hang more\nfully on the dependence of Him who suffers not a sparrow to fall to the\nground without his notice. (11 _mo_. 30.)\n\n12 _mo_, 1.--The reading meeting this evening has been a precious\ntime. Our spirits have been much tendered in reading some account of the\nlives and deaths of our worthy Friends recorded in Sewel's History. Tears\nso overpowered the reader and the hearers, that the reading was at times\nobliged to be suspended until we had given relief to our feelings.\n\n\nIn addition to this meeting, John Yeardley established another for the\nyoung, to be held on Fourth-day evening, \"in which they might improve\nthemselves in reading, and acquire a knowledge of the principles of the\nSociety, with other branches of useful information.\" The young women were\nto bring their work; and it was his delight to interrupt the reading with\nreligious instruction, and such remarks as a father makes for the\nimprovement and gratification of his children. We see him here for the\nfirst time in a character in which he was well known to the present\ngeneration in various parts of England, viz., as an instructor and guide\nof the youth. In noticing in his Diary the formation of the Youths'\nMeeting at Pyrmont, he comments with pleasure on the innocent cheerful\nmanners of his audience, and on the advantages which might be looked for\nfrom this kind of social intercourse.\n\nThe last entry in this year records an occasion of near approach to the\nthrone of grace in prayer in the little congregation at Pyrmont.\n\n\n12 _mo_. 29, _First-day_.--A most remarkable season of divine\nfavor in our evening assembly. The awe which I had felt over my spirit the\nwhole of the day, and not feeling freedom to break my mind in the meeting\nin the morning, induced me to look to the evening opportunity with fear\nand trembling, which indeed is always the case when I feel the Master's\nhand upon me. The most solemn act of worship, that of public supplication,\nso powerfully impressed my mind, that I believed it right to yield to the\nmotion, which I humbly trust was done in due reverence and humility of\nsoul. Our spirits were so humbled under feelings of good that it seemed as\nif the secrets of all hearts were presented before the throne of grace, to\nask forgiveness for former transgressions, strength to serve the Most High\nwith more acceptance, and to be finally prepared to reign with him in\nglory. O how these seasons of refreshing will rise up against us in the\ngreat day of account, if we are not concerned to improve by them! Grant,\ndearest Father, that I may experience a nearer and stronger tie to do thy\nwill more perfectly; and let it please thee to remember those in this\nplace and this land for whom my spirit so often secretly mourns and prays.\n\n\nThe Diary of 1823 opens with a profound and solemn reflection.\n\n\n1823. 1 _mo_. 4.--For want of faith we are too much inclined to serve\nourselves before we are willing to serve the Great Master, thinking we may\nbe able to do much for him afterwards, when it will more accord with our\nsituation in life. But, alas! this time may never come; if we thus put by\nthe _acceptable season_, our lives may close with our only having\nperformed very imperfectly the part which had been designed for us in the\nChurch militant. Painful would be the sting when appealing to the Judge of\nthe earth, in a moment when we no longer possessed the capability of\nserving him, should the declaration be, Thou hadst a desire to serve me\nwhen in health and strength, but thou wished _first_ to _serve\nthyself_. My time was not then thy time, therefore _thy time_ is\nnot now _my time_.\n\n\nA letter to his brother, written in the summer of this year (6 mo. 9),\ngives a description of the mode of bleaching in use in Germany, which\nwill, we believe, be interesting to the English reader. John Yeardley\nsays:\n\n\nWilt thou not be surprised when I tell thee that I am about to commence\nyarn-bleaching? Thou mayst be sure there is a pretty certain prospect of\nconsiderable advantages, with not much risk, to induce me to make the\nattempt. The advantages are threefold--safety, expedition and cheapness.\nThe first consists in the simplicity of treatment and safety of the\ningredients, no chemical process being made use of; the second arises from\nthe heat of the climate; the last is easily accounted for from the low\nprice of labor and the cheapness of the raw material, which is produced in\nabundance in the neighborhood. In the country around, for a very\nconsiderable distance, almost every family make their own linen; they grow\nor buy the flax, spin the yarn and get it woven, and either bleach it\nthemselves or send it to others who have better conveniences in water, &c.\nAs the spring commenced, I noticed these little bleaching-plots wherever I\nwent, and often wondered that the color was so good. Knowing that such\npeople could not possibly be at any great expense or risk in the\noperation, I concluded it must be done by dint of time and labor,\nsupposing that the yarn and cloth must lie at least a few months on the\ngrass; but, on inquiry, I was surprised to find it was made quite white in\nthree weeks or a month. To make a further proof, I sent two bundles of\nyarn to two different places to bleach; it is now returned of a very good\ncolor and perfectly strong, though it has been in blenching only a month\nand two or three days, and although the greater part of the Fifth Month\nhas been unfavorable for bleaching. As to any risk of the yarn being\ntendered, it is quite out of the question; it seems to be done by the\noperation that nature points out. I have found a very convenient place For\nthe purpose of making trial; there is plenty of good clear water. There is\na prospect of having honest workpeople, and at very reasonable wages--not\nmore than 6_d_. or 8_d_. a day; there are many honest creatures\nto be had at these wages who have nothing in the world to do.\n\nFrom the first of my leaving England, I had no expectation of being\nliberated from this country before the expiration of about four years, and\nI have always been desirous that something should turn up that would\nafford me support by suitable employment; so that what I have now in view\ndoes not seem to clash with my former prospects. It is (he adds with\naffectionate feeling) a source of great consolation that I can always\nunbosom my mind so freely to thee; and I consider it among the greatest\nblessings I enjoy, that thou hast never yet failed of being made an\ninstrument of support to me, and my prayer is that thou mayst never lose\nthy reward.\n\n\nPyrmont is one of the oldest watering-places north of the Alps. The\ninhabitants are very much dependent on the visitors who resort thither\nduring the three summer months, and amongst whom may frequently be\nreckoned some of the first families in Europe. This year, 1823, the Prince\nand Princess of Prussia (the present Regent of Prussia and his consort)\nwere there, and one Fourth-day morning attended the Friends' Meeting. The\nmeeting-house stands in one of the _allees_, and although its\nposition is not central, it is sufficiently public to be an object of\nattraction to the curiosity of strangers. A memorandum under date of the\n18th of the Sixth Month records the royal visit, and John Yeardley's\nspiritual exercise on the occasion.\n\n\n6 _mo_. 18.--To-day the young prince and Princess of Prussia, with\nthe Princess their mother, and the Hofmeister, have been at our Fourth-day\nmeeting. They entered with such seriousness on their countenances that I\nfelt my spirit suddenly drawn towards them in love, and a secret prayer\nwas raised in my heart for their everlasting good. Feeling the influence\nof divine love to increase, I believed it right to kneel down, and in\nbrokenness of spirit I expressed what had opened on my mind, which\nafforded me peace; and I hope good to others was imparted, although I may\nsay through the unworthiest of instruments. For truly I have for some time\nbeen as in a state of death and darkness, owing to my unwatchfulness. O\nwhat would I give for more circumspection, that I might be more prepared\nto receive the _word_, and when command is given, publish the same.\nBut, unworthy creature, I often deprive myself and others of seasons of\ngood through my negligence and barrenness. When will the time come when I\ncan say, all earthly things are under my feet, and the cause of religion\nand virtue rules predominant in my heart! Lord, hasten the day; and\npreserve my feet in thy path in the midst of many snares; and rather let\nme die than be suffered to do anything which would dishonor thy gracious\nand holy Name, and the profession I am making of thee before the world.\nLoose my bands, and enable me to say in sincerity of heart, I am willing\nto serve thee freely.\n\n\nWith the cause for self-condemnation, which is alluded to in this entry\nwas no doubt connected the neglect to keep up his Diary; no entry occurs\nfor more than five months previous. It was probably much more difficult in\nthe position which he occupied in Germany to maintain a spirit of\nwatchfulness and self-recollection than among his more experienced Friends\nin Yorkshire. There is an allusion to this in an entry of a little later\ndate.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 8.--My mind feels a little more gathered than it has been for\nsome time past; but the little outward difficulties which are continually\narising have a great tendency to disperse the best feelings. I think it is\nalmost the greatest lesson that we have to learn, to stand so fast in\ntimes of trouble as not to suffer loss. If we would so conduct ourselves\nthat the change of times and seasons should not have such an unfavorable\ninfluence on our minds, this would be one great point gained; it would\nenable us to meet the difficulties of the day in a better state to combat\nwith them.\n\n\nBut if daily trials abounded of a nature the most likely to retard his\nspiritual progress, we shall see that He who had appointed his lot,\nprovided in his faithfulness the needful corrective, and by the discipline\nof filial fear in the ministry of the word, kept him safe in his\nsanctuary.\n\nThe attendance of visitors at the meeting-house was often numerous,\nalthough it was seldom that they remained during the whole time of\nworship. Meetings of this kind were very trying to John Yeardley's faith\nand feelings; but sometimes they were seasons of heavenly blessing such\nabundantly to make amends for past humiliation.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 6.--To-day the small meeting-house and passage were quite\nfilled with strangers, and I was told many went away who could not get in,\nand some remained under the windows. No creature on earth knows what my\npoor mind suffers when I go to meeting under such circumstances. Many whom\ncuriosity brings in the expectation to hear words may some times be\ndisappointed, but I hope there are some whose intentions are sincere, and\nwho are desirous to be informed the way to Zion. I hope strength was\nafforded me to preach Christ crucified. O that the Lord may support me in\nthese very trying seasons, and take from me the fear of man, and fill my\nheart with a holy fear of offending Him whom I humbly trust I am desirous\nof choosing to be my Lord and Master.\n\n7 _mo_. 27.--\"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me\nbless his holy name.\" Notwithstanding my many seasons of poverty and\ninward distress, the foregoing language is sometimes put into my heart on\nmy return from our meetings, which are, in the bathing season, almost\nalways crowded with strangers. Their manner of coming in and going out\nduring the time of worship is exceedingly disturbing, and yet I cannot but\nadmire the stillness which prevails when anything is delivered. The help\nwhich I at times experience in these trying seasons is wonderful in my\neyes. When I am concerned to stand up in His dread and fear, what have I\nelse to fear? This fear would always cast out the fear of man which ever\nbrings death; and yet so weak am I, that after all these precious helps\nand comforting times, I tremble when the meeting-day comes again lest, I\nshould fail in doing the Lord's will. Such is my fear before I can rise to\nmy feet in meetings that I say with Samson, Be with me this once more that\nI may bear testimony to thy name; then, if it be thy will let me die for\nthee, and I will not think it too much, to suffer. O that He would be\npleased to enlarge his gift in my heart, and he unto me mouth and wisdom,\nand give me tongue and utterance to declare his name unto the nations.\n\n7 _mo_. 30.--Our Fourth-day meeting to-day has been a precious\nheavenly season. Much more weightiness of spirit appeared to exist in the\nstrangers who attended, and consequently more stillness. I had not long\ntaken my seat before I believed it right to stand up with the words of the\napostle, \"Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the\nknowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.\" The women's side was nearly\nfull of richly-clad females; they bore the marks of worldly distinction,\nand were indeed as fine as hands and pins could make them. But the\ntenderings of divine love reached the hearts of some among them in a\nparticular degree. I felt such a nearness of spirit towards them that I\nhad great openness in speaking of the things which came before me. After\nmeeting they very willingly accepted of some books. One of them was much\nreached, and went into the little plantation to weep. Another went to her\nto comfort her; but she replied, Go from me and leave me alone. We may\ntruly say with the apostle that God is no respecter of persons, but those\nwho fear him and work righteousness will be accepted of him, to whatever\nnation, kindred, tongue or people they may belong. All distinctions of\nreligious sects and party spirit are laid aside when our hearts become\nprepared to embrace each other in true Christian love. I do believe the\nLord's work is begun in the hearts of many in this land; and the fervent\nprayer of my spirit is that he may be pleased to carry it on to\nperfection, and that we may live to see the glorious day when\nrighteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the channels of\nthe sea. O Germany, Germany, what does my heart feel on account of thy\ninhabitants! It seems as if I could tread thy soil for the remainder of my\ndays if I could only be made the instrument of helping on their way those\nscattered ones who are athirst for the sincere milk of the word of life.\n\nOne of the females who visited our meetings came to the school room on\nSeventh-day, and requested the favor of having a few books to peruse and\ncirculate. She said she was from Osnabrueck, and that there were a number\nof people in that place who had a great love to the Friends of our\nSociety. Such opportunities afford the means of circulating a knowledge of\nthe truth to those whose hearts may be preparing to receive it; and if\nsuch are only awakened to seek after the ways of holiness, although they\nmay never come to be of our number on earth, they will he found among the\nnumber of the saints in heaven. The bathing-list this season already\namounts to 2500 persons, in which number there are many who are desirous\nto inquire the way to Zion. It is much to be desired that the peculiar\nadvantages which Pyrmont affords for spreading in the different parts of\nthe Continent books illustrative of our religious principles should be\njudiciously embraced, particularly as there appears such an openness to\nreceive them. I can truly say I have been thankful that my lot has been\nhere this summer, and I trust I have not flinched from doing what I\nbelieved to be required of me.\n\n\nIn his letters to his brother, John Yeardley makes frequent mention of his\nmother. In the Ninth Month he heard of her being seriously ill, and he\nthus writes in reference to her state, in a letter elated the 29th of the\nNinth Month:--\n\n\nThe state of my dear mother's health is truly alarming; but as I have\nreceived no further account from thee, I am flattering my poor panting\nheart with a comfortable hope that she may have taken a turn for the\nbetter, and will yet live to see the hour when we shall once more embrace\neach other in my native land. If she should be taken away without my being\npermitted to see her again, it would be a cup which I could not tell how\nto drink. This brings poignantly to my remembrance one of the most trying\nhours of my life, and yet the support then received was wonderful.\n\nAs I rode along the road in the course of this summer on a journey of\nbusiness, my dear mother was brought to my remembrance in such a very\nremarkable manner, that I seemed to have a spiritual interview with her;\nand she was brought so near to my feelings, that I thought it probable I\nshould never see her again until we met in eternity. I scarcely know how I\nfelt, but it was as if my spirit accompanied hers into the regions above.\nI noted down the circumstance when I got home; for it had made such an\nimpression on my mind, that I should not then have been surprised to have\nheard of her departure.[1]\n\n\nThe following instructive remarks occur in the Diary about this time:--\n\n\n10 _mo_. 27.--My retirement and reading this morning has been more\ntendering to my spirit than for a long time past. I read and considered\nthe institution of the Passover, when the Israelites were led out of\nEgypt; and it appears clear to me that the sprinkling the door-posts with\nthe blood of the lambs, as commanded, was a type of our Saviour's blood\nwhich was shed for our transgressions, and that we must be saved by his\nbecoming our paschal lamb. As the destroying angel only passed over the\ndoors and preserved those who had received the mark, so can we only be\nsaved by being willing to apply the blood of our dear Saviour to wash and\ncleanse us from our sins. What a beauty there is in the connection of\nScripture truths when we read them with a simple heart prepared to receive\nthe right impression which may be opened!\n\n\nThe Friends of Minden and the little company of awakened people at\nEidinghausen, who on his first coming to Germany had taken so firm a hold\nof John Yeardley's mind, continued to excite his religious sympathy, and\nhe again visited them in the latter part of this year.\n\n\n(_Minden_.)--On Seventh-day last, the 1st of the Eleventh Month, I\nleft home in company with some of my dear Pyrmont friends to attend the\nTwo-months' Meeting, and to spend a few days with my dear friends of this\nplace. I lodge with Frederick Schmidt, and feel myself perfectly at home.\nIt is a most orderly and agreeable family, consisting of himself,\ndaughter, and housekeeper; and the time passes pleasantly away when I am\nonly enough concerned to improve the opportunities afforded by this good\nman's company. He was one of the first in this place who was convinced of\nthe religious principles of Friends, and his beginning was small both in\ntemporals and spirituals. I cannot but admire how his endeavors have been\nprospered. He remarked the other evening in conversation, that it was of\ngreat advantage to the Friends to persevere in their outward callings, and\nnot to jump (us he expressed it) out of one thing into another. This would\nbe the means of establishing their credit as men of business.\n\n11 _mo_. 7.--Sarah Grubb mentions[2] that when she visited Minden,\nshe met with great kindness and attention from a councillor of the place,\nwho on their leaving accompanied them a little way out of the town to an\ninn, where he had provided coffee, and had invited a few of his friends to\ntake leave of them. This was at the house of my worthy host [Frederick\nSchmidt], who then kept the inn at Kuckuk, and had for some time been\nunder deep [religious] impressions. He related to me that her discourse in\nthe meeting she had Lad in the town had affected him, and yet he could not\ngive her his hand, but went into the garden to weep; but after she had got\ninto the carriage and driven from the door, she suddenly made a stop, came\nagain into the house, and asked for him. He being called, she had a\nremarkable opportunity with him; she told him she believed the Lord had a\nwork for him to do in this place, and that he would have to stand foremost\nin the rank, and when the time came he must not flinch from doing what his\nMaster would require. This has in a remarkable manner been fulfilled to\nthe present day, and affords an encouraging example to the poor tried\nservants of the Lord to be faithful to apprehended duty. Although they may\nnot live to see the effect of their labors, yet their Lord and Master will\nnot leave himself without a witness in the hearts of his people; praised\nbe his name.\n\n14_th_. Since Thomas Shillitoe and I visited Eidinghausen, there has\nbeen a remarkable revival to a sense of religion; a number come together\nin a sort of society every First-day afternoon, to read, sing, and pray\nfor the edification one of another. As all things have a beginning, this\nmay perhaps prove a step to a more perfect way of worship. I had long felt\ninclined to visit the meeting in Eidinghausen, and had looked towards\naccomplishing it from Minden.\n\nI went there on the 9th inst., and my intention to be there being known a\nfew days before caused many of these awakened people to attend the meeting\nso that the little school-room was quite full, and many stood in the\npassage. I was truly thankful to be amongst them, for it proved a most\nsatisfactory season. They are a rustic set of folks, but have each a soul\nto save or to lose, and all souls are of equal value in the sight of the\nJudge of the whole earth. Lewis Seebohm kindly gave up his time to attend\nme as interpreter, for I still prefer help of this sort when it can be\ndone through one who is so feelingly capable. I often feel as a poor\nwandering stranger in a strange land, and yet I dare not complain. The\ngoodness of the Lord is great towards me; he opens the hearts of those\nwhom I am concerned to visit, to receive me into their hearts and houses,\nso that it affords me great freedom in speaking to them on serious\nsubjects relating to their best interests, both spiritual and temporal. I\nam convinced if we mean to be useful to a people of a strange land, all\nmust be done in a spirit of love and humility; with the weak we must be\nwilling to become weak; only we must be on our guard and not flinch from\nour well-known testimonies.\n\n\nThe reflection contained in the passage which follows is of deep\nsignificance, and the lesson it conveys is one which the Church has as\nmuch need to learn now as at any former period.\n\n\n15_th_.--We find recorded in the writings of our ancient Friends that\noccasionally a few words spoken in the course of common conversation made\na deep impression on the minds of those to whom they were addressed. The\ncause must have been that they lived in a more retired state of mind, and\nwere consequently better prepared to feel the smallest of good impressions\nin themselves, and were also more attentive to embrace every opportunity\nof improving the minds of others. I fail in this respect; I do not live\nenough in what may be truly called a spirit of prayer. I must be more\nwatchful over my thoughts, words and actions, and improve my seasons of\nretirement; for there is no other way of preservation than by waiting and\npraying for a renewal of spiritual strength.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley then reverts, as he so often does, to the love of souls in\nGermany, which was the means of causing him to leave his native land, and\nwhich he says had not diminished during his eighteen months' residence\namong them. To these thoughts he adds some considerations regarding the\ntemporal condition of the Society of Friends there, on account of which he\nwas often very solicitous.\n\n\nThe situation and welfare of the Society here have long occupied the\nwarmest feelings of my heart. I am of the mind, with other Friends who\nhave visited these parts, that there is a precious hidden work begun in\nthe hearts of many in Germany, who suffer under oppression, on account of\nthe many discouraging circumstances which have existed among them, and\nwhich yet prevail, to the great hindrance of the Lord's work. There are\ncauses for which no human remedy can be prescribed. I have often said in\nmy heart, If the Lord help them not, vain is the help of man. Much has\nbeen done for them by our dear Friends in England, and much still remains\nto be done, in order that they may be preserved together and not become\ndispersed as though they had never been a people.\n\nThe effectual means of help seems yet to fail,--that of putting the\nfamilies in the way of helping themselves by suitable employment. The\nfamilies who live in the neighborhood of Minden, mostly on small parcels\nof land, have until now got on with a tolerable degree of comfort, by\ncultivating their land in summer and spinning yarn in winter; but now the\ndepression is so great that if they could be put into the way of earning\nthreepence a day, they would embrace it with thankfulness. I have been\nvery diffident in proponing any plan for their assistance, knowing that\nsome former proposals have failed of accomplishing the end. But I have\nconsulted with those who are best acquainted with their situation, and we\nthink it safest for them to continue their own employment of spinning\nyarn, and endeavor to mend their trade by placing it on this footing. They\nmust spin such an article as I can make use of in sending it, with what I\nbuy from other people, to my friends in the linen business in England. I\nam to give them a little higher price than they can elsewhere obtain, and\nthose who have no flax of their own must have a little money advanced to\npurchase some, which they must repay in yarn. When the yarn is disposed\nof in England, and a profit on the same can be obtained, it must be\ndistributed among them as a premium to encourage industry and good\nmanagement in producing a good article. If this does not answer, I cannot\nsee any thing at present that will.\n\n\nHow far this scheme was put in practice we are unable to say, but we\nbelieve it was not accompanied by any successful result.\n\nIn the next entry he speaks of the advantage which he derived from keeping\na diary.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 17.--I was this evening accidentally induced to read over a\nfew of my former memorandums; and it humbled my spirit to retrace the\ndealings of my merciful Father with me. I am glad that I have from time to\ntime penned down a few remarks by way of diary, although it has been done\ninterruptedly and very imperfectly. It proves a means of enabling me to\nsee a wonderful concurrence in the ways of Divine Wisdom which has led me\nin a way that I knew not, and hitherto preserved me through the mercies of\nhis love: praise be to his Name now and for ever. Amen.\n\n\nAfter his return from Minden he accompanied John and William Seebohm, who\nwere going on a journey of business to Leipzig. They went by way of\nBrunswick and Halberstadt, and returned by Nordhausen and Eimbeck. In this\ntour through the heart of Germany, John Yeardley made many observations on\nthe state of agriculture, the cities, and the character of the people. Of\nthe last they met with several curious traits, some of them sufficiently\nannoying.\n\n\nOn many great roads, says J.Y., there is a summer and a winter way,\nrunning parallel to each other, with a rail across, on which is a notice\nthat the way is forbidden by a fine of 6_d_. or 8_d_, for each\nhorse, that the traveller may know when to take the summer or the winter\nroad. We stopped on the way [they were not far from Wolfenbuettel] to give\nour horses a little bread, and our coachman drove to the side of the road\nto make way for carriages to pass. But he had inadvertently gone over the\nsetting on of the road; and the roadmaster came to us, and told us we must\nnot feed our horses there, as it was not allowed to drive over the stones\non the side, under a penalty of three shillings per horse. The evening of\nthe same day we fed our horses at an inn, and walked before, leaving the\nman to follow us. I and my young friend W.S. sought the cleanest part of\nthe way by walking in the course made for the water, which was green and\nclean; but so soon as we came by the inspectors, who are mostly employed\non the road, one of them told us we must mind for the future and keep the\nright footpath, or pay 6_d_. each. This I considered as an\ninfringement of English liberty, and was ready to reason with him on the\nsubject; but I reflected that I was a stranger, and that it is always\nbetter and more polite to submit quietly to the regulations of the country\nin which we live, than bring ourselves into difficulty through incivility\nor contention.\n\n\nIn returning from Leipzig, J.Y. and his friends committed a more serious\noffence against the pragmatical regulations of the German States.\n\n\nOn our journey homewards we had much perplexity with some cloth, &c. which\nJ.S. had bought in Leipzig to bring to Pyrmont. This arose from want of\nbetter information respecting the laws of the Prussian territory. They are\nexceedingly strict as to duties. All kinds of wares are allowed to pass\nthrough the country at what may be called a reasonable excise; but those\ntravellers who have excise goods with them must preserve a certain road,\ncalled the Zoll-strasse. It was our lot to miss this road; for\napprehending ourselves at liberty to pursue what road we pleased, we took\nanother way. But we found our mistake when we came to the place where the\nduty is paid; for we were informed we had taken the wrong road, and that\ntransit duty could not be received; we must either pay the full excise as\nwhen goods remain in the Prussian territory, or return back until we came\nagain into the Zoll-strasse. It took some time to consider which was best\nto be done. To be sent about we knew not whither, and on roads scarcely\npassable, would prove a serious inconvenience; and on the other hand it\nwas exceedingly mortifying to pay for such a trifle so enormous an excise.\nThe officer was very civil, but told us it was not in his power to do\notherwise. We concluded it would be best and cheapest to pay dearly for\nour error rather than be retarded on our journey. We had a regular receipt\nfor what we paid, but inadvertently departing again from the appointed\nway, we were in danger of paying the full duty a second time, or having\nthe goods taken from us. So much for travelling with excise goods.\n\n\nEarly in 1824, John Yeardley returned for a few months to England. He had\ningratiated himself so thoroughly into the esteem and love of his Pyrmont\nfriends, that his departure even for a short time was the signal of\nlamentation through the whole meeting. On the 11th of the First Month he\nhad a farewell meeting at Friedensthal, which was attended by almost all\nhis friends. With his parting blessing he had some counsel to impart.\n\n\nI have so much place, he says, in their minds, that whatever I say, either\nin counsel or reproof, is always received in love. Such a scene I never\nwitnessed; the dear lambs all wept aloud; we were indeed all melted\ntogether. May the Shepherd of Israel never leave them nor forsake them,\nand may they become willing to follow his leading. I can truly say that on\ntheir behalf my pillow has been often wet with my tears.\n\n\nOn the 3rd of the Second Month, he left Friedensthal, accompanied by a\nyoung Friend whom he was to conduct to a temporary residence in England,\nand in whose religious welfare he was deeply interested. While waiting in\nHamburg for a vessel, he felt keenly his solitary situation in the world.\n\n\n2 _mo_. 9.--I think I never felt poorer in spirit and more\ndiscouraged than at present. It seems as if visiting my native land had no\ncheering prospect for me. If it were right in the divine sight I could\nalmost wish to spend the whole of my life in solitude; but I must be\nwilling patiently to suffer, and endeavor to fill the place appointed for\nme on this stage of action.\n\n\nA vessel sailed for England the day before their arrival at Hamburg, a\ncircumstance which at first made him regret he had not used more\nexpedition on the way. But he immediately recollected it might he for the\nbest that he was left behind. This proved to be the case; for the vessel\nwith which he would have sailed, meeting with contrary winds and dark\nweather, ran aground, and was obliged to put back, and when J.Y. left the\nElbe she was lying in Cuxhaven harbor.\n\nThey landed at Hull on the 19th.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nFROM HIS RETURN TO ENGLAND IN 1824, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS FIRST\nCONTINENTAL JOURNEY IN 1825.\n\nOn setting foot again in England, the dejected state of mind which had\naccompanied him on the journey returned with renewed force.\n\n\n2 _mo_. 19.--I do not know how to describe my feelings in landing on\nmy native shore: I feel a poor discouraged creature. May He who knows the\nsincerity of my heart be pleased to strengthen my poor mind, for I feel\nalmost overwhelmed with fears and difficulties.\n\n\nStill deeper was his emotion on visiting again the home of former days.\n\n\n2 _mo_. 20.--Left Hull, and came by way of Selby and Wakefield to\nBarnsley. I felt my heart exceedingly burdened before I reached the place:\nit seemed as if all the bitter cups I had drunk in former times were going\nto be handed to me afresh. This may not be, perhaps, altogether on my own\naccount. There is at times a fellow-feeling with others; and on my\nreaching this place, I soon felt my spirit dipped into sympathy with some\nof my dear connexions, who are not without their trials.\n\n\nA few days afterwards, in allusion to the religious service of Elizabeth\nH. Walker of West Chester, U.S., in a public meeting for worship at\nBarnsley, he says:--\n\n\nI do not really know what is the matter, but I fear I am going backwards\nfrom all that is good. When I look at the usefulness of others, O what an\ninsignificant, useless being I appear!\n\nThis lowly opinion of himself, however, was not to serve as an excuse for\nidleness, and it was proposed to him to bear Elizabeth Walker company in a\nreligious circuit in some of the midland counties, previous to the\noccurrence of the Yearly Meeting. He accepted the proposal; and they\ntravelled together through part of Staffordshire, Warwick, Worcester, and\nOxfordshire, visiting the meetings of Friends, and sometimes inviting the\nattendance of the public.\n\nThe dispirited state of mind which John Yeardley had brought with him from\nGermany accompanied him on this journey, and on the 30th of the Fourth\nMonth he writes:--\n\n\nI walked last evening in the fields, in a solitary frame of mind, being\nvery low in spirits on many accounts. My own unfaithfulness deprives me of\nstrength to cast off my burden as I go along; consequently I grow weaker\nand weaker, which is indeed diametrically opposite to growing stronger and\nstronger in the Lord. Lamentable case! O for a alteration for the better!\n\n_Fifth-day, the 6th of Fifth Month, at Sibford_.--This is a pretty\nlarge meeting, and there are a good many sweet-looking young folks. The\nlovely countenances of such are always refreshing to me, and it is not\nmuch wonder if I have a little more openness for labor, winch was the case\nin this place. But in general I sit and bemoan my own uselessness. I have\nbeen a burden to myself in this little journey, in fearing I might be so\nto my friends; but I ought to be very thankful that they do not seem to\nthink me so, but are desirous to encourage me. I think if it was\notherwise, it would be more than I could bear.\n\n\nIn the Fifth Month, he attended the Yearly Meeting in London. At the\nMeeting of Ministers and Elders, an unusual number of certificates were\ngranted for religious service abroad. These various concerns drew from him\nthe following reflections:--\n\n\nAs I sat under the weighty consideration and disposal of these subjects, I\nfelt a degree of rejoicing to spring in my heart, that there are still\nmembers who hold the promotion of the cause of righteousness in the earth\ndear to the best feelings of their hearts. It is indeed cause of heartfelt\ngratitude that the Divine Master is directing the feet of his messengers\nnot only to the borders of this isle, but also into distant parts of the\nearth.\n\nDuring the Yearly Meeting John Yeardley lodged at William Allen's, at\nPlough-court and Stoke Newington, and was introduced to several Friends\nwith whom he had not before been acquainted.\n\n\nThe acquaintance which I have made with many dear and valued Friends in\nthe neighborhood of London has, I hope, been a little strength to me in\nthe best things. It is truly pleasant to be treated with such genuine\nkindness; but it is nothing for the soul to build upon,--we must look for\na more sure foundation than the favor of the great and good.\n\n\nElizabeth H. Walker had a meeting with the younger part of the Society in\nLondon and the neighborhood. In noticing this meeting J.Y. has some\ndiscriminating remarks on the exercise of the ministry.\n\n\nDuring this as well as many other meetings for worship, I sat under\nreligious exercise, but could seldom believe it required of me to take\npart in the public ministry. I often think, when many exercised brethren\nand sisters are present; there would be a danger of interrupting the true\ngospel order, if all were not careful to wait on the Great Minister of the\nSanctuary. If we patiently abide under the rightly baptizing power, what\nwe may apprehend preparing in our hearts for utterance may often be\ndelivered by others, and we only have to say, as it were, Amen. We may\nalso be brought into a right willingness to speak in the Lord's name, and\nstill be excused; this may be, perhaps, a preparation of an offering which\nmay be called for at another place. O the importance of knowing the word\nrightly to be divided, and when and where the offering is required!\n\n\nA part of Elizabeth Walker's errand in coming to Europe was to visit the\nFriends in Germany; mid it was proposed that John Yeardley should take\ncharge of her and her companion, Christiana A. Price of Neath, on his\nreturn to Pyrmont. They went together through Essex and Suffolk, having\nmeetings on their way; but at Ipswich it appeared that C.A. Price's health\nwas unequal to the journey, and Elizabeth Walker proceeded to Hull to\ncross the water from thence with another company of Friends who were bound\nfor the Continent. J.Y. was thus left to proceed alone to Pyrmont, and he\nsailed from Harwich on the 19th of the Sixth Month. When in Suffolk he\nwent to Needham to see \"dear ancient Samuel Alexander.\"\n\n\nI had, he says, long known this fatherly man by name and person, but had\nhad no acquaintance with him until now: his company and conversation were\nexceedingly pleasant and instructive to me. In the evening I took a walk\nin a large plantation which he had himself planted when young, and had now\nlived to see afford him a comfortable retreat.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley was taken ill when in Suffolk, and on settling down again\nin his quiet home at Friedensthal he writes:\n\n\n7 _mo_. 15.--I am drinking salt-spring-water, and my health is\nmercifully restored. The air of this country seems to suit my constitution\nbetter than that of England. Time is very precious. I think, to keep a\nmore correct journal of what I do each day might be very useful, by\ninducing a more narrow scrutiny how each hour is spent; for I know not how\nmany more may be allowed me to prepare for eternity.\n\n\nTo this resolution he did not adhere. With the exception of two short\nentries in the same month, he wrote nothing in his diary for the remainder\nof the year. The difficulties of his position, perhaps a lack of\nsufficient employment, and the want of that instant watchfulness without\nwhich the disciple is ever prone to stray from his Master's side, seem to\nhave again produced, as they did twelve months before, a season of\nspiritual famine.\n\nHis own gloomy condition did not, however, altogether disable him from\nsympathizing with others. In a letter to his brother of the 4th of the\nEleventh Month he says;--\n\n\nI have of late been in such a low tried state of mind, that I have been\ndiscouraged from writing thee, under an apprehension I should say nothing\nthat would afford thee any satisfaction in reading. But though I may not\nhave it in my power to relieve thee, I hope it will not be unpleasant to\nthee to know that thou art still more dear and near to me than ever thou\nwast in the times of more apparent outward prosperity. It is a high\nattainment to know how to set a right value on perishable things, and it\nrequires no small degree of fortitude to bear the depression of apparent\ntemporary adversity, in that disposition of mind which becomes the\ncharacter of a true Christian. Although, according to our apprehensions,\nthe storm may last long, yet it most assuredly will blow over, and then\ngreater will be our peace than if we had never known a tempest.\n\n\nOn resuming his Diary, which he did in the First Month of 1825, John\nYeardley gives an account of the events which happened to him during the\nprevious few months.\n\nIn the Seventh Month 1824, Thomas Shillitoe and Elizabeth H. Walker came\nto Pyrmont, and to the latter J.Y. gave his assistance in various\nreligious engagements. After her departure he again visited Minden, with\nthe neighboring villages of Eidinghausen and Hille. His visit to the\nlast-named place (1 mo. 13, 1825) was marked by a singular circumstance.\n\n\nFinding a sudden draft [in my mind] to be at the reading meeting in Hille,\nto begin at two o'clock, there seemed but little time; however, proposing\nit to my dear friend John Rasche, he was quite willing to accompany me,\nand driving quickly we came in due time. When the [meeting] was over, the\nFriends told me they thought it very remarkable that we should come\nunexpectedly on that day, and that what was communicated after the reading\nwas particularly suited to the state of a woman Friend present, who was\nlaboring under the temptation that she had committed the unpardonable sin,\nand could find no rest day or night. I could not prevent them from\nexpressing their thankfulness for such a mark of Providential\ninterference, in this way to afford the poor woman a little relief and\nencouragement.\n\n\nFour days afterwards, having then returned to Friedensthal, J.Y.\nadds:--\"Since our visit to Hille, the person above-mentioned is dead!\"\n\nThe depression under which John Yeardley labored, from the loss of that\ncomfortable presence of his Lord which had been almost from his youth as a\nlamp shining continually upon his head, seems to have reached its lowest\npoint in the early part of this year. Under date of the 24th of the Second\nMonth he says:--\n\n\nI have this morning once more been enabled to pour out my sorrowful spirit\nbefore the Father of mercies in a way that has afforded me some relief and\nencouragement. In bitterness, and, I may almost say, in agony of soul have\nI spread before him some of those circumstances which have been a cause of\nunspeakable distress to me for many months past, and rendered me unfit for\nalmost every service, temporal or spiritual.\n\nThou knowest, O gracious Father, I long to have my ways and steps\nregulated by thy holy will. Therefore I beseech thee, have mercy on my\nfaults, and blot out from thy remembrance all my sins, and everything\nwherein I have in weakness offended thee; and be pleased to give me\nstrength to become more perfectly and lastingly thine. O how sensibly do I\nfeel my own weakness, and that without thee I can do nothing, not for a\nmoment preserve my own steps.\n\n\nIn the midst of his discouragement his mind was directed towards the\naccomplishment of another part of the commission which had been entrusted\nto him before he left England.--viz., to sojourn for a time amongst the\nFriends in the South of France. Accordingly, early in the Third Month he\nwent to Minden, and laid before the Two-months' Meeting, his intention of\ngoing to Congenies for this purpose, and also of seeking a religious\ninterview with some serious people in the neighborhood of Cologne.\n\n\nThis information, he says, was received by my friends with much sympathy\nand, I trust, weightiness of spirit, and I felt a little strengthened by\nthe expression of their feelings and unity with me in this concern. A\ncertificate of their approbation was ordered to be drawn up. No creature\non earth knows how this prospect humbles me. I always think I am dealt\nwith in a remarkable manner,--somewhat different perhaps from others.\nNotwithstanding all the seemingly insurmountable difficulties which stand\nin the way, and which are far too numerous to particularize, my peace is\nconnected with my obedience. What will be the result I know not; the way\nappears not yet quite clear us to the time of departure. O Lord, favor me\nto wait on thee for the spirit of discernment not to step forth in the\nwrong time.\n\n\nThe obedience which he practised in committing himself in simple faith to\nthis religious prospect prepared the way for a temporal blessing, as well\nas for the return of inward joy. He little knew, when persecuted by the\nAccuser of the brethren, and mourning over the weakness of his own corrupt\nnature, that his Lord was about to provide for him a congenial and helpful\ncompanion, in the room of her whose loss had left him solitary in the\nworld. Without this timely sacrifice of his own will, it could not have\nbeen so easy for him to make the journey to France in the way in which it\nwas done, and which was the means of bringing about the union which shed\nso much comfort on the remainder of his life.\n\nBetween two and three months after the meeting at Minden, he received the\ninformation that Martha Savory, accompanied by Martha Towell, was about to\npay a religious visit to the Friends at Pyrmont and Minden. He had been\nintroduced in London to Martha Savory as a minister of the gospel, and one\nwho had been abroad in its service, but his acquaintance with her seems to\nhave been slight.[3] On receiving this intelligence he writes:--\n\n\nThe prospect of seeing a few dear Friends from my native land would be\ncheering, but I am really so cast down that I seem as if I could not, and\nalmost dare not, rejoice in anything. May this low proving season answer\nthe end for which it is permitted!\n\n\nAs he apprehended the Friends who were coming from England might require a\nguide, John Yeardley went to meet them at Rotterdam. His journey, and the\nsingular coincidence of Martha Savory's concern with his own, are\ndescribed in a letter to his brother, written after his return from\nHolland.\n\n\nFriedensthal, Pyrmont, 7 mo. 14,1825.\n\nMY DEAR BROTHER,\n\nOn my return from Holland I received thy long and very interesting letter.\nMartha Savory and her companion Martha Towell are now acceptably with us.\nThey expect to spend two or three months with us, and then we have some\nprospect of going in company to the South of France. As this has fallen\nout in a rather remarkable manner, it may not be amiss just to explain it\nto thee. We were entire strangers to each other's concern; but as soon as\nmy friends in London heard of my prospect from the copy of the minutes of\nour Two-months' Meeting and of my certificate, dear William Allen wrote to\nme desiring a more particular description of my views, time of departure,\n&c., and mentioned at the same time M.S.'s concern, which had already\npassed the Quarterly Meeting, and it was fully expected she would be\nliberated [by the Meeting of Ministers and Elders] to visit Pyrmont and\nMinden, and afterwards, if _suitable company offered_, proceed to\nsome parts of the banks of the Rhine, Switzerland, and Congenies, in the\nsouth of France. I wrote to W.A., and explained to him my prospect, which\nwas to visit a few individuals in the neighborhood of Cologne and pass\nthrough Switzerland to Congenies. I then received a letter from our dear\nfriend M. Savory, stating that she and W.A. had been much struck with the\nremarkable coincidence in our views; our prospects being to the same\nplaces and in the same way; and that it seemed in the pointing of Truth\nfor us to join in company.\n\nFifth mo. 26th, I left Friedensthal to visit my friends in Minden and its\nneighborhood; and after spending about two weeks there, I felt very much\ninclined to give our friends the meeting at Rotterdam. I set off,\naccordingly, the 7th of the Sixth Month, and travelled seven days through\na desert country to Amsterdam, I went almost one half of the way by water,\nacross the Zuider Zee from Zwolle to Amsterdam. After spending a few days\nin Amsterdam, I went, with J.S. Mollet, who is the only Friend in that\ncity, to Rotterdam, where we met with M.S. and M.T. Thomas Christy,\njunior, had accompanied them, from London. M.S. had letters of\nrecommendation to many persons in Amsterdam, whom we visited; and though\nsome of them were first-rate characters in the place, it is surprising\nwith what affection and kindness they received us. J.S. Mollet accompanied\nus to Pyrmont.\n\n\nAn account of his journey, both going and returning, is also contained in\nJ.Y.'s diary: it presents some additional notices which claim a place\nhere.\n\nBefore leaving Minden for Rotterdam, he twice visited Eidinghausen, and\nsaw some young men who were under suffering because of their refusal to\nserve in the militia.\n\n\nOne in particular (he says, in writing up the diary), a sweet young man,\nat this moment may be in torture. O, how I feel for him! My soul breathes\nto the Almighty Father of mercies on his account, that he may he\nstrengthened to endure all with patience for the sake of his Lord, who has\ngiven him a testimony to bear against the spirit of war and fighting.\n\n\nAt the conclusion of the second meeting at Eidinghausen, he says:--\n\n\nThe meeting was fully attended, and I afterwards dined alone in the\nschoolroom with a light heart. I thought I could say, After the work is\ndone, food tastes sweet.\n\n\nAt Rotterdam, John Yeardley and his companions made the acquaintance of a\n\"very interesting missionary student, who believes he has a call to go on\na mission to the Greeks, and is waiting for an opening: his name is\nGuetzlaff.\" At Amsterdam, a letter from Guetzlaff introduced them to the\npriest of the Greek church in that city, Helanios Paschalides, a man of\nchild-like spirit, and long schooled in affliction, who had become\nawakened to his own religious wants, and who believed himself called to\nreturn to Greece and instruct his countrymen. These two interviews are\nmemorable, as being, probably, the commencement of the strong interest\nwhich J. and M.Y. evinced in the Greek people, and which issued, years\nafterwards, in a religious tour in that country. At Zeist, where there is\na settlement of Moravians, the ministers, finding the Friends desired to\nconvene their members in a meeting for worship, readily consented.\n\n\nThe meeting, writes J.Y., was more fully attended than we had expected.\nThere is much sweetness of spirit to be felt about these people, but a\nwant of stillness. I thought some of the hearers were prepared to see\nfurther than their teachers, and the time may yet come when some may be\ndrawn into a more spiritual worship. We left them a few tracts, and they\nkindly gave us a few little boots of theirs. It is remarkable in what a\nspirit of love they received us.\n\n\nThe Friends reached Pyrmont on the 1st of the Seventh Month, and shortly\nafterwards made a visit amongst the members from house to house in that\nplace, and at Minden. On the 28th they visited a number of seriously\nawakened persons at Lenzinghausen, who felt the necessity of spiritual\nworship, and to whom their hearts were much enlarged in gospel love.\n\n\nWalking in the garden, writes John, Yeardley, in a very solemn and\nsolitary frame of mind before the meeting, I had such a feeling as I\nscarcely ever remember to have had before. I thought I saw, as in the\nvision of light, as if a people would be gathered in that neighborhood to\nthe knowledge of the truth. It appeared to me to be in the divine\nappointment that our dear M.S. was come to visit Germany, and a large\nfield of labor seems to be appointed for her in this land if she is\nfaithful.\n\n\nThe next two months were occupied with various religious services, public\nand private, not omitting meetings at Eidinghausen and Hille, where, as on\nformer occasions, J.Y. found his heart to go out towards the people with\nstrong emotions of Christian love. About 150 attended at the former, and\n300 at the latter place.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nHIS FIRST CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1825-6.\n\nThe time was now come for John Yeardley and Martha Savory to pursue their\njourney to the Rhine, Switzerland and France. They left Pyrmont on the\n11th of the Tenth Month, 1825, and beside Martha Towell, were accompanied\nas far as Basle by William Seebohm as interpreter. Every member of the\nparty wrote in one way or other an account of the journey, and we have\navailed ourselves of these various sources in the following narrative.\n\nPassing through Paderborn, they arrived at Herdecke on the 13th. Regarding\nhis feelings in this place John Yeardley writes:--\n\n\nThis morning I was greatly dejected, and fearful we might find none of the\npeople whom we were seeking. As I was walking pensively outside the town,\nI recollected what I once read in \"Cecil's Remains,\"--that a way may\nsuddenly open before us when we the least expect it. This was now to be\nverified; for after we had entered the carriage with the intention of\ngoing to Elberfeld, and while we were waiting for a road-ticket, I\naccidentally fell into conversation with our hostess, and making inquiry\nfor people of religions character, learnt that there were a number of such\nin the neighborhood.\n\n\nThe Friends alighted, and sent for a member of this little society who\nresided in the town. He informed them that a meeting was held at Hageney,\nabout six miles distant, at the house of a pastor named Huecker. Being\ndisposed to visit this pastor, they took their informant with them as\nguide, turned their horses in the direction opposite to Elberfeld, and\ndrove along a very bad road to his house. They found him occupied in\nteaching some poor children. He told them that their visit was opportune\nand remarkable, for that he had been denounced as a delinquent before the\nSynod of Berlin, which had sent him a string of questions on doctrine and\nchurch-government. He had returned a reply to the questions, and was then\nwaiting the determination of the synod, whether he was to be displaced\nfrom his cure or not. The Friends examined his answers, and were well\nsatisfied with them: the worship which he and his little flock (about\nthirty in number) practised was of a more spiritual character than that of\nthe national church. Martha Savory expressed her deep sympathy with him in\nhis difficult and painful situation, and John Yeardley also addressed him\nin words of consolation and encouragement.\n\nAt Elberfeld, where they arrived on the 15th, they met with several\ninteresting persons. One of these, a young pastor named Ball, became\ngreatly endeared to them. He informed them that when he had been severely\ntempted, he had found support and deliverance in silent waiting on the\nLord. Another was Pastor Lindel, who resided at some distance from the\ncity, in the Wupperthal; he had been brought up a Roman Catholic, had seen\nmany changes, and suffered not a little persecution. He took them to see a\nneighbor, an aged man, weak in body, but strong and lively in spirit. This\nman told them he was present at a meeting at Muehlheim held by Sarah Grubb,\nabout thirty years before; and that, although ninety years old, he\nrecollected the words with which she concluded her discourse: \"By this\nshall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to\nanother.\" This love, say the narrators of the occurrence, was felt amongst\nus on this occasion, and at parting the good old man gave us his blessing.\n\nThey quitted Elberfeld on the 19th, and proceeded to Duesseldorf, where the\nreception they met with was equally open and gratifying. They spent an\nevening at Kaiserswerth with Pastor Fliedner, who was occupied in\nvigilantly guarding a little nock of Protestants surrounded by\nunscrupulous Romanists. He evinced much interest in the management of\nprisons, and was endeavoring to introduce improvements in that of\nDuesseldorf: he had met with Martha Savory in one of her visits at\nNewgate.[4]\n\nThe next day they went to Duesselthal, and inspected the institution there.\nThe Count Von-der-Recke conducted them himself through every department.\n\n\nHis countenance, says John Yeardley, evinces the magnanimity and kindness\nof his heart; it is remarkable and precious that so young a man should\ndedicate his whole time and fortune for the benefit of the orphan and the\ndestitute.\n\n\nAt Creveldt, the next town where they stopped, Pastor Molinaar and his\nwife, who were Mennonists received them in a very cordial manner: the\nlatter had seen Thomas Shillitoe at Amsterdam. J.Y. relates several visits\nwhich these worthy persons and some of their Christian friends paid to\nthem at the inn.\n\n\n22_nd._--In the evening Pastor Molinaar came, with his wife and some\nfriends, to tea. They inquired very narrowly respecting our principles.\nPastor M. turned the conversation on women's preaching, and, after some\nexplanation, appeared to be pretty well satisfied with our views on this\nsubject. The Mennonists hold strongly to the use of Water Baptism, and the\npastor and his wife defended this practice, the latter with much\nearnestness. But when we had unfolded our sentiments, and William Seebohm\nhad read a passage from Tuke's \"Principles,\" the pastor, seeing that we\naimed only at the spiritual sense, acknowledged that he had often queried\nwith himself whether the usage could not properly be dispensed with, and\nsaid that he intended still further to examine the question. Our\ncertificates were then read; and after we had conversed on our church\ndiscipline, the company separated in mutual love.\n\n\nThe Friends inquired of the Mennonists whether any of their Society would\nincline to sit with them on the First-day evening.\n\n\nOur friend, Martha Savory, told them we could not promise that anything\nshould be uttered, seeing this could only take place through the immediate\noperation of the Holy Spirit. At the appointed time there assembled about\nfifty persons. After a short conversation they seated themselves, and when\nwe had sat awhile in silence, M.S. found herself moved to address them in\na feeling manner, W.S. interpreting; and I relieved my mind in German as\nwell as I was able. Before we separated, Pastor Molinaar rose, and in the\nname of the rest expressed his heartfelt satisfaction, adding that he\nhoped we should remember them for good, as they should not fail to pray\nfor our preservation.\n\n24_th._--We told Pastor M. that it would be agreeable if he and any\nothers of his friends who wished to take leave of us would come to the\nhotel. At seven o'clock, instead of a few as we expected, there came about\nthirty. The ladies seated themselves quite sociably, and took out their\nwork, but were evidently prepared to lay it aside in the hope of having\nanother religious sitting. But as we believed there were those present who\nhad come from too great a desire to hear words, we were on the guard not\nto satisfy this excited inclination; and the evening was spent in\nagreeable conversation. Before we separated, however, we thought it well\nto read our Yearly Meeting's Epistle, which was acceptable to all. Pastor\nM. especially was pleased with the part about church-discipline, and said\nhe considered it of real advantage that the epistle had been read in\nthat company, as there were several young women present who might receive\nbenefit from it.\n\n\nFeeling attracted towards the inhabitants of Muehlheim on the Ruhr, the\nFriends again turned out of the direct road and crossing the Rhine a\nlittle beyond Duisburg, arrived in the evening at Muehlheim. They found a\ncompany of Separatists in the neighborhood of the town, some of whom they\nvisited; and the next day they passed over the Ruhr, and, with the\nassistance of a school-master, convened a meeting for worship. At the time\nappointed nearly three hundred persons assembled, mostly of the poorer\nclass. They were seated in a large school-room, the men on one side and\nthe women on the other, waiting in silence. They had a good meeting, and\nat the conclusion the auditory expressed their unwillingness to part, and\ntheir desire that those who had ministered to them should visit them\nagain.\n\nOn the 27th, after calling upon some descendants of Gerhard Tersteegen,\nour Friends proceeded through Duesseldorf to Cologne. They were\ndisappointed of finding in the neighborhood of this city, that company of\nreligious people on whose account they had felt much interested, and of\nwhom they had heard that \"they held principles like the Quakers, and were\nas obstinate in them as they are.\" They did no more here than call upon a\nfew serious persons in the city, and then went forwards to Neuwied, hoping\nthere to hear of them.\n\nAt Neuwied, besides becoming acquainted with the Moravian preachers and\nothers, they were called upon by some of the _Inspirirten_, who\ninvited them to their meetings. They attended one of these; but, being\ndissatisfied with the manner of the service, and not finding relief for\ntheir spiritual exercise, though the opportunity of speaking was offered\nwithout reserve, they in turn invited the company to meet with them the\nnext morning after the manner of Friends. The meeting was held to mutual\nsatisfaction, and one of the leading men amongst the _Inspirirten_\nexpressed the hope that it would be blessed to them; for he was, he said,\nsensible of the want of less activity and more of silent waiting in their\nreligious assemblies.\n\nThe society to which these people belonged divided in 1818 into two\nbranches, after an awakening which took place that year; those who\nseparated believing it to be incumbent upon them to lead more self-denying\nlives, and dwell more closely under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This\nnew connection was the people of whom our Friends had heard; and they\nlearnt that they had retired to a place called Schwartzenau, near\nBerlenburg, a small town at the eastern end of the barren hilly region\nknown as the Sauerland. The distance of this place from Neuwied is\nconsiderable, and the roads amongst the worst in Germany; but John\nYeardley and Martha Savory apprehended they could not peacefully pursue\ntheir journey without attempting to visit them.\n\nAccordingly they left Neuwied on the 1st of the Eleventh Month, and\nproceeded to Montabauer. The road led them at first amongst some of the\nchoicest scenery of the Rhine; but after a while they left the river and\nstruck into the interior of the country, in a north-easterly direction.\nThe next day they passed through a place where, a few months before, a\nDiligence had been robbed. The robbers, who had been taken a fortnight\nafter the offence, were then, as they were informed, in Limburg gaol, and\nwere to be hanged the next day. They were ten in number, all members of\none family. At Burbach they met with an English landlord, thirty-five\nyears resident in Germany; he was delimited to see his fellow-countrymen,\nand exerted himself to give them the best entertainment his house\nafforded. The country they passed through was very hilly, and overgrown\nwith forest; now and then a solitary dwelling was seen in the bottom of\nthe deep valleys.\n\nOn the 3rd they came to Siegen, an ancient and antique town on the side of\na high hill, looking, as one of the party observed, as though they had\nreached the end of the world. And, indeed, it seemed almost like the end\nof the civilised world; for they were informed that the road from thence\nto Berlenburg was in such a miserable condition that they could take their\ncarriage no farther. They resolved, however, to make the attempt, and\nproviding themselves with a tandem horse (_vorspann_) and a guide,\nand sending on their luggage, they set forth on the way to Letze, a\nvillage where they proposed to lodge; but the waters were abroad from the\noverflow of the rivers, and the road being extremely narrow, and the ruts\ndeep, they made very slow progress. Sometimes the way was so impracticable\nthat they had to take the carriage through the woods which skirted the\nroad. Darkness and rain coming on obliged them to halt for the night at\nNetphen, and seek shelter in the humble dwelling of a woman, who at first\ntook alarm at the unexpected appearance of so many strangers. The account\nwhich the guide gave respecting the travellers dispelled her fears, and\nshe did what she could by hospitality to make up for the scantiness of her\naccommodation. She gave them also some information respecting the\n_Inspirirten_, whom they were on the way to visit, speaking favorably\nof them. The next morning, before they started, they were able to offer\nher spiritual good in return for her temporal kindness, John Yeardley\nministering to her condition under religious exercise; and they trusted\nhis words found entrance into her soul.\n\nOn the 4th they pursued their way, up hill and down, the carriage\nsometimes becoming so firmly fixed in the narrow deep ruts, that it was\nnecessary to take out the horses, and for the men of the party, with the\nassistance of passers-by, to lift it over to more even ground.\n\nAt length they arrived at Erndebrueck, and drove to an inn; but not finding\ntheir luggage, they went to another, and while they were preparing to\nstart for Berlenburg, William Seebohm went to the Custom-office to show\nthe ticket of clearance they had received on entering the Prussian\nterritory at Burbach. This ticket should have obviated all delay attendant\non the examination of the luggage; but it happened, most unfortunately,\nthat the custom officer was the landlord of the inn they first came to.\nTheir leaving his house without taking refreshment was, in his eyes, an\nunpardonable offence, and on William Seebohm presenting to him the ticket,\nhis countenance and language betrayed the passion which raged in his\nbreast. He declared their trunks should be examined in the strictest\nmanner; and when they represented the necessity they were under of\nspeedily pursuing their journey, and desired him to despatch the business\nas quickly as possible, he replied by detaining them until they were\nobliged to send back the horse and guide, and consent to pass the night\nunder his roof. He then demanded their passports, and finding they had not\nbeen _vise'd_ at all the towns through which they had passed, and\nthat the travellers had departed from the route described in them, he sent\nfor a gendarme, and placed them under arrest. They were not allowed to\ntake anything from their trunks without being watched by the gendarme; and\nwhen they took out a letter of recommendation, written by Dr. Steinkopf to\nthe clergyman of the place, whom they had requested to call upon them, the\ngendarme insisted on first reading it. On their expostulating with the\nlandlord at being treated in this manner, instead of making a direct\nreply, he strutted up and down the room, repeating continually, \"Ja, ja,\nja, ja! they shall know what they went away from my house for, and that\nthere is a custom-office here.\" The Friends took their evening meal, as is\nusual in Germany, in-one of the sleeping-rooms--that which had been\nallotted to Martha Savory and Martha Towell. Into this chamber, when they\nhad eaten, the landlord brought a party of eight or nine men to take their\nsupper. After supper the men smoked, and some of them did not even refrain\nfrom showing their ill-breeding in a more disagreeable way. William\nSeebohm overheard the landlord and the gendarme say to each other, \"These\npeople are travelling this way to visit the Separatists, and strengthen\nthem in their religious opinions; but we will disappoint them.\"\n\nThe next morning they were favored with a short season of solemn\ncommunion, in which they were given to believe that the Name of the Lord\nwould be their strong tower. Their liberation, in fact, was near; for\ntheir envious jailor, finding probably no excuse for longer detaining\nthem, suffered them to depart, but sent the gendarme to guard them as far\nas Berlenburg. The man proved to be an excellent guide, and being eager to\nbring them to the magistrate of that town, where they could be more\neffectually checked in their schismatical object, he was very useful in\nshouldering the carriage when they came to a stand in the miserable roads.\n\nThe town of Berlenburg presented a dismal spectacle, the greater part\nhaving recently been burnt down; so that they had some difficulty in\nmaking their way through the ruins. They were subjected to no delay at the\nCustom-house, but, before being allowed to go to an inn, were conducted by\nthe gendarme to the Castle, to be examined by the _Landrath_, or\nmagistrate. While John Yeardley and William Seebohm were taken into the\njustice-chamber, Martha Savory and Martha Towell remained in the carriage,\nwhere they were presently surrounded by a crowd, who gazed with\nastonishment at their equipage, no such vehicle having been seen in the\ntown for many years, and probably never any persons in such attire. Being\nweary of waiting, and anxious to know the result of the examination, they\nleft the carriage and ascended to the magistrate's room. They were\npolitely received, and arrived just as he had concluded the examination\nand was declaring the Friends entirely free from, the requisitions of the\nlaw. The letters of recommendation which they presented were very helpful\nin procuring this result. At the Landrath's request, they stated the\nobject of their journey, and the reasons which had induced them to deviate\nfrom the route described in the passports, of all which he caused a note\nto be taken. At the conclusion he politely dismissed them with the\nsalutation, \"Go where you will, in God's name;\" and the abashed and\ndisappointed gendarme was obliged to imitate his superior and make them a\nparting bow. The magistrate referred them to two of the citizen, for\ninformation regarding the Separatists, but remarked that he considered a\nvisit to Schwartzenau at that critical moment would not be without danger.\n\nOne of the persons on whom the Landrath recommended the Friends to call\nwas the Inspector of the Lutheran or State Church of the country; and on\nthe 6th, which was First-day, after a time of worship in their own\napartment, they received a visit from this personage. Wishing to act with\nentire openness, they informed him of their desire to see the Separatists,\nand invited him to accompany them. He gave them the names of several with\nwhom they might freely have intercourse. As the interview proceeded mutual\nconfidence increased, particularly after reading their certificates; and\nthe Inspector expressed himself gratified with the liberality entertained\nby Friends towards people of other religious persuasions.\n\nIt snowed all the next day, and the roads were deep in water, so that M.S.\nand M.T. remained in-doors; but J.Y. and W.S. walked to Homburgshausen, a\nvillage about a mile and a-half from Berlenburg, to call upon an aged man,\na Separatist of the old connection. He had heard of their arrival, and was\noverjoyed to see them; he looked upon it as a providential occurrence that\nthey should have been sent there at that juncture. His forefathers, he\nsaid, had been settled there many years, and had hitherto enjoyed liberty\nof conscience; but now he feared they were about to be deprived of that\nprivilege. Before the Friends left Berlenburg, he called at their inn with\nseveral more of his society; he appeared to be a truly pious man, and\nlooked, they say, exactly like a _good old Friend_. He declared\nhimself to be fully convinced of the value of silent worship, but said\nthat their people in general were not prepared to adopt it; however they\nrejected outward baptism, and the use of the bread and wine, and refused\nto bear arms. He had been many times summoned before the magistrates to be\nexamined upon his religious belief. On one of these occasions the Landrath\nasked why he did not take the bread and wine, and why he did not have his\nchildren baptised. He answered that if he was to conform to these\nceremonies it would be as though he had received a sealed letter in which\nnothing was written. He and his people were solicitous with the Friends to\nhave a meeting with them; but the minds of John Yeardley and his\ncompanions were pre-occupied with a desire first to see the New\nSeparatists, who were then under persecution, and they did not think it\nproper to accede to the request.\n\nIn reply to a message which they sent to some of the new society, they\nreceived, through a young woman (for the men were afraid to come to the\ninn), a pressing invitation to visit some of them who lived in a retired\nspot called Schellershammer, not far distant. They immediately accepted\nthe invitation. The road, which was impassable for a carriage, was covered\nwith mud and water. They were received into a very humble dwelling by a\npious young man and his family, with whom also they found some of the New\nSeparatists from Schwartzenau. On. sitting down with this company the\nrestraining presence of the Lord was felt, under which they remained for\nsome time in silence. Then the poor people opened to them their situation\nwith humility and freedom. The young man above-mentioned had just drawn up\na statement of their religious principles, which had been sent to the\nauthorities. This statement he showed to the Friends, as also a letter to\nthe King of Prussia, which had been prepared by one of their ministers,\nbut which, from its lofty assumption of prophetic authority, they could\nnot approve. These people called their ministers, _Instruments_; and\nthey had fallen into the specious error of attributing to their effusions,\nwhether spoken or written, equal authority with the Holy-Scriptures. On\nother points their principles resembled those of Friends; as the disuse of\noutward ceremonies and of oaths, and their testimony against war. It was\non these accounts that they were persecuted. They appeared to dwell under\nthe cross of Christ, and to live in much quietness of spirit. Under the\nexisting circumstances the Friends did not feel bound to appoint a general\nreligious meeting with these people. They contented themselves, therefore,\nwith unfolding their sentiments in conversation, giving them books, and\nbefore they left Berlenburg, addressing them by letter, in which they\nenlarged particularly on the subject of the ministry. They also left some\ncopies of their Friends' books with the old society; and both parties\ndeclared their belief that the visit they had received was in the order of\nDivine Providence, and took leave of them in love and confidence.\n\nThe friends quitted Berlenburg on the 9th of the Eleventh Month, and\nproceeded towards Frankfort. After a day's journey over bad roads, they\nwere glad to find themselves once more on the _chaussee_. They\narrived on the 11th at Frankfort, where they called on a few pious\nindividuals, but stayed a very short time in the city, being desirous of\nvisiting some Old and New Separatists at Lieblose near Gelnhausen, about\ntwenty-four miles from Frankfort.\n\nThe next morning they accordingly went to Gelnhausen, and had social\ninterviews with members of both associations, but failed to make use of\nthe opportunity they had of holding a meeting for worship with the Old\nSeparatists, which they afterwards regretted.\n\nThey then went forward to Raneberg, about six miles distant, to see the\n_Instrument_ who wrote the letter to the King of Prussia which was\nshown to them at Schellershammer. They found him a young man, inhabiting\nan apartment in a lonely castle, romantically situated on a high hill. The\naccess to the spot was through a forest, and by a very bad road. Whatever\nprejudice in regard to him they might have imbibed from the style of his\nletter was at once dispelled by his appearance; his look was so humble, so\ndevoted, and with such \"extreme sweetness of countenance.\" John Yeardley\nand Martha Savory conversed with him a long time; he did not rightly\ncomprehend the nature of the Christian ministry, but he listened calmly\nand patiently to all they had to say. They left some books with him, and\nreceived some in return, descriptive of the awakening which gave rise to\nthe division in the society of _Inspirirten_. He was then about to\nset out on foot to pay a religious visit to the members of his own\nprofession in various parts of the country; when at home he worked at his\ntrade, which was that of a carpenter.\n\nThe party retraced their steps to Hanau, and the next day pursued their\nway southwards. They passed through Darmstadt and Heidelberg to Pforzheim.\nHere they called on Henry Kienlin, whom they found a _Friend_ in\nprinciple and practice, and who had given many proofs of his fidelity to\nhis principles by the persecution he had endured from his relations, and\nthe pecuniary loss he had suffered for refusing to comply with\necclesiastical and military demands. He was a man of station and influence\nin the town. He had not previously had personal acquaintance with any\nmembers of the Society of Friends, but had read many of their writings. He\naccompanied the travellers five miles out of the town to a little flock of\nSeparatists, who had not yet obtained religious liberty, and to whom it\nwas forbidden under a severe penalty to attend meetings held by strangers.\nOn the visiters entering the house of one of them, a number presently\ncollected; and as they stood together, a solemn feeling pervaded the\nassembly, and John Yeardley was moved to address them in gospel testimony.\nHenry Kienlin followed, explaining the principles of Friends clearly, and\ngiving them some suitable advice. They were laboring under the want of\ndiscipline and organization, and of some one properly to represent their\ncase to the government. Some of them called the next day at Pforzheim, to\nsee the Friends again before they left.\n\nThe next place where they halted was Stuttgardt, to which city H. Kienlin\ngave them his company. Here they visited Queen Catharine's Institution, a\nschool for the training of girls in reduced circumstances, as teachers,\n&c., where 170 young persons were being educated. They were also\nintroduced to a number of pious individuals, and among them to Pastor\nHoffmann of Kornthal, whose excellent institution they were unable at this\ntime to visit. An appointment had been made for them to meet at Basle\nLouis A. Majolier of Congenies, who was to serve as their guide and French\ninterpreter through Switzerland and France, and they felt obliged on being\ninformed of this appointment to pursue their journey more quickly than\nthey otherwise would have done.\n\nReturning to Pforzheim, they stopped at Muehlhausen, where they called on\nMueller, minister of a congregation, consisting of 170 persons, who had\nseparated a few years before from the Catholics. This young man received\nthem with openness and affection, and before they parted, John Yeardley\nhad something to say to him under religious exercise, which he received in\nthe love in which it was spoken. From Pforzheim they went direct to Basle,\nthrough Freiburg. On their arrival they were much disappointed to find\nthat Louis Majolier had waited for them many days, and hearing no tidings\nof them, had returned to Geneva, supposing they had gone on to that city\nby another route.\n\nAt Basle they were introduced to many pious persons, conspicuous among\nwhom was Blumhardt, inspector of the Mission-house, who behaved towards\nthem \"as a loving and kind father in Christ.\" He encouraged them in their\nconcern to have a religious meeting with the students. The meeting took\nplace in the evening when the young men were collected for supper and\ndevotion; they received the word which was preached to them in gospel\nlove, and manifested towards our friends no small degree of tenderness and\naffection. John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nWe had reason to believe there are among them many precious young men who\nare preparing for usefulness. The grounds on which this place is conducted\nare different from most of the kind. None are sent out but those who can\nreally say they feel it to be their religious duty to go to any certain\npeople or country. A sweet young man, who was extremely attentive to us,\nCharles Haensel, is since gone to Sierra Leone to teach the poor negroes,\nfrom a conviction of duty.\n\n\nOne day during their sojourn, C. Haensel took them to a meeting for\nworship, held in the house of C. F. Spittler.\n\n\nJ.Y. says, we sat until they had performed part of their worship, and then\nthe leader signified to the company that a few Friends from England were\npresent, and told us that if we had anything to offer we had full liberty\nto do so. Silence ensuing, dear M.S. found herself constrained to address\nthem in a way suited to the occasion; I was also enabled to express what\ncame before me. They afterwards expressed their thankfulness for the\nopportunity.\n\n\nFrom Basle William Seebohm returned to Pyrmont, and the English Friends,\nhoping that they might meet Louis Majolier at Berne, went forward to that\ncity, but were again disappointed.\n\nAlthough they were anxious to reach Geneva as quickly as possible, the\nattraction of gospel love towards Zurich was so strong that they could not\ncontinue their journey until they had visited that city. They arrived\nthere on the 2nd of the Twelfth Month. The state of their own feelings and\nthe refreshing Christian intercourse which awaited them are thus described\nin the Diary:--\n\n\nFirst-day, we sat down to hold our little meeting. It was to me a low\ntime, but I still thought the hand of divine help was near to comfort us,\nand before the close dear M. S. was drawn into supplication in a way which\nexpressed the feelings of all our hearts. After this season of spiritual\nrefreshment, we called on Professor Gessner, who, with his wife and\nfamily, was truly glad to see us. Being near dinner-time, we could not\nstay long; but their daughter offered to accompany us to her aunt's this\nafternoon, and accordingly came to our inn, and went with us to \"Miss\"\nLavater, who, with Gessner's wife, is a daughter of the pious author\nLavater. She received us with open arms, but spoke only German, or at\nleast but very little French, so that M. S. conversed with her in German.\nShe spoke of Stephen Grellet with much interest and affection: he lives in\nthe remembrance of all in this country who have seen and known him, as\nwell as William Allen. How pleasant it is to find that such devoted\ninstruments have left such a good savor behind them! Wherever we follow\ndear Stephen, his presence has made a sufficient introduction to us; but I\nregret exceedingly my own incapability of being sufficiently useful in\nthese precious opportunities which we meet with: but, as we often say in\nour little company, This is like a voyage of discovery; and our humble\nendeavors, however weak, may have a tendency to open the way for others\nwho may be made more extensively useful, should such ever be led to visit\nthe solitary parts where we have been.\n\nWe were invited to drink tea this afternoon by our friend Gessner, and on\na nearer acquaintance found this a precious family; his wife is a\nsweet-spirited person, and their daughters pious young women. One of them,\nin particular, I thought not only bore the mark of having been with her\nSaviour, but a desire was also expressed in her countenance to abide with\nhim: may He who has visited her mind draw her more and more by the cords\nof his love and preserve her from the evil which is in the world! When tea\nwas ended, we dropped into silence, and Pastor Gessner offered up a prayer\nfrom the sincerity of his heart, and it was evidently attended by the\nspirit of divine grace and life. Afterwards dear M.S. and I expressed what\nwas on our minds; I interpreted for her as well as I could, and I hope\nthey understood it. We were all much tendered in sympathy together, and I\nthink the visit to this family will not soon be forgotten: we took leave\nof them in the most affectionate manner, they expressing sincere desires\nfor our preservation.\n\n\nOn their return to Berne they met with some pious ladies:\n\n\nOne of whom, says John Yeardley, spoke German with me, and entered pretty\nsuddenly on the subject of the bread and wine supper, or sacrament. She\nseemed to have lost sight that there is a spiritual communion which the\nsoul can hold with its Saviour, and which needs not the help of outward\nshadows; but it is remarkable when our reasons for the disuse of such\nthings are given in simplicity and love, how the feelings of others become\nchanged towards us; they then see we do not refuse the administration of\nthem out of obstinacy, but from a tender conscience.\n\n\nOn the 8th they drove to Lausanne, and the next day to Geneva. John\nYeardley has preserved, in his diary of this part of the journey, a little\nanecdote of French character which naturally struck him the more forcibly\nfrom his having hitherto been conversant only with the phlegmatic\ntemperament of the Germans. The coachman, it should be said, was of that\nnation.\n\n\nOn the road between Nyon and Geneva a little incident occurred which\nshowed us the liveliness of the French temperament. A man got up behind\nour carriage, and our coachman very naturally whipped him down. The man\nfollowed us quietly for a while, but at length his wounded dignity\novercame his patience, and he came up to our coachman and began to speak\nfuriously on the impropriety of his having whipped him. Finding he could\nmake nothing of one who understood not what he said, he addressed himself\nto our friend Martha Towell, and said he knew he had done wrong; but the\ncoachman should have told him to get down, which was customary in their\ncountry, and not to have whipped him. M.T. was prepared to appease his\nwrath by a mild reply, which eased the poor man very much; otherwise I\nthink we should have had more trouble with him; but he seemed to be\nquieted, and said, Teach your coachman to say, in French, \"descendez.\"\n\n\nThey reached Geneva just in time to prevent the departure of Louis\nMajolier:\n\n\nWho, says Martha Savory, was indeed rejoiced to see us after all his\nanxiety. But, she continues, great as was our mutual satisfaction at\nmeeting, I am inclined to think it would have been better if this plan had\nnever been proposed, as it was a means of preventing some movements which\nmight have tended much to our relief; and his mind was in such an anxious\nstate about home that he could not give himself to anything that might\nhave opened at Geneva or Lausanne (to which I expected to return), but\nbegged us, very earnestly, to return with him to Congenies, as soon as\npossible.--\n\n(_Letter to E. Dudley_.)\n\n\nThey found the religious world at Geneva in a state of convulsion.\n\n\nThe secret poison of infidelity, says J.Y., has a good deal sapped the\nprinciple of real religion; and the clergy of the Established Church have\npreached a doctrine tending to Socinianism. A few young ministers have\nboldly come forth and separated themselves, and are determined, in the\nmidst of persecution, to preach Christ and him crucified. Some of these\nseem to have gone to the opposite extreme, for they hold too strongly the\nprinciples of predestination. It is a remarkable time in this\nneighborhood, as well as at Lausanne, where many are awakened to seek more\nafter the substance of religion.\n\n\nAt Geneva they formed a friendship with several persons, among whom were\nPastors Moulinier and L'Huillier, and Captain Owen, an Englishman. With\nthe last-named they were united in close bonds of religious affection;\nthey were enabled to administer to his spiritual wants, and he was forward\nto render them assistance in every possible way.\n\n\nThe journey from Geneva to Nismes was tedious, occupying more than a week.\n\n\nOn approaching Nismes, John Yeardley says, the beautiful olives and\nvineyards, together with the wild rocky aspect around, form a pleasing\nsight; and to see them pruning, digging and dunging about the trees,\nreminds one of the relations of Scripture history.\n\n\nAt Nismes they went to see the amphitheatre:--\n\n\nFrom the top of which, says J.Y., we had a view of the city and the\nsurrounding neighborhood, which is indeed beautiful. The great number of\nolives, vines, fig-trees, &c., excite a train of ideas pleasing and\nindescribable.\n\n\nIn travelling through Switzerland John Yeardley had been often brought\ninto a low state of mind, and on approaching Congenies, the final object\nof the journey, his heart was stirred to its depths. It is very\ninstructive to observe what were his feelings in reaching a place to which\nhis mind had been, so long directed.\n\n\nThe road, he says, was better, and the outward prospect a little\nenlivening; but it is not easy to describe the feelings my mind was under\nin approaching a place which has so long occupied my thoughtfulness to\nvisit. The prospect is discouraging, but I must be content and sink down\nto the spring of life, which can alone make known the objects of duty and\nqualify for their fulfilment. In the midst of all my spiritual poverty a\nstream of gratitude flows in my heart to the Father of mercies, that he\nhas been pleased to preserve us in many dangers, and bring us safe to this\npart of his heritage; and if it should be his will that I should have\nnothing to do but to suffer for his name's sake, may he grant me patience\nto bear it.\n\n\nMartha Savory's feelings on the same occasion were also those of deep\ngratitude for the preservation experienced during their journey, united,\nshe says, with an humbling sense of many omissions and great unworthiness,\nyet of help having been mercifully administered in the time of\nneed.--(_Letter of 2 mo. 10, 1826_.)\n\nEdward Brady was spending the winter at Congenies for the sake of his\nhealth, and his society was a source of no little comfort to John\nYeardley; who, however, still, frequently labored under spiritual\ndepression.\n\n\nBefore dinner, he writes under date of the 23rd of the Twelfth Month, we\ntook a walk to M.S.'s windmill, from whence we had a fair view of\nCongenies and the neighborhood, which is of a wild description. On\nreflecting on the place and circumstances connected with it, my mind was\nfilled with various ideas, but none of them of an encouraging nature.\n\n\nHis discouragement was increased by ignorance of the language, and, with\nhis accustomed diligence, on the morrow after his arrival he commenced\nlearning French. On the recurrence of his birth-day, which was nearly\ncoincident with the beginning of the year, he says:--\n\n\nI am once more entered on a new year of my life, I fear without the last\nhaving been much improved; and to form resolutions of amendment in my own\nstrength can avail me nothing. May He who knows my infirmities assist me\nto overcome them and to become more useful in his cause. My discouragement\nstill continues; I don't feel those refreshing seasons which I have often\nexperienced in times past; the pure life is often low in meeting, and I am\nnot so watchful and diligent to improve my time and talent as I ought to\nbe. I often feel as one already laid by useless, and the language of my\nheart is, \"O that I were as in days past!\"\n\n\nSoon after their arrival at Congenies, Martha Savory met with a serious\naccident. Thinking a ride would be beneficial to her health, when the rest\nof the party drove one afternoon to Sommieres, she accompanied them on\nhorseback. She had not a proper saddle, and her horse being eager to keep\nup with the carriage set off downhill at so rapid a rate as to throw her\nto the ground. The cap of one knee was displaced by the fall, and,\nalthough she soon recovered so as to be able to walk, the limb continued\nto be subject to weakness for some years.\n\nAs soon as M. S. was sufficiently recovered, she and her companions\nvisited the Friends at Congenies and the neighboring villages from house\nto house, and also assembled on one occasion the heads of families, and on\nanother the young people of the Society. In reviewing a part of this\nservice John Yeardley says:--\n\n\n3 _mo_. 6.--It has been a deeply exercising time, but has tended much\nmore to the relief of our minds, at least as regards myself, than I had\nanticipated. From the discouraged state of mind I passed through for the\nfirst few weeks at this place, I expected to leave it burdened and\ndistressed, but am thankful to acknowledge that holy help has been near to\nafford relief to my poor tossed spirit, and I have cause to believe it is\nin divine wisdom that I am here.\n\n\nOn the 13th of the Third Month they took leave of their friends at\nCongenies to return to England, being accompanied by Edward Brady, and\nduring part of the journey by Louis Majolier. By the way they had some\nreligious intercourse with Protestant dissenters at a few places; but at\nSt. Etienne, where they had expected to remain a fortnight, they found the\ndoor nearly closed to their entrance; a company of pious persons in this\ntown were at that time so nearly united with Friends as to bear their\nname.\n\n\nThese, says John Yeardley, in a letter, are now reduced to about twenty in\nnumber. They have suffered and still suffer much persecution from the\nRoman Catholics. They are forbidden by heavy fines to meet together,\nexcept in very small companies. We met them several times in their small\nmeetings to much comfort; there are a few among them who have stood firm\nthrough the heat of trial, and these are precious individuals. The priests\nare exceedingly jealous. On our arrival in the town we held our little\nmeeting with, these pious people on First-day morning; the priest came to\nthe house of the woman Friend where we had been to demand who we were and\nwhere we lodged, and said it was we who had caused them to err, and he\nwould convince us in their presence that we were not only in error\nourselves, but had led them into error also. But we saw nothing of him,\nand left the place in safety, which we considered a great favor; for such\nhas been their rage that they have dared to shoot at some missionaries who\nhave been in the neighborhood (_Letter to Thomas Yeardley, 4 mo.\n19_.)\n\n\nThe rest of the journey through France was in general dreary, the external\naccommodation being bad, and the consolation of spiritual intercourse very\nscanty. At Arras, however, they were refreshed by the company of a\nProtestant minister, a liberal and worthy man, who had \"to stand alone in\na large district of weak-handed Protestants among strong-headed\nCatholics.\"\n\nArriving at Calais, Martha Savory and Martha Towell, with Edward Brady,\ncrossed over to England, leaving John Yeardley to follow at a later\nperiod. On the 14th of the Fourth Month he writes:--\n\n\nMy dear companions left for England. I watched them from the pier until I\ncould bear to stay no longer, and then returned sorrowfully to my\nquarters, and soon repaired to the little retired lodging we had engaged\nfor me in the country, where I spent a few days in learning French, &c. In\ntaking a retrospect of our long journey I feel a large degree of peaceful\nsatisfaction in having been desirous to fulfil (though very imperfectly) a\nreligious duty; and these feelings of gratitude excited a wish that the\nremainder of my few days might be more faithfully devoted to the service\nof my great Lord and Master.\n\n\nThe little lodging of which he speaks was \"a retired chamber on the\ngarden-wall;\" and having left it for a few days to go to Antwerp with the\ncarriage and horses which they had used on the journey, on his return it\nhad already acquired, in his view, something of the character of home.\n\n\nThe beautiful green branches, says he, modestly looking in at the window,\ngive me a silent welcome; and the little birds chirruping in the garden,\nwhich is my drawing-room and study. I cannot but acknowledge how grateful\nI feel in being permitted to rest in so quiet a retreat, shut up from many\nof those anxious cares which have perplexed the former part of my\nlife.--(_Diary, 4 mo. 27_.)\n\n\nThe last few words of this memorandum may seem at first sight to refer to\nhis temporary seclusion from the world in his little hermitage at Calais;\nbut there is little doubt that they have a wider significance, and contain\nalso an allusion to his anticipated union with Martha Savory. The prospect\nof this union seems to have sprung up during the journey, and to have\nbecome matured before they separated at Calais; and the effect of it was,\namongst other things, to set him free from the necessity of pursuing\nbusiness any longer as a means of livelihood, and to ensure to him a\nprovision sufficient for his moderate wants.\n\nOn the 12th of the Fifth Month, John Yeardley left Calais for London. At\nthe inn in Calais, a little incident occurred, the relation of which may\nbe useful to others.\n\n\nA serious Frenchman, who was going on board the same packet, was struck\nwith my not paying for the music after dinner, and was much inclined to\nknow my reason, believing my refusal was from a religious motive. At a\nsuitable opportunity he asked me, and confessed he had felt a scruple of\nthe same kind, and regretted he had not been faithful. This slight\nincident was the means of making me acquainted with an honest and\nreligious man, as I afterwards found him to be.\n\nHow important it is to be faithful in very little things, not knowing what\neffect they may have on others!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nHIS MARRIAGE WITH MARTHA SAVORY.\n\n1826-27.\n\nDuring his stay in London, John Yeardley attended the Yearly Meeting, and\nthe Annual Meetings of the School, Anti-slavery, and other Societies, with\nwhich he was much gratified. Soon after the termination of the Yearly\nMeeting, he went into Yorkshire to see his mother.\n\n\n6 _mo._ 13.--I left London in the mail for Sheffield, and on the 14th\nslept at my dear brother Thomas's at Ecclesfield, who took me on the 15th,\nto Barnsley. I was truly thankful to be favored to see my precious mother\nonce more. On the 19th, I attended the Monthly Meeting at Highflatts. It\nis not easy to describe the various thoughts which rushed into my mind on\nseeing so many Friends whom I had known and loved in former days. The\nmeeting was a much-favored time, although we felt the want of some of the\nfathers and mothers who are removed.\n\n\nIn the next entry there is an allusion to the disastrous commercial panic\nby which this year was distinguished.\n\n\n7 _mo._ 24.--Have been very low and deserted in mind for a long time\npast. It is a time for the trial of my patience, and yet I have many\nfavors for which I ought to be truly thankful. It is a precious privilege\nto be relieved from the commercial difficulties which at present abound in\nthe trading world. May it be my lot ever to keep so, if consistent with\nthe divine will.\n\n8 _mo._ 21.--Monthly Meeting at Wooldale. The meeting was exceedingly\ncrowded with strangers; there was not room in the house to hold all who\ncame. I had been very low all the morning, and to see such a number of\npeople at the meeting sunk me low indeed. I was enabled to turn inward to\nHim from whom help alone comes; and blessed be his holy Name, he did not\nforsake me in the needful time, but was pleased once more to give strength\nand utterance to communicate what came before me. My certificates from\nGermany and Congenies were read and accepted, and many Friends expressed\nmuch unity and sympathy with me on my return to them, which was a comfort\nand strength to me.\n\n\nOn the 1st of the Ninth Month, he again went to London. During his stay in\nthe city, he took the opportunity of visiting the Industrial Schools at\nLindfield, founded by William Allen; a kind of institution which always\nengaged his warmest sympathy and approbation.\n\nWith the new turn which was given to the course of his life by his\nbetrothal to Martha Savory, it is not surprising that he should have\nconsidered his residence abroad to be brought, in the order of Divine\nProvidence, to a natural termination, and that he now turned his attention\nto taking up his abode again in his native land. In selecting a place of\nresidence, he seems to have had no hesitation in making choice of the\nneighborhood of Barnsley; the spot, as the reader may remember, which\nseemed to him, when he was obliged to remove to Bentham, as that which had\nthe first claim upon his gospel services. The state of his mind, whilst\npreparing his intended residence at Burton, the same village where he used\nto attend meeting in his early days, may be seen by the following\nmemorandum:--\n\n\n9 _mo_. 26. _At York_.--It was a large Quarterly Meeting. Living\nministry flowed freely, and I thought even poor me was a little refreshed:\nbut I have been for a long time in a deplorable state, in a spiritual\nsense.\n\nSince the Quarterly Meeting, my time and thoughts have been much occupied\nin fitting up our intended residence at the cottage at Burton; and I may\ntruly say, I have been cumbered about \"many things,\" which, I think, has\nkept my mind in a poor, barren state. O the many weeks that I have had to\nsit with my mouth in the dust to bemoan my own inward misery! My conflict\nof mind has been increased by the trying state of my precious mother's\nhealth. My attendance on her in this poorly state, and at this season of\nthe year, when I lost my poor dearest Bessie, reminded me strongly of my\ndear departed lamb.\n\n\nBefore his marriage with Martha Savory was accomplished, he was called\nupon to attend the deathbed of his mother, and to follow the remains of\nhis father to the grave.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 16.--On the 3rd I left the cottage, and took my luggage to\ngo from Barnsley by the coach to London. Stepped down to take leave of my\ndear mother, but found her so weak that I could not at all think of\nleaving her; and was indeed glad that I did not go, for the dear creature\ncontinued to grow weaker and weaker till a quarter past three o'clock on\nSeventh-day morning, 4th of Eleventh Month, when she peacefully breathed\nher last. She was fully sensible to the close, and also fully sensible\nthat her end was near.\n\nHer precious remains were interred at Burton on the 7th, after a meeting\nappointed for the occasion at Barnsley. In her room, before we left\nRedbrook [where she had resided], I was enabled to petition the throne of\nmercy for a little help and strength through the remainder of the solemn\nscene, which, I think, was in a remarkable manner granted. After having\npaid the last tribute of affection and duty to our endeared parent,\nfourteen of our dear friends and relations dined with me at the cottage.\nIt is remarkable that the opening of our residence should be in this awful\nmanner; but we were much comforted in feeling in the midst of all our\nsorrow, the greatest degree of peace and quietude on the solemn occasion.\n\nOn Fourth-day, being the day after we had taken leave of our precious\nmother's remains, I went with my brother and sister to see our poor dear\nfather, who had been ill in bed about two weeks. We arrived about seven\no'clock; but, to our great surprise, about an hour before we reached the\nplace, our beloved father had fallen asleep, never to wake more in this\nworld. This was indeed awful, but the Judge of the earth must do right. We\nattended the interment on First-day, the 12th. The meeting-house at\nWoodhouse was pretty full, and a good and tendering meeting it was. It\nfelt hard work to labor among a number of worldly-minded people; but I\nhave learned to consider it one of the greatest of privileges to be\nappointed to service, even though attended with suffering. Since this time\nmy poor mind has felt more tender and more susceptible of good. O that it\nmay continue, and that I may remain humble and watchful for the time to\ncome, and live prepared for that awful change which I. know not how soon\nmay be sent to my dwelling!--(11 _mo_. 16.)\n\n\nOn the 18th he pursued his journey to London, and on the 21st, at\nGracechurch-street Monthly Meeting, he presented his intention of marriage\nwith Martha Savory. \"In a private interview at Elizabeth Dudley's,\" he\nwrites, \"Richard Barrett and E. Dudley expressed their full unity with our\nintended union, in terms of much interest and encouragement.\" On the 13th\nof the Twelfth Month the marriage took place at Gracechurch-street\nMeeting-house.\n\n\nThe time in silence, says the Diary, was very solemn, and acceptable\ntestimonies were borne by William Allen and Elisabeth Dudley. After\nmeeting we adjourned to the Library to take leave, where a stream of\nencouragement flowed to us from several of our dear friends, which felt\ntruly strengthening. About twenty of our friends and relations dined at\nA.B. Savory's at Stoke Newington. The day was spent, I trust, profitably,\nand on parting, about seven o'clock, we had a comfortable time, and\nsomething was expressed by my M. and self, and dear W. Allen. After taking\na very affectionate leave, we posted on to Barnet. My brother Thomas and\nJ.A. Wilson took us up the next morning; and we four came down in the\ncoach to Sheffield, and [the nest day] to Ecclesfield to dinner, and\narrived at our humble cottage the 15th of the Twelfth Month, I trust with\nthankful hearts.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nIt is appropriate to give in this place some account of Martha Savory's\ncharacter and Christian experience. That our notice is brief and\nincomplete, is owing to the loss of most of her own memoranda, and of the\nletters she addressed to those with whom she was on intimate terms. She\npossessed, it will be seen, an intellectual character and disposition, as\nwell as an experience, very different from those of her husband. It does\nnot follow, however, that this dissimilarity was a hindrance to their\njoint service in the gospel, any more than to their social harmony and\nlove. It may be, on the contrary, that Martha Savory's quickness of\nunderstanding and of feeling, the readiness with which she apprehended the\nsentiments and condition of others, her conversancy with the allurements\nof city life, and the perils of unbelief from which she had been rescued,\nfitted her in a peculiar degree to be her husband's helper in the\nministry, especially in their travels on the Continent.\n\nShe was born in London in 1781, and was the daughter of Joseph and Anna\nSavory. To an active and vigorous understanding she united a strength of\nwill which would brook little control, together with much energy and\nfearlessness; and the propensity to follow the vain inclinations of the\nunregenerate heart displayed itself in an indulgence in much that was\ninimical to the restraints of Christian principle. Her disposition was\ngenerous; all her emotions were ardent, and were seldom subjected to the\ndiscipline of a corrected judgment. There were, however, various\noccasions, even in her very early years, when, through the visitations of\nheavenly love, her mind was forcibly aroused to a conviction of the need\nof redeeming grace. She was particularly impressed by the preaching and\ninfluence of William Savery, whose home in London was at her father's\nhouse. In some memoranda of this period, she remarks, \"Frequently in the\nmeetings appointed by him, I was greatly wrought upon by his living\nministry;\" and notwithstanding that she subsequently wandered far from the\nway of peace, there is good ground to believe that the remembrance of\nthose truths which had penetrated her heart through the instrumentality of\nthis gospel messenger, was never altogether effaced.\n\nBeing naturally endowed with a lively imagination and a taste for\nliterature, she sought to suppress the upbraidings of conscience in\nintellectual pursuits, and employed much time in the composition of verses\nthat were merely a transcript of visionary and romantic ideas, afterwards\npublished under the title of \"Poetical Tales.\" This volume obtained but a\nlimited circulation; for, soon after it had issued from the press, the\nconviction that it had been an unhallowed and unprofitable exercise of her\nunderstanding was so impressed upon her spirit, that, although the\nsacrifice was considerable, she caused all the unsold copies to be\ndestroyed. It is interesting to observe how, in later years, this talent\nfor metrical rhythm, which had been so misapplied, became consecrated, as\nwere all her faculties, to the promotion of piety and virtue.\n\nDuring the long period in which her mental energies were thus misdirected,\na cloud of darkness enveloped her spirit. She had, when about nineteen\nyears of age, imbibed sceptical views in reference to the truths of\nrevealed religion; and as she seldom read the Holy Scriptures, and was\nalmost a stranger to their sacred contents, her imagination pictured an\neasier way to escape from the power and the consequences of sin than in\nthat self-renunciation which the Gospel enjoins. In some memoranda of her\nexperience, she says, in reference to the snares by which her mind was\nentangled:--\"I was led to a love of metaphysical studies, and fancied I\ndiscovered, with clearness, that human vice, and consequently human\nmisery, sprang from ignorance of the nature of virtue, and that if mankind\nwould become instructed they would become good; and that it was only\nnecessary to behold virtue in its native beauty, to love it and to\npractise it. O how fallacious was this reasoning! 'The world by wisdom\nknows not God; the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of\nGod, for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because\nthey are spiritually discerned.'\"\n\nAt length, however, when, in 1811, Martha Savory had completed the\nthirtieth year of her life, she became deeply impressed by the conviction\nthat she was wandering on the barren mountains of doubt and error; and\nthrough the renewed visitation of divine love, the light of the Sun of\nrighteousness again shined into her heart, and its humbling influence\nbrake the rock in pieces. Some circumstances occurred that were\ninstrumental in promoting this great change. She was introduced into\nfrequent communication with some honored servants of the Lord,\nparticularly with the late Mary Dudley, and her daughter Elizabeth. An\nattack of indisposition prostrated her bodily strength, and afforded\nopportunity for serious reflection. Whilst from this cause confined to her\nchamber, a young person (Susanna Corder), with whom she was only very\nslightly acquainted, but to whom she was ever afterwards united in an\nintimate and confidential friendship, was attracted to visit her. The\ninterview was a memorable one; the overshadowing wing of goodness and\nmercy being permitted to gather their spirits under its blessed influence.\nOn her recovery from this illness, Martha Savory paid a short visit to her\nnew friend, which afforded an opportunity for the manifestation of\ncontinued deep Christian interest; and, on her quitting the house, Susanna\nCorder put into her hand a copy of the \"Olney Hymns.\" When she had\nproceeded a few steps towards home, she opened the book, and without\nnoticing even the title, instantly cast her eyes on the lines, \"The\nrebel's surrender to grace,\" commencing--\n\n\n    \"Lord, Thou hast won; at length I yield;\n    My heart, by mighty grace compelled,\n        Surrenders all to Thee;\n    Against thy terrors long I strove,\n    But who can stand against thy love?\n       Love conquers even me.\"\n\n\nShe was deeply affected by the remarkable application of the whole of the\nhymn to the experience which she was then passing through; she could not\nrefrain from weeping, and to avoid the observation of passersby, she\nwalked through secluded streets, giving vent to her emotion; and she\nafterwards repeatedly expressed her belief that there was, in this\napparently casual incident, a divine interposition and guidance; \"for,\"\nsaid she, \"_every word_ of that hymn appeared as if purposely written\nto describe _my_ case, so that I could scarcely read it from the many\ntears I shed over it. It is no exaggerated picture.\"\n\nShe now spent much time alone, almost constantly reading the Bible; and so\nprecious was the influence that operated on her spirit, whilst thus\nemployed, and so wonderfully were the blessed truths of the gospel\nunfolded to her understanding, that, as she expressed it, \"every page of\nit seemed, as it were, illuminated.\" Sustained by the joy and peace of\nbelieving, she was enabled to follow in faith the leadings of the Holy\nSpirit, and, through divine strength, to become as a whole burnt sacrifice\non the altar of that gracious Redeemer, who had, in his rich mercy,\nplucked her from the pit of destruction. Having had much forgiven, she\nloved much, and shrunk not from the many and deep humiliations which were\ninvolved in such a course of dedication to her Lord. Even her external\nappearance strikingly bespoke her altered character. There had always been\nin her countenance an expression of benevolence, but it had not indicated\na gentle or diffident mind. In her demeanor and personal attire, she had\nconspicuously followed the vain fashions of the times; but now, humility,\nwith a modest and retiring manner, marked her conduct; everything merely\nornamental was discarded, and the softening, effect of a sanctifying\nprinciple imparted to the features of her face a sweetness which,\nimpressing the beholder with a consciousness of the regenerating power\nthat wrought within, was, to more than a few of her acquaintance, both\narousing and instructive. She changed her residence from Finsbury to the\nborough of Southwark, and settled near her friend Susanna Corder, with\nwhom she united in the formation of a philanthropic association,\n\"The Southwark Female Society for the relief of sickness and extreme\nwant.\" The late Mary Sterry, and several other estimable members of\nSouthwark meeting, together with benevolent individuals among the\ndifferent religious denominations of the district, soon joined them, and\nthe society became a highly influential channel through which assistance\nhas been variously rendered to many thousands of the indigent poor; and it\nstill continues, though with a reduced scale of operations, to be an\nimportant source of help to the sick and destitute.\n\nMartha Savory devoted to this work of mercy much time and personal\nexertion; but a more important service was also designed for her. She felt\nconstrained to give evidence of her love to Christ by a public testimony\nto the grace which had been vouchsafed to her through Him who is \"the way,\nthe truth, and the life.\" Deep were the conflicts of spirit which she\nendured ere she could yield to this solemn requirement, but \"sweet peace\"\nwas, she says, as she records the sacrifice, the result of thus\nacknowledging her gracious Lord. \"This step,\" she continues, \"appears to\nme to involve the greatest of all possible mental reduction, but I\nreverently believe it was necessary for me, and mote, perhaps on my own\naccount than on account of others; for, without this bond, and the\nnecessary baptisms attending this vocation, I should have been in danger\nof turning back, and perhaps altogether losing the little spiritual life\nwhich has been mercifully raised.\" She adds a fervent petition for\npreservation and guidance, and that, by whatever means, however suffering\nto nature, the vessel might be purified, and fitted for the Master's use.\nShe first spoke as a minister in the year 1814. The humiliation and\nbrokenness of spirit which marked these weighty engagements, were felt by\nmany, especially among her youthful friends, to be peculiarly impressive,\nas tokens of the soul-cleansing operations of omnipotent love, and as an\nawakening call to yield to the same regenerating influence.\n\nShe was acknowledged as a minister by Southwark Monthly Meeting, in the\nyear 1818, when she had reached the age of 36; and in 1821, with the\ncordial approval of the meetings of which she was a member, she commenced\nthat course of missionary labor in the gospel, to which she was\nsubsequently so much devoted. Her mission, on this occasion, was to\nCongenics, where, and in the surrounding villages, she remained twelve\nmonths.\n\nA letter to one of her sisters, written a few years after her marriage, so\nfully represents her religious sentiments, and the doctrine she was\nconcerned to preach and maintain, that it may not improperly conclude this\noutline of her mental and religious character.\n\n\nBurton, 13th of Twelfth Month, 1830.\n\nI read thy remarks, my endeared sister, on the present state of things\namongst us, with much interest, from having had corresponding feelings\nfrequently raised in my own mind in this day of general excitement on\nreligious subjects.\n\nIt remains to be a solemn truth that nothing can draw to God but what\nproceeds from him; and whatever may be the eloquence or oratory of man, if\nit be not the gift of God, and under his holy anointing, which always has\na tendency to humble the creature and exalt the Creator, it will in the\nend only scatter and deceive. It has long appeared to me that true vital\nreligion is a very simple thing, although from our fallen state, requiring\ncontinual warfare with evil to keep it alive. It surely consists in\ncommunion, and at times a degree of union, with our Omnipotent Creator,\nthrough the mediation of our Holy Redeemer. And seeing these feelings\ncannot be produced by eloquent discourses or beautiful illustrations of\nScripture, but by deep humiliation and frequent baptisms of spirit,\nwhereby the heart is purified and fitted to receive a greater degree of\ndivine influence; seeing it is produced by daily prayer, by giving up our\nown will, and seeking above all things to do the will of our Heavenly\nFather, surely there is cause to hope that those who are convinced of\nthis, and who have tasted of spiritual communion through this appointed\nmeans, will never be satisfied with anything however enticing which, if\nnot under the influence of the Holy Spirit, may well be compared to\n\"sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.\"\n\nI am far from confining this influence to the ministers of our little\nSociety, but assuredly believe that those who are brought under the\nimmediate teachings of the Spirit, under every profession, will be more\nand more convinced that they cannot preach to profit the people, in their\nown will and at their own command; and that as true and spiritual religion\nprevails they must in this respect come to us, and not we go to them. Yet\nstill it is certainly a day of much excitement, and of danger especially\nto the young and unawakened, and there never was a time when the members\nof our Society were more loudly called upon to watch unto prayer both on\ntheir own account and on account of others, humbly to implore, not only\nthat the Holy Spirit may not be taken from us, but that a greater\neffusion of it may be poured upon us as a body, that so we may all be made\nand kept alive in Him in whom is life, and the life is the light of men. I\nbelieve this would be much more our experience, if the things of this\nworld were kept in subjection by fervent daily prayer and the obedience of\nfaith, which remain to be the means pointed out by our gracious Redeemer,\nof communion with the Father through Him. What can be more pure than the\nprofession we make to be guided by the Holy Spirit? and if we really are\nso, we shall be concerned to maintain this daily exercise of heart before\nthe Lord, and yet become what I reverently believe is his gracious will\nrespecting us, and _all_ under every name who are thus guided and\nhave become living members of the Church of Christ, even that we should be\nas lights in the world, or a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe dwelling which John and Martha Yeardley occupied was on the highest\nground in the village, commanding a wide and cheerful prospect, and\noverlooking, on the western side, the valley of the Dearn and the\nconspicuous town of Barnsley, which, notwithstanding the smoke that\nenvelopes it, stands out in fine relief on the opposite hill. Their\ncottage adjoined the Friends' burial-ground; and just on the other side of\nthe wall reposed the remains of Frances Yeardley, on the site formerly\noccupied by the meeting-house.[5]\n\nThe house, says Martha Yeardley in a letter to her sister R. S., is warm\nand comfortable, though at best what Londoners would esteem a poor place.\nWe feel quite satisfied with it; and when we get our garden in order, and\na cow and a few chickens, it will be equal to anything that I desire in\nthis world. To-day the snow has disappeared, and John is very busy with\nhis garden.--(1 _mo_. I, 1827.)\n\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley did not remain long idle in their new position.\nIn the First Month, 1827, they received a \"minute\" for visiting the\nmeetings in their Monthly Meeting; and in the Second Month they commenced\na tour amongst the meetings in some other parts of Yorkshire. These duties\noccupied them until the 19th of the Fourth Month. We may extract from the\nDiary recording the former of these engagements, a brief note of their\nvisit to Ackworth School.\n\n\n1 _mo_. 20.--Lodged at J. Harrison's. On First and Second-day\nevenings had some time of religious service with the young people at the\nschool, and felt much united in spirit to this interesting family. On\nFourth-day, Robert Whitaker accompanied us to Pontefract, and we were\ncomforted in his company, for we felt poor and weak--much like children\nneeding fatherly care.\n\nAmong John Yeardley's notes made during the more general visit, we meet\nwith a memorandum which may be taken to mark a stage or era in his\nChristian experience. The daily record of religious exercise and feeling\nwhich is so useful to many in the hidden season of tender growth and\npreparation for future service, is less likely to be maintained--and, it\nmay be, less necessary--in the meridian of life, when the time and\nstrength are taken up with active labor.\n\n\n3 _mo_.--I could write much as to the state of my mind, but have of\nlate thought it safer not to record all the inward dispensations which I\nhave to pass through. I feel strong desires to be wholly given up to serve\nmy great Lord and Master, and that I may above all things become qualified\nfor his service; but the baptisms through which I have to pass are many,\nand exceedingly trying to the natural part. Nothing will do but to rely\nwholly on the Divine Arm of Power for support in pure naked faith.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nTHE SECOND CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1827-28.\n\nPART I.--GERMANY.\n\nAfter John and Martha Yeardley had visited their friends at home, their\nminds were directed to the work which they had left uncompleted on the\ncontinent of Europe; and, on their return from the Yearly Meeting, they\nopened this prospect of service before the assembled church to which they\nbelonged.\n\n\n(_Diary_) 6 _mo_. 18.--Were at the Monthly Meeting at\nHighflatts, where we laid our concern before our friends to revisit some\nparts of Germany and Switzerland, and to visit some of the descendants of\nthe Waldenses in the Protestant valleys of Piedmont; and, on our way home,\nour friends and some other serious persons in the Islands of Guernsey and\nJersey. Our dear friends were favored to enter most fully and feelingly\ninto our views, and under a precious solemnity, a general sentiment of\nunity and concurrence spread through the meeting, which constrained them,\n(as the certificate expresses it) to leave us at liberty, accompanied with\nwarm desires for our preservation. Hearing the certificate read brought\nthe concern, if possible, more weightily than ever upon me, and a secret\nprayer was raised in my heart that we might be enabled to go through the\nprospect before us to the honor of Him who has called us into his work.\n\n\nThey attended the Quarterly Meeting in the latter part of this month, and\nreturned by way of Ackworth, where, says John Yeardley,\n\n\nWe had a comfortable parting with dear Robert and Hannah Whitaker, in\ntheir own room. E.W. has passed with us through the deeps, and has indeed\nbeen a true spiritual helper to us under our weighty exercises of mind.\n\n\nOn the 8th of the Seventh Month they set out, and on the 17th attended the\nMeeting of Ministers and Elders in London.\n\n\nThe Morning Meeting was a precious and refreshing time to our poor tried\nminds. There was a very full expression of near sympathy and entire unity\nwith us in our intended religious service. It is a strength and\nencouragement not only to have the concurrence of our friends, but also to\nknow that we have a place in their prayers for our preservation and\nsupport in every trying dispensation.\n\n\nOn the eve of their departure from London, a circumstance occurred of a\nvery disagreeable character. The shop of their brother, A.B. Savory, in\nCornhill, was broken open; many valuable articles were taken, and their\ntravelling trunks, which had been left there, were ransacked. Although\ntheir loss was trifling, the annoyance of such a contretemps may easily\nbe conceived. J.Y. says:--\n\n\nIt is far from pleasant thus to be plundered of any part of our property;\nbut I consider it as much the duty of a Christian to bear with becoming\nfortitude the cross-occurrences of common life as to be exercised in\nreligious service.\n\n\nThey left London on the 22nd, for Rotterdam. On their arrival, a\ndisastrous occurrence happened which gave a shock to their feelings. The\nmanner in which J.Y. mentions the event evinces his tenderness of mind in\ncommencing a long journey, in which his vocation was to be to sympathise\nwith the poor and afflicted.\n\n\nSince we landed safely on shore a circumstance has occurred which has\nbrought a gloom over us. One of our shipmen being busy about the sails,\npart of a beam fell from the top-mast and struck him on the head. He never\nspoke more, but died instantly. He has left a widow and two children, not\nonly to weep for him, but also to feel bitterly his loss in a pecuniary\nway. We intend to recommend their situation to some of our benevolent\nfriends in London. My heart is much affected in having to commence my\njournal on a foreign shore by recording such an afflicting event. And, as\nit regards ourselves, how much we have which calls for thankfulness that\nwe have so mercifully escaped.\n\n\nFrom Rotterdam they directed their course to Pyrmont, passing through\nGouda, Utrecht, Arnheim, and Muenster; at the last place they were laid by\nfrom the heat and weariness. They reached Friedenthal on the 4th of the\nEighth Month, and John Yeardley makes the following reflections on\nre-entering his German home:--\n\n\nAs I find myself again in this country, many thoughts of former days\nspring up in my mind. Since I was last here I have passed through much;\nnevertheless the Lord has guided my steps, and I have cause to give Him\nthanks.\n\n\nThey visited Minden and the little meetings around, bestowing much labor\non them; but at Pyrmont, to suffer, rather than to do, was their allotted\nportion.\n\n\nIt sometimes seems to me, writes J.Y., that we have in this place little\nto do and much to suffer. I am often cast down, and have to sit in silence\nand darkness. This state of mind is an exercise of faith and patience,\nthrough which much may be gained if it is turned to right account.\n\nOf the Two Months' Meeting, he says:\n\n\nOn the whole a favorable time. But I am not without my fears that the\nlittle Society in this place will lose ground, in a religious sense, if\nmore faithfulness is not manifested in little things.\n\n\nSoon after their arrival in Germany they turned their steps towards the\nnorth-west corner of that country, and the borders of Holland. The object\nof this journey was to visit some places on the shores of the North Sea,\nnear Friesland, where the inundations of 1825 had caused great desolation,\nand where a new colony had been formed by the government from among the\nruined families. This little journey was so emphatically, an act of faith,\nand the course of it lay so much through a part of Europe seldom visited\nby travellers, that we shall transcribe the diary of it without much\ncurtailment.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 4.--Having for sometime felt an impression to visit\nFriedrichgroden and other places on the store of the North Sea, near the\nconfines of East Friesland, we set out from Pyrmout in company with our\ndear friend Louis Seebohm, travelling with extra-post in our own carriage.\nWe found this a pretty expeditions way of travelling for this country,\nbeing able to make about fifty-five English miles a day. Between Oldendorf\nand Bueckeburg, we experienced a remarkable preservation from danger. Our\npostillion being a little sleepy, had not sufficient care of the reins,\nand the horses suddenly turned off towards an inn, but missing the turn,\ninstantly fell into a deep ditch, one horse quite down, and the other\nnearly so; the carriage wanted only a few inches further to go, and then\nit would have come upon the horses, so that a few plunges must have upset\nthe whole concern. We sprang instantly out, and set the quiet animals\nfree. The man was so frightened he could scarcely step from, the box. The\nwhole affair did not last more than a few minutes, when we were on our way\nagain, with great cause for thankfulness to the Preserver of our lives.\nThe driver was so honest in acknowledging his fault, that I gave him his\n_trinkgeld_, and our friend L. S. gave him some advice. We got well\non through Minden to Diepnau and lodged there.\n\nNext morning set out about seven o'clock, and that day travelled late to\nreach Oldenburg, which we accomplished at about one in the morning. Next\nmorning we were in a dilemma which way to take to find our place of\ndestination. The landlord was kind in sending out several times to gain\ninformation, but in vain: at length there came into the room a deaf and\ndumb man who frequented the house, and who, when he knew our inquiry,\nimmediately wrote down the particulars of the place, and explained it by\nsigns on the table. We left two books for this intelligent man for his\nkindness, and set forward. Dined at Varel, and had two poor tired horses\nand an awkward driver to Jever. We gave him several severe lectures\nwithout much effect; at length we came to a small inn on the road, where\nhe made a stand, and said he could go no further without two more horses,\nwhich we really believed was true, for if he had not got them we must have\nstuck in the sand. The horses being procured we got to Jever about eleven\no'clock.\n\nHere was a good inn, and we rested pretty well; but in the morning\ndiscouragement took hold of my spirits in a way that I have seldom\nexperienced. I was ready to conclude we were altogether wrong and out of\nthe way of our duty; but forward we must now go to see the end of this\nexercising journey. The country about Varel and Jever is remarkably\nfertile in pasture. The cows handsome, rolling in abundance of grass, and\npretty much the whole country had the appearance of ease and plenty; in\nVarel we saw the poor-house, a building capable of containing 400 persons,\nand only four individuals were there. The inhabitants live in simplicity,\nbut also in the general ignorance and indifference as to religion. I was\nexceedingly low in mind on the way, but felt once more that we were in our\nright place, and my precious M. Y. encouraged me by saying we should not\ngo there in vain. On opening the Bible, I was comforted in turning to\nPsalm lxxviii. 12-14.\n\nAfter having thus travelled some days, as it were in the dark, we arrived\nat Friedrichen Siel, near Carolinen Siel, in which neighborhood, on the\nborder of the North Sea, lie Friedrichgroden, New Augustengroden, and New\nFriedrichgroden. It is a tract of land gained from the sea of about ten or\ntwelve hundred acres, banked round in three divisions, and made arable, on\nwhich are built about twenty farmhouses, which form almost a new world.\nThis land is the property of the government; a small sum is paid on\nentering, and a yearly ground-rent, and then it is the property of the\npurchaser for ever.\n\nAs soon as we stepped on the banks of one of these _grodens_, and I\nset my eye on one of these retired abodes, I felt no longer at a loss\nwhere we should go or what we should do. It opened suddenly on my mind as\nclear as the sun at noon-day, that we must remain here a day or two and\nvisit these new settlers in their dwellings. Accordingly we drove to the\ninn at Carolinen Siel. On asking for a map of the surrounding country, one\nwas put into oar hands containing a plan of the places which had suffered\nso severely by the floods in the spring of 1825; which rendered those\npeople much more interesting to us.\n\nAfter dinner we commenced our visit, and called on a young man and his\nsister who live on one of the farms, and have about seventy acres of land.\nThey received us with a hearty welcome, and entered into friendly\nconversation. The house was one of the first on New Augustengroden, built\nin 1816, [swept] down by the water in 1825, and rebuilt the same year. He\nwas an intelligent young man, and answered many inquiries which we made.\n\nFinding the distance might be too great to walk, next morning we procured\nhorses, and started about seven o'clock, taking from our small stock of\nbooks one for each family. We commenced intercourse with them by first\ninteresting ourselves about their families and domestic concerns, not\nunmindful of every suitable opportunity to turn the conversation on the\nsubject of religion, which is too much neglected by most of them. They are\nof the Lutheran profession; but the church being at some distance, they do\nnot regularly attend. Most of them have as many as six children, and some\neight, with fine countenances. We felt deeply interested, particularly for\nthe mothers, some of whom are tender-spirited, amiable women, and wept\nmuch in the opportunities we had with them. Their late afflictions have\nmade on some a deep impression, and it was a time when, I trust, such a\nvisit might be of advantage. In the floods, several had their houses swept\naway; and one lost thirty-six head of cattle, and had to drag his children\nout of the water naked, and take refuge on the tops of the houses. But the\nmost touching case was that of a man who lost his wife and five children,\nhis father, mother, and servants. They were sent away in a waggon, as a\nmeans of escape; but the waggon was swept away by the torrent, and all\nperished. The husband, who was left alone in the house, got to land on\nsome boards, part of the wreck of the house, and expected to find his\nfamily safe; what must have been his feelings when he found they had all\nperished in the deep! We felt truly prepared to sympathise with them, and\nthink they were sensible of our visit being in the sincere love of the\nGospel. Their kindness towards us exceeded description. In going from\nhouse to house, one of them seeing us in the field, and not knowing our\nerrand, thought we had missed our way, and came running almost out of\nbreath to set us in the road. When he found that our visit was intended\nto him, he seemed overjoyed, and conducted us to his home and his\ninteresting wife. His name is Friedrich Fockensllammen. He soon showed us\nall that was in his house and barns; and I may say he was equally ready to\ntell us all that was in his heart. We could not get away without taking\ncoffee with them.\n\nHaving felt much towards seeing them together, the way seemed open to\npropose to this man to have a meeting. He readily undertook to consult\nwith a few others; and he came to our inn next morning with another, when\nhe said, the good work must have a small beginning, and although he\nhimself was quite willing, the others did not see the necessity of it, or\nwere too cautious. This person told us that, with respect to temporals,\nthey could never have got forward again in the way they had done, had it\nnot been for the kind and effectual assistance received from England.\nAfter an interesting conversation with these two, we parted in much\naffection. My M.Y. drew up a short epistle, which was signed by us all,\nand forwarded to them: this was an entire relief to our minds.\n\nUnderstanding the fair was to commence on First-day morning, we found it\nnecessary on Seventh-day evening to seek fresh quarters. The First-day is\nworse kept in the territories belonging to Hanover than in any part of the\nContinent that I have seen, and the greatest religious ignorance prevails\nthere. The cause may rest with the Government in giving too much power to\nthe Church: the ecclesiastics are fond of keeping in their own hands all\nthings relating to religion, and will not suffer the light to shine that\nthe people may see for themselves. The Edict of Stade has lately been\nrenewed, prohibiting religious meetings; no unauthorised persons (as they\ncall it), are permitted to preach or hold meetings, on pain of\nimprisonment; all foreign missionaries to be immediately sent beyond the\nboundaries. The settlement we were visiting was partly in Hanover, and\npartly in Oldenburg.\n\n\nBesides these colonies on the reclaimed strand of the ocean, John Yeardley\nhad another object in undertaking this journey, which was to inspect the\nIndustrial Colony at Fredericks-Oort, in the province of Drenthe, in\nHolland. Towards this place the party now directed their way.\n\n\nBetween Wittmund and Aurich (continues J.Y.) is a moor called Plagenburg,\nabout six English miles square, on which are some of the poorest mud-huts\nI ever saw. People who intend to settle here from any part receive a grant\nof land for ten years free, and afterwards pay a yearly ground-rent of\nabout five shillings an acre. The idle and burdensome poor are also sent\nhere; and by this means the whole neighborhood is relieved from\npoor-rates, except for the support of a few individuals who spin, &c., in\nthe poor-house. We were informed that near Norden there is a colony for\nthieves and gipsies, who are sent to this place and compelled to build\nthemselves huts and cultivate the land. They are strictly watched by the\npolice, and severely punished when they attempt to go away without leave.\n\nWe had a long and tedious ride, through deep sand, to Leer. On our arrival\nwe made inquiry about Fredericks-Oort, but could obtain no intelligence,\nnor could we find it on the maps which we borrowed for examination. This\nwas very discouraging; for I had hoped, if it was right for us to go, we\nshould find some one to give us certain directions to it. I slept but\nlittle, and next morning set again to work, and found there was a Jew in\nthe town who travelled much in Holland. I desired he might be sent for; he\ncame, and immediately gave us directions where to find the places we\nwanted.\n\nI ought not to omit remarking the comfortable feeling that I was favored\nwith, riding from Wittmund to Aurich [on the way to Leer]. In reflecting\nin stillness where we had been and what we had done, I felt not only peace\nand inward satisfaction, but thankfulness filled my heart that we had been\nthus far enabled to do what we believed to be in the way of our duty. This\nScripture language passed through my mind: \"Blessed are ye that sow beside\nall waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.\" (Isa.\nxxxii. 20.)\n\n11_th_.--Left Leer about eleven o'clock in the morning, and expected\nto arrive at Assen at eleven or twelve at night, but to our great\ndisappointment we travelled the night through, and only reached Assen at\nseven next morning. At Wehndam on our way we rested the horses. Our friend\nL.S. went for an hour to bed, and my M.Y. and self sat in the carriage and\nwould have slept, but there came so many admirers of our vehicle that we\ncould not sleep for their almost continual remarks about its elegance,\nconvenience, &c.\n\nThis part of Holland is fruitful; the houses are clean and neat; and the\ndress of the women very singular. Their caps have a plate of silver or\ngold on each side almost like a helmet, and sometimes very costly. At the\ninn at Nieuweschans [on the borders of Germany and Holland], the cook had\none of these golden helmets which had cost about 150 florins.\n\nIn these flat countries they have no spring water; the land lies so much\nbelow the sea that all is impregnated with salt. Rain water is used for\ndrinking, and the method of preserving it is in a deep reservoir lined\nwith boards and puddled with clay. I was surprised to find it kept good so\nlong: it is seldom known to go bad. One of the farmers on the Grodens drew\nwater out of his well and handed me a glass to drink; it had a yellowish\ntinge, but except this I never saw clearer and have seldom tasted\npleasanter spring water, and the beat tea I ever drank was made from rain\nwater so preserved. One thing which contributes to its quality is the\ngreat surface of tile which it has to run down, and which tends to filter\nit.\n\nThe mode of manuring the land is similar to that practised in Brabant, and\nthe produce proves that it is excellent; for no better meadows, or corn\nland in a higher state of cultivation are to be seen than in some parts we\nhave lately passed through.\n\nThe cows, when fresh in milk, are milked three times a day, by which means\nmore milk is obtained than in the common method; any one wishing to make a\nfair experiment of this must try it not for two or three days only, but\nfor a week or ten days.\n\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley found the institution at Fredericks-Oort of a\ndeeply interesting kind. It was Established by private benevolence to\nimprove the condition of the poor, and to relieve the country from\nbeggars, and was commenced in 1818. The poor families which are placed\nthere are employed, some in manufacture, some in cultivating the soil, and\nevery means is made use of to encourage industry and provident habits.\nWhen our friends visited the colony, it comprised 2900 souls, including\nthe staff by which the institution is worked, and which is necessarily\nnumerous. They thought the method of instruction in use in the schools\nexcellent, and found that religious liberty was strictly respected.\n\nFrom Fredericks-Oort they went on to Ommershaus, where is the poor-house\nand penal colony belonging to the former institution. Thirteen hundred\nbeggary, orphans, and criminals were then in the colony.\n\n\nHow much, remarks J.Y., such an institution is wanted in England; every\ninducement is held out for improvement in civil society, and a most\neffectual check placed against vice and idleness.\n\n\nThe travellers fared badly in Holland, and they were rejoiced to \"set foot\nagain in honest Germany, where they know how to use strangers with an\nhonest heart.\" They returned through Bentheim and Osnabrueck, and arrived\nat Pyrmont on the 19th. Here they spent ten days in resting, and in\npreparing to pursue their journey through South Germany.\n\nOn First-day, the 30th, they took leave of their friends.\n\n\nFirst-day, says John Yeardley, was a solemn time, both at meeting and at\nthe reading in the afternoon; I hope both my M.Y. and I were enabled to\nclear our minds. In the evening we took an affectionate and affecting\nleave of them all; it was to me particularly trying. I could not refrain\nfrom weeping much.\n\n\nNot much occurs in the diary to claim attention, until they reached\nFriedberg, not far from Frankfort.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 7.--Sat down to our little meeting, after breakfast, and\nreading, on First day morning. It was to us both a season of deep feeling.\nMy dear M.Y. was so filled with a sense of our own weakness, and the\nAlmighty's goodness towards us in a wilderness travel through a dark\ncountry, that she knelt, and was enabled to pour forth a heart-felt\nsupplication for a precious seed of the kingdom in the hearts of the\npeople among whom we were; and also that He would in his tender mercy\nremember us his poor instruments, and in the right time cause light to\nbreak forth on our path, preserve us in the way we ought to go, and make\nus willing to suffer for the sake of his suffering cause: to which my\nheart said, Amen!\n\n\nAt Frankfort they formed acquaintance with J.H. von Meyer, ex-burgomaster\nof the city, a learned and pious man, who had made a new translation of\nthe Bible into German, and had stood firm for the cause of real\nChristianity in the midst of much declension. In the afternoon they drove\nto Offenbach to see J.D. Marc, a Christian Jew, who had earned experience\nin the school of suffering. He said, amongst other things, that he could\nnever preach but when he believed it to be his duty, and then he could\ndeclare only what was given him at the time; this he considered to be the\nonly preaching that could profit the hearers. His views on the inutility\nof water baptism were so decided, that when converted Jews asked him to\nadminister to them this rite, he told them he could not recommend it, for\nit would do them no good. He gave them many names of awakened persons in\nthe Palatinate:--\n\n\nWhere, says John Yeardley, there is still a lively-spirited people who hold\nmeetings for religious improvement; perhaps the descendants of those who\nwere visited by W. Penn in former days.\n\n\nThe next day they returned to Frankfort, and made the acquaintance of\nPastor Appia, a Piedmontese, who, with his wife, was very friendly; and\nwhen he heard that they had left their own land to visit his native\ncountry, marked out a route for them, and gave them letters of\nintroduction. \"When I am with such good people,\" observes J.Y., in\nrelating their interview with Appia, \"I am always uneasy in my mind that I\nam not more worthy. May the Lord strengthen me!\"\n\nOn the 10th, they went to Darmstadt, where they met with several\nenlightened Christians. One of these, Leander van Ess, had been a Roman\nCatholic priest; and although a zealous promoter of Christianity in the\nface of persecution, and favored with a more than ordinary degree of\nspiritual light, he had thought it right not altogether to forsake that\ncommunion, but remained amongst the Romanists to do them good. He had\ntranslated the New Testament for their use. At parting with his new\nfriends he embraced them, gave them his blessing, and wished them a\nprosperous journey. \"I felt myself,\" says J.Y., \"comforted and\nstrengthened by this visit.\"\n\n\nOn the way to Heppenheim, he continues, (to which place they next directed\ntheir course), I felt quiet, in mind, and was once more assured that we\nwere in the way of our duty. As I thought of the difficulties which might\nawait us, these words were brought to my remembrance, \"Touch not mine\nanointed, and do my prophets no harm.\"\n\n\nCrossing the Rhine, at Mannheim, they stopped, on the 12th, at Duerkheim,\nwhere they became acquainted with Ludwig Fitz, a man of a frank and\ninquiring disposition.\n\n\nFor three years, writes J.Y., he has held meetings in his house; in the\ncommencement he had to suffer no little persecution. On his entering our\nroom he observed that it was the Lord who had thus brought us together. I\nhave scarcely been half an hour with you, he said, after a while, but it\nseems as if I had known you for seven years. He, with his wife and\ndaughter, took us to call on a Mennonist, a pious man, who holds firmly by\nBaptism and the Supper. He soon began to speak on these points. I replied\nto what he said as well as I could, maintaining that in Scripture there\nare two baptisms spoken of; that, as the soul of man is spiritual, it can\nbe reached only by that which is spiritual, and that therefore I did not\nsee the necessity of maintaining that which, is outward. He said he\ndesired to possess the former, and not to neglect the latter. As to the\nSupper they both advanced is proof of the observance being good, that\noften, whilst using it, they experienced inward joy and refreshment. I\nsaid we must not limit to a certain time or place this joy in the Lord, as\nif the use of the Supper only were the cause of it. The gracious Lord is\nready at all times to sup with us, and to refresh the sincere and cleansed\nsoul, and make it joyful in him. We took leave of each other in love; I\nsaid we did not travel for the purpose of turning people from one form to\nanother, but with the desire only that they might all be brought nearer to\nthe Lord. It was pleasant to me that Fitz's wife was with us; during the\nconversation she remained still and weighty in spirit.\n\nWe inclined to attend the evening devotion at Fitz's, but prefaced our\nrequest with the hope that they would not be offended if we did not take\npart in their observances. This was immediately granted; and Fitz said, I\nfeel that your spirit is true and sincere, and I have unity with it. When\ntheir service was ended, we asked them to remain a while in silence, and I\ntrust may say we were enabled to utter what was required of us in\ntestimony and supplication.\n\nIn Duerkheim there are eleven converted Jews, who dare not meet except in\nsecret for fear of the rabbins. One night the rabbins attempted to take\naway their bibles and other books, but they received a hint of their\nintention, and sent the books to Fitz's house. One of them, a servant\ngirl, as soon as she heard that some Christian friends were come into the\ntown, went to Fitz's, and took up one of the books we had given him. She\nread a little in it hastily, put it in her bosom, and ran home. Her\ncuriosity and love of the truth impelled her to come to our hotel, and\nwait unobserved in the hall to catch a glimpse of us as we came out. We\nfelt much for these awakened ones of Abraham's offspring; their oppressed\ncondition rested much upon our hearts; but as we had no opportunity of\nconversing with them, I wrote a few lines from Friedelsheim to the young\nwoman, and sent them with some books by Fitz, who accompanied us to that\nplace. _Tuke's Principles_ finds much entrance among the awakened\nJews.\n\n\nTravelling through Spires, Carlsruhe, and Pforzheim, they came on the 16th\nto Stuttgardt, where they found Henry Kienlin, of Pforzheim, who, as the\nreader will remember, had won so large a place in their love and esteem on\ntheir former journey.\n\n\nHe not only, says John Yeardley, professes our principles, but bears a\nclear and fearless testimony for them. His wife is of the same mind with\nhim, although she does not yet show it in the simplicity of her dress.\n\nOn the 18th, we set out in company with our good friend to Ludwigsburg to\nsee the prison. There are about 600 prisoners, of both sexes, for the most\npart employed in labor. Order and cleanliness prevail, and the food is\ngood. The governor, Kleth, is a worthy, pious man; he himself reads the\nHoly Scriptures to the prisoners, and endeavors to promote their spiritual\nimprovement. When we entered a room in which were a number of men, they\nrose, and stood serious and quiet as though they expected we should\naddress them; and for a short time the love of God was felt amongst us in\nan impressive manner; but nothing was given us to utter.\n\n\nIt will be recollected that when John and Martha Yeardley were at\nStuttgardt in 1826, they met with the Pastor Hoffman, and that they\ndesired to visit the institution at Kornthal, of which he was the\ndirector, but were obliged to forego this visit in order to hasten forward\nto Basle. They now prepared to discharge this debt of Christian love.\nKornthal is situated four miles from Stuttgardt; it was founded in 1819 by\ndissenters from the Moravians and Lutherans, and consisted in 1825 of\nabout seventy families. J. and M.Y. went there on the 19th.\n\n\nWe were received, says the former, in a brotherly manner by the Director\nHoffman. On entering the room we were informed that their pastor had died\nthe night before; but instead of sorrow there seemed to be joy. This\nsociety holds it for a religious duty to rejoice when any of their members\nare favored to enter a state of endless bliss. This is religious fortitude\nwhich but few possess, but I believe it is with them sincere, for in going\nover the institution with the Director, I observed they spoke of it as a\nmatter of holy triumph.\n\n\nNo meeting was held with the members of the establishment during this\nvisit; it was left for J. and M.Y. to attend the usual evening assembly on\nFirst-day, the 21st; and they were informed that it would be an occasion\non which any present who were moved by divine influence might freely\nrelieve their minds.\n\n\nAt three o'clock, J.Y. writes, we set off to Kornthal under most trying\nfeelings; I do not know when I have suffered so much from discouragement.\nOn account of the death of the pastor, many were come to attend the\ninterment which was to take place the next day. This caused the meeting to\nbe large; not less than 700 persons were present, and among them six or\nseven pastors. The service commenced with a few verses; the first words\nwere these:--\n\n\n    \"Holy Spirit come unto us,\n     And make our hearts thy dwelling-place.\"\n\n\nI can truly say I was awfully impressed with their meaning, and a secret\nprayer rose in my heart that it might be experienced amongst us. After the\nsinging, a silence truly solemn ensued, and I intimated that I felt an\nimpression to say a few words. When I sat down our kind friend the\nDirector summed up the substance of what I had said, and repeated it in an\nimpressive and becoming manner. He did this with the idea that some\npresent who only understood Low German might not have clearly got the\nsense; however, we were told afterwards that they had understood every\nword that I had said. Hoffman generously acknowledged to the hearers that\nwhat had been delivered was strictly conformable with Scripture doctrine,\nand that he united most fully with it.\n\nNext morning the children being assembled for religious instruction, at\nthe conclusion I requested they might remain awhile, and I had a few words\nto say to them, which was a relief to my mind. Hoffman asked if they had\nunderstood; they almost all answered, Ja, ja, ja.\n\nThis visit has afforded an opportunity of our becoming acquainted with\nmany serious characters out of the neighborhood who were come to the\ninterment; many of them felt near to me in spirit. Hoffman's wife is a\nprecious, still character; there is much sweetness in her countenance. All\nreceived us heartily in Christian love; it felt to me as if it were the\nnight before one of our Monthly Meetings, and I was at a Friend's house,\nso much freedom was to be felt. The inn is kept by Hoffman; they would\nmake us no charge, saying love must pay all. We were most easy to make a\npresent to the box for the institution, but they would have refused it,\nsaying feelingly, Travellers like you have many expenses.\n\n\nThe cause for J.Y.'s peculiar discouragement in the prospect of this\nmeeting was the want of an interpreter. Any one who knows the difficulty\nof public speaking or continuous discourse in a foreign language, will\ncomprehend the anxiety which he felt when he saw no alternative but that\nof committing himself to preach in German. Though very familiar with the\nlanguage, he never completely overcame the want of early and of thoroughly\ngrammatical instruction in that difficult and intricate tongue. It was\nwith feelings of this kind that he penned the following memorandum before\ngoing to Kornthal:--\n\n\n18_th_.--Extremely low in mind and in want of faith. No creature can\nconceive what I suffer in the prospect of having to speak in a foreign\ntongue in a religious meeting.\n\n\nAt Stuttgardt they took leave of their endeared friend, Henry Kienlin.\n\n\nIt is, says J.Y., hard to part; but every one must follow his calling,\nand mind only the direction of the Lord.\n\n\nOn quitting Stuttgardt, John Yeardley makes a few remarks regarding the\nreligious state of Wuertemberg.\n\n\n22_nd_.--Wuertemberg is a favored land. In Feldbach, three hours from\nStuttgardt, there are about 800 Christian people who hold meetings in each\nother's houses: some of them belong to the Kornthal Society. Years ago,\nmany emigrated to America and Russia, to gain religious liberty; now it is\ngranted them by their own Government.\n\n\nOn the 22nd, they journeyed to Tuebingen, where they visited the worthy\nProfessor Streundel.\n\n\nHe was surprised and shy when we entered, as if he wanted to say, The\nsooner you take leave the better. But as soon as he knew where we came\nfrom, his countenance changed, and he received us heartily. He had his\nwife called--a very polite person. He asked many questions as to our\nchurch discipline, &c.; the order of our Society pleased him much. He had\nundertaken the study of divinity from an apprehension of duty, and said\nthat it was only by the assistance of the Holy Spirit we could be made\ninstrumental in the ministry.\n\n\nOn the 25th they came to Wilhelmsdorf, on the Lake of Constance, where is\na branch of the Kornthal Association. They found the director \"a man of\ngreat simplicity, but of inward worth.\"\n\n\nHe was, continues John Yeardley, six years in Kornthal, and seems to be\nsensible of the importance of the situation he fills, and of his\nincapability to be useful to others unless assisted by divine grace. He\nread our certificate attentively, and said, in a weighty manner, Yes; one\nLord over all, one faith, one baptism. We found they have no regular\npreacher, but meet for worship every evening and on First-day mornings. We\nwere desirous of seeing them together, and they were pleased to find such\nwas our intention. The bell was rung, and in a few minutes the whole\ncolony assembled, about two hundred, with children. Much liberty was felt\nin speaking among them; and some of them appeared to be sensible of the\nvalue of true silence, and from whence words ought to spring; many shed\ntears under the melting influence of divine love which was so preciously\nto be felt amongst us. We took an affectionate leave, well satisfied in\nvisiting this little company, to strengthen them to hold up the cause of\ntheir Lord and Master, in the midst of darkness. Within about thirty\nEnglish miles there are none but rigid Roman Catholics, not one\nEvangelical congregation. At our departure my wife said: \"These words\narise in my mind for thy comfort: Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\"\n\nAt the inn where we stopped at Wilhelmsdorf, we were spectators of an\noccurrence rarely to be seen. Among the laborers who dined there, the one\nwho had finished first read a chapter from the Bible to the rest. When all\nhad done eating, one offered a prayer; and then all went quietly back to\ntheir work. This practice shows at least the sincerity of their hearts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nTHE SECOND CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1827-28.\n\nPART II.--SWITZERLAND.\n\nOn the 27th of the Tenth Month John and Martha Yeardley crossed the Swiss\nfrontier to Schaffhausen, where their presence was welcomed by several\npious persons. Amongst these were a young woman, Caroline Keller, who from\na religions motive had altered her dress and manners to greater\nsimplicity, and John Lang, Principal of the United Brethren's Society. In\na social meeting convened on the evening of their arrival, J.L. directed\nthe conversation to the principles of friends, and J. and M.Y. explained\nthe views held by the Society on silent worship, the ministry, and the\ndisuse of ceremonies.\n\n\nThe [French] language, says J.Y., was difficult to me; but by the grace\nof God I was helped, and they were quite ready to seize the sense of what\nwe endeavored to convey. The love of God was felt among us, and the\nPrincipal said, at parting, that he had not before been so impressed with\nour views. I sent him Tuke's \"Principles,\" and he told me yesterday he was\nattentively studying it. My dear M.Y. told me it had been given her to\nbelieve we were in our right place, and that we were called by religious\nintercourse to bear witness for our Lord and Master and his good cause.\n\nI am afraid, he remarks in a letter in which he describes their service at\nSchaffhausen, I am afraid thou wilt think me too minute in my details; but\nreally when I enter into the feeling which accompanied us in these visits,\nit seems as if I could scarcely quit it.\n\n\nThey spent the 29th at Schaffhausen in close Christian communion with two\npious families. To C.K. particularly, at whose house they dined, they felt\nso nearly united, that they scarcely knew how to part from her.\n\n\nWe have cause to be thankful, says J.Y., for our visit to Schaffhausen;\nbut if we were more faithful we should be more useful. Our friends were\nquite inclined for us to have had a meeting with them, but we were too\nfearful to propose it. O vile weakness!\n\n\nOn the 31st they saw the Agricultural School for poor children at Beuggen.\nAmongst the boys were twelve young Greeks, who were being instructed in\nancient and modern Greek, and in German. They had been sent to Switzerland\nby the German missionaries, and most of them had been deprived of their\nparents by the cruelty of the Turks. It was the intention of their\nbenefactors that they should return to Greece to enlighten their\ncountrymen. Their religious instruction was based simply upon the Bible,\nwithout reference to any particular creed.\n\n\nIn the Greek school, writes John Yeardley, we observed a serious man about\nthirty years of age, who had the appearance of a laborer, learning Greek.\nThis was a little surprising, and led us to inquire the cause. The\ninspector readily gratified us: and gratifying indeed it was to hear that\nthis poor man had given up his work of ship-carpenter, from pure\nconviction that he was called to go and instruct the poor Greeks at his\nown expense. He is intending to spend the winter in learning the modern\nGreek, and to proceed in the spring to Corfu. He intends to provide for\nhis own living by working at his trade, and he will take for instruction\nabout four boys at a time, and as soon as he has brought them forward\nenough, set them as monitors over others. Some time ago two young men were\nsent out by the Bible Society to Corfu; but before they reached the place\nof their destination they were deterred by the missionaries on account of\nthe unsettled state of the country, and dared not proceed further for fear\nof losing their lives. It is remarkable that, at the juncture when these\ntwo young men were turned back by discouragement, this poor man should\nreceive the impression to go to the same place. We desired to have an\ninterview with him, and he was instantly sent for to the Inspector's room.\nAfter a few remarks which opened for us to make to him, he confessed he\nhad no peace but when he thought of giving up to this feeling of duty, and\nthat when he looked towards going he felt happy in the prospect of every\nhardship. It was remarked that, as this call was made from above, the\ngreat Master alone could guide his steps; he appeared fully sensible from\nwhom his help must come. He is beloved by his employers, and has an\nexcellent certificate from the pastor, of his moral and religious\ncharacter.\n\n\nOn the 2nd of the Eleventh Month they went to Zurich, and the same day\ndrove out over a very bad road to Pfaeffikon to visit the Herr von\nCampagne.\n\n\nWe had a cold wet journey, but the good old man gave us a hearty welcome\nto his house. He is seventy-six years of age. He asked us pleasantly how\nwe came to think of visiting an old man who was on the brink of the grave.\nHe had heard much of Friends, and wished, he said, to become personally\nacquainted with some of the Society. He is a most benevolent character,\nbut we could not unite with all his religious views; he does not think it\nnecessary to meet for religious worship; in short, his principles are much\nthe same as those held by Jacob Boehmen.\n\nWe slept at his house, and next morning returned to Zurich, where we\ncalled on our particular friend Professor Gessner and his family, and we\nrejoiced mutually to see each other again.\n\n\nIn the afternoon they called on Pastor Koch, tutor to the young Prince of\nMecklenburg, who was at that time in Switzerland, and the next morning,\nFirst-day, as they were holding their little meeting for worship, the\nPrince himself, with Herr Koch and the Herr von Brandenstein, gave them a\nvisit. The Prince spoke English; and J.Y. says:--\n\n\nI had a strong impression to speak to him in a serious way, which I was\nenabled to do at some length. On parting he held me with both his hands in\nmine, and said, \"I thank you, sir, for your kind and instructive\ncommunication; I shall never forget it so long as I live.\"\n\nA little before twelve o'clock, he continues, came our kind young friend,\nHannah Gessner, to accompany us to the ancient and worthy Bishop Hess. He\nis in his eighty-seventh year, but lively in spirit and active in mind. He\nis uncommonly liberal in his religious opinions, and his enlarged heart\nseemed to overflow with Christian love towards the followers of Christ\nunder every name. He treated us as a father, and I felt instructed in\nbeing in his company. He gave us his portrait as a token of respect and\nfriendship.\n\nIn the evening we took tea with Professor Gessner's sister, Lavater, in\ncompany with seven of the professor's daughters and sons, who are all\nserious persons. After some conversation on the order and ministry of our\nSociety, it was proposed by dear Hannah, through her aunt, whether we\nwould like to have a Meeting or the Scriptures read. After a portion of\nScripture had been read silence ensued, in which my dear M. Y. and I said\nwhat was on our minds in testimony and supplication. It is a time of\nprecious visitation to some of them. We felt sweet unity with Pastor\nGessner, and believe him to be a gospel minister. On parting he took me in\nboth arms, and said, in such a feeling manner that the words went to my\nvery heart, \"The Lord bless thee, and put the words of his wisdom into thy\nmouth.\"\n\n\nOn the 6th they went to Berne, and the next morning they inspected\nFellenberg's institution at Hofwyl.\n\n\nIt is, says John Yeardley, what it professes to be, for education in the\nfullest extent of the word, to give to those committed to their care an\neducation suited to their circumstances and their future prospects in\nlife. There is a first-rate boarding school, for young gentlemen; a middle\nschool, for tradesmen, &c.; a [boys' and] girls' poor school of industry,\nfor those who can pay nothing.--(_Letter to Josiah Forster_.)\n\n\nTo J.Y. the most interesting department of this institution was the school\nof industry for poor children, in which at that time a hundred boys were\nclothed and educated. He describes at some length, and with evident\napprobation, the system on which the school was conducted; but adds, \"I\ncannot say much as to religious instruction.\"\n\nFrom Hofwyl they proceeded through Lausanne to Geneva, where, being\ndesirous of improving themselves in French, and the season not permitting\nthem to travel, they hired a lodging, intending to remain two or three\nmonths.\n\nAs on their former visit, they held frequent intercourse with pious\npersons, several of them well known in the Christian world; such as\nGaussen, Bost, and L'Huillier. Of Theodore L'Huillier. minister of the New\nChurch, John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nThough a moderate Calvinist, he embraced us at once on the broad principle\nof Christianity. We became acquainted with him two years ago, but think\nhim now much deeper in the root of real religion.\n\n11 _mo_. 19.--We called yesterday evening on our dear friend Owen,\nand met there a pious lady, Fanny Passavant. We had much serious\nconversation, I hope to profit, at least to our own minds; for we were\ngiven to see a little the importance of the situation in which we stand,\nand the necessity of being, in our intercourse with these religious\npersons, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.\n\n1828. 1 mo. 13.--We have had much satisfaction in becoming acquainted with\nAmi Bost. He was one of the first who bore testimony to the light which\nbroke forth in the corrupt church of Geneva, and he suffered much in\ndefending the doctrines of the New Church. In Germany he was, with his\nwife and six or seven children, driven from town to town by the police,\nfor holding religious meetings in his house, and for refusing to have his\nchildren baptised. His sentiments in the office of the ministry and the\nappointment of preachers, are in perfect unison with those of Friends;\nalso on the ordinances of the Supper, &c.\n\n1 _mo_. 20.--During the greater part of our stay at this place I have felt\nmy mind extremely poor, but a secret desire and prayer has been maintained\nto be preserved in patience, believing it to be as necessary to learn to\nsuffer as to do. And although it is apparently little we can do here, we\nhave felt repeatedly the assurance that it is the ordering of Best Wisdom,\nand as such we are well satisfied.\n\nAfter our little morning meeting we went to dine with dear Captain Owen,\nand spent the remainder of the day with a few religious friends there.\nWhen the evening reading was finished, we had a solemn time under the\nseasoning influence of divine love. Our hearts were too full for any\nreligious communication, except supplication, which was offered both by my\ndear M.Y. and myself.\n\n\nMartha Yeardley also gives an account of this meeting, and of a visit they\npaid to the Female Prison.\n\n\nBefore our departure for Lausanne and Neufchatel, a relation of Mary Ann\nVernet's kindly attended us to the female prison, and introduced us to\nothers of the committee; and in the evening we had a religious opportunity\nwith the few confined there, during which they evinced much feeling. Our\ninteresting companion told us the next morning that she trusted the\ncircumstance would be blessed to them. We had also a very interesting\nopportunity at Charles Owen's the evening before we left, at which was\npresent, as often before, a very precious friend of ours, of the name of\nFanny Passavant, a single woman, very rich, yet who lives in great\nself-denial, and gives almost all she has to feed the poor. She is what\nthey call in this country a very _interior_ character; which means\none that cherishes the inward life. In her company we often felt baptized\ntogether, and she gave us strong recommendations to some of the same class\nat Neufchatel, who are desiring to learn in the school of\nChrist.--(_Letter to Elizabeth Dudley_.)\n\n\nAt the expiration of their sojourn in Geneva, they did not, as they had\nexpected to do, proceed to the valleys of Piedmont, but, as the last\nextract intimates, turned their steps towards Neufchatel. The motives\nwhich influenced them in this change of purpose are described by John\nYeardley, in a letter to his brother, of the 11th of the Second Month,\n1828.\n\n\nIn my last to thee I signified our intention of departing for the valleys\nof Piedmont, which did not take place. After due consideration of the\nsubject for more than two months, in a state of humble resignation to be\ndirected aright in this important matter, we did not feel it press with\nsufficient weight on our minds to warrant our moving in the face of so\nmuch difficulty as is at present in the way. We have always considered our\nsafety in such engagements to depend on taking step by step in the fresh\nlight afforded; and it is a favor to know when and where to stand, as well\nas when to go forward.\n\n\nWhile the way to Piedmont was thus for a time obstructed, a door was set\nopen for them in a part of Switzerland which they had not yet visited.\nFrom John Yeardley's reflections before they left Geneva, it would appear\nthat in the discouragement they felt in the prospect of a long journey\nthrough France, they were little aware of that plentiful repast of\nspiritual food which was to be served to them before they would have to\ncross the Jura.\n\n\nIn looking towards the long journey before us, writes J.Y., I have been\nmuch discouraged, almost fearing to depart from this place without first\nbeing favored with more quietude of mind, which I was this morning favored\nto feel in a greater degree than has been the case for a long time. In my\nlast solitary walk to La Traille, I was led to pray in secret for\npreservation on our journey, and almost to ask an assurance of protection,\nbut received for answer, \"Go, in faith.\"\n\n\nOn the 21st of the First Month, they left Geneva and went forward to\nLausanne, where they were again refreshed with the society of some\nspiritually-minded persons.\n\n\n23_rd_--We visited several of the pastors. We found M. Fevaz,\nminister of the Seceders in this place, very interesting, humble, and\nspiritual. He related to us, in much simplicity and candor, that in the\ncommencement of their separation they were strenuous to preach doctrinal\nsermons, but now they had been favored to see the necessity of preaching\npurification of heart through the operation of the Spirit.\n\nCalled on ---- Gaudin, who keeps a boarding-school in a beautiful\nsituation near the town. We had not been long in the company of him and\nhis dear wife, before we felt much contrited together, and had a precious\nreligious opportunity. At parting, the dear man, with myself, was quite\nbroken into tears. We left with him, as well as with the others, Judge\nHale's \"Testimony to the Secret Support of Divine Providence,\" which we\nhad translated, and had got printed at Geneva.\n\nOn the 24th they proceeded to Neufchatel. This was a memorable visit.\n\n\nWe soon found cause, writes John Yeardley, to believe the Great Master had\nbeen before us, to prepare the way in the hearts of many to receive the\ndoctrine he has mercifully enabled us to preach. Our dear F. Passavant had\ngiven us a letter of introduction to Auguste Borel, a man of few words,\nbut of a remarkably weighty and sweet spirit, who received us with the\ngreatest affection. He has lately separated from the national worship, and\nretires in silence in his own chamber. He soon made us acquainted with a\nfew others of a similar turn of mind.\n\n\nMartha Yeardley, describing the commencement of their religious service in\nthis place, says:--\n\n\nWe were invited to a meeting which we felt most easy to attend, and my\nhusband was given full liberty to speak if he felt inclined; but for a\nwhile the usual activity of their meetings--such as singing, commenting on\ntexts with Calvinistic explanations, &c.--entirely closed our way. But\nbefore they separated I ventured to request, in the name of my husband,\nthat such as inclined would favor us with their company a while longer,\nand rest a little in silence. Nearly all remained, and under a solemn\ncovering he addressed the company, while I translated in much fear, yet\nventured at the end to say a few words for myself. Several of the company\nattended us home, and expressed much satisfaction: and from this time a\ndoor was opened to us at Neufchatel in a very remarkable manner. They\nflocked to our inn at all times in the day and in considerable numbers,\nmany acknowledging, in the course of very interesting conversation, that\nthey thirsted for something more satisfying than mere doctrines\ncontinually repeated--something that would preserve from evil, that would\ncleanse the heart, that would bring into nearer communion with the\nSaviour.--(_Letter to Elizabeth Dudley_.)\n\nOn the 27th, continues the Diary, A. Borel conducted us to a meeting with\nsome _interior_ persons, about three miles from town. It was a time\nof close exercise of mind, but ended to satisfaction, and, I hope, to the\nedification and strength of some present. The master of the house,\nProfessor Petavel, said that never until that evening had he been able to\nsee clearly the beauty and advantage of pure spiritual worship, contrasted\nwith outward forms.\n\nAfter, having taken tea with a large company, our kind guide conducted us\nthrough woods and over mountainous and bad roads to a village, where a\nlarge concourse of people were assembled for worship. A schoolmaster was\nspeaking on a chapter which had been read: we had full unity with what he\ndelivered, which was accompanied with a power which convinced us that he\nreally preached the gospel. After he had done, we were introduced as\nreligious strangers from England; and silence ensuing, opportunity was\ngiven for us to express what came before us.\n\n28th.--Some of the most _interior_ told us they had long been\nexercised about spiritual worship, and had often wished to see some of the\nSociety of Friends. On hearing of our intended visit two years ago, they\nsaid if we had come then [we should have found them] wrapped up in\ndoctrines, but now they were given to see they could not live on the\nletter alone, they must be born again, and partake of that bread which\ncometh down from heaven. Many of these awakened persons came to our inn at\nall hours, and our hearts were filled with love towards them as a cup\noverflowing; so that it was given to us to minister to them almost\nindividually as they came to us.\n\n\nOn the 29th they went to Berne, and the following morning walked over to\nWabern, where some of A. Borel's friends resided, who received them with\nopen arms.\n\n\nAfter dinner M. Combe drove us in his car to Scherli. We alighted at the\nhouse of one of the peasant-farmers, situated quite among the mountains,\nwith the Alps fair in view. They received us in the name of disciples with\nevery mark of love and respect. They were more disposed to sit in silence\nthan to ask questions. On my asking if they had seen or heard of any of\nour Friends, in these parts, one of them, innocently replied, No; we do\nnot know anything of your religious principles. I then began to explain\nthem; and when I spoke of our manner of worship, belief, &c., and of some\nof our peculiar tenets respecting Baptism, the Supper, &c., it is not\npossible to express their emotion; their eyes turned first towards one and\nthen towards another, and seemed to sparkle with joy, without their\nuttering a word till I had done. These were entirely the principles they\nheld, and about a year ago they separated from the church, about twenty in\nnumber, and attempted to meet for religious worship. This was prevented by\nthe police; for although, they live in a very remote situation, they are\nstrictly watched by the pastor, who wishes to compel them to come to his\nworship. We were there only an hour or two, but a number of these\ninnocent-hearted people came flocking to the house, and immediately\nsettled into a silence truly solemn. We could indeed say our hearts burned\nwith love towards them.\n\nTwo of these young men came to us the nest day, and spent most of the day\nwith us. One of them, Christian Speicher, told me he did not know how to\nexpress the satisfaction he felt to hear of a body of professing\nChristians in a distant land, who held the same religious principles as\nthey in their isolated situation had been long seeking after and had been\nmade willing to suffer for.\n\nDuring our stay under this hospitable roof [M. Combe's at Wabern] it was\nan open house for all comers, and they were not few. Our spirits were so\nunited with many of them we did not know how to leave them; but our great\nconcern was to recommend them to remain with Him who had so mercifully and\npowerfully visited them.\n\n\nOn the 31st they returned to Berne, and the next day called upon a pious\nchimney-sweeper, waiting whilst he changed his sooty clothes.\n\nWe were not a little surprised to hear him of his own accord, without\nknowing who we were, declare the same doctrine as we are concerned to\npreach. There are a few _inward_ persons who assemble at his house,\nand hold the same sentiments. About a year and a half or two years ago,\nthere was a remarkable awakening in the canton of Berne, and a few here\nand there of a more spiritually-minded sort seceded. There is a ferment to\nprevent their meeting together, and to compel them to go to the usual\nplace of worship; but in vain, for nothing but spiritual food can satisfy\ntheir hungry souls.\n\n\nOn their return to Neufchatel they visited the celebrated school of the\nMoravians at Montmirail, where, says Martha Yeardley--\n\n\nWe soon felt quite at home with a precious, spiritually-minded man, the\nmaster, and his agreeable English wife. This is an excellent institution,\nfor females only, and several English are there. We were about seventy in\ncompany at dinner, and much sweet feeling prevailed. The master of this\ninteresting family was delighted to hear something of Friends to whom he\nhad never before been introduced.\n\n\nAt Neufchatel, on First-day (2 mo. 3,) they met large companies in the\nmorning and evening, and the next morning took leave of their friends in\nthat city, \"deeply humbled under a sense of the great Master's work among\nthem.\" They went to Locle under the conduct of A. Borel, whose \"kindness\nexceeded all description.\"\n\n\nOn the way, writes John Yeardley, we took refreshment at a pious man's\nhouse in the morning, and dined at another friend's, with whom, we had a\nprecious religious opportunity. It reminded me of the mode of visiting our\nown dear Friends in England; we find in the hearts of these visited\nchildren of the Universal Parent genuine hospitality; they hand us of all\nthey have in their houses in the name of disciples.\n\nAt Locle they were met by Mary Anne Calame, with whom their hearts became\ninstantly knit in the strongest Christian friendship.\n\n\nShe came before we were well alighted. We had heard much of the character\nand benevolent exertions of this dear woman but could say in truth the\nhalf had not been told us. Her countenance is strong and impressive, her\nhair jet black, cut short, and worn without cap; her dress of the most\nsimple and least costly kind. Her sole desire seems to be to do the will\nof her Lord and Master in caring for 170 poor children, who are in the\ninstitution at bed, board, and instruction. The forenoon was spent in\nlooking over the schools and hearing the children examined. The house is a\nrefuge for the lame, blind, deaf, dumb, and sick. Peace and contentment\nprevail through the whole. This establishment was commenced about twelve\nyears ago with five children, and has prospered in a remarkable manner.\nM.A.C. is one with Friends in principle, and, as well as some others of\nthe family, entirely separated from the usual forms of worship.\n\n\nMartha Yeardley, in a letter from which we have already quoted, describes\nthe origin of the asylum.\n\n\nAbout twelve years since M.A. Calame believed herself called to form an\ninstitution for orphans and unfortunate children. She associated some\nothers with her for this object, but having peculiar views on religious\nsubjects, and more perseverance than her colleagues, she was soon left\nnearly alone, with means entirely inadequate to the increasing demands,\nviz., about three francs yearly from a very limited number of persons. The\nchildren daily augmented, and she dared not refuse admission: when in\nnecessity she was encouraged to trust from unexpected donations. This\nincreased her faith; and after some years, a boys' school was added. In\nthis way the institution has been supported without any regular funds.\n\nHer faith is still often very severely tried, but they have never yet been\nsuffered to want. Her refuge in times of extremity is prayer, and it has\nbeen in some instances very evidently answered, so that she has severely\nreproached herself for daring to doubt. In speaking on this subject she\nsaid to me: \"I am at times much beset with temptations when I consider the\nnumber I have thus collected without any visible or certain means of\nsupport; but how can I dare to doubt after so many proofs of the care of\nthe great Master? He knows our wants; he knows these dear children have\nneed of food and clothing, and he provides it for them; and he knows that\nall I desire is to do his will.\"\n\nOn remarking to her the sweet tranquillity and order which reign in these\nschools, she said, \"It is the Master's work; they are taught to love him\nabove all, and to do all for his sake.\" We felt very nearly united to her\nand to an intimate friend who resides with her: they are both what are\ncalled deeply interior characters, and have long withdrawn from the places\nof public worship, but fully unite with our views.\n\nShe is really a very extraordinary character, extremely simple and\ncheerful in her manners, possessing great natural talents, and evincing in\nher conducting of the institution, not only the Spirit, but the\nunderstanding also.--(_To Elizabeth Dudley, 2 mo. 7, 1828._)\n\n\nWith Locle, John and Martha Yeardley's mission to Switzerland for this\ntime terminated. They crossed the frontier into France, and made the best\nof their way through that country, in order to proceed to the Channel\nIslands.\n\n\nThis morning (2 mo. 5,) writes J.Y., Mary Anne Calame and her friend\nZimmerling, with A. Borel, accompanied us two leagues to the ferry, and\nsaw us safe over into France. This last parting with friends so dear to us\nin a foreign land, was very touching; our hearts were humbled under a\nsense of the Heavenly Father's love.\n\n6th.--Passing the custom-house made us late at our quarters, where they\nare not accustomed to receive such guests. Their curiosity to see and know\nwho we are is very great. To prevent French imposition, my M.Y. was to\nbargain beforehand for what we had. On asking what the meal would cost, we\nwere answered they could not tell, for they did not know how much coffee\nwe should drink. This simple but appropriate reply so amused us that it\nput an end to our bargaining.\n\nI shall not soon forget the sensation I felt on passing the river into\nFrance. I could not forbear drawing the discouraging contrast of quitting\nthose to whom we had become united in the gospel of peace, in a country\nthe most beautiful that Nature can present, with a long journey in\nprospect through a dreary country whose inhabitants wish only to get what\nthey can from us. These discouraging fears could only be silenced by\nreflecting that the same protecting Providence presides over all and\neverywhere.\n\n\nTravelling with their own single horse, their favorite _Poppet_, the\nprogress they made was necessarily slow, and they did not reach Paris till\nthe 19th. After spending a few days in that city, they proceeded to\nCherbourg, and arrived there after six days of hard travelling. At this\nplace John Yeardley writes:--\n\n\n3 _mo_. 2.--In looking back on our late travels, a degree of sweet\npeace and thankfulness covered my mind in the humble belief that our weak\nbut sincere desires to do the great Master's will was a sacrifice\nwell-pleasing in his holy sight. In looking forward to the dangers we had\nstill to encounter, I was led closely to examine on what our hope of\npreservation was fixed. Should it please Him who had hitherto blessed us\nwith his presence and protecting care, to put our faith again to the test,\nhow we could bear it, how we should feel at the prospect of going down to\nthe bottom of the great deep. I felt a particular satisfaction that our\ngreat journey had first been accomplished; if this had not been the case\nit would have been a sting in my conscience. But now an awful resignation\nwas experienced, and it came before me as an imperious duty to be resigned\nto life or death; and the joyful hope resounded in my heart, All will be\nwell to those who love not their lives unto death.\n\n\nThe presentiment of danger which this passage describes was speedily\nfulfilled, as was also the hopeful promise by which it was accompanied.\nThey were detained at Cherbourg until the 13th, waiting for a vessel.\nLeaving port early that morning, they landed in Guernsey the next day; and\nit was in going ashore that they were exposed to some danger of their\nlives. John Yeardley thus relates the occurrence:--\n\n\nI descended first into a little boat, and standing on the side to take my\nM.Y. down, the man not holding the boat secure to the ship, our weight\npushed it from us, and we plunged headlong into the sea. My dear M.Y.'s\nclothes prevented her from sinking, and she was first assisted again into\nthe boat. I went overhead, and had to swim several turns before I could\nreach the boat. The salt water being warm, and the time not long, we\nreceived no further injury. What shall we render unto the Lord for all his\nmercies to us, his poor unworthy servants! how often has he made bare his\nmighty arm for our deliverance. In the midst of danger fear was removed\nfrom us, and we were blessed with the unspeakable advantage of presence of\nmind, and enabled to use the best means under Divine Providence to save\nour lives.\n\nThey visited the Friends and a few other persons in Guernsey and Jersey,\nand then proceeded to Weymouth, and on the 25th to Bristol. At Bristol\nand Tewkesbury they were deeply interested in the state of the meetings,\nand had some remarkable service in both places. Taking also Nottingham and\nChesterfield in their way, and being \"well satisfied in not having overrun\nthem,\" they arrived at the cottage at Burton on the 8th of the Fourth\nMonth, having been absent about nine months.\n\n\nIn the retrospect, say they, of this long and arduous journey, we have\nthis testimony unitedly to bear,--that the Arm of divine love has been\nunderneath to support and help us; and although we have had many deep\nbaptisms to pass through, especially when we beheld how in many places the\nfields are white unto harvest, and were fully sensible of our own\ninability to labor therein, yet He who, we trust, sent us forth was often\npleased to raise us from the depth of discouragement, to rejoice in him\nour Saviour. If any fruits arise from our feeble efforts to promote his\ncause, it will be from his blessing resting upon them, for nothing can\npossibly be attached to us but weakness and want of faith. But, blessed be\nhis holy name, he knew the sincerity of our endeavors to do his will, and\nhas been pleased in his condescending mercy to fill our hearts with his\nenriching peace. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nHOME OCCUPATIONS AND TRAVELS IN ENGLAND AND WALES.\n\n1828--1833.\n\nOn their return home Martha Yeardley was attacked with a severe illness,\nconsequent probably on hard travelling and bad accommodation during the\njourney.\n\nUnder date of the 18th of the Fifth Month, J.Y. writes:--\n\n\nHow circumstances change! Last Yearly Meeting we were in London with the\nprospect of a long journey before us, and now my dear Martha is on a bed\nof sickness, and I have myself suffered; but through all there is a degree\nof peaceful resignation in the belief that all is done well that the Great\nMaster does, and that what He keeps is well kept.\n\n\nLater in the day he thus continues his Diary:--\n\n\nThis has been a day of great trial on account of my dear Martha being much\nworse. My poor mind has been distressed at her weak state: I should sink\nunder discouragement, did I not consider that He who sends affliction can\nsupport in it, and he who brings low can raise up in his own time, if it\nbe his blessed will, to which all must be submitted.\n\n\nIn the Seventh Month he took her to Harrowgate, where her health became\nvery much restored, and soon after their return they paid a religious\nvisit to Ackworth School and to the families of Friends in Barnsley.\n\n\nSome of the opportunities at Ackworth, writes John Yeardley, were seasons\nof much contrition of spirit; feeling deeply humbled under a sense of\nDivine goodness and mercy in restoring this large family to usual health\nafter a time of deep affliction.\n\n\nIn the latter part of this year they were much occupied in establishing an\nInfant School at Barnsley; and also in collecting and remitting\nsubscriptions to Mary Anne Calame for her Orphan Institution. In\nacknowledging to Martha Yeardley one of these remittances, M.A.C. writes\nthus:\n\n\nMay our Heavenly Father render thee a hundredfold what thy charity has\nprompted thee to do for my numerous family of children; and may his\nblessing rest on all those who have contributed to it.\n\nWe think of you every day, and we desire to live only to do the holy will\nof our God. Your visit has been a testimony of his love towards us; he has\npermitted that it should be blessed to us; for the remembrance of you\ncarries as towards Him who is the finisher of our faith, where we mingle\nwith you in the unfathomable sea of the divine mercy.\n\nMy large family is much blessed; good and happy tendencies manifest\nthemselves in many, and in general peace reigns through the house. The\nassistant masters and mistresses walk more or less in the presence of the\nLord; the governess [M. Zimmerling] especially grows deeper in the divine\nlife: she is often ill, but she bears this cross, by the help that is\ngiven her from above, with much submission and faith.\n\nLast month we had the pleasure of making a little journey to Berne and the\nneighborhood, to visit our friends there who love you so much. We heard\nthat you had both fallen into the sea, and that thou wast ill in\nconsequence. Thou mayst understand how the wishes of our hearts\nencompassed thee; I have felt my soul for ever united to thine in the\nLord; and it seems to me that if my eyes should never again meet thine in\nthis land of exile, I should speedily recognize thee in the happy mansions\nwhere the goodness of the Redeemer has prepared us a place. O, my sister,\nmay he bless thee, may he bless John whom he has given thee to accomplish\nhis work; may he open thy mouth and direct all thy steps, and give seals\nto thine and thy husband's ministry, and make you increase together unto\nthe stature of Christ.--(12 _mo_. 14, 1828.)\n\n\nThe entries in the Diary at this period are not numerous: we select from\nthem the following short memorandum:--\n\n\n1829. 4 _mo_. 9.--In our usual reading this morning, I was struck\nwith these words: \"If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything\nthat they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in\nheaven.\" (Matt, xviii. 19.) A fervent desire was raised in my heart that\nwe might unitedly ask for faith and strength to do the will of our\nHeavenly Father, and that his blessing and preservation might attend all\nthat concerns us.\n\nIn the Fifth Month they attended the Yearly Meeting; and John Yeardley was\npresent at the anniversary of the Peace Society.\n\n\n5 _mo_. 19.--Attended a meeting of the Peace Society, much to my own\nsatisfaction. It was truly gratifying to hear from those not in profession\nwith us, such strong and decided sentiments against all war, as being not\nonly inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity, but also contrary to\nsound policy. I am convinced _public_ meetings are necessary to keep\nalive _public_ feeling, as well as to excite individual interest. As\nit regards myself, I can say, before attending the meeting I felt but\nlittle concern with respect to this great question.\n\n\nSoon after their return home, they were comforted by the intelligence that\na few of those persons at Neufchatel who had so joyfully received their\ngospel message, had found strength to establish a meeting for worship.\nThis information was contained in a letter from Auguste Borel, from which\nthe following is an extract:--\n\n\nHe who tries the heart, and who knew the sincerity of my desires, deigned\nto hear my prayer on the 24th of February, when, without any previous\nunderstanding, we met four in number at my house at ten o'clock in the\nmorning. This day is called with us _Torch Sunday_, and is a day of\nrejoicing in the world; and, if I ought to say so, during my carnal life\nit was to me a day of true pleasure, which I always looked for with\nimpatience, because of the great bonfires which are then lighted, and\nwhich are seen from our city, illuminating every point of the wide\nhorizon. It is my hope that the God of love, in the analogy of the\nspiritual order of things, may have kindled in our hearts his sacred fire,\nand will condescend to maintain and increase it in time and in eternity.\nSince that time we have continued our meetings without interruption: our\nnumber has not yet exceeded six or seven. We do not force the work, but,\nrecognising that it is the Lord alone who has begun it, I feel daily more\nand more that He alone ought to direct it.\n\n\nA portion of this summer and autumn was occupied by John and Martha\nYeardley with holding public meetings for worship within the compass of\nPontefract and Knaresborough Monthly Meetings. Amongst the notices in the\nDiary of these meetings, are the following:--\n\n\n8 _mo_. 16.--A public meeting at Wooldale, to which name many more\npeople than could get into the house. The Friends said they never saw so\nlarge a meeting in that place. Many of those present expressed their\nsatisfaction by saying they could have sat till morning to hear what was\ndelivered. It is an easy matter to become hearers of the word; but it was\nthe doers of the word that were pronounced happy.\n\n23_rd_.--Meeting at Otley, in the Methodist chapel. It was not very\nfull, but very solid and satisfactory. The last public meeting in this\nplace was held in silence, which might probably be the cause of a small\nattendance on this occasion. It is bard work to bring the people to see\nand feel the advantage of silent worship: the time is not yet come, and\nperhaps never may. We must be willing to help them in the way pointed out,\nand try to strengthen the good in all; for if they are only brought to the\nFather's house, it matters not in what way or through what medium.\n\n\nIn the Eleventh Month they returned to the Monthly Meeting the minute\nwhich had been granted them, and received at the same time a certificate\nto visit some meetings of Friends in the midland and south-western\ncounties.\n\nBefore they left home for this journey, they received intelligence that\nJohn Yeardley's early and intimate friend James A. Wilson was no more.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 24.--My heart, says J.Y., is pained within me, while I\nrecord the loss of one with whom I have been for many years on the most\nintimate terms. He has long had an afflicted tabernacle and a suffering\nmind, which, I believe, contributed to his refinement, and prepared him\nfor the awful change. He had been recommended to go to a warmer climate,\nand had taken up his residence at Glouchester, where he died, which\nprevented us from attending him in his last moments. He possessed much\noriginality of character, joined to sincerity and genuine piety; and I\ndoubt not he experienced the fulfilment of this promise: \"Behold, I have\ncaused thy iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change\nof raiment.\" (Zech. iii. 4.)\n\n\nOn the 11th of the Twelfth Month they left home, and during the next two\nmonths were closely occupied in visiting various meetings from Yorkshire\nto Devonshire.\n\nTheir service commenced with an encouraging meeting at Monyash, in\nDerbyshire.\n\n\n13_th_.--The first meeting we attended was at Monyash. It was larger\nthan we had expected, in consequence of strangers coming in, and proved\nrather a lively commencement to our spiritual course of labor.\n\n\nOn the 14th they held a meeting in the Potteries, in a cottage belonging\nto one of the few Friends in the place. Word having got abroad that\nstrangers were expected, many of the neighbors came in, so that the rooms\nbelow-stairs were filled: it was a refreshing time. They found in the\nwoman to whom the cottage belonged a bright example of piety and charity.\n\n\nShe has been, says J.Y., a cripple from her childhood; but is able to\nmaintain herself by keeping a school for little children; she is not\nunmindful, also, to help her poorer neighbors out of her small earnings.\n\n\nAt Bristol, where they arrived on the 1st of the First Month, 1830, they\nrested a few days at H. and M. Hunt's.\n\n\nWe had, says J.Y. much pleasure in being in this family. Bristol is the\nlargest meeting we have in our Society in England, and to me it was a very\ntrying one on the First-day morning. I was much cast down after meeting;\nbut we staid over the Monthly Meeting on Third-day, which afforded me\nrelief of mind, and I left with as much comfort as I could well desire.\n\n\nAt Plymouth John Yeardley found an object of lively interest in Lady\nRogers' Charity School, established to fit girls for becoming household\nservants. He was gratified with the good order, simplicity, and economy,\nwhich pervaded the institution. Martha Yeardley suffered much during their\njourney in Devonshire, from the inclemency of the weather; and a heavy\nfall of snow on the night of the 17th prevented their leaving Plymouth at\nthe time intended. In consequence of this, they hired a lodging, and\nemployed themselves in visiting the Friends from house to house, and in\norganising an infant school, which the Friends had long desired to see\nestablished.\n\nOn their return from Plymouth they stopped at Sidcot, where they spent\nsome time at the Friends' school. Here the subject of offering prizes to\nchildren came under the notice of J.Y., and like all other subjects\nconnected with education, engaged his serious reflection.\n\n\nIt would certainly be better, he says, if the basis of good actions could\nbe laid in the children's minds on a principle of rectitude and justice,\nso that they might be taught to do well from a love of truth, and not from\na fear of punishment or a hope of reward; but so long as human nature\nremains unchanged, a check against the one and an incitement to the other\nseem to be necessary, as a help to overcome the evil in the mind, until\nthat which is good shall become predominant.\n\n\nThey returned to Yorkshire through Warwick and Leicester, and on reviewing\nthe journey John Yeardley has the following reflections:--\n\n\n2 _mo_. 22.--Almost all the meetings we attended on this journey of\n800 miles are very small, except Birmingham and Bristol, and the life of\nreligion is low among the members in general; which is not much to be\nwondered at, when we consider that many of those meetings are constituted\n[chiefly] of a few individuals who have had a birthright in the\nSociety--born members but not new-born Christians, without the power or\nform of religion, no outward means to excite them to faith and good works.\nIf they neglect the spirit of prayer in themselves, it is not surprising\nthey should grow cold in love and zeal for the noble cause of truth on the\nearth. But in the lowest of these [meetings] there is something alive to\nvisit, and in going along we felt the renewed evidence that we were in our\nright allotment in thus going about, endeavoring to strengthen the things\nthat remain; and though we have had to pass through much suffering, both\noutward and inward, yet we have also experienced times of rejoicing in\ndoing the will of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\n\nAfter the Quarterly Meeting in the Third Month they visited each of the\nmeetings within their own Monthly Meeting, \"thinking,\" says J.Y., \"a\nlittle pastoral care was due to our Friends at home, seeing we are often\nconcerned to go abroad.\"\n\nIn the Fifth Month they went up to the Yearly Meeting, via Lincolnshire,\ntaking several meetings in the way. Among the subjects which occupied\nFriends in their annual conference this year was that of missions to the\nheathen, which, it was proposed by some, should he taken up by the\nSociety.\n\n\nThe subject, writes John Yeardley, was fully entered into, and the\ninterest was very great. Many Friends spoke their sentiments freely and\nfeelingly, and the subject was taken on minute to be revived nest year. If\nthis important matter were brought home to each individual of us, there\nwould be more missionaries prepared and sent forth to labor; but we love\nease and our homes, contenting ourselves with reading and talking about\nwhat is going forward in the great cause of religion and righteousness in\nthe earth.\n\n\nThey returned home through the midland counties, visiting most of the\nmeetings in Oxfordshire, and in the parts adjacent; which they had been\nunable to do the previous year in returning from the West.\n\nIt was comforting to us, John Yeardley says, to be with Friends in\nOxfordshire, whom we had so long thought of. Many of their meetings are\nsmall; but there are a few individuals among them precious and improving\ncharacters, who, I believe, are under the preparing hand for greater\nusefulness in the Lord's church. With these we were often dipped into near\nunion of spirit, which sometimes caused the divine life to rise among us\nto the refreshing of our spirits.\n\n\nIn the Sixth Month they again left home, being minded to see how the\nchurches fared in the eastern part of Yorkshire. The point which most\ninterested them in this tour was Scarborough, where they were attracted\nboth by the town itself and by the little society of Friends. \"It felt to\nus,\" says J.Y., \"very much like a home. We lodged at Elizabeth Rowntree's,\na sweet resting-place.\" (7 _mo_. 4.)\n\nAt the same time that they reported to their Monthly Meeting the attention\nthey had paid to this service, they received its sanction to undertake a\njourney in Wales.\n\n\nIt is truly humbling to us, writes John Yeardley, in describing this\noccasion, thus to have to expose ourselves, poor and weak as we are; but\nthe cause is not our own, but is in the hands of our great Lord and\nMaster. May he help us! (7 _mo_. 19.)\n\n\nThey left home on the 7th of the Eighth Month, and spent the 11th at\nCoalbrookdale, in the company of Barnard Dickinson and his wife. From\nthence Samuel Hughes accompanied them as guide into Wales, and continued\nwith them a week.\n\n\nHe proved, says J.Y., a most efficient helper in this wild country,\nknowing the roads well, and he was kind and attentive to us and our horse.\nThe stages are long and hilly, and we are often obliged to go many miles\nround the mountains to make our way from one place to another. The road to\nPales is over the moors; we scarcely saw a house for miles, except here\nand there a little cot, on a plot of ground obtained as a grant to\nencourage industry. These little dwellings were generally surrounded by a\nfew acres of well-cultivated land enclosed from the moor. It is much to be\nregretted that the plan of cottage culture is not more generally promoted;\nwherever I see it practised I view it with pleasure, as tending to\nincrease the comforts of the poor.\n\n\nOn the 19th they attended the Half-year's Meeting at Swansea. A Committee\nof the Yearly Meeting was present. Elizabeth Dudley was also there, with a\ncertificate for religious service; and she and John and Martha Yeardley,\nfinding that the errand on which they were come was the same, resolved to\njoin company and travel together through South and North Wales. They were\naccompanied throughout the journey by Robert and Jane Eaton of Bryn-y-Mor.\n\nAs there are very few meetings of Friends in Wales, the chief part of\ntheir service was beyond the limits of the Society. They met with great\nopenness in many places from the Methodists and other preachers and their\ncongregations. From the notes which John Yeardley made of their religious\nlabors in this journey, we select several passages.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 13. Aberystwith.--Our first object was to inquire for a place\nof meeting. We found they were all engaged for that evening, which\ndetained us here a day longer than we had expected; but this little\ndetention enabled us to make acquaintance with two of the Independent\npreachers, to whom we became much attached in gospel fellowship, A.\nShadrach and his son. The father preaches in Welsh, and the son in\nEnglish. It was comforting to us to meet with two such pious,\nhumble-minded Christians, laboring diligently to forward the cause of\nreligion. They kindly offered us their chapel for the evening, and after\nthe meeting they both expressed much satisfaction in having been favored\nwith such an opportunity.\n\n9 _mo_. 15.--We arrived pretty early at Machynlleth, which is a clean\nlittle town. We did not know but that we might have proceeded on our\njourney after having refreshed ourselves and our horses; but, E.D. feeling\nmuch interested for the people of the town, it seemed best to have a\nmeeting with them. I walked out, and seeing a good meeting-house, inquired\nto what persuasion of people it belonged, and found it was an Independent\nchapel, and that the minister lived about a mile and a half in the\ncountry.\n\nThe prospect of being unable to make the people understand us was\ndiscouraging; for in the streets there was nothing to be heard but Welsh.\nHowever there was no time for reasoning, it being near twelve o'clock, and\nall must be arranged by seven in the evening. After some difficulty we\nfound the preacher, a kind-hearted pious man, who readily granted his\nchapel, and undertook to act as interpreter should occasion require. This\nwas the only place where we adopted the vulgar mode of giving notice by\nthe town-crier, so common on all occasions in this country; but the time\nwas short, and many of the people were not able to read our English\nnotices, which we generally filled up for the purpose.\n\nThe meeting was pretty fully attended, and the people were mostly quiet,\nconsidering there were many who could not understand. When E.D. sat down\nthe minister repeated in substance what she had said; for, not being used\nto speak through an interpreter, she declined his giving sentence by\nsentence. When he had done, I felt something press on my mind towards the\npoorer classes present, who I was sure could not understand English: so I\nstepped down from the pulpit, and placing myself by the minister,\nrequested he would render for me a few sentences as literally as he could.\nThis he did kindly, and, I believe, faithfully, to the relief of my mind.\nHe then addressed a few words on his own account to the assembly and\ndismissed them. We regretted the want of the native language, as we could\nnot have the same command over the meeting as would otherwise have been\nthe case.\n\n\nAt Barmouth, instead of convening the people to hear the word, they had to\nexercise a Christian gift of a different kind--the gift of spiritual\njudgment.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 19.--On entering Barmouth we thought of a meeting with the\ninhabitants; but on feeling more closely at the subject the way did not\nappear clear; there was something which we could neither see nor feel\nthrough. This power of spiritual discrimination is very precious. How\ninstructive it is to mark our impressions under various circumstances and\nat different times!\n\n9 _mo_. 25.--At Ruthin we obtained information respecting the few\nindividuals at Llangollen who profess with Friends, and set off to pay\nthem a visit. We arrived at the beautiful vale of Llangollen to dinner,\nand alighted at the King's Head Inn, at the foot of the bridge, which\nafforded us a fine view of the Dee. There are at present only four or five\npersons who meet regularly as Friends. They live scattered in the country,\nand are in the humbler walks of life; but we thought them upright-hearted\nChristians who had received their religious principles from conviction. We\nsaw them on First-day morning in the room where they usually meet, and\nagain in the evening at our inn, and were much comforted in being with\nthem. The room where they meet is in such [an obscure situation] that we\nshould never have found it without a guide. We thought it right to procure\nthem a more convenient room, which we did.\n\n27_th_.--In the evening we had a public meeting in the Independent\nChapel, which was crowded; there is much openness in the minds of the\npeople to receive the truths of the gospel. Before the assembly separated,\nwe proposed to them to establish a school for poor children; several\npresent their conviction of the want of such an institution, and the\nminister was so warm, in the cause that he proposed their commencing\nwithout delay.\n\n28_th_.--We went to Wrexham, and had a meeting in the evening. The\nnotice was short, but the people came punctually, and a precious time it\nwas. After it was over several bore testimony to the good which had been\nextended to them that evening, and were ready to cling to the instruments,\ninviting us to have a meeting with them when we came again that way.\n\nThis favored time, at the close of our labors among a people whom I much\nlove, seemed like a crown on our exit from long-to-be-remembered Wales. My\nheart was humbled in reverent thankfulness to the Father of all our\nmercies, who had graciously preserved us in outward danger, and sustained\nus in many an inward conflict.\n\n\nAt Coalbrookdale they bade an affectionate and gospel farewell to the\nFriends with whom they had been so closely united in this long journey,\nand returned to Burton on the 20th of the Tenth Month.\n\nIn the Eleventh Month they made a circuit through Lancashire, taking all\nthe meetings of Friends in course. They found \"several meetings chiefly\ncomposed of such as had joined the Society on the ground of convincement,\nmostly in places where no ministering Friend resided.\" In visiting one of\nthese small meetings, John Yeardley relates a circumstance in the gospel\nlabors of his friend Joseph Wood:--\n\n\nWe visited a little newly-settled meeting at Thornton Marsh, near Poulton\nin the Fylde. Our worthy friend Joseph Wood had the first meeting of our\nSociety that was ever held in this part. It is so thinly inhabited that\nthe Friends wondered at his concern to request a meeting; but one was\nappointed for him at an inn, I think a solitary house; a good many poor\npeople came, and it was a most remarkable time. J.W. said afterwards he\nbelieved there would be a meeting of Friends in that neighborhood, but\nperhaps not in his time. It has now been settled about eighteen months.\n\n\nThis journey occupied them about two weeks, and on returning home John\nYeardley makes the following animating remark:--\n\n\nThe retrospect of this journey in connexion with that of Wales afforded a\nsweet feeling of peace. We were often low and discouraged, but help was\nmercifully extended in the time of need. I often wish I had more faith to\ngo forth in entire reliance on the Divine Arm of power, for truly in the\nLord Jehovah is everlasting strength.\n\n\nOn the conclusion of this engagement followed a month of quiet but\nindustrious occupation at home.\n\n\n12 _mo_. 25.--A month has been spent in the quiet, in reading, writing,\nand many other things in course. Leisure being afforded, I have spent a\ngood deal of time in reading diligently and attentively the Holy\nScriptures, I trust to some profit.\n\n\nAfter this seasonable pause, John and Martha Yeardley were much occupied\nwith a projected change in their place of residence, which issued in their\nremoval, in the spring of 1831, to Scarborough. The motive which induced\nthem to make choice of this place, and the feelings under which the change\nwas accomplished, are fully unfolded in the Diary.\n\n\nWe have for some time been on the look-out for a change in our residence.\nInclination would have led us to remain in our own Monthly Meeting, but a\nstrong impression that it might be right for us to remove for some time to\nScarborough, has remained with us ever since we visited that place in the\nSeventh Month, and has always stood in the way of our fixing elsewhere,\nalthough very often have we tried to put it from us. We were so desirous\nto settle at C. [near Pontefract], that only five pounds a year in the\nrent saved us from taking the step. It was my prayer at the time, and\nalways has been, that we might be rightly directed, and I had a hope that\nif it was not right for us to go to C. something might turn up to prevent\nit. And since we could not agree for the house which was offered us in\nthat place, we concluded to go for a short time to Scarborough, and try\nthe fleece there, under the belief that we should then be enabled rightly\nto determine. This I hope has been the case, for we had not been many\ndays, I may say hours, in the town, before we were fully convinced it was\nthe place for us to settle in.\n\n\nHaving made trial of Scarborough, they returned to Burton to arrange for\ntheir removal, which took place on the 7th of the Fifth Month.\n\nWe have now seen John Yeardley for many years in the devoted exercise of\nhis calling of a gospel minister. It is instructive to follow him, as we\nare able to do soon after his removal to Scarborough, into his chamber,\nand see how, when alone with the gracious Giver, he was wont to regard the\nprecious gift; how he lamented that he had not used the talent more\ndiligently; and how his mind was enlarged to see the grace and power which\nthe Lord is ready to bestow on those who seek and trust him with their\nwhole heart.\n\n\n6 _mo_. 8.--The important duty of a gospel minister has this day been\nbrought closely under my consideration. It is most assuredly the imperious\nduty of those who are called to feed the flock, to labor diligently for\nthe good of others. With respect to myself, I feel greatly ashamed; and it\nhas occurred to me that should I he cast on a bed of sickness, or\notherwise be deprived of an opportunity of exercising this gift, it would\nbe an awful consideration, and cause of deep regret, that I had not better\nimproved the time. The hardness of heart in others, as well as in one's\nself, is difficult to penetrate; nothing but the power of divine grace can\nreach it, and this requires not only waiting for, but also laboring to\novercome the wandering and unsettled thoughts to which the poor mind is\nsubject. Merciful Father, give me more confidence in the gift which, thou\nhast bestowed on me, and favor me with a greater portion of strength to\nminister thy word faithfully. \"Who then is that faithful and wise steward\nwhom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their\nportion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when\nhe cometh shall find so doing.\"--(Luke xii. 42, 43.)\n\n\nTenderly mindful of the religious wants of those whom they had lately\nleft, so early as the Seventh Month John and Martha Yeardley revisited the\nseveral congregations in Pontefract Monthly Meeting. They were both\nhumbled and comforted in the course of this visit.\n\n\nWe were, says J.Y., united in sympathy to many dear friends within the\ncircle from whence we have removed, and I was strengthened to labor\naccording to the ability received from day to day.\n\nSince this little journey, he continues, we have been pretty much at home\nattending the meetings in course in the neighborhood. We are comfortably\nsettled in our new abode, which feels to us really a home as to the\noutward in every respect; and in a religious sense we entirely believe it\nis our right allotment for the present.\n\n\nIn this new halting-place of his earthly pilgrimage, John Yeardley\nexperienced an increase of freedom, of spirit, and of faith and joy in his\nSaviour.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 7.--For a few days past I have felt my mind raised above the earth\nand fixed on heavenly things. I desire that the blessed Saviour may more\nand more be the medium through which I may view every object as worthy [or\nunworthy] the pursuit of a devoted Christian. I humbly trust this quietude\nof mind is in answer to prayer; for I have long supplicated for a renewal\nof faith, and that a little spiritual strength might he given me to rise\nabove the slavish fear of man. My heart was almost sick with doubting; but\non Fourth-day last a bright hope livingly sprang in my soul that I should\nyet be favored to attain to greater liberty in the exercise of my gift in\nthe ministry, if I were faithful in accepting the portion of strength\nwhich is offered. Grant that this may be the case, dearest Saviour!\n\n10 _mo_. 23.--My heart is filled with wonder, love and praise, in\ncontemplating the goodness of Almighty God to his poor, unworthy\ncreatures. When we have done all that is required of us, we are\nunprofitable servants; but how often we come short of doing this. And yet\nso gracious, so good, and so just is our Divine Master, that he suffers\nnot the least act of obedience to lose its reward, but is continually\nencouraging and stimulating us to greater devotedness of heart.\n\n\nThe persuasion which he and Martha Yeardley entertained of the need there\nwas in the Society for increased means of scriptural instruction, led\nthem, soon after they removed to Scarborough, to propose the establishment\nof a Bible class. The plan was for questions on the Scriptures, to be\ngiven in anonymously in writing by the members, and answers to be returned\nin the same way at the next meeting. The scheme was at that time almost,\nif not quite, a novelty in the Society, but it was accepted with pleasure\nand confidence by the Friends of Scarborough, and the meetings were\nmaintained for many years. There is an intermission in J.Y.'s diary at\nthis period, but he makes allusion to the class soon after its\nestablishment in a letter to his sisters S. and R.S.\n\n\nChapel House, 6 mo. 30, 1832.\n\nBy way of a relaxation from haymaking this charming morning, I have been\nagain perusing your affectionate notes, which you were so kind and\nthoughtful as to forward us by our dear brother and family. I felt the\ndeprivation exceedingly of not attending the last Yearly Meeting, but\nquite think it may have been all for the best.\n\nBut I will proceed at once to the real object of my now addressing you,\nwhich is to say we cannot be satisfied without your paying us a visit this\nsummer. We think we have much to invite you to. I think you would feel\nsome interest in our Bible class: it becomes increasingly instructive and\nagreeable to all engaged in it. I so highly approve of this mode of\nScripture instruction, that I think the time is not far distant when they\nwill become more general. We meet once every two weeks when nothing\nintervenes to prevent.\n\n\nThe autumn of this year was taken up with a series of public meetings,\nmostly in the East Riding, in the greater part of which J. and M.Y. had\nthe company of Isabel Casson of Hull.\n\nIn the Eleventh. Month, at the same time that they returned the minute\nwhich had been granted them, for this service, they laid before their\nfriends the prospect of more extensive travel in the work of the Gospel\nthan any they had undertaken before. The time was come for John Yeardley\nto pay that debt of Christian love to the benighted inhabitants of Greece\nwhich he had felt to press for years upon his mind; and at the same time\nhe and Martha Yeardley believed it to be required of them to revisit some\nof the places of their former service, and to take up their abode for a\nwhile with companies of persons whom they should find like-minded with\nthemselves; and also to perform the unaccomplished duty of visiting the\nPiedmontese valleys. Considering the extent of country over which they\ntravelled, the varied nature of their labors, and the large number of\nserious-minded and sympathizing persons with whom they were brought into\nrelation, this journey may perhaps be regarded as the most active and\nfruitful period of their lives. We are able, as we have so often been\nbefore, to read their impressions of duty, and their feelings, their\nhopes, doubts, and aspirations, in J.Y.'s simple and faithful Diary.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 7.--Yesterday was our Monthly Meeting at Pickering, and to me a\nvery memorable one. We stated to our friends the prospect of a visit to\nsome of the Grecian Islands and the Morea, the Protestant valleys of\nPiedmont, and some parts of Germany, Switzerland, and France. It is about\nfive years since I first received the impression that it would be my\nreligious duty to stand resigned to a service of the above kind. For the\nlast nine months it has not been absent from my thoughts for many hours\ntogether. It has cost me not a little to come at resignation; but my\nHeavenly Father has been very gracious, and has brought me into a\nwillingness to do his will. If I know my own heart I have one prevailing\ndesire, and that is to devote the remainder of my days to his service; and\nmy prayers are very fervent that he may be pleased to give me faith,\npatience, and perseverance to do and to suffer all that his wisdom may\npermit to befal me. I am often ready to covenant with him to go where he\nmay be pleased to send, even to the ends of the world, if he will\nstrengthen me with his strength, enlighten me with his light, guide me by\nhis counsel, and prepare me for glory. \"If thy presence go not with me,\ncarry us not up hence.\"\n\n\nThey left Scarborough in the Second Month, and spent the time which\nintervened before the Yearly Meeting in social visits in London and the\nneighborhood, in preparing for the journey and studying the modern Greek\nlanguage.\n\n\nNothing, says J.Y., could exceed the interest which our friends take in\ndoing all in their power to forward our views with respect to the\nimportant mission before us.--(3 mo. 4.)\n\n\nA chief desideratum had been to find a Greek who should accompany them as\nguide into his native country. \"Ever since,\" says M.Y., in a letter of the\nTwelfth Month, 1832, \"we have resigned ourselves to this arduous mission,\nmy dear husband has frequently said, 'If we are to go into Greece, how I\nwish we might find some companion for the journey, some _Greek_ to\nconduct us into his country, to us altogether strange and unknown!'\" A\nletter from Stephen Grellet to William Allen, which was sent down to J.\nand M. Yeardley, was the opportune means of supplying this want. It spoke\nof a Greek girl then at the school at Locle, named Argyri Climi, who was\nexceedingly desirous of returning to Greece, and whose simple and\nteachable character recommended her at once to their attention. \"When,\"\ncontinues M.Y., \"we came to this part of Stephen Grellet's letter, we were\nboth deeply moved, believing that thus the way might be prepared before\nus.\"\n\nThey communicated their thoughts on this interesting subject to M.A.\nCalame, proposing when they visited Locle to take A. Climi as their\ncompanion into Greece. During their sojourn in London they received a\nletter from A. Climi, written in French, in which that amiable young\nperson signified the pleasure and gratitude with which she accepted their\nproposal.\n\n\nLocle. 29th of April, 1833.\n\nExcuse the liberty which I take of writing to testify my great gratitude\nfor your kind intention to take me with you and bring me back to my\ncountry. How could I have ventured to hope that I should have the\nhappiness of being with such kind and beloved friends. I cannot express\nthe joy I felt when Mademoiselle Calame made your proposal known to me.\nHow great is the mercy of God! How often might he have turned away his\nface from me and cast me off; but instead of forsaking me he has looked\nupon me in mercy, and shown me that he wills not that sinners should\nperish, but that they should have eternal life. Was it not he who saved me\nfrom the hands of the Turks, and brought me to Switzerland, and placed me\nwith charitable protectors, who are never weary of doing me good? And now\nhe has crowned it all, by giving you to me as guides and protectors in my\nlong journey, and that I may settle again in my own country.\n\nYour grateful\n\nARGYRI CLIMI.[6]\n\n\nThe meeting in London at which their prospect of foreign travel was\nratified, was a time of spiritual favor. With such credentials, and with a\nsense of the divine commission and guidance, clear and unmistakable, like\nthat which John Yeardley enjoyed, many may be ready to exclaim, Who would\nnot go forth on an errand like this to the ends of the earth! Such may be\nreminded, for their consolation, that if the will is laid as an unbroken\noffering at the foot of the cross; if all their powers are consecrated to\nthe Lord, and his Spirit is suffered to penetrate and transform every part\nof their being; though a field of labor such as that which was appointed\nto John and Martha Yeardley may not be appointed to them, they will, in an\nequal degree, inherit the blessing of doing their Lord's will, and may\nrest in the promise, \"They that wait upon Him shall not want any good\nthing.\"\n\n\n5 _mo_. 21.--Yearly Meeting of Ministers and Elders. Third-day morning. Our\nvisit to the Grecian Islands, &c. claimed the attention of the meeting. It\nwas a very precious time; a sweet solemnity prevailed; several Friends\nsaid afterwards, they thought they had never known quite so full an\nexpression of unity and encouragement on any former occasion. What a favor\nit is to have the sympathy and concurrence of the church in such important\nconcerns! My heart's desire and prayers are that we may be preserved\nhumble and watchful, relying for help and strength on nothing short of our\nDivine Master, the holy Head of his own church. Whatever may befal us on\nour intended journey, I wish once more to record my firm conviction that\nit is the Lord's requiring, and come life, come death, I desire that my\nheart and soul may be given up fully to follow Him who laid down his own\nprecious life for my sake,--a poor unworthy sinner.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, OR THE JOURNEY TO GREECE.\n\n1833-4.\n\nPART I.--THE JOURNEY TO ANCONA.\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley left London on the 21st of the Sixth Month, 1833.\n\nTravelling through France they found in the places where they halted more\nof simplicity and Christian life than they had expected. In Paris,\nespecially, they were quickly brought into contact with a number of pious\npersons to whom their society and their doctrine were welcome, and they\nvisited many benevolent institutions conducted on broad Christian\nprinciples. This was in the early part of Louis Philippe's reign, and\nunder the administration of Guizot. In reading their account of these\ninstitutions, we are painfully reminded how much the rising tide of\nreligious liberty has been checked and driven back by the bands of\npriestcraft and arbitrary power.\n\nHere, and elsewhere during their journey, they wrote letters to members of\nthe Foreign Committee of the Meeting for Sufferings, descriptive of their\nreligions labors, from which, after their return, a selection was printed\nfor the use of Friends. Besides these letters, John Yeardley kept his\nusual Diary, which often enables us to add to the narrative, traits of\ncharacter and reflections not to be found in their joint epistles.\n\nAmongst the first persons upon whom they called in Paris, were the\nProtestant bookseller Risler, and Pastor Grandpierre: the former they\nfound to be devoted heart and soul to the diffusion of evangelical\nreligion; the latter they had known on their former journey, and he\nreceived them as his Christian friends. He introduced them to Mademoiselle\nChabot, a lady who spent her time in translating religious and useful\nbooks into French, and had a class of children in the First-day school.\nRespecting this lady, they say:--\n\n\nOur introduction to this precious character was much to our comfort. We\nrejoiced together in contemplating the wonderful work which the Lord has\nin mercy begun, and is carrying on in this great city. On First-day\nafternoons she attends a school, to which the children of the rich go, as\nwell as the poor, to be instructed in the Scriptures. The young persons in\nher class learn texts, and are questioned to see if they thoroughly\nunderstand the subject. On our asking whether the children answered the\nquestions from what they had learnt by heart, she replied, \"No; it would\nbe of no use, you know, for the dear children to repeat merely by rote; we\nwant the great truths of the gospel to sink into their hearts.\"\n\nAfter this visit, which refreshed our spirits a little, we called on\nMadame D'Aublay, sister-in-law to Brissot, who was executed in the time of\nRobespierre. She is a Roman Catholic, and thinks the groundwork of true\nreligion to be in their church, but that their customs and the mass are\nnothing worth. We left her some tracts, and amongst them one of Judge\nHale's, which struck her so forcibly on reading it, that she followed us\nto our hotel, to say how much it was suited to her state of mind.\n\n\n6 _mo_. 30.--After our little meeting this morning with the few\nfriends resident here, and some others, we went to the Protestant Chapel,\nin the Rue Taitbout, to hear the children examined in the Scriptures. Many\nof the parents were present. The class which we attended was conducted by\nMademoiselle Chabot. The subject was the crucifixion of our Saviour, the\n27th chapter of Matthew. The children repeated the portion they had\nlearnt, and then Mademoiselle C. questioned them in a simple, sweet, and\ninstructive manner, calculated to impress the great truths of Christianity\non their minds. A gentleman examined a class of boys; and after this\ncourse of exercise was finished, De Pressense gave them a lecture from the\nOld Testament. The subject was the healing of Naaman, and the manner of\nproceeding was simple; the child called upon stood up and answered pretty\nmuch as they do at Ackworth; he repeated a few verses directly bearing on\nthe subject, and the application which was made was admirable. We were\nreally edified in being present. How much this kind of instruction is\nwanted for many of our poor children in England! How delightful it is to\nsee a large room filled with Roman Catholic children and parents, all\nreceiving Christian instruction together! The Roman Catholics no longer\nobject to send their children to Protestants, because they know they will\nbe well instructed. The chapel is a beautiful room, with a circular\ngallery supported on pillars, and a dome top; and it is the identical\nplace where, only two years ago, the Saint Simonians held forth their\ndoctrines:--\n\n\n    ...... Oh reformation rare,\n    The den of modern infidels is become a house of prayer!\n\n\n7 _mo_. 2.--We had a long walk to the Rue St. Maur, to meet by\nappointment our kind friend De Pressense to visit the schools for mutual\ninstruction. At this season of the year the children are more busy with\ntheir parents than usual; but in winter there are 200 boys, 200 girls, and\n200 children in the infant school, with an evening school for adults.\nScripture extracts are made use of, and also the Scriptures themselves. We\nwere struck with the quiet and good order of all these schools. I have\nseen very few in England where the same stillness is observable. With the\nexception of some three or four, all the children are Roman Catholics; and\non First-days, particularly in winter, the room is filled with Roman\nCatholic men and women, mostly parents of the children, who come to hear\nthem examined in the Scriptures and to receive instruction themselves. Our\nconductor showed us the boys' gardens. On the walls were grapes hanging in\nlarge bunches, belonging to the master. The boys are so far from stealing\nthem, that if they find any on the ground, they take them to him. Of the\nchildren who attend at the school, forty-six are provided with bed, board,\nand clothing, at a neighboring establishment.\n\n\nOne of the most interesting men with whom J. and M.Y. became acquainted\nwas Pastor Audebez.\n\n\nHe was, say they, formerly minister at Bordeaux, but received a strong\nimpression that it was his religious duty to come to Paris. Soon after he\nleft Bordeaux, a great awakening took place in that neighborhood under the\nministry of his successor, while with himself at Paris all seemed darkness\nand discouragement. This induced him to think he had done wrong in\nremoving, and he was much distressed; but as he persevered in doing what\npresented as his duty, his way for usefulness in this great city opened in\na remarkable manner. He first opened the chapel in the Taitbout, and then\none in the Faubourg du Temple, where his labors have been crowned with\nsuccess. He told us with great simplicity that he never premeditated or\nwrote his sermons, but after reading a portion of Scripture proceeded to\nspeak from what he felt to impress his mind at the time. He said some of\nthe ministers considered their discourse before delivering it, and he\nbelieved their mode of preaching was also blessed. Being accustomed to\narrange their thoughts in methodical order, perhaps such might not perform\nso well in any other way, and the people were used to it; but he preferred\nspeaking from a more spontaneous spring of thought, though not so well\narranged as to theological order.\n\nWe felt much inclined to hear him for ourselves, and attended in the Rue\nSt. Maur on First-day evening; and we have this testimony to bear,--that\nwe heard the _gospel_ preached to the _poor_. He first read the\n25th Psalm, and then part of the Epistle to the Romans, which formed the\nbasis of his exhortation. It reminded me of [what I have read of] the\npreaching of the early Christians. My very heart went with his impressive\nexhortation to believe in the Lord Jesus as the only means of salvation,\nand of the necessity of bringing forth fruits unto holiness.\n\n7 _mo_. 5.--Pastor Grandpierre came to pay us a visit with four of\nhis missionary students. We had a precious religious opportunity with\nthem. The Pastor expressed his belief that the power and presence of the\nSaviour had been evidently felt among us. The young men were much\ntendered; one of them was a grandson of the late Pastor Oberlin, and had\nbeen sensibly affected by what Stephen Grellet had said in a meeting at\nhis father's place of worship in the Ban de la Roche. Three of the young\nmen who were in the institution at our last visit to Paris are now in\nAfrica. We admire the principle on which this establishment is conducted;\nthe inmates are not sent out unless they believe it to be their duty to\ngo; if this be not the case at the expiration of their term, they return\nhome.\n\n\nOn the 7th John Yeardley, accompanied by Joseph Grellet, brother of\nStephen Grellet, visited the Sabbath-school in the Rue St. Maur. Martha\nYeardley was indisposed and unable to leave the house.\n\n\nWhen the classes had finished, says J.Y., De Pressense proposed to give a\nlecture on a subject from the Old Testament, and bestowed great pains to\nmake it clear to the infant capacities of the children. I had intimated to\nmy worthy friend a desire for liberty to express what might arise in my\nmind when he had done, which was most readily granted, and after I had\nspoken to the children, there seemed great liberty in addressing the\nteachers, parents and young persons present. There was much seriousness\nthe whole time and a precious sense of divine love was over us. Our kind\nfriend, J. Grellet, interpreted for me in an impressive and clear manner.\n\n\nThe name of Mark Wilks has been for many years identified with the cause\nof evangelical religion in Paris. John Yeardley had an interview with him,\nand makes an interesting note in his Diary regarding his opinions on the\nstate of religious parties at this period.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 9.--This morning I had an interview with Mark Wilks. He\nreceived me very cordially, and, as I expected, I found him full of\nreligious intelligence; he is just returned from a tour in Switzerland,\nand speaks encouragingly of the state of the Christian church in general.\nHe has resided in Paris fifteen years, and of course seen many changes. He\nassured me that the arm of infidelity is weakening; nothing like the same\nexertion is made to spread the vile doctrine. The fact is, in some degree,\nthe people are too indifferent to trouble themselves about it, and would\nnot spend a son for its promotion; on the other hand, zealous Christians\nare doing all in their power to promote the spread of gospel truth.\n\n\nOn the 15th John S. Mollet, who had arrived in Paris after them,\naccompanied J. and M.Y. to Madame d'Aublay's.\n\n\nWe met, they say, several of her relations who professed to be Catholics,\nbut were rather of the philosophical school. They were interested in the\nconversation, though nothing of a religious nature occurred. Madame\nd'Aublay has distributed many of our books and tracts. The next day she\ntook us to see more of her friends, much of the same character. We have a\nhope that our drawing some of these to the really Christian characters may\ndo good, since each class expressed surprise to hear us speak to them of\nthe other. It will be no small satisfaction if any of our Society here\nshould be like the mortar to bind parties together, and weaken prejudice,\nthat the one true knowledge may increase.\n\n21_st_--Attended the chapel at the Taitbout this morning. Heard a\ndiscourse by Pastor Grandpierre; he preaches the gospel in its purity,\nwith much of the right unction. We did not feel out of our place in being\npresent, and I trust it may have its use both on ourselves and others.\nThis kind of Christian liberty seems to open our way among the people. In\nthe evening we had quite a large meeting in our room; several of the\nattenders at the Taitbout coming in, together with the Friends in Paris.\nIt was, adds John Yeardley, a precious tendering time, and I trust\nstrength was given to preach the gospel; the sick and afflicted were not\nforgotten by my M. Y. In supplication.\n\n\nBy \"the sick\" in the foregoing passage was probably intended Rachel, wife\nof Dr. Waterhouse of Liverpool, and daughter of David and Abigail Dockray.\nThis young Friend, who was ill in the neighborhood of Paris, was about to\nbe removed to England, but at the very time when the carriage was at the\ndoor she was struck with paralysis. This happened two days before the\nmeeting just described, and J. and M.Y. had hastened to offer their\nsympathy and aid to her afflicted husband and mother. They deferred their\ndeparture from Paris in order to remain with the family, and they both\ntook turns in assisting to watch, by the bed-side of the sufferer. She\nsurvived only a few days, and expired, in the hope and peace of the\ngospel, the day after they quitted the city.\n\nWe may conclude the narrative of this interesting visit to Paris with a\nshort reflection by Martha Yeardley.\n\n\nI have been renewedly confirmed since being in Paris that our first\nreligious awakening proceeds from the immediate influence of the Spirit on\nthe heart of man, and this is the doctrine preached and maintained by the\nwritings of the truly devoted Christians in this place, who are brought to\nprofess living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega, the\nBeginning and the End.\n\n\nThey found the country on the road to Nancy very agreeable.\n\n\n29_th, evening_.--The white houses among the trees, and the vines on the\nhill-sides, form a picturesque landscape. The reapers were busy in the\nharvest fields; and the ground that is cleared of its burdens gives proof\nof the diligence of the French farmer; the plougher, if not the sower,\nliterally overtakes the reaper. In the forepart of the route we saw much\nwood and water, hill and dale, with cattle feeding in the peaceful\npastures, which is a lovely sight. As we advanced towards Chalons, it\nbecame less interesting, more flat, with fewer trees and meadows.\nEverywhere the harvest more forward than in England, but the crops much\nmore light and thin.\n\n\nThey entered Nancy under a feeling of gloom, and it was some time before\nthey could find relief to their minds; but by patiently pursuing the paths\nof intercourse which opened before them, they were enabled to deposit with\nsome serious individuals their accustomed testimony to the simple\nspiritual nature of the gospel. In allusion to this trial of their\npatience John Yeardley remarks:--\n\n\nI cannot, I dare not, complain, when I think of the difficulties some of\nour Friends had to encounter who travelled on the Continent years ago,\nwhen darkness prevailed to a much greater extent. The want of the\nlanguage, &c., which some of them experienced, must have been very trying.\nIt is to me an unspeakable comfort to be able to understand the language\nof the country where we travel.\n\n\nTravelling by the Diligence being too rapid for Martha Yeardley's state of\nhealth, they hired a carriage and horses to take them to Strasburg, and\nfound this mode of travelling less expensive, as well as much less\nfatiguing, than the public conveyance.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 5.--Left Nancy at 6 o'clock in the morning, and had a\ndelightful journey. I feel particularly peaceful in spirit, and a degree\nof resignation pervades my heart to be given fully up to do the will of my\nHeavenly Father.\n\nOur mode of travelling afforded us an opportunity of calling at\nPhalsbourg, where we found a handful of Protestants, about twenty-six\nfamilies, mostly German settlers. On inquiring for the minister, we found\nhe was engaged with his class at the college. His wife appeared surprised\nat seeing such strangers, thinking from our dress and our speaking French,\nwe were no doubt Roman Catholics. We soon perceived the family were\nGermans, and I then addressed them in their native tongue, which\nimmediately, opened the way to their hearts. Nothing would satisfy the\ngood woman but that we must call at the college to see her husband. He was\nembarrassed on being so suddenly called out of the class, and appeared a\nlittle fearful; but when he understood who we were, and our mission, he\nbecame almost overjoyed to see us. There has been a little awakening in\nthis place, and a desire to obtain the Scriptures. One of them said, \"I\nhave been accustomed to smoke tobacco, but have now left it off, and I\nwill put the money into the box to save for a Bible.\" Another said, \"I\nhave been accustomed to take snuff, but I will now save the money for a\nBible.\" And another said, \"I have drunk more wine than I need; I will take\nless, and subscribe for a Bible.\" This little account in such a dark\nplace was quite cheering; for they are surrounded and oppressed by the\nRoman Catholics, in whose presence they are afraid to speak.\n\nOn entering Alsace, the view of the country was enchanting. We dined at\nSarrebourg, which appeared at a distance like a town in the midst of a\nwood.\n\n\nAt Strasburg they were received in an ingenuous manner by some enlightened\nRoman Catholics, who did all in their power to forward their object; but\nit was not until they fell in with the Protestant Professor Cuvier, that\nthey found the proper channel for the work of the gospel. In few places\ndid they find brighter tokens of inward spiritual religion.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 6.--Called on Professor Cuvier and delivered the letter which\nMark Wilks had kindly given us. We found the professor an humble-minded\nChristian, kind and affectionate. He conducted us to Pastor Majors, who\nwas born in Prussia, and speaks German and French well. We soon became\nunited to him in spirit. He is one of the _inward_ school, and a\ndiligent laborer in the Lord's vineyard. He has been here about three\nmonths as pastor of a little handful of Christians. He is fully sensible\nof the necessity of a right preparation of heart before acceptable worship\ncan be performed. He said when the people came to their place of worship\nthey were full of the world, and the word preached did not profit, because\nit did not sink into their hearts. I believe he fully comprehends the\nnature of true silence; and he is acquainted with many _interior_\npersons whom we wish to see in Switzerland, &c. This dear man was nine\nmonths in Corfu, preparing to be a missionary there; but he was taken ill,\nand suffered much in body and mind. The way in which he mentioned the\nwonderful dealings of the Lord with him was to me very instructive. He\ntold me he had not been sufficiently careful to seek divine counsel before\nhe undertook the mission; and it had pleased the Almighty to bring him\ninto the deeps, and instruct him in the school of affliction; and he can\nnow most fully acknowledge there is no safety but under the guidance of\nthe Holy Spirit. He and a few others have united for the purpose of\nprinting and circulating small tracts, purely Scripture extracts. They\nare now engaged in forming a selection for every day in the year, from the\nOld and New Testament. I accord much with their work; it is just what I\nhave thought of for a long time.\n\nPastor Majors conducted us to Professor Ehrmann, a worthy Christian,\nsimple-hearted and spiritually-minded. His two daughters are precious\nyoung women; the older of them recollected to have seen us at Kornthal,\nin 1827. She knew us instantly, and appeared overcome with joy and\nsurprise, though we could not recollect her. It is no wonder we should\nhave felt so much attraction to this place, though on entering the town I\nwas, as usual, extremely discouraged, and I feel unworthy to be employed\nin the least service of my holy Redeemer.\n\n\nOn the 7th they dined at the La Combes, a Catholic family, who took them\nto see the House of Correction, where John Yeardley interrogated the boys\nin the prison school, and afterwards addressed them. In the evening they\nwere present at Pastor Majors' Bible-class.\n\n\nIt is composed, says J.Y., of ten young men, who meet once a week at his\nlodging, and he instructs them in the Scriptures. I rejoiced to meet with\nthem. Before the conclusion we had a religious opportunity, in which I was\nstrengthened to express what was on my mind. The pastor offered a prayer\nin which our hearts truly united. The Saviour's love was very precious to\nour souls, and I trust we were edified together in the Lord.\n\n8_th_.--The Pastor Majors called for us to pay a few visits. He is so\nspiritual and _interior_ in his walk with God that it does me good to\nbe in his company. Passing along the street, he said, We will just speak\nto a man who has been in England; he will be pleased to see you. He was\nalone in his meal and flour shop, which is apart from the house. He\nreceived us heartily; and on our coming away he pressed us to go up and\nspeak to his daughters. After hesitating a few moments we went to the room\nand to our surprise found a little company of young females met to work\nfor the missionaries, and to read. After sitting a while with them, one of\nthe girls in much simplicity handed the Bible to our friend, and he read a\nchapter in the First Epistle of Peter, which was followed by a Friends'\nmeeting with these dear young persons. I felt great openness in addressing\nthem, and thankfulness filled my heart to the Father of mercies for\nhaving given us this casual opportunity of preaching the gospel.\n\nIn the evening we went to meeting with Pastor M.'s flock. He has taken the\nfirst floor of a good house, and appropriates three rooms opening one into\nanother for a meeting-house, placing his pulpit, which is on wheels, in\nthe doorway, so that when the meeting hour is over he can put the pulpit\naside and make the rooms his dwelling. The rooms are fitted with long\nbenches; the men and women sit separate and enter by different doors. The\nworship is conducted with much solemnity; they have for the present\ndiscontinued singing. They sat in silence some time at the commencement,\nwhen Majors offered a short prayer, and then read and expounded a small\nportion of Scripture. When he had finished he introduced us as English\nfriends. He had told me previously that if I felt anything to say, I had\nonly to intimate it to him. This liberty was acceptable to me, for I had\nfelt much exercise of mind for the people; and after we had rested some\ntime in silence, I was strengthened to speak with great freedom, and the\npower of the Most High was over us. Many thirsty souls were present, who,\nI believe, know the value of true silence. The two rooms for the women\nwere crowded, and the stillness which pervaded was remarkable. A military\nman addressed me after the meeting, in English, expressing his great\nsatisfaction and joy in being present; he is a regular attendant at this\nplace of worship. The pastor said he was comforted and thankful that the\nSpirit of the Lord had been with us, and divided his word to the state of\nthe people.\n\n\nOn the 9th, Professor Krafft and Pastor Majors conducted them to the\nAgricultural School for destitute children at Neuhoff, four miles from the\ncity. This well-known institution was founded by a man who had been taken\nas a child out of the streets, and whose wife had been brought up in an\norphan-house. John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nThe arrangement of the farm-yard, &c., and the cropping of the land are\npretty much the same as at Beuggen, near Basle, and what is now practised\nat Lindfield; and it is just what we want Rawden to be--at least what I\nshould like to see it. Before leaving the premises, we had the children\nassembled in the schoolroom, and held a meeting with them, with which we\nwere well satisfied. There is a sweet spirit of inward piety in the master\nand mistress.\n\n\nOn First-day, the 11th, they attended Pastor Majors' meeting in the\nmorning, and in the afternoon appointed a meeting of their own in the same\nplace, at which some hundreds were present.\n\n\nIt was a precious tendering season; much openness was felt in preaching\nthe word, and I trust many hearts were reached by the power of the Holy\nSpirit. At 7 o'clock we held our usual meeting in the room at the inn, to\nwhich came many of our friends; and I trust we were again favored with the\npresence of the Divine Master. To conclude the evening, we went to\nProfessor Ehrmann's, where we partook of tea, fruit, wine, &c. It felt to\nus a true feast of love.\n\nThis has been a day of much exercise; but best help has been near in the\ntime of need, and I feel sweet peace. There is a great awakening in this\nplace; thirty of the young women are preciously visited. In accompanying\nthem home, some of them expressed to me that it had been a blessed and\nhappy day, they hoped never to be forgotten. These dear lambs are near to\nus in gospel love, and I am glad they have such a minister in Pastor M.:\nhe stands quite alone, not being connected with any other Society.\n\n\nIn reading of days spent like that which has just been described, we see\nin a striking manner what was the nature of that work of the ministry for\nwhich John Yeardley was prepared at Barnsley and Bentham by so many deep\nbaptisms and sharp trials of his faith and obedience. The stage on which\nhe was called to act was not the most public; the part which he had to\nperform was unobtrusive; but when the value of strengthening the weak,\ncomforting the afflicted, and, above all, skilfully dividing the word of\ntruth in the anointed ministry of the gospel, comes rightly to be\nestimated, it cannot be said but that the fruit was in some sort\ncommensurate with the power of the call and the extent of the preparation.\n\nThe next day and the succeeding were occupied by John and Martha Yeardley\nin an excursion to the Ban de la Roche, of which the former gives the\nfollowing account in his Diary.\n\n\n12_th_.--In company with Majors, we set off at 6 o'clock to the Ban\nde la Roche. We had a most delightful drive by the side of the river,\nflowing along the fertile meadows: the hills on each side variegated with\ntrees of almost every color, and occasional vineyards added to the\nrichness of the scene. After travelling twelve leagues, we arrived at\nFoudai, where we met with an affectionate and hearty welcome from the\nwhole family of the Legrands. The two families live together in one house,\nwith their lovely children. We took tea with them, and then proceeded up\nSteinthal to Waldbach, to the house of the late pious Oberlin. Pastor\nRaucher's wife and daughter were out when we arrived; but we spent a\nlittle time with the dear old Louise, who is lively in spirit, us to be\nnear her. The pastor's wife and daughter came home in the evening, and\nreceived us with open arms. We spent the night there, and they accompanied\nus the next morning to the Legrands' to breakfast, about a league in\ndistance. After we had breakfasted, we requested a chapter might be read,\nand then had a precious meeting with them. We were so knit together in\nspirit, that we could hardly separate from one another. They accompanied\nus, on leaving, all the way up the hill, when we again took an\naffectionate farewell.\n\nThe conversation of our dear friend Majors has been to me truly\ninstructive, and I trust our being thus thrown together is in divine\nwisdom. We have gone very fully into the nature, of our church discipline,\nand have had much spiritual conversation to the refreshment of our souls.\n\nWe arrived at Strasburg about 7 o'clock, and I attended the class of his\nyoung men, which afforded me once more an opportunity to speak to them of\nthe things that belong to their eternal peace.\n\n\nTheir religious service in Strasburg finished with a visit to the family\nof Professor Ehrmann, in which Martha Yeardley ministered to the company,\nand they commended one another in solemn supplication to the safe keeping\nof Israel's Shepherd.\n\nBoth the German and French languages are spoken in Strasburg. In their\nreligious communications to those who spoke German, J. and M.Y. sometimes\navailed themselves of the interpretation of Pastor Majors, who they found\nwas never at a loss, and who said, \"It is no difficulty for me to\ninterpret for you, because you say the very things that are in my heart.\"\n\nFrom Strasburg they went on to Colmar and Muelhausen. The latter place,\nparticularly interested them, from the number of persons recently awakened\nthere, and they held several meetings in the town. John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nIn the whole district of Alsace there is a great deal of spiritual\nreligion among the different professors; but in some of the ministers\nthere is great deadness, or else infidelity.\n\n\nThe next halting-place on their route was Basle. This city, and the little\ncanton of which it is the capital, were then in a state of civil war. The\ngreat political eruption of 1830, by which half Europe had been convulsed,\ncontinued to agitate Switzerland long after it had spent its force\nelsewhere. On the 3rd of the month, a little more than two weeks before\nthe date at which we are arrived, a large body of the citizens, under\narms, went out to reduce the peasants to subjection: the latter gave them\nbattle amongst the hills and entirely defeated them, killing 200 of their\nnumber. The ferment was gradually subsiding when J. and M.Y. were in the\ncity.\n\nThey found the town pretty quiet, though full of soldiers. A general\nsentiment seemed to prevail amongst serious persons, that the judgments of\nthe Lord were upon the country.\n\n\nPoor Switzerland, exclaims J.Y., what an awful judgment is come upon thee!\nIs it to be wondered at? within the last six months they have persecuted\nand banished twenty ministers from the Canton of Basle, simply because\nthey preached the gospel, and the unbelieving inhabitants could not bear\nit.\n\n\nThey visited the Mission-House, and held a large meeting there with the\nstudents and others; Pastor Majors, who was present, from Strasburg,\ninterpreting for them. \"It was,\" says J.Y., \"a season long to be\nremembered.\"\n\nFrom Basle, they took the Diligence direct to Locle, where they spent two\ndays with M.A. Calame's large and interesting family. They were introduced\nto Argyri Climi, whom they describe as a girl of \"pensive character and\ngenteel manners.\" On the 26th they descended the slope of the Jura to\nNeufchatel.\n\n\nAbout 5 o'clock, says John Yeardley, we came in sight of the snow-capped\nAlps. I saw them for some time through the trees, but the sun shone so\nbright that I did not for a moment imagine they were any other than\nclouds; but coming out from the wood I soon discovered my mistake; and a\nmost majestic, sublime sight, indeed it is.\n\n\nAt Neufchatel they took a lodging a little way out of the town, by the\nlake, and remained there a month, receiving and making calls and holding\nmeetings for worship at the houses of their friends, as Professor\nPetavel's, ---- Chatelain's, and in their own rooms. At the close of a day\nspent in this manner J.Y. says:--\n\n\nI feel this evening a degree of sweet peace, and a strong desire to become\nmore united to my Saviour, who died that we might live. When the mind is\nfixed on eternity, how little do all other things appear! Lord, redeem me\nfrom the world, and grant me power to live for thee alone!--(9\n_mo_. 1.)\n\n\nHis observations on another similar occasion mark the religious state of\nthe deeply interesting company in this place, amongst whom they went about\nin the liberty of the gospel.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 24.--In the afternoon had a long walk with our dear friend\nPetavel's family, quite to the top of the mountains, from which we had the\nmost delightful view possible. In the evening we took tea with them; and,\na few others coming in, we had a religious opportunity before parting. It\nis extraordinary how great is the desire to hear the word in its\nsimplicity; they love the simplicity of the gospel, but probably are not\nprepared, as yet, to hold silent meetings alone. They all say it is\nremarkable we should be sent among them in this time of war in the land\nwith the message of peace.\n\n\nThe little meeting which had been begun by Auguste Borel had been\ndiscontinued in consequence of his removal into the country. He visited\nthem, and they found him alive in the truth and full of affection as\nbefore.\n\nAmongst a number of new acquaintances, one of the most interesting was a\nPolish Countess. She lodged near them, with her husband and child, and\nsent to desire the liberty of calling on them. Martha Yeardley had often\nlonged to become acquainted with her; and she, as she told them\nafterwards, had felt so strongly inclined towards them when she met them\non the promenade that she could not rest without seeking their\nacquaintance.\n\n\nAt the time fixed, say J. and M.Y., the Countess came alone, her husband\nbeing unwell, and asked a few questions respecting our views in\ntravelling. She is a Roman Catholic by profession, but has been brought up\nin great ignorance of her religion, and quite in the gaiety of the world.\nShe deeply lamented the state of her unhappy country, to which a fatality\nseemed to attach, and spoke of her own particular trials, having lost four\nof her children. Whilst we were endeavoring to make her sensible of the\nmercies which are often hid under the most painful dispensations, an\nEnglish missionary, who had been engaged in preaching to many of the\nPolish refugees in the country, came in with Professor Petavel. They\nbecame much interested for the Countess, and in reply to some of her\nquestions, the missionary explained the truths of the gospel in a clear\nand satisfactory way. We rejoiced in the unexpected meeting; several\nothers came in, and it proved a memorable visit.\n\nWhen again alone with the Countess she continued her history, opening her\nheart to M.Y. with the greatest confidence. In former years, she said, she\nhad been drawn to seek the Lord, but for awhile affliction seemed to\nharden her heart, and she lost the religious impressions she had received;\nbut now she felt again a desire to become acquainted with her Saviour, for\nshe was miserable and felt the need of such a refuge.\n\n22_nd_.--In the afternoon the Count and Countess paid us a visit. He\nis a man of strong mind, weary of the disappointing pleasures of the\nworld, and happily turned to seek comfort in the substantial truths of\nreligion. The Countess was delighted to find that we were of the same\nSociety as William Penn, whose name her father much revered. They desired\npermission to attend our meeting; and a little before the hour we called\non them, and they accompanied us to Professor Petavel's, where we had a\nroom quite filled and a good meeting. At the conclusion M.Y. made some\napology to the Countess for the imperfect manner in which the\ncommunication was made; but she replied, \"It comes from the heart, and it\ngoes to the heart.\" After the meeting none seemed disposed to move, and\nthe Countess commenced asking questions directing to passages of the\nScriptures, apparently desirous to confirm the practices of the Romish\nChurch, but sincerely seeking to have the conviction of her own heart\nconfirmed that they were errors. It is not easy to describe the interest\nwhich this scene presented. An accomplished Roman Catholic lady proposing\nquestions of the deepest moment, and the learned but pious and humble\nProfessor Petavel answering them with the Bible in his hand, while a\nroomful of attentive hearers were, we trust, reaping deep instruction.\nArgyri joined them on the 27th at Neufchatel,[7] and they left that city\nthe same day for Geneva.\n\nHere they tarried nearly a fortnight, were received with much affection by\ntheir old friends, and had a few religious meetings. Martha Yeardley\nsays:--\n\n\nWe met with several very interesting persons at Geneva, and had three\nreligious opportunities with them; at the last meeting the number was much\nincreased, but the place is not like Neufchatel. The different societies\nmake bonds for themselves and for one another, so that love and harmony do\nnot sufficiently prevail amongst them.\n\nOur stay in this place, writes John Yeardley, has been a time of distress\nof mind and perplexity of thought, arising probably from the great weight\nand importance of the journey before us, and the anxiety of providing a\nconveyance through a strange and dark country. After much difficulty, we\nhave concluded a written contract with an Italian _voiturier_ to take\nus to Ancona. May our Divine Keeper, in his infinite mercy, grant us\nprotection and safety, even in the hands of ungodly men!\n\n\nThe journey to Ancona took them seventeen days; they crossed the Alps by\nthe Simplon, and traversed Italy through Milan and Bologna. Martha\nYeardley touches upon a few points of the journey in a letter to Elizabeth\nDudley.\n\n\nAncona, 11 mo. 4.\n\nWe had much to do before we could meet with a suitable conveyance, and at\nlength trusted ourselves with our Italian coachman, who could not speak\nFrench. For a certain sum he was to give us three places in his coach, and\nprovide us with food and lodging by the way. The other passenger inside\nwas an Englishman, who spoke very little French and no Italian, and\nanother Englishman outside was in the same situation. We could not but\nfeel ourselves a very helpless company when arriving at the inns, which\nwere quite of an inferior class, and little or no French spoken. We did\npretty well, however, till we got to Milan, where we rested some days; and\nour Englishmen were exchanged for an Italian priest who spoke no French,\nand a Swiss who was a little useful to us as far as Bologna; after this\nplace we travelled five days alone. The inns on this side of Milan are\nmuch worse, and from the detention of our passports in the towns we passed\nthrough, we were often prevented from reaching the place of destination,\nand obliged to lodge at villages, where we suffered much in the way of\nfood and lodging; yet through all we were favored to bear the journey much\nbetter than I expected. My J.Y. was rather poorly for two days, and I was\nextremely anxious about him; but the sight of the Gulf of Venice seemed to\nhelp to restore him.\n\nAt Sinigaglia, a town eighteen miles from this, they told us that we\nshould just meet the vessel which was to sail on the 30th. Judge then what\nwas our disappointment when, on arriving at the inn here, we found that it\nwas gone.\n\n\nThis disappointment was a severe trial of their patience; but they\nconsoled themselves with reflecting that \"good in some shape might arise\nout of the seeming evil.\"\n\n\nAncona, says John Yeardley, is beautifully situated on the side of a high\nhill, in appearance at a distance a perfect model of Scarborough. There\nare in the place a good many Greeks, one of whom Argyri recognised as we\ninquired at his shop the way to the Post-office. On returning she made\nherself known to him, and he shows us every attention; he is a fine\nlooking man, with a countenance as strong as brass. We are comfortably\nlodged, with a delightful view of the harbor, but our hearts are in Corfu.\n\nOur young companion, adds M.Y., is amiable and very quick, but not of much\nuse to us respecting her native tongue, which she retains but very\nimperfectly, and is not at all fond of speaking it.\n\nThe houses are high, and many of the streets narrow and offensive, for\nwant of cleanliness and from an immense population; such numbers are\ncontinually in the streets, that there is no quiet or good air in the\ntown. The darkness is extreme, and the dissipation apparently very great;\nthe oppression of our spirits at some periods is almost insupportable; and\nyet I am at times very sensible of the calming influence of divine love,\nwith a sense that, having acted to the best of our judgment, we must\nresign ourselves to wait for the return of the steam-packet from England.\n\nWhen on arriving here we found there were no letters, and that probably\nthey were sent to Corfu, my heart sank within me. We have, however, been\nsince cheered by receiving a very kind letter from dear Robert Forster;\nnothing could have been more in season than this token of remembrance.\n\n\nFinding no suitable vessel for Corfu, with the assistance of their Greek\nfriend they hired a lodging, and gave their time to the study of Italian\nand the Modern Greek. Religions labor was hardly to be thought of; the\ngovernment of the town and every public office was under the direction of\nthe Roman Catholic priests, of whom there were more than 400. However,\nthey were enabled to hold improving intercourse with some individuals,\nmostly Greeks; \"for whom,\" says Martha Yeardley, \"we felt much interest,\nand some, I believe, became attached to us; we gave them a few books.\"\n\nBefore commencing with their visit to the Ionian Islands, it will be\ninteresting to glance at the circle of Friends whom they had left in\nEngland. From the letters which have been preserved, we select the\nfollowing extract: the first is from the pen of one who may be described\nas sound in heart and understanding, of extensive knowledge and large\nChristian charity.\n\n\nScarborough, 10 mo. 16, 1833.\n\nMY DEAR FRIENDS.\n\nAccept my grateful acknowledgments, and through me those of all your\nfriends in this neighborhood, for the copies which I have received of your\ninteresting journals. It is indeed a cause of rejoicing to us that you\nhave been so favored in meeting with so many pious persons with, whom you\ncould hold Christian fellowship, and among whom there is strong reason for\nbelieving your labors have not been in vain. It is to me very gratifying\nthat you feel and exercise so much Christian freedom in mingling among\npersons of various denominations, whom, though owing to education and to\nvarious circumstances, they may differ considerably in opinion on subjects\nof minor importance, yet conscious of one common disease--that of sin, and\nlooking for or experiencing the only remedy--reconciliation with God\nthrough one Saviour,--you can salute as brethren and sisters in the truth,\nand feel your spirits refreshed whilst you enjoy the privilege of\nrefreshing theirs; and like Aquila and Priscilla, with Apollos, are made\nthe instruments, I trust, of \"expounding unto them the way of God more\nperfectly.\" My dear mother thinks that the persons you meet with must be\nmore spiritually-minded than Christians in this country. They have,\nperhaps, from external circumstances, experienced deeper baptisms, and\nhave made greater sacrifices, than many amongst us have been called upon\nto make; and we know that ease and outward prosperity have not been\nfavorable to the interests of the true Church: but, without doubt, they\nare exposed to similar dangers to those in this land whose minds have been\nawakened to the importance of religious truth.\n\n\nAfter speaking of a journey which he had made with Samuel Tuke and Joseph\nPriestman for re-arranging some of the Monthly Meetings in the West\nRiding, the writer continues:--\n\n\nOn the journey I received intelligence of the decease of Hannah Whitaker;\nthe account produced a strong sensation in the minds of Friends generally,\nwho felt much for our dear afflicted friend Robert Whitaker, and for the\nloss which the institution at Ackworth has sustained. I have had a note\nfrom R.W., written evidently under very desponding feelings; yet he knows\nwhere alone consolation is to be sought, and I still cherish the hope that\nhis valuable services will not be lost to the establishment in which they\nhave been so long blessed.\n\nWe intend to meet as a Bible class on Second-day evening: our number will\nbe small, but I hope we shall persevere. Your house and garden look much\nas usual; but I scarcely like to look at them, since I cannot go to spend\nsuch pleasant evenings as I used to do there. However, I believe you are\nin the way of your duty, and I know it would he wrong in me to repine at\nthe loss of your company.\n\nI trust you do not forget our poor little company in your approaches to\nthe throne of grace. You are, I believe, the subjects of many prayers: O\nthat the parties who offer them were more worthy!\n\nYour affectionate friend,\n\nJOHN ROWNTREE.\n\n\nThis letter was endorsed by one from J.R.'s mother (the Elizabeth Rowntree\nwhom the reader may remember as the hostess of J. and M. Yeardley on their\nfirst visit to Scarborough,) from which we extract a few lines.\n\n\nThe accounts I have received have often helped to cheer my drooping mind,\nto hear how many you have met with in various places, who could sit down\nwith you in worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth. I have thought\nof the privileges many of us have had, yet I think many you have met with\nmay make us ashamed of ourselves; and the desire of my heart has often\nbeen that we may be more deepened.\n\n\nJohn Rowntree's letter contained the information that Richard Cockin, of\nDoncaster, a Friend universally known and respected in the Society, had\nbeen physically disabled by a stroke of paralysis. R. C. himself wrote at\nthe same time to John and Martha Yeardley, describing his affliction,\nwhich he received with childlike resignation as a message of love from a\nFather's hand.\n\n\nI have, he says, no expectation of getting again to meeting, and it does\nnot appear probable I shall be able again to get down stairs. With respect\nto the state of my mind, it was an occasion of grateful admiration to me\nthat such & poor unworthy creature as I felt myself to be, should be so\nfavored as to have my will entirely subjected, as to become resignedly\nwilling either to live or die; and, for a time, the prospect of not\ncontinuing long appeared to be most probable. I, however, felt no reliance\nupon anything that I had done or could do; my dependence was entirely upon\nthe unmerited mercy of God through Jesus Christ.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1833-4.\n\nPART II.--GREECE\n\nOn the 21st of the Eleventh Month John and Martha Yeardley left Ancona,\nand had a safe but suffering voyage of two days to Corfu, the capital of\nthe island of that name.\n\n\nThe atmosphere in this place, writes J.Y., soon after they landed, is\ndifferent from Ancona in every respect. It has to us a feeling of home,\nand our minds are clothed with peace and, I trust, gratitude to the Father\nof mercies. What we may find to do is yet a secret to us, but He who has\nbrought us here will in his own time open the way before us.\n\nIsaac Lowndes of the London Missionary Society received us with much\naffection and kindness, and his wife and daughter are very desirous to\npromote our comfort. They took us to see a furnished house in the town, a\npart of which will suit us remarkably well. We think it a providential\nthing to have such comfortable quarters to come to.\n\n\nSome extracts from the Diary and the Journal letters will show in what\nkind of service they were engaged during their three months' residence in\nthis island.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 24.--I went with J. L. to the First-day school in the village\nabout a mile from the town. A delightful morning, and a delightful sight\nto see about sixty fine Greek children reading the New Testament in the\nmodern language. Their countenances are lovely and interesting, and their\nanxiety to hear and answer questions is great; their aptitude in\ncomprehending the subjects offered to them exceeds all I have hitherto\nseen in any class of children of similar standing. The little group was\ncomposed of nearly all girls, clean and neatly dressed in the costume of\nthe country.\n\n27_th_.--To-day we received a long visit from Lord Nugent, President\nof the Ionian Government, who had heard of our arrival on the island, and\nwas anxious to see us. He is very kind and extremely open with respect to\nhis plans for the improvement of the jail, and for cottage cultivation. He\ndesired me to go and see some unoccupied land without the gate.\n\n28_th_.--According to appointment we went to the palace, and were\nreceived by Lady Nugent with marked simplicity and kindness. We were\nintroduced to Lord L. and other persons of influence, took tea, and spent\na most agreeable evening, and I hope a profitable; for all our\nconversation was on the subject of bettering the condition of the poor and\ndestitute children.\n\n12 _mo_. 3.--This morning we received a visit from a roomful of\nGreeks. We are desirous to cultivate the acquaintance of the Greeks as the\nobject of our visit of gospel love. Yesterday we were visited by several\nof the military officers and their wives, who will I hope co-operate with\nour plans of benevolence. Lord Nugent's taking us by the hand opens the\nway to all others of rank and standing.\n\n11_th_,--This morning we had a visit from Dapaldas, Greek professor\nof theology in the university. He is a pleasing and enlightened man, and\nspeaks French well, which gave us the opportunity of conversing with him\npretty freely. I feel to love him much. He is one of the laborers in\ntranslating the Old Testament.\n\n13_th_.--To-day we have received letters from England. Many of our\nbeloved friends have been called from this state of being to another\nworld. How much my heart feels humbled; how unworthy I am of the least of\nthe mercies daily received at the hand of a bountiful Creator. Since we\nhave been here I have been favored with a strong conviction that we are\nhere in the ordering of Divine Providence. What may in time open before us\nin the way of gospel labor I know not. It requires time, caution, and much\nperseverance, to find a way to the hearts and best feelings of the Greeks.\nI greatly desire that we may be found in humble watchfulness and prayer;\nand that, if found worthy to be the feeble instruments of declaring the\nway of salvation to the natives of these islands, we may embrace every\nopportunity to preach repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus\nChrist, for this is the great object for which we have left our native\nland and all that is dear to us in this world.\n\n26_th_.--Argyri left us and is gone to Syra. She was very sorrowful,\nand the parting to us all was painful. Although reserved and timid, she\nhas become extremely attached to us, and we trust the three months we have\npassed together will not soon be forgotten. Her company has often been\nsweet and cheering, and in our little meetings for worship her heart has\nnot unfrequently been tendered with religious feeling. She is desirous of\nbeing useful in schools, and of making a stand against the many\nsuperstitions which prevail, influencing others by her example, and\nthrough the aid of divine grace leading them to that vital religion in\nwhich she was instructed at Locle, and which is now a strength and comfort\nto her own mind.\n\n1834. 1 _mo_. 6.--To-day we received a visit from the young Count\nFrancois Sardina. We had much conversation with him on the subject of the\nintercession of saints. He could not admit that they practiced the\nadoration of saints, they only meant to hold them up as examples of piety\nand virtue, and to induce others to follow them. We pointed out to him the\nimportance of taking Him for our example who spake as never man spake, and\nhas left us an example that we should follow his steps. This young man is\nvery inquisitive and inclined to be sceptical, but under all has serious\nimpressions. Many of the Greeks who are not entirely built up in their\nsuperstitions are inclined to doubt respecting the truths of Christianity.\nWe were glad to put into his hand J. J. Gurney's _Evidences_.\n\n23_rd_.--This evening we had another long visit from the Count. We\nentered very fully into Church discipline, and left few points of faith\nand doctrine untouched, either in his Church or ours. I do not remember\never to have been more closely questioned; but I think this young person\nsincere in his inquiries. I believe it is a precious time of visitation to\nhis soul; he is very amiable and affectionate, and acknowledges the evils\nand vanity of the world.\n\n27_th_.--This evening we have had a long conversation with Pathanes,\nour teacher in the language, and a deacon in the Greek Church. He is much\nattached to the rites of his own Church, but acknowledges the necessity of\nregeneration. They have a fatal error in the ceremony of baptism,\npositively asserting that when the child (or individual) has received\nthis, he is really born again, and a fit heir of salvation. Such is the\nefficacy which they attach to this ceremony, that their creed sets forth,\nin the most unqualified manner, that whoever receives not the form cannot\nenter the kingdom. We could not forbear lifting up our testimony against\nthe injurious effects of such a creed.\n\n28_th_.--We have had a ride to-day with I. Lowndes and family across\nthe island, sixteen miles, to the sea on the other side. Our road led us\nthrough a perfect wood of olive-trees, thickly planted and loaded with\nfruit. The hills are often variegated with the cypress, &c., and near to\nthe sea are beautifully romantic. We dined at the fortress of\nPaleocastazza, on the top of a high hill, on provisions we took with\nus,--the air good, and the prospect delightful. This place was formerly a\nconvent; the church still remains in use, and we visited two of the old\nGreek priests. One of them is ninety-five years old; he was lying on a\ndirty hard couch in a miserable apartment; the other performs the liturgy.\nI. L. gave him the book of Genesis, which he could read but very\nindifferently. He was besides extremely cross, full of complaints of the\nsoldiers who were stationed there. What a proof that to those who are in\nthe gall of bitterness there is no peace, even in such a remote place.\n\n2 _mo_. 1.--Another long and pleasant visit from Count Sardina. He is\nmild and condescending, but close in argument His mind appears gradually\nto become impressed with the truths of the gospel; and I trust the notions\nhe has received from sceptical writers are giving way to a hope of\nsalvation through Christ Jesus our Lord. Fearful of doing anything to make\nthe members of his own Church his enemies, he comes to us by night,--not\nfor fear of the Jews, but for fear of the Greeks.\n\n\n9_th_.--How often our hearts are ready to sink within us in the midst\nof this dark and superstitious people. We have now been here nearly three\nmonths, and have not had one opportunity of publicly preaching the gospel.\nThe power of prejudice in favor of their own superstitious rites, and the\noverwhelming influence of moral evil, seem entirely to close our way in\nthis line. We have had much conversation with our friend, Isaac Lowndes,\nwho has resided on this island thirteen years, on the subject of publicly\npreaching the gospel to the people; and he says that such is their\nattachment to the ceremonies of their own church that they cannot be\nprevailed upon to attend the ministry of any other denomination.\nI. Lowndes is a character with whom we feel much Christian unity, and his\nfamily is like a little lamp shining in the midst of gross darkness.\n\nThis darkness, adds Martha Yeardley, is increased by the dissipation of\nthe greater part of the English. The military have great influence here,\nand their practices tend greatly to demoralize the unhappy people. We have\njust heard that they have obtained leave of the Senate to hold a ball in\nthe new school-rooms, and to break down the partition-wall between them\nfor this purpose, which will prevent the school from being opened for\nanother month.\n\n\nOn the 23rd John Yeardley continues:--\n\n\nTo-day my drooping spirit has been refreshed by six precious letters from\nEngland, expressing the interest of our dear friends in our mission; but\noh, how my heart is humbled in the sense of how little we do. During our\nstay here I have been closely engaged in translating Judson's Questions on\nScripture. The correction is nearly finished, and we propose having a\nnumber printed for the school.\n\n\nIgnorance of the language was a perpetual hindrance in their way. Although\nthey devoted a very large portion of time to acquiring it, the difficulty\nwas almost insurmountable. They learned to read and translate; but to\nconverse in Greek was for a long time almost entirely beyond their power.\n\nAlthough to preach and teach the gospel was the primary object of John and\nMartha Yeardley's errand, the temporal improvement of their fellow-men\nwas by no means foreign to their mission; and we have often seen that\nplans for the promotion of industry and self-support were to the former\nobjects of peculiar interest. During their residence at Corfu no small\nportion of his time was occupied with the establishment of a model farm,\nwhich seems to have been a joint scheme on his part and that of the\nadministration. A grant of land was obtained from the Senate, and the\nprisoners, with some of the poor, were set to work to cultivate it. Some\nof the landowners watched the progress of the experiment, with the\nintention, if it should be successful, of introducing the plan upon their\nestates.\n\nWe may conclude this account of their residence in Corfu with some general\nremarks on the religious character and condition of the inhabitants.\n\n\nWe trust, say they, our sojourn in Corfu may not have been in vain: if we\nmay only be permitted to prepare the way for the further enlargement of\nthe Saviour's kingdom on the earth, we may well be content. Preparing the\nway it may truly be called, for there is a great deal to be done among a\npeople just emerging from barbarism, and bringing with them all the fixed\nhabits of ignorance and superstition, before a door can be opened for the\ndirect preaching of the gospel. Their mode of reasoning is strong and\nwily, and they ask questions which can only be answered in private\nconversation and by Scripture proof. A great means of affording help must\nbe by educating the rising generation and by the diffusion of Scriptural\nknowledge. Many of the priest are extremely ignorant, and some of them\nhave only learned by _rote_ the service of their own church in the\nancient Greek; their knowledge, therefore, cannot be founded on their own\nsearch for Scriptural truth, seeing they have not had the opportunity of\nexamining for themselves. In some instances when we have presented to them\nthe New Testament in the modern language, they have said, with a look of\nanxious gratitude, This is what we want; we priests teach in the churches\nwhat we do not ourselves understand.\n\n\nOn the 26th of the Second Month they crossed the sea to Santa Maura,\nhaving a delightful passage of eight hours. Captain McPhail, the governor,\na friend of William Allen's, met them himself with a boat, and conducted\nthem to his house. He showed them every attention during their short\nsojourn, and introduced them to those persons whom they desired to see.\nThey made an interesting call on the bishop;--\n\n\nA nice old man, who was many years priest in a village in the mountains,\nand, what is a wonder, he has been promoted on account of his virtuous\nlife. He was a good example in his own village, and a great promoter of\nschools. The old man is candid enough to confess that he was happier among\nhis rustic peasants than he is now in more refined society. We gave him\nthe book of Genesis in Modern Greek; and it was highly gratifying to us to\nsee the surprise and pleasure of his countenance on being presented with\nan account of the Creation and works of the Almighty in his native tongue.\nWe thought the opportunity favorable for proposing the Scriptures to be\nread by the clergy in the modern instead of the ancient language. He made\nno objection, and appeared to see the great utility which might arise from\nit.\n\n\nSomething has been said about the semi-barbarism of the Greeks. What our\nfriends learned respecting crime and violence, whilst in this island,\nplaces the manners of the people in a very strong light.\n\n\nNothing can show more strongly the demoralized state of these islands than\nthe frightful acts of cruelty done to the cattle out of pure revenge. One\nshudders to think of the skinning of beasts alive, cutting off the ears of\nasses, breaking the legs of horses; yet of these sorts of cruelty not less\nthan 500 acts have been committed in the last four years, and the\noffenders have escaped being brought to conviction!\n\n\nThis dark picture is happily relieved by some traits of moral beauty. The\nnarrative of a ride into the mountains of Santa Maura, which J.Y. made\nunder the escort of the governor, proves to how great a degree virtuous\nand gentle manners grew and flourished in the remoter parts of this\nisland.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 1.--This morning we set out for a ride about nine miles up\nthe mountains to a village called Caria, which contains about 1200\ninhabitants, and in the surrounding hamlets there are about the same\nnumber.\n\nAbout half-past 9 o'clock we started; Captain McPhail and myself on his\ntwo sure-footed horses, and another English gentleman on a fine mule.\nAfter we had left the newly-made road, we pursued a track perfectly\nunequalled in any part where I have travelled; rugged precipices, shelving\nrocks, and large loose stones, which assailed the feet of the poor beasts\nevery step they took. However, for my part, I was well rewarded; it gave\nme an opportunity not only of seeing the interior of the island, but also\na specimen of the disposition of the natives. Before we reached the\nvillage, I observed, with some surprise, a tribe of people assembled on\nthe top of the cliffs to see us come in, and on ascending a few more paces\nof rock, we found the children of the boys' school arranged like a little\narmy, with myrtle branches in their hands to welcome us to their\nsequestered hamlet. After greeting us with great respect, they followed us\nto the country-house of our English friend.\n\nThe mountain multitude waited with patience until we had made our repast,\nwhen a few of the leading villagers were introduced to our room. And what\nwas their request? A school for their daughters. They were asked what they\nwould give towards its support. They answered, Whatever we can afford; we\nthat are able will pay for the poor, and they shall go free. It was then\nintimated to them, that their friends would assist them in establishing a\nschool; but that they themselves must join in the effort, and that it\nwould be well to consult together, and put down their names and the number\nof children they would send. Here the town-crier came forward, and said he\nhad for the last twenty years cried everything the government wished to be\nmade known in the town, free of cost, and he would now go round and cry\nfor the benefit of the school. Next came forward the father of the young\nwoman proposed for the mistress, who it was proposed should be further\ninstructed in the village, and then sent to the town to learn the system.\nWe asked them if they were sensible of the advantages of a school for\ngirls, of having them brought up to be good wives, capable of managing\ntheir households, and able to read the precious things in the New\nTestament. One of them replied, Without instruction what are we?--we are\nlike the beasts. One peasant had been so anxious for his daughter to learn\nto read, that he had made interest to send her to the boys' school. When\nwe asked why he did so, he said, Because I had no other means, and I\nwished to have her read the New Testament to us; now I have the advantage\nof hearing that precious book read to me by my own daughter. It was\ndelightful to witness a feeling like this in a people so uncultivated;\nsurely the friends of education in Greece have encouragement to go on and\nprosper.\n\nAfter this pleasing interview we proceeded to the boys' school, followed\nby as many as could get into the room. When the boys had read, I desired\nthat questions might be put to them on what they had been reading, but\nsoon found that this important mode of instruction was neglected; the\nmaster promised to introduce the questions which we are having printed, if\nwe would send him the books. On returning to our quarters, we found among\nthe crowd who were still present, the three priests, come, I suppose, to\npay their respects to the governor. We were glad of an opportunity of\nconversing with them. On asking their opinion as to a school, one of them\nsaid, in Greek, It is good, blessed and honorable. I could not let this\nfavorable opportunity pass without impressing on them, through McPhail,\nthe advantage of reading the Scriptures to the people in the modern tongue\nwhich they could understand, telling them that the book of Genesis was\nalready printed in Modern Greek. They could hardly believe me, and on my\nshowing them a new copy of this and of the Psalms, their eyes sparkled\nwith pleasure. Our friend the governor read aloud a portion of Genesis,\nand one of the priests a little out of the Psalms. The long-robed,\npatriarchal looking man said, Ah, this is what we want! We priests read in\nthe churches what we don't understand ourselves, and how can we explain it\nto others. They modestly asked if they might have the books for a while;\nand when we said they were given to them, there was a little jealousy who\nshould have them; this we removed by saying that more should be sent. Many\nof the kind-hearted people accompanied us to the precipice, and ran before\nto clear the way; and, through divine mercy, we reached the dwelling of\nour kind host in safety; not without a steeping of mountain rain.\n\nWhen the good Bishop of Santa Maura heard the result of our interview with\nthe peasants, he sent one of his most influential priests with a\nsubscription book for his people to put down their names towards a fund\nfor the schools, thus promptly giving his sanction to general education.\n\n3 _mo_. 2.--First-day. After breakfast we read a chapter and held our\nmeeting with Captain McPhail and his wife, and felt a little comfort in\nholding up the standard of religious worship. Something was given us to\nutter, both in testimony and supplication.\n\nThe next evening we dined with the governor. It was a state dinner, given\nto the judges and persons of rank in the town; about twenty of us sat\ndown; the repast was splendid and the dishes innumerable. At the head of\nthe table was Captain McPhail in full uniform; on his right our hostess in\na rich Greek dress; on his left a young lady in the full Italian style; my\nM.Y. and myself were not the least singular in appearance. All was done in\ngood order, and a sweet feeling prevailed.\n\n4_th_.--We are like prisoners at large, not being able to leave the\nisland till the steamer returns. Captain McPhail has kindly proposed our\npaying a visit to the continent to see a little colony of the natives who\nlive in wigwams. These people like many others suffered greatly from the\nTurks, and took refuge in Santa Maura, which has excited in them a feeling\nof gratitude for the protection of their English neighbors.\n\nAbout 9 o'clock we started in the Captain's boat, a family party, not\nleaving even the baby at home. We had a pleasant sail of less than an\nhour, and found seven ponies waiting for us at the landing-place. The\nponies were brought into the sea, and we mounted the pack-saddles; some of\nour company being carried from the boat on men's backs. Thus arranged we\nset out, one by one, along the narrow goat-paths, accompanied by our\nretinue, some going before, and some following with the baggage. We\nwinded our way among bushes of myrtle and mastic till we reached the\nwillow-city. It consists of about sixty perfect wigwams of one room each,\nwith no other light but what is admitted by the doorway, four feet high,\nwith here and there a glimpse that makes its way through the wattles.\n\nThe people having received notice of our visit had made a general-holiday,\nand were all assembled, with lively good-humor in their countenances, to\ngreet our arrival. This in the first year that they have been left to\nenjoy their lands in peace since the destruction by the Turks of their\nlittle town, which stood at about half an hour's distance. Some of them\npossess property in land and cattle, and all live on the produce of their\nown farms, and produce their own clothing. These simple-hearted people\nshow their good sense by avoiding all lawsuits, so common among the\nGreeks. They choose one upright old man, with two assistants, to govern\nthem, to whose judgment they submit, and the greatest punishment is to be\nshut up for two or three days in a solitary room in the convent.\n\nThe wigwam where we alighted was soon filled with visitors. We were served\nwith coffee by our hostess,--an interesting woman, with much expression of\nmildness in her countenance. After conversing awhile with the villagers,\nand satisfying their curiosity as well as we could, I thought it a\nsuitable time to bring about the primary object of our visit, and inquired\nwho among them could read. A young man came forward who had been educated\nin the school at Santa Maura; we gave him a New Testament, and he read the\ngreater part of a chapter in the Gospels. Those who were in the room\nlistened with surprise and attention, and many without looked eagerly in\nat the doorway to hear what was going on. This was probably the first time\nthey had heard the gospel in their own language. We gave them a few copies\nof the New Testament and some tracts, for which they hardly knew how to\nexpress their gratitude; and we requested the reader to continue the\npractice he had commenced.\n\nWhen this scene of interest was over we took a turn round the other huts.\nThey are situated on the side of the hill, among myrtles, and command a\ndelightful view of the valley. We passed by the common oven, and on\nlooking in saw our dinner preparing. The table was spread in the\nhospitable wigwam which we first entered, a clean white tablecloth and\nnapkins on a large board, with cushions around on boxes for chairs. The\nrepast consisted of a whole lamb, well roasted, and two sorts of\nYorkshire-pudding, one of which was particularly good.\n\nThis patriarchal repast being finished, we again went forth, and visited\nthe convent of Plija, distant from the wigwams about ten minutes' walk.\nMany of our new friends accompanied us, the judge with great solidity of\nmanner leading the way. We passed a beautiful fountain at the head of the\nglen, and entered the monastic edifice, which is built of stone. The\nabbot, a fine old man, met us at the door with a pleasant countenance. He\ninvited us into his cell; we had to stoop very low to save our heads, and\nthe door-case was rubbed bright on all sides by the friction of this\nsolitary inmate passing in and out. The hermitage consists of one room\nwith a bed in the corner, screened by a slight partition; a lattice-window\nadmitted a peep into the rich and lovely vale below, and the pure air of\nthe mountain was not obstructed by glass. I had often heard of the Eastern\ncustom of sitting cross-legged, but never till now experienced it in\nreality. We were desired to sit on cushions spread on the floor for our\nreception, and were served with the finest walnuts and honey I ever\ntasted; and while we partook of this hermit-like repast, there was a\nprecious feeling of good, and I believe we had the secret prayers of the\ngood abbot, as he had ours. When we presented him with the New Testament,\nGenesis, and the Psalms, he kissed the books and pressed them to his\nbosom, expressing his gratitude for the treasure.\n\nOur next visit was to the habitation of the judge, which is of the same\ndescription as the rest, where we were served again with coffee. What\npleased us was the sweet feeling of quiet which prevailed, of which I\nthink some of them were sensible; one woman, our first hostess, put her\nhand to her heart and said very sweetly, \"I love you.\"\n\nThey would not let us depart without showing us their ancient custom of\ntaking hold of hands and dancing round, singing meanwhile a sort of chant.\nMany of them came with us to the water's edge, and prayers were raised in\nour hearts for their good, and thanksgiving to our Divine Master for the\ncomfort and satisfaction of the day.\n\n3 _mo_ 8.--Under the hospitable roof of Captain McPhail we have felt\nmuch at home. His wife said our coming had been a blessing to her; she is\nnear to us in gospel love. The captain accompanied us in his boat to the\nsteamer.\n\n\nFrom Santa Maura they proceeded to Argostoli, the chief town of\nCephalonia.\n\n\nWe arrived about five o'clock in the morning. The entrance to the town for\na considerable distance is like a perfect lake: the white houses along the\nside of the harbor, and the craggy hill with the olives growing out of the\nrocks, had a pretty appearance at the break of day. Our young Greek\ninterpreter, Giovanni Basilik, was with us. We had to call up the\ninhabitants of the only inn in the place before we could get shelter. At\nfirst the host refused to receive our little company, but after some\nexplanation he consented to arrange the desolate-looking rooms into\nhabitable order.\n\n\nThey visited the schools and the prison, and they received from the\nResident, H.G. Tennyson, and the schoolmaster and mistress, a friendly\nreception; but the islanders are generally careless of instruction, and\nprogress of all kinds is slow.\n\nFrom Cephalonia they traversed the sea to the beautiful island of Zante.\nThough they had ten men to row, the passage occupied thirteen hours.\n\n\nContrary wind, writes John Yeardley, compelled us to approach the island\nslowly, which gave us an opportunity of viewing the villages and scattered\nhouses at the foot of the mountain. The town of Zante is very long; the\nmain street has piazzas on each side for a considerable distance. In many\nof the windows (I suppose a Turkish custom) there are something like\ncages, through which the women peep without being seen, under the pretence\nof modesty; but it is horrid to hear of the wickedness committed in-doors.\nHowever, I am glad to find the custom is dying away, and that the young\nwomen are now permitted to walk in public more than they were a few years\nago. This island is by far the finest we have visited; it is very fertile\nand well cultivated, and supplies England with currants; but, like their\nneighbors, the people have the character of being immoral, treacherous,\nand revengeful. It is sorrowful to think that, under the system of\npicture-worship, there is scarcely a sin of which the poor Greek is not\nguilty to an enormous extent. With God all things are possible--he can\nchange the hard heart of man by the power of his Divine Spirit; but,\nmorally speaking, it must be some great convulsion that can work a real\nchange in the nation. W.O. Croggon has labored here more than seven years,\nand knows not of one conversion among the rich Greeks--not one attends the\nservice for worship. He is the Methodist missionary here, and is called\nthe friend of every man: he has been a real friend to us.\n\nThe Governor and his wife have paid us marked attention. The former took\nus to see the prison, which is well conducted, and the prisoners are\nclassed. We suggested the benefit likely to result from the prisoners\nbeing employed, and Major Longley [the Governor] intends to introduce\nbasket-making. We have, in addition to the public schools, visited several\nprivate ones, and are pleased to find so many children receiving\neducation: this is really the chief source of hope for improving the\nmorals of the Greeks, and dispersing the gross darkness which surrounds\nthis people, whose long servitude and sufferings under very hard masters\nhave almost driven them back to barbarism.\n\n17_th_.--There was a shock of earthquake, more violent than has been\nfelt for some years in this place. Our room shook almost like a ship at\nsea; the walls, beds, tables, and glasses were all in motion, and the\nsensation, while it lasted, was that of sea-sickness. The noise may be\ncompared to the rolling of a carriage with many horses coming at full\nspeed, and suddenly stopping at the dwelling. (See _Eastern\nCustoms_, p. 78.)\n\n\nHaving thus explored the four principal islands of the Ionian Archipeligo.\nJohn and Martha Yeardley turned their course towards the Morea.\n\n\n30_th_.--At 6 o'clock in the morning we put ourselves once more at\nthe mercy of the waves of the Mediterranean, and had a quick passage of\nfourteen hours. The landing at Patras was frightful; a sudden squall threw\nus off the shore, and caused us to lose part of the rudder, so that we\nwere obliged to get into a very small boat, which threatened to upset\nevery moment. We were, however, favored to land in safety on a projecting\nrock: it was nearly dark, and the whole had a terrific appearance.\n\nThe plains near Patras, once beautifully planted with currants, olives and\nvines, are now perfectly desolate. The castle was in possession, of the\nTurks eight years, who made continual sallies from it for provision and\nfirewood; while, in order to disappoint them, the Greeks themselves\nassisted in the destruction of all vegetation; so that there is scarcely\nany green thing to be seen. The old town is a scene of ruins; the site of\nthe new town is near the sea, where temporary shops and houses have been\nerected.\n\nIt was difficult to find a shelter for the night; but a kind\nfellow-traveller assisted us, and at length we were pressed into a\nmiserable dirty room, with only a board for a bedstead.\n\nAt Patras we had abundance of consultation, whether to undertake the\njourney to Corinth and Athens by land, or to encounter the gulf. We\nconcluded to venture on the latter, and contracted with the captain of a\nlittle boat to depart at five the next morning. He deceived us by not\nsailing at the time proposed; but we made an agreement with other sailors\nto go off in the evening, hoping to get to Corinth the next morning: but,\nafter tossing all night, we found in the morning the ship had only made\ntwenty miles; and about mid-day the captain declared he could not get to\nCorinth, and must put into a small port on the opposite side of the gulf,\ncalled Galaxidi, and wait for better weather. We were so exhausted as to\nfeel thankful in the prospect of being once more on land. Nothing can be\nmore comfortless than these small Greek vessels; in the cabin you can\nneither stand nor lie at full length.\n\nAfter some difficulty in getting on shore, we were led to the khan, a very\nlarge room with a fire in one corner for boiling water, and a wine store;\nand round the side were benches which served for sitting by day, and on\nwhich the traveller spreads his mattress for the night, if he has one; if\nnot, he must go without. We were desired to mount a ladder to a loft like\na corn-floor, badly tiled in, and divided into four parts by boards about\nfive feet high. The one division of this place assigned to us had no door,\nand when the windows were shut, which were of wood, there was no light\nwhat shone through the tiling or was admitted between the boards. The\nplace was soon furnished, for the boy brought us a mat and spread it on\nthe floor, which was all we had a right to expect; but as we seemed to be\nvisitors who could pay pretty well, they brought also a rough wooden table\nand three wooden stools.\n\n2_nd_.--Galaxidi is in ruins, presenting only mud cottages and\ntemporary wooden houses; ships also are in building.\n\n4_th_.--This morning we walked among the huts of the town, and found\nan old man keeping school near the ruins of his own school-room, which had\nbeen destroyed by the Turks. It happened to be his dinner-time, and he was\nseated cross-legged on a stone, with a footstool before him, enjoying a\nfew olives and a morsel of bread. Around him stood his ragged pupils,\nreading from leaves torn out of old books, some of which were so worn and\ndirty that the poor boys could scarcely discover what they had once\ncontained. The weather was by no means warm, yet we could not wonder at\nhis choosing the open air for the place of instruction, when we saw his\ndwelling, which was a mud hut not quite nine feet square, with no opening\nfor light but through the doorway. In this hovel he taught his forty\nscholars when the inclemency of the weather did not permit their being out\nof doors. The grey-headed father was surprised that his humble company had\nattracted the notice of strangers; but, seeing the interest we manifested\nin his calling, he inquired for a New Testament, which we gladly\nfurnished, with the addition of some tracts to such of the children as\ncould read them. This sight was gratifying to us as showing a disposition\nto teach and to learn, even under the most disadvantageous circumstances.\n\nOur quarters at the khan became more uncomfortable; the people were so\nuncivil they would hardly give us cold water without grumbling. The second\nnight we witnessed one of the most dreadful storms we ever remember to\nhave seen. Violent gusts of wind shook our desolate abode, while the rain\npoured down in torrents and found entrance in various parts of our\napartment.\n\n\nThey intended, as we have seen, to go to Athens by way of Corinth, and\nwhen they were disappointed of sailing to that city, and thrown upon the\nopposite shore of the gulf, they still seem to have supposed it impossible\nto reach the capital by any other route.\n\n\n5_th_.--Being, says John Yeardley, on the contrary side of the gulf,\nand thus deprived of helping ourselves by means of horses, we gave up all\nhope of reaching Athens, and thought we must of necessity return to\nPatras. We therefore inquired for a vessel to take us thither; but never\nshall I forget my feelings of horror while trying to contract with a man\nfor a boat. I said in my heart, O that I might be permitted to try the\nfleece once more in turning our faces towards Athens. The man was\nexorbitant in his demands, and it was too late to reach Patras without\nrisking the night on the sea. To stay where we were was next to impossible\nwithout serious injury, especially to my dear Martha. Strong indeed was\nour united prayer for direction and help in this time of distress, and\never-blessed be the name of our adorable Lord who heard and answered our\nprayer. Out of the depths of distress a little light sprung up, and we\nthought if we could take a boat and cross over to Scala, a little port on\nthe opposite side of the creek, we might then take mules to [Castri the\nancient] Delphi, and if not able to proceed further on our way, the change\nwe hoped would be use to M.Y. We did make the effort, and were favored to\nget to Scala, where we found only a few scattered mud houses; but on\nlanding, there was a change of feeling immediately experienced. We were\nrescued from ship-builders and sailors, the vilest of the vile, and placed\namong a simple country people.\n\nThe master of the custom-house, to whom we had a few lines of\nrecommendation, invited us to his house and gave us coffee. He provided us\nwith four mules; three for the interpreter and ourselves, and the fourth\nfor the baggage. It was about eight miles, or two and a half hours' ride,\nto Delphi; and no sooner had we begun to feel the mountain air than my\ndear M. began to revive. We had to climb precipices where nothing but\nmules could have carried us. At the foot of the mountain we came in\ncompany with two camels, which was a new sight to us.\n\nThe situation of Delphi is the most beautiful that eyes can behold:\nmountains of rock, such as we never before saw, and in the back ground the\nfar-famed Parnassus, covered with snow. The village consists of about one\nhundred cottages, some of them built in the rock. We were conducted to one\nof the best of these rustic dwellings, and met with a very friendly\nreception from the inmates. The house consisted of two rooms, and we were\noffered the use of one of them; they furnished us with mattresses laid\nupon a sort of dresser, where we slept much better than for many previous\nnights; even the hen and her thirteen chickens under our bed did not\ndisturb us. The novelty of the visiters soon brought in several of the\nneighbors, who did not leave us, even while we took our tea. As there was\na good feeling, we thought it well to improve the opportunity, and\ninquired who could read. The master of the house, a sensible man, said\nthere were only about twenty in the village who know anything of letters,\nbut that he could both read and write, for his father was a priest.\n\nAfter tea we produced a New Testament and the book of Genesis, and our\ninterpreter read aloud the first two chapters of Genesis. Our host had\nnever seen the Scriptures in his own language, and we think we never\nbeheld a countenance more full of delight and intelligence than his was\nduring the reading. After a short explanation of what had been read, and a\nword of exhortation, we thought to close; but the company were so pleased\nwith hearing the account of the creation and fall of man [from the sacred\nrecord itself], that they requested us to read more. I desired them to ask\nany questions on the subject they might wish; and the first which our host\nput was, What kind of tree it was, the fruit of which Adam was forbidden\nto eat? We answered that it was translated in our language _apple_.\nHe said they thought it was a _fig_. We told them it might be a fig,\nor it might be an apple; but that the object of the Almighty was to try\nAdam's obedience. They at once agreed to this; and the master of the house\nwisely observed, Jesus Christ came to restore to us what was lost by\nAdam's transgression. He then said, It would have been better if Adam,\nafter his transgression, instead of hiding himself, had confessed his sin\nto God, and begged his forgiveness. We all agreed that it was a natural\nact for man, in his fallen state, to wish to seek excuse, rather than to\nconfess his sin and repent. We then made some remarks on the prophecy of\nthe Saviour in the third chapter of Genesis, and ability was given us to\npreach the Gospel of life and salvation. All hearts seemed touched, and\nour own overflowed with gratitude. We may in truth say, Our Heavenly\nFather has plucked our feet out of a horrible pit and out of the miry\nclay, and set them upon a rock, and put a new song into our mouth, even\npraise to his glorious name. On considering afterwards our situation, we\ncould not but behold the hand of a gracious Providence which had led us to\nthis spot; had we attempted to go by Corinth to Athens, we should [as they\nafterwards learned] have been stopped by the waters, and have missed\nseeing this interesting people; but from hence the way was passable, and\nonly four days' journey by land.\n\nAfter dinner we walked through the village up to the rock. We came to a\nfountain where several women were washing; one of them, a young-looking\nperson, suddenly left her companions, and with hasty step and entreating\nair advanced towards us, as we supposed to ask something; but she bowed\nher head almost to the ground, and then kissed our hands; after which she\nwithdrew in a cheerful and diffident manner. The reason of this salutation\nwas, that the young woman had lately been married, and it was customary\nfor the last bride of the village to kiss the hands of strangers.\n\nThe temple of Apollo once occupied nearly half an acre of ground: a great\nmany of its marble pillars are still to be seen, half buried by the\nplough, and corn growing over them. About a hundred yards from this temple\nis the cave in the rock from whence the priestess pronounced the oracle.\nAmong the curiosities of this wonderful place, the tombs in the rocks are\nnot the least remarkable. They are built of the most beautiful white\nmarble; the entrance is by a large archway, and round the circle are\nseveral recesses in the stone, one above another, where the dead had\nevidently been deposited. They illustrate the history of the maniac\ndwelling among the tombs (Mark v. 3.), for these caves formed a perfect\nsort of house in which persons might dwell.\n\n8_th_.--We were not able to leave Delphi on account of the high wind\nwith some rain. In the evening we again enjoyed our Scripture reading on\nthe hearth. We continued the book of Genesis, and our host inquired\nwhether those who died before the birth of the Saviour were lost. He was\ninformed they were saved through faith in the promise. He had supposed\nthey went into hell, and that when Christ came he released them. We asked\nhim if Enoch, who walked with God and was translated, could have been sent\nto hell. Of this he knew nothing, never having read the Scriptures.\n\n9_th_.--This morning we procured four mules and four men, and\nproceeded on our pilgrimage towards Livadia, thirty-three miles from\nDelphi. Our kind host recommended us to the special care of one of the\nmuleteers, who put his hand to his heart, and feelingly accepted the\ntrust. We were most of the day winding round Parnassus, whose height above\nus was tremendous. The road was frightful; over rocks, waters, and swampy\nground; we could hardly have believed it possible to pass through the\nplaces where our mules penetrated. The muleteer performed his trust\nfaithfully, rendering us all the assistance in his power. On parting we\npresented him with some tracts; he could read, and was much gratified with\nthe gift.\n\nAt Livadia we were badly lodged, in a smoky room, and suffered much from\nextreme fatigue; but we found ourselves with an interesting family, to\nwhom we read the Scriptures, seated with them on the floor; and we could\nnot but feel grateful to our Divine Master, for leading us among those who\nwere thirsting to receive the Holy Scriptures in a language they could\nunderstand.\n\n10_th_.--We travelled on horses through a comparatively flat country,\ndespoiled of all its verdure by the ruthless hand of war. The evening was\nwet; we reached the once celebrated Thebes in the dark, and were glad to\ntake shelter in a smoky room, in the first house that could receive us.\nThe situation is fine, but the present town occupies only the part which\nwas the fortress of ancient Thebes.\n\n11_th_.--This day we had much mountain country to pass through. Every\ntree we could see was either partly burnt or partly cut away. Towards the\nend of our day's travel we went through an immense wood, difficult of\npassage, on leaving which the Gulf of Aegina appeared in view. We rested\nfor the night at a little settlement of Albanians near the coast. We\nobtained shelter in the cottage of an old woman, who seemed a little\nstartled at the appearance of strangers, whose language she could not\nunderstand. Concluding, however, that we had the common wants of nature,\nand having no bread to offer us, she quickly prepared a little meal, made\na cake, and baked it on the hearth under the ashes. We made signs to be\nfurnished with a vessel in which we might prepare a little chocolate, our\nfrequent repast under such circumstances; and, at length, a very rough\nhomely-looking pitcher was produced; but the greater difficulty was to\nfind something in which to boil the milk and water. After waiting till\ntheir own soup had been prepared, we obtained the use of the saucepan.\nThese difficulties overcome, we enjoyed our meal; and offered some to a\nGreek woman who had walked beside our mules for the sake of company, on\nher dreary journey to Athens; but she refused, with thanks, saying, I am\nnot sick; for the Greeks seldom take beverage of this sort, except when\nthey are indisposed. As the inmates of this homely cottage, as well as the\nneighbors, who usually come in to see travellers of our uncommon\nappearance, did not understand Greek, we were deprived of the opportunity\nof reading the Holy Scriptures to them, or of conversing with them on the\nsubject of religion. All that we could do was to prepare for rest, of\nwhich we stood in great need, having had a very fatiguing ride through the\nwoods to this place. The room in which we had taken shelter was also to be\nour sleeping-place, in common with the old woman and her family and the\nGreek traveller; in another part of the room were also a sheep and several\nother animals. We swept as clean as we could a space in the neighborhood\nof the quiet sheep, and spread what bedding we had upon the mud floor,\nsurrounding it with our baggage, except our carpet-bags, which served us\nfor pillows; and after commending ourselves and the household to the\nprotecting care of the great Shepherd of Israel, we obtained some\nrefreshing repose. (See _Eastern Customs_, pp. 17-19.)\n\n12_th_.--We started with tired bones. After a pleasant ride of four\nhours the Acropolis of Athens burst upon our view. The city is beautifully\nsituated in a plain bounded by mountains, and near to a rich grove of\nolive-trees, which has been spared amid the ravages of war. I felt, says\nJohn Yeardley, low and contemplative; many and various thoughts crowded\ninto my heart. Every foot we set in Greece, we Bee desolation. I can\nscarcely believe that I am in the place where the great Apostle of the\nGentiles desired to know nothing but Christ crucified; and in sight of\nMars Hill, from which the same apostle preached to the Athenians the true\nGod.\n\nWe reached the only inn in the town, much worn by fatigue and bad\naccommodation, yet very grateful for having been preserved from any\nserious accident during our perilous journey, and under a precious sense\nthat it was in right ordering we persevered in coming to this place.\n\nWe introduced ourselves to the American missionaries, Hill and King, and\nmet with a hearty reception. The schools under their care are the most\ngratifying sight we have seen. J. Hill and his wife have nearly 500\nchildren on their list. We were much pleased with the arrangements of the\nschools: the classification is the best I have ever seen, and the children\nexhibit intelligence and thirst for instruction. The effect of Scriptural\ninstruction on the minds of the Greek children is very gratifying. A young\ngirl whom the directors had taken into the school as an assistant teacher,\nentered the family with a mind fortified in the superstitions taught in\nher own church, observing scrupulously the feast and fast-days, the making\nthe sign of the cross before eating, and the kissing of pictures. The\nmistress wisely avoided interfering with what the girl considered to be\nher religious duties; but after she had attended the Scriptural reading\nand the family worship for a short time, the light of divine truth broke\nin upon her heart; and as she embraced the substance of the religion of\nJesus Christ, her attachment to the superstitious forms became gradually\nweakened, until at length she left them altogether. The mistress one day\nsaid to her, I observe you do not keep the fast-days, nor cross yourself\nbefore eating, nor kiss the pictures. No, replied the child, I am\nconvinced that making the outward sign of the cross cannot purify the\nheart from sin; and as to meat and drink, I read in the Scriptures, that\nit is not that which goeth into the mouth that defiles the man.\n\n15_th_.--Visited the schools under the direction of Jonas King, of\nthe Boston mission. He has an academy for young men, and a school for\nmutual instruction, containing together 150. I think the mode of Scripture\nlessons particularly efficient. The instruction given in the schools at\nAthens seems more complete than in any we have visited during the journey.\nJ.K. has service in modern Greek three times on First-days, at which some\nof the young men attend, along with other Greeks, but not many.\n\nDuring our stay in this city we visited many Greek families, and\ndistributed among them religious tracts and portions of the Holy\nScriptures, and exhorted them to the observance of their religious duties,\noften calling their attention to those points in which their own practices\nare at variance with the doctrine of Holy Scripture.\n\nThe ancient ruins are exceedingly grand, and raise mingled feelings in the\nheart not easily described, but tending to humble the pride of human\ngreatness. We saw the Temple of Theseus, the prison of Socrates, the\nfamous Temple of Minerva; but the spot that most nearly interested us was\nMars Hill, whose rocky mount was in view from lodgings, where we sat and\nconversed together of the Apostle Paul preaching the true God; and in the\nsweet stillness which covered our spirits, earnestly desired that the pure\nGospel might again be freely preached and received throughout this\ninteresting but desolated country.\n\nThere are not more than sixty really good houses built in the town; but,\nincluding great and small, there may be 1500 dwellings. It is settled that\nAthens shall be the seat of the Greek government; and the young king,\nOtho, laid the foundation-stone of the new palace in his last visit to\nthis place.\n\n18_th_.--Being anxious to get to Patras in time to sail by an English\npacket to Corfu, we set off for the port. J. Hill met us, to see us embark\nin a boat for Kalimichi. The Greek sailors have a superstition against\nsailing at any time but in the night; but after being deceived by one\ncaptain, we prevailed, on another to set sail [in the daytime], in the\nfull hope of reaching Kalimichi the same evening. A favorable gale wafted\nus on for some time, but a slight storm coming on, the cowardly captain\nran us into a creek, and kept us tossing all the night in his open boat.\nAbout eight o'clock the next morning we were favored to reach Kalimichi in\nsafety, where we procured mules and reached Corinth to dinner.\n\nHere there are only a few houses standing in the midst of ruins. We took\nup our abode at the only inn, from the windows of which we looked upon the\nbusy scene of a fair. Our hearts were not enlarged, as the great Apostle's\nwas; for our spirits were clothed with mourning in contemplating the\ndarkness of the place. Many persons to whom we spoke could not read; and\non offering a Testament to the man of the inn he refused to receive it.\n\nWe pursued our travels, and at mid-day met with a trying detention from\nthe muleteer having neglected to obtain a permission. We were at length\nsuffered to proceed, but arrived late at a miserable khan, where we passed\nthe night in a loft. This poor place could only furnish two mules and a\ndonkey, with a man to attend them; but we were encouraged to hope we\nshould find four horses about two hours further on; but here we were\ndisappointed, and could get no horses to proceed. We felt truly destitute,\nand took refuge in a loft from the scorching rays of the sun. We had very\nlittle food with us, and saw no probability of quitting our desolate abode\ntill the next day at any rate. Thus situated we were endeavoring to be\nreconciled to our allotment, when most unexpectedly, about two o'clock, we\nespied a small fishing-boat sailing towards Patras, and immediately ran\ndown to the shore, a considerable distance, to make signals to the\nboat-man, and inquire whether he would convey us to Vostizza, a place\nwithin a day's journey of Patras. We directly procured a mule to convey\nour baggage to the shore, and descended by a very rough path to a creek\nwhere the boat lay to. Here we were again detained by the guard making\ngreat difficulty in allowing the boatman to take passengers without a\npermit, which could only be obtained in the town, so strict and perplexing\nare the regulations for travellers under the new government. However,\nafter detaining us an hour and causing us to lose most of the fair wind,\nhe suffered the man to take us. We sailed along pretty well for a time,\nwhen the wind suddenly changed, and the boatman told us we could not get\nto Vostizza that night, but added they would put us on shore where we\nshould be within an hour's walk of it, and that we could readily find a\nmule to carry our baggage. This we gladly accepted, and were soon landed\nand on our way.\n\nAlthough sick and weary on board, we seemed to receive new strength for\nour walk, and arrived at Vostizza at about eight o'clock. Here our\naccommodation for the night was much like our former lodging; for this\nlarge town has also been, burned by the enemy, and presents a scene of\nruins. We engaged horses for the next day to convey us to Patras, and were\na little cheered with the prospect of being near that place of attraction.\nThe man of the house where we lodged could not read, but informed us there\nwas a school in the town of fifty boys. We saw a person in the next shop\nwriting, and offered him a Testament, which he very gratefully received,\nand sent for the schoolmaster, who seemed much pleased with our offer to\nsend him books and lessons. We also gave books to several we met with,\nwho began eagerly to read them aloud, and soon obtained hearers, so that\nit became a highly interesting scene: boys who received tracts from us\nshowed them to others, and numbers crowded about us, even to the lust\nmoment of our stay. If we had had a thousand books we could have disposed\nof them. What a difference between this place and poor Corinth!\n\nOur trying journey through Greece has given us an opportunity of judging\nof the state of things, and I hope will enable us to relieve some of their\nwants. It is cause of humble thankfulness to the Father of mercies that he\nhas preserved us in the midst of many dangers, and brought us in safety so\nfar back on our way with hearts filled with love and praise.\n\n\nThey arrived at Patras on the 22nd, but found that the English steamer had\nsailed two days before. They employed the interval before the sailing of\nanother packet in establishing a girls' school, which was commenced soon\nafter their departure. At Corfu they received information of the opening\nof the school, conveyed in a letter from the sister of the English consul\nin the following encouraging terms:--\n\n\nI am sure you will be gratified to hear that the school which was\nestablished by your benevolent exertions has been opened under the most\nfavorable auspices. The first day we had twenty-two girls; we have now\nforty-eight. Nothing can exceed the eagerness shown by the children to be\nadmitted, and their parents seem equally anxious to send them; with very\nfew exceptions they come clean, and on the whole are attentive and well\nbehaved. Of the forty-eight there are only nine who can read. The little\nCorfuot you recommended is first monitor, and of great use.\n\n\nThey reached Corfu on the 12th of the Fifth Month, and were kindly\naccommodated at the office of the Commissary Ramsay.\n\n\nImmediately on our arrival at Corfu, our young friend the Count Sardina\nrenewed his visits. We saw him almost daily; our conversations were often\ntruly spiritual; he opened his heart to us, and we rejoiced to believe\nthat he had attained to a degree of living faith in his Redeemer.\n\n\nIt will be recollected that their inability to collect the inhabitants in\na meeting for worship was a source of discouragement to John and Martha\nYeardley in their former visit to Corfu. Now, on revisiting this island,\nthey had the satisfaction of holding two meetings for worship with Isaac\nLowndes' congregation.\n\n\n6 _mo._ 1.--Isaac Lowndes had now obtained leave to hold his meeting\nfor worship in the large school-room, and I felt at liberty to propose\nhaving an opportunity to address the congregation. This he gladly\naccepted, and gave notice of our intention. It was pretty well attended,\nbut not full; a good feeling prevailed.\n\n15_th_.--We had another meeting with the little company who meet in\nthe school-room. The room was better filled than on the former occasion:\nit was a precious season of divine favor; utterance was given to preach\nthe word, and I trust there were some into whose hearts it found entrance.\n\nA few days before we left the island, I.L. took us to visit the Jewish\nRabbi, who, though full of argument, appears extremely dark and\nbewildered, dwelling on mysterious words whose interpretation is confined\nto the rabbinical office. He said they looked for a temporal king, who\nshould give a temporal kingdom to Israel. It was a truly painful visit,\nand we left him with the desire that he might be instructed even out of\nhis own law, which, if properly understood, would prove as a schoolmaster\nto bring him to Christ.\n\n\nAfter spending about five weeks at Corfu on this second visit, they again\ncrossed the Adriatic to Ancona.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nTHE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1833-4.\n\nPART III.--THE RETURN FROM GREECE.\n\nOf the numerous letters which John and Martha Yeardley received from\nEngland during this long journey, very few have been preserved. We shall\nextract short passages from two which came to their hands not long before\nthey left the Islands. The first is from John Rowntree, and is dated the\n13th of the First Month, 1834.\n\n\nOn my own account, and on behalf of the Friends of our Monthly Meeting, I\nfeel grateful for the information respecting your proceedings. There is\nsome difficulty in satisfying the eager anxiety of my friends to know all\nthat is to be known about your engagements, and I may truly say that the\nkind interest which you feel about us is reciprocal. Often do I picture\nyou to myself, laboring in your Master's cause, receiving as\nfellow-partakers of the same grace all whose hearts have been touched\nwith a sense of his love, who are hoping to experience salvation through\nHim alone.\n\nOur reading meetings are pretty well attended this winter. We have been\nreading James Backhouse's journal: he was still engaged, when he sent the\nlast account of his proceedings, in Van Diemen's Land. Like you, he and\nhis companion rejoice at meeting with those to whom, although not exactly\nagreeing with us in some respects, they can give the right hand of\nfellowship as laborers under the same Master. Like you, too, they devote\nconsiderable attention to the improvement of schools, and the improvement\nof the temporal condition of the poorer classes among whom they labor.\n\n\nIn a letter from William Allen, written the 31st of the Third Month, occur\nthe following words of encouragement:--\n\n\nI have heard, through letters to your relations and others, that you have\nbeen much discouraged at not finding a more ready entrance for your gospel\nmessage; but really, considering the darkness; the sensuality, and the\nsuperstition of the people in those parts, we must not calculate upon much\nin the beginning. If here and there one or two are awakened and\nenlightened, they may be like seed sown, and in the Divine Hand become\ninstruments for the gathering of others. Should you be made the means of\naccomplishing this, in only a very few instances, it will be worth all\nyour trials and sufferings. And again, you must consider that, in the\nperformance of your duty, seed may be sown even _unknown by you_,\nwhich may take root, and grow, and bring forth fruit to the praise of the\nGreat Husbandman, though you may never hear of it. Be encouraged\ntherefore, dear friends, to go on from day to day in simple reliance on\nyour Divine Master, without undue anxiety for consequences; for depend\nupon it, when he has no more work for you to do, he will make you sensible\nof a release.\n\n\nThe passage to Ancona was tedious.\n\n\nWe embarked at noon, and had a long passage to Ancona of twelve days. We\nlanded on the 29th, and soon found ourselves occupying an empty room in\nthe Lazaretto, without even the accommodation of a shelf or closet. The\nterm of quarantine is fourteen days, but four days are remitted by the\nPope. The heat is oppressive, and the mosquitoes annoy us much, but we are\npreserved in a tolerable degree of health; and in taking a review of our\nvisit to Greece and the Ionian Islands, we are still sensible of a very\npeaceful feeling, under a belief that we have followed the pointings of\nthe Great Master, and a hope that the day is not far distant when the way\nwill be more fully opened in those countries to receive the gospel. The\npreaching of John in the wilderness has often appeared to us to be\napplicable to this people,--Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\n\n7 _mo._ 6.--We left Ancona, and took the route through Foligno and\nArezzo to Florence. That part of the Pope's dominions through which we\nhave passed is highly picturesque; hill and dale continually, and the\nwhole country cultivated absolutely like a garden. Most of the towns are\non the hills, and nothing can exceed the beauty of their situation. But as\nto vital religion, the spirit of those who desire the promotion of the\nRedeemer's kingdom, on the broad and sound basis of common Christianity,\nmust be clothed with mourning in passing through this superstitious and\nilliberal country. What we have seen of Tuscany is not so fine, but the\nappearance of the peasants is much superior. The inns are much more\nagreeable than we found them on the road from Geneva to Ancona.\n\nWe arrived at Florence on the 10th. The persons to whom we had\nrecommendations were absent, on account of the heat of the season, except\nthe Abbot Valiani, a spiritually-minded man, who showed us great kindness.\nHe has refused many advantageous offers of promotion, choosing to be\ncontent with a little, rather than to be hampered with fetters which I\nbelieve he thinks unscriptural, and not for the good of the Church; he is\nof the opinion that it would be better for the common people to have the\nBible, and to be more acquainted with its contents. He conducted us to see\nthe School for Mutual Instruction, founded under the patronage of the\nGrand Duke, about twelve years ago. The school-room is very large, airy,\nand well lighted; it was formerly a convent. The system of education\ndiffers a little from that practiced in England; but the children, about\n240 in number, are apparently under an efficient course of instruction and\ndiscipline. The younger boys have a string put round the neck, which\nconfines them to the place during the lesson, but I observed it did not\nconfine their attention. We were much pleased with the countenance and\nmanners of the director, the Abbot Luigi Brocciolini; his heart appears to\nbe in his work, which is by no means easy.\n\nWe left Florence early on the 13th, and had four days' hard travelling to\nGenoa. From Sestri to Genoa, a day's journey, is by the sea, and under the\nmountains, some of them of a tremendous height, and beautifully covered\nwith olives, vines, and figs: the houses hang quite on the sides of the\nmountains amidst the olives; I do not remember to have passed through any\ncountry equally picturesque.\n\nWe had packed as many books and tracts as we well could in our wardrobe\ntrunks, which were not once opened at the different custom-houses, but the\nsurplus tracts, &c., we were obliged to put into a spare box by\nthemselves, and this box was not suffered to pass the frontier of\nSardinia. The first officer was embarrassed, not knowing how to act, and\nsent a gendarme with us to the bureau of Sarzana, the next town. The\nofficer there was remarkably civil, but told us the law is such that books\ncannot enter except on conditions to which we could not in our conscience\nsubmit. We therefore left them in the bureau, desiring that they might be\nmade useful: a person in the office said, in a half-whisper, These are the\nbooks to turn the people's heads. We were glad this loss did not prevent\nus from distributing others out of our remaining store, at the inns, and\npretty freely on the road.\n\n\nTheir object in returning by Genoa was to visit the valleys of Piedmont.\nThey reached Turin on the 19th, and proceeded on the 22nd to Pignerol.\nFrom this place they visited most of the valleys, went into all the\nfamilies where Stephen Grellet had been, and had frequent religious\nconversation with the pastors and some of the people.\n\n\nWe spent, says J.Y., five days amongst them. The old pastor Best died soon\nafter the time that Stephen Grellet was there. We met his son, lately\nappointed chaplain to the Protestant congregation at Turin. He is a young\nman of talent, lively and intelligent, and desirous of being useful in his\nnew sphere of action. He came to us often at our little inn, and made many\ninquiries as to the nature of our religious principles; our conversation\nmostly turned on the necessity of the assistance of the Holy Spirit in the\nexercise of Christian ministry. This he fully admitted, but was not\nprepared to dispense with the necessity of an academical preparation. I\nfear that sending the young men to Geneva for this purpose has not always\nhad a salutary effect.\n\nWe thought it right to attend their worship on First-day morning at La\nTour. The congregation consisted of about 900 clean and well-dressed\npeasants, many of whose countenances looked serious. The short discourse\nof Pastor Peyron was orthodox, and the application impressive and edifying.\nHe afterwards dined and spent the afternoon with us at the widow Best's,\nwith several branches of her interesting and pious family. I humbly trust\nthis day was spent to mutual comfort.\n\n\nThey were disappointed to find that strangers were forbidden by law to\nhold public meetings, or preach in the assemblies of the Protestants; and\nalthough they met with many pious individuals, they thought the life of\nreligion on the whole at a low ebb, and deplored the prevalence of the\nforms and ceremonies used by the Church, of England. The schools, too,\nthey found to be in a very poor state; the masters deficient in education\nand badly paid, and the schools conducted without system. The ministers\nshowed them great kindness, and on their quitting La Tour, Pastor Best\nencouraged them by the expression of satisfaction with their visit. They\nreturned to Turin on the 28th.\n\nPassing over Mont Cenis, they directed their course to Geneva, where they\narrived on the 3rd of the Eighth Month, rejoiced to be once more on the\nEnglish side of the Alps. On their outward journey their sojourn in this\ncity had been short, but now they found it needful to make a longer visit,\nand were thankful in being permitted to mingle again in intimate communion\nwith those who understood the language of the Spirit. They paid and\nreceived many visits, and held two religious meetings at their hotel, at\nthe latter of which about fifty persons were present.\n\nOne of the most interesting occasions of which they speak was a Missionary\nMeeting, in which the minister Olivier unfolded his experience of a divine\ncall to leave his country, and go abroad on the service of the gospel. The\nvoice which he described as having been sounded in his spiritual ear, and\nthe manner in which he received it, must have struck John Yeardley as\nsingularly in accordance with the call to a similar service which he\nhimself had heard so distinctly in his younger days, and which, like\nOlivier, he had for a long time hidden in his heart.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 4.--In the evening I attended the Missionary Meeting in the\nChapel de l'Oratoire. Pastor Merle [d'Aubigne] opened the meeting by a\nshort prayer, and singing, and then gave a narrative of the liberation of\nthe slaves in the English colonies, according to the account received from\nEngland. Pastor Olivier, from Lausanne, was present. He is about to depart\nfor Lower Canada, and he spoke in a very touching manner of the way in\nwhich the mission had first opened on his own mind. When the concern was\nmade known in his heart, he kept it there in secret prayer to the Lord for\ndirection, and whenever he heard what he believed to be the same voice, it\nwas always--Go, and the Lord will go with thee. A real unction attended\nwhile he gave us this account; the way in which he spoke of it resembled\nthe manner of one of our Friends laying a concern before a meeting: many\nhearts present felt the force of his words. His exhortation to the young\npersons was excellent. Pastor Gaussen concluded the meeting with an\naddress and lively prayer.\n\n\nAmong the friends with whom they had religious intercourse were Pastors\nL'Huillier, Gallon, and Molinier. The last was a \"father in the church\" to\nthem. After some conversation on the state of religion in Geneva, he\nproposed their sitting awhile in silence, well knowing the practice of the\nSociety of Friends in this respect. John and Martha Yeardley had each a\ngospel message to deliver to him, after which he took them both by the\nhand, and offered up prayer for their preservation and the prosperity of\nthe Society to which they belonged. \"It was,\" says J.Y., \"the effusion of\nthe Holy Spirit, accompanied with power, and refreshed our spirits.\"\n\nWith Pastor Gallon John Yeardley had a long conversation on the principles\nand operations of the Societe Evangelique.\n\n\nI find them, he says, more liberal in their views than had been\nrepresented, and their extent of usefulness is already considerable. In\ntheir Academy they instruct young men with a view to their becoming\nministers, missionaries, school-masters, &c., as the prospect for their\nfuture usefulness may open under the direction of Divine Providence. In a\nplace like Geneva, such an institution may be well: while we regard it\nwith some caution lest it should run too high on points of doctrine, we\ncannot but hail with peculiar satisfaction such a favorable opportunity of\neducating young men in the sound principles of Christianity, that they may\nhappily prove instruments in the Divine Hand to check the spread of\ninfidelity.\n\n\nFrom Geneva they went to Lausanne. Their old friend, Professor Gaudin,\ntook them to see several pastors, and other pious persons, and on\nFirst-day, the 17th, he and his family, with some other serious-minded\nindividuals, joined them in their hour of worship at the inn.\n\n\nIt was, says J.Y., a time of a little encouragement to our tried minds,\nfor we had been brought into doubt as to the utility of resting here,\nalthough we had seen, as we believed, in the true light, that we ought to\nseek out a few who could unite with us in our simple way.\n\n\nOn the 18th they went on to Neufchatel, where they were received as before\nwith much affection, and where they proposed to settle down for the\nwinter, after making a tour in some neighboring parts of Switzerland.\n\nOn the 20th they went to Berne, and hired a lodging, for the purpose of\ndevoting themselves to religious intercourse with persons of the\n_interior_ class. As soon as it was known they had arrived, their\nacquaintance rapidly increased, and they found it difficult to receive all\nwho came. One of their first acts was to renew their intercourse with the\nCombe family at Wabern, where their visit in 1828 had left a sweet\nremembrance.\n\nThey spent a fortnight in Berne and the neighborhood, and some passages\nfrom John Yeardley's account of this interesting visit may properly find a\nplace here. The continual flow of Christian sympathy which it was now\ntheir happiness to experience, formed a strong contrast to the dreary\nspiritual wastes they had traversed in Italy and Greece. It was at this\ntime that they contracted or renewed a friendship with Sophie\nWuerstemberger, since well known to many other English Friends.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 24.--How greatly I feel humbled under the prospect before us\nin this place; many thirsting souls are looking to us for help, and we\nfeel poor and weak; we can only direct them to Him from whom all strength\ncomes. O my Saviour, forsake us not in this trying hour; give us the\nconsolation of thy Holy Spirit, and a portion of strength to do thy will!\nOur meeting is appointed for this evening; enlighten our understanding, O\nLord, that we may be enabled to instruct the people in the right way.\n\n25_th_.--More came to the meeting last evening than we expected. They\nwere still, and a good feeling prevailed; there were those present who\nknew something of inward retirement with their Saviour.\n\nMadame Combe called yesterday to ask some questions on the Supper and\nBaptism. I believe it would be an advantage to these pious people, if they\nwere to read and compare one part of the Scripture with another more\ndiligently. She left us well satisfied with the explanation given to her\nquestions. We never touch on these points, unless we are asked questions\nupon them.\n\nThe various visits received this day have closed with one of no common\ninterest from Dr. Karl Bouterwek, a young man from Prussia. He told as he\nhad received much benefit in the church of the Dissidents, but was on the\npoint of separating from them, because he could not agree in acknowledging\nthey were the _only true_ visible church. After some observations on\nthe Supper, &c., we observed that there were individuals in this place\nwhom the Most High was calling into more spirituality and purity of\nworship. He asked why we thought so. Our reasons were given, and he made\nno reply; but a most solemn and precious silence came over us, which it\nwas beyond our power to break by uttering words. Our hearts were filled\nwith love, and the dear young man went away to avoid showing the feelings\nof his heart by the shedding of tears.\n\n28_th_.--Took tea at the Pavilion, a pleasant country walk of twenty\nminutes from town, with Mad'e de Watteville and her daughter. She had\ninvited a number of friends to meet us. We passed a couple of hours,\npleasantly conversing, mostly on religious subjects. It is a little\nextraordinary, with what openness some of these dear people speak to us of\nthe state of their minds. When the circle was seated, we formed a pretty\nlarge company. The daughter of Mad'e de W. whispered to my M.Y., Are we\ntoo dissipated to have something good? We told her it was always good to\nendeavor to retire before the Lord in humility of soul. I trust a parting\nblessing was felt amongst us.\n\n30_th_.--From 9 o'clock till half-past 12, we received visits in\nsuccession, I think not fewer than fifteen. At half-past 2, Mad'e de Tavel\naccompanied us to the Penitentiary prison. For cleanliness and order, I\nthink, it exceeds all I ever saw of the kind. I fear the religious\ninstruction is very superficial; none but formal prayers and written\nsermons are used.\n\n31_st_.--Attended Mad'lle Berthom's Scripture class, at the\nInstitution for the Destitute. There are eighteen girls in the house to\nbed and hoard; it has been established about six years. M.B.'s method of\nexamining the children is the most simple and spiritual of any that I have\nseen; she has an extraordinary gift for the purpose.\n\n9 _mo_. 2.--Attended the Monthly Meeting in the missionary room. Many\nof the company were peasants from some distance. The singing excepted, it\nresembled a Monthly Meeting for worship in our Society; for all had\nliberty to speak one after the other, five or six speaking by way of\ntestimony: the doctrine was sound, and the way in which they coupled this\nwith their Christian experience was really excellent. I had much unity\nwith the concluding prayer by Pastor Merley.\n\n2_nd_.--The evening was spent at Mad'e W.'s, with a pretty large\ncompany. ---- proposed for a few verses to be sung; afterwards he read a\nchapter, and gave a long exposition, somewhat dry. When this and a prayer\nwere gone through, it was late; neither my M.Y., nor myself, were able to\nexpress what was on our minds. Some uneasiness and disappointment were\nexpressed by several; and two of these dear friends came to our lodgings\nthe next day, with whom we had a precious time. My M.Y. had to speak a few\nwords to the particular state of M.B., and at the close she acknowledged,\nin brokenness of spirit, that it was the truth.\n\nThere is a remarkable awakening in the town and canton of Berne, both\namong those of the higher walks of life and the peasants; but there is not\nstrength enough to come out of the forms. There are thirty females to one\nman among those who are lately become serious.\n\n\nFrom Berne, J. and M.Y. proceeded to Zurich, arriving there on the 5th of\nthe Ninth Month. They spent three days in the city, chiefly in the company\nof the Gessner-Lavater family, and renewed with the various members of it\nthe intimate friendship of former years. A short passage descriptive of\nthis sojourn is hero appended.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 7.--We attended the worship of the National Church, and heard\nthe pious Gessner. What he said was excellent, but I never enter these\nplaces without feeling regret that good Christians can be so bound by\nbook-worship; it certainly damps the life of religion in the assemblies.\nHow much we ought to rejoice in being delivered from the forms.\n\nI was instructed yesterday evening by hearing a reply of one of the first\nmissionaries of the Moravians [?]. He had labored diligently for\ntwenty-five years, and when asked how many souls had been turned to the\nLord by his means, he modestly answered, Seven. The person expressing\nsurprise at the smallness of the number in so many years, he replied, How\nhappy shall I be to stand in the Lord's presence at the last day, and to\nsay, Lord, here am I and the seven children whom thou hast given me. We\nought to labor in faith, and not expect to see fruit.\n\n\nThe next town where they halted was Schaffhausen, like Zurich, dear to\nthem in the recollections of past visits. Here they examined the school\nfor poor children in the town, and that of Buch in the neighborhood. They\nwere delighted with both these institutions. The mistress of the former\npossessed an extraordinary natural talent for her office; she was\noriginally a servant, when, instead of seeking her own pleasure on the\nFirst-days of the week, as other servants did, she would take a few\nchildren to teach them to read and instruct them in the Bible. Their visit\nto the school at Buch is described by John Yeardley in No. 10 of his\nSeries of Tracts, _The Six Secrets_.\n\nOn the 13th they went to Basle, where they conversed with most of the\npastors, and several other individuals of religious character.\n\n\nSerious, retired persons, says John Yeardley (9 mo. 21), frequently come\nto us and open the state of their minds with great freedom and confidence.\nIf we are of any use to their thirsty souls, it is the Saviour's love that\ndraws us into sympathy with them, and his good Spirit that enables us to\nspeak a word in season to their condition.\n\n\nAs usual, they visited the Mission House. Inspector Blumhardt informed\nthem that the translation which had been made of J.J. Gurney's \"Essays on\nChristianity,\" and of which 2000 copies were printed, had been productive\nof great good; they had been distributed chiefly among those who were\nconnected with the German universities.\n\nThey remained at Basle until the 1st of the Tenth Month, and then returned\nby way of Berne to Neufchatel. At Berne a sudden diversion was given to\nthe current of their thoughts by the intelligence of the death of Thomas\nYeardley. J.Y. has left a memorandum of the occurrence, and of the\nsingular foreshadowing of it upon his own mind which took place at Zurich.\n\n\n10 _mo_. 2. _Berne_.--We found many letters from England waiting\nfor us here, one of which, from my nephew John Yeardley, brought the\nsorrowful intelligence of the sudden and unexpected removal of my\ndearly-beloved brother Thomas, of Ecclesfield Mill. This took place on the\n6th of the Ninth Month, about 20 minutes past 2, without sigh or groan,\neven as a lamb. These are the expressions of J.Y.; he adds several sweet\nexpressions of my precious brother's, which show that the solemn change to\nhim was a joyful one: and I do believe his tribulated spirit is now at\nrest. On recurring to the 6th ultimo to see where we were, and what were\nthe contemplations of my mind, I find we were at Zurich. That morning the\nfollowing lines which I heard when a child, and had not repeated for the\nlast twenty years, came forcibly into my mind:--\n\n\n    It's almost done, it's almost o'er,\n    We're joining them that are gone before;\n    We soon shall meet upon that shore\n    Where we shall meet to part no more.\n\n\nI not only repeated them to myself the whole of the day, but even sung\nthem aloud so often that my dear M.Y. said to me, \"Whatever can be the\nmeaning that thou so often repeats these lines?\" I replied, \"I do not know\nthat I have repeated them for the last twenty years, but to-day they are\ncontinually with me.\" This can have been nothing but the spirit of\nsympathy with the soul of my dear departing brother, for the awful\nimpression of sorrow and solemnity in my mind on that day will never be\nforgotten; I mourned with the bereaved family without knowing it. My M.Y.\nhad opened her portfolio to begin a letter to our sister Rachel, and I\nwrote the verse on a piece of loose paper, and she slipped it into her\npapers, and said to herself, Surely these lines are not prophetic of\nsomething that is going to happen? Last evening she banded me out of her\nportfolio the piece of paper containing the lines.\n\n\nAt Berne they received also the tidings that \"the excellent\" M.A. Calame\nwas no more; the Christian mother of 250 orphan children was taken from\nthe scene of her labors and the conflicts of time to the heavenly rest in\nher Saviour. The following appear to be among the last words which she\nwrote; they were no doubt addressed to her faithful companion Zimmerlin:--\n\n\nIn my numerous shortcomings I have enough constantly to humble me, and\nwithout being surprised at it, since evil is my heritage; but my help is\nin the Lord, who delights in mercy. I have hope also for all my brethren\nwhom I love, whatever name they hear. There are twelve gates by which to\nenter into the Holy City, and if they have passed through the great gate,\nwhich is Christ, I am sure that those who enter from the east, as well as\nthose who have been brought in by the west, will be there; but those who\nenter with me are better known to me than the rest whom I shall meet in\nthat celestial Jerusalem, whither my sighs daily carry me, yet in\nsubmission to the heavenly decrees, desiring only that the will of God our\nSaviour be done.\n\nYou think my task is light? Ah, no! the love which the Lord has given me\nspends itself on so many hearts closed to their true interests; I see the\nhand of the enemy in their souls; I am so often deceived in my hopes, that\nmy work is watered by my tears. From time to time, however, the Lord gives\nme hope; a soul awakes from sleep, and is kindled into light by the torch\nof the gospel.\n\nAnd now, dear sister, have no longer any esteem or consideration for me;\nonly let the love of Christ live in thy heart for me: the desires of my\nheart carry you with it to the feet of Him who is Love.\n\n\nWhen they returned home, John and Martha Yeardley printed a short memoir\nof this extraordinary woman, whose name, though comparatively little known\nupon earth, is doubtless enshrined in the hearts of many who still\nsurvive, and shall one day shine with a lustre which the most brilliant of\nher sex, whose ambition it is to adorn the court, the concert or the\ndrawing-room, will desire in vain to wear.\n\nAt Berne J. and M.Y. commenced a Bible class, similar in kind to the\nScarborough reunion, which was continued until their departure, and was\nthe source of much pleasure and profit to those who attended. Before\nquitting Berne, thinking it might perhaps be the last opportunity they\nshould have of meeting with their numerous and beloved friends in that\ncity, they invited them to join them in worship in their apartment.\n\n\nMany, says John Yeardley, gave us their company; much tenderness of spirit\nwas felt, and through the mercy of Divine Love many present were, I trust,\ncomforted and refreshed.\n\nWe quitted Berne on the 30th. We had become so affectionately attached to\nmany Christian friends, that parting from them was severely felt. But what\nhappiness Christians enjoy even in this world I those who love the Saviour\nremain united in Him when outwardly separated.\n\n\nNeufchatel, for the sake of those who resided there, was equally\nattractive to them as Berne.\n\n\nWe arrived at Neufchfatel, writes John Yeardley, on Fifth-day, and on\nSeventh-day (11 mo. 1) settled into a comfortable lodging on the border of\nthe lake. It feels to us the most like home of any residence we have had\nduring our pilgrimage in foreign lands. Our suite of cottage-rooms runs\nalongside the water, with a gallery in front, and the little boats on the\nlake, and the mountains in the distance, covered with snow, are objects\npleasing to the eye. What gives us the most satisfaction is the feeling of\nbeing in our right place, and to meet with such a warm reception from our\ndear friends.\n\n\nThis feeling was succeeded by some religious service of an interesting\ncharacter, in reviewing which John Yeardley says:--\n\n\n23_rd_.--Among those who meet with us, a little few know how to\nappreciate true silence, others are not come to this. But for what purpose\nare we here? If it may please our Heavenly Father to make use of us as\nfeeble instruments of drawing a single individual into nearer communion\nwith the Beloved of souls, we ought to be content; and, blessed be his\nHoly Name, his presence is often felt in our hearts.\n\n\nAs has been already said, they looked forward to spending the winter at\nNeufchatel. This intention, and their ulterior project of visiting Germany\nin the spring, were frustrated by the alarming illness of Adey Bellamy\nSavory, Martha Yeardley's only brother, the news of which reached them on\nthe 29th of the Eleventh Month.\n\n\nThis day's post, writes John Yeardley, brought us the sorrowful news of\nthe severe illness of our dear brother A.B. Savory. The family at\nStamford-hill have expressed a strong desire for us to return, if we could\nfeel easy so to do, and seeing that we have pretty much got through what\nwe had in prospect in Switzerland, we are, on the whole, most comfortable\nto go direct for London, and leave Germany for the present. Our great\nMaster is very gracious to us, giving us to feel sweet peace in the\ntermination of our labors, and to look forward with hope to seeing our\nnative land once more.\n\n\nThe next day was First-day; the parting with their Neufchatel friends was\nvery affecting.\n\n\n11 _mo_. 30.--A precious meeting this morning. The presence of Him\nwho died for us was near, to help and comfort us; our hearts were much\ntendered by his divine love. The taking leave of our dear friends here was\nalmost heartrending. There is a precious seed in this place, which I\ntrust, is a little deeper rooted since our last visit, and it is the\nprayer of my heart, that the Saviour may water and watch over it, and that\nit may produce abundance of fruit to his praise.\n\n\nThey took their departure on the 2nd of the Twelfth Month, and arrived in\nLondon on the 13th, travelling through the north of France twelve days and\nsix nights.\n\n\nThrough divine mercy we arrived safe in London, on Seventh-day evening,\nand lodged with our beloved relations at Highbury, who received us with\nall possible affection. Our spirits on meeting, mingled in silent sorrow,\nwhile we were enabled to rejoice in God our Saviour. On First-day morning\nwe went over to Stamford-hill, and soon were introduced to our beloved\nbrother, who was perfectly sensible, but extremely weak. The peace and\nserenity which we were favored to feel by him was an inexpressible comfort\nto our sorrowful hearts.\n\n\nA.B. Savory died the next Third-day evening, and his remains were interred\non the First-day following.\n\n\n21_st_.--This was the day fixed for the solemn occasion of\naccompanying the remains to the tomb. The body was taken into the\nmeeting-house at Newington, and the company of mourners and all present\nwere, I believe, comforted and edified through the tender mercies of our\nHeavenly Father. J.J. Gurney's communication was particularly precious; he\nalso paid a consoling visit to the family after dinner.\n\n\nWe shall conclude this chapter with some reflections made by John\nYeardley, on reviewing the changes which death had produced in the circle\nof his relations:--\n\n\n1835. 1 _mo_. 31.--Waking this morning, I took a view of the great\nravages death had made in our families; when this exhortation pressed\nsuddenly and with peculiar force on my heart,--Be thou also ready. My soul\nresponded, Thou Lord, alone, canst make me ready. O gracious Saviour, who\ndied for me, be pleased to redeem me from the bond of corruption, and\npurify my heart from earthly things.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\nFROM THE END OF THE THIRD CONTINENTAL JOURNEY, IN 1834, TO THE\nCOMMENCEMENT OF THE FOURTH, IN 1842.\n\nDuring the seven years comprised in this chapter, the materials which\nexist for delineating John and Martha Yeardley's history are meagre. Of\nthe numerous journeys which they made in the course of this period, the\nrecord kept by the former frequently consists of a mere itinerary.\n\nAfter attending the Leeds Quarterly Meeting in the Third Month, they\nreturned to their home at Scarborough, but soon left it again to be\npresent at the Yearly Meeting in London. The Society of Friends began\nabout this time to be agitated by differences of opinion, chiefly on\npoints of doctrine. John Yeardley not only kept himself sedulously free\nfrom the spirit of party, but, whether from a natural aversion to public\nlife, or from the fear of exceeding the limit of his own calling and\nabilities, he abstained from taking a prominent position, and left it very\nmuch to others to sway the affairs of the Church. But he was not unmindful\nof the dangers by which the Society was assailed, and he bent the force of\nhis mental vigor and Christian experience towards the promotion of\nindividual growth in grace and faithfulness to the divine call, and the\ndiffusion of clear and comprehensive views of Scriptural truth; and when\nthe hour came for sympathising with those who were harassed by doubts, or\nsuch as were subjected to trial by the effect of religious dissension, he\nwas ready, with his beloved partner, to share the burden of the afflicted,\nto probe the wounds of those who had been bruised, and to pour in the oil\nof heavenly consolation.\n\nHis note regarding the Yearly Meeting is short:--\n\n\nThe business was of a most important nature, and sometimes very trying. We\nhad strong proof that many spirits professing to have made long progress\nin the Christian life were not enough subdued by the humbling power of\ndivine grace; but through all, I trust, our heavenly Father dealt with us\nin mercy, and sent help and wisdom to direct and strengthen his poor\ntribulated children.\n\n\nOn returning to Scarborough, he writes:--\n\n\nI humbly trust our hearts are truly grateful to the Author of all our\nmercies, who has granted us once more a little rest of body and sweet\npeace of mind; but, as it regards myself, I must say that inward poverty\nhas prevailed more since my return home than it has done for the last two\nyears of absence. It is well to know how to suffer want, as well as to\nabound.\n\n\nWant of occupation was not one of John Yeardley's trials, even when\n\"standing,\" as he expressed it, \"free from any prospect of immediate\nservice, and feeling much as a vessel not likely to be brought into use\nagain.\" Scriptural inquiry, the study of languages, and of the history of\nthe Church, watching the progress of religious light and liberty on the\nContinent of Europe, his garden, the binding of his books--these were the\nemployments of his industrious leisure. To these must be added the time\nbestowed on several small publications from his own and his wife's pen\n(the latter chiefly poetical), of which the \"Eastern Customs,\" a volume\nwhich was the product of their united labor, and the materials for which\nwere supplied by their journey to Greece, is the best known.\n\nBut there was another object which drew largely on John Yeardley's time\nduring his residence at Scarborough. This was the unsectarian schools\nestablished in the town for the education of the industrial classes. Of\nthese the Lancasterian School for girls was his favorite, and the deep and\nsteady interest which he manifested for the improvement of the children,\nas well as the peculiar talent which he evinced for attracting and\ndeveloping the youthful mind, are shown in an affectionate tribute to his\nmemory by the late mistress of the school:--\n\n\nFor many years he was a visitor at our Lancasterian School, where it was\nhis delight to impart knowledge to a numerous class of girls. He had a\nhappy method of communicating information. The children used to listen\nwith the greatest attention and delight; they never wearied of his\nlessons. Scriptural instruction was his first object; the children were\nquestioned on what they had read, and it was delightful to watch their\ncountenances whilst he explained portions of Scripture, which he\nfrequently illustrated by the manners and customs of Eastern nations; and\nthis he did in a way that rendered his teaching valuable, as he did not\nfail to make an impression and gain the affections of his hearers.\n\nOne little girl we had whom he used to call the _oracle_; and indeed\nshe was not inappropriately so-called; for whenever any of the girls were\nat a loss for an answer, they invariably turned to her, and seldom failed\nto receive a response to their silent appeal. This gifted child died\nbetween the ages of sixteen and eighteen; he was a frequent visitor at her\nbedside during a lingering illness, and it was his privilege to see that\nhis labors had not been in vain.\n\nI shall _never_ forget him, not only for the important instruction I\nderived from him, but also for his valuable assistance. During my labors\nof more than twenty-five years, I had none to help me as he did. When at\nhome he never failed to visit as every afternoon: no matter what the state\nof the weather was--snow, wind or rain--he was to be seen at half-past\ntwo, with his large cape folded round him, bending before the blast,\ntoiling up the hill near the school. So accustomed were we to him that his\ncoming was deemed a matter of course.\n\nAfter our Scripture lesson a portion of time was devoted to geography,\nparticularly Bible geography; then he would talk to them of places where\nhe had travelled: his descriptions of the Ionian Islands, the people and\nthe schools he had visited there, used to be a favorite theme, and very\ninteresting. In this way our afternoons were passed, and truly they were\ntimes of profitable instruction.\n\nHe seemed to care less for the boys' school; he did occasionally visit\nthem, but the girls were his pets. I have sometimes thought his knowledge\nof the ignorant and degraded state of the females in Greece was the cause\nof his taking so much interest in the education of the females in his own\nland.\n\nIn addition to J. Yeardley's labors at the Lancasterian School, some of\nthe older girls and a few others who belonged to the school assembled at\nhis house one evening in the week, whom he instructed in reading and\nScriptural knowledge. Some of these still speak with gratitude of the\nbenefit they then received.\n\n\nIn the Ninth Month of 1835, John and Martha Yeardley visited Settle\nMonthly Meeting, and Knaresborough, under appointment of the Quarterly\nMeeting. On their way thither they took up at York their aged and valued\nfriend Elizabeth Rowntree of Scarborough, who was on the appointment.\n\n\nHer company, says J.Y., was a strength and comfort to us; she exercised\nher gift as an elder in a very acceptable manner, in many of the families\nwe visited, as well as in the meetings for discipline.\n\n\nThis notice is succeeded almost immediately by the record of Elizabeth\nRowntree's sudden decease:--\n\n\nOn the 25th of the Eleventh Month, we were introduced into deep affliction\nby the sudden removal of our precious elder, E. Rowntree. Her dependence\nfor salvation was fixed on her Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the\nhelp of whose Spirit she had been enabled to lead a life of godliness and\nof usefulness to her fellow-mortals, and was always concerned to give the\npraise to Him to whom it was due,--the Lord of Lords.\n\n\nThis event, with the removal of another pilgrim to become an inhabitant of\nthe world of beatified spirits, and the pressing subject of the divisions\nin the Society, form the topics of the following letter from Martha\nYeardley to Elizabeth Dudley:--\n\n\nScarborough, 12 mo. 5, 1835.\n\nDuring our long sojourn last spring, in and about my native city, my\nspirit was deeply oppressed, nor did the conflicts endured appear to\nproduce much benefit either to myself or others. Here the way is more\nopen, and, although we also deeply feel the effects of the storm which has\nbeen permitted to assail our little Society, we are more able to endure\nit; and desire to abide in our tents, except when called upon to defend\nthat immediate teaching of the blessed Saviour, upon which we depend for\nour little portion of daily bread. I can truly sympathise with thee, my\nbeloved Betsy, an having to bear more of the burden and heat of the day,\nand I do fervently believe with thee, that the more, as individuals, we\ncommit and confide the cause to the Great Master, in humble prayer, the\nsooner it will be extricated from the perplexities which now harass and\ndistress those who are truly devoted to it.\n\nWe have deeply to mourn for our endeared and highly valued E. Rowntree,\nsuddenly taken from us about ten days since. She and her sister R.S., from\nWhitby, had spent the preceding evening with us; she was in usual health,\nand sweetly cheerful, rejoicing that she had been enabled to assist dear\nSarah Squire in a family visit to Friends of this meeting, though she did\nnot sit with her in the families. I heard of her illness and hastened to\nher; she appeared sensible but for a very few moments after having been\ngot to bed; yet was heard begging for patience under extreme agony; then\nadded, We had need live the life of the righteous, for it is an awful\nthing to die. Then she suddenly sank into a slumber, and lay till a little\nafter nine at night, when her purified spirit was peacefully liberated.\n\nWe have got through Pontefract and some meetings in the neighborhood to\nour comfort, and on the journey had an opportunity of sitting beside the\ndying bed of dear Sarah Dent, which was indeed a peaceful scene. She was\nperfectly sensible, and so animated that I could hardly give up hope of\nher restoration. But she had not herself the least prospect of life, and\nsaid that, although she had found it a hard struggle to give up her\nhusband and children, she had, through the mercy of her gracious Redeemer,\nattained to perfect resignation. This was about a week before her death,\nand we have heard since, that a little before the close, she said, The\nLord Jesus is near, I want you all to know that He is near indeed!\n\nDear Ann Priestman has united with us in visiting this Monthly Meeting: it\nseems now best for us to remain at home for a short time, under the\nbereavement which our own meeting has suffered.\n\n\nIn 1836 they again attended the Yearly Meeting; of which John Yeardley\nthus speaks:--\n\n\nThe Yearly Meeting was, I think, on the whole, satisfactory, much more so\nthan many Friends could look for, considering the discouraging\ncircumstances under which we came together. The main bent in all the\nimportant deliberations on subjects of great moment to the well-being of\nour small section of the universal church, was to adhere to the long-known\nprinciples of the Society, and to turn aside the sentiments of opposing\nindividuals in the spirit of gentleness, forbearance and love.\n\n\nThey visited many meetings in going from and returning to Scarborough. The\nmost interesting of these visits was at Thame, in Oxfordshire, which John\nYeardley thus describes:--\n\n\n6 _mo._ 14.--Went in the evening to Thame, and had a meeting with a\nfew who have met in the way of Friends for about five years at Grove End.\nThere are only seven or eight who meet regularly, but they are often\njoined by a few others. No notice had been given to their neighbors of our\ncoming, but on seeing us go to the meeting many followed; the room was\nquite filled, and a precious meeting it was. Their hearts are like ground\nprepared for the good seed of the kingdom. The nature of spiritual worship\nwas pointed out, and testimony borne to the teaching of the Holy Spirit.\n\nThis little company reminded us of many such which we met with in foreign\ncountries, particularly in Switzerland and Germany. We had a good deal of\nconversation with William Wheeler, who was one of the first to meet in\nsilence. He was a leader in the Wesleyan congregation, and became uneasy\nwith giving out hymns to be sung with those whose states he knew did not\ncorrespond with the words. He would then sometimes select a hymn most\nsuited by its general character to the company; at other times he would\nleave out a few verses, and select others which he thought might be sung\nwith truth by the whole congregation; but the thing became so burdensome\nthat he was obliged, for conscience' sake, to leave it altogether, and sit\ndown with a few others in silence. At first they met with opposition, and\neven persecution, from persons who came to their meeting to disperse them.\nOn one of these occasions a few rude young men had banded together to\nbeset them the next meeting-day, and disperse them. W.W. was strongly\nimpressed that it was right for him to proclaim an awful warning to\nsome--that the judgments of the Almighty awaited them, that eternity was\nnearer than they were aware and he wished them to consider and prepare for\nit. One of the disturbers was taken suddenly ill, and died before the next\nmeeting-day; which produced such an effect on the others that they never\nmore molested the little company in their worship.\n\n\nIn reviewing this journey, J.Y. says, under date of the 25th of the Sixth\nMonth:--\n\n\nI trust my faith is afresh confirmed in the gift of the Holy Spirit to\nlead in the way of religious duty, and to give strength to do His will.\nLord, grant that the remainder of my days, whether few or many, be\nentirely devoted to the holy cause of endeavoring to promote the Saviour's\nkingdom on earth.\n\n\nIn 1837, John and Martha Yeardley were occupied with making circuits in\nthe service of the gospel through several counties of England. They were\nattracted to Lancashire, which they visited in the autumn, by the peculiar\nstate of some meetings in that county, an extensive secession having taken\nplace not long before. The difficulties which they had to encounter on\nthis journey are represented in a letter from Martha Yeardley to her\nsisters, written at Manchester the 4th of the Ninth Month, 1837.\n\n\nI do not recollect that, in my little experience, I ever had more\npreparatory exercise of mind to pass through; and I believe it has been\nthe same with my dear J.Y. We have, however, in many of our visits, been\nmuch comforted under the belief that those who remain firm in the\ntestimonies given us to bear are in a more lively state, and more banded\ntogether, than has been the case heretofore, and that, through the mercy\nof our holy Head and High Priest, there is a renewed visitation to many.\nIn the public meetings, of which we have had many, there has been a rather\nremarkable openness to receive the truths of the gospel, united with our\nview of the spirituality of this blessed dispensation.\n\nWe approached this place in deep prostration of spirit; and truly we feel\nthat all the previous baptism has been needful, in order to enable us in\nany degree to perform our duty here. There has been a sore rending of the\ntenderest ties, and the wounds are not yet healed. There are a few who\nentertain ultra views, and their over-activity tends to keep up excitement\nin those who are wavering and have not yet left the Society: this makes it\nvery difficult for moderate people to stand between them, and calls for\nvery deep indwelling with the blessed source of love. On the other hand\nthere are, I fear, very many who rejoice in the delusive suggestions of\nour unwearied enemy--that the cross of Christ is not necessary--that they\nmay speak their own words and wear their own apparel, and still be called\nby the name of Him who died for them. I think we never have had more to\nsuffer than in some of the meetings we have attended, from a disposition,\nperhaps in some degree on both sides, to criticise ministry: still there\nare, I believe, many precious individuals among the young and middle-aged\nwho are under the forming hand for usefulness. There is indeed a loud call\nfor laborers in this large and mixed meeting; and we are ready to weep\nover the vacant seats of those who have deserted their post, and, I\ngreatly fear, are seeking to warm themselves and others with sparks of\ntheir own kindling.\n\n\nAnother letter from M.Y., written at the conclusion of this journey,\nsupplies a few more traits of the Christian service into which they were\nled in the course of it.\n\n\nScarborough, 10 mo. 7.\n\nWe remained nearly a month in our lodgings at Manchester, receiving and\npaying visits, some of which were very interesting. Dear H. Stephenson and\nfamily were extremely attentive, and her daughter Hannah was our constant\nguide in that large place. We spent First-day at Rochdale, and in the\nevening a large number of young Friends took tea with us, between thirty\nand forty. This has mostly been the case on First-days, both at Manchester\nand elsewhere, and these opportunities have tended to our relief.\n\nAfter this we bade farewell to Lancashire, under feelings of thankfulness\nwhich I cannot describe, for having been mercifully helped and preserved\nthrough such a warfare.\n\n\nIn the autumn of 1839 they again travelled southwards, directing their\nsteps through the eastern counties of England, and London, Surrey, and\nHampshire, to the Isle of Wight, where they spent five weeks exploring its\ncoasts and corners, in search, not of the naturally picturesque, but of\nthe beautiful and hopeful in the moral and religious world. They returned\nhome by Bristol and Birmingham.\n\nSo attractive to their spirits was the Isle of Wight, that the next year\nthey repeated the visit, going thither after the Yearly Meeting. In the\nSeventh Month they attended the Quarterly Meeting at Alton, and on their\nreturn to Newport were accompanied by Elizabeth and Mary Dudley and\nMargaret Pope. They remained in Newport and the vicinity several weeks,\nduring which time, amongst other engagements, they conducted a Scripture\nclass with some young persons three evenings a week. In a letter dated the\n27th of the Sixth Month, J.Y. says:--\n\n\nMy dear Martha feels deeply for the Unitarians in this place; we sometimes\nthink the way may open for us to help them a little. Their great\nstumbling-stones are, the want of clearness in the mystery of the oneness\nin the Godhead, and of faith in the practical influences of the Holy\nSpirit, as operating on the heart of man. Our morning reading opens a\nsuitable door of communication for those whose curiosity prompts them to\nseek our company.\n\n\nIn company with Elizabeth Dudley they hold several public meetings at\nvarious places on the island. They have left no record of this service,\nbut we have a notice of the meeting at Porchfield, in a letter from E.D.\n\n\nThe meeting was very satisfactory, sweet and refreshing to our spirits.\nThe road was rough and hilly. We were behind time, and our friends being\npunctual, the house looked full when we got there, though more followed,\nuntil not only within but outside the walls there was a crowd of orderly,\nattentive people. Many of them were happily acquainted with the power of\nreligion in their hearts, and prepared for spiritual worship. The assembly\nwas composed of various denominations from a straggling village and more\nremote habitations. The chapel was built many years ago, by a pious man,\nnow above eighty years old, who was with us, and who enjoys to have the\nplace used by any who from love to Christ and the souls of men are\nattracted to visit them. The simplicity and openness to be observed and\nfelt that evening was a comforting indication of freedom from party\nspirit, and those vain disputations which in so many instances keep\nChristians at a distance, and mar their individual peace as well as\nusefulness.\n\n\nBefore they left Newport, they provided, with the help of several friends,\nsuitable accommodation for the little meeting of Friends in that town. On\ntaking leave of the island, which they did in the Eighth Month, John\nYeardley remarks:--\n\n\nWe have had much comfort and satisfaction in our sojourn in this place: a\nstrong evidence is felt in our hearts that it has been ordered by the\nLord. We have cause to acknowledge that our labors have been owned by the\nDivine Presence in our various exercise for the promotion of the Saviour's\nkingdom.\n\n\nIn the spring of 1841 they repeated their visit to the Isle of Wight,\nspent great part of the summer in religious service in Essex, and visited\nafterwards Bristol, Bath, and other parts of Somersetshire.\n\nAt Bath they remained for some weeks. Soon after their arrival in the\ncity, they were introduced into sympathetic sorrow on account of the death\nof John Rutter, whose guests they were, and who was suddenly removed, by\nan accident, from time to eternity. This event is described in a letter\nfrom John Yeardley to his sister R. S.\n\n\nBath, 9 mo. 24, 1841.\n\nThe affectionate family of the Rutters gave us a hearty reception, and we\nremained under their hospitable roof until Second-day, when they were\nplunged into deep distress by the awfully sudden removal of their beloved\nfather. He went out before breakfast, and called at his son's wharf. A\ncart of coals being about to be weighed, he was leading the horse on to\nthe machine; the animal, being a little unruly, suddenly rushed forward\nand pushed down J. R, and the wheel passed over his body. He was\nimmediately conveyed to his own shop, when the spark of life became\nextinct, and he ceased to breathe, without apparent pain or emotion. We\nwere nearly ready to leave our room, about half-past 6. o'clock, when one\nof the sons knocked at our door, and related the awful occurrence. I went\ndown immediately: the scene may be more easily imagined by you than\ndescribed by me. We endeavored to calm them as much as possible; and,\nthough deeply afflicted, they bear the stroke with sweet resignation. I\nwrote letters at their request to most of their near relatives; and as we\ncould not think of leaving the sorrowing family to go as proposed to\nBristol, we immediately procured a lodging and settled in, in the evening.\n\nOn Third-day afternoon we went to the Quarterly Meeting at Bristol, and\nreturned to Bath on Fifth day, not wishing to be long absent from the dear\nsorrowing ones. We have a pleasant situation on the hill-side, called\nSidney Lodge, from which, when the gas is lighted, the city is presented\nto our view like a beautiful panorama.\n\n\nTheir minds had been for some time in preparation for renewing, on the\nContinent of Europe, Christian intercourse with some of their old friends,\nand for exploring new veins of religious life in countries which they had\nnot yet visited. Accordingly, in the Fourth Month of 1842, they acquainted\nthe Friends of their Monthly Meeting with the prospect of missionary\nservice which had opened before them, informing them that from the\nconclusion of their last European journey they had believed it would one\nday be required of them to re-enter that field of labor. The Monthly\nMeeting accorded its full and sympathetic approbation, which was endorsed\nby the Quarterly Meeting at a conference of men and women Friends, of\nwhich John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nThe great solemnity which prevailed was truly refreshing to our spirits,\nand I believe to the spirits of many others. Our friends gave us their\nfull unity, _encouragement, sympathy,_ and _prayers_.\n\n\nMartha Yeardley thus expresses the feelings with which she contemplated\nthis arduous journey, in a letter to Josiah Forster:--\n\n\nIt is indeed an awful engagement, now in the decline of life, and, with\nrespect to myself, under increasing infirmities; but I believe it best for\nme not to look too far forward, but simply to confide in the mercy and\nguidance of that blessed Saviour who has been our support and consolation\nunder many deep trials, humblingly believing that whether enabled to\naccomplish the important prospect or not, it was an offering required at\nour hands, and that we must leave the event to the Great Disposer of all\nthings.\n\n\nIn the same letter she mentions their having heard of the death of Louis\nA. Majolier of Congenies, which, she says, although a cause of rejoicing\nas it regards him, was read by us with mournful feelings, from the\nrecollection of his fatherly kindness in days that are past, and also from\nrenewed solicitude for the little flock in that country.\n\nBefore their departure they went once more into the West Riding, to see\nhow their brethren of J.Y.'s earliest acquaintance fared. They were\njoined by William Dent of Marr, near Doncaster, with whom they were\n\"sweetly united in the fellowship of the gospel;\" and they returned to\nScarborough with \"grateful and peaceful hearts.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\nTHE FOURTH CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1842-3.\n\nIn the journey which now lay before them, John and Martha Yeardley were\nabout to explore a part of Europe hitherto untried,--the province of\nLanguedoc, conspicuous in past ages for its superior enlightenment, but\nnow, owing to the temporary mastery of error, wrapt in ignorance and\ngloom. In this mission, the opportunities which they found for reviving\nand gathering together the scattered embers of truth, were nearly confined\nto social intercourse; in seeking occasions for which, they availed\nthemselves of introductions by pious Prostestants from place to place,\nwhilst they were careful, as had always been their practice, to wait, in\nevery successive step, for the direction of the Divine Finger. The mission\nwas performed in much weakness of body, and under frequent spiritual\npoverty; yet it will be readily acknowledged that theirs was a favored\nlot, to be able, with the clue of gospel love in their hand, to trace the\npathway of Christian truth, and the footsteps of true spiritual worship,\nand of a faithful testimony for Christ, through the midst of a degenerate\nand benighted land.\n\nThey went to London on the 2nd of the Eighth Month, and spent the time\nbefore they sailed in gathering information and counsel for their\napproaching journey, and in social visits. Speaking of one of these visits\n(to their nephew J. S., at Clapton), John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nBefore parting we had a religious opportunity, in which a word of\nexhortation flowed in gospel love, and ability was granted to approach the\nthrone of mercy in solemn supplication. I often wish we were more faithful\nin raising our hearts to the Lord before separating from our friends when\nmet on social occasions; a blessing might attend such simple offerings.\n\n\nIn a visit they paid to Thomas and Carolina Norton, the subject of\nestablishing a school for the children of Friends in the South of France\ncame under consideration; a project which, as we shall see, they were able\nin their visit to that part of the country to carry into effect.\n\nThey left London on the 16th, and on the 19th arrived at Amiens, where\nthey halted for a few days. They found in this city a movement among the\nRoman Catholics, a number of whom had joined the Protestant worship. The\nProtestant Pastor, Cadoret, was very friendly to them; when he heard that\nthey belonged to the Society of Friends, he pressed John Yeardley's hand\nand said, I am very glad to make your acquaintance; it is the first time I\nhave seen any of your Society, of whom I have heard much.\n\nOn the 20th J.Y. writes, in allusion to the spiritual darkness which so\ngenerally covered the land of France;--\n\n\nMy soul is cast down, but when I am afflicted because of the wickedness of\nthe people, I call to remembrance these words: \"Fret not thyself because\nof evil-doers. Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the\nland, and verily thou shalt be fed.\"--Psalm xxxvii. 1, 3.\n\n\nA large number of workmen of various nations are employed at Amiens in\nweaving. J. and M.Y., visited several of these in their cottages, and\nbefore they left the city invited the people of this class to a meeting,\nespecially intended for their own countrymen, but open to all who were\nwilling to come. The meeting, says J.Y., was an occasion precious to our\nsouls; the Lord gave us ability to declare his word. I spoke in English\nand my dear Martha in French.\n\nAt Paris, whither they proceeded on the 22nd, they were disappointed in\nfinding that the majority of the persons at whose houses they called were\nin the country, and some with whom they had taken sweet counsel in former\nyears had been removed by death. Pastor Audebez was at home, and received\nthem with a cordial welcome. They were detained in Paris longer than they\nhad anticipated, by the illness of Martha Yeardley, and did not leave till\nthe 9th of the Ninth Month. The morning after they had entered Paris the\nwords of Job were brought to J.Y.'s recollection in a forcible\nmanner:--\"Thou hast granted me life and favor, and thy visitation hath\npreserved my spirit.\" (Job x. 12); and in going out of the city he was\nrefreshed with the joyful language of David,--\"How excellent is thy\nloving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust\nunder the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the\nfatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy\npleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we\nsee light.\"--Psa. xxxvi. 7-9.\n\nSome letters which John and Martha Yeardley received from England during\ntheir sojourn in Paris show, the strong sympathy which accompanied them in\ntheir journey, and contain, at the same time, references to events which\nwill be interesting to the reader.\n\n\nSouth Grove, Peckham, 8 mo. 12, 1842.\n\nNumbers vi. 24-27:--\"The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make his\nface shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up his\ncountenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name\nupon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.\" To be pronounced by\nAaron the high, priest and his successors, as the type of Him by whom all\nblessing and favor are bestowed on the church and her children.\n\nThe above portion of Holy Scripture, with the 121st Psalm, has been so\nsweetly in my remembrance since parting with my beloved friends John\nand Martha Yeardley, that, before retiring for the night, I transcribe the\nwords which convey, so much better than any language of my own, the\nrenewed and abiding desire under which they are committed to the care and\nguidance of the Good Shepherd, in humble but confiding belief that he will\nequally watch over, guard and keep, those who go and those who stay;\ncausing each, amidst all variety of circumstances, to realize the\nsoul-cheering truth, that, at the throne of grace, mercy is obtained and\ngrace to help in time of need. May the peace which passeth all\nunderstanding keep our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ, prays your\nnearly-attached friend and sister,\n\nE. DUDLEY.\n\nTHE SAME TO MARTHA YEARDLEY.\n\nPeckham, 8 mo. 21, 1842.\n\nWhile in the sick-chamber of my sister, instead of at meeting, it feels\npleasant to devote part of the evening to thee, my beloved friend. I have\nenjoyed the thought of your having a good Sabbath at Paris, where, no\ndoubt, a sphere of duty will be found, and perhaps many exercises of faith\nand patience attend the labor of love which may await you there; while, in\nthe spirit of true dedication and acquiescence so mercifully bestowed upon\nyou, no commandment will be counted grievous, nor any service for your\nLord too hard or painful. His words come sweetly to my mind as really the\nportion of a brother and sister dear in the bond and power of an endless\nlife,--\"Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they\nhear.\"\n\nAccounts from various parts of this land continue to indicate much\nunsettlement, and there have been large companies of Chartists in the\nimmediate vicinity of London; but happily the civil power proved equal to\ntheir dispersion. One would hope the abundant harvest, now ready to be\ngathered, may turn the current of feeling, and induce the desire rather to\npraise the Lord for his goodness, than to spend time and strength in\nmurmurings and disputings with their fellow-mortals. The destruction, not\nonly of property, but of life; in some recent contests, is quite\nappalling, and we certainly live in very eventful times; the tendency,\nhowever, both of the good and evil, is so obviously towards an increase of\nlight and knowledge, that it seems warrantable to expect _all_ will\nbe overruled to better views and practices becoming more general, and the\nkingdoms of this world being thankfully surrendered to the righteous\ngovernment of the Prince of Peace. But alas! deep and complicated may be\nthe sufferings yet behind for the church and her children to endure,\nwhether in being sharers in, or but the witnesses of, what is pronounced\nupon the world of the ungodly.\n\nFROM JOHN ROWNTREE.\n\nScarborough, 8 mo. 29, 1842.\n\nThe account of your proceedings at Amiens has been particularly\ninteresting to me. Whether manufacturing employments are unfavorable or\notherwise to moral and religions character; or whether it is merely the\nlarger earnings which artizans receive, enabling them more glaringly to\ngratify their natural and corrupt inclinations than agricultural laborers,\ncan do; whether the passive ignorance of the country laborer, or the more\nactive and intelligent habits, yet combined with moral darkness, of the\nmanufacturing operative, most retards the diffusion of religious truth,\nare serious questions for us in this country. Our manufacturers have been\nalarming the whole nation, and threatening us with something like\npolitical revolution; but they have received a severe lesson, and many of\nour jails are filled with the victims of unprincipled agitators.\nConsidering how little of the Christian spirit is generally found in the\noperations of government, the treatment of these poor creatures has on the\nwhole been lenient, and no very severe punishments are anticipated.\n\nWhether the people of this nation have learned more of righteousness from\nthe judgments of the Lord, which have I think evidently been made known in\nthis part of his earth, is perhaps known only to Him who knoweth all\nthings. I often fear;--for surely there is very much of darkness and\nwickedness among us--yet I can not unfrequently hope that light is\nspreading, and that although the powers of evil are active and strongly\ndeveloped, yet the active diffusion of the means of good more than keeps\npace with them. \"Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the\nworld,\" is still a consoling assurance to many dejected yet hoping\nbelievers. Our dear friend Hannah C. Backhouse is strong in the faith that\nlight increasing, that the fields are white already for harvest, and that\nthe Lord of the harvest is preparing and sending forth laborers into his\nharvest.\n\nThe Protestants whom you found at Amiens, and in some other places, would\nprobably remain totally unknown to ordinary travellers, and perhaps we do\nnot enough consider how little known in a great nation the salt that\npreserves it may be. The reports from the agent of the Bible Society in\nFrance seem to me more than usually encouraging. I hope you may be enabled\nto impart some spiritual gift or knowledge to many hidden ones who appear\nto be hungering and thirsting after righteousness in that vain-glorious\nnation, and that your faith may be strengthened by meeting with such.\n\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley arrived at Lyons on the 13th, and, after making\nsome calls, intended to proceed to Nismes the next day. But not feeling\nsatisfied to leave the city so soon, they concluded to remain there one\nday more; and they had cause to be thankful in having taken this course.\n\n\nFor, says J.Y., we have made the acquaintance of several religious\npersons. An evangelist and colporteur named Hermann Lange, a German Swiss,\ntook us to see some Protestant converts, amongst whom we have found much\nof the interior life. The Lord gave me a word of exhortation for them, and\nhelped me to utter it in French. We had a conversation with our friend\nLange respecting the ministry in our Society. Like many other persons he\nsupposed we had no recognized ministers; we explained the usage of\nFriends, and showed him our certificates, with which he was pleased. He\nadmired the good order in use amongst us, and said that he had for a long\ntime desired to be informed respecting the principles of Friends; that he\nthought as we did, that an express call of the Holy Spirit was necessary\nto the ministry, and that women as well as men ought to be allowed to\npreach, I felt intimately united to him in spirit: on parting we gave him\nsome tracts explanatory of our principles.\n\nLyons is the head-quarters of popery; the Jesuits here exert a strong\ninfluence with the government against the Protestants. We visited a good\nman named Elfenbein, who with his wife, is very useful to the awakened\nProtestants. He is a colporteur, and introduces the Holy Scriptures into\nfamilies to whom he speaks concerning the things of God. He and his wife\ncalled upon us in our hotel. On parting he proposed we should pray\ntogether. This gave us the opportunity of explaining our sentiments\nregarding prayer; and we proposed remaining a while in silence, and if it\nshould please the Lord to put words of prayer into our heart, we would\nexpress them with the help of the Holy Spirit. After a time of silence,\nElfenbein prayed for us with unction in a few words: it was a favored\ntime; thanks be to God.\n\n\nOn the 15th they resumed their journey, and passing through Nismes\nproceeded to Congenies. They found there Edward and John Pease, who were\ntravelling on a religious errand, and were about concluding their labors\nin those parts. The meeting was a source of comfort on both sides. The\nnext day, which was First-day, was a solemn season: the gospel message was\nlargely delivered in the little meeting-house, and Christine Majolier\ninterpreted for those who spoke in English. The Two-months' Meeting was\nheld, and here, as well indeed as on every other occasion, the English\nFriends missed the company and help of their valued friend, Louis A.\nMajolier.\n\nAfter residing for a while at Congenies, they removed to Nismes, where\nthey preached to the strangers who attended the usual meetings for\nworship, distributed religious tracts in the city and its environs, and\ninstituted a Scripture Reading Meeting for the young. But the object which\nmost strongly engaged their attention at Nismes was the foundation of a\nboarding-school for the daughters of Friends. Louis Majolier, during a\ngreat part of his life had conducted a day-school at Congenies: this\nschool was, of course, not accessible to the children of those Friends who\nlived at a distance; and soon after L.M. died even this was given up, and\nthe means of education in the Society failed altogether. In their project\nfor supplying this deficiency, John and Martha Yeardley found the parents\nand other Friends ready to second their efforts; and at the Two-months'\nMeeting in the Eleventh Month, it was resolved to establish in the first\nplace a school for girls only at Nismes, and a committee was appointed to\ncarry this resolution into effect. A mistress was found without much\ndifficulty in Justine Benezet, a valuable Friend, who had had for sixteen\nyears the superintendence of the Orphan Asylum, and whose health had in\nsome degree given way under the too onerous charge.\n\nIn reference to the accomplishment of this undertaking, J.Y. writes:--\n\n\n12 _mo_. 14.--_Nehemiah_ i. 11:--\"O Lord, I beseech thee, let\nnow thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer\nof thy servants, who desire to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee,\nthy servant this day.\" I often think of these words of the prophet, and\nthey [have supported me] when my soul has been cast down on account of the\nschool.\n\n\nDuring their abode at Nismes they visited the little congregations of\nFriends which lie to the westward of that city, and had to record that\nthe presence of their Divine Master went with them, giving them his word\nto declare, and inclining the hearts of the hearers to receive it.\n\nA letter from John Rowntree, which reached them towards the end of the\nyear, contains some observations on the work they had found to do in their\njourney, with an interesting notice of what was passing in England.\n\n\nScarborough, 11 mo. 14, 1842.\n\nMY DEAR FRIENDS,\n\n.... The plan of your meetings for Scripture instruction seems to me\nparticularly good; you will, through them, have numerous opportunities for\nimpressing on the minds of your hearers the inestimable value of the Holy\nScriptures, when properly received, and made available by the enlightening\ninfluence of the Holy Spirit, and the worthlessness--nay, the danger--of\nresting satisfied with a mere knowledge of their words. The words of our\nLord were \"spirit and life\" to those who would receive them as such; yet\nhow many who heard them were to be judged by them at the that day, because\nthey believed not.\n\nWe still hear sad accounts of distress in the manufacturing districts of\nthe country. Some of your friends have probably informed you that at our\nlast Quarterly Meeting much sympathy was expressed for the destitute\nartizans, and a liberal subscription was commenced, and was to be carried\nforward in all our meetings for their relief: a few days ago it amounted\nto L800--I hope it will exceed L1000: but what is that, it may be said,\namong so many? yet I hope much good may be done by it, and Friends in\nother parts of the nation seem to be considering whether they ought not to\nmake some efforts for similar purposes. At Liverpool we hear that upwards\nof L200 has been raised.\n\nYou will probably have heard of the very sudden death of Jonathan\nBackhouse, whilst his wife was laboring under a religious engagement in\nthe north of our county. His change seemed a translation from that state\nof strong but imperfect love which a member of the militant Church might\nfeel here below, to that fullness of love which his Saviour had purchased\nfor him above.\n\n\nIn the Third Month, 1843, they quitted Nismes, taking their young friend\nJules Paradon as their companion.\n\n\nThe parting, says J.Y., from the dear family at the school was sorrowful.\nBefore taking leave, we had a religious opportunity with the children, in\nwhich all hearts were touched.\n\n\nThey arrived at Montpelier on the 7th. The pious characters to whom they\nwere introduced in this city were mostly of the upper class--bankers,\ndoctors, lawyers, and professors. They found that the principles of the\nSociety of Friends were very little known there, but that many were\ndesirous of being acquainted with them. Being pressed in their spirit to\npropose a meeting for worship with such as were disposed to give their\ncompany, their new friends readily agreed to it, and about thirty-five\npersons sat down with them at their inn. The assembly was, as they\nbelieved, owned by the great Master, who showed himself to be their\nstrength in the time of weakness, and gave them power to preach the gospel\nand explain the nature of true worship. Pastor Lissignol and Dr. Parlier\nwere amongst those to whom they were the most united. The latter filled\nthe office of mayor when Josiah Forster and Elizabeth Fry were at\nMontpelier. He told John and Martha Yeardley that the meeting they had\njust held had been strengthening to his faith. That the Lord by his Spirit\nshould move the hearts of his children in a distant land to visit his\nheritage in other countries, he regarded as a proof of his love; and he\nspoke of the unity of spirit which is felt by those of different nations\nwho love the same Lord, as a precious mark of discipleship.\n\n\nThe town of Montpelier, say J. and M.Y., is built with taste and elegance,\nand the situation is most delightful: there are 4,000 Protestants in a\npopulation of 86,000. On Sixth-day (the 10th) we left this place of deep\ninterest, with hearts grateful to the God and Father of all our sure\nmercies, in that he had enabled us to bear a testimony to the spirituality\nof worship as set forth by our Saviour himself.\n\n\nAfter leaving Montpelier, they continue the narrative of their journey\nas follows:--\n\n\nWe lodged that night at Passanas, a dark Roman Catholic town. Inquiring if\nthere were any Protestants, the chambermaid replied, \"Protestants! what is\nthat?\" When we had made her understand, she said there were a few, but\nthey went to Montagnac to _mass_.\n\n11_th_.--We slept at Narbonne, an ancient town of 10,000 inhabitants.\nNo openness to receive even a tract; the inquiry for a Protestant excited\nan evident bitterness in the reply.\n\nOn the 12th, held our little meeting with our faithful friend Jules, in\nwhich ability was granted to supplicate for the spread of divine light\nover this benighted district. At 9 o'clock we set out to make a\nSabbath-day's journey: the wind extremely high and always in our face,\nwhich fatigued Nimrod [their horse] as well as ourselves. We dined at\nLesengnan: not a Protestant in the place, yet we met with a circumstance\nworth recording. Jules, who is ever watchful to find out who can read,\ngave a few tracts to some boys in the stable-yard. When I went out, writes\nJ.Y., to see our horse, several rather bright-looking boys followed me,\nasking for books. After ascertaining that they, could read, I supplied\nthem. This was no sooner known, than boys and girls came in crowds, soon\nfollowed by many of their parents. As our visitors increased, I ran\nupstairs to fetch my dear M.Y., and we embraced the opportunity to speak\nto them on the importance of religion. No doubt curiosity drew many to us,\nfor we were a novel sight there, and the mingled multitude was not less so\nto us. Among our auditors was a messenger of Satan to buffet us. He was a\ngood-looking man, who expressed a seeming approval of what we had done,\nsaying we made many friends. We told him they were all children of the\nsame Almighty Parent, and that there was but one true religion, and one\nheaven. This observation drew off his mask, and he began to express doubts\nwhether either heaven or hell really existed, and brought forward the\nthreadbare argument of not believing what he could not see or prove. We\nasked him if he had a soul: he said he had. We asked him how be knew that\nhe had a soul, for he could not see it: he replied, he believed that he\nhad a soul, but that his soul would die with his body. We then asked him\nwhy two and two made four: he said he could not tell, and yet acknowledged\nhe was bound to believe it. The countenances of many around beamed with\njoy at seeing this darkling perplexed; and we did not shrink from\nexhorting him to repentance and faith in Christ, who died for him and for\nall men.\n\nOn returning to our room the landlady entered with a fine-looking girl,\nfor whom she begged a book. This opened our way to speak to her of things\nconnected with salvation. She said,--\"We have not much of religion here.\"\n\"Why so?\" we asked. \"Because the people do not like to confess to\nthe priests.\" \"And what is the use,\" said we, \"of confessing to man?\"\n\"Because,\" she replied in somewhat trembling accents, \"we think it eases\nour consciences, for the priests are the appointed ministers to take\ncharge of our souls.\" \"What,\" we replied, \"a man take charge of immortal\nsouls! God never committed the power to forgive sins to man: Jesus Christ\nalone can pardon sins; he died to save us!\" I shall never forget the\ncountenance of this dear woman, which seemed to express her long-shaken\nconfidence in her spiritual guides. We exhorted her to come to the\nSaviour, who intercedes for us without the aid of man, and gave her a New\nTestament, which she said she would read.\n\n12_th_.--Went to Maux to sleep. The landlady was communicative: she\ntold us that some travellers like ourselves some time ago had given her a\nNew Testament, which she had lent about the village, together with tracts,\nand that she wished for more. We inquired if there were any persons in the\nvillage who would like to come to us for books. She soon sent us an\ninteresting young woman, a schoolmistress, to whom on her entrance we\npresented some tracts. She regarded them with an air of thoughtfulness\nwhich seemed to measure the quantity to be taken by the price she would\nhave to pay for them. When she found they were to be had gratis, her\ncountenance brightened, and with it the brightness of her mind showed\nitself. On speaking with her of the responsibility of her profession, and\nthe importance of imbuing the minds of children with just principles, she\nsaid, \"I am desirous of instructing the children in the religion of the\nheart. Religion,\" added she, \"though a good thing, is badly put in\npractice in our church; the people do not like to confess to the priests,\nand there is a great desire for instruction and to receive books.\"\n\n\nThey saw again at the Inn at Maux the man who had opposed them at\nLessengnan, and found him much better disposed than he had been the day\nbefore. He told them he had been a Romish priest, but being disgusted with\nthe practices of his church, he had left it and joined the army: he\npromised to read the books they gave him.\n\n\nOur present mode of travelling (with our own horse), they continue, though\nsomewhat slow, affords opportunities of endeavoring to do a little good,\nwhich we should miss in travelling by Diligence or extra-post. It is\ncurious and instructive to observe the various dispositions of the people\nin the dark places through, which we pass: sometimes they are so fanatical\nas to tear a tract before our face; others receive them with joy. During a\nhalf-hour's rest for our horse at a village near Castelnaudry, my M.Y.\nmade the acquaintance of an aged woman at the door of her cottage, who\nreally did us good. On inquiring if she could read, \"It is my\nconsolation,\" said she, \"to read the Scriptures.\" \"And we have great need\nof consolation,\" we answered. \"Yes,\" said she, \"I am a widow of near\neighty years, and have had many cares; but I pray to God, and he grants me\nthe consolation of his Holy Spirit, and if I confide in him he will never\nforsake me.\"\n\n\nAt Castelnaudry they left the main road and crossed the mountains to\nSaverdun, in order to visit the Orphan Institution in that place.\n\n\nBy not going first to Toulouse, remarks John Yeardley, we saved about\nthirty miles of travelling; but it was ill-spared, for one part of the\nroad was so bad that it required a forespan of two oxen to drag the\ncarriage through the deep mire and over the dangerous ditches. After a\nlittle dinner at a poor place in the mountains, we procured a mule as a\nreinforcement; for we stuck so fast in the mud that I never expected we\nshould be able to extricate ourselves. My poor M.Y. had to walk a great\npart of the way; I am quite sure extra strength was given us for the\nemergency. We lodged at Mazeres, where we called on the Protestant\nminister Besiere, a most open-hearted Christian. He knew some of our\nSociety, and wherever this is the case it insures us a welcome. On our\ntelling him the dangers we had encountered on the road, and that we had\nescaped unhurt, he sweetly said,--\"The Angel of the Lord encampeth round\nabout them that fear Him, and delivereth them.\"--Psal. xxxiv. 7.\n\nOn arriving at Saverdun, on the 17th, we immediately pursued the object of\nour visit, and proceeded to the Institution, where we delivered our\nletters of recommendation, and received a cordial reception from the\ndirector, Pastor Enjalbal. When the _little porters_ opened the door,\nthey cried one to another, \"Voila des Anglais!\" The director seems to be\nwonderfully fitted for the post he fills. He was once a captain in the\narmy. After his conversion, his heart was penetrated with gratitude to his\nSaviour for bringing him to a knowledge of the truth, and he desired to\ndevote the remainder of his days in doing good to his fellow-creatures,\nparticularly in the instruction of youth. The project of the Saverdun\nschool was then in agitation, and a manager was wanted. The excellent\nPastor Chabrand applied to him, knowing him to be the man for the office\nif he would only undertake it. When he visited him for this purpose on\nbehalf of the committee, he found him in his chamber weeping, and, as his\nconfidential friend, he asked him what was the matter. \"Why,\" said he, \"my\nheart overflows with love to the Saviour, for all that he has done for me,\nand I seem to live without doing anything for his cause in return.\"\n\"Well,\" said the pastor, \"but the way is now open for you; I am come with\na proposal from the committee for you to accept the government of the\nSaverdun Institution; but I will not have an answer from you at present:\nweigh the matter for a fortnight, and I will come again and receive your\ndecision.\" A sense of duty decided him to accept the offer.\n\nThe superintendent conducted us to the members of the committee, to whom\nwe had brought a kind introduction from Pastor Frossard of Nismes. The\nsupporters of this institution, are the most influential in the town,\nrich, and withal pious characters. The Mayor, their secretary, is very\nactive: he with his wife, an excellent woman, and several members of the\ncommittee, met us in the evening at our inn; they appeared to be greatly\ninterested in works of benevolence, and in everything connected with\nreligion and education.\n\n_Toulouse_, 3 _mo_. 20.--We arrived in this great and busy city\non Seventh-day evening. Our first call was on the brothers Courtois, to\nwhom we had letters of introduction from our Christian friends at Nismes.\nThey received us in a most cordial manner and were very open and\ncommunicative.\n\nOn First-day morning, after our little meeting, we called on Professor F.\nBanner; he was rejoiced to see my M.Y., whom he knew at Congenies twenty\nyears ago. He was then a Roman Catholic; indeed, in name he is not\nchanged; but he is become very spiritually-minded, and much attached to\nFriends and our principles, believing them, as he said, to be the nearest\nin accordance of any with the doctrines of the New Testament. He has been,\nwith his wife, several times to our hotel, and we feel sweet unity with\nhis quiet exercised spirit. His situation here is important, having a\nboarding-school for the children of Protestants, with a few Roman\nCatholics, his piety and sincerity securing to him the confidence of both\nparties, which is matter of wonder in this day of religious conflict. He\nis one of those characters, more of whom we are desirous of finding; one\nwho wishes rather to enlighten than to censure the dark prejudices of men.\n\nWe spent the evening with our kind friends the Courtois, and attended\nworship in their house. F.C. read the parable of the great supper\n(Luke xiv.), and made some remarks in explication of it; after which\nPastor Chabrand spoke with much feeling on the influence of the Holy\nSpirit, the gradual operation of the Spirit in the secret of the soul, and\nthe preciousness of dwelling in Christ, as the branch in the vine, in\norder to bear fruit.\n\nPastor Chabrand told us in conversation that the first time he really saw\nthe state of his soul and his need of a Saviour, was in the meeting-house\nat Westminster during half an hour's silence. After this time of precious\nsilence a minister arose[8] and spoke in so remarkable a manner to his\nstate, unfolding the history of his life, that he was melted to tears.\nEver since that time he has appreciated the principles of our religious\nSociety, and particularly our practice of waiting upon God in silence.\nThese remarks opened our way to speak on a subject which has often given\nus pain in our intercourse with pious people, viz., the practice of going\nsuddenly from one religious exercise to another. We expressed our opinion\nthat Christians, in general, in their worship, would derive more\nedification from what is spoken, if they were to dwell under the good\nfeeling which is sometimes raised, before passing so precipitately to\nsinging, or even to prayer. With this he entirely agreed, and thought it a\npoint of the utmost importance; he wished it could be put in practice, for\ntheir church in general suffered loss for want of more quiet gathering of\nspirit before God.\n\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley did not go further towards the west than\nToulouse; on quitting that city they turned northwards to Montauban.\n\n\nFor several days, so they write, before reaching the extent of our journey\nwestward, we travelled through a fertile country, having the Pyrenean\nmountains on the south, covered with snow, a magnificent sight for those\nwho travel to see the beauties of nature, but our hearts are often too\nheavy to enjoy them.\n\n_Montauban_, 3 _mo_. 23.--Last evening we reached this pretty\ntown, part of which is built on a high cliff overlooking the river Tarn,\nand commanding an extensive view over a fertile plain. Our first call was\non Professor Monod; his wife is an Englishwoman; she was pleased to see\nher compatriots, and introduced us to Professor de Felice and some other\npious individuals. Professor Monod invited us to spend the evening at\ntheir house, along with a number of persons who join in their family\nreading, and we did not think it right to refuse the invitation. A pretty\nlarge company assembled in the professor's room at 8 o'clock, among whom\nwere some students of the college. The eighth chapter of the Epistle to\nthe Romans was read, and some remarks made by the professor; he then\nkindly said, if we had any word of exhortation in our hearts, he hoped we\nshould feel quite at liberty to express it. We felt it right to make some\nobservations with reference to the fore-part of the chapter, which sets\nforth that state of Christian experience in which the mind is prepared to\nparticipate in the many precious promises contained in the middle and\nlatter portions; ability was also given us to express our faith in the one\nSaviour and Mediator, and in the influence and guidance of the Holy\nSpirit, and his office in the sanctification of the soul. This favored\nopportunity closed with supplication. We are well satisfied with our visit\nto this place; it has removed some prejudices from our minds, and perhaps\nmay have shown to those with whom we have had intercourse that Friends are\nsound in the faith. The short time we spent with Professor de Felice has\nleft a sweet impression on our minds. He mourned over the want of\nspiritual life among the Protestants of Montauban, amid, as he said, \"much\npreaching, and many appeals to conscience.\"\n\n\nAt Castres, where they stopped on the 26th, they visited the Orphan House,\nand held intercourse with the pastors, and with a pious lawyer.\n\n\nOn our journey, says John Yeardley, we had heard of a man near this town\nwho bore the name of Quaker, and we inquired of the lawyer if he knew\nwhether he was sound in the Christian faith. The lawyer spoke with respect\nof the so-called Quaker, but thought that in his opinions he favored\nArianism. \"If so,\" said I, rather hastily, \"we will not seek him or\nrecognize.\" \"Why,\" said the advocate, \"it is the very reason you should go\nto see him, and try to do him good.\" At this reply my conscience was stung\non account of my hasty conclusion; and after reflecting on the matter, we\nwalked next morning five or six miles into the country in search of the\nnew Friend. He received us with joy, and we soon satisfied ourselves as to\nhis soundness in the Christian faith; but he was rather ardent in his\nexpectations of the reign of Christ on the earth. Twenty years ago he\nrefused to take an oath on a jury; the judge told him he must go to\nprison, to which the Friend replied, \"I am willing to go to prison, but I\ncannot swear to condemn any person to death; if you place me as juryman I\nshall acquit all the criminals.\" The judge, believing his scruples to be\nsincere, dismissed him without further trouble. This dear man attached\nhimself to us in such a manner that it was difficult to part from him; he\npressed us to remain some days in his house, but this our duty did not\npermit.\n\n\nFrom Castres they returned through Beziers to Nismes, visiting various\nlittle companies of Protestants by the way, and arrived in the latter city\non the 1st of the Fourth Month. They found that the school had increased\nin numbers, and the scholars had made good progress.\n\n\nOn entering the school-room, says J.Y., the girls all flocked to us, their\nblack eyes sparkling with joy, while they clung round us with their little\narms to be embraced. The harmony and peaceful feelings which pervade the\nfamily are truly comforting to our hearts.\n\n\nIn taking a retrospect of what they had done up to this time, they write\nthus to their Friends in England:--\n\n\nThe manner in which our gracious Lord has condescended to open the way for\na portion of labor in this part of his vineyard, adds a grain to our\nfaith: the service which has hitherto fallen to our lot on this journey is\nof that nature towards which we had a view before we left our native land;\nand we are bound gratefully to acknowledge, amid many conflicts and\ndiscouragements, that sweet peace is sometimes our portion. But our dear\nfriends in England will readily conceive that our baptisms are various and\ndeep, during our separation from the bosom of our own little visible\nchurch; and we hope to retain a place in their sympathy and prayers, when\nthey are favored with access to the throne of mercy. Our love flows freely\nand unceasingly to all our dear friends, from whom it is always comforting\nto hear. Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free\ncourse and be glorified.\n\n\nOn the 18th of the Fourth Month they again left Nismes, and commenced\ntheir journey towards Switzerland, accompanied, as before, by Jules\nParadon. On their way to Grenoble, they had opportunities of spreading\nmany copies of the _Scripture Extracts_, which they had with them,\namong the Roman Catholics; and they had also some interesting conversation\nwith individuals of that profession.\n\n\nAt Tullins, they write, the eagerness to receive books was so great, that\na crowd soon assembled around us, and we found it difficult to satisfy\nthem; again, at the moment of our departure, they pressed round our\ncarriage, and we could hardly separate ourselves from them.\n\nOn the 22nd (to continue their own narrative) we arrived at Grenoble, with\na view to spend First-day there. A letter from one of our acquaintances at\nNismes to Pastor Bonifas procured us a kind reception, and he invited us\nto spend First-day evening at his house, where a meeting was to be held.\nWe did not, however, feel quite at liberty to attend, as we found the\nregular church-service would be performed. The next day we received\nanother invitation from the Pastor to a meeting where only the Scriptures\nwould be read. We thought it best to accept it, and by going a little\nbefore the time proposed, we had a very interesting conversation with the\nPastor, his wife, and a young Englishwoman, on our peculiar views. The\nmeeting was an assembly of various classes, with a preponderance of young\npersons, and was a very interesting occasion: many of the young people\nwere deeply affected. In the morning of this day we had been to see an\naged Catholic woman of the Jansenist persuasion: she appeared to have no\ndependence but on her Saviour, and, full of faith and love, to have her\nconversation in heaven; she gave us a sweet benediction at parting.\n\n\nThey left Grenoble on the 25th, and pursued their way by Chambery to\nGeneva, taking care to dispose of most of their French tracts by the way,\nlest they should be stopped at the Savoy custom-house. They arrived in the\ncity of Calvin on the 27th.\n\nHere, as on former occasions, they found much to interest them. Several of\nthe ministers and professors whom they had known before, seemed to have\nbecome more spiritually-minded; and with the flock of the deceased Pastor\nMonnie, in particular, \"of precious memory,\" they were united in near\nChristian fellowship.\n\n\nIt seems to us, they write, that the feeling is spreading of the necessity\nof the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit; and we believe that this\nview of the gospel, with that of the universality of divine love, is much\nmore calculated to win upon unbelievers, and to enlighten Romanists, than\nthe high Calvinistic doctrines which have so generally prevailed, and\nwhich impede the growth of Christian humility and daily dependence on\ndivine help.\n\nAt our little meeting on First-day morning, we had the company of a widow\nand her daughter. The former is like a mother to those around her who are\nseeking spiritual things, and we were much comforted together. She invited\nus to tea, and to have a meeting in her house the next evening: a\nconsiderable number were collected, among whom were a pastor, several\nprofessors, and many females. The pastor read a chapter; and when, after a\ntime of silence, the way opened for communication, it was like casting\nseed into prepared ground, and the retirement of spirit before the Lord\nwhich we recommended seemed really to be experienced before we separated;\nit was a silence to be felt better than expressed.\n\n\nAmongst other pious persons in this city, they had an introduction to the\nCountess de Sellon.\n\n\nShe received us, says J.Y., with open heart, saying, \"I am fond of the\nprinciples of your Society, believing they have the real substance of\nreligion, stripped of its forms.\" She asked us many questions, and we felt\nsweet unity with her.\n\n\nOn the 3rd of the Fifth Month they went to Lausanne, where they renewed\ntheir friendship with Professor Gaudin, and had interviews with several\nother seeking persons.\n\n\nWe were, they say, most interested by a pious magistrate, Frossard de\nSaugy, near relative to a dear friend of ours at Geneva. He inquired\nrespecting the education of children, of whom he has many--by what means\nhe could make them sensible of vital religion. We replied that all we\ncould do was to represent to them the love and mercy of our blessed\nRedeemer, and recommend them to cherish the convictions of his Holy\nSpirit, which are very early bestowed upon us all: he entirely united in\nour views.\n\n\nFrom Lausanne they went to Yverdun, and the day after to Neufchatel. Since\ntheir last visit in 1834, some who were very dear to them had been\nsummoned to eternal rest, which cast a shade of natural sorrow over their\nentrance into the place: and they were called upon, in addition, deeply to\nsympathise with some of those who remained.\n\n\nThe family of Professor Petavel has sustained a great loss in the death of\nhis eldest son, accompanied, by circumstances peculiarly striking. This\nyoung man was about nineteen years of age. He had been very serious for\nsome time before his illness, and wished much to be employed as a\nmissionary. Early instructed by his mother in the importance of seeking\ndivine influence, his mind was prepared to receive the baptism of the Holy\nSpirit; and he had a deep conflict to pass through, which he confided to\nhis mother, and which he seemed to think was the presage to suffering. In\nperforming some gymnastic exercises he received a fall on the head, which\nafter some time was followed by a paralytic affection of the whole body,\nso that he became entirely helpless, and his speech was taken away. It was\nonly his tender mother who could ascertain his wants and administer to\nthem, which she did with unceasing assiduity. After about six months his\nspeech was almost miraculously restored, and he used it in praising the\nLord for the remarkable support and consolation of his Spirit. He said he\nhad been sensible of all that had passed, and that he had been abundantly\nconfirmed in the belief that true religion consists in hearing the voice\nof our blessed Redeemer, and seeking to do his will. After some time the\ncapability of speaking much again forsook him; yet he lingered some months\nlonger, and when M.Y. beheld him soon after our arrival, he appeared like\na precious lamb purified, and waiting to be gathered to the everlasting\nfold. The resignation of his parents was truly edifying: they proposed\nthat we should both come the next day, and sit quietly beside him for a\nwhile. This proved a deeply impressive time; the presence of the Great\nShepherd was evidently with us, and called forth thanksgiving for the\nmercies received and the deliverance anticipated. While listening to a few\nwords addressed to him at parting, he fixed his dying eyes upon us with an\nexpression not to be forgotten, and before midnight the precious spirit\nwas received into the arms of its Saviour. As we left for Locle early in\nthe morning, we did not hear of this until our return the day following.\n\n\nTheir visit to their favorite orphan-institution was, as ever, very\ninteresting. They thus describe the state in which they found it:--\n\n\nOur dear German friend M. Zimmerlin, the associate of dear M. A. Calame,\nstill lives: she received us with overflowing affection. After tea, which\nwe took there, she hastened to show us the improvements in the premises,\nwhich, she said, our kind friends in England had contributed to procure by\ntheir donations through us. The institution appears to be now in excellent\norder. In the evening, the children, 138 in number, were collected with\nthe mistresses and family, and we had a very satisfactory opportunity with\nthem. The same precious influence seems to prevail which we have noticed\nheretofore.\n\n\nThey returned to Neufchatel the next evening, where they heard that the\nremains of Paul Petavel were to be interred the next day.\n\n\nHis father, they add, was desirous that the meeting we intended to hold\nwith our friends should be held at his house that evening. When M.Y. went\nto see the family, she found the parents fall of gratitude and praise. The\nfuneral was attended by the students from the college, and a large number\nof others; for the professor is much beloved, and the affecting situation\nof his son has been a lesson of instruction to the young people who used\nto associate with him, and seems to have had an effect on the whole town.\nThe evening of this day proved to be a memorable time: a considerable\nnumber were collected, among whom were several pastors and a number of\nyoung persons. I seldom, says J.Y., remember to have attended a more\nsolemn occasion. The Saviour's presence was near, to console and instruct.\nAfter my M.Y. and I had relieved our minds in testimony and supplication,\nthe professor and the other pastors spoke with much feeling; I think it\nwas evident they were constrained by the Spirit. We parted (to resume the\nwords of their joint epistle) from the family under a strong conviction of\nthe support and consolation which those experience who depend in living\nfaith upon their blessed Redeemer.\n\n\nFrom Neufchatel, John and Martha Yeardley went to Berne, where they\nrenewed the bond of friendship with those to whose spiritual state they\nhad ministered in former years. With these they united several times in\nworship and in social religious intercourse. At the close of one of these\nmeetings, the lady of the house, an active and benevolent character,\nacknowledged, that she was sensible of the truth of what they had heard,\nand believed that in the present day the Lord was leading many of his\ndevoted children to listen to his voice, that they might be brought more\nunder the teachings of his Spirit, and from this would flow their\nconsolation. \"This (they observe) is the more remarkable, as, when we were\nhere before, she held views on election and the _finished_ work of\ngrace, almost to the exclusion of the work of 'regeneration and the\nrenewing of the Holy Ghost.'\"\n\n\nWe find in some here, writes John Yeardley in his Diary, a desire for food\nof a more spiritual nature: they really enjoy waiting on the Lord in\nsilence; but the customary activity is strong, and not easily broken\nthrough. I trust the day will come when silence will more prevail in the\nassemblies of the people. We left Berne with feelings of peace and of much\naffection for many in that place, and thankful to our Heavenly Father, in\nthat he had prepared the hearts of his people to receive the invitation to\nfeed on that spiritual food which alone can nourish the soul to eternal\nlife.\n\n\nThey arrived at Basle on the 17th. Since they had visited this city in\n1834, Hoffmann, the director of the institution at Kornthal, had succeeded\nBlumhardt in the superintendence of the Mission-house. He received them\nwith his usual kindness, and one evening they supped with the students,\nand had a religious meeting with them. They spent another evening with a\npious family, where several missionaries and pastors were present. In\nspeaking of this occasion, John and Martha Yeardley were led into a\nreflection which deserves to be pondered by Christians of every name.\n\n\nBefore separating, they say, the Scriptures were read, and some of the\nmissionaries spoke on the importance of uniting in desire for a more\ngeneral outpouring of the Spirit: J.Y. also spoke much to the same effect.\nIt was, we trust, a profitable season; but the reflection arose on this\noccasion, as it has done on some others when among serious persons not of\nour profession, that if they would but suffer the degree of divine\ninfluence mercifully afforded thoroughly to baptize the heart with the\ntrue baptism, much creaturely activity would be done away, and the light\nof the gospel would shine in them and through them in much greater purity.\n\nWe paid and received visits, they continue, from some of the\n_Interieurs_ whom we had known before, and had to lament something of\na visionary spirit in the midst of right feeling. We recommended\nsimplicity, and close attention to the Scriptures and to the Shepherd's\nvoice.\n\n\nOne day John Yeardley went into the mountains to see an establishment\ncalled the Pilgrim Mission Institution, where he was interested in meeting\nthree young men from Syria, who had come there to escape the scenes of war\nin their own country, and with the desire to be rendered capable of\ninstructing their countrymen.\n\nThey left Basle on the 22nd, and entered Germany. They were, for a time, a\ngood deal embarrassed with the change of language from French to German,\nhaving had little or no occasion to use the latter tongue during their\njourney. They stopped at Carlsruhe, where they called, with an\nintroduction, on the Princess of Wuertemberg.\n\n\nShe received us, they say, very kindly, and we had a satisfactory\ninterview with her, and also with an interesting female who has the charge\nof her children. After much conversation with the princess in French, she\nintroduced us to her three lovely children, and asked J.Y. to give them a\nword of exhortation. We remained silent awhile, and, under a precious\nfeeling, offered prayer for the divine blessing on this family and all its\nbranches; after which the word of sympathy and exhortation flowed freely.\nAt parting, the princess took a cordial leave of us, and said she received\nour visit as a blessing from the Lord.\n\n\nThe next day they pursued their way towards Pyrmont. Being weary with\ntravelling, and their horses also needing rest, they tarried two days at\nFrankfort. Here they saw their old friend Von Meyer; and spent much of\ntheir time in the company of Dr. Pinkerton. \"I was instructed,\" says J.Y.,\n\"with seeing the charity and Christian meekness in which he daily lives.\"\n\nOn the 3rd of the Sixth Month they reached Pyrmont, where they remained a\nfew weeks. They attended on the 2nd of the Seventh Month the Two-months'\nMeeting, at Minden. Many peasants were present in the meeting for worship,\nand on John and Martha Yeardley's return to Pyrmont, some of them came to\nthe meeting there on First-day, and begged the Friends to go to Vlotho to\nmeet a company of their brethren. They gave the peasants liberty to call a\nmeeting at that place for Third-day, the 18th.\n\nOn Second-day, as they were setting off, an accident happened to John\nYeardley.\n\n\nHe had left the horse's head, writes M.Y., to attend to placing the\nbaggage, when, hearing another carriage drive rapidly up, our horse set\noff, and my J.Y., in attempting to stop him by catching hold of the reins,\nfell, and was much bruised, but through mercy no limb was broken. We\napplied what means were in our power, and I urged our remaining at\nPyrmont, and sending to defer the meeting; but he would go on to Lemgo.\nHis whole frame was much shaken, and we passed a sleepless night, so that\nthe meeting next day was not a little formidable. It proved a much longer\njourney to Vlotho than we had expected; when we arrived we found a large\nnumber assembled. Five of our Friends came from Minden to meet us, and it\nwas a remarkable meeting, notwithstanding we had gone to it under so much\ndiscouragement: we have cause to bless and adore our Divine Master, who\ncaused his presence to be felt amongst us. August Mundhenck interpreted\nfor J.Y. and for me. J.R. also suffered his voice to be acceptably heard\nin testimony, after which the meeting closed in solemn supplication. We\npursued our way that night to Bielefeld and the next day towards the\nRhine.\n\n\nOn their way home they stopped at Duesseldorf. The ten years which had gone\nby since they had visited the Orphan Asylum at Duesselthal, near this town,\nhad wrought a great change in the physical condition of Count Von der\nRecke. He looked worn and ill, the effect of care and anxiety for his\nnumerous adopted family; but he evinced a spirit of pious resignation, and\nhad a hearty welcome ready for his visitors. They returned to England\nthrough Belgium, and arrived in London on the 8th of the Eighth Month.\n\nThey did not at once return to their home at Scarborough, but spent a\nmonth in Hertford, Oxford and Buckinghamshire, attending the meetings of\nFriends in these counties, and visiting that of Berkhamstead several\ntimes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\nREMOVAL TO STAMFORD-HILL, AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIFTH CONTINENTAL\nJOURNEY.\n\n1843-48.\n\nThe tour which John and Martha Yeardley made in and around\nBuckinghamshire, and which is mentioned at the conclusion of the last\nchapter, was undertaken in quest of a new place of abode. In a letter from\nMartha Yeardley to her sister, Mary Tylor, written on the 3rd of the\nEleventh Month, she says:--\n\nThou art aware that we have thought, if way should open of going nearer to\nyou, and of pitching our tent within the Quarterly Meeting of\nBuckinghamstead. We offered to purchase a cottage at Berkhamstead, but for\nthe present that has quite fallen through: we therefore intend to rest\nquietly here for the winter, in hopes that in the spring or summer\nsomething may offer, either at B. or in that quarter, to which we feel\nattracted; yet desiring to commit this and all that concerns us into the\nall-directing hand of our great Lord and Master, who has a right to do\nwith us what seemeth him good.\n\n\nNot long afterwards they purchased a house at Berkhamstead, called Gossom\nLodge, to which they removed in the Fourth Month, 1844.\n\nVery soon after they had taken possession of their new dwelling, they made\na circuit through the meetings of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire,\nholding a few public meetings by the way: and the next summer they\nundertook a more extensive religious visit--viz., to the six northern\ncounties of England.\n\nIn the course of the same year we find them meditating a further removal,\ninto the immediate vicinity of London. One of the few entries in his Diary\nwhich were made by John Yeardley during this period, speaks of the\napprehension of duty under which they contemplated this change: it was\nwritten after their removal.\n\n\nFor some years past I have often thought the time might come when we might\nsee it right to settle within Stoke Newington Meeting. This feeling now\nbegan (1845) to fasten more strongly on our minds than it had done before,\nand we thought it right to make an effort to let Gossom Lodge, and seek a\nresidence at Stamford Hill; and we have reason to believe that in this\nimportant step our prayer has been answered, and that all our\ndeliberations have been guided by that wisdom which is from above. Very\nstrong is my conviction that our Heavenly Father is not unmindful of the\noutward circumstances of those who seek his counsel, and desire to act\nunder the guidance of his Holy Spirit. We were favored to let our house at\nBerkhamstead without trouble; the very first person to whom we made it\nknown took it off our hands: and with equal ease we found another dwelling\nat Stamford Hill, which I consider as a proof that our prayer was heard\nand answered in this serious step: the signs I had asked were granted.\n\n\nThey removed to Stamford Hill on the 2nd of the Twelfth Month, 1845. As\nsoon as they had settled in, John Yeardley became seriously indisposed\nwith his old complaint, which ended in the jaundice. In the course of the\nspring and summer of 1846 he repaired with M.Y. to Bath, and afterwards\nto Harrowgate, to seek a restoration of his health.\n\n\nThe waters of the last-named place proved, he says, very efficacious both\nto my beloved M.Y. and myself. My precious dear, he continues, suffered\nmuch in her health through the fatigue of nursing me during the winter.\nHow my soul overflows with gratitude to my Heavenly Father that he has\nunited me to such a partner, who takes more than a full share in all my\nsorrows; and, thanks be unto our God, we have often to rejoice also\ntogether in Him!\n\n\nOn their return from Harrowgate they visited many of the meetings in\nLondon and the vicinity,--a service which they had always had in view, in\nlooking towards a residence at Stamford Hill; and from the Eleventh Month,\n1846, to the First Month, 1847, they were occupied in a religious visit to\nthe families of the members and attenders of Gracechurch-street Monthly\nMeeting, in which their service was very acceptable.\n\n\nThe friends appointed to arrange the visits, says J.Y., have done so with\nwillingness and efficiency, and we have, I believe, the help of their\nspirits. In passing from house to house, we are made sensible of our\ninability to render aid to others unassisted by the Spirit of our Divine\nMaster. Wherever we have gone we have been received with kindness and\nChristian cordiality; and in thus being permitted to mingle our feelings\nwith those who are bound up with us in religious profession, we feel sweet\npeace and comfort, and our hearts are filled with thankfulness to the\nLord, that he has enabled us to do that which we believe he put in our\nhearts.\n\n\nThey returned the minute which had been granted them for this service on\nthe 6th of the First Month. Many who read this Memoir will remember how\nthe tidings of the death of Joseph John Gurney, who suddenly expired on\nthe 5th, spread through the Society, and produced wherever it came an\nimpression of sorrowful but heavenly solemnity. The event is referred to\nin the notice of this meeting which is contained in the Diary.\n\n\nThe meeting for worship was particularly solemn. The spirit of our dear\ndeparted friend J.J.G. seemed present with us. The event had impressed our\nminds with the awful uncertainty of time. My dear M.Y. ministered to our\ncomfort, and so did dear ----. I was constrained, under a sense that the\nLord had withdrawn many laborers from his vineyard, to lift up a prayer\nfor the remnant that is left, to crave prosperity for the blessed work of\ngrace in the hearts of all present, and to ask for more devotedness to the\nLord's cause.\n\n\nThe next day they received intelligence of the decease of one of their\nScarborough friends, whose dying words are worthy to be preserved in\nlasting remembrance.\n\n\n1 _mo_. 7.--On returning from meeting we found a letter informing us\nof the sudden decease of Isaac Stickney of Scarborough. When the doctor\nattempted to give him brandy in his sinking state, he said, Doctor, don't\ncloud my intellect; if this be dying, I die in the arms of Jesus. These\nlast words of my beloved and long-known friend are sweetly consoling to my\nspirit.\n\n\nIn the Second Month of 1848, John Yeardley again prepared to go forth and\npreach the Gospel in several countries on the Continent of Europe. He was\naccompanied by his beloved wife, partly in the character of a\nfellow-laborer, constrained by the force of Christian love to the same\nfield of service, and partly as his companion and helper in countries\nwhere she did not otherwise feel herself called to labor. The course of\ntheir anticipated travel is described in the following extract from the\nDiary. They were unable, as it proved, to obtain admission into the\nRussian Empire; and this part of the mission was accomplished by John\nYeardley alone, and at a later period.\n\n\n1848. 2 _mo_. 8.--At our Monthly Meeting at Gracechurch street, I\nproposed my concern to visit some parts of South Russia, particularly the\nGerman colonies; also some places in the Prussian and Austrian dominions,\nparts of Switzerland and France, particularly Ardeche, and a few places in\nBelgium, and to revisit parts of Germany. My precious M.Y. also was\nconstrained in gospel love to tell her friends that she had long thought\nof a visit to France and Belgium; and, if health permitted, should think\nit her religious duty to accompany me to South Russia. We had the full\nunity of our friends, who expressed much sympathy and encouragement, to\nour great comfort. It is about twenty years since I first thought\nseriously that I might have to visit the Crimea, and for thirty years I\nhave had a prospect of some parts of Bohemia. Truly the vision has been\nfor an appointed time; and if the period be now come, I trust it is the\nLord's time, and that his presence may go with us. Many have been the\nconflicts and deep the baptisms through which I have passed, before coming\nto a willingness to offer to do what I believe to be the will of my\nDivine Master. Feeble as are my powers, I desire they may be devoted to\nhis cause for the remainder of my days; and I do esteem it a great mercy\nto have arrived at a clear pointing in this important prospect. May the\nblessing of preservation rest upon the beloved partner of my sorrows and\nmy joys, and on myself; and may He whom we desire to serve heal all our\nmaladies of body and mind!\n\n\nWhile their attention was thus turned to foreign lands, a storm was\ngathering in France which in the course of this month burst upon Europe\nwith extraordinary violence, and overturned or endangered half the thrones\non the Continent. This convulsed state of the European nations rendered it\nneedful for them to wait a few months before they commenced their\nundertaking. In the Seventh Month, John Yeardley speaks of having obtained\nthe further concurrence of the church, and of the feelings which the\nimmediate prospect of the journey awakened in his mind.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 1.--At the Quarterly Meeting, and also at the Yearly Meeting\nof Ministers and Elders, our friends entered very fully into our proposed\nvisit to the Continent. The expression of sympathy and full unity was\nabundant; there was a strong evidence of the good presence of the Lord\nbeing near during the deliberations, which proved a strength and comfort\nto myself and my beloved partner. The needful certificates are now all in\nour possession, and are expressed in terms the most appropriate and\nencouraging. My mind is deeply humbled at the near approach of our\ndeparture, in the present state of affairs on the continent of Europe: but\nI feel a confiding hope in the divine power for protection and safe\nguidance. May the Lord Almighty give us strength and resignation to commit\nour lives into his hand, and to say, Thy will be done. Amen!\n\n\nThis series of travels was the last in which John and Martha Yeardley were\nto be engaged as joint-laborers in their Lord's work. The health of the\nlatter had been for several years seriously affected; and although she\ncontinued to take a deep interest in the spiritual condition of the\ncountries they had visited before, and was enabled to the end to afford\nher husband the assistance of her strong sympathy and of her religious\nexercise of mind, the fatigue of constant travelling told more and more\nupon her enfeebled frame, and she did not long survive the accomplishment\nof this journey. John Yeardley, less advanced in years, and possessing a\nhardy constitution, had not yet lost the fire of his earlier days. The\nsame spring and impulse was still strong within him which had animated him\nin former journeys, and which those who knew him in middle life will not\nfail to remember. Some of these will have before them the mental image of\nhis person and manner--the fixed resolution, the concentrated mind, the\nardent and devoted spirit, which shone through his impressive countenance\nand his whole figure, when he was engaged in his Lord's work; and perhaps\nalso they may call to mind the very words of faithful counsel, or of\nencouragement, drawn from the well-spring of gospel sympathy, which fell\nfrom his lips.\n\nJohn and Martha Yeardley did not accomplish the extensive mission which\nnow lay before them at one stroke, but in three stages, returning to\nEngland between each. The most prominent object in the first journey was\nBelgium; in the second, the Rhine country; in the third, they were called\nto sow seeds of Christian doctrine in lands lying beyond the limit of any\nformer travel--viz., in Silesia and Bohemia.\n\nThis was the first time that the Roman Catholic country of Belgium had\ncalled forth the exercise of their Christian charity. They left London in\nthe Seventh Month, and spent about three weeks in travelling through the\ncountry, resting chiefly at Ghent, Brussels, Charleroi and Spa. They were\naccompanied as far as Brussels by Robert and Christine Alsop, and through\nthe whole journey, by an ingenuous young man whom they had engaged to\nassist them, named Adolphe Rochedieu. The religious opening which awaited\nthem at Brussels was very encouraging; few incidents which arose in the\ncourse of their numerous journeys were of a more animating character than\nthe acquaintance which they made with the pastor Van Maasdyk and some of\nhis flock. We give the narrative from J.Y.'s Diary and letters.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 19.--H. Van Maasdyk paid us a long visit this morning. He was\neducated in a convent in Belgium, and becoming a priest, he exercised the\nfunctions which devolved upon him with much credit to himself, and to the\nsatisfaction of his superiors, until the year 1836. He possessed a Bible\nin Latin, which he never read. He had the cure of a large parish, in\nwhich, down to the year above mentioned, there was not a single copy of\nthe Scriptures in the Flemish tongue. About that time the colporteurs\nintroduced the New Testament in Flemish, and some copies of the Bible,\nwhich greatly excited the priests, and in particular the bishop, who said\nthe translation was mutilated and falsified, and commanded that the\nmembers of the Catholic Church who had received copies, should either burn\nthem themselves, or bring them to the cures for that purpose. Van\nMaasdyk's parishioners accordingly brought their Bibles and Testaments\n(five copies) to him to be burned. He was zealous in the Romish faith, and\nhad preached violently against the distributors of the wicked books, as\nthey were called; and he was about to fulfil the command to burn them,\nwhen suddenly he felt something in his heart which restrained him, and he\nthought, I will at least first examine the foundation of the bishop's\ncharges. He took up his Latin Bible, and placing beside it the copy in\nFlemish, began with the charge of mutilation. He found it not at all\nabridged. He then went to the charge of falsification, and found the two\ncopies to agree with slight variations here and there; in fact, the modern\ntranslation proved to have been made from the Vulgate, which was the one\nin his possession. He read the denunciation of our Saviour, \"Woe unto you\nScribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,\" and it struck him forcibly; he felt\nthat he must say, \"Woe is me, I am one of those who deceive the people.\"\nHe read again, \"There is one Mediator between God and man;\" and here again\nhis conscience smote him: \"Woe is me, I teach the people in their\nconfessions that the saints make intercession.\" His sorrow was so deep,\nthat he thought he could die a thousand deaths rather than continue a\nRomish priest.\n\nNow his persecution began. He was beloved by his flock, who entreated him\nnot to leave them. After much conflict of mind, he wrote a decided letter\nto his bishop, who in the end gave him his dismissal. Still feeling\nhimself called to proclaim the Gospel, he began to assemble the people in\nlittle companies, and to instruct them in the Scriptures. At the entreaty\nof his friends he settled at Brussels, where there was a wide field for\nlabor amongst the poorest of the Roman Catholics, who speak only Flemish.\nHis congregation consisted at first of some fifteen or twenty persons; but\nsuch was the success he met with, that they have been obliged four or five\ntimes in succession to seek a larger building, and his congregation now\nconsists of 500. He is said to be one of the most powerful preachers in\nthe Flemish language. It is delightful to be in his company; his heart is\nfilled with gratitude, and his eyes sparkle with joy, when he is with\nthose who love the Saviour. Nothing is paid him by his congregation; he\nhas a little property of his own, and sometimes receives a little help\nfrom the Adolphus Society.\n\nAfter a long conversation with him on the spiritual nature of worship, he\ntook us to see some of his flock, with whom we had family sittings from\nhouse to house. This is exactly the class our hearts longed to visit;\nthanks be to our Heavenly Father who has thus opened our way.\n\n20_th_.--The meeting at Pastor Marzial's last evening was much larger\nthan we had expected. Van Maasdyk came in unexpectedly after the service\nwhich had been held at his dwelling, and with him a part of his flock.\nMany of the company were those who had renounced Romanism; some of the\nyoung men interested us exceedingly. I had a deal of conversation with\nthem as to their religious experience. There were several young Germans\namong them, who are residing in Brussels; with these I conversed in their\nown language, which was highly gratifying to them. As Pastor Marzial\nspeaks English well, I clung to him in the hope of having him for an\ninterpreter; but he encouraged me to speak as well as I could in French,\nas the natives like it much better, and consider it a compliment to their\nlanguage. This made me very low, it being a company of well-educated\npersons, and I asked Van Maasdyk what I should do. I would rather, he\nreplied, hear ten words from your own mouth, than ten thousand through the\nmouth of another; we shall understand you, and what comes from the heart\ngoes to the heart. This settled the question; I gave myself up to the\nlanguage, and was helped through. My M.Y. was favored in her\ncommunication. After a short address from M., I concluded the meeting with\nsupplication, also in French. I do believe the Spirit was poured upon us\nfrom on high; many hearts were touched, and tears flowed freely from many\neyes.\n\nThe Lord has indeed opened a wide door for us in this place; the dear\npeople follow us from meeting to meeting, entreating us for an opportunity\nof the like kind in their own houses; but we must be watchful to see our\nown way. However, if the oil is staid, it is not for want of vessels, for\nwhat we have to communicate seems like seed cast into the prepared ground.\nMay the Lord himself be their teacher, and carry on his own work; for it\nis most assuredly his. To those who are spiritually minded, to hear of a\nsociety holding spiritual views, is like marrow to their bones. It is not\nso much what we are able to say to them, but our being as living witnesses\nto the truth which these awakened people feel in their own hearts.\n\n21_st_.--Attended a meeting of Van Maasdyk's in the poorer district\nof Brussels; about seventy to eighty persons present, consisting of\nconverted Romanists, seeking Protestants, and two awakened Jews. Two of\nthe company were blind men, very pious, who gain their living by selling\nmatches. Our friend read, explained, and applied the tenth chapter of\nJohn, in Flemish; he also interpreted for me a few words, which I spoke in\nGerman.\n\n\nOn their way to Charleroi, after passing through Mons, they traversed the\ngreat Belgium iron and coal country, where the people speak a patois but\nunderstand French. Here they made a free distribution of the religious\ntracts they had taken with them, and found an able co-adjutor in their\npostillion. When he understood what their object was, he allowed few\nopportunities to pass by without putting these little messengers into the\nhands of his fellow-countrymen.\n\nAt Charleroi, where they arrived on the 22d, they enjoyed Christian\nassociation of the most interesting kind, especially with Pastors Poinsot\nand Jaccard, and with Marzial, who followed them from Brussels. They seem\nto have found much more of the life of religion among the newly-awakened\nin Belgium than they had expected.\n\n\nWe have, says J.Y., good reason to believe that the burden we have so long\nfelt for the inhabitants in some parts of Belgium was laid upon us by our\nDivine Master, who is now pleased to make way for us to throw it off;\nthanks be to his great name.\n\n\nFrom Charleroi they went by Liege to Spa, where they procured a lodging in\norder to enjoy a period of needful rest. The tracts they gave away on the\nroad were received with eagerness. Adolphe handed them out freely right\nand left, and when any one hesitated to take them, a significant nod from\nthe postillion never failed to secure a ready reception.\n\n\nThe country from Namur to Liege, writes John Yeardley, and particularly\nfrom Liege to Spa, is beautiful, the road running along the banks of the\nMeuse, amid wooded rocks. These are the works of my Heavenly Father, but I\nsigh after the workmanship of his hands, created after his own image.\n\n\nPassing over several incidents of religious intercourse and labor, we\nselect a circumstance which illustrates the state of the country, and of\ntheir own feelings in relation to it.\n\nUnder date of Spa, the 2nd of the Eighth Month, John Yeardley says:--\n\n\nMy M.Y. made acquaintance with an interesting young woman in a shop, and\ngave her some of the _Scripture Extracts_. She came to us last\nevening, and remained some time conversing on the Romish religion. She had\nnever seen the Bible. When we asked her what was the nature of the mass,\nshe said she did not understand it, but she attended it because others\ndid. We gave her the Bible used by ourselves, having no other at our\ndisposal. Her eyes sparkled with joy at the newly-acquired treasure. Her\nheart is touched by the Spirit of God, and I humbly hope her eyes will be\nenlightened to seek for strength independently of her blind guides. I\nnever saw and felt more sensibly the awful account the priests will have\nto give for thus deceiving the people in the things which belong to their\nsalvation.\n\n\nOn the 3rd they quitted Belgium, and proceeded to Bonn. Here they had the\npleasure of meeting their old friend, Charles Majors, formerly of\nStrasburg. In a walk which they took with him, they renewed the sweet\nintercourse of former days.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 5.--We took a walk with Majors and his family to the top of\n\"Mount Calvary,\" and mounted a steep hill pitched with sharp stones, on\nwhich the poor Romanists go barefooted, repeating prayers at each station,\nsupposed to be as many as the times when our Lord rested when bearing his\ncross from the gate of Jerusalem to Mount Calvary. Having descended, we\nsat down at the foot of a cross, and spoke of Him who bore our sins on the\ncross in his own body. A desire was felt and expressed that the little\ncompany might ever dwell near to Him who died on the cross.\n\n\nAt Mannheim, John Yeardley writes:--\n\n\nI took a walk in the public gardens, opposite the Hotel de l'Europe, where\nwe lodge. All very quiet without, and I felt peaceful within myself,\nreading a chapter and sitting alone. The Spirit of my Divine Master was\nnear, and I felt assured that there was something in this place with which\nwe could unite.\n\n\nThey found here a little company, who met together without any regular\npastor.\n\n\n\"They gave us\", says John Yeardley, \"a cordial reception, and their\ncountenances indicated that they had been with Jesus; and, although\nscattered as sheep among wolves, they appeared to belong to the fold of\nthe true Shepherd. After a few family calls, we were conducted to the\nhouse of a pious widow, where the meetings were usually held. As we were\nin haste, these Christian people kindly appointed a meeting for worship,\nto be held the same evening, to receive our visit, which, through divine\nmercy, proved like a refreshing brook by the way: the Saviour's presence\nbeing over us, his doctrine dropped like dew on the thirsty ground.\"[9]\n\n\nAt Strasburg they found Pastor Ehrmann, and several other pious persons\nwhom they had known in 1833, with whom and with some others they had much\nconversation on religious subjects, and were called upon to explain the\nviews held by Friends, particularly on marriage, education, and the care\nof the poor.\n\n\n\"Before parting\", says John Yeardley, M. Passavant asked for silence, and\nwe had a sweet time of religious communion, in which consolation and\nencouragement were offered, and thanks rendered for the favor of being\npermitted to meet together, and for the favor of the Divine Presence.\n\n\nBasle was their next halting-place. A letter written by Martha Yeardley\nfrom this city, contains some notice of the social and religious life by\nwhich their tarriance in foreign cities was characterised, and of her own\npeculiar position as a gospel minister.\n\n\nThe pious Spittler, she says, has just been with us; he is still full of\nfaith and good works. M.L., whom we knew as a nice girl at Corfu, is\nmarried to a serious merchant of this place; a sister of C. Majors' wife\nat Bonn, with her husband, also resides here; and we have fixed to take\ntea with them and some of their friends to-morrow evening. My J.Y. is gone\nwith a converted Jew, Spittler, and one who has been a missionary to\nJerusalem, to a lecture this afternoon, where it is probable he may have\nan opportunity of speaking to those assembled. As it is to be all German,\nI excused myself in order to rest and continue my letter. I have deeply\nfelt on this journey, as on others, that it is difficult for females to\nmake their way as gospel ministers; we have always found it tolerated, but\nI am always sensible of a prejudice against it. On some occasions my J.Y.\nhas explained our views on this important subject.\n\n15_th_.--Yesterday we went to see a remarkably interesting\ninstitution for missionaries, on the top of a high mountain, called\nChrischona Berg. It was established by Spittler, and, is well worth the\ntrouble of a little fatigue in getting to it. Twelve young men of the\npoorer class, who have offered themselves from a sense of duty to become\nmissionaries, are there taught various languages, and retained until some\nfield of labor opens for them to which they feel bound. It is also a\nworking institution; they are taught various trades, in order that when\nthey go out they may earn their living. After viewing the premises and\nhearing a lesson in Arabic, we saw the pupils assembled in the schoolroom.\nInstead of a hymn in English, which they had learned, we asked for a\nlittle silence, which was felt to be precious. My J.Y. then addressed them\nin German, and was much helped. The superintendent, a very interesting\nman, was in England for some time; and in consequence of a hurt received\non the head in Malta, was sent to the _Retreat_ at York, where he\nbecame acquainted with several Friends, Samuel Tuke in particular. Under\nthe gentle treatment there he recovered, but he lost his wife and one\nchild at York, and has left two others in England. I felt much for him,\nand ventured to offer him a little consolation, and also to express my\ninterest for the institution, which Spittler desired him to repeat in\nGerman.--(_Letter to Mary Tylor_, 8 _mo_. 13.)\n\n\nWhilst at Basle they visited Pastor Lindel, an old friend of theirs. He\nrelated to them that he had been some time before applied to, to join the\nEvangelical Alliance. \"I told them,\" he said, \"we have got further than\nyou have. In looking over your rules, I observe there is a class of\nChristians in England whom you exclude; and we can receive them. Our bond\nof union extends much beyond yours; it embraces, without any distinction,\nall who love the Lord Jesus Christ.\"\n\nFrom Basle they went to Berne and Neufchatel. Their visit to these\nfavorite spots was, as at former times, accompanied by a good measure of\nthe blessing of the gospel of Christ.\n\n\n18_th_. _Berne_.--Many of our former friends having heard of our\narrival, came this morning to our inn; and having called together a few\nother serious persons, we had a precious meeting. They have suffered much\nsince our last visit; our hearts were dipped into sympathy for them, and\nour tears were mingled together. The Lord's presence was over us, and he\ncaused the word of consolation, exhortation, and supplication to flow\nfreely. Some precious souls whom we have known in this place have been\ntaken to their rest since we last saw them. Soon shall we also be inquired\nafter and not found! Lord, grant that we may be prepared to meet thee at\nthy coming!\n\n20_th. Neufchatel, First-day_.--The meeting was held in a saloon at\nour hotel, (_Des Alpes_). The room was quite crowded; we were\nsurprised to see them continue to come in, by twos and threes together, at\nso short a notice. The unhallowed thought arose, Where shall we find bread\nto feed this multitude? But, thanks to Him who is the Bread of Life, he\ndispensed food to the refreshing of our souls. My M.Y. supplicated for us,\nand the gospel-word flowed freely: the meeting closed with thanksgiving by\nme.\n\n\nSad reflections on the political and religious state of the country\noppressed their minds while travelling through Switzerland.\n\n\n21_st_.--In all the times we have visited Neufchatel, I never saw it\nlook more beautiful. But the place was dull, and a depressed feeling\nmanifested the life of religion to be wanting. Switzerland has suffered\nthrough the recent changes in the governments: infidelity is sorrowfully\nincreasing. An abundant harvest has been gathered into the barns, and\nNature everywhere smiles on ungrateful man. Woe to the nations when the\nungodly bear rule! Persecution still rages in the Canton de Vaud.\n\n\nSpeaking of the great advantage which an acquaintance with the French and\nGerman languages afforded them, John Yeardley observes:--\n\n\nHow I long that some of our dear young friends in England might give up\ntheir minds and a portion of their time to the acquisition of these\nlanguages--and, above all, give up their hearts to be prepared for the\nLord's work! How wide is the field of labor!\n\n\nFrom Neufchatel they proceeded to Geneva, and thence to Grenoble. Here\nthey were received in the most open-hearted manner by the Protestant\nminister, Amand; but their feelings were severely tried by the martial\ndisplay which the city presented.\n\n\n26_th._--On arriving at Grenoble, we inquired the name of the\nProtestant minister, and called on him without loss of time. So soon as he\nunderstood the object of our journey, he offered us his chapel for a\nmeeting; or, if it would be more agreeable to us, he would convoke a\nmeeting in the schoolroom for to-morrow evening with a number of persons\nwho usually meet there. We accepted the latter proposal. It is comforting\nto find such a brother in the gospel; but O for the morrow! how my heart\nfails me for fear! Lord, help us, and give us to trust in thee!\n\n27_th._--This day is a day of suffering. The soldiers, the drums, the\ntrumpets, with the shouting and dancing of the people, is enough to sink\nthe heart of the reflecting Christian beyond hope, had he not a refuge in\nretirement before the Lord. The whole course of the military system tends\nto evil, and the corruption of manners.\n\n\nThe meeting was well attended, and they were thankful in being enabled to\nmingle in spirit with a company of sincere and pious Christians. The\npastor called on them the next day. He had succeeded their good friend\nBonifas, spoken of in the journey of 1843. Conversing with him on points\non which Christians may differ, he observed, \"The Church of Christ is like\na great house built on a rock. There are different apartments for the\nvarious classes of Christians; but they are in the same house, and on the\nsame rock, Christ.\"\n\nAfter attending to some other gospel-service at Grenoble, they resumed\ntheir journey, held meetings in Valence and the neighborhood, and crossing\nthe Rhone, entered Ardeche. A meeting which they held at Privas was an\noccasion of remarkable stillness and solemnity.\n\n\n31_st._--There was a room filled with serious persons, who\nimmediately settled into silence like a Friends' meeting: indeed, I wish\nour meetings in England were always times of as much good feeling. A\nchapter, the second of the Acts, was read; after which I supplicated, and\nmy M.Y. spoke in testimony, as well as myself. M.Y. closed the opportunity\nin supplication.\n\n\nThey held another meeting at Vals, a village in the Cevennes mountains,\nnear the town of Aubenas. Lindley Murray Hoag, from America, had had a\nmeeting there not long before. There was no resident pastor, and the\nschoolmaster called on John and Martha Yeardley, and informed them that\nwhen no one was present to preach, the congregation were accustomed to\nread a sermon, the liturgy, and prayers. They explained to him their\nobjection to written sermons, and he appeared to be sensible of the\ninconsistency of them with true gospel ministry, but alleged that the\npeople would not be satisfied without having the greater part of the time\noccupied with \"service.\" As they could not undertake that this should be\nthe case, it was agreed that they should be informed when the usual\nengagements were concluded, and that the schoolmaster should give notice\nof their intention to hold a religious meeting. In the morning\n(First-day), unexpectedly, a young man arrived, who came to see if he\ncould be established in the place as pastor, and the schoolmaster\nintroduced him to J. and M.Y. He raised no objection to their speaking\nafter the service, but the sermon which he preached, as they afterwards\nfound, was on the politics of the day, and when it was concluded, they\nwere still kept waiting during a conference which the consistory had with\nhim. This delay, and their persuasion that the members of the consistory\nwere not the men to sympathise with them in their religious exercise, was\nexceedingly proving to faith, and they entered the chapel under a pressure\nof mind almost beyond utterance. After a pause John Yeardley rose and\nspoke in French, in which he felt himself to be much helped; an influence\nsuperior to words was spread abroad, lifting up the messengers above the\nfear of man. Martha Yeardley followed, inviting the people to come under\nthe teaching of the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ Jesus, and\nespecially addressing herself to the mothers.\n\nThey remained at Vals a week.\n\n\nOur lodging, says J.Y., is situated amid scenery the most romantic:\nhigh-planted rocks, deep glens, and purling streams. For reading and\nwriting we spend much time on a spacious open gallery, protected from the\npenetrating rays of the sun by a roof; and in the interstices are\ncreepers, vines, and flowers, delightful and airy.\n\n11_th_.--This has been a trying week. I have been low in mind and\nsuffered much in body, but, thanks to a merciful God, I am restored to\ncomparative health, and my beloved one is better. The peasants who inhabit\nthe mountains can only come to the town on First-days; and as they live\ndispersed in places almost inaccessible, we concluded to wait over another\nFirst-day to see some of them at Vals. We had them invited to the\nschoolroom. A small number only assembled, but it was a feeling time: I\nhope a few were instructed, and we were satisfied in having done what we\ncould.\n\n\nFrom Vals John and Martha Yeardley proceeded to Nismes, where they had\nsome interesting service, both within and beyond the little Society of\ntheir fellow-professors. The account given by J.Y. of the way in which\none of their evenings was spent may be transcribed.\n\n\n15_th_.--The wife of De Hauteville came to invite us to spend the\nevening with a few religious friends, who met at her house for reading the\nBible. We had known the pious young woman years before, and were most easy\nto accept the invitation. The little company mostly knelt down, and waited\nsome time in silence; and then a young man offered a short and sweet\nprayer. The fourth chapter of the Hebrews was then read, and nearly all\npresent offered a sentiment on the subject, in meekness and in love,\nthough they did not agree in their interpretation. They spoke one after\nthe other, until all seemed tired; looking earnestly at me, as wondering\nwhat I would say, not having spoken on the question. At length one of the\ncompany asked my opinion. I felt freedom at once to say I found no\ndifficulty in the matter; I could well understand the text, but I could\nnot understand their interpretation of it. This remark surprised them, and\nraised an air of pleasantness on every countenance. My remarks on the\npassage closed the subject, and I think they were accorded with in the\ngeneral. Stillness was then had, and myself and dear M.Y. spoke to the\ncompany. There was a precious feeling, and we were glad in not having\nmissed uniting with such spirits in passing an hour or two instructively\ntogether.\n\n\nThe service which remained for them to do before returning to England\nconsisted chiefly of religions labor amongst the Friends of Congenies and\nthe vicinity, and in printing and distributing a large number of tracts.\nThey found the Society of Friends in a drooping condition as to spiritual\nthings, and in going round to their little meetings, Martha Yeardley felt\nit to be her last visit, and she labored to clear her conscience towards\nthose among whom she had long been conversant, and for whose eternal\nwelfare she felt deeply concerned.\n\nThey returned to London on the 20th of the Tenth Month.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\nCOMPLETION OP THE FIFTH CONTINENTAL JOURNEY.\n\n1849-50.\n\nThe disorganized state of Germany presented a serious obstacle to John and\nMartha Yeardley's resuming their labors on the Continent.\n\n\nFROM JOHN YEARDLEY TO JOHN KITCHING.\n\nScarborough, 6 mo. 23, 1849.\n\nWe spent two days at Malton with our dear friends Ann and Esther\nPriestman, in their delightful new abode on the bank of the river: we were\ncomforted in being at meeting with them on First-day. On Second-day we\ncame to Scarborough, and soon procured two rooms near our own former\nresidence. The sea air and exercise are beneficial to the health of my\nM.Y. and myself. Scarborough is certainly a most delightful place. The\nchanges in the little society here are great: we miss many whom we knew\nand loved when we were resident here. It feels pleasant, though mournful,\nonce more to mingle our sympathies with the few Friends who are left.\n\nWe sometimes sigh under the weight of our burden on account of poor\nGermany, from which land the accounts continue unsatisfactory. Mannheim,\nwhere we had such a sweet little meeting with a few pious persons last\nyear, is now being bombarded; also in several other parts of the Rhine the\ninsurrection is not yet subdued. Our friend Dr. Murray returned on\nSecond-day last from a tour through part of France, Belgium and the Rhine.\nHe told us he was obliged to return after having proceeded as far as\nMayence, as the steamers were interrupted in their course beyond that\nplace, south. This is the very line which we had thought to pursue; we\ncannot tell how soon an alteration may suddenly take place for the better.\nWe must wait in patience, faith and hope.\n\n\nThe political horizon soon became clearer, and they resumed their journey\non the 2nd of the Eighth Month. They again passed through Belgium,\nstopping at several places, and distributing a large number of religious\ntracts.\n\nOn reaching Elberfeld they were received in a very cordial manner by R.\nHockelmann, and they held a satisfactory meeting in that city with a\ncompany of serious persons, originally Roman Catholics, who had at first\nfollowed Ronge, but afterwards separated from him. John Yeardley says of\nthem:\n\n\nThey are rejected by the Lutheran and Reformed Churches. They have adopted\nthe name of German Catholics to attract the Romanists to them. There is\nreal life of religion with some of them; perhaps with still a little\nobscurity on some important points of doctrine. Light does not always\nshine clearly all at once; nor is it always obeyed, so as to be received\nin its fulness.\n\nStill more interesting was a meeting they had at Muehlheim on the Ruhr,\nwhere, it will be remembered, they found an open door for their ministry\non their first continental journey. We give the narrative in John\nYeardley's words:--\n\n\n8 _mo_. 17.--On our arrival at Muehlheim we received a visit from the\nthree pastors resident here and in the neighborhood, along with Pastor\nBochart, from Schaffhausen, whom we had known some years before. One of\nthem, Schultz, immediately asked me if we were not the parties who had\nheld a meeting in a school-room in this place twenty-four years ago. We\nentered very fully into the awakening that had taken place in this\nneighborhood. The spiritual seed of Tersteegen has never died out; and\nthey told us of a person, Muehlenbeck, in Sarn, who represents those who\nare acquainted with the interior life. The youngest minister said\ndirectly, I will fetch him. In an hour's time he came again, accompanied\nby a middle-aged man, much like a good old Friend. He recollected us\nagain, and spoke of our meeting. When we went to see him the next day in\nthe village, he took us to the house in which he had lived in 1825, and\nplacing me in the centre of the room said, There stood thou twenty-four\nyears ago, and preached the gospel in this room; there sat thy dear wife\nand her friend, with the young man who interpreted for her.\n\nThey soon set about making a meeting for us, which is to be held this\nevening in a large room in the house of one of the brethren. O, my\nSaviour, strengthen us for this evening's work, and forsake us not in the\ntime of need!\n\n18_th_.--The meeting last evening was got well over. There were two\nrooms filled with men and a few women; their minds seemed sweetly centred\non the Source of good. A precious silence prevailed, and I was enabled to\naddress them in German from Acts xi. 23:--\"When Barnabas was come to\nAntioch and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and exhorted them all\nthat with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.\" The nature of\nsilent worship was also dwelt upon, and freedom from sin, through\nrepentance and faith in Christ. My M.Y. spoke a few words in German, and I\nsupplicated in the same language. Many hearts are prepared to receive the\ndoctrine of the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit: it seemed like\nmarrow to their bones.\n\nAfter the meeting some came to our inn, and remained till 10 o'clock. They\nseemed as if they could not part from us. We spoke of our ministry,\nmissionary journeys, baptism and the Supper, in which we seemed to be one\nin sentiment and heart. Our short tarriance here has excited curiosity to\nknow who and what we are, and a great desire for books; and a liberal\nsupply has been furnished them. Those tracts on our religious principles\nare just the food many are prepared to receive.\n\nIn coming this morning from Muehlheim to Elberfeld, my heart was tendered\nunder a sense of the Lord's mercies. I feel poor and unworthy, but it is\nimpressed on my heart from day to day that my little remaining strength\nand my few uncertain remaining days must be devoted to my Great Master's\ncause. I am thankful that we have not through discouragement been deterred\nfrom entering on this part of our religious service; for, after all we\nhave passed through on the occasion, I do believe the present time is\nseasonable.--\n\n(_Diary and Letter_)\n\n\nBefore leaving the neighborhood, they had a second meeting at Elberfeld,\nthe holding of which was endangered by the animosity which prevailed\nbetween the different religious parties. After the place and hour were\nadvertized, it appeared the room would be required for a missionary\nmeeting. The president of the missionary society was so unfriendly to\nthose who associated with John and Martha Yeardley, that he not only\nrefused to let them have the room, but refused also to let notice be given\nat his meeting of the alteration in time and place which it was needful to\nmake in theirs. They therefore hastily arranged their meeting for another\nday, and the alteration was announced in the daily newspaper. The\ndisappointment proved, in the end, to be a subject for thankfulness on\ntheir parts; for just before the hour of assembly of the missionary\nsociety, an alarming fire broke out, and threw the whole town into\ncommotion; and the missionary meeting was obliged to disperse as soon as\nthe opening hymn had been sung.\n\nThe Friends' meeting, which took place two days afterwards, was held in\nquiet. John Yeardley preached on a subject which seems to have engaged his\nmind ever since he had entered the place,--viz., the Fall of Man. While in\nElberfeld he printed a tract on this subject; and in a conversation which\nhe and Martha Yeardley had with a doctor from Charleroi, the doctor told\nthem it was the very thing which was wanted, being exactly adapted to the\ncondition of the numerous sceptics in that part, of whom he had once been\none.\n\nTheir sojourn at Bonn, where they arrived on the 31st of the Eighth Month,\nwas exceedingly cordial to their religious feelings. The persons with whom\nthey were the most intimately united were two ladies, Alexandrine\nMackeldey and the Countess Stynum; the latter of whom had come to know the\nway of salvation during a visit to England. J.Y. describes the opening for\nservice which they found in this city, in a letter to Josiah Forster:--\n\n\nThis morning, the 1st of the Ninth Month, we received an early visit from\na pious young woman, _interior_. On her entering the room we felt the\nSpirit of Jesus was near. As soon as we discovered the piety of her mind,\nand her sweet and open disposition, I said to her: Now, tell us who there\nare in this place who are really spiritually-minded persons. She said, I\nwill; and instantly took the pen, and put down about six or seven names,\namong which was the name of the Countess Stynum. This lady, said she, I am\nsure, will be rejoiced to see you; she is too weakly to leave her house,\nbut I am going to her and will tell her you are here.\n\nOur kind helper soon returned with the expression of a warm desire from\nthe Countess that we would remain tomorrow and hold a meeting in her\nsaloon in the evening, and invite any of our acquaintance, and she would\ngive notice to her own friends. There was so evidently a pointing of the\nGreat Master's finger in this matter, that we were at once constrained to\naccept the invitation.\n\n9 _mo_. 3.--A little before six o'clock last evening the Countess\nsent for us to take coffee with her, to have an hour of our company before\nthe meeting. She gave us a hearty reception, and in such Christian\nsimplicity, that we soon felt at perfect ease in her company. She has a\nwell-informed and enlightened mind and a strong understanding, and lives,\nbelieve, in the fear of the Lord. She asked many questions about the\nreligious sects in England, as to the state of real piety, their forms,\nbaptism, &c. Then she came to our own Society. I was in poor plight for\nanswering questions; however, I explained the spiritual view we took of\nthose subjects, and asked permission to send her books, in the reception\nof which she seemed to promise herself much gratification.\n\nHer commodious and elegant saloon was conveniently seated and pretty well\nfilled. Our manner of worship was quite new to every one present. We first\nexplained it privately to the countess, who immediately comprehended our\nview; there was no wish at all shown to sing or read; a precious solemnity\nprevailed, and I was enabled to speak, in German, first on the nature of\nour silent worship, then on what [else] rested on my mind. The young woman\nabove-mentioned, A. Mackeldey, interpreted for my dear M.Y., who, I\nthought, had the best service; and she did it so well and so seriously\nthat the right unction seemed to be preserved, and prevailed over us; and\nafter a supplication in German we parted under a very precious solemnity.\n\nA.M. said afterwards that she had been instructed by what she had heard,\nand was prepared to appreciate the value of silence. She observed, I think\nit a marked favor of Providence that you should have come at the present\nperplexing time, to comfort and confirm the faith of some in this place,\nand of me in particular.\n\n\nSpeaking of those with whom they had intercourse in this city, John\nYeardley says:--\n\n\n9 _mo_. 2.--Should it be the will of our Heavenly Father, I hope we\nmay be permitted to see those precious souls again, and water the seed the\nGreat Husbandman has deposited in their hearts. I consider such little\ncompanies, or individuals, as a little leaven working silently in a\ncorrupt mass.\n\nI never remember, he writes the next day, to have had more satisfaction in\ndistributing Friends' books, or having intercourse with pious persons,\nthan thus far on the present journey. The thinking part of the people,\nunder the tossing of the present moment, are really thirsting for food\nmore spiritual than they have hitherto received.\n\n\nAt Neuwied they were informed that the _Inspirirten_ whom they saw\nthere twenty-four years before, had, with the exception of a few families,\nemigrated to America, and that those whom they visited at Berlenburg had\ndone the same.\n\nFrom Neuwied they went to Kreuznach. This was a place to which they had no\nthought of going when they left England; indeed, John Yeardley, though\npassing near it on former journeys, was not aware of its existence. But\nwhen they were at Elberfeld, a swarthy youth from Cape Town, an inmate of\nthe Mission-house at Barmen, mentioned to them that four of his\nfellow-countrymen had been for a time at Kreuznach. On hearing this place\nnamed, it occurred to J.Y. that it would be well for them to take it in\ntheir way. They had good reason to believe, before they left the place,\nthat it was the Lord who had directed their steps thither, and that he had\nprepared the hearts of some who dwelt there to receive them. John Yeardley\nthus relates what occurred:--\n\n\n9 _mo_. 6.--On our sending to a tailor named Ott, he could not come\nto us by reason of bodily infirmity; but on paying him a visit I found him\na meek and spiritual man. He undertook to speak with some others of the\nsame way of thinking, to meet us in our hotel at 7 o'clock. On making it\nknown he found more were desirous of coming than he had expected; a number\nof young people asked permission to be present, so that our commodious\nsaloon was pretty well filled. We read the fourth chapter of John, and\nthen I addressed the company with great freedom; my M.Y. also spoke in\nGerman, and was well understood. Friend Ott said, \"You may travel about,\nand think your journeyings and labors will do but little good, but they\nwill be blest far beyond what you may expect. What you have said this\nevening has gone to my heart. If we had only some one to whom we could\nlook in holding meetings, we should grow.\" He was reminded of Him, the\nHead of his church, to whom we must all look. Of this he was fully aware,\nbut said, as they were mostly of the lower class, they had no room, and\nthe pastors did not encourage such meetings.\n\n7_th_.--This morning our new-made friend accompanied us to three of\nthe villages, to visit several of his friends. We were pleased with the\nsimplicity and real Christian feeling with which, they received us. We\narranged for a meeting in one of these places for First-day afternoon, and\none with our Kreuznach friends in the evening. My poor soul can only say,\nLord, help![10]\n\n8_th_.--Called again on J.A. Ott, and found him looking very serious.\nHe told me he had read farther in the books we left with him, and the more\nhe saw, the more conviction was brought into his mind that what they\nunfolded was the truth; and that he believed it his duty thoroughly to\nweigh the matter, and then speak with a few of those who united with him,\nto see whether they could unite in holding a meeting after our manner, but\nthat it was a serious matter, and they required time to mature it. We\nwere quite of his mind in this respect; at the same time I believe if they\nhad strength to meet together it would be advantageous.\n\n10_th_.--Yesterday we met the little company in Horweiler, a room\nwell filled with souls thirsting, I believe, for spiritual food. \"All thy\nchildren shall be taught of the Lord,\" was much dwelt upon by me. My dear\nM.Y. was wonderfully helped in German. It was a precious season; the\npresence of the Lord was near, uniting our hearts in him.\n\nAt 7 o'clock we had the meeting in our room. It was not so lively as the\none in the country; but we can thankfully acknowledge the Great Master was\nnear to help in the needful time. It was a day of great exercise of body\nand mind. Our friend Ott accompanied us throughout the day's labor, and I\nfelt the help of his spirit.\n\nThere are several villages around Kreuznach (some of which we have\nvisited), where dwell a good many spiritually-minded people, who meet\ntogether for improvement. We have just received a sweet visit from Adam\nTiegel of Schwabenheim, who is come to have a little talk with us. He\nseems to be the first who was awakened in 1805, and was made the means of\nawakening others, who now hold meetings in an old monastery.[11]\n\n\nPassing on to Mannheim, they saw the effects of the revolution in Baden;\nthe fine stone bridge over the Rhine had been blown up, and not yet\nreplaced. The handful of pious persons with whom they had met in 1848 had\nbeen preserved in the midst of the danger; and their meetings had been\nmaintained and were increased in numbers. One of these, a widow, told them\nthat, during the bombardment of the city, a cannon-ball had entered her\nhouse, and had passed by her bedside when her children were in the room,\nand also that a shell had burst before her door; but on neither occasion\nwere any of the family hurt.[12]\n\nAt Stuttgardt they received the affecting intelligence of the decease of\nElizabeth Dudley, who died of cholera on the 6th of the Ninth Month. The\nremoval of this, one of her earliest and dearest friends, was a severe\nstroke to Martha Yeardley, and sensibly affected her bodily health. In a\nletter to her sisters, of the 14th of the Ninth Month, she thus gives vent\nto her feelings:--\n\n\nIt would not be possible to set forth in words what we have felt from the\naffecting intelligence contained in dear R.'s letter. What shall we do but\nseek ability at the Divine footstool to bow in humble resignation to this\nafflictive dispensation? I have had for some time a strong impression that\nsomething of this kind awaited us in our immediate circle; and it was with\na trembling hand that I opened the letters. The tie which bound me to her,\nand which is now perhaps for a very short time broken, as far as relates\nto earthly things, was sealed upon my heart by a communion of more than\nforty-eight years, and includes all the various changes of an eventful\nlife, during which my best feelings were ever cherished and encouraged,\nboth by example and precept, and by the tenderest affection. But I must\nnot dwell upon this subject, lest I become unfitted for the duties which\nour present engagement daily calls for.\n\n\nTo these afflictive tidings was added some discouragement in respect to\ntheir proposed journey to Russia. The little hope that John Yeardley still\nentertained of being allowed to cross the Russian frontier was\nextinguished by the information he received at Stuttgardt. A large number\nof the German emigrants who settled in the South Russian colonies were\nfrom the neighborhood of this city, and John Yeardley inquired of some of\ntheir ministers, who had served in the colonies, how far the country was\nlikely to be accessible to a foreigner going thither to preach the gospel.\nThe information he received was unfavorable, and his endeavors to obtain\nin this city the signature of the Russian ambassador to his passport were\nfruitless.\n\nThey had, however, something to console them under these trials.\n\n\nIn all our former travels in Germany, says J.Y., we never experienced such\nan open door and spirit of inquiry among the people as in the present\njourney. It is said that there is scarcely a village in all Wuertemberg\nwhere meetings for worship are not held in private houses. The late\nrevolutionists declare vengeance against these people, the pietists, as\nthey call them, and that if the war breaks out again, they are to be the\nfirst to be cut off. But the present king gives them their liberty and his\nprotection, and has openly said the pietists have saved his\ncountry.--(_Letter of 9 mo_. 15.)\n\n\nBefore they left Stuttgardt they were refreshed by a social evening's\nrecreation, one of those occasions of the familiar intercourse of\nfriendship, under the canopy of divine love, in which John Yeardley\nespecially delighted.\n\n\n17_th_.--Our two young friends, Reuchlin, came to conduct us to their\ngarden among the vine-hills in the environs of the town. We there met\ntheir precious mother, and were joined by a good many _interior_\nones, who had been invited to meet us. We had a precious little meeting in\nthe arbor, after which we gave them some account of the religious movement\nin Belgium, &c., which pleased them much. We afterwards partook of fruit,\nbiscuits, and wine. I shall reckon this garden visit among the happy\nmoments of my life, because the presence of the Most High was with us.\n\n\nOn the 18th they went to Kornthal to visit the interesting society in that\nplace. Hoffmann's widow, who seems to have returned from Basle after the\ndeath of her husband, was there, but so aged and infirm as to be confined\nto the house. The inmates of the establishment were therefore convened in\nsome apartments adjoining her chamber, so that she could partake in the\nspiritual repast. Their kind friend Reuchlin had prepared the way for\nthem; and when the assembly took their seats, a solemn silence ensued.\nJohn Yeardley and \"Brother\" Koelne addressed the meeting, and the former\nsupplicated at the conclusion. On their way back to Stuttgardt, Madame\nReuchlin interrogated them on the doctrine of election, and was rejoiced\nto hear from them their full belief in the universality of the grace of\nGod; and as they communicated to one another their convictions respecting\nthis great truth, their spirits were knit together in the love of the\ngospel.\n\nFrom another pious person in this city, John Yeardley received a word of\ntimely encouragement. He was anxious about their going into Bohemia, not\nhaving, as he thought, a sufficiently clear guidance to determine his\ncourse.\n\n\n9 _mo_. 19.--A very acceptable visit from a worthy brother, Weiz. He\nintroduced himself and commenced speaking on the guidance and consolations\nof the Holy Spirit, and spoke of his own experience as though he had known\nthe thoughts of my heart. I have, said he, sometimes earnestly prayed to\nthe Lord for direction what way to take, and have received no intimation;\nall has been dark within; I knew not whether to go right or left, and I\nhave been compelled to go forward. I have then said, Lord, thou knowest my\nheart, be pleased to prosper my way; I leave the consequence to thee.\n\n\nThe conclusion to which they came in regard to Bohemia was, not to attempt\nthe journey at that time, but to return to England for the winter, and\nleave the remoter districts of the circuit which they had in prospect till\nanother year. They therefore returned by Heilbronn to Kreuznach, where\nthey again found many opportunities of instructing and strengthening such\nas had made some progress in the Christian course.\n\n\n26_th_.--This evening had about a dozen serious persons to tea. After\na long conversation, we read a chapter, and made some remarks: there was\nalso a time of silence, with supplication.\n\n10 _mo_. 1. _First-day_.--This afternoon we attended a meeting\nat Schwabenheim, a few miles from here. Notice had been given of our\nintention to be present, and the company was consequently larger than\nusual. They meet in an old convent, the other end of which forms the\nparish place of worship. After the singing and a short prayer, the good\nold A. Tiegel read a chapter in the New Testament, and was proceeding to\nmake some remarks upon it, when I stopped him, feeling something on my\nmind to say to the people. I was led to recommend a patient waiting upon\nGod for the renewed help of his Spirit, and also to speak on the progress\nof the Gospel Church from Isaiah ii. 2, 3, &c. My M.Y. spoke a little in\nGerman on the \"still small voice,\" and the teaching of the Spirit. I did\nnot in this instance feel quite easy to put aside the whole of their\nservice. After meeting we had coffee with Tiegel, and took back in our\ncarriage a few of our Kreuznach friends who had walked to the meeting.[13]\n\n4_th_.--Yesterday evening we had a few friends with us two hours, by\nappointment, to speak concerning the rules, &c., of our Society. Many\nquestions were asked, and a pretty detailed account given by us, as well\nas we were able. The company were all satisfied, and wished to come again.\n\n6_th_.--To-day we received a visit from a young English lady. She\ncame to ask how we understood the passages in Paul's Epistles forbidding\nwomen to speak in the church. We soon gave her an answer, and handled the\nmatter so fully that she was quieted down before she left, little\nthinking, as she acknowledged, that so much could be said in defence of\nthe practice among Friends. She even said she thought it to be a general\nloss to the Christian Church that women are not permitted to take part in\nthe ministry. She is a thorough Millenarian, and said the prophecy in\nJoel, that the Spirit should be poured out on all flesh, referred to the\ncoming of Christ to reign on the earth, until I reminded her of what\nhappened on the day of Pentecost, when Peter said expressly that it was\nthe fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel. Two other ladies were with her. We\nparted friendly, and she thanked me for the information I had given her.\n\n7_th_.--Went to Treisen to a meeting. The little company meet only\nabout eight persons usually, but we found about thirty assembled in a\nsmall room. I thought it one of the most lively meetings we have had. They\nwished me to conduct it in our own way. I told them we always commenced\nour worship by sitting in silence. They said, We will also sit still. I\nwas favored with strength to speak to them of the pool of Bethesda, when\nthe angel troubled the water, and on the nature and advantage of true\nsilence before God. At the close, none seemed to wish to depart, but\nentered into serious conversation. I think I never saw more satisfaction\nexhibited at receiving books than on this occasion. After coffee, we\nreturned to our lodgings with thankful hearts.\n\nIn the evening came three young women, with an elderly lady, the mother of\none of them. We had much conversation, and a precious little meeting,\nwhich concluded with solemn supplication--a nice finish to our sojourn in\ninteresting Kreuznach.\n\nOur friend Ott has accompanied us; he has been to us as eyes in the\nwilderness.\n\n\nFrom Kreuznach they returned to Bonn, stopping at Darmstadt, Wiesbaden and\nNeuwied. John Yeardley had allowed some discouragement to enter his mind\nin regard to the meeting they had had the previous month at the Countess\nStynum's. They found, however, on repeating their visit to this place,\nthat the occasion in question had been one \"of peculiar benefit and\nencouragement.\" They renewed their religious intercourse with the Countess\nand her friends to their great refreshment and joy.\n\n\n12_th_.--The evening was spent with the Countess, in a quiet and more\nprivate interview than she had with us the last time, owing to so many\nstrangers being present. After tea we had a long conversation on various\nreligious subjects, particularly on some points relating to the principles\nof Friends, arising from what she had read in the books we left with her\nin our former visit. We were glad of an opportunity to answer her\nquestions. A few of her private friends were present, much to our comfort.\nBefore leaving, the forty-sixth Psalm was read, and we had a comforting\ntime together: the Lord be praised! How sweet in him is the fellowship of\nthe gospel!\n\n\nWriting to Josiah Forster from Bonn, John Yeardley makes some general\nremarks on the religious state of Germany, as they had found it in their\nfrequent intercourse with individuals of various character during this\njourney.\n\n\nThere is no doubt that there is in the German character generally a\ntendency to the visionary. We have found a few who hold doctrines on\ncertain points, which it might do harm to publish; but we find or hear\nnothing of fanaticism now as formerly. Those who are spiritually-minded\nare more chastened, and more sound and scriptural in their views of\nreligious truth; but not without exception.\n\n\nA meeting at Muehlheim \"not large, but a good time,\" closed their religious\nservice in this part of their long and arduous engagement.\n\nThey arrived in England on the 20th of the Tenth Month, \"with peaceful\nfeelings, and in gratitude to their Heavenly Father for all his mercies\ntowards his unworthy servants;\" but \"mourning the loss of some beloved\nones who had died in the Lord in their absence.\"\n\nAfter about five months passed in the quiet of home, they made preparation\nonce more for accomplishing the work to which they had been called. The\nprospect of distant travel was discouraging, both on account of Martha\nYeardley's weak health and of the state of the Continent; but, writes John\nYeardley, \"my mind is peaceful, and I have an abiding conviction that it\nis right to proceed, trusting in the Lord for light, strength and safety.\"\n\nOn their way through Belgium, the same feeling was strongly impressed upon\nhis mind.\n\n\n1850. 4 _mo_. 7.--In the train, soon after leaving Brussels, my\nspirit was melted under a feeling of the Lord's goodness. The object of\nour journey came weightily before me, and I considered we had left our\nhome and every object most dear to our natural affections, with the sole\nview to serve our Lord and Master, and in the desire to use our feeble\npowers to draw souls to Him, that they might partake of spiritual\ncommunion with the Beloved of souls, through his grace. A degree of\nprecious resignation followed; and, whatever may be the result as it\nregards ourselves, I believe it is the Lord's will for us thus to go\nforth, in his name; and should I or the precious partner of my bosom not\nbe permitted again to see our native land, we shall be happy and at rest,\nthrough the mercy of that Saviour who gave his precious life for us.\n\n\nOn arriving at Berlin their first duty was to apply to the Russian\nambassador for his signature to their passport, with permission to enter\nthe Russian territory at Odessa. Their application met with an immediate\nand positive refusal, and the extinction of his hopes in this respect was\nto John Yeardley a grievous disappointment.\n\nThe next evening, after they had borne their burden all the day, dejected\nin spirit, and uncertain which way to turn, their hearts were lightened by\na visit from August Beyerhaus, who at once attached himself to them and\noffered them help. He could indeed do nothing to facilitate their entrance\ninto Russia, but he was the means of diverting their minds from the\nconsideration of what had now become hopeless, and of opening to them, in\nBerlin, a door of usefulness. Through his introduction they became\nacquainted with several devoted Christians, some of them of wide\nreputation in the Church. These interviews, which were occasions of\nheartfelt spiritual communion, are thus noticed in the Diary:--\n\n\n4 _mo_. 22.--Samuel Elsner is an aged warm-hearted Christian, full of\nfaith and good works: he gave us important information, and will send me\nsome names of pious persons in Silesia.\n\nPastor Gossner we found green in old age; seventy-five years of a\nvariegated life have taught him many useful lessons. His refuge now is\nstrong faith in the Saviour. He was at work in his arm-chair, and was much\npleased to see us.\n\n23_rd_.--Pastor Knack, successor to Gossner, is a man of a lively\nspirit, to whom we at once felt united. He very liberally offered us the\nliberty of speaking to his flock (the Bohemian congregation in Berlin);\nand also invited us to visit the little company in the village where we\npropose going this evening.\n\nAt 3 o'clock we had a sweet interview with Professor Neander, an aged man\nof a striking figure and a Jewish countenance, pervaded by heavenly\ncalmness, and illumined by the bright shades of gospel light. His eyes are\nbecome dim through excessive study; his heart is very large, full of love\nand hope in Jesus Christ. He seemed pleased to hear some account of the\norder of our Society, particularly with regard to the ministry and gospel\nmissions, observing, \"With you, then, there is liberty for all to speak\nwhen moved by the Holy Spirit, just as in the primitive church.\" This\nobservation led us to several points of our discipline, and he seemed\ndelighted that a society existed whose practice, in many things, came so\nnear to that of the primitive church. Before parting the spirit of\nsupplication came over us, under which prayer was offered, particularly\nfor this aged servant of the Lord. His disinterestedness is great. The\nking will sometimes give him money, that he may take relaxation in going\nto the baths, &c. But so susceptible is his heart for many who are\nnecessitous, that he will often give to others all that he has received.\nThe good king has then to repeat his gift, and send him away almost by\nforce from his labors.\n\n\nAfter these choice visits, John Yeardley says:--\n\n\n24_th_.--A ray of light and hope has broken in upon our gloomy\npath,--not into Russia; there _Satan_ is still permitted to hinder;\nbut in this city.\n\n\nThey spent two days at Rixdorf, the village alluded to above, three miles\nfrom Berlin, where was a small congregation of Bohemian Brethren, who took\nrefuge there in 1737. The women of the society held religious meetings by\nthemselves twice a week. These meetings had been instituted many years\nbefore by Maria Liestig, to whom John and Martha Yeardley were introduced,\nand whom they found to be of a meek and intelligent spirit. She gave them\na relation of her extraordinary conversion, which John Yeardley published\nin No. 3 of his Series of Tracts, under the title of the _Conversion of\nMary Merry_. They held a meeting in the village, in which they both had\nto \"speak closely on the necessity of silence in worship.\" They had also a\nsmall meeting at their hotel in Berlin, when \"the gospel message flowed\nfreely, in speaking of the spiritual dispensation in which we live, and\nthe progress of light.\"\n\nOn the 29th they left Berlin, and went to the beautiful watering-place of\nWarmbrunn, in Silesia. The dwellings of the laborers in Silesia struck\nthem as being of a wretched description. \"What they do.\" says J.Y., \"in a\nrigorous winter, like the last, I cannot tell; they appeared to be mostly.\nRoman Catholics.\"\n\nThey resided a month at Warmbrunn. Some of the simple incidents which\nbefel them there form the subjects of the following extracts:--\n\n\n5 _mo_. 10.--Yesterday was a thorough rainy day; but in the\nafternoon, to our surprise, came in eight men together, who had heard of\nstrangers having arrived in Warmbrunn to visit those who love the Saviour.\nWe explained to them our religious principles; their countenances\nbrightened when we spoke of the Spirit being poured out upon all--sons and\ndaughters. A sweet feeling was present with us, and supplication was\noffered under much solemnity.\n\n11_th_.--I have had a long conversation with C.W. Grossner, of\nBreslau, on the Supper, &c. We opened the Testament, and read the various\npassages, and I explained our views as well as I could. I think he is\nbrought under serious thoughtfulness, and half convinced of our principles\nwith regard to the rites, which he acknowledges are vain without the\nsubstance. \"Religion with many, nowadays,\" he observed, \"is like a\npolished shell without kernel.\"\n\n13_th_.--The Countess Schaffgotsch sent her butler with a message\nfrom the castle that she would be glad if we would call on her. She gave\nus a hearty reception, and thanked us for taking so much interest about\nthe people. On our presenting her with some books;--But I am a Catholic,\nshe said. We told her that made no difference to us; we loved all who\nloved the Lord Jesus. She spoke very sweetly of the influence of the\nspirit.\n\n14_th_.--The Countess paid us a long visit, and spoke much of the\nRoman Catholic faith. She has no more faith in the efficacy of the prayers\nof the saints than I have, and said she had not prayed to them now for\nfour years; their church only _advises_, not _commands_ it.\n\n16_th_.--We went to dine with the Countess Reden and her sister, who\nlive at the castle in Buchwald, one of the most lovely spots in the most\nlovely of countries. It is truly a peaceful abode, whose inmates fear\ntheir God, love their neighbor, and greatly esteem their king. We had been\nannounced to the Countess from Berlin a week before; she and her amiable\nsister received us as a brother and sister beloved in the Lord. I never\nwitnessed more intelligence combined with Christian politeness and real\nsimplicity. The Countess is about seventy-six years of age; she is the\npresident of the Bible Society, and the spiritual mother of all that is\ngood in the neighborhood. She nursed the present king on her lap when he\nwas a baby, and her great influence with him now she always turns to good\naccount in serving benevolence and religion. Both she and her sister spoke\nwith much affection of dear Elizabeth J. Fry, and her visit with Joseph\nJohn Gurney.\n\n26_th_.--Our last meeting, on First-day evening, consisted of all\nmen, several of whom had come from Erdmannsdorf and the colonies of the\nTyrolese. They seemed to appreciate the time of silence, and expressed\nmuch satisfaction with having made our acquaintance, and with the meeting.\n\n\nOn the 30th of the Fifth Month, J. and M. Y. quitted Warmbrunn and\nproceeded towards Bohemia.\n\n\nWe passed, says the former, through Hirschberg. Goldberg, Liegnitz, and to\nDresden, Leipzig, and Halle, making acquaintance in all these places with\nserious persons, and, I hope, scattering here and there a little gospel\nseed; but truly we may say, It is sown in weakness. At Halle we were much\ngratified with our visit to Dr. Tholuck, but I think, not less so with his\nwife, a most lovely person, delighting to _feel_ and to _do_\ngood.\n\n\nOn arriving at Dresden, it became evident that Martha Yeardley, who had,\nsuffered much for some time from an affection of the windpipe, required\nrepose and medical care; and they concluded to rest awhile at the baths of\nToeplitz. The illness of his wife, and some degree of bodily indisposition\nfrom which he himself suffered, did not prevent John Yeardley from\nemploying the time in the diffusion of evangelical truth.\n\nHe had heard at Berlin that within a few months several hundred Bibles and\nTestaments had been sent into Bohemia, and had been eagerly bought there\nby awakened persons. He thought that if a translation could be made into\nthe Bohemian language of some simple religious tracts, much good might be\ndone by their dissemination; but he supposed that the intolerant laws of\nthe Austrian Empire, which forbad all freedom of religious action, were\nstill in full force. His account of his feelings and those of Martha\nYeardley under the burden which this supposition imposed on them, and of\nthe agreeable manner in which permission was unexpectedly granted them to\nprint and circulate their little messengers of peace, must be given in his\nown words:--\n\n\nOur hearts yearned towards the people, but we were afraid to give them\ntracts, which in other places had often been the means to conversation and\nto making acquaintance. This brought us low in mind; the body was already\nweak enough before. We thought it would not do to pass through the country\nin this state of depression, without trying to remove the cause. I went,\ntherefore, the next morning to the head of the authorities, took with me\none of our little tracts, mostly Scripture extracts, and asked whether I\nmight be allowed to have the little book, or such as I then presented to\nhim, printed for circulation. He received me politely, indeed kindly, and\nlooked pleased with my tract, saying as be turned over its innocent little\npages, Ah, nothing about politics; nothing against the religion of the\ncountry: it is very good, it is beautiful. You are quite at liberty to\nprint and circulate such tracts as these. And when he found that the\nobject was to do good to all, without cost to the receiver, he said, That\nis lovely.--(_Letter of 6 mo. 23._)\n\n\nThe Bohemian translations were not made until J. and M. Y. went to Prague,\nwhich they did on the 22nd. Their feelings on entering this city, and the\nmanner in which they were helped in their work of love, are described in\nthe following diaries:--\n\n\n6 _mo._ 23.--Last evening we arrived at Prague. Our heart sunk on\napproaching this great city. The twenty-eight statues of saints, &c. on\nthe bridge, with the many lamps devoted to these images, the crucifixes,\n&c., all indicated that superstition rages rampant.\n\nWe lost no time in sending to the Protestant pastors, one of whom kindly\ncame to us in the evening, and we conversed till late. I showed him my\nlittle _Spiritual Bread for Christian Workmen_, with which he was\nmuch pleased. I told him I wanted it translated into the Bohemian\nlanguage. This afternoon he paid us another visit, and brought his wife to\nsee my M.Y. He produced the translation of the introduction to the little\ntract. We are to have 2000 printed. Most of the poor people read only the\nBohemian language. I have promised to place 1000 at the disposal of the\npastor; he is delighted with the opportunity of having anything of the\nkind _printed in Prague_.\n\nMuch, adds J.Y. in a letter, as I have suffered in the long prospect of a\nvisit to this place, I feel a peculiar satisfaction that it has been\ndeferred until there is liberty to print and circulate gospel tracts.\nSmall as such a privilege may appear, until very recently such\ndistribution of books would have been visited with a very inconvenient\nimprisonment on the individual transgressing the law.--(6 _mo_. 23.)\n\n24_th_.--I gave Pastor Bennisch for perusal, and choice for\ntranslation, William. Allen's _Thoughts on the Importance of\nReligion_, and our tracts on the _Fall, Regeneration and Redemption,\nTrue Faith, and the Voice of Conscience_. There is a great movement\namong the Catholics; they have need to be instructed in the first\nprinciples of Christianity, and it is very important that the doctrine of\nfaith in Christ should be combined with that of the practical working of\nthe Spirit as set forth in many of our tracts. On this account, I am glad\nthey are likely to take precedence of others in their circulation; for I\ndo not hear that any tracts decidedly religious have yet been printed in\nPrague.\n\n\nDuring their stay in the city, and after they left, there were printed\n12,000 copies of the tracts in Bohemian, and 1000 in German.\n\nAt Toeplitz, which they revisited before leaving Bohemia, occurred the\ninteresting incident of the Bohemian soldier, which is related under that\ntitle in John Yeardley's series of tracts, No. 4.\n\nWhen they finally quitted the country, they took the nearest road to\nKreuznach. On the way, they distributed tracts in the villages, at one of\nwhich, where they were detained for want of horses, the inhabitants\nflocked so eagerly to them to receive these little messengers, that they\nhad difficulty in satisfying them. Notwithstanding this circumstance, the\nreflection with which John Yeardley concludes his account of their travels\nin Bohemia was, \"It will require a power more than human to make the\n_dry bones of Bohemia_ live.\"\n\nThey spent three weeks at Kreuznach, confirming the faith of the brethren,\nand printing German translations of several tracts. In passing through\nNeuwied, they intended only to spend the night there; but hearing that\nmuch inquiry after the way of salvation had recently manifested itself in\nthe villages around, they decided, after the horses had been ordered for\ndeparture, to remain and visit one of these villages. A meeting was\ncalled, and so many attended that the room could not contain them all. It\nwas a good season; De Freis, the friend who had made them acquainted with\nthe religious condition of the place, accompanied them as guide, and was a\ntrue helper in the work. He had been twenty years missionary in Greenland\nand South Africa.\n\nThey returned home, both of them worn with travelling, and Martha Yeardley\nexhausted with disease, which was making sure progress in her debilitated\nframe; but they were supported by the peaceful consciousness of having\naccomplished all the service to which they had been called to labor in\ncommon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\nDEATH OF MARTHA YEARDLEY, AND JOHN YEARDLEY'S JOURNEY TO NORWAY.\n\n1851-2.\n\nMartha Yeardley continued very unwell during the autumn, and by the end of\nthe year her disorder assumed a more alarming form. It soon became evident\nthat her dedicated life must at no distant period be brought to a close;\nand after many weeks of suffering, with confinement to the chamber during\nthe latter part of the time, she expired, full of peace and hope in Christ\nJesus, in the Fifth Month, 1851. The following memorandum, touchingly\ndescriptive of her illness and death, was penned by her bereaved husband,\nprobably soon after her decease.\n\n\nAfter our return from the Continental journey my beloved M.Y. became more\npoorly. A severe influenza cold weakened her much; and a second attack she\nseemed never to recover. It was succeeded by a regular rheumatic fever.\nFrom the commencement of 1851, with but little exception, she was confined\nto the house, and for a little while to her bed, until the 8th of the\nFifth Month, when her sweet and purified spirit ascended to her Saviour,\nand commenced an eternity of bliss.\n\nThus was I deprived of my only earthly treasure. She was the Lord's\nprecious loan, granted me for nearly a quarter of a century, for which I\ncan never be sufficiently [thankful]. She was his own, bought with the\nblood of his dear Son, and he saw meet to take her from me. Ours was a\nblessed union, and a happy life, spent, I hope, unitedly in the service of\nour Lord. In all our imperfections we did desire, above all earthly\nthings, to do the work of our Divine Master, and to labor for the\npromotion of his kingdom, and for the spread of his knowledge in the\nearth.\n\nI was her only nurse till within ten days of her happy close. Long had a\ncovenant been made between us, in the time of health, that whichever of us\nwas taken ill the first, should be nursed by the surviving one, if\npermitted and strength afforded; which it mercifully was to me, and a\nhappy season was the sick-room. We seemed to live together in heaven;\nnever, I think, could two mortals be more favored with the answer to\nprayer.\n\nIn the early part of her illness she spoke much of the satisfaction she\nhad felt in our three last journeys to the Continent, and that she was\nthankful in having been enabled to go through the whole of the service\nwhich her Lord had put into her heart. I have since thought it was a mercy\nthat I did not proceed into South Russia, as, in all probability, my\nprecious one would have fallen on the journey, and never seen her peaceful\nhome again.\n\nDuring the whole of the illness her delight was to speak of the joy of\nheaven. My sins of omission and of commission, she said, are all passed\nby; my iniquities are all forgiven, and washed away in the blood of the\nLamb; and now I rejoice in God my Saviour. His love and mercy to me are\nbeyond all bounds; and so strong is my faith in my precious Saviour, that\nI have scarcely known, the whole of the illness, what it has been to be\ntroubled with an evil thought.\n\nWhen she expressed a desire to go to Heaven, I reminded her of my\nloneliness when she should be taken from me. The Lord will care for thee,\nwas her constant reply. He has promised me over and over again that he\nwill care for thee; the answer to my prayer has always been, I will care\nfor him.\n\nNearly the last conversation she had with any of her beloved relatives was\nwith ----, to whom she observed: My affection for thee is strong; I\nbelieve thou lovest thy Saviour: I desire that thou mayest keep nothing\nback that the Lord may require of thee, but serve him with greater\ndevotedness of heart; and if ever thou art called to bear public testimony\nto his truth, be sure to preach the whole gospel, faith in Christ, and the\nnecessity of the practical work of the Holy Spirit to produce holiness of\nlife. To [another of her near relatives] she observed: Thou hast often\nbeen sweetly visited by the love of thy Saviour, and be assured thou wilt\nnever find any joy equal to that of yielding thy heart in prompt obedience\nto the will of thy Lord. Her last words to her affectionate sisters were,\nThe Lord bless you all: Farewell.\n\n\nTowards the end of the year John Yeardley again communed with himself in\nthe language of sorrow, but also of humble resignation. At the same time\nhe speaks of an engagement of gospel labor from which he had then recently\nreturned, the first which he had undertaken alone since his marriage with\nMartha Savory. Having seen his faithful and well-tried comrade fall by his\nside, he had now to learn again to gird himself and enter, as in the days\nof his youth, alone into the combat.\n\n\n1851. 12 _mo._ 13.--How often have I prayed that the portion of her\nLord's spirit which animated her devoted life may rest on me! Her heart,\nher tongue, and her pen were all employed in promoting the cause of her\nDivine Master, whom she delighted to serve. All my earthly joy was now\ngone to heaven, and I felt alone in the world; but my spirit seemed never\nto be separated from her: she seemed to be hovering over me constantly. My\nheart does sorrow for the loss of her sweet society; to me she was a wise\nand sound counsellor, and a never-failing consoler in all my troubles. I\ndo mourn, but I dare not murmur. I hope my merciful Heavenly Father will\nkeep me in the hour of temptation, and be with me in the last trying hour,\nand prepare me to join this precious one and all by whom she is surrounded\nwith her God and Saviour in the centre of bliss.\n\nI had often mentioned to my precious one a prospect of religious service\nin Ireland, and once since our return home from our last Continental\njourney; when she replied, \"I have no concern to go to Ireland--thou must\ndo that when I am taken from thee.\" It cost me many tears and prayers\nbefore I could be resigned to request a certificate, alone, for the first\ntime since our union; but, looking seriously at the subject, the language\nwas constantly in my heart, The hour cometh when no man can work. Life is\nuncertain, and I can only expect sustaining grace by faithfully following\nmy Lord: and, blessed be his name, he has kept and sustained me in every\ntrial.\n\nThis day would have been the twenty-fifth anniversary of our union. How\nnear it has brought my precious one to me in spirit, and how strong are my\nprayers that my Lord may preserve me faithful to the end of the race! I\ncan say my desire is, when he cometh, he may not find me idle.\n\n\nThe visit which John Yeardley made in Ireland was general, comprehending\nall, or nearly all, the meetings of Friends in the island, and including a\nfew public meetings in Leinster province. He has left very few notes of\nthis journey, except an itinerary of the places at which he stopped, but\nmakes frequent mention of the hospitality and kindness of Friends. From\nCork he writes:--\n\n\nI am in the midst of a family visit to the Friends of Cork, and shall\nhave, I expect, from ninety to a hundred sittings. I am lodged a few miles\nin the country, in a mansion surrounded by beautiful grounds, and all the\nbeloved inmates most affectionate and helpful to me. They send me to my\nwork in or about the city mostly to breakfast; and I return, in the\nevening, and enjoy the refreshing breezes and the quiet: but then I have\nthe family visits to resume next morning. In riding to town to-day, I\ntried to raise my heart to God; when the language sweetly occurred to me,\nBread shall be given thee, thy water shall be sure.--(_Letter of 8 mo.\n5, 1851._)\n\n\nA few days after his return from Ireland, he left home again to visit the\nIsle of Man, in company with Barnard Dickenson. On his return, he was\nrefreshed by a visit to Dover, where he spent three weeks in the company\nof his kind and sympathising friend Margaret Pope.\n\nThe interval which elapsed before the recommencement of his missionary\nlabors was to be short. In the First Month of 1852, we find him again\nunder exercise of mind for foreign travel; having, this time, to direct\nhis course towards the interesting community of religious persons in\nNorway, whose principles and practices are the same as those of Friends.\nThe Diary which follows is the utterance of his heart in the prospect of\nthis work.\n\n\n1852. 1 _mo._ 24.--This has been a precious morning unto my soul;\nsuch a season of spiritual comfort I have not been permitted to experience\nfor a long time. I think it is vouchsafed me through the efficacy of\nearnest prayer, which has brought me to resignation to my Lord's will. I\nhave now no more doubt as to Norway. Light springs on my path. How\npowerful is the love of God when it fills the heart; there is not a place\non the Lord's earth where I think I could not go, if favored with the\nstrength, and blessed with the presence of my God and Saviour.\n\nUnto thee, Lord, do I commit all my concerns, spiritual and temporal; do\nthou give to thy unworthy servant an answer of peace. Keep me faithful and\npatient to the end of the race. Lord, grant that my ministry, which thou\nhast entrusted to me, may proceed purely and entirely from thy love, and\nbe exercised in thy fear and under the unction of thy Holy Spirit. Lord,\nkeep my heart fixed, on the last, last awful moment that I may have to\nbreathe; grant that it may be breathed out in the bosom of my adorable\nSaviour; all sting of death taken away, my robes washed in his blood, and\nmy spirit purified and ready to be united to those beloved ones who are\nalready enjoying a blissful eternity with thee!\n\n\nThe next entry in the Diary was made at Christiania, where he thus speaks\nof the unity and concurrence which his friends had testified with his\nmission.\n\n\nSince I last wrote any notes in this journal, I have passed through many\nconflicts respecting my long-thought-of visit to Norway. When the subject\nwas proposed to my friends in London, it met with the warm encouragement\nand sympathy of all, in every stage, to the receiving the full unity of\nthe Yearly Meeting of Ministers and Elders.\n\nI am accompanied by my dear friend, Peter Bedford, whose sweet and\nconstantly cheerful spirits comfort and cheer me. We have already had many\nproofs that our being joined together in this laborious journey is of the\nLord. Our friend William Robinson proves an efficient helper.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley and his companions left London on the 9th of the Sixth\nMonth, and went first to Homburg, as he wished to place a young person in\nwhom he was interested, at the school kept by the sisters Mueller at\nFriedrichsdorf, near that town. Whilst at Homburg he was suddenly attacked\nwith a severe and painful disorder, and was reduced to great extremity.\nAfter about two weeks of suffering, he was restored to convalescence, when\nhe thus breaks forth:--\n\n\nHow can I sufficiently record the mercy of my God in sustaining me in a\ntime of great extremity, even when there was but little prospect of my\never seeing Norway. He blessed me with resignation and sustaining grace,\nso that I could rest as on the Saviour's bosom, for life or death. I knew\nmy Lord and Master could do without my poor unworthy service in Norway;\nbut if he had work for me to do in that land he would raise me up in his\nown time; and so he has done.\n\n\nAs soon as he had sufficiently recovered his strength, they set forth for\nKiel; but not before John Yeardley had had a religious meeting with the\npupils in the school.\n\n\nI was, he says, enabled to address them in German; a precious feeling was\nover us, and many spirits were tendered before the Lord. F. Mueller\nexpressed her great satisfaction with this parting visit.\n\n\nThey reached Kiel by easy stages in seven days. From this place he\nwrites:--\n\n\nMy very soul pants to be in Norway; had I wings I could fly there. And yet\nhow few are the days since the cloud between me and that land was so dense\nthat I could not see through it. But even then, O, what sweet peace and\nresignation were the clothing of my humbled spirit. There seemed nothing\nin my way to heaven, whether from Germany or Norway. I do believe my eye\nand heart are fixed on my precious Saviour, and he has been my stay in the\nhour of sore conflict of body, but none of mind. All seemed peace and\nbliss when I glanced at the happy home above, already inhabited by my\nprecious one and many more who were dear to us on earth.--(_Letter of\n7 mo._ 2, 1852.)\n\n\nOn the 5th of the Seventh Month they proceeded to Christiania, John\nYeardley employing the time on the voyage in adding to the little stock of\nthe Norse language which he had acquired at home in anticipation of the\njourney. On landing at Christiania they were refreshed by seeing Asbjoen\nKloster of Stavanger, who had come to meet them, and for two weeks had\nbeen waiting their arrival.\n\n\nAt a meeting which they held in this city, both John Yeardley and Peter\nBedford were engaged to minister to the spiritual wants of the people; A.\nKloster interpreting for them. The company were so much interested, that\nmany of them went afterwards to the hotel to converse and ask for tracts.\n\nThe Friends left Christiania on the 10th, and sailed through the\nrock-bound sea to Christiansand, the passage between the cliffs being in\nsome places so narrow that there was no more room than was sufficient for\nthe vessel to pass.\n\nIn this town they enjoyed much freedom in the gospel, and held two public\nmeetings. Regarding the first of these, John Yeardley says:--\n\n\n7 _mo_. 13.--Our large room at the hotel was filled half an hour\nbefore the time appointed, and it was with difficulty that we made our way\nto our seats. A little unsettlement prevailed from the desire to enter,\nwhich subsided after a few explanatory words. A time of quiet ensued, and\nthere was much openness to receive the gospel message. Before the close of\nthe meeting I became exceedingly thoughtful about appointing another for\nthe next evening; and on intimating the same to P.B., I found he was under\nthe same impression. It was, therefore, announced to the assembly before\nthey separated, and appeared much to satisfy them. The dear people were\nunwilling to part from us without a shake by the hand.--(_Diary and\nLetter_.)\n\n\nAt one of the meetings which they held in this town, whilst John Yeardley\nwas preaching, he became sensible that his interpreter had himself\nreceived something to communicate to the congregation; he therefore\nstopped speaking, and the interpreter, faithful to his duty, took up the\nword until he had cleared his mind from its burden. After he had finished,\nJohn Yeardley resumed his discourse.\n\nOn the 14th the Friends drove out a few miles into the country to \"pay\nsome family visits.\" They had two double carrioles, or gigs: the road over\nwhich they passed was \"steep and rugged beyond description.\" In returning,\nthe carriole in which Peter Bedford rode struck against a rock at a sharp\ncorner and was overset. Peter Bedford's right shoulder was dislocated, and\nhe otherwise bruised. In conveying him into Christiansand he suffered much\nfrom the shaking of the car; but the joint was quickly set by a skilful\nsurgeon; and, in the evening, the love he felt for the people was so\nstrong, that he could not remain absent from the meeting which had been\nappointed for that time, and he even took part in its vocal exercise.\n\n\nIt was, writes John Yeardley, a favored time. Peter Bedford gave some\naccount of the difference between our religious Society and other\nprofessing Christians. It opened the way for me to speak on the peculiar\ndoctrines and practices of Friends at more length than I ever remember to\nhave done before; after which the glad tidings of the gospel flowed\nfreely, and the people were invited to come to Christ and partake of the\nfull blessedness of his teaching by the Holy Spirit. A precious solemnity\nprevailed, and the serious attention of the company was great. A good many\nsoldiers, and some officers, were present; but the expression of our\ndissent from all wars and fightings had not displeased them, for they\nshook hands with US most kindly.--(_Diary and Letter_.)\n\n\nBesides being interested for the people of Christiansand in general, John\nYeardley and Peter Bedford were especially attracted towards several young\nmen who had embraced the doctrines of Friends, without any knowledge of\nthe Society, and without any instruction from man. With these persons they\nmet more than once. John Yeardley writes:--\n\n\n\"We had a precious meeting with them. They were invited to embrace the\ndoctrines of the gospel in living faith, and to give full room to the\nworkings of the Spirit of Jesus, whose voice they had already heard\ninviting them to come under his teaching. We encouraged them to meet for\ndivine worship.\"\n\n\nOn the 16th the Friends proceeded thirty-five miles to Mandal, travelling\npost. From thence, John Yeardley and Asbjoen Kloster went by the road to\nStavanger, leaving Peter Bedford and William Robinson to follow by\nsteam-vessel, the former being unable to bear the motion of the Norwegian\ncarriages.\n\nJohn Yeardley, in one of his letters, in a lively manner describes the\nmode of travelling:--\n\n\nThe usual vehicle in this country is the single-seated carriole, made\nexactly to fit the figure of the traveller, and no spare room except a\nlittle well under his feet. The seat is placed on two crossbars fixed to\nthe long shafts, the spring of which is intended to mitigate the jolting\nof the road. We chose double cars on iron springs, which we found _not\ntoo easy_: they were like old-fashioned, worn-out, and very shabby\nEnglish gigs. The posting is under government regulation, and is performed\nby sure-footed ponies kept by the farmers, who are obliged to supply them\nunder any circumstances after having had notice. A _forbud_ is sent\non with printed notices filled up with the time at which the traveller\nexpects to arrive at each station. This _avant-courier_ is often a\nlittle boy, and sometimes, to save the expense of a horse, for which the\ntraveller has paid, he is sent on foot. On one occasion we met a young\ngirl, with bare feat, who had walked sixteen miles with notice papers, as\nour _forbud_. Now away goes the traveller, accompanied by a man, or\nmore often a boy, or it may be a little girl, to bring back the pony. They\nrun by the side, but down hills always seat themselves behind on the\nluggage as best they can. The traveller drives himself, and the little\nhorses are so brisk that, whatever the state of the road may be, they run\ndown the mountains as fast as they can clatter, and so sure-footed that\nthey are scarcely ever known to fall; but a person of weak nerves has no\nbusiness to be the rider.\n\nFrom Christiansand to Stavanger is about 200 miles, which took us four\ndays. Our road lay occasionally over a wild and stony heath by the sea,\nsometimes along the river-banks, lakes, or fiords, but more often among\nand upon the high and rugged rocks; the passing of some of which is, I\nthink, more difficult than crossing the Alps between Switzerland and\nItaly.--(_letter of 8 mo. 3._)\n\n\nOn the way towards Stavanger John Yeardley had a public meeting at\nFlekkefiord, the first time such a meeting had been held in the place. It\nwas \"a good time,\" and so well attended that the town-hall could not\ncontain nearly all who came together.\n\nImmediately on arriving at Stavanger, the Friends commenced visiting the\nfamilies of the Friends in the town and on the adjacent islands; and on\nthe next First-day held a meeting about eleven miles up one of the fiords,\nto which so many flocked from all directions that they were obliged to\nassemble in the open air:--\n\n\nIt was, says J.Y., a lovely sight to see so many clean-dressed peasants,\nin their mountain costume, with a seriousness in their countenances which\nindicated that a motive better than curiosity had brought them together. I\nwas reminded and had to speak of the miracle of our blessed Saviour, when\nhe commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass, and fed them with\nfive barley loaves and two fishes.\n\nSince this time, he says in a letter, we hold our public meetings in the\nopen air, and the stillness that prevails is quite remarkable. Last\nevening we had a solemn opportunity in a plantation belonging to one of\nour Friends by the seaside. The hushing of the trees, the gentle rolling\nof the waves behind a strong sea-wall, and the warbling of the little\nbirds, all seemed to aid our worship; but these would have been nothing\nhad not the presence of our Divine Master been near. After the meeting, as\nmany as could be seated partook of tea, &c. The seriousness, simplicity,\nkindness and hospitality, are great. All flock together as if they were\none family.--(7 _mo_. 28.)\n\n\nAfter this the Friends availed themselves of the efficient assistance of\nEndre Dahl, and of the active peasants who form a large portion of the\nSociety of Friends there, in a more extensive excursion which they made up\none of the fiords which in so remarkable a manner intersect the country.\nJohn Yeardley gives a graphic description of this voyage.\n\n\nOur efficient helper prepared his own boat; our ship's company are all\nvolunteers. We set out with seven, but were joined by others on the way,\nso that this morning we started with ten men. They are a most cheerful and\nplayful company, all interested in the object of our voyage. It does my\nheart good to see with what delight they bring planks for seats, and run\nin all directions to give notice of our meetings. Each seems to strive\nwhich shall show us the most attention, even anticipating our wants. They\nenjoy our family readings and worship; their conduct is instructive; and\nthe solemnity on these occasions precious.\n\nOn Fifth-day we landed on an island (Findon) sprinkled with trees, and\nwith a park-like bank sloping to the water. This was refreshing to the eye\nafter having seen nothing but bare rook for many days. The meeting was at\nour friend's house who owned the pretty little farm. It was sweet and\nrefreshing; and afterwards a number of these people accompanied us to the\nboat, and did not quit their standing till we were out of sight. My heart\nyearned towards them in gospel love.\n\nNext morning we started before 6 o'clock, and when we had rowed fourteen\nEnglish miles put into a little village, Ielsom. We were all strangers in\nthe place, and Friends and their principles unknown. Our friend Endre Dahl\nhad a pointing that we should try for a meeting, which was appointed for\n2 o'clock. After waiting till 3, only one or two persons came, and we had\na consultation whether we should proceed on our voyage, but concluded it\nsafer to go in and sit down. When we were seated (I may say in faith),\nfirst one and then another came in, till the large room and passage were\nfilled, and a number were outside under the windows. It was quite a\nremarkable meeting, and we were well satisfied in having exercised\npatience as well as a little faith. We were informed that it was the\ncustom of the place not to attend any appointed meeting till an hour after\nthe time named.\n\nWe arrived at Sand about 9 o'clock, after hard rowing, the tide being\nagainst us. Sand is beautifully placed at an opening in the rocks, at the\nmouth of a river where salmon-fishing is good. As soon as we landed, our\nship's company made the object of our journey known, when a\nserious-looking man immediately offered to go about six miles to inform a\nperson who he knew would like to attend. Two individuals in this place\nhave for some time been in the practice of holding a silent meeting for\nworship; they had no knowledge of Friends, nor Friends of them.\n\n\nFixing the meeting for the First-day evening, John Yeardley and his\ncompanions pursued their way the next morning, which was Seventh-day, to\nSaevde, situated at the head of the fiord, and consequently the extreme\npoint of their voyage. Before starting they went a little way up the Sand\nriver, to view one of the grand Norwegian waterfalls, and also to see how\nthe salmon-fishery is conducted.\n\n\nA hamper of about six feet in diameter, and the same height, made by the\nfisherman of the roughest wicker-work, is placed in a side stream of the\nrock, in the bed of the river. The anxiety of the salmon to mount up the\nstream is so great, that he forces himself through a hole into the hamper,\nas the easiest way of advancing upwards, from which position he cannot\nagain escape. In this manner, in a favorable season, sixty-three salmon\nhave been caught in one night in a single basket. It is a source of wealth\nto the little town of Sand.\n\n\nAt Saevde they held a meeting on First-day morning.\n\n\nWe reached the head of the fiord, writes John Yeardley by 12 o'clock, and\nfound but poor accommodation. We three had one room with three beds; Endre\nDahl with his willing-hearted and contented men lodged in a barn on straw.\nThere was time enough to arrange for a meeting in the morning, and we\napplied for a room at the inn; but a little knot of illiberal Haugeans\n[followers of Hauge], or _Saints_, as they call themselves, persuaded\nour landlord not to let us meet in his house. But we obtained better\naccommodation under the rocks in a house containing two rooms connected by\na passage, and, seating ourselves in the centre, could be well heard by\nthose outside the door. We had a good meeting.\n\n\nReturning to Sand, he continues:--\n\n\nThe wind being against us, the men had to work very hard at the oar to\nbring us in time for the meeting appointed for 6 o'clock at Sand. Some of\nthe Friends from near Saevde accompanied us in their small boat; and some\nfrom Sand had gone many miles to attend the meeting at Saevde, and returned\nto the one at Sand. Their zeal is great and their love fervent. This was a\nvery crowded meeting, and proved a satisfactory time. We found here a few\nof the _Saints_, but of a more liberal cast; they expressed great\ngrief that their brethren at the head of the fiord had refused the\npeaceable messengers of the gospel from a far country a house in which to\nmeet. This unwelcome news had reached them long before our arrival.\n\n\nAt a later date, John Yeardley relates an occurrence which happened at\nSand, worthy of note in itself, and which must have been not a little\nconfirmatory of his faith. It came to his knowledge after his return to\nStavanger.\n\n\nWhen we were at Sand, one of the Friends who joins in holding the silent\nmeeting invited several of our ship's company to his house; but the man's\nwife was so exasperated that she drove them away, saying she would not\nhave such folks under her roof. She had confounded the principles of\nFriends with those of some wild persons who had gone about the country\nspreading ranterism, and giving the people the idea that they were of our\nSociety. It was in vain to reason with her, and the husband, for the sake\nof peace, mildly consented to let the Friends withdraw. However, she\nattended our public meeting, where the gospel doctrine of our Society was\npretty fully illustrated; and I felt constrained also to preach on the\nunreasonableness of persecution for conscience' sake, either by the\ngovernment, private persons, or families. Conviction seized her heart, and\nshe became broken to pieces. After the meeting she sought up the Friends\nwhom she had driven from her house, and told them she could not be happy\nunless they would give her a proof of forgiveness by taking up their abode\nin her family so long as they might remain in the place. Several of them\naccepted the invitation, which gave them an opportunity for free and\nsatisfactory conversation.\n\nHow merciful are the Lord's doings with us in sending help in the needful\ntime! I was so spent when we arrived at Sand, having had nothing from\nbreakfast till 5 o'clock, that I said in my heart, It is impossible to get\nthrough the meeting this evening.\n\n\nThe Friends had some religions service at several other places about\nStavanger, and on the 6th of the Eighth Month proceeded northward to\nBergen, accompanied by Endre Dahl and his wife and Asbjoen Kloster. Their\nchief service in this city was a public meeting, at which there was a\nlarge attendance. John Yeardley says of the meeting:--\n\n\nThere was a great mixture of feeling. Many pious, thirsty souls, I\nbelieve, were present, and I hope such were encouraged and comforted; but\nthe strong impression on my mind was to call the sinner to repentance.\n\n\nOn their way back to Stavanger, among the passengers were two Finland\nconvicts, for whose peculiar case they felt much sympathy.\n\n\nOn board our steamer were two prisoners on the deck, in heavy irons. They\nwere natives of Finland, and had been sentenced to some months'\nconfinement in irons at Christiania, for having, it is said, committed\nsome outrage on the priest in disturbing the national worship. There has\nfor some time past been a great awakening about religion in Finland and\nother parts of the North, and the most active among this number, in their\nzeal not tempered with right knowledge, have transgressed the law. I\nheartily pitied the two poor creatures, inasmuch as I feared justice had\nnot been done them; the prejudices of the priests and judges are so great\nin all matters connected with any separation from the national worship.\nThey were chained together, and were clothed in their native reindeer\nskins, and on their ironed feet were snow-sandals turned up with a long\ntoe. We offered them money, but they turned from it; and when acceptance\nof it was pressed, their change of countenance indicated anger. They\nunderstood nothing but the Finnish language.\n\n\nOn their return to Stavanger, Peter Bedford felt that his share in the\nwork was accomplished, and that it was not his part to accompany John\nYeardley in the service which remained for the latter to do in Norway.\nAfter being present at another public meeting in Stavanger, and in a\nparting interview with the Friends of the town, he went with William\nRobinson direct to Kiel. John Yeardley had two or three more meetings in\nthe neighborhood of Stavanger, where the desire of the people to attend\nwas more remarkable than ever.\n\nOn the 11th of the Eighth Month he bade farewell to this interesting\nplace, and, accompanied by Endre Dahl, again crossed the mountains to\nChristiansand, holding meetings at several places on the sea-coast, where\nnone had ever been held before. His notices of some of these meetings are\nwell worth transcription.\n\n\n14_th_--Journeyed about fourteen miles up the fiord, into the\nmountains, to Aamut in Qvindesdalen. This meeting was the most solemn of\nany we have had. Many said, in tears, at the conclusion, This is a\ndoctrine that we cannot resist; it goes to our heart, and meets the\nconviction of our own experience. What shall we do?--our heart burns\nwithin us!\n\n15_th_.--We returned to Foedde to a meeting this afternoon, which\nwas, I think, the largest we have had. There were two large rooms filled,\nand a number seated on planks on the grass; not less than about 700\npersons were present. Many followed us to the lodging, to converse on\nsubjects that lay near their hearts, and to ask for tracts and books.\nAmong them was a man who goes about to exhort the people to amendment of\nlife. He appeared to be a simple, sincere character, and was much\nsatisfied with our meeting, saying, as if from the bottom of his heart,\nHow remarkably, how wonderfully, have the truths of the gospel been opened\nand explained to us this day!\n\n16_th_.--At Fahrsund we had some difficulty to procure a place for a\nmeeting. It is a brandy-drinking place. No one would bear anything of our\nbusiness. A rich old lady has a large room which she lets for all kinds of\npurposes except for anything connected with _religion_; she gave an\nabrupt refusal to the application. E. Dahl and I went to the English\nvice-consul, showed him my certificate, and explained to him the object of\nmy visit to Fahrsund. He kindly accompanied us to the old lady, and told\nher that we belonged to a respectable religious society in England and\nwere not the persons she supposed, come to preach wild doctrines. She\nconsented to let us occupy the entrance-hall, which was good and spacious.\nThe consul then went with me to call on the sheriff; he said he and his\nlady would attend the meeting, which they did, with a good many of the\nrespectable inhabitants, but the common people would not come near us. One\nman to whom a notice was offered, when he saw the word _worship_,\nimmediately tore it to pieces. The lady to whom the room belonged sat near\nme all the meeting, and looked serious before the close; and she took\nleave of us with very different feeling from that in which she first met\nus. The sheriff came to me after the meeting and offered his hand, saying,\nI thank you for the present occasion--I shall never forget it.\n\n\nBefore the meeting at Foedde John Yeardley had an opportunity of\nrefreshing his mind with the charms of Norwegian nature.\n\n\nMy friend E. Dahl and I went out for a quiet walk. It was a lovely Sabbath\nmorning; the sky cloudless, and the sun shining brightly on the water as\nit rapidly foamed down the cliffs. After gathering a few cranberries we\nseated ourselves on a shady rock to meditate. All was silent\naround--nothing heard but the shepherd-boy playing his horn; the sound\ncoming from the distant mountains into the wooded valley where we sat,\nfirst shrill, then softening into a simple irregular note. My friend asked\nme what I thought the instrument was. It is made, said he, of a goat's\nhorn, and is blown to keep the fox from taking the young lambs, and as a\nmeans of communication with other shepherds when widely separated on the\nmountains; the sound of this horn also keeps the sheep from straying.\n\n\nThey arrived at Christiansand on the 19th; and Endre Dahl, finding a\nvessel sailing for Stavanger, engaged a passage in it for himself. After\nparting with him, John Yeardley writes:--\n\n\nE. Dahl and I have been closely united in the gospel bond; he has been a\ntruly affectionate sympathizer and efficient helper. I am thus, he\ncontinues, left alone in a strange land; but I do feel a peaceful and a\nthankful heart to my Heavenly Father that he has in mercy blessed me with\nlight, strength, and faith to go through this service in Norway.\nImperfectly has it been performed, I know; but I have done what I could,\nand a song of thanksgiving is due to my Lord.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley returned by Germany to England. At Obernkirchen, near\nMinden, where some persons had not long before been convinced of Friends'\nprinciples, he had a meeting, in which he was joined by a number of\nFriends from Minden. A few years before, Thomas Arnett, from America,\ndesired to hold a meeting for worship in this place, but was prevented by\nthe police. The object was now accomplished by engaging a room without the\nlimits of the state of Bueckeburg, in which the town is situated, and\nwithin the Hessian frontier, which includes, in fact, a part of\nObernkirchen.\n\n\nA public meeting for worship in that place (says John Yeardley, in a\nletter written after his return home,) was such a new thing, that on our\narrival we found a press of persons whom the room could by no means\ncontain. The landlord readily granted us his barn, which was commodious,\nand we threw open the large doors into the yard, which was seated; besides\nwhich, the people stood in numbers. We had a solemn meeting. There is a\nlittle company who hold a meeting at Obernkirchen; several of these have\nsuffered on account of their religions scruples in refusing baptism to\ntheir children, &c. These we invited after meeting to take coffee with us,\nabout thirty persons, all serious. It was a delightful occasion. After the\ncoffee we had a sweet parting meeting with this truly interesting company.\nWe had been given to expect that, although we had taken the precaution to\n_pitch our tent_ without the limits of the intolerant place, the\npolice would be present, and would most probably disperse our assembly.\nBut no such thing;--all was quiet.\n\nI was thankful (he adds in his Diary) that the meeting was held in quiet,\nfor there is a bitter feeling of persecution in the neighborhood. I was\npreviously much cast down, but \"thanks be unto God who always causeth us\nto triumph in Christ.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\n\nHIS JOURNEY TO SOUTH RUSSIA.\n\n1853.\n\nThe call which John Yeardley had received to visit the German colonies in\nSouth Russia, and which had lain for a long time dormant, now revived. A\nfriend who had watched with regret his unsuccessful attempts on former\njourneys to enter that jealous country, and who augured from the political\nchanges which had taken place that permission might probably now be\nobtained, brought the subject again under his notice. The admonition was\ntimely and effectual. After carefully pondering the matter--with, we doubt\nnot, as on former occasions, a childlike dependence on his Omniscient\nGuide for direction,--he came to the conclusion that it was his duty once\nmore to address himself to this undertaking: and when it was accomplished,\nand he had returned in safety and peace to England, he alluded more than\nonce to the manner in which the concern had been revived, saying he had\nbeen, before he was thus aroused, like _the prophet asleep_.\n\nHe re-opened the prospect of this service before his Monthly Meeting, on\nthe 3rd of the Fifth Month, 1853. In a letter written the same day, he\nsays:--\n\n\nI am just returned from our Monthly Meeting in London, where I mentioned\nto my friends my concern to visit the German colonies in the South of\nRussia, which, thou wilt probably recollect, was included in my\ncertificate for religious service on the Continent of Europe, five years\nago. I received the expression of much sympathy and unity from my\nfriends, and the certificate was ordered, including on my return, if\npermitted, any service that may present in Constantinople, the island of\nMalta, and some places in the South of France. Weak as I am, I cast myself\nonce more into the hand of our Lord and Blessed Protector, in holy\nconfidence that he will do all things well.\n\n\nOn receiving a passport from the Secretary of State, with the requisite\ncounter-signature of the Russian Ambassador, he wrote to John Kitching,\nthe 25th of the Fourth Month:--\n\n\nI want thee to know that, through the kind and efficient aid of our\nmutually dear friend Samuel Gurney, I have at length been enabled to\nprocure a Russian passport, and also a letter of recommendation to one of\nthe first houses in Petersburg. Thou knowest, my dear friend, for a long\ntime this matter has been heavy on my mind. It is a great comfort to have\nthe ground cleared in this respect.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley left London at the end of the Sixth Month, and went to Hull\nto take the steam-packet direct to Petersburg. In the narrative which\nfollows, we have interwoven with the Diary extracts from his letters to\nhis sisters; and we have been allowed the use of William Rasche's Journal,\nin relating and describing many circumstances of which J.Y. himself made\nno record.\n\n\n_Petersburg. 7 mo._ 10.--On the 30th of the Sixth Month I left my\npeaceful home at Stamford Hill for my Russian journey. At our kind friend\nIsabel Casson's at Hull I met my young companion William Rasche. We were\naffectionately cared for by dear I. C. and her daughter, and she and\nseveral other friends saw us on board the steamer. It is a fine ship, well\nventilated, with good sleeping accommodation and provisions: the captain\nis a kind, religious man.\n\nOn First-day evening, the captain invited us to the ship's service--an\ninvitation which we gladly embraced. When he had finished, I addressed the\ncompany, much to my own comfort: great seriousness prevailed. After I had\nrelieved my mind, the captain closed with a few sweet and feeling words.\nWhen the occasion was over, he came to me and expressed his thankfulness\nthat I had been enabled to strengthen his hands by throwing in a word of\nexhortation. He said that sometimes, when he had felt indisposed and\nunprepared for his religious duty, he had given himself to a quiet\ndependence on the Lord, and had been mercifully helped, to the benefit of\nhis own soul, in endeavoring to do his duty to others.\n\nThere is great uncertainty (he says in a letter written during the\nvoyage), how we shall find things at Petersburg, and whether they will\npermit us to proceed to the South; but this I must leave. Whatever way it\nmay please Providence to turn the matter, as it regards myself I believe I\nshall be relieved from Russia in having made this last attempt.\n\n\nThey arrived at Petersburg on the 9th of the Seventh Month, after a safe\nand agreeable passage of seven days.\n\n\nBefore we reached Cronstadt, to quote from J.Y.'s Diary, we encountered a\nstrong gale, so that the officers from the guardship, who came to see that\nall was in order, had hard work to get on board. There were eighteen\nRussian sailors with oars, yet they could not draw the boat, and our\nsteamer was obliged to throw ropes and haul her in. The sight of Cronstadt\nwas formidable; for more than two miles in and near the harbor there was a\nline of ships of war. At Cronstadt we had to be put on board a smaller\nsteamer, which caused us much detention. At the custom-house all passed\noff well; they were more civil and less strict in their examination than\nin England. The Russian sailors look very unbright; they are not active in\nmanaging a boat. They not unfrequently received a few strokes from the\nfist of the helmsman, or a rope's-end, either of which they took with that\nunconcerned composure which showed they were accustomed to it. We are\nlocated at the hotel of H. Spink, an intelligent Yorkshireman; his wife is\nvery kind and attentive.\n\n13_th_.--Spent this day at Peterhoff, with W.C. Gillibrand and wife,\nwith two of their friends. It is the first opportunity we have had for\nserious conversation in this place, and I hope it was to mutual comfort.\nThey took us a drive after dinner to see several of the Emperor's\npavilions, mostly surrounded by beautiful pieces of water. There was an\nintelligent man present, who had spent some time in India, ---- Watson; he\nnow has charge of the British school in Petersburg. We find the Scripture\nLessons are no more in use in the school; nor is the New Testament in the\nRussian language allowed to be circulated in the country. The Bible\nSociety is just alive, but can hardly breathe; other institutions languish\nfor want of support; party spirit has crept in to their great injury. The\nlaw is still very stringent in not allowing a member of one religious body\nto join another; but the different sects are allowed their own worship and\nschools.\n\n20_th_.--Left Petersburg by the train at 11 o'clock yesterday, and\narrived at Moscow about nine this morning. The road, with but little\nexception, is flat and uninteresting. The forests are immense, mostly of\nfirs and birch, which being thickly set grow small. Many of the stations\nare superb. The line of railway did not conduct us near any towns or\nvillages that I could observe, but by some of the poorest scattered huts\nI ever saw in any country.\n\n\nAt Moscow, John Yeardley and his companion called on Pastor Dietrich, a\nGerman, residing a little out of the city:--\n\nHe is, says J.Y., in one of his letters, a worthy pastor of the Old\nLutheran Church, a sweet venerable-looking man with long white locks. He\nwas at dinner with his family when we called, but he would not allow us to\ngo away, but took us up to the attic story to his study; primitive indeed,\nbut clean, and to him I have no doubt a room of prayer, as well as of\nstudy. He seemed delighted to find our mission was to the Colonies. \"But\nwhat will you do about the language?\" said he; \"they speak nothing but\nGerman.\" I wish the dear girls could have seen his countenance lighted up\nwith cheerful brightness, when he found we could speak German: \"Ah, I need\nnot trouble you any longer with my poor English!\" He knows a great many of\nthe pastors, and will give us letters of introduction to the little flocks\nin the Colonies and the Crimea.\n\n\nAs might be expected, it was with a sinking heart that John Yeardley\ncontemplated the formidable journey before him; but, as in other times\nof extremity, he cast himself wholly upon the Lord, and found his soul to\nbe sustained, and his courage renewed to undergo the hardships that\nawaited him.\n\n\n7 _mo_. 21.--Rose this morning much cast down in mind at the thought\nof our long journey, and a want of a knowledge of the Russian language.\nPoured my complaint in fervency of soul before the Lord, and was a little\ncomforted in believing that he would still care for us and preserve us in\nthis strange and long wilderness travel. It is his own cause in which I am\nengaged, and I am willing to endure any bodily fatigue if I may only be\nstrengthened to do the works to which my blessed Master has called me. The\nDivine Finger seems pointing to the place where the people I am seeking\nare to be found.\n\nI went after breakfast to the dear Pastor Dietrich. His heart was filled\nwith love for me, and I felt the sweetness of his spirit to encourage me;\npreciously was the divine unction spread over us. He gave me some\ninformation of the religious state of things here. There seems to be about\n800 of the evangelical party in Moscow, including the French and English\nProtestants, and the different classes of Lutherans; a small number out of\n350,000 souls which the city contains; the rest are Roman Catholics and of\nthe Greek church, mostly the latter. God knows the hearts of all.\n\n22_nd_ [?]. \"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be\nashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me;\ndeliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for a house of defence to\nsave me.\"--(Ps. xxxi. 1, 2.) \"Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry;\ngive ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.\"--(Ps.\nxvii. 1.) The above sweet words were brought home to my heart with power\nthis morning after a time of conflict in spirit. Lord, grant me faith and\npatience to the end of the race, when I shall have to say, Now, Lord,\nlettest thou thy servant depart in peace. Amen.\n\n\nProviding themselves with food, and with small change of money for the\njourney--two things indispensable to Russian travel--John Yeardley and\nWilliam Rasche left Moscow on the 23rd, by _malle-poste_ for Orel.\nThey stopped some hours at Toula: the land south of this town they found\nto be well-cultivated, and the harvest had begun; it consisted mostly of\nrye. The journey to Orel occupied forty-four hours. Among their\nfellow-travellers was a resident of Moscow, Charles Uyttenhoven, who spoke\nEnglish, German, French and Russ, and who, like themselves, was going to\nKharkov. He was a pleasant and gentlemanly companion, and was of great\nservice to them in acting as spokesman on the road.\n\nFrom Orel there was no _malle-poste_ in which they could continue\ntheir journey, and they were obliged to hire a _tarantas_, or\nposting-carriage, a very inferior kind of conveyance. In consequence,\nbesides, of the fair at Pultowa, every vehicle of this description had\nbeen taken up except one, which was of course the worst in the town. When\nthey had loaded their luggage and spread hay to lie upon, they started;\nbut before they were out of sight of the stable the crazy vehicle broke\ndown, and they were detained till nearly eleven o'clock at night, whilst\nit was being repaired. In this new kind of conveyance they experienced\ngreat discomfort: they could neither sit nor lie with ease, as the space\nwas much too small for three passengers. The country they passed, through\nwas very rich; it may be called the granary of Russia; they found the\nharvest more advanced the farther they penetrated into the south.\n\nAt Koursk they hired a fresh _tarantas_. The roads were inferior to\nthose along which they had travelled, but the country was more\npicturesque, still fertile, and producing much wheat; the weather was very\nhot, as it had been all the way from Petersburg. On the 27th, at midnight,\nthey reached Kharkov.\n\n\nWe have travelled, says John Yeardley, four days and nights in succession\nfrom Moscow to this place. The conveyances of the country are exceedingly\nbad; they almost shook our bones asunder.\n\n\nThe next day they visited Pastor Landesen, to whom they had a letter of\nintroduction from Pastor Dietrich. They spent the day with the family of\nthis intelligent and pious man. Tea was spread in the garden, to which\nmeal a number of Christian friends were invited.\n\n\nThe pastor's wife, says John Yeardley, is a sweet-spirited woman. After\nmuch social converse our garden-visit closed with a religious occasion, in\nwhich I expressed a few words of exhortation. I think we were sensible of\nthe nearness of the presence of our Divine Master, which proved a brook by\nthe dreary way. We met at the pastor's Louse Superintendent Huber, a\nworthy and experienced Christian, kind and fatherly to us.\n\n\nThe next day William Rasche went with Pastor Landesen to hire a carriage.\nNo such thing, however, was to be had, and they would have been happy if\nthey could have engaged as good a vehicle as their old crazy\n_tarantas_; for the only alternative was a _bauer-wagen_\n(peasant's cart), if we except the very expensive extra-post carriage,\nwith which they would have been obliged to take a conductor. It happened\nthat a young man, an apothecary's assistant, wanted to go to\nIekaterinoslav; his ancestors were German, and he could speak both that\nlanguage and Russ. By Landesen's recommendation they took him as their\ncompanion, and he was very useful to them on the road. The\n_bauer-wagen_ was much more uncomfortable than the _tarantas_\nhad been; travelling in it was like gallopping over a bad road in an\nEnglish farmer's waggon; and, as the vehicle had no cover, the travellers\nwere exposed without protection to the full power of the sun. The floor of\nthe waggon was spread with mattresses, and, thus furnished, it served them\nfor parlor, kitchen, and lodging-room.\n\nThey travelled in this way through the night, but the next day were\nobliged to wait at a small dirty station for horses till the afternoon;\nand in the evening John Yeardley became so ill, from hard travelling and\nexposure to the heat, that they were compelled to alight at another little\nstation near Novomoskovsk, and make the best of the poor accommodation\nthey could procure. The next morning, somewhat refreshed by rest, they\nwent forwards to Iekaterinoslav, where they happily met with a clean inn,\nthe Hotel Suisse, kept by a German.\n\nThe same day they went in a boat up the river Samava, to Rybalsk, seven\nmiles, to see a German schoolmaster named Schreitel, to whom they had a\nletter of introduction. This is a colony of twenty-five families, founded\nin 1788: the schoolmaster, who was also the minister, received them in a\nbrotherly manner. It was here that their mission properly commenced. From\nthis place a succession of German colonies extend in a south-easterly\ndirection to the Sea of Azov. The villages are all built on the same\npattern, being formed of one straight street of neat houses on both sides,\nadorned with trees in front and gardens behind. The German colonists\nconsist principally of Mennonites and Lutherans. The former are the most\nnumerous and thriving; they were invited to settle there by Catherine the\nGreat, in order to improve the state of agriculture; but their example has\nnot had the desired influence on the surrounding districts. Although his\nGerman neighbor is in an infinitely better condition than himself, the\nRussian peasant will not imitate the husbandry which is practised so\nsuccessfully before his eyes.\n\nAt Rybalsk, John Yeardley had a Scripture reading and a religious\nopportunity with a few serious persons who came to the house; and the next\nevening he held a meeting for worship with the colonists.\n\nOn the 3rd, they left for Neuhoffnung. They travelled in a covered\ncarriage, which, though without springs, was a great improvement on their\nlast vehicle. They came the first day as for as Konski, where they passed\nthe night, sleeping in the carriage, the air being very mild the night\nthrough. In the afternoon they arrived at another Mennonite colony,\nSchoenweise, where they had a short interview with Pastor Obermanz and a\nfew of his flock. These people produce a small quantity of silk. The\ntravellers were now on the Steppes; they found them very thinly peopled,\nso that all the country out of sight of the villages appeared like a vast\ndesert. On the 4th they passed through three colonies--Gruenthal, Priship,\nand Petershagen. The settlers here are from all parts of Germany, mostly\nfrom Prussia and Wuertemberg. Next came Halbstadt, the seat of the Bishop,\nand Alexanderwohl, where the Friends passed the night. They were\nsurrounded by a large number of settlements on all sides.\n\nThese were the places where, according to his previous impressions and\napprehension of duty, John Yeardley was to have entered on that work of\ngospel-labor to which he had so long looked forward. But, instead of\nfinding, as on former occasions of a similar kind, his heart enlarged and\nhis mouth opened to preach the word, he seems now to have felt himself\nstraitened in spirit, and to have been obliged to pass in silence from\ncolony to colony, a wonder perhaps to others, a cause of humiliation to\nhimself. Never before, in all his many journeyings, had such a trial\nbefallen him; and it may be supposed that, coming so soon after the\ncopious and unrestrained exercise of his gift which he had experienced in\nNorway, it would press upon him with peculiar force. The people to whom he\nwas now come, seem, it is true, to have been in a different state from the\nsimple-hearted Norwegians, who thirsted for the \"pure milk of the word;\"\nand their comparative indifference to spiritual things may have been a\nmain cause of the silence which he felt to be imposed upon him. With the\nreserve natural to him, he has left but little clue to the motives and\nfeelings under which he acted. Great must have been the relief when, as\nhappened on several occasions, his bonds were loosened, and the command\nwas renewed to speak in the name of his only-loved and gracious Lord.\n\nOn the 5th they passed through several colonies to Gnadenfeld, where, says\nJ.Y.:--\n\n\nWe halted to breakfast with one of the colonists, and found him a\nsweet-spirited man, and his family pious. His name is David Voote. He\nappreciated the object of our mission, and spoke of the awakening that\nhad taken place of late; telling us that devotional meetings had been\nestablished, but that some of their preachers did not approve of them. We\nsent for one of the ministers, with whom I was pleased; he invited us to\nhold a meeting with them on a future occasion if we could make it accord\nwith our journey, which I hope will be accomplished.\n\nWe obtained some information respecting the Molokans, and were directed to\nNicolai Schmidt in Steinbach, who often has communication with them. We\nfound him a delightful man, quite of the right sort to be useful to us. As\nthe Molokans speak nothing but Russ, we shall be in want of an interpreter\nin our visit to them. I told him he must go with us; and he immediately\nsaid. I will go with pleasure; whenever you return here and incline to go,\nI will be at home and will accompany you. This seemed an opening of\nProvidence, and removes one great difficulty in the way of a visit to this\npeople, for whom I have felt more than towards any others in South Russia.\nN. Schmidt is a wealthy farmer, and sets himself at liberty to promote the\nextension of the Saviour's kingdom; I felt at once at home with him as a\nfriend and brother.\n\n\nFrom Steinbach, which lay a few versts out of the direct road, they\nproceeded to Stuttgardt, and the next day, the 6th, to Neuhoffnung, where\nthey were accommodated at a farmer's, and had the comfort of a good clean\napartment and kind attention to their wants. This is the principal seat of\nthe German Lutheran colonists.\n\n\nOn Seventh-day, says John Yeardley, we attended the school-children's\nmeeting, about 200 present. After Pastor Wuest had questioned on or\nexplained the Scriptures, I had an opportunity to address them. On\nFirst-day afternoon we held an appointed meeting [with Wuest's\ncongregation], which was not large, on account of many [with the Pastor\nhimself] having to attend an interment in the neighborhood. After the\nmeeting we received a salutation from some of the young sisterhood, who\ncame to us and surprised us with their sweet melodious voices, singing in\nconcert a hymn well suited to our present situation. After they had ended\nI went out and had a long conversation with them.\n\nIn all my journeyings, he touchingly continues, I was never so much cast\ndown as in this scene of labor; I never before so much missed the help and\nconsolation of my precious one as I now do; but, blessed be a gracious\nGod, she is safe with Him, and free from a toil which she could never have\nendured. I marvel, and praise his great name for upholding me thus far; I\nam astonished at the way in which I am enabled to bear the hardships of\nthis journey, and am preserved in health. It is the doing of my gracious\nSaviour, and I thank him out of a grateful heart. Should I never be\npermitted to return to my earthly home, I have a joyful hope he will take\nme to a glorious rest with himself and with those I have so tenderly loved\non earth.\n\n\nOn the 8th, William Rasche went to Berdjansk, on the Sea of Azov, to\nchange some English money, and to inquire if there were any religious\npeople there. He met with some interesting persons, who seemed at first to\nbe prejudiced against the Friends but after some conversation became very\nloving, and desired he would bring J.Y. to see them the next day.\nAccordingly, on the 9th, J.Y. and W.R. went to Berdjansk, accompanied by\nPastor Wuest and several others. The meeting which they went to attend was\nheld in a private house. It commenced in the usual manner, with singing;\nafter which, ---- Buller read a chapter, and the pastor commented upon it;\nand then they asked J.Y. what he had to say regarding it. He answered by\ngiving his view of the subject, and afterwards addressed them in the\nministry. Various individuals then related their experience, one after the\nother, as is usual in the more private religious meetings in these\nchurches.\n\n\n---- Buller (writes J.Y. in recording this meeting) is an interesting\nman; I had much conversation with him as to his own conversion. It seems\nto have been a work of the Spirit, without, in the first instance, any\nother instrumentality than reading the Bible. I met several pious persons\nin the meeting-room, and held converse with them to mutual comfort. They\nare simple and sincere. We took tea in the garden after the meeting, and\ndid not reach our lodging in Neuhoffnung until 12 o'clock the same night.\n\n\n10_th_.--This morning they started for Elizabethsdorf, accompanied by\nRobert Lehmkuhle, a teacher from Kharkov. Their way lay entirely through\nthe boundless steppes, where so many ways ran into each other that the\ndriver missed the road, and they wandered about until 10 p. M., when they\ntook shelter at a German colonist's. The inmates, who had gone to rest,\nrose to give them milk and bread.\n\nThe next day they proceeded to Elizabethsdorf, being escorted on the way\nby hospitable members of the settlements through which they passed. At\nElizabethsdorf they were received by schoolmaster Seib, a brotherly\nChristian man, whose conversation was \"seasoned with grace.\"\n\n\nAfter tea, says John Yeardley. we held a devotional meeting, in which I\nhad an opportunity to address the little company; but the people generally\nin the colonies are busy till late in the evening. Being much weary with\nour jolting journey, I retired to the waggon for the night, as I supposed;\nbut W.R. soon came to inform me that a number of young persons, men and\nwomen, were come, it being as early as they could be liberated from their\nday's labor, to have some of our company. I sprang from the waggon with\njoy, and we had a delightful meeting, with a pretty large company. They\nsang repeatedly, and betweentimes I related to them something of my\ntravels in Germany and Greece, with which they appeared wonderfully\npleased. We were all served with tea out of doors, and the company\nremained together till after eleven o'clock, and then returned joyfully\nhome.\n\nI was much pleased with Seib. He and another schoolmaster, named Kapper,\nhave been dismissed from their office of teacher, because of their holding\nprivate meetings and preaching in them, or explaining the Scriptures. Some\nof the Lutheran ministers are so lifeless that they will not allow the\npeople to meet in private for their edification. The dead persecute the\nliving, and light struggles with darkness. This is even the case in some\ndistricts among the Mennonites. The ministers fear that their people\nshould go before them in religious light. The more I see of the _one-man\nsystem_, the more I prize the gospel liberty in my own beloved\nreligious Society.\n\n\nThey returned to Neuhoffnung, and on the 13th went to Nicolai Schmidt's at\nSteinbach.\n\n\nAttended the meeting there in the morning, and at Gnadenfeld in the\nevening, in both which places opportunity was given me to communicate what\nwas in my heart for the people.\n\n\nThe settlements of the Molokans, consisting of three villages, each of\nabout a thousand inhabitants, lie to the south of the German colonies.\nThese people are native Russians and seceders from the Russo-Greek church;\nthey receive their name from the word _Moloko_, milk, because they\ndrink milk on fast-days, which is forbidden by the national religion. The\nSteppes are their Siberia, to which they have been banished. Their worship\nis simple, commencing with silence and prayer, and they do not use the\nceremonies and discipline common among most other Christians; but they are\nfirm believers in the Christian faith, and many of them are\nspiritually-minded people.\n\nOn the 15th John Yeardley and William Rasche, under the conduct of N.\nSchmidt, left Neuhoffnung to visit the Molokans. The first village they\ncame to was Novo-Salifks, a prosperous colony in worldly matters, but said\nto be behind the others in spiritual life. At the next, Wasilowkov, they\nmet with Terenti Sederhoff, the apostle of the Molokans, whose remarkable\nhistory J.Y. related in a tract called _The Russian Peasant_, forming\nNo. 12 of his series. Here they also met with A. Stajoloff, who remembered\nWilliam Allen's visit in 1819. Sederhoff accompanied them to the third\nvillage, Astrachanka, where they had a conversational meeting with several\nof the chief men, but the intercourse was carried on at a double\ndisadvantage.\n\n\nThey spoke, says John Yeardley, nothing but Russ. T never regretted more\nthe want of the language. Schmidt had a manifest unwillingness to\ninterpret all I wanted to say, because it did not accord with his own\nsentiments, and he feared it might strengthen the people in those views\nfrom which the Mennonites would draw them. There was a precious feeling\nover us, and I felt assured they appreciated our motive in visiting them;\nthey often pressed my hand when comparing Scripture texts on which we were\nof one mind. I felt satisfied in having done what I could to direct them\nin the right way, and to strengthen them in it. They are well read in the\nScriptures.\n\n\nThe travellers passed the night at this village, sleeping as usual in\ntheir carriage; and the next day, taking a loving leave of their friends,\ndirected their course over the steppes into the Crimea. Here they found\nthemselves in the heart of the Tartar country, beyond the verge of\ncivilized life.\n\n\nThe Tartar villages, says John Yeardley, are the meanest possible,\nconsisting sometimes of mere holes dug in the earth, or huts standing a\nlittle above the ground. The men wear wide drawers with the pink shirt\nover them; the women have a chemise reaching to the calf of the leg, dirty\nand coarse, an apron round the waist, sometimes so scanty or so ragged\nthat it will not meet, and a handkerchief tied in a slovenly manner on the\nhead. In these three articles of dress they drive the horses and oxen; the\nsun burns them to a dark brown, almost black. The children we saw were\nquite naked. Various attempts have been made to civilize and instruct\nthem, but without success. One missionary pursued the work so far as to\nfeed and clothe the children, and collect them for instruction, which they\nreceived for a while, but all at once and with one consent it was at an\nend. When I see the Tartar galloping over the steppe as if riding on the\nwind, it constantly makes me think of the wild Arabs. When we are anxious\nto find a well of water where we may take our meal, and when we see\ntravellers assembled to water their cattle and flocks, and the camels\nrunning loose on the steppes--which they do till autumn, when they are\nsought up for work,--all reminds us of customs of the East.\n\nThis evening they halted at a Tartar village, where the occupant of the\n_traktir_, or house of entertainment, persuaded the driver to take\nout his horses for the night. The conduct of this man and his companions\nwas suspicious; they eagerly examined the mattresses of the travellers,\nwhich were of superior quality; and when William Rasche came to make the\ntea, which he did by the moonlight outside the hut, the boiling water\nwhich he poured in to rinse the teapot came out into the tumblers a white\nliquid; and after the tea was put in the innkeeper held up the pot against\nthe moon, and looked curiously into it. Instead of retiring early, as the\nTartars always do, the men in the hut kept a watch upon the travellers;\nand the suspicions even of the driver were awakened, when one of them came\nto him, as he was lying by his horses, to borrow his knife. His horses,\nhowever, were so weary, and he himself so unwilling to move, that the\ntravelers contented themselves with harnessing the horses, and making\nready to depart in case of necessity. Soon after midnight, finding they\nwere still watched by the Tartars, and apprehending that these waited only\ntill they should all be asleep, to carry off their horses or to rob their\npersons, they decided to make the best of their way out of their hands.\nThe driver being slow to move, W.R. jumped into his place, seized the\nreins, and drove quickly off, thankful to have effected a safe escape. It\nis very common for the Tartars to prowl about in the night, and steal the\nhorses and waggons, of their more settled and thrifty neighbors.\n\nAfter about three hours' driving, the moon shining so bright that they\ncould see to read by it, they arrived at another village, of a less\nsuspicious character.\n\nOn the 18th they reached Simpheropol, where they were glad to rest. The\nnext day they wished to visit Pastor Kilius of Neusatz, to whom they had\nan introduction: as they were considering how they should get to him, he\nopportunely came to the hotel. He introduced them to several estimable\npersons, and took them the next day to his dwelling, situate in a\npicturesque mountain village, twenty versts from the city. At Neusatz\ncommences another chain of German colonies, settled by the Evangelical\nLutherans. The next morning they attended the public worship, and in the\nafternoon the Scripture-teaching for the children. On the 22nd they went\nto Zuerichthal, a village formed of well-built houses, but where they found\nthe school in a very low state. The 23rd they started early for the Sudag\ncolony, intending to spend the time there until the departure of the\nsteamer for Odessa; but they found nothing to interest them in this\nsettlement, and accordingly proceeded to Feodosia, (or Kaffa,) a\nwatering-place on the south coast of the Crimea. The German inns in this\nplace were all full, and to procure a wholesome lodging, the; drove the\nnext day four miles among the hills, where they hired a large apartment at\nthe house of a German. The situation was romantic, with an extensive\nprospect over sea and mountains; and on the hill-side was a thicket,\nforming a delightful bower, where John Yeardley and his companion \"live by\nday, walked, talked, reposed, and wrote.\" In this retreat, breathing cool\nair and quietude, J.Y. received the physical refreshment he so much\nneeded, while he reviewed the course of his laborious journey.\nNotwithstanding his discouragements, he was able to cast all his burden\nupon his Saviour, with whom he seems to have dwelt in nearer communion as\nhis day on earth went down.\n\n\n8 _mo_. 26.--This morning I felt more sweet union with my God in\nspirit than for a long time; and a strong desire has arisen to live in\ncloser communion with Jesus, the beloved of my soul, the only access to\nthe Father--the only place of rest, safety, and true _peace_. I long\nmore than ever not to be troubled with cross occurrences over which I have\nno control, and which have too long perplexed me and disturbed my inward\npeace. I long more than ever to spend my few remaining days on earth as\nwith my God in heaven, to refer everything to Him, and to pray more\nearnestly and diligently for his grace to preserve me near to himself\nunder _all_ circumstances, until he shall have prepared me to be\ntaken to heaven, to join the happy company there in a blissful eternity.\n\"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because\nhe trusteth in thee.\"--Isa. xxvi. 3.\n\nOn the 1st of the Ninth Month they sailed to Odessa, where they had to\nremain eight days. In this city they received a visit from a pastor, who\nconversed with them on the work of the heavenly kingdom then going on in\nthe Bast, especially in Constantinople and Asia Minor.\n\n\nThe Saviour's kingdom, writes John Yeardley, in allusion to this\nconversation, is spreading, and many instruments are being raised up in\nvarious nations to help forward the great work. The kingdom of Satan is in\ndanger; he sees it, and stirs up the jealousy of men, setting them against\none another, and, by their seeking through party-spirit to exalt their own\nparticular religion, hindering the Lord's work. Into whatever nation the\nbeams of the Sun of Righteousness shine, the inhabitants begin to inquire\nthe way to Zion, and turn their faces thitherward. This alarms the rulers\nwhose kingdom is of this world.\n\n\nFrom Odessa to Constantinople they had a quick and safe passage. At\nConstantinople John Yeardley was deeply interested in the institutions\nwhich the American missionaries have founded for the religious and\ntemporal improvement of the Armenians. He visited two of these, the high\nschool at Bebek and the girls' seminary at Has-keui, both beautifully\nsituated on the shores of the Bosphorus. In the former they found\nforty-eight young men,--sixteen Greek and thirty-two Armenian. The\nindustrial part of the education was particularly gratifying to him.\n\n\nCyrus Hamlin, he says, who has the superintendence of their studies and\nlabor, is wonderfully adapted for his vocation. He is assisted only by\nnative teachers. The young men looked serious: some of their countenances\nwere peculiarly impressive, indicating that they had been with Jesus. I\nsaw them assembled in the school-room, and addressed them for some time;\nand C. Hamlin most willingly interpreted into Armenian what I said. It was\na sweet and memorable time. The Armenian teacher would scarcely let go my\nhand after the meeting, he had been so touched with the power of divine\nlove. In the girls' boarding-school we found twenty-five girls, all\nArmenians, with the exception of two or three Greeks. It was a lovely\nsight to see so many of this class under a course of religious and useful\ninstruction. Many of the countenances were marked and pleasing, and were\n_fixed_ on me with great apparent seriousness while I addressed them,\nalong with some of the neighbors.----Everett (the conductor of the school)\nkindly and most willingly interpreted what I had to communicate. He and\nhis wife have also a day-school for boys and girls. I consider these\ninstitutions as bright and hopeful spots in the East, from which much\ngood may arise.\n\n\nThe persevering and well-directed efforts of the American missionaries for\nthe evangelization of the Armenians, and the field of Christian labor\nwhich was thus opened, took firm hold of J.Y.'s mind; he longed to visit\nthe schools and congregations in Isnik and Brusa, and probably only\nabandoned the journey at this time in the hope of undertaking it at some\nfuture day. John Yeardley describes Constantinople as--\n\n\nBuilt entirely on the hills which slope from a considerable eminence down\nto the Bosphorus. The trees towering among the houses, the high spires and\ngilded domes, have a most imposing effect; but what is the astonishment of\nthe traveller when he commences his ascent up steep, narrow,\nclumsily-pitched streets. I could only compare them to the\nworst-constructed bridle-roads in England which the packhorses traversed\ncenturies ago. The three days we were in the city I only saw one or two\ncarriages,--the most curious vehicles; indeed, there is scarcely a street\nin which two carriages can pass. Donkeys are the chief carriers. As to\ndogs, they are born and bred in the streets and are the property of the\ntown, and in the day-time He by dozens in the streets, young and old, are\nalways under the feet of the traveller, and he must constantly poke them\nout of the way with his stick; by night they are furious. The shops\npresent a jumble of all kinds of wares; and the Turks sit cross-legged in\nthe window, or work at their trade inside.\n\n\nThey left Constantinople on the 15th, and on the 17th went on shore at\nSmyrna, where, at the house of the American missionary Ladd, they met with\nanother missionary, named Stacking, returning with his family from Persia,\nwhere he had labored sixteen years among the Nestorians. The account which\nhe gave John Yeardley of the creed and condition of the Nestorian Church,\nand of the schools which had been opened in Persia, aroused his deep\nsympathy and produced an abiding impression on his mind.\n\nSmyrna, like the other Turkish cities which they saw, vividly impressed\nthe travellers with its Oriental character.\n\n\nLike Constantinople, says J.Y., it is a town of all nations. The streets\nare narrow, with a run of dirty water down the middle. We met docile\ncamels in great number, bringing figs from the interior. In the\nfig-market were thousands of boxes being prepared and packed for\nexportation. It is a sight of interest to see Turks, Greeks, &c., huddled\ntogether, walking, talking, or sitting cross-legged and smoking their long\npipes. We took donkeys and ascended the hill, where we obtained a good\nview of the town, and then examined the ruins where the ancient city\nstood, and saw the place where the message from Heaven was received by the\nangel of the church of Smyrna. The church of Polycarp stood not far from\nthat of John the Baptist. After a visit of peculiar interest, I returned\nto the steam-ship and read the message to the church of Smyrna, which gave\nrise to more reflections than I can here record.\n\nSteaming on the sea of Marmora, (to continue J.Y.'s narrative of his\nhomeward journey), the Bosphorus and the Greek waters, was very pleasing.\nWe had a good sight of the walls of ancient Troas, where the apostle Paul\nreceived the message in vision from the man of Macedonia, to come over and\nhelp them. The quarantine prevented us from landing at Syra; but I\nconveyed a note through the English Consul to my old friend Hildner, who\ncame alongside our steamer. I learned from him that Argyri Climi was five\nyears in his school, and usefully filled the office of teacher of the\nhigher classes; had been married about ten years to a lieutenant in the\narmy; had three children, and was living happily with her husband at the\nPiraeus. It appears she retains her religious principles.\n\n21_st_.--Arrived at Malta. Ours is the first steamer that has reached\nthe island since the removal of the quarantine; we went on shore directly\nafter breakfast. Isaac Lowndes was rejoiced to see me. We met in the\nstreet, and he conducted us to his house. He has been in Malta seven\nyears, acting for the Bible Society; he gives no bright account of among\nthe Greeks, as to spiritual religion, nor of the island generally. The\npresent governor has admitted the Jesuits into the island, who are doing\nmischief; privileges are being granted to the Romanists to the prejudice\nof the Protestants; and a regulation has been proposed which would subject\na Protestant to six months imprisonment for not taking off his hat when he\nmeets the procession of the Host.\n\n\nIsaac Lowndes took John Yeardley and William Rasche to visit Selim Aga,\nor, as he was named after baptism, Edward Williams; who with his wife,\nsister-in-law, and four children, formed an interesting Christian\nhousehold. J.Y. published the history of this man in No. 13 of his series\nof tracts, _Turkey and the Converted Turk_, where also he has\ndepicted several scenes from the latter part of this journey.\n\nArriving at Marseilles, they proceeded quickly on to Nismes. It was with a\ngush of natural sorrow that J.Y. revisited a place whore he had often\nsojourned with his beloved wife.\n\n\nThe thought, he writes, of the difference in my circumstances now and when\nlast in this place fills me with sorrow. The beloved one of my bosom, then\nthe stay and solace of my heart, is no more with me to help and comfort me\nin the toils of life. Yet when I consider what a large amount of suffering\nshe has escaped, I cannot but rejoice that she is at rest with her God and\nSaviour, where I humbly hope soon to meet her. Lord, prepare thy unworthy\nworm for that awful but joyful day!\n\n\nJohn Yeardley held a small public meeting at Nismes, and the next day, the\n3rd of the Tenth Month, set out for the bathing-place of Bagneres de\nBigorre, in the Pyrenees. His principal reason for going there was to\nrecruit his shattered health. \"On our arrival at Nismes,\" he says, \"and\nduring our few days' sojourn there, I began to feel the effects of my\nlong, toilsome Russian journey; and, in the hope of preventing a return of\nmy suffering complaint, I thought it justifiable to make trial of the\nsulphur baths and water of Bagneres.\" But he had also another object in\nview: \"I had long thought,\" he adds, in a letter from Bigorre, \"whether\nthere was not a seeking people in this neighborhood, and now I think there\nis.\"\n\nHis first care on arriving at Bigorre, was to call on Pastor Frossard,\nformerly of Nismes, who feelingly reminded him of the changes which had\nhappened to each of them since they had met before. He proposed to John\nYeardley to meet some Christian friends at his chapel. This was just what\nJ.Y. had been wishing for. The meeting was held; and after it was over he\ngave the company an account of his travels in Russia, with which they were\nhighly gratified.\n\nIn a letter to his sister, Mary Tylor, which he wrote from this place, is\nthe following characteristic sentiment:\n\n\nThy welcome letter duly readied me at Nismes, and drew forth my tender\nsympathy for thee and your whole circle in the loss of a kind and beloved\nbrother. It is another link taken from the family chain, and the shorter\nit becomes the nearer we are drawn together in the bond of affection. How\nthe spirit seems to ascend with those loved ones who are taken from us,\nand from earth to heaven! Our desire for a blissful eternity becomes more\nardent, because they have already entered upon it; but above all, we\ndesire to be with Him in whom we shall be one, and all will be glory.\n\n\nReturning to Nismes, he occupied himself with holding meetings in many\nplaces in that neighborhood. In some meetings which he attended in the\ncity, he had for fellow-laborers Eli and Sybil Jones, from the United\nStates, with their companions. Amongst the audience at one of these\nmeetings were three soldiers, who, with two others, had been awakened at\nLyons, and who manifested the progress they had made in Christian doctrine\nby refusing to kneel before the procession of the Host. Their officer\nobserving their disregard of this required practice, held his sword over\nthe neck of one of them, saying he would strike off his head if he did not\nbow down. The man was firm in his refusal, and was sent to prison. To\nencourage one another in their new profession, these men were accustomed\nto keep religious meetings. They were in consequence accused of sedition,\nand when they asserted the simply religions character of their meetings,\none of them was required to swear to the truth of his statement; he\nrefused to take an oath, pleading that the New Testament commanded him not\nto swear. A second was then called upon in the same way; he also refused;\nand their stedfastness was reported to the commanding officer as an act of\ncontumacy. The officer happened to be a Protestant, of an enlightened and\npious disposition; he said that soldiers were called upon to vindicate the\ninnocence of their companions, not to procure their condemnation, and that\nif they did not choose to give evidence the law would not compel them. Two\nof the five received their discharge from the army; the rest were removed\nto Nismes. John Yeardley had some conversation with these three after the\nmeeting, with which he was well satisfied. They told him that when they\nwere awakened they wrote and received so many letters that it excited\nsuspicion, and that the police who examined the letters took the texts of\nScripture, or rather the figures that referred to the chapters and verses,\nfor a secret language, used to deceive their vigilance.\n\nOn the 8th of the Eleventh Month, J. Yeardley and W. Rasche, accompanied\nby Jules Paradon, went to Valence, and visited Bertram Combe, at Pialoux,\nwhere they remained a few days. B.C. had fitted up a commodious room\nadjoining his own dwelling, where he held meetings regularly:--\n\n\nAnd where, says J.Y., we had several solemn and edifying occasions; and as\nour being there became more known the attendance increased, so that the\nlast gathering was quite a large one, and peculiarly quiet and\nsatisfactory. Among some meetings which we appointed in the neighborhood\ntwo were held in the _temple_ of the Protestant Church, which was a\nmark of great liberality; these two occasions were peculiarly favored. In\nthe latter B.C. alluded to the persecution he had had to endure on account\nof the disuse of the Supper and Baptism. He boldly avowed the conviction\nhe felt as to the non-use of these things, and that the preaching of the\ngospel ought to be free. I have seldom been in a district where there is\nmore openness for the gospel message in its simplicity, than in this\nmountain region.\n\n\nFrom Valence, John Yeardley returned direct to England, only stopping at\nFriedrichsdorf. where he visited the boarding-school.\n\n\nI reached my home, he says, on the 24th of the Eleventh Month, with a\nthankful heart to my Heavenly Father for his merciful preservation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\nFROM HIS RETURN FROM RUSSIA TO HIS LAST JOURNEY.\n\n1853-1858.\n\nJohn Yeardley had scarcely returned to England before war was declared\nwith Russia. The confirmation he received from this lamentable event, that\nhis journey had been made at the opportune time, filled his heart with\ngratitude. The work he had been able to do had been small, but he had the\nsatisfaction of knowing that it had been accomplished at the only juncture\nin which it would have been practicable.\n\n\nThe year 1853, he writes, closed with many mercies to a poor unworthy\nservant. I consider it a great blessing to have accomplished the visit\nthrough Russia and to Constantinople before the horrible war broke out.\nWhat a frightful state are things in at the present moment!--no access\ncould be had to those countries.\n\n\nIn the Spring of 1854 he spent some time at Bath. He attended, whilst\nthere, a public meeting appointed by Sarah Squire, in which he had a\ntestimony to offer in the gospel. Hearing afterwards that a military man\nwho was present had been brought to conviction by the doctrine which had\nbeen declared, J.Y. noted in his Diary the subject on which he had\npreached.\n\n\n4 _mo_. 2.--I recollect, he says, alluding to the awful state of the\ntimes in which we live, and the need of a refuge in God, and the\nblessedness of the consolations of the Holy Spirit in a time of trouble.\nThat the Spirit of God was the first agent in the work of man's salvation,\nbringing to the Saviour who died for sinners: the Father drawing to the\nSon, the Son perfecting the work, and presenting each member of the living\nchurch without spot or wrinkle to the Father. Blessed unity of Father,\nSon, and Holy Spirit! The Father creating, the Son redeeming, the Holy\nSpirit sanctifying.\n\n\nIn making a brief note of the Yearly Meeting this year, John Yeardley\ntakes occasion to record his sentiments on a subject which then, as now,\nstrongly engaged the attention of the Society.\n\n\nThe Yearly Meeting has been a precious time; it has strengthened the bond\nof love and unity. There is, under all discouragements, a love to the\nSociety manifested in the young people of both sexes. It is true there is\na great want of bearing of the cross, and many are seeking for excuses to\npersuade themselves that many of those things that have long distinguished\nour Society are now no longer of use. But I still think there is more\nreligion in many of our young members than their outward appearance would\nauthorize us to believe. I love to cleave to the good, and to hold out a\nhelping hand to encourage the tender budding of grace, and for the good to\novercome the evil. I want them to be brought to conviction, and to be told\nthat they are not required to wear plain clothes, and to use plain speech,\nbecause our Friends have done so, but because Christianity leads into\nsimplicity, and the language of Scripture is that of truthfulness, and to\nfollow the changing fashions of the world is too low for the notice of the\nChristian whose heart is placed on heavenly things, and whose time is too\nprecious to be spent on trifles. There is no peace to the regenerated\nheart equal to a devotedness of life in promoting the extension of the\nSaviour's kingdom upon earth.\n\n\nHe soon after alludes to the Memoir of Joseph John Gurney, then just\npublished, and to the sharp stimulus which he received from its perusal--a\nstimulus which minds fixed upon improvement always receive from the vivid\nrepresentation of time and talents diligently employed.\n\n\n6 _mo_. 16.--Many of my solitary moments are cheered, and I am\ngreatly edified, in reading J.J. Gurney's Memoirs. It is a real privilege\nto be introduced into the daily walk of the life of a Christian man with\nsuch an enlightened and enlarged mind, whose expansive heart is filled\nwith love for the whole human race. Strengthened by faith, and filled with\nthe unction of the Spirit, his life was devoted to doing good to the\nfamily of man, laboring for the conversion of sinners, and comforting\nbelievers.\n\nThe diligence of J.J. Gurney in study, &c., has stimulated me to renew the\nreading of the Greek New Testament, but I sink into the dust when I see\nwhat he accomplished in comparison of my own insignificance. It is,\nhowever, a comfort to know that I have a merciful Lord, who will not\nrequire of me the exercise of gifts that I have not received. O that I may\nhe more faithful in the employment of the capacity which has been\nentrusted to me, for the good of souls and the honor of my Lord!\n\n\nThe reflections which follow add another to the numberless testimonies of\nthe saints' experience, that the Christian life is a continual warfare.\n\n\nI am sensible of having lost ground for some time past for want of more\ndiligence in watchfulness and prayer. I have been deeply sorry for it, and\nI do hope my compassionate Lord has forgiven me. As a proof of his\nforgiveness, I am permitted to enjoy once more the smiles of his\ncountenance, which cheer my lonely walk. How greatly do I long for more\nintimate communion with the Beloved of my soul, the precious Saviour! Lord\n_preserve_ me in _every moment_ of _temptation_, and make\nme more entirely thine! Grant me more confidence in the immediate action\nof thy Spirit in the ministry of the word, that my communications of this\nnature may be deep and clear, and under the unction of thy Holy Spirit.\n_Amen_!\n\n6 _mo_. 23.--This morning I have been favored, more than usual, in my\nendeavor to pour out my soul before God in prayer, in desiring more purity\nof heart, more faith; and that it might please my compassionate Lord to\nsustain and console me in my solitary lot, and preserve me faithful to the\nend of the race. Many relatives and near friends were brought to my\nremembrance, whom I endeavored to present to the mercy of a merciful God.\n\n\nIn the same diary is an appropriate notice of Dr. Steinkopf, and a tender\ntribute to the memory of Martha Yeardley.\n\n\nThe other evening was spent at J. and M.C.S.'s with Dr. Steinkopf. \"The\nhoary head\" of this aged and experienced Christian is as \"a crown of\nglory,\" for \"it is found in the way of righteousness.\" He is full of love,\nspeaking constantly out of a grateful heart of the mercies of his God.\nBefore parting he read a few verses, exhorted us and supplicated for us.\n\nA little more than three years have fled away since my precious and\ndearly-beloved M.Y. entered on a blissful eternity. How do I feel the loss\nof her sweet, cheerful, and edifying society! Ever since her blessed\nspirit fled from earth to heaven, she has never by night or day been long\nabsent from my thoughts. How often does my soul pant and pray for a\npreparation of heart for that blissful state where she now is, near to her\nprecious Saviour, who redeemed her with his own blood. He enabled her to\nserve him when on earth, and now she sings his praises in heaven. What a\ncharm did she impart to my daily life! Our pursuits were always one and\nthe same; and now what a desert I still have before me,--but it may be\nvery short.\n\n\nIn the Eighth Month, John Yeardley went to Minden on a visit to Ernst\nPeitsmeyer, whose daughter Sophie had been for some time his kind and\ncheerful companion, and who now, with her parents and other friends,\nwelcomed him again to Germany. Whilst at Minden he derived benefit from\nthe sulphur baths of the Klause, not far from the town.\n\n\nThe bath, he says, is one hour's gentle exercise on the saddle. The farm\nwhere the spring is stands quite alone in the midst of a wood, and the way\nto it is delightful,--much suited to my taste. Sophie rides sometimes with\nme: it cheers me to have her trotting by my side.\n\n\nThe handful of inquiring persons at Obernkirchen, whom J.Y. visited on\nhis return from Norway, continued to claim his sympathy, and one First-day\nhe joined them at their usual place of worship.\n\n\nIt was, he writes, a refreshing time in this little meeting. When the\nlittle company first met together they were dragged into the street by the\npolice; but they persevered, and, on making an appeal to the magistrate at\nRinteln, stated their case with so much simplicity that the government has\ngranted them liberty to meet together undisturbed. How marvellous, the\nFriends are protected; and the Baptists, under the same government, are\npersecuted with increasing rigor! No interference on their behalf has been\nof the least use.--(_Dairy and Letter_.)\n\n\nIn the Fourth Month of 1855 John Yeardley received a certificate \"to visit\nhis friends in Yorkshire, and to hold meetings with persons not in\nchurch-fellowship\" with Friends.\n\n\nI arrived at Halifax, he says, in a letter of the 28th of the Fourth\nMonth, on Fifth-day evening, and attended the Monthly Meeting of Brighouse\non the 20th. It looked formidable to me in prospect on the first entering\ninto harness; but I hope the meeting proved a good introduction, and I saw\na good specimen of a large, harmonious, and well-conducted Monthly\nMeeting. There might be near 250 members present.\n\n\nWhen he had completed the service, he took a week of repose at Harrowgate,\nwhere he briefly reviews his journey.\n\n\n5 _mo_. 29.--In passing along through my native county, I found many\ncountenances missing which were very familiar to me years ago, and who are\nnow gone to their rest. But I was comforted to find in many places a race\nof young people springing up who bore the marks of being plants of my\nHeavenly Father's right-hand planting, and who gave hopes of becoming\nuseful in his Church. It is with a grateful heart that I record the mercy\nof my Lord, in that he has granted me strength in a remarkable manner to\ndo what he put in my heart to do, from place to place. Blessed be his\nname!\n\nAfter having finished the service in Yorkshire, I have had a week's\ntarriance at Harrowgate. The rest and quiet have proved beneficial to my\nhealth, and very precious have been the seasons of sweet communion I have\nbeen permitted to hold with my God in this retirement.\n\n\nThis summer he repeated his visit to Minden, and hired a lodging at the\nKlause. A reflection in one of the letters which he wrote from this\nretreat affords a pleasing glimpse of his mind:--\n\n\nI sometimes think that a large portion of comfort and joy are allowed to\nthose who really love the Lord; and how chastened are the pleasures of the\nhumble Christian! They abide with us long after the causes of them are\npassed away; and the more our permitted pleasures are enjoyed under a\ngrateful sense of the goodness of the bountiful Giver, the longer they may\nbe permitted to us.\n\n\nIn the Ninth Month, he attended the Two-months' Meeting at Pyrmont. It was\nnot without emotion that he visited once more the place which had been so\nfamiliar to him in earlier days. The hopes he had then conceived, and\nwhich, as we have seen, he had so fondly cherished, with regard to the\nSociety of Friends in that part, had been disappointed; the little company\nhad dwindled in numbers and declined in religious influence; and when he\ntook leave of Pyrmont for the last time, it was with a sorrowful heart.\n\nFrom Minden, accompanied by Sophie Peitsmeyer, he went southwards, and\ntook up his abode at the little town of Neuveville, on the Lake of Bienne,\nin Switzerland.\n\n\nI spent, he says, two or three days at Neufchatel, and visited many of my\nold friends in the place and neighborhood; but it was affecting to find\nhow many of those I had known years ago were no longer on this earth.\nMadame Petavel was as warm-hearted as ever; the professor, her husband,\nis ripening for heaven.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley had gone to Neuveville with the intention of passing the\nwinter in Switzerland. After remaining a month, however, he returned to\nEngland; and this change of mind was the result of a remarkable\ncircumstance. He became silent and reserved, with the air and manners of\none who is not at peace with himself; until one night, when he was heard\nto cry out in a loud tone, as though speaking to some one. The next\nmorning at breakfast he appeared subdued and full of tenderness; and on\nhis young friend inquiring what had made him cry out in the night, he told\nher that he must return home, for there was more work for him to do. He\nsaid that a prospect of service in the gospel had latterly opened before\nhim, and that as he had greatly desired to remain in Switzerland, he had\nstriven against the sense of duty and refused to yield; but that during\nthe night he had had a vision, in which he heard the command repeated to\nreturn home and enter again upon his labor, and that he felt, as he\nthought, the touch of the heavenly messenger's hand. This caused him to\ncall out; and when he awoke, he found that willingness of spirit had taken\nthe place of his former obstinacy. Thus turned from his own purpose, he\nset about to accomplish the will of his gracious Master with his usual\nresolution, and they made the best of their way back to England. The\nnature of the service which he saw before him is touched upon in the\nfollowing passage from a letter, dated Neuveville, the 14th of the Tenth\nMonth.\n\n\nMy home duties press heavily upon me.... Very long have I thought about\nthe young men, and the younger part of our Society; and I have a hope the\nway will be made for my finding access to them, in a religious and social\npoint of view. Should it be permitted, the Lord grant that it may tend to\nmutual comfort.\n\n\nJohn Yeardley returned through Paris. He spent a day or two in that great\ncity, which he never saw \"so quiet and free from soldiers.\" We extract\nfrom his Diary a short note of a conversation which took place at the\n_table d'hote_ of the hotel where he lodged, and which appears to us\nto be of an instructive character.\n\nTwo men contended respecting the motive by which mankind are influenced to\ngood actions. One attributed it to _reason_; the other held that it\nwas _virtue_ which restrains from evil and impels to good, and\nmaintained that we must do good actions from the love of justice and\nvirtue, and not from the fear of punishment or the hope of reward. The\nlatter had the advantage over his antagonist in the argument:--\n\n\nI had not, says J.Y., taken part in the conversation; but at the close I\nfelt constrained to tell the _Christian_ that I confessed myself on\nhis side, because he had defended the truth; only that what he called\n_virtue_, I called _the action of the spirit of God in the heart of\nman_. With much animation, he clasped my hand in his, and cried,\n\"That is the very thing,--that is just what I mean!\"\n\n\nIn the year 1856, he engaged in two religious visits at home, both of them\nin accordance with the kind of service which had been unfolded to him in\nthe retirement of Neuveville, viz., mingled religious and social\nintercourse with his younger fellow-members.\n\nIn reading the expression of his feelings in the prospect of the former of\nthese engagements, it is instructive to remark, that the same sense of\nentire dependence which had bowed his spirit when required in early life\nto make the first offering of this kind, was present with him when now\ncalled upon to go forth in his Master's name for the twentieth time, and\nwhen age and experience had given him reverence among men.\n\n\n1 _mo_. 8.--To-morrow is our Monthly Meeting, when I expect to\npropose to my Friends a visit to the meetings composing the Quarterly\nMeetings of Bristol and Somerset, and Gloucester and Wilts. Every time any\nfresh exercise turns up for me, it always feels as if it was the\n_first_ time of entering into the holy harness. If my friends permit\nme to proceed, I hope I shall be helped through it; but it looks\nformidable.\n\n21_st_.--Bristol is like a great mountain looking me in the face, and\nweighing heavily upon my heart.\n\n\nThe following short memoranda of the way in which he was engaged at\nBristol are taken from his letters; the Diary, during his later years,\nsupplies few notes, either of his labors or his experience:--\n\n\n3 _mo_.--I met at Richard Fry's house a large number of young men and\nwomen teachers of the First-day School; forty-eight were present. An\nopportunity was offered for my receiving and also communicating\ninformation respecting schools and education. What makes the subject more\ninteresting in Bristol, is the attendance of more than one hundred of the\nschool children at meeting on First-day mornings, which, I think, has been\nthe practice for about ten years, and their behavior is orderly and good.\n\n31_st_.--I am somewhat busily employed in this busy city in visiting\nthe young men. I find very ready access to them, and my engagement has the\nhearty concurrence of all my friends. I am abundantly convinced that it\nwould have been a great mistake to have ran away from the place without\nmaking the attempt at the performance of the present service. The usual\nmeetings for worship have been seasons of divine favor, some of them, I\nthink, extraordinarily so, which I consider a great mercy in my Heavenly\nFather, when I consider the weakness of the poor instrument. It has been\nannounced for me to give a lecture this evening in the large\nmeeting-house, on my travels in Europe, a _sound_ which almost\nfrightens me. Friends really do not know what a poor thing I am.\n\n\nBy the kindness of a friend, we have been supplied with a pleasing\npersonal reminiscence of John Yeardley's visit to Bristol, which will help\nto represent him as he was in later years.\n\n\nBristol, 6 mo. 8, 1859.\n\nSince thou informed me of thy intention to compile a memoir of our late\ndear friend John Yeardley, I have endeavored to recall the circumstances\nof his visit to this city in the spring of the year 1856.\n\nMy impression is, that the most striking feature in his character was his\nchildlike simplicity, both in word and conduct. This very characteristic,\nwhilst it really increased his influence for good, especially with the\nyoung, rendered it perhaps more difficult to trace, and now to describe,\nthe precise manner in which it was exercised. I believe that his Christian\nlabors here were very seasonable and very important, and that he was\nenabled to perform a service which scarcely any one else would have been\nequally qualified to render.\n\nThere was in him, so far as my observation went, no approach towards an\nassumption of spiritual dignity; nor was there, on the other hand, that\nwhich is perhaps a more frequent defect, anything of _feigned_\nhumility. His whole character seemed to me perfectly unaffected. To\nwhatever extent, therefore, his natural disposition may have fitted him\nfor profitable intercourse with the young, I think that the qualities\nwhich I have attempted to describe rendered him peculiarly acceptable to\nthem. Many times, whilst he was amongst us, he alluded--I believe even in\nhis public ministry--to his delight in their society, somewhat in this\nmanner: \"I love the company of those who tread the earth with an elastic\nstep.\" This prominent trait in his character was a striking illustration\nof what may be termed _the corrective tendency_ of true religion, by\nwhich in advanced life he was enabled to place himself, under the precious\ninfluence of the love of Christ, in thorough sympathy with those whose\ncircumstances, in many respects, were so different from, his own.\n\nBut my object was to describe John Yeardley's meetings in Bristol. The\ntruth is, however, that in describing the man, one seems most truly to\ndescribe his service. In addition to his family visits, he met a large\ncompany of our members in our meeting-house, and gave an interesting\nnarrative of his journeys in Southern Russia and Greece. He afterwards\ninvited many of our young friends, especially those who were engaged as\nteachers in our First-day Schools, to spend an evening with him. Meeting\nat the house of a kind friend, we had an opportunity of hearing from his\nown lips some interesting details of his labors, chiefly, I think, in\nreference to the schools in Greece. With characteristic simplicity, he\nmade various inquiries respecting our own First-day Schools, in which he\nfelt a deep interest. The occasion was of a very sociable and easy\ncharacter, and well calculated to promote in his young friends the\n_healthy tone_ of religious feeling which seemed so peculiarly to\nbelong to himself.\n\n\nAfter Martha Yeardley's decease, and as years rolled on, his mind dwelt\nstill more habitually and more confidingly than ever on the approaching\nend of the race.\n\n\n4 _mo._ 24.--I cannot say my spirits are always high. There is an\nindividuality in the allotment of each of us which we must seek for grace\nand aid to endure to the end. The road may be now and then a little rough,\nbut it cannot be very long, at least to some of us; and when the eye\ncloses under the last gleam of earthly light, and then opens in the full\nbrightness of eternal glory, to enjoy the fulness of a Saviour's love, it\nwill be bliss indeed.\n\nThinking his state of health unequal to the attendance of the Yearly\nMeeting, he left London and again, resorted for a while to the baths near\nMinden, where he passed two months in tranquil retirement. He had in\nformer visits been deeply interested in the sufferings of a Prussian\nsoldier who refused conscientiously to bear arms. The late Samuel Gurney\nwrote to the King of Prussia, on behalf of the young man, who was in\nconsequence liberated from military service, but was sentenced to two\nyears' imprisonment. The term was not nearly expired; but John Yeardley,\nwhilst at Minden, heard that he had been released from prison by immediate\ncommand of the King. J.Y. had \"spent a First-day with him within the\ngloomy walls in Duisburg,\" and was consequently the more ready to rejoice\nin his liberation.\n\nOn his return to England, John Yeardley proceeded to Birmingham. His\nservice in this and the neighboring towns was similar to that which he had\nhad to perform at Bristol. He says:\n\n\nBy day I called on the sick and such as were confined at home. In the\nevenings I met companies of young men and women. They were invited to the\nFriends' houses where tea was first served, and then a religious occasion\nof silence and exhortation, with supplication when felt to be under right\npointing. The remainder of the evening was spent in social converse. I am\nvery favorable to the mixing of social intercourse with gospel labor. All\nseemed pleased, and I trust we were mutually edified. I was often\nrequested to give some account of my late journey and the state of\nreligion in the various countries where I had travelled; and the\nconversation often, turned on points connected with our religious\nprinciples.\n\nJoseph Sturge, he continues, was from home. At the request of his wife I\ndined at their house with twenty-five young culprits, whom J.S. has in his\nReformatory at Stoke, near Bromsgrove. They came in a van with horses to\nspend the day. They are all such as have been once or twice in prison,\nmostly for theft. I addressed them after dinner, and at tea-time I\nquestioned them as to Jesus Christ our Redeemer, on God, Heaven and Hell,\nhow to gain Heaven and avoid misery. I left them with a more favorable\nimpression than I otherwise should have had. Severe measures had failed to\nimprove them, but they seemed susceptible of kind treatment, and some of\nthem gave hopes of amendment.\n\n9 _mo_. 21.--Visited the Boys' and Girls' First-day Schools.\nBreakfasted with thirty teachers (young men) at the schools. About 370\nboys present in two rooms. None are taken under fourteen years of age.\nAlso a large class of adults. I addressed the two companies: then went to\nthe girls; heard them read, and addressed them. There are about twenty\nyoung women teachers, and perhaps 270 to 300 girls.\n\nThe morning meeting was large. I was much pressed in spirit to speak on\nthe nature of the fall of man, and on the necessity of having clear views\nof gospel truth. I was told afterwards that there was a Unitarian present.\n\n\nHe attended the Quarterly Meeting at Leicester on the 24th, and the two\nfollowing days met companies of young persons, who were, he says, \"much\ntendered in spirit.\" After some similar service at Stourbridge and\nCoventry, he returned on the 27th to Stamford Hill. He remarks in his\nDiary: \"I believe the service of the young Friends in the First-day\nSchools has been a blessing to themselves as well as to their pupils.\"\n\nThe next month John Yeardley made a religious visit to Hertfordshire, and\nhad two social-religious meetings with the younger Friends at Hitchin;\nafter which he remained at home until the beginning of the Twelfth Month,\nwhen he left England for Nismes.\n\nOne object in this journey was to revisit the school which had been\nestablished by himself and Martha Yeardley in 1842: another was the\nrenewal of his declining health. Susan Howland and Lydia Congdon, from the\nUnited States, who were then on a visit to Europe, were bound for the same\ndestination, and John Yeardley gave them his company.\n\n\n12 _mo_. 6.--On entering France, he says, we found a sprinkling of\nsnow and frost, but on leaving Lyons we left all the wintry weather\nbehind, and travelled on under a hot sun, and bright, cloudless sky, which\nseemed to impart to us all fresh vigor and spirits. S. Howland remarked,\nIn such an atmosphere she felt another being.\n\nAt Nismes, the party found Eliza P. Gurney, and Robert and Christine\nAlsop, on their way home from the valleys of Piedmont. John Yeardley\nlodged at the school, spent much of his time with the children, and with\nthe other English and the American Friends gave his aid in some plans for\ntheir recreation.\n\n\n12 _mo_. 25.--The evening of this day was a lively and pleasant\nscene. The girls' countenances were brightened and their hearts cheered by\nthe presents made to them by the English Friends present. The \"tree\" was\nnew to them; it was beautifully lighted with tapers, and bore a variety of\nfruit both for mind and body.\n\n1857. 3 _mo_. 2.--My dear friend ----- proposed my giving the school\ngirls a treat before I left Nismes. We contrived a visit to the sea,\ndistant from Nismes about twenty miles. We procured two omnibuses with six\nhorses, and started at 5 o'clock in the morning. Long before the time\nappointed, the little maidens were in the entrance-hall with their\nsatchels in their hand, containing each her dinner; twenty-seven in all.\nThe pleasure on the road was novel and great; but when they arrived at the\nsea-shore their delight was complete; with light hearts and quick heels,\nrunning and picking up shells, meeting the waves as they advanced and\nreceded. On our return we visited the ancient town of Aigues-Mortes, near\nthe sea, famous for having been the place where the Protestant women were\nconfined and punished even to death. We entered most of the strong and\ngloomy cells, and saw the instrument of torture. The tower and fortress\nare a perfect model of a feudal castle.\n\n\nOn his return to England, John Yeardley was taken ill with bronchitis,\nwhich produced great bodily weakness, and caused him \"many wearisome\"\nnights and days; but, he says, \"my Saviour was near to console and sustain\nme.\" He went for change to Bath, and afterwards to Brighton with Margaret\nPope:--\n\n\nWe made, he says, speaking of this visit many calls, and my hospitable\nhostess had many of the Friends to tea and dinner visits. Our social\nreadings in the evening were often instructive in the conversation upon\nwhat we read, particularly over Hippolytus, who lived and wrote in the\nfirst half of the second century. The Chevalier Bunsen did good service to\nthe Christian Church in bringing the life and some of the writings of this\ngood man to light.\n\n\nOn his return home we find him still solicitous, as he had been in former\nyears, for the intellectual improvement of his young friends.\n\n\n11 _mo_.--During my stay at home I have renewed my German class for a\nfew of my young friends. We have also commenced a soiree for German and\nFrench conversation. I love the society of my young friends, and am\nalways, anxious to promote their learning to speak German and French.\n\n\nThe Diary for 1858, the last year of his life, commences with, a New\nYear's dedication of himself afresh to the service of his faithful\nCreator, and a prayer for a fresh anointing in the exercise of his\nministry.\n\n\n1858. 1 _mo_. 4.--How many and various are the thoughts which crowd\non the mind on the commencement of a new year; perhaps none more important\nthan to think I am one year nearer to eternity. A desire does live in my\nheart (cherish it, O, my God) to live more to thy glory on earth. How I\nlong to be favored with strength to do something for the cause of truth\nand righteousness, so long as I may be permitted to remain on the Lord's\nearth. I think with gratitude that he has blessed me with a little more\nfaith of late in my ministry, and my very soul prays that in these\nrequirings he may be pleased to put the unction of his Spirit into my\nheart, and his words into my mouth, and that under a right pointing, they\nmay go forth with power. Grant me, Lord, more devotedness of life, and a\nright and sure preparation for a peaceful death and a blissful eternity.\n\n\nFor some years before his decease, John Yeardley's thoughts were\nfrequently occupied with the subject of the Millennium. Like some other\ngood men, he thought he saw in the events which were taking place, the\nimpending accomplishment of those predictions, whose fulfilment was to\nprecede the \"great and terrible day of the Lord.\" On one occasion, after\nmentioning a number of these \"signs of the times,\" he winds up the\nenumeration and the thoughts to which it gave rise, with the following\nreflection:--\n\n\nHappy is the Christian who, in this time of conflict, can look beyond the\npassing events of time to the Great First Cause, and behold, as with the\neye of faith, the providence of his God watching over all things, waiting\nto bring good out of evil, and causing all things to work to the one great\npoint, when he will cause the wrath of man to praise him, and the\nremainder of wrath will he restrain. \"Come, my people, enter thou into thy\nchambers and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself, as it were for a\nlittle moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold the Lord\ncometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their\niniquity.\" (Isaiah xxvi. 20, 21)\n\n\nIn the Second Month he spent a week at Chelmsford with Susanna Corder. His\nvisit was prefaced by the following letter:--\n\n\nStamford Hill, 1 mo. 13, 1858.\n\nMY DEAR FRIEND,\n\nIt would seem to me as if there were only left here and there a link of\nthe chain of my original connexion on this earth. The best end of this\nchain is attached to those loved ones in heaven who are drawing me every\nday nearer to their happy and blissful abode, through the love of our\nglorified Redeemer. It is now many years since thou received her once so\ndear to me as a bosom friend, to partake of thy wise counsels, and in her\ntroubles especially to enjoy the sympathy of thy warm and affectionate\nheart.\n\nI am now left alone for a short time; my young companion is at Norwich. If\nthou wert at home, pretty well in health, and withal not so much occupied\nas sometimes, it would be a great pleasure and gratification to me to pay\nthee a short visit; but, as an absolute condition, I must request thee to\nsay, in perfect freedom, if it would be quite convenient. I want to ask\nthee _many, many_ things.\n\nThy friend, affectionately and very sincerely,\n\nJOHN YEARDLEY.\n\n\nAfter his return home, having also visited Saffron Walden, he writes:--\n\n\n1 _mo_. 25.--Just returned from a visit to Essex. I lodged a week at\nmy dear friend S.C.'s, and was edified and comforted in her company. It\nhas been a promised pleasure of some years' standing. The morning meeting\non First-day, as well as the one on Fourth-day, was a season of spiritual\nrefreshment, for which I was truly thankful. The Friends testified their\nunity and comfort: I called on most of them.\n\nOn the Seventh-day, C.M. conveyed me across the country to Saffron Walden.\nOn the way we paid a sweet visit to the afflicted family of ----. At\nWalden I was affectionately cared for, and was much interested in the\nFriends there, whom I had not seen for eighteen years.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n\nLAST JOURNEY AND DEATH, 1858.--CONCLUDING REMARKS.\n\nWe are now arrived at the closing scene of John Yeardley's labors. The\nimpression which he had received, during his visit to Turkey in 1853, of\nthe opening for the work of the Gospel in the Eastern countries, had never\nbeen obliterated; it had rather grown deeper with time, although his\nability to accomplish such an undertaking had proportionately diminished.\nThis consideration, however, could not satisfy his awakened sympathies,\nand, according to his apprehension, no other course remained for him but\nto prepare for a visit to the missionary stations in Asia Minor and the\ncountries beyond, in order to deliver to the inquiring inhabitants amongst\nwhom those stations are planted, the message of Christ's love to their\nsouls with which he believed himself to be charged. And when he\ncommunicated to his friends the apprehension that this journey was\nrequired of him as the last offering of thanksgiving before his day\nclosed, they were satisfied to \"lay their hands upon him\" for the work,\nthinking, perhaps, that the veteran soldier could not better end his\ncampaign than with his arms in his hands, actively contending for the\nfaith. That such might not improbably be the issue of the enterprise, John\nYeardley himself believed; but it is doubtful if he correctly estimated\nthe arduous nature of the journey. It would have been a bold undertaking\nin the vigor of his days: at his time of life, and with his declining\nstrength, it was, humanly speaking, impossible that he should accomplish\nnearly all he had in view.\n\nHis Diary unfolds his spiritual exercises and his natural feelings in the\nprospect before him.\n\n\n3 _mo_. 17.--The last two months have been to me an awful time of\ndeep conflict of spirit, arising out of a prospect of a religious visit to\nsome places in Asiatic Turkey, and parts adjacent. I do not know when I\nhave had more conflict to arrive at a clear pointing. I prayed earnestly\nand waited long for that clear pointing of Divine Wisdom, without which I\ncan never move in concerns of this importance. In the end, I am thankful\nto say, the cloud was removed and the sun stone with brightness, and no\nlonger was my poor tried mind left in doubt as to the line of religions\nduty; and before mentioning it to any one, I communicated it to the\nMonthly Meeting in the Second Month. Much unity and sympathy were\nexpressed, and the certificate ordered. It is now signed, and is a sweet\ndocument, short and explicit.\n\nI see and deeply feel the perils and sufferings which await me, in\nventuring on untrodden ground, as it regards any minister of our Society,\nand to such a distance, and among, for the most part, an unbelieving\npeople. But I can and do look forward in calm confidence, trusting, as I\nhave ever done, in the aid and protecting care of my Heavenly Father,\nwhose cause I desire to serve, and whose will I wish above all other\nthings to do. My earthly career can never end better than in the work of\nmy Divine Master; and should it be his will to terminate my life in the\nArab tent, I shall have more consolation there than in an English home\nunder the stinging sense of a dereliction of my religious duty.\n\nI am giving all my leisure hours to learn something of the Turkish\nlanguage, for travelling purposes, and for a little social intercourse.\nEver since this concern fastened on my mind, it has been connected with\nhaving the company of my young friend from the South of France, Jules\nParadon.\n\nMay the Lord grant me resignation, faith, grace, and strength to do his\nholy will; and then, whether it end in life or death, his great name shall\nbe praised. This testimony I record in gratitude and love to the mercy of\nmy God. Amen.\n\n\nBefore leaving England, he paid a visit to Staines.\n\n\n4 _mo._ 20.--I went down to Staines, and spent two weeks with\nMargaret Pope, which sojourn proved a strength and comfort to me. This\ndear friend is a succorer of many, and, I can truly say, of me in\nparticular. We had several pleasant drives, and made friendly visits to\nthe neighboring meetings and Friends. I also applied pretty diligently to\nthe Turkish language.\n\n\nAmply provided, by the kindness of many friends, with whatever could\nadminister to his wants or ease the roughness of Eastern travel, John\nYeardley left his home on the 15th of the Sixth Month. He arrived at\nNismes on the 17th, and was joined there by Jules Paradon. His Diary\nsupplies some notes of the voyage to Constantinople.\n\n\n23_rd_.--Malta. Here we arrived at 4 o'clock this morning, after a\nfavorable passage; thanks to the Preserver of our lives; great is his\nmercy and his love. My heart is filled with deep thoughtfulness, and I am\nvery anxious to procure an interpreter, either at Smyrna or\nConstantinople. My faith is weak, but I trust the Lord will provide.\n\nOn descending the lower deck adjoining: the large saloon, I found my\nfaithful companion in calm but very earnest conversation with the\ncommissary of the ship and a passenger of respectability, the Spanish\nconsul of Smyrna. They had sifted from Jules the object of our journey,\nand when they found it connected with a religious mission, they both\nattacked him earnestly and showed themselves really opposed to the truth.\nBut my young friend stood his ground well, and maintained the Christian\nreligion. The opponents were both Romanists. They quieted down before the\nclose, and treated us respectfully the remainder of the journey; we parted\nwith them at Smyrna. I am thankful to have in my companion such a defender\nof the faith.\n\n27_th_.--We arrived at Smyrna this morning, and in order to meet some\nof our Christian friends to whom we had letters of recommendation, we met\nthem after their worship. Edward Van Lennep, the Dutch consul, and his\nbrother Charles, the Swedish consul, received us with great kindness and\ncordiality through the letters from one of our Members of Parliament. It\nwas very sweet to find these two brothers so imbued with religious\nfeeling; they gave their hearts to help us in our prospect.\n\n\nOn the 30th John Yeardley and his companion landed at Constantinople; they\nfound the heat and noise of the city very oppressive.\n\n\nThe people in the streets, says John Yeardley, are numerous beyond all\ndescription; thousands, and tens of thousands, standing, sitting, running,\nfollowing, or pushing one against the other, talking and shouting in the\nceaseless noise of the Armenian, Turkish, Greek, Syriac, Italian, French\nand English languages. The services of my dear Jules are most valuable: he\nmakes his way with every one through his earnest kindness to serve the\ngood cause.\n\nWhen passing through the islands, he adds, the prospect was extremely\nbeautiful; but my mind was always anxious in the prospect of the long\njourney before us; but the mercy of my God is great, and deeply humbles me\nin thankfulness for his goodness.--(_Letter of_ 7 _mo_. 4.)\n\n\nVery soon after their arrival, walking several hours in the heat of the\nday, John Yeardley had a slight attack of sun-stroke. The effect appeared\nquickly to pass off, and he was able to perform such religious duty as\nopened before him in the city and its immediate neighborhood.\n\n\n_Diary_. 7 _mo_. 4.--We made a call at Bebek: Dr. Hamlin had\ngone to the city, but Dr. Dwight received us kindly. These two dear\nChristian, friends called on us yesterday. This morning we attended the\nmeeting in the Armenian chapel, and at half-past 1 we had a full company\nin the same meeting-house. They received in a free and brotherly\ndisposition what I was favored to express in gospel freedom; I concluded\nin supplication. A kind and Christian man interpreted with simplicity into\nthe Turkish language. The morning service was in the Armenian. We have\nalready had many calls from these loving Christian friends in our hotel.\nWhat a mercy, and how encouraging, to be thus received in gospel by\nstrangers!\n\n\nRespecting this meeting Jules Paradon says:--\n\n\nAbout thirty-five or forty were present. Our dear friend's communication\nwas short and simple; it breathed love to all. In fact, what he seemed to\nhave most on his mind in all his public communications was, to show his\nhearers how much God loved them in even giving his own Son for them, and\nthe high privilege we can enjoy in loving him.\n\n\nThey went also to Has-Keui, where J.Y. desired to have a meeting with the\ngirls of the school; but many had left for the vacation, and he was\nobliged to give up his intention.\n\nOn the 10th they went to Brusa, in Asia Minor, six hours by steam-vessel\nacross the Sea of Marmora to Moudania, and six on horseback from Moudania\nto Brusa. The land journey was oppressive. A narrow path winds through a\nvery rugged country; and there is only one halting-place, a guard hut,\nwhere they took a cup of coffee, the only refreshment the inmates had to\noffer. John Yeardley suffered much in this day's journey.\n\nHe had two meetings in the Protestant meeting-house at Brusa:--\n\n\nBoth, says Jules Paradon, took place after the usual service, which was\nexpressly made short. The hearers, to the number of about 120, were\nimpressed and interested to hear and see our dear friend come from so far\nto visit them in the love of the gospel. Twelve or fourteen men came two\nevenings to see us at our lodgings; and on both occasions our dear friend\naddressed them very sweetly. The heat tried him very much, but he felt\npleased and happy to be helped to sympathize with so many simple,\nkind-hearted people.\n\n\nAt Demirdash (six miles from Brusa), he had a short religious opportunity\nwith a few persons.\n\nOn their return to Constantinople, finding that a box of luggage he\nexpected from London, containing a tent and other equipments, had not\narrived, without which he could not pursue his journey into the interior,\nhe employed the interval in visiting Isnik, (the ancient Nicomedia,) and\nBargheghik, two places in Asia Minor, not far from the coast. Accordingly\nthey started early the next day, and reached Isnik late in the evening,\nweary and exhausted, having been able to procure very little refreshment\non the way. They proceeded to Bargheghik the day following; John Yeardley\nwalking about four miles in the middle of the day, with which he was\nextremely fatigued.\n\n\nHe had a meeting, continues Jules Paradon, late in the evening, which\nproved highly interesting. About thirty men and one woman attended. Our\ndear friend encouraged and consoled the weak and the afflicted. The next\nday we returned to Isnik, having to bear the heat of the sun from\nhalf-past eight till three in the afternoon. We had a meeting the same\nafternoon at half-past four, towards the close of which he felt weak, and\nseemed to end his address rather abruptly.\n\n\nThe fact was, that paralysis had supervened; and on his return the next\nday to Constantinople, his bodily and mental strength were seen to be\nrapidly diminishing. He still clung, however, to the desire of\naccomplishing the object which lay so near his heart, and could not be\nsatisfied without going to Bebek to consult his missionary friends about\nhis journey into the interior. Probably they perceived that he was totally\nunequal to the effort, and advised him to relinquish it; for on his return\nto the city he was induced to abandon the thought of proceeding farther,\nand to turn his mind towards home. On the 23rd he said, If after what had\nbeen done he was permitted to go home, it would be a satisfaction.[14]\n\nOn the 26th they embarked for Marseilles. John Yeardley bore the voyage\nwell, walking on deck every day, but becoming continually weaker. They\narrived at Marseilles on the 4th of the Eighth Month, and passed through\nFrance as rapidly as his state would allow. On the evening of Second-day,\nthe 9th, he was favored to reach Stamford Hill; and though unable to\nspeak, he recognized several of his near relatives, and signified his\npleasure in being once more at home.\n\nHe continued to sink until Fifth-day, the 11th, when he quietly breathed\nhis last, an expression of peace resting on his venerable face. We may\nsay, with one of his most intimate friends on the Continent, when he heard\nof his decease:--\"So our beloved friend has been called to enter into his\nLord's joy. Now he will see God, to whom he often used to pray. 'With thee\nis the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light.'\"\n\nHis remains were interred at Stoke Newington, on the 18th of the Eighth\nMonth.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nOf the fruits which John Yeardley has bequeathed to us in the history of\nhis life and Christian experience, none perhaps are of higher value than\nhis diligent improvement of the talents he possessed and his steady and\npersevering pursuit of what he had in view. It is not so much what\nabilities a man has that determines his place in society, and the amount\nof his influence, as the use which he makes of them. Of this truth John\nYeardley was a striking example. We have heard him say, in one of his\nearly diaries: \"I have clearly seen, for what service I am designed in the\nchurch militant here on earth; therefore, through the assistance of divine\ngrace, I hope to pursue nothing but in subordination to this main design.\"\nThe service to which he was called was the Christian ministry; and, laying\naside every meaner ambition, and indeed every other object, he addressed\nhimself to preparation for this service as the labor of his life. He\ncultivated those habits of mind and body, and confined himself to the\nacquisition of those branches of knowledge, which, while they left his\nheavenly gift free and unsullied, would best subserve the exercise of it.\n\nHis industry and perseverance were remarkable. In none of his pursuits\nwere these qualities more conspicuous than in his study of languages. It\ncost him, especially, an almost incredible amount of labor to master\nFrench. The slight elementary knowledge of this language which he acquired\nat Bentham cannot have given him so much as an insight into it; his\nacquaintance with it may be said to date from his visit to Congenies, when\nhe had reached his fortieth year. Yet, by indefatigable exertion,\nmaintained during many years, he became able to write and speak it\nfluently, though, not correctly, and even to preach without an\ninterpreter. The difficulty which he encountered in the acquisition of\nlanguages, from the late period of life at which he commenced, was\nenhanced by his ignorance of Latin, that best trainer of the youthful\nfaculties, and by a natural inaptitude for the memory of words. A proof of\nthe latter occurred when, with his quick-witted wife, he was occupied in\nconning over the Italian and Modern Greek Grammars, in preparation for\ntheir journey to the Ionian Islands. The difference in their natural\ncapacities in this respect is shown in her playful expression; \"I got my\nlesson in half an hour; while John has been three or four hours over his,\nand does not know it yet.\"\n\nBut although slow in study, he was quick and shrewd in the observation of\nactual life. This was apparent in his daily converse; and it may also be\ncontinually traced in his Diary, where, describing those with whom he\nbecame acquainted in his numerous travels, he seizes, on the prominent\nfeature of their mind or manners, and with a word affixes to each his own\nparticular mark. Of the hundreds of individuals who rise into view one\nafter another in the course of these journeys, scarcely two are alike; a\nresult which is, perhaps, due as much to the pen of the writer, as to the\ninherent diversities of the human character.\n\nTo this shrewdness of observation, he added a racy humor which those who\nknew him in his hours of relaxation and familiarity will not easily\nforget. His mind was stored with quaint and pithy phrases, and apt\nillustrations, which he not unfrequently seasoned with his native idiom,\nthe broad Barnsley dialect. His north-country pronunciation, indeed, never\nentirely forsook him; and the singular graft of German which he made upon\nit during his residence abroad, caused it to be commonly supposed, by\nthose who were strangers to his history, that he was a native of Germany.\n\nThe same moral constitution that enabled John Yeardley to pursue his\nobjects with indomitable perseverance, sometimes betrayed him, as may\neasily be imagined, into a tenacity of purpose, bordering upon obstinacy.\nTo the same strength of will also, acting on the defects incident to a\nneglected education in early life, must be attributed those strong\nprejudices which were at times to be remarked in him, and of which he\nfound it extremely difficult to divest himself. But it was the triumph of\ngrace, that whilst these faults of character and disposition remained for\nthe most part only as a hidden thorn, the messenger of Satan to buffet\nhim, the virtues to which they were allied, and all the faculties of his\nmind, were consecrated to the service of God and of his fellow-man, and\nhis whole nature was enlarged, refined and elevated, by the all-powerful\nenergy of the gospel.\n\n\"Very sweet and instructive are our recollections of the humility of his\nwalk amongst us, and of the liveliness of his ministry, marked as it was\nby much simplicity, love and earnestness.\" To this testimony of his\nMonthly Meeting, all who were accustomed to hear him will readily\nsubscribe.\n\nWe are able to append some notes of a few of his public testimonies, which\nwe give as likely to be at once gratifying and instructive to the reader.\nThe friend to whom we are indebted for them informs us that \"the notes\nwere written immediately after meeting, and are as nearly the words used\nas his memory would furnish.\" He adds, \"They bring before the mind's eye\nand ear the face and voice of a dear departed friend, and, I believe, a\ntrue and enlightened servant of the Lord.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n(8 _mo_, 1850.)\n\n_Keep thy heart, with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of\nlife_.--(Proverbs iv. 23.)\n\nWe often are made to feel the force of this truth, when we have been\nunwatchful, and some cross occurrence has tried our tempers. How often we\nare made to see, and to show before others, what manner of spirit is in\nas.....\n\nSometimes we are favored with such clear convictions of the worthlessness\nof mere worldly possessions and pursuits, and such delightful realizations\nof the happiness of seeking to do the Lord's work, that we are ready to\nexpress our astonishment that any human beings can be found so foolish as\nto devote their energies to the pursuit of things which never can give\nsatisfaction, and which must needs perish. And then, perhaps, we are\nbrought into a state of darkness and despondency, to show us our utter\nhelplessness and unworthiness, and the need there is for every one of us\nto \"keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of\nlife.\"....\n\nEvery individual, no doubt, has his own particular path of duty, which is\ndesigned to promote his own best happiness and the well-being of all\nmankind. How important for each to follow that path in watchfulness and\nobedience, that the work may not be marred! How important to keep the\nheart with all diligence, that the issues of life may be in accordance\nwith divine will!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n(9 _mo_. 1, 1850.)\n\n_Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the\nLord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty_.--(2 Chronicles\nxxxi. 10.)\n\nThese words have been impressed upon my mind this morning, and I have\nthought they were instructive, in a spiritual sense. I believe, if we were\nmore earnest in bringing offerings into the house of the Lord--if each one\nof us was more diligent in contributing his share, and doing his part of\nthe Lord's business,--we should have less anxiety about worldly things; we\nshould have faith in the Lord's providence, and, not only spiritually, but\nnaturally also, we should have \"enough to eat and plenty left.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n(11 _mo_. 24, 1850.)\n\nIn looking at the world around, we may be apt to think that the day is\nvery far off when the Lord's kingdom, shall be established in peace: but\nto those who, through the regenerating power of Christ, have become\nsubjects of the Prince of Peace, that day has commenced already; and\nwhatever storms may rage without, they will experience peace within. For\n\"he will keep them in perfect peace whose minds are staid on him, because\nthey trust in him.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n(9 _mo_. 19, 1852.)\n\nJohn Yeardley addressed the children with much feeling, telling them to\nrely on the Lord Jesus Christ in all their ways--to let him carry them in\nhis bosom, and to run to him in danger or trouble, as they would to their\ntender mothers.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nYou sometimes are restless in these meetings, not knowing how to keep your\nthoughts fixed on heavenly things, and perplexed for want of some visible\nmeans of instruction. I believe your tender Saviour may often feed you,\neven while in this state, with food convenient for you. But remember, dear\nchildren, that he is always calling to every one of you, Come unto Me.\nSuffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not. O! come to\nhim, my precious lambs, and he will feed you, and \"lead you beside the\nstill waters, and make you lie down in green pastures.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n(12 _mo_. 8, 1854 At a Funeral.)\n\n_And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs\nand everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness,\nand sorrow and sighing shall flee away._--(Isa. xxxv. 10.)\n\nIn the pain of parting with the beloved object of our heart's affection,\nwe forget the rejoicing which welcomes the ransomed spirit to its\neverlasting rest. But when the time is come for the Lord to pour in the\nhealing balm into the sorrowing soul, then we find a little comfort. ....\n\n\"Watchman! what of the night? Watchman! what of the night? The watchman\nsaid, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire\nye: return; come.\" There are many in this company in the morning of life,\nenjoying the prospect of many days, and forming many plans for the future,\nwith all the ardor of their youthful minds. May the present occasion prove\nthe morning of their spiritual day; and may they remember that the\n_night cometh as well as the morning_.\n\nHow thin is the partition which separates the present state from that of\neternity! We mourn over those who are taken away from us, and we fancy we\nare left alone. But we are called to be _one in Christ_. I have great\nfaith in the communion of saints, in the union of saints on earth with\nsaints in heaven. And we are all called to be saints by walking in faith,\nby leading a life of holiness in the fear of the Lord. We say our beloved\nfriends who have gone before us are dead. _They are not dead: they have\nbut just entered into life._ Let us not mourn, then, as those who have no\nhope. Let us rather rejoice with them and for them, and so live that we\nmay be among the ransomed of the Lord, who shall return and come to Zion\nwith songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow and sighing\nshall flee away.\n\nTHE END.\n\n[Footnote 1:\nThe memorandum here referred to is in the Diary, under date of the 18th of\nthe Sixth Month.]\n\n[Footnote 2:\nLife of B. Grubb, 2nd ed., p. 219.]\n\n[Footnote 3:\nThe introduction was made by Thomas Shillitoe, at the time of the Yearly\nMeeting. He said to M.S., \"Let me introduce thy brother to thee.\"\n\"_Brother_!\" she exclaimed, with surprise. \"Yes,\" answered the good\nold man; \"all who have been on the Continent are brothers and sisters.\"]\n\n[Footnote 4:\nPastor Fliedner has since become more extensively known by the institution\nfor Deaconesses which he has founded at Kaiserswerth, where, with many\nother useful and exemplary women, Florence Nightingale was trained.\nKaiserwerth has become the parent of several other kindred institutions.]\n\n[Footnote 5:\nThis is one of the earliest burial-grounds which belonged to Friends. Over\nthe gateway was a curious inscription on brass, now removed to Barnsley.\nIt is as follows:\n\n\"Anno Domini 1657. Though superstitious minds doe judge amisse of this\nburiall plane, yet lett them know hereby that the Scripture saith, The\nearth, it is the Lord's. And I say soe is this, therefore seeing we, and\nby his people also sett apart for the churches use, or a buriall place, it\nis holy, or convenient and good for that use and service, as every other\nearth is. And it is not without Scripture warrant or example of the holy\nmen of God to burie in snoh a place; for Joshua, a servant of the Lord and\ncommander in chiefe or leader and ruler of the people of God when he died\nwas neither buried in a steeple-house now called a parish church, nor in a\nsteeple-house-yeard, but he was buried in the border of his inheritance,\nand on the north side of Mount Gaash, as you may read; see Joshua, the\n24th chapter, and the 29th and 30th verses. And Eleazer, Aaron's son, who\nwas called of the Lord, when he died, (they buried him not in a parish\nhouse, nor a steeple-house yeard, but) they buried him in the hill of\nPhinehas, his son, which was given him in Mount Ephraim, as you may read,\nJoshua, the 24th, the 33rd v. And these were noe superstitious persons,\nbut beloved, of the Lord, and were well buried. And soe were they In\nAbraham's bought field, Genesis, the 23rd chapter, the 17, 18, 19, and 20\nverses: though superstitious minds now are unwilling unto the truth to\nbow, who are offended at such as burie in their inheritance or bought\nfield, appointed for that use.\"]\n\n[Footnote 6:\nThis young person, under the name of Amanda, is the subject of No. 7 of a\nseries of small tracts published by John Yeardley in the latter years of\nhis life.]\n\n[Footnote 7:\nShe brought an affectionate epistle from M.A. Calame. The felicity of\nstyle and beauty of penmanship which distinguished the letters of this\nextraordinary woman agreed with the rest of her character. We have the\nepistle in question now before us, exquisitely written. It ends with these\nwords;--\n\n\"Il nous eut ete bien doux de prononger les moments de la voir encore,\nmais la sagesse demande que tout se fasse avec ordre; voila pourquoi notre\nchere enfant vous est confiee plus tot; que le seigneur l'accompagne et\nvous aussi, precieux amis; nous vous confions tous trois a la garde\ndivine, et nous vous assurons encore ici de l'affection Chretienne qui\nunit nos ames aux votres en Celui qui est le lieu indissoluble.\n\nM. A. Calame.\"\n\nLocle, 24 du 9 mois, '33.]\n\n[Footnote 8:\nWe believe Joseph John Gurney is here referred to.]\n\n[Footnote 9:\nSee _The Widow's Mite_, No. 5 of J.Y.'s Series of Tracts.]\n\n[Footnote 10:\nThe visits of J. and M.Y. to Kreuznach, in this journey, form the subject\nof No. 8 of John Yeardley's Series of Tracts, _The German Farmer become\nPreacher._ We extract from it the following more particular description\nof their visit to the three villages mentioned in the text:--\n\n\"We started on a bright, hot sunny morning; and a pleasant drive, through\nthe vines and under the agreeable shade of double rows of fruit trees,\nbrought us to the place of destination. At the first farmhouse where we\nalighted the people were busy at their out-door work, which, however, on\nhearing of the arrival of strangers, they soon left, and came to welcome\nthe travellers with outstretched hand and smiling countenances. They soon\ngave proof of their hospitality, by ordering us to be served with fruit,\nmilk, and butter-bread, nor were we allowed to depart before partaking of\na cup of coffee. The master of the house was an intelligent, pious man,\nand gave us much information as to the state of religion among the people.\nAfter wending our way from village to village and from house to house, we\nreturned to our lodgings, favorably impressed with the piety and apparent\nsincerity of this simplehearted people.\"]\n\n[Footnote 11:\nThe history of this worthy man is given in the Tract mentioned in the last\nnote, _The German Farmer_, &c.]\n\n[Footnote 12:\nSee John Yeardley's Tract, No. 5, _The Widow's Mite cast into the\nHeavenly Treasury._]\n\n[Footnote 13:\nor a fuller description of this visit, see J.Y.'s Tract, _The German\nFarmer_, &c.]\n\n[Footnote 14:\nAfter his return, a letter was received from one of the missionaries at\nConstantinople, expressive of the pleasure which his visit had given\nthere, the regret of the writer that age and fatigue prevented him from\npursuing his journey to the more remote stations, and the cordial welcome\nwhich \"such Christian friends of any denomination\" might always reckon\nupon from the missionary brethren.]","title":"Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":148243}