and that he had lived to see me once more; (I having been there some years before), he was seventy odd years of age, as I remember, and had eighty odd who called him father; they living much on roots and pulse, are very healthy in this island. I was here nine days, and had seven meetings with the people; the longer I stayed the larger the meetings were; so that I had some difficulty to leave them. Through the grace and gift of God I was helped to preach the gospel of Christ freely, and they received it both freely and thankfully, divers, if not all; for their hearts and mine were very open one to another, the holy Lord's name be praised forever.

The 3d of the first month, Ezra Worthington died, and the 4th in the afternoon, he was buried on the plantation of John Rumney, near his house; the governor and his son-in-law were at the burial, where I told them, that he was an inoffensive, innocent, sober young man, and that death was to be the end of us here, putting them in mind to remember their latter end. After I had done speaking, the governor said, that death was a debt due to nature, and that we must all pay it, and blessed is the man that in time truly prepares for it. This was a good expression for a man in his post, and worthy of my notice, as I thought.

I was at one meeting, where was the governor and his daughter, with divers of the best and soberest people of this island; it was a satisfactory meeting, which ended in prayer; and when I arose from my knees I found the governor on one side, and his daughter on the other side. of me, both on their knees; a posture in which people are too seldom found in this degenerate age of the world.

On the 10th of the first month, we departed from the island of Anguilla, with a pleasant gale, and had fair weather and winds for several days. I spent some time of this voyage in reading, and met with a passage of, or concerning friendship: the comfort and beauty of it, was notably set forth therein, yet most who treat upon that noble subject, place (too generally), the felicity thereof in humanity whereas true and lasting friendship is of a Ff

divine nature, and can never be firmly settled without divine grace. Christ Jesus is the prime friend of mankind, and from whom all true and lasting friendship springs and flows, as from a living fountain, himself being the head spring thereof; out of which holy fountain hath sprung as followeth: "Henceforth I call you not servants, and ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." And again, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." Oh, holy expressions! much to be admired, and worthy every true and good man and woman's imitation and practice. Observe, that when they had done whatsoever Christ had commanded them, then they were to be his friends, and they were not only to be his friends, but one another's friends, as he was their's; and if occasion were, as he died, so they would die for one another. By this mark and truest seal of the truest friendship, all the world should know they belonged to Christ, that they were united to him, and in him united to one another. Nothing but disobedience and sin can ever separate this friendship.

Against this friendship, which is in Christ, and grounded and founded upon him, the gates of hell can never prevail; all friendship, upon any consideration, merely human, is brittle and uncertain, and subject to change or mutability, as experience hath taught in all ages.

If any person hath a desire to have a particular friend, let that person be sure to make choice of Christ, and such as choose him have a friend, in whom all lasting peace, comfort and delight, joy and pleasure, is, and in him alone is to be enjoyed forever.

The 20th of the first month, being the first of the week, we had a comfortable meeting for divine worship, in which the goodness of God was extended to us as we were rolling on the mighty waters of the great deep, after which we had pleasant weather, and a fair wind, for several days.

On the 26th, the wind sprung up at E. N. E. a hard gale, which lasted several days, and having but little sea room, for about thirty hours it blew so hard that we

could dress no victuals: I then thought on the words of Job, when he spoke to his impatient wife, saying, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil also?" (or that which is accounted or looks like evil in the eyes of man). In this time of exercise, the love and heavenly life of God, in his beloved Son, filled my heart, and caused an overflowing of praises to his holy, glorious, and blessed name. Oh! it was exceed

ingly precious to my soul at that time.

The first of the second month, we saw land, being driven to the southward nearly two hundred and fifty miles in this last hard weather; but we soon after arrived at our desired port.

After which I visited the meetings of friends at Philadelphia, Burlington, the Falls, Abington, Germantown, Bristol, and Frankfort, and found the people had been under a general visitation of the small-pox, insomuch that many hundreds, especially of children, were taken off the stage of this life, in the city of Philadelphia, and I was concerned to exhort friends in that city to bring their children to meetings, and educate them, when young, in the way they should go, that they might not depart from it when old; and that he who had taken many away, could, if he pleased, take many more; for though he might have laid down his rod at present, (the distemper in the city being much abated), he could soon take it up again. It is my belief, that the Lord Almighty will still continue to visit the city and people (if there is not a reformation), with further, if not sorer, visitations, because he hath known them to do them good, and make them a blessing to many islands and people; giving them the fatness of the earth, and that which is far more, the dew of heaven; so that he may justly say to us, as to Israel of old, "You have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you for all your iniquities."

In the beginning of the fourth month, Robert Jordan was married to Mary, the widow of Richard Hill, (all three worthy friends). The meeting on this occasion was large, and the marriage solemnized in the fear of God. Divers friends were concerned to speak to the people,

and it was greatly desired that those present, who were then spoke to, might be married to Christ, the great lover of souls, who laid down his life, the most precious life that ever was on earth, and shed his precious blood for our salvation.

A few days after which I again took shipping for the island of Barbadoes, being the sixth voyage, in the New Bristol Hope, and left the Capes of Delaware the eighth day of the first month. The 22d of the said month, I being weary, laid me down to rest, fell asleep, and was awakened out of it with these words, "Oh, heart in heaven! it is an excellent thing to have an heart in heav. en!" Which words were comfortable to me, and left a sweetness on my mind all the day after, for which I was thankful, and greatly desired that my heart and mind might be set and fixed more and more on heaven and heavenly things, and that my treasure might be in heaven, that my heart might be there also, according to the doc trine of my Saviour, Mat. vi. 20, 21. "Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

The 27th day, being the first day of the week, we had a comfortable meeting, the weather being moderate; and on the 7th of the fifth month, we arrived at Bridgetown in Barbadoes, where we unloaded part of our cargo, and from thence we went to Speight's-town; where, after a stay of about five weeks, we accomplished our affairs. I also visited all our friends meetings, and some several times, in which we were edified and comforted, and divers of us had occasion to bless the holy name of God for his

mercy to us. Before we left the island, there happened a great storm or hurricane, which did much damage to the ships, and to the island, blowing down many houses, and spoiling much provisions, destroying almost all the plantain trees on the island, which is a very wholesome and pleasant fruit, and much used by many instead of bread,

I was clearing out the vessel when this storm happened, and being twelve miles off, could not hear of or con cerning her, but thought it altogether unlikely that she

* should ride out so great a storm, in so bad a harbour or road, it being open to the sea, and such a storm as had not been known for many years, and some said, never but once, to their knowledge, though much more damage hath at some other times been done to the shipping, by reason that the hardest of the wind was not that way, which was most dangerous to them in Carlisle-bay, where they mostly lay; for they all got out, to sea, except two or three that were lost by the violence of the weather. It was indeed a very dismal time, the vessels which rode it out were much damaged, and one being loaded, ready to sail, sunk right down, and was lost in the bay. When I had cleared our ship, I set forward in order to see what was become of her; but the floods were so great, and the ways were so bad, I could not without some danger get to her that night; but next morning set out from Joseph Gamble's, and, to my admiration, from the top of a hill (on which a house in the storm was blown flat to the ground), I saw our ship at an anchor, having rode out the storm, with one sloop by her, for which cause my soul was humbly thankful.

On the 17th of the said month, with some more than ordinary fatigue, we got up our anchor, and took in our boat, and got our passengers and provisions on board, the sea breaking high on the shore, so that several of our people and our boat were in jeopardy of being lost; but at length being all on board, we set sail, and having sailed slowly about six or seven miles, we met with a sloop which had lost her mast in the storm, and next morning we met with two large London ships, which had put out to sea, not venturing to ride it out.

We had fine pleasant weather for several days after we left the island, and on the 22d of the sixth month, being the first day of the week, we had a meeting for the worship of God, which was comfortable and satisfactory to us. The 4th and 5th of the seventh month we had very fresh gales from the north-east to the north, and were near a water-spout, about a stone throw off, which surprised some on board, on which I came out of my cabin, and saw the water run up out of the sea into the cloud, as