of everlasting Bleffedness for ever and evermore.- 1724. I blefs the Lord that he has preferved me fenfible of his bleffed and holy Spirit, whereby my Understanding is indifferent clear and well, confidering my Age; and the Lord in his great Loving-kindness I do feel to help me to my great Satisfaction, in my little Service for him."

Having this Opportunity by a Friend of your Town, was willing to let you hear of our Welfare ' and Health. I am in as good Health at present as I have been for many Years, and can make a Shift to go over London-Bridge, and to the Meeting at Alderfgate, and to the Peel-Meeting, from my Houfe ' in Shad-Thames. And the Lord hath been 'pleased to be with me now in my poor aged Condition.

So, dear Son, my dear Love is to thee and thine, and to Friends that may enquire after us. Divers Friends give their Love to thee, whofe Names I 'can't remember.

• With repeated Love to you all, I reft thy aged, ' and (thereby thro' Pain) afflicted Father.

GEORGE CHALKLEY.

Southwark, London, 5th of the 6th Month 1724.

P. S. Thy Brother George, his Love is to you all, and I defire thee to let us hear of you as Op⚫portunity may serve.'

To fee my dear Father's Hand-writing, now he was above four-fcore Years of Age, was very affecting to me; and the more, because I expected it might be his laft; (which it was) -The Anfwer I fent to my dear Father's Letter is as followeth :

Frankfort,

1724.

An An

fwer to my

Father's Letter.

Frankfort, 22d of the 8th Month, 1724

My dear Father,

T

HINE, per James Wilkins, I received with Joy, and was greatly comforted to hear that thou waft yet alive; and especially that thou art favoured now in thy old Age, with a Senfe of the Gift of God, thro' the holy Spirit of his dear Son, ⚫ our bleffed Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift.

The Reading of thine did mightily refresh and • tender my Heart and Spirit, not expecting many more fuch Epistles from thee, by Reafon of thy great Age. But my very dear and truly honoured Father, if we fhould never hear from, nor fee one ⚫ another more in Mutability, yet are we, while here ❝ on Earth, as living Epiftles in one anothers Hearts, wrote by the Finger, or Hand of God. I have Hope alfo, that we fhall meet where we fhall never . part more, in the glorious Kingdom of God and • his Chrift.

We are all in good Health, I humbly thank the Lord, and if it be his Will, fhould rejoice to hear ⚫ that these find thee (my tender and loving Father, • with my dear Brother and Sifter, and all my loving • Coufins, and our Friends in general) in like Health. I defire to know exactly, thy Age in thy next, if thou art able to write to me, and if thou lives ⚫ where thou did formerly, or with Brother or Coufin, ⚫ which will be very acceptable to me.

• Thus, with unfpeakable Love from Self, and Wife, to thee my dear and aged Father, and all Relations, and Friends, I remain thy loving and dutiful Son,

THOMAS CHAKLET.

The End of the Second PART.

*35

A

JOURNAL

OF THE

LIFE, LABOURS, TRAVELS, &c.

O F

THOMAS CHALKLET

PART III.

N this Year 1724 I met with various Trials, 1724. Afflictions, and Tribulations; and had not the fecret Hand of the Lord, which I felt underneath, bore up my Spirit from finking (I think) I could never have waded thro' them.

I was now removed (as already related) into the Country for Retirement, which I greatly loved and delighted in; but as foon as I was a little fettled there, the Enemy of all Good endeavoured to difquiet mý Repose, by stirring up fome bad People against me, who lived near, and in Time paft had fawn'd upon me: And, to add to my Afflictions, I loft a Veffel, in which, I fuppofe, I had upwards of Five Hundred Pounds; and another Veffel came in almost a Wreck, K

in

1724. in which I fuffered in my Intereft feveral Hundreds more, and a third I heard of, in which I had the like Lofs; and about the fame Time I had also a good new Barn burnt to the Ground in a few Minutes, fo that I was exceedingly ftripp'd that Way: And to add yet more to my Exercife, I was forely afflicted with Sicknefs, having a Swelling in my Jaws, Mouth, and Throat, to that Degree, that I could neither speak nor fwallow for fome Time, nor eat nor fleep for about feven Days (as I remember) without great Difficulty. What the Distemper was, we could not be certain. Some fuppos'd it to be the Quinfey, others an Impoft. hume; alfo my little and only Daughter at the fame Time was likely to die; and as for my own Part, I was very willing to go, if it fo pleased God; for I faw thro' the Deceit of the World, and that the Friendhip of it was not permanent; and in my fore Afflictions in Body, Mind, and Intereft, it fared with me as with Job; for divers of my pretended Friends added to my Afflictions by undue Reflections; whom I pray the Lord to forgive for his Son's Sake! At thefe Times the Remembrance of that Saying of Chrift, That the very Hairs of your Head are numbred, Matth. x. 30. at Times fupported me in Hopes, that all would work together for Good.

Philadel phie.

When I got a little well, fo that I could go to Meetings, I went to German-town, Abington, Philadelphia, and Derby. My firft going abroad was to Philadelphia, where, on a Firft-day, we had a large Meeeting, and divers Things were opened in my Mind. I told them they had Mofes and the Prophets, and JESUS CHRIST, who was arifen from the Dead; for neither Death, Hell, nor the Grave, could detain the Lord of Life and Glory. And I was opened to declare to them, that they had a great Advantage of the Coming of Chrift, not only in his Appearance at Jerufalem, but as he came to, and fpoke to the Heart, by his inward and fpiritual Appearance; and that this

Gospel

Gofpel-Difpenfation was by his Coming, made more 1724. confpicuous, bright, and glorious, than that which went before. Friends were very glad to fee me abroad again (they having expected daily to hear I was dead) and there was Tenderness over the Meeting, and God over all, thro' his dear Son our Lord Jefus Chrift, was praised and glorified, who is worthy for

ever.

In this Year two fober young Women, Elizabeth Levis and Jane Fenn, were concerned to vifit Friends in the Inland of Barbadoes, and they meeting with some Difcouragement, in Chriftian Love I wrote them the following Letter, to encourage them in the Work of Chrift.

Frankfort, 1ft of the 12th Month, 1724.

My dear Friends, Elizabeth Levis and Jane Fenn, NDERSTANDING by our Friend Grace Lloyd, that you have propofed your Intention ot vifiting thofe few Friends in the Ifland of Barbadoes, and that you meet with fome Difcouragement inwardly and outwardly, therefore it is in my Mind to comfort and ftrengthen you in fo great and good 'an Undertaking and honourable Work, as is that of the Caule of Chrift, who, for our Sakes croffed ' himself abundantly beyond Expreffion, more than is poffible for us to do for his Sake, or the Sake of his People, whom we may fo entirely love, as to lay down our Lives for his and their Sakes. But what is our Lives, to the Life of the only-begotten 'Son of God? And truly, we muft give them up often, if we have the Cause of Souls at Heart; and then he often gives them to us again, Glory to his holy Name for ever! As Chrift faid, He that will fave bis Life, fhall lofe it, and be that will lay down bis Life for my Sake and the Gospel, hall find it, which reacheth your Cafe in this Undertaking.

6

·

K 2

'And