until he finished his testimony, and laid down his head in peace in which I do believe he resteth with the Lord, the God of Peace, for ever, Amen.

"Written by me, Luke Howard, a lover of all that

follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, and loveth not their lives unto the death."

I have now done for the present; the hirelings, their defenders, and their doctrines, so far as they are herein concerned, I freely acknowledge have not been spared; nor is it with me to hold out to them the hand of reconciliation. War, uncompromising war, I feel called upon to wage with them; and though they invoke their Balaams to curse them Israel, yet no enchantment or divination can prevail. Whether those vital truths to which the early Friends bore testimony, (even unto death,) shall ever come to be as generally acknowledged, as they are now generally disowned, or whether those testimonies shall be taken from the Society as a body, and given to others to bear, is not given to me to know; but certain I am, that so long as men make a profession of the gift of Christian ministry, in order to obtain a worldly maintenance out of their fellow-creatures' labours, so long, by Divine permission, will benighted man be "open to the delusion of the Devil."

May this testimony, however, my dear friends, ever abide among us, and may we, through increasing faithfulness, be deemed worthy to bear it! Under the influence of this desire, for the present, I take my leave of you, and in so doing, I shall conclude in the language of a Prophet of Israel," Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather

the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet; let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, where is their God?" Joel. ii. 17.

NOTE.

The impartial attention of the reader, is especially directed to the following passages of Samuel Fisher's Works, Folio Edition, 1679.

PAGE PARAGRAPH

131, commencing "Our doctrine of the," &c. to paragraph (p. 133) commencing "He that doth thus and much more," &c. inclusive.

196,

239,

352,

429,

439,

458,

"And as by the word Scripture," &c. to paragraph (p. 197) commencing "Now by the Scripture," &c.

Chapter.

"And that I am now no Jesuit," &c.

"What people were those," &c.

"What dreaming," &c. to conclusion of

And howbeit it befals me," &c. to conclusion of paragraph (p. 442) commencing "And as for the minor," &c.

"Mind, reader, how T. D.," &c. to the end of paragraph (p. 460) commencing "Again if the Scriptures,"

PAGE

PARAGRAPH

478, commencing “Never did I discern,” to end of paragraph (p. 479) commencing "Yea two varying," &c.

511,

517,

521,

"And if the Saints," &c. and the two next

following paragraphs.

"The word in us," &c. and next paragraph. "Now the Scriptures," &c. and next para

525,

537,

550,

559,

571,

608,

667

686

692,

702,

graph.

"Which sayings, O the," &c.

"Thou intendest by all," &c.

"That we are sent to the Law," &c. to

(p. 556) concluding Chapter.

"Yea of myself," &c. to paragraph (p. 561) ending "On pain of damnation," inclusive.

Why then sayest thou," &c. to paragraph (p. 572) "A word that is both dead and living," inclusive.

"Though what I said," &c. to paragraph (p. 610) ending" credat Apella," inclusive. "That is a strange unheard of," &c.

"Their sixteenth is from Isaiah," &c. to paragraph (p. 687) ending "all your soul's refreshment," inclusive.

"R. B. Qu. 7," to paragraph (p. 697)*

ending with "Uuto them," inclusive.

"I grant that this is no rule," &c.

* This page should be 695 according to rotation, but is misprinted

in the Edition I have, 697.

NOTE TO PAGE 230.

Since writing the above a Friend has sent me a few Tracts containing W. Penn's Preface, to R. Barclay's. Apology; and Extracts from his Advice to his Children, in which I find the following observations concerning the Holy Scriptures; and which perfectly harmonise with my views, and are no way opposed to, but strictly corroborative of, the principles which are exhibited throughout this work, in strong and conspicuous opposition to those, who whilst they wish to retain the name, seek to destroy the nature, of Quakerism, so called. This, however, is a vain attempt, for it is founded upon that which is indestructible-" the truth as it is in Jesus." It would be quite as honest for such at once to affix some appellation to themselves, as characteristic of their peculiar opinions, peculiar as regards the Society of Friends, but universal as regards the hireling professors. Let them call themselves Crewdsonites, or Ballites, or Evangelicalites, and withdraw themselves from a Society whose principles they disavow, and hold up to the world as mystical and anti-scriptural.

"Reader, it [immediate revelation] is a most important point, of the first consideration to men: without it no knowledge of God, nor of Christ, that reveals God and without that knowledge no salvation for the souls of men.* Now, some will say,

Matt. xi. 27. John xvii. 3.

Y