"To all these cases, the discipline was applied in very early times, yet the spirit of tenderness, which breathes through the writings of George Fox, in regard to the treatment of delinquents, and which there is good reason to believe was practically illustrated to a large extent in the conduct of the Friends of those days, is worthy of especial notice. In one of his epistles he thus writes :— 'Now, concerning gospel order, though the doctrine of Jesus Christ requireth his people to admonish a brother or sister twice, before they tell the church; yet that limiteth none, so as they shall use no longer forbearance. And it is desired of all, before they publicly complain, that they wait in the power of God, to feel if there is no more required of them to their brother or sister, before they expose him or her to the church. Let this be weightily considered; and all such as behold their brother or sister in a transgression, go not in a rough, light, or upbraiding spirit to reprove or admonish him or her; but in the power of the Lord and Spirit of the Lamb, and in the wisdom and love of the Truth, which suffers thereby, to admonish such an offender. So may the soul of such a brother or sister be seasonably and effectually reached unto and overcome, and they may have cause to bless the name of the Lord on their behalf; and so a blessing may be rewarded into the bosom of that faithful and tender brother or sister, who so admonished them. And so keep the church order of the gospel, according as the Lord Jesus Christ hath commanded; that is, if thy brother offend thee, speak to him betwixt thee and him alone; and if he will not hear, take two or three; and if he will not hear two or three, then

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tell it to the church. And if any do miscarry, admonish them gently, in the wisdom of God, so that you may preserve him, and bring him to condemnation, and preserve him from further evils, which it is well if such do not run into; and it will be well for all to use the gentle wisdom of God towards them in their temptations, and condemnable actions; and with using gentleness, to bring them to condemn their evil, and to let their condemnation go as far as their bad action has gone and no further, to defile the minds of Friends or others; and so to clear God's Truth and people, and to convert the soul to God, and preserve them out of further evils:-So be wise in the wisdom of God."

CHAPTER I.

William Dewsbury-Place of his Birth, AllerthorpeEarly religious impressions—Mental conflictsOccupation, a Shepherd's boy-Apprenticed—Illness, occasioned by conflict of mind-Unsuccessful in his search for consolation through the religious experience of high Professors.

AMONG the numerous memorials which have been preserved of the lives, labours, sufferings, and religious experience of the early members of the Society of Friends, and which lie scattered through many volumes of their writings, consulted in the

present day to a limited extent only, few have appeared to me to deserve preservation more than those which relate to "that ancient, suffering servant of God and minister of Jesus Christ," William Dewsbury.

This Friend was born at Allerthorpe, a village near Pocklington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, early in the seventeenth century. I have not been able to discover with certainty the year of his birth, although his memorialist states, that he died in 1688, having lived to a good old age. His parents appear to have been religious persons: and no doubt were instrumental in cherishing that susceptibility of mind, which formed at an early age a striking feature in his character. His father died when the son was only eight years old; but, prone to reflection as he was, and not too young to be sensible of the loss he had thus sustained, the impression did not pass off so quickly as is usual with children. For while he was lamenting with tears over the solemn and affecting event, he heard what appeared to him a voice, which said, "Weep for thyself, for thy father is well." So powerful was the effect produced on his mind by this extraordinary incident, that from that time forward he spent many hours, which in childhood are usually devoted to play, in prayer and fasting, under a sense of his lost and undone condition.

It is not one of the least remarkable particulars in the life of William Dewsbury, as was also the case with some others of the early Friends, that almost in his very infancy, he was thus, by a power not his own nor at his own command, made deeply sensible of the depravity of our fallen estate. As he advanced in years, he became increasingly sensible

of the corrupt propensities of his nature; and this was his condemnation, that he lived without the knowledge or the fear of God; and after many years' reflection, he had to lament the transactions even of his childish days, although there is no reason to apprehend he exceeded the ordinary levity of young persons, or in his conduct went at all beyond what is commonly termed innocent at his age. In this manner, he was given to see the indispensable necessity of that change of heart, which in due time, by yielding obedience to the further manifestations of Divine light and grace upon his mind, was fully brought about to his inexpressible joy; and which, under the gospel, is denominated a "being born again of incorruptible seed, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

The materials for composing a biographical memoir of this Friend, are very scanty, and by no means such as the weight of his character, and the importance and extent of his labours, would lead one to desire. In a memorial, however, which he wrote while in Northampton gaol, in the year 1655, the particulars of which confinement will be hereafter related, he has left on record some interesting facts relative to his religious experience, extending to the time at which he was then writing. The

tract in question was penned and circulated for general information, "To clear the Truth from lies laid on it," and "to stop the mouths of false accusers." And as one of the charges brought against him, and on which he was committed to prison, was, that he taught the people there was no original sin," he introduces himself to his reader with the following language:-"I was conceived

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in sin and brought forth in iniquity; and in that state I lived, delighting in pride and pleasure, in lightness and vanity, (as all do, who are in that nature,) until I was about eight years of age. Even before that time, the Light in my conscience did witness against me, and caused some trouble in me. But I departed from the light, and followed the counsel of my own heart; which led me into vanity, and to live without the fear of God. About the time when I was eight years of age, the word of the Lord came to me, I created thee for my glory;—an account thou must give me for all thy words and actions done in the body:' which word enlightened my heart and opened in me the book of conscience, wherein was written all that I had done ever since I had had any remembrance. When I had read my condition, how I had lived without God, who had created me for his glory, the word of the Lord came unto me,' Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the staff should shake itself against him that lifteth it up, or the staff lift up itself as if it were no wood!' And by the power of the word of the Lord that spake in me, my understanding was enlightened, and my conscience bore witness that such was my condition. I had lifted up myself against the living God, in living without his fear, who created me to live in obedience to Him; I, on the contrary, had lived in disobedience until that day. Whereupon, deep sorrow seized on me, and I knew not what to do to get acquaintance with the God of my life."

That which I am now relating occurred between the ages of eight and thirteen; at which early pe