The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-05-30

ness. The journal Of his American pilgrim
age, as every student knows, is still extant,
and tells in language Of extreme simplicity
and beauty its tale Of priyation and patient
endurance tale strongly illustrative Of
the obstacles to social union which
the early settlers encountered and over
come. He landed near the mouth Of tho
Patuxent, on the western shore Of Maryland,
and travelled as tar eastward as Rhode Island
Carefully avoiding Massachusetts, where, but
twelve years before, William Robinson and
Marmaduke Stephenson had been hung and
where there were strict penal laws), and as far
south as Carolina. After crossing the Chesa-
peake his route northward was by the eastern
shore to New Castle. "The next day, says
he, 1--WE began our journey to New England
and tedious journeying il was, through the
woods and the wilderness, over boys and
across great rivers. We got over the Della
ware, not without some danger Of our
lives, and then had that wilderness country
to pass through since called West Jersey, not
inhabited by any English, SO that we
travelled whole day together without see
ing man or woman, house or dwelling place.
Sometimes We lay in the woods by a fire
and sometimes in Indian wigwams. Thus
travelling, pausing at occasional feeble settle
ments, this illustrious pilgrim-for such the
religious sway he exercised entitled him to be
onsidered-traversed Long Island, and
reached his journey end in the Providence
Plantations Here there was liberation, for
1t,I mi hn
using the language Of an enthusiastic age,
which somehow sounds pleasantly, ''Here we
had large meeting, at which, besides Friends,
were some hundreds OF people, as was sup
posed. blessed, heavenly meeting this
was; powerful laundering testimony, for
truth was borne therein; great sense there
was among the people and much brokenness
and tenderness among them" "When," he
adds, 'this great meeting was over, it was
somewhat hard for friends to part for the
glorious power Of the Lord was over all, and
His blessed truth had knit and united them
altogether. At last, filled with His power and
rejoicing in His truth, they went away with
joyful heart to their homes in the several
colonies where they lived"
Here reader, pause and observe the active
germ Of union in the record Of this early mis-
sonary. George Fox returned to England,
again to feel the scourge Of persecution and
again to abide in the prison house but he
left behind him 'joyful hearts in the several
colonies hearts which beat in unison on the
one great topic of what they believed to be
religious truth and were bound together in
communion which local or political diversity
could not sever. In every colony he visited
the apostle of Quakerism found or left q
brotherhood, and thus connected by spiritual
chain Of union every humble community
from New England to Georgia. Nor must it
be forgotten that even at that early date,
other Christian missionaries were weaving the
web of religious communion over the wilder
ness. While the Jesuit missionary-all honor
to his labors-was planning and executing his
giant scheme Of conversion and conquest far
away in the Northwest, and at later day
Berkeley saw, in bright and poetic visions. the
rise of new Christian empires here, the I'M
sandalled feet of two humble but not less am
bilious missionaries of truth were traversing
at long intervals portions Of this Continent
Fox and Wesley-and their footsteps can now
be traced as plainly as when they were first
imprinted on the virgin soil. The influence
OF Christian communion in varied forms in
aiding the growth Of the social union is a sub
ject of vast interest and worth minute illustra-
ton. Such was colonial America when
George Fox left it in 1911. The germ was
planted but there was no visible union then.