It Was At The
Town Of Chester, Whither The Whole Family Went In Two Waggons; Mr.
Bertram And I On Horseback.
When I entered the house where the
friends were assembled, who might be about two hundred men and
women, the involuntary impulse of ancient custom made me pull off my
hat; but soon recovering myself, I sat with it on, at the end of a
bench.
The meeting-house was a square building devoid of any
ornament whatever; the whiteness of the walls, the conveniency of
seats, that of a large stove, which in cold weather keeps the whole
house warm, were the only essential things which I observed. Neither
pulpit nor desk, fount nor altar, tabernacle nor organ, were there
to be seen; it is merely a spacious room, in which these good people
meet every Sunday. A profound silence ensued, which lasted about
half an hour; every one had his head reclined, and seemed absorbed
in profound meditation, when a female friend arose, and declared
with a most engaging modesty, that the spirit moved her to entertain
them on the subject she had chosen. She treated it with great
propriety, as a moral useful discourse, and delivered it without
theological parade or the ostentation of learning. Either she must
have been a great adept in public speaking, or had studiously
prepared herself; a circumstance that cannot well be supposed, as it
is a point, in their profession, to utter nothing but what arises
from spontaneous impulse: or else the great spirit of the world, the
patronage and influence of which they all came to invoke, must have
inspired her with the soundest morality.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 248 of 291
Words from 67574 to 67849
of 79752
