THE GOSPEL LABOURS OF STEPHEN GRELLET.

Memoirs of the Life and Gospel Labours of Stephen Grellet. Edited by Benjamin Seebohm. Second Edition, 2 vols., post

8vo. London: Burnett. 1861.

SEVEN years ago we reviewed the memoirs of that eminent servant of God, Joseph John Gurney, proposing to ourselves in great measure to contemplate in him the Christian rather than the member of that particular denomination to which he belonged.

Another member of the Society of Friends, a very remarkable man, has gained our attention by means of these volumes, and has secured a place in our esteem; and we anticipate that many, who have no more sympathy than ourselves with the ecclesiastical system of that religious body, with their rejection of Christ's sacraments, and with some of their tenets, would yet read these memoirs with interest and advantage. We also hope that others, who may not meet with the work which we review, will not judge the time spent in the perusal of these our pages to have been unprofitably bestowed.

Considering who and what he was, his life, especially between his youth and middle age, appears to have been unusually distinguished by perilous adventures. We say that it appears to have been so, because one so closely observant of all the ways of God's providence towards him would note many more incidents, and with greater particularity, than most others; and might easily represent to himself the hazards from which he was delivered in their fullest magnitude, or even beyond it. He crossed the Atlantic several times between Europe and America, and his journeys by land extended over

thousands upon thousands of miles, and occupied months and years at a time. In both cases, such were the perils which he had to encounter, that by the time we have reached the middle of the first volume we have learned to expect that, whenever he sets forth again, we shall soon hear of more hairbreadth escapes from threatening calamities. Tempestuous weather, fogs, sandbanks, springing a leak, being washed out of his berth or almost floating in it, privateers, pirates,—such were his dangers by sea. And hence, when we next follow him on a voyage, and find the air becoming colder and colder, we anticipate that icebergs are at hand, and lo! in a day or two we see him hemmed in by packs of ice, cracking and crushing together and squeezing the ship, so that we should tremble for our friend's safety did not the remaining hundreds of pages of his journal suffice to assure us that he lived to continue them for many a year more. By land, also, he had many trials and remarkable escapes. He travelled through the plantations in South America, and visited the settlers in the West, and likewise in Canada, with benevolent intentions; and his experiences were very peculiar. He was reduced to a hard crust and water, had to sleep in the open air, drove into a river at a fordable place in a four-wheeled carriage, and came out on the other side with only two wheels, the body being left in the mud, to be recovered next day. An unmanageable horse gallops with a carriage, containing his wife and another lady, down a hill, dashes into the millpool at the bottom, and scatters the travellers about the deep pond, all to be rescued, and all uninjured. Once his horse was poisoned. Once he had to travel through a burning forest, the fiery branches falling upon him and his companions as they galloped for their lives. He was ill in bed of a fever, in a wretched habitation, and a night of tropical rain drenched his bed in torrents; yet he recovered. Most singular adventure of all, and not without peril, in Ireland, where he and his friends were sometimes threatened and ill-treated, a stone on one occasion struck his hat, and spun it round, without injury to his head, seemingly without uncovering it. He may have exercised less of caution and prudence than many others; and certainly, when he believed any duty he was undertaking to be clearly the will of God, he was undaunted, and went on trustfully, resting on the Divine goodness and protection; but his adventures were very remarkable: and not only so, for it is instructive to contemplate his perseverance in the work which he felt it his duty to do, his Christian courage and fortitude in the most trying situations, his confidence in the Lord's faithfulness, and his loving gratitude for the mercy and grace with which he was sustained through every danger, and through various other trials. His phraseology is a real misfortune, disturbing the gravity

of the reader; unless indeed it may prove a relief in the midst of the mournful strains which pervade the earlier portion of the journals, and which suggest that a smile could rarely have been seen upon his saddened countenance, until we are taken by surprise by the editor's remarks upon the cheerfulness of his disposition. We had previously dwelt with some relief on the fact that once he was 66 amused" by the peculiarities of a post-boy. In place of humour we have the odd combination of words. It is not English, though he writes generally with ease and tolerable correctness. It is not an adaptation of scriptural expressions. We do not know whether to regard it as the style of Friends, or the style of Stephen Grellet alone. But we must admit that, uncommon as the expressions are, his meaning is generally intelligible. Such are, "a preciously visited state of mind," a "contrited" mind, a " tribulated " mind, "a precious visited seed," a "great load of exercise," opportunities solemn and tendering," " deep plungings and baptisms" of the mind, "a tender but tribulated state," "a tendering time." When regarding himself as called to visit Russia, this is the way in which he expresses himself: "My spirit was brought very low under the weight and magnitude of the concern upon me for this vast empire of Russia." When he sees that his labours ought to be prolonged, he says, "The weight of the service which the Lord calls for from me in Europe becomes heavier and heavier; my whole mind is at seasons absorbed by it."

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But this grotesque phraseology is, after all, of little moment, and it must be admitted that such peculiarity has a sort of appropriateness in so uncommon a history.

Although not brought up in the system of the Society of Friends, as we shall presently show, he was thorough in his adherence to it, always standing firmly with those of the sect who maintained the foundation truths of the Christian religion, and being himself a resolute (though we are sure a charitable) advocate of those truths, in the controversies which for a long time agitated the Friends in England, and in the United States. Everywhere he commended what he called their "testimonies." In all respects he approved of them. He appears never to have wavered, or to have been conscious of misgivings. This seems to us, in his case, in that of J. J. Gurney, and in those of all the Friends who have professed to submit their minds in all respects to the word of God, to be very remarkable; especially in the rejection of the sacraments, and in the resolution of the Lord's words, when instituting those means of grace, into mere figures of speech. We can see no trace of a scruple in his mind, but we see much to satisfy us that he felt no difficulties on these or any other points. While repudiating creeds, he never hesitated to have a creed

of his own, which he urgently called upon others to accept, and the danger of rejecting which was strongly impressed upon his own mind, and vividly exhibited to others. The dif ference between us was, that our creeds are in carefully selected words, his might vary in its expressions. On the most important points of doctrine the substance appears to have been the same. The strongest link of what he calls his "unity" with the Friends, appears to us to have been his full belief in sensible communications of the divine will to individual men. It is not quite clear, from the language which he sometimes uses, that he did not consider himself occasionally to have received the directions of an audible voice, or that he had any doubt of others being favoured with the like perceptible guidance. But certainly he ascribed to impulses which could not be misinterpreted, each of his numerous journeys, and every one of its stages and turns, his going to one place, and his omitting to visit another. Comfort Collins and Sarah Barney were on their way to England "on religious service" in a leaky ship; before they knew of their peril, after" sitting in solemn silence before the Lord, Comfort said to Sarah, 'The Lord has accepted my free-will offering to His divine will to go to Europe, and now He releases me from this service, and as a proof of it, He will bring us back again to the American shores."" And accordingly the ship, not seaworthy, returned to port. So, in his own experience, he believed that he received distinct directions, respecting the source of which he could not be mistaken.

He mentions places, "Rome, Naples, &c.," for which he had felt in time past "with an apprehension that he should be required to visit them in gospel love." At another time, when he was in England, his mind, he says, was "led towards the people of high rank and the nobility in the west-end of London." Towards a place called Jeremie, in America, he had "felt some drawing further on ;" "but," he writes, "the Lord has been pleased to excuse me from service there." At Port au Prince, when slowly recovering from severe sickness, he decided, "I am entirely released from the apprehension I had that I might be required to go to the other side of the island:" this was his inference from the feebleness of his health and his view of the divine mercy; but it shows that he had expected to be "required" to go thither. In that very illness his mind had borne a "great weight of service" for many of the European nations; and when he was at the lowest, as he expresses it, "the language was proclaimed in my ear, 'Thou shalt indeed visit these nations; the days of thy earthly race are not yet ccomplished.' Soon after he writes, "the weight of service which the Lord calls for from me in Europe becomes heavier and heavier;" and he adds, what we also feel, “I

greatly wonder that services of this kind should be laid upon me, in nations whose language I understand not, where I do not know that there is even a practicability to travel, and where numerous difficulties and great perils must necessarily attend me." He did not give way to such reasonings, but committed himself to "the divine requirings." These expressions are mostly culled within the compass of a very few pages, but they exemplify the general tone of all his journals. He sought, and he believed that he experienced, sensible leadings and directions of the Comforter, which he could not misunderstand, and which he would not disobey. Sometimes he felt that he was thus sent to a place, at a distance of many miles' journey, to which accordingly he went, but only to sit in silence in the religious meeting. But he went away perfectly content, believing that the occasion had been blessed, and that the divine purposes for which he was sent had been fulfilled. At other times the work was fulfilled with great agony of mind (described, perhaps, in his peculiar language, as a deep baptism," or a "sore baptism"), but still he did not shrink from the path which he believed that he was appointed to take. Besides examples, he avows, as being most precious to him, the doctrine of an inward light, an immediate divine direction, distinctly discernible as a communication of God to the mind of the individual man.

We quote one passage, to which some reference has already been made, as showing very distinctly what were his views on this point.

"During my tarriance at Genoa, I was introduced into very close exercise of mind and trial of faith. Deep had been my concern on account of various parts of Italy, Rome, Naples, &c., places that I had felt for in years past, with an apprehension that I should be required to visit them in Gospel love. I thought that the time had come for me to engage in that service, especially as I was then in Italy. Finding, however, that it would be impracticable to go by land to Rome, on account of the numerous bands of robbers that attacked travellers even when escorted by large companies of soldiers, I concluded to try to go there by sea by way of Leghorn. As I was going to engage my passage for that port, my mind was introduced into unutterable darkness-gross darkness seemed to be before me, whilst a bright stream of light was behind; I stood still for awhile, and found I could not go forward. I returned to my lodgings, and in my chamber poured forth my soul unto the Lord, entreating Him to direct me aright. He knew it was in obedience to His divine will that I had come to these nations, and that to His divine guidance and almighty protection I had wholly committed myself and my all. He very graciously condescended to be near to me in my distress, and to hear the voice of my supplication. He gave me to see, and strongly to feel, that to Rome, Naples, &c., I should indeed go, that I had baptisms there to be baptised with, but that the time for it had