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<DATE>2013-02-18</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<OPENER><DATELINE>York, <DATE>the 24th. and 25th. of the 4th. Month, 1696</DATE></DATELINE><LB>
<SALUTE>Dear Friends?</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>WEe being met together at this our Yearly Meeting, to wait upon the Lord, to feel his Ancient Power, to fill our hearts and contrite our Spir|its and comfort us together; we have renewed cau&s;e to &s;ay he is the &s;ame God that ever he was ye&s;terday to day and will be the &s;ame for ever, unto all tho&s;e that believe in him and put their tru&s;t in him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>And Dear Friends, in the &s;ence of the &s;ame Love wherewith we have been &s;weetly comforted together in this our Meeting. We do &s;alute you all, and give you Ac|count in this our County how things hath been with us, for ble&s;&s;ed be the name of our God he is with us in all our un|dertakings, and cau&s;es his Work to pro&s;per both here and el&s;ewhere, for we have had &s;everal Te&s;timonies in Writing from the &s;everal Monthly Meetings of the care and diligence of our Women friends in their particular Meetings in things relating to Truths Pro&s;perity. And Gods living <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">owerful Pre&s;ence, hath abundantly appeared in this our Meeting, and many living Te&s;timonies have been born amongst us ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of the Lord for everand evermore.</HI></P>
<P><HI>And this &s;hort Epi&s;tle, we have given forth for the encourageing of all, and al&s;o to warn any whom it may concern to be faithful in this their Day. And now,</HI></P>
<PB N="2" REF="2">
<P> DEar Friends we being under a weighty con&s;ideration of the ten|der dealings, and many mercyes of the Lord, and what he hath been to Us, and done for Us, in gathering Us out of the World, yea out of <HI>Babylons</HI> confu&s;ion, and by the Revealing of his Heavenly pow|er, hath made a little Remnant willing to bear te&s;timony again&s;t the evil of this World, its vain Cu&s;toms fooli&s;h Fa&s;hions and Traditions; for which Te&s;timonye &s;ome have &s;uffered great abu&s;es, for Te&s;tifiing again&s;t Ob&s;erving Ma&s;s times, Fea&s;t days, or any other vain Pa&s;t-times, therefore let none profe&s;&s;ing the &s;ame truth think the&s;e things light, or matters indifferent which <HI>others purcha&s;ed at &s;o dear a rate;</HI> therefore &s;ee that truths Te&s;timony be born up in every particular Meeting, <HI>for by the &s;ame power</HI> hath many been made willing to lo&s;e the friend&s;hip of the World, the favour of Relations and acquaintance for the denying of extravagent fea&s;tings in Marriages, Births and Burials; and though many of our Antient and Honourable Women be removed and gon to their re&s;t, <HI>yet &s;ome here is yet in being</HI> ble&s;t be the Lord, who bear a true Record of the good effect this Te&s;timony had among&s;t the &s;ober Peo-ple of the Neighbour-hood, where it was faithfully born up, there|fore let none profe&s;&s;ing the &s;ame truth vary from it, but in the unity of the one Spirit, &s;ee that all be done decently and in good Order, to the honour of our God, who is a God of Order, and not of Con&s;u|&s;ion: Here hath divers Te&s;timonies been given from this Meeting wherein we have hinted at many things, and particulared &s;ome, as con|&s;erning Apparill, we could be glad our Te&s;timonies were generally Ob&s;erved, and the Judgment of truth &s;ubmited to, and the&s;e things put in practi&s;e in every particular Meeting, for it is the doer that is ac|cepted, a few Lines may &s;oon be writ, and a Te&s;timony &s;oon delivered, but the Work is weighty, and requireth great Care and Diligence, here is al&s;o a warning in our Hearts from the Lord, unto you who are Mo|thers of Children, that you be good examples in your Families, in your Words, Actions and Apparrell, and in all other things both to your Servants and Children, and keep a watchfull eye over them, and take a narrow in&s;pection into their ways and inclinations, <HI>And Cru&s;h every appearance of Folly in them in the bud,</HI> while they are young and little, before they grow high and &s;tuborn, and &s;till keep your Authority in the truth, and rule over the un&s;ubjected nature in them; But if you lo&s;e your authority they will rule over you, and then the ju&s;t will be O|pre&s;&s;ed
<PB N="3" REF="2">and they will act to truths di&s;honour, their own ruin, and you griefe, therefore be ye warned to &s;ee to the di&s;charge of your Duty in this behalf, and do not connive at any Loo&s;e Wanton behaviour in them but re&s;train them. <HI>Remember old</HI> Elys <HI>fall, and con&s;ider the Daughters of</HI> Sion <HI>who walked with &s;tretched out necks, and wanton eyes, and read</HI> I&s;aiah <HI>the third, the Judgments threatned again&s;t them:</HI> And &s;urely the Lord is the &s;ame this day, he hath no more favour for the Proud and Rebellious, nor friend&s;hip with the workers of iniquitie, though he hath been &s;low to wrath, and of great mercy and long hovered over us, waiting to be gracious yet he will ari&s;e as a Man of War, and tho&s;e that will not that he &s;hould Reign over them, they are his Enemies he will &s;lay them, but well will it be with tho&s;e that live in &s;ubjection to him and under his Government, he will be ten|der over them as the Apple of his own Eye, and pre&s;erve them in the hollow of his hand until his Indignation be over; <HI>But be you warned you proud and wanton carele&s;s ones though Profe&s;&s;ors of truth</HI> who yet have your Cover&s;ations in the World, and your Companions of the Spirit of it. Many Warnings and Invitations you have had, but now the Day comes on apace, which long hath been threatned, that will be as a con&s;uming Fire wherein the Lord will avenge him&s;elfe of his adver&s;aries, and all the Proud, and all that work wickedne&s;s will be as Stubble, for tho he will gather his Wheat into his Garner, the Chaffe, he will burn with unqueanchable fire.</P>
<P>And now you dear hearts who are young and tender, &s;pringing from the true root, who by the Heavenly Power have been made willing to deny your &s;elves and take up your Cro&s;s daily and follow the leadings of truth, tho through many trials and deep exerci&s;es, you are the living branches of the true Vine which drinks in the Heavenly dew, upon whom the plea&s;ant &s;howers fall. <HI>O you are near and dear to us, we are comforted in you; you are our Joy in the Lord.</HI> Oh, the flowing Streames of our Fathers Love, which reaches from one to another, which many waters cannot quench, nor di&s;tance of Miles &s;eperate, for though ab&s;ent in Body, yet pre&s;ent in Spirit, and can &s;im|pathyze together, and be a comfort one to another, Living Prai&s;e to our God for ever.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<P> Now Friends here is many of our Antient and Honourable Wo|men removed off the Stage of this World and gone to their re&s;t, yet their Memorial is comfortable to us, and their travel is often before us, and &s;ome of us but weakly and not likely here to continue long, there|fore we de&s;ire you may let no Place be empty, but take your Orders, and keep your Ranks, and put on the Brea&s;tplate of righteou&s;ne&s;s the Helm<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">t of Salvation, and take the Sword of the Spirit, and make war in righteou&s;ne&s;s again&s;t the Uncircumci&s;ed Phyliftian Na|ture, lye wa&s;te and untterly con&s;ume all <HI>Babilons</HI> trumpery, ca&s;t our her goodly Garments and Wedge of Gold, and let <HI>Achan</HI> be de|&s;troyed, that <HI>I&s;raels</HI> Camp may pro&s;per, and tho <HI>Corah, Dathan</HI> and <HI>Abivams</HI> Spirit charge you for taking to much upon you, and as the Scoffers of the Antient Jewes may &s;coffe you matter them not, but carry on your work and keep your Weapon in your hand. And you that have Publick Te&s;timonies be careful in all your Travels, as well of the good order of truth <HI>and Church Di&s;cipline</HI> as di&s;charge of your Te&s;timonies where you may, come or others have need of your affi&s;t|ance; And be not to familiar with any Spirits, but try the Spirit whe|ther they be of God or nay, and beat down the cro&s;s, proud un&s;ub|jected Spirit; <HI>But tho&s;e that are weak in the Faith receive you;</HI> For it ever was, and yet is our great care, the weak may be &s;trengthen, the Feeble confirmed, and the mourners in Sion comforted, and help to lift up the Heads and Hands of tho&s;e that are ready to hang down, and invite the Daughters of Sion to ari&s;e, and &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ake them&s;elves from the du&s;t of the Earth, and put on their beautifull Garments, that therein they may glorify God.</P>
<P>And Friends, you that are in your places of abode in your Service for the Lord, be diligent in keeping of your Womens Meetings, and faithfull in the Lords work, having nothing in your Eye but his ho|novr, the pro&s;perity of his truth, and well being of his people; But &s;till keep under all that which will not be &s;ubject to Truth, and though you may meet with reflections and &s;ecret &s;miteings, yet the Lord will be with you, for no Weapon formed again&s;t <HI>Sion</HI> can pro&s;per, no Inchant|ment again&s;t <HI>Jacob</HI> nor Divination again&s;t <HI>I&s;raell,</HI> therefore be incour|aged and encaurage one another as co workers, and fellow helpers, and as formerly we have &s;aid according to your Mea&s;ures, as <HI>Deborah,</HI> will|ingly be concern'd in the Government of <HI>I&s;raell,</HI> and as <HI>Dorca&s;s</HI> make+ing
<PB N="5" REF="3">provi&s;ion for the Widdows and Fatherle&s;s; That joy and gladne&s;s may be heard in <HI>I&s;raell's</HI> Camp, and <HI>Jacob</HI> may be &s;afe in his Tent.</P>
<P>For Friends, this is the very end of our Travell and Labour of Love that we all might be gathered to our Antient Rock and refuge and &s;ure hiding place, before this trying day come, which now approacheth, and times of callamity which &s;eems to be near; So with dear Love to you de&s;iring the continuance of your care in coming up to the next Yearly Meeting, if the Lord give us an opertunity: And that care be taken that the&s;e Te&s;timonies be Read in every of your Womens Meetings; or where Friends may &s;ee &s;ervice for them: So we remain your Lov|ing Si&s;ters.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Signed on the behalf of our Womens Meeting. BY
<LIST>
<ITEM>Katharine Winn.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Elizabeth Beckwith.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Judith Bouldby.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Mary Fro&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Deborah Winn.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Sarah Engli&s;h.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Sarah Elam.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Mary VVhite.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="6" REF="4">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Si&s;ters,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>YO&V; that are as Mothers in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> it is unto you my Love and Life is drawn forth at this time, de&s;iring to ca&s;t my Mite with you into the Trea&s;ury of God, and it is the de&s;ire of my heart, that both you and I, and all whom God has call'd to be as Mothers in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> may be found both in Example and Doctrine, following the good ad|vice of the holy Apo&s;tle, who &s;aid, <HI>let the Elder Women exhort the Younger to be &s;ober,</HI> to be cha&s;t, <HI>to be lovers of their own Hu&s;bands, lovers of their own Children, keepers at Home, not Gadders abroad.</HI></P>
<P>And now dear Si&s;ters, here is much in the&s;e things, and they de&s;erve a due con&s;ideration, by us all, to &s;ee they be put in practi&s;e by us all in our re&s;pective places. <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> by Example, and then by Doctrine, to tho&s;e we have the Over&s;ight of, as the Flock our Fahers fold, that they with us, and we with them may all be found performing the things, and an&s;wering the end the Lord created us for, to &s;erve and glorify him in our Age and Days, <HI>by a Godly Life, and holy Conver&s;ation in all we put our Hands unto,</HI> that our Light which the God of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> hath been plea&s;ed to Engli&s;nte us with, may &s;o &s;hine that others may &s;ee our good Works and Glorify our Father which is in Heaven, who alone is the Author of every good thought, Word and Work, and is worthy of the Honour of the &s;ame; For without him we can do nothing that is good or that will bring honour to him, and therefore we are ingaged to Exhort one another, and that daily to have their Eye upon the Lord, for his Divine a&s;&s;i&s;t|ance to help us in our Re&s;pective Places to performe our &s;ervice to him and to our Husbands and Children; to be Lovers of our own Husbands in that Love the Saints Fellowe&s;hip was in, have|ing our Cha&s;t Conver&s;ation coupled with fear, <HI>honuring and
<PB N="7" REF="4">obaying them in the Lord:</HI> This will make us a comfort, and true help meet to them which is the and the Lord made Woman for, to &s;erve him, and be a help-meet to her Husband, and a Nur&s;ing Mother to her Children.</P>
<P>And now dear Si&s;ters, I cannot but exhort you as One who through the Lords mercy hath been the Mother of many Chil|dren, and hath troden the path; to be very carefull and watch|full over your Children while they are under your Tuition, even from their learning to &s;peak, to their Youth upward, for we may remember it was the advice of <HI>Solomon, Train up a Child in the way thou would have him to go when he is young, and he will not depart from it when he is old:</HI> For I can tru|ly &s;ay the Lord layed a Concern upon me when I was but Young in years to Watch over my Childrens Words, even when they were but Learning to Speak, <HI>that they might be taught truths Language,</HI> and as they grow up they may be brought to Meetings among&s;t the Lords People, and kept in the form of truth, out of the Vain Cu&s;toms and fa&s;hions, and ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of <HI>I&s;raels</HI> God who through his great Love and Mercy hath made me to my great Comfort, reap in Mea&s;ure the fruits of my Labour, and hath begotten Faith in me, of reaping more, as they and I are pre&s;erved Faithfull to the end; For 'its the end that Crowns all, <HI>It is not Runing well for a time,</HI> but continuing in well doing to the end of Time, that gives us an acceptance with the Lord.</P>
<P>So Dear Friends, you that are Young and are Mothers of Children, the de&s;ire of my heart is, that you may &s;hew forth your Love to your Children, by being watehfull over them, that they get not into tho&s;e things which you and your Antient Friends have known the Terrors of the Lord for, that none be &s;ound building that up in their Children which the Lord hath pulled down by his Righteous Judgments in them&s;elves; for the good Apo&s;tle &s;aid, <HI>If I build again the things which I de&s;troyed, I
<PB N="8" REF="5">make my &s;elfe a Tran&s;gre&s;&s;or.</HI> So dear Friends, I dearly in|treat you in the yearning bowels of my Fathers Love to you, and your Children, de&s;iring that you may be carefull over your Children, in keeping them from Pride, and tho&s;e things which doth not become Women proffe&s;&s;ing Godlene&s;s: So will they be made a Comfort and a Ble&s;&s;ing to you, but if you be carele&s;s, and give them their Liberty to &s;peaks the Worlds Language, and get into their Fa&s;hions and Cu&s;toms, (as too many of the Libertine Spirits do, to the grief of the &V;pright in heart,) then they will become your Sorrow, and you will not be clear of their Blood: So to him that is the Wonderfull Councellour, do I de&s;ire to re|commend you, with the keeping of my own Soul, and remain your Friend and Si&s;ter in the Truth, and a Traveler for <HI>Sions</HI> Pro&s;perity.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>In my Mea&s;ure <HI>Margaret Breckon.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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