sight of God--what earnestness, or rather agonizing in
prayer--what joy in the sense of the true knowledge of Christ, and of
communion with him in Spirit--what subsequent watchfulness and reliance
upon him in every step of their course--what zeal in making known the
truth which they had found, and what constancy in suffering for it, yea
thinking it all joy that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name
of Christ!--Such were the men who were heralds of our religious Society,
and by whose instrumentality thousands at least, were convinced of the
truth; large numbers of whom gave evidence that they were not only
convinced, but converted to God. Need we then wonder at their success?
though still compared with the numbers to which they preached, the
converts may be said to have been _few_. It was still the _many_, who if
brought to see as it were their face in a glass, went away and
straightway forgot what manner of men they were.

We believe that the number of persons who went under the name of Friends,
in Great Britain and Ireland, at the close of the 17th century, was at
least three times as great as it is at the present time.

It will be in accordance with our object, to endeavour to indicate what
may have been the chief causes of the suspension of those active measures
which we have called aggressive,--though full of love, and which marked
the early periods of our Society. An historian of the church, who was
not insensible of what constitutes true religious energy, has stated,
that extraordinary revivals of this kind, have rarely been maintained in
their primitive vigour more than about forty years. Rather more than
that time elapsed between the commencement of George Fox's labours and
their close, at the time of his death. About eight days previous to that
event, he attended a meeting of ministers, in London, and one of those
who was present says: "I much minded his exhortation to us, encouraging
friends that have gifts to make use of them; mentioning many countries
beyond the seas that wanted visiting, instancing the labours and hard
travels of friends in the beginning of the spreading of truth in our
days, in breaking up of countries, and of the rough ploughing they had in
steeple houses, &c., but that now it was more easy; and he complained,
that there were many Demases and Cains who embraced the present world,
and encumbered themselves with their own business, and neglected the
Lord's, and so were good