The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Short History of a Long Travel from Babylon
to Bethel, by Stephen Crisp, Illustrated by Flo-Ann Goerke

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Title: A Short History of a Long Travel from Babylon to Bethel

Author: Stephen Crisp

Release Date: April 29, 2005 [eBook #15730]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

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FROM BABYLON TO BETHEL***

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A SHORT HISTORY OF A LONG TRAVEL FROM BABYLON TO BETHEL

by

STEPHEN CRISP

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION

Writings of the first Quakers, even minor writings, often kindle in
us today an ardor to seek what they sought and to find what they
found. The excellent book by Luella M. Wright entitled "The Literary
Life of the Early Friends, 1650-1725" is a pleasant and convenient
introduction to these numerous and often lengthy productions of which
2600 have been listed for the first 75 years. Among them all, Luella
Wright singles out one allegory; the only one, and it remained
unpublished fully two decades after its composition. Why was this? Was
it because, though the author was as sound a thinker and as persuasive
an author as any among the followers of George Fox, an imaginary
pilgrimage was inherently suspect, while the record of actual
experiences in the form of a journal was not? Be this as it may,
the slight loosening of standards with the opening of the eighteenth
century allowed the "Second Day's Morning Meeting," which then
censored Quaker manuscripts, to approve for printing "A Short History
of a Long Travel from Babylon to Bethel." It was put out in 1711.
How entertaining it would be to know the number of copies that were
printed in that first edition.

Stephen Crisp was a famous preacher. "He had a gift of utterance
beyond many" said his brethren in Colchester at the time of his
decease. He was listened to by many outside the Society of Friends and
his sermons, together with the prayer at the end of every one of them,
were "exactly taken in character," that is in shorthand "