They call also extraordinary
meetings of worship. At these houses they are visited by many of the
members of the place and neighbourhood, who call upon and converse with
them. During these times they appear to have their minds bent on the
object of their mission, so that it would be difficult to divert their
attention from the work in hand. When they have staid a sufficient time
at a town or village, they depart. One or more guides are appointed by
the particular meeting, belonging to it, to show them the way to the
next place, where they propose to labour, and to convey them free of
expense, and to conduct them to the house of some member there. From
this house, when their work is finished, they are conveyed and conducted
by new guides to another, and so on, till they return to their
respective homes.
But the religious views of the Quaker ministers are not always confined
even within the boundaries of the kingdom. Many of them believe it to be
their duty to travel into foreign parts. These, as their journey is now
extensive, must lay their concern not only before their own monthly
meeting, but before their own quarterly meeting, and before the meeting
of Ministers and Elders in London also. On receiving their certificates,
they depart. Some of them visit the continent of Europe, but most of
them the churches in America, where they diligently labour in the
vineyard, probably for a year or two, at a distance from their families
and friends.
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