Church. God grant it may rise to be the house of God, and the Gate of Heaven to them.

"It seems the Honorable Gentlemen of the Corporation have considered my Travels for the Service of the Church, and have given me a handsome allowance to bear my charges with MrKeith. Pray give them my hearty service and thanks to let them know that, by the grace of God, I shall make it my business to fulfil my mission. Pray remember my duty and Love to my Good Mother; I hope she is alive and well, let her not want £10 per annum, as long as I have £60 coming to me, which will be due the 12th of June next ensuing. It grieves me much to see so many People here without the benefit of serving God in the wilderness. I believe I have been solicited to tarry at twenty Places where they want much, and are able to maintain a minister, so that he should want nothing; they send to New England and call any sorry young man, purely for want of some good honest clergyman of the Church of England. Many go to the heathen meetings of the People called Quakers, because there are no houses of God in their provinces, till at last they come to be bewitched and forced out of their Faith and senses too. The country is a good land in all parts of it, bating the sudden change of Heat and Cold, which, if people be not careful, they are many times the worse for. The air is generally clear and pure. Nobody complains here of the spleen, unless he has also an evil conscience attending. I saw Mr. Burley, Mr. Scott's friend, at Philadelphia. I was at his house, he lives very well and entertained me very civilly, and was glad to hear of his old Friends. I am but poor at present, being robbed by a negro of all my money out of my Portmanteau; the young slut did not leave me one Token for myself, only I got the bag again. But blessed be God I never wanted meat nor drink, nor cloaths neither as yet; but if you don't send me some cloaths next shipping, instead of going as they do in White Hall, I shall go as the Indians do. I shall be content, let it be as it will. I might have had money enough here if I would have taken what People have offered me, but lest the Quakers should say truly, as they do falsely, that we

come for money and preach for hire, I preach the Gospel as freely as the Apostles did to the first Churches.

"Virginia, 8th June.

"When I wrote this, I missed the opportunity to send it so I brought it hither with me so you must take it rough as it runs. We have been now at our journey's end in N. Carolina as far as we could goe, now we tack about and stand another way to Philadelphia again, thus George Keith's home and mine is every where. Governor Nicholson has been very kind and generous to me. I pray God prosper him long in his Government; he has some enemies as well as other men, but none of them can deny but he is a just magistrate in his place. I have sent the scheme of our Church affairs by one Mr. Beverly, an honest Gentleman of this Country, who is bound for England very speedily: you'll hear of him at Mr. Parry's, the Virginia Merchant. George Keith comes home next year; then if I can get anything worthy sending, I shall have a carefull hand to deliver it. There is one Mr. Keyes, my Lord of London's taylor; you may deal with him to send me a chest of cloathes, new or old, once a year. Direct them or anything else for me to be left with George Walker at Kecoughtan in Virginia. I am

"Now at last (God be praised) we are arrived at the Haven where we would be. Mr. Keith is got to his Daughter's house, and I am got amongst my old Friends and acquaintance in these parts, who are very glad to see me; especially those of the ministry, who came over along with me. Here has been great alterations in these ten years. Since I was here many of my old Friends are dead, but I have found some new in their stead; amongst which is the bearer, Mr. Robert Beverly, who has one

of the best houses and plantations in this country, where I reckon myself as it were, at home, he has been so courteous and civil. But there is some dispute in Law concerning the Title, and he is come over to see about it; wherein I hope you will and can be serviceable to him, and I shall take it as done to myself. I have sent you several Letters, but have none yet from nobody. I hear the Honorable Gentlemen of the Society at Bow have ordered £60 per annum for travelling charges; £30 I have received upon Bill. I desire you to receive the other £30 to buy Books for a friend of mine here, who will repay me. I desire you to lay out £10 more in cloathes and shirts which I desire neighbour Leviton to buy for me, and send them in some ship to New York directed to me, to be left at Mr. Vesey's, minister there. I shall be glad to hear how all our Friends do, especially my good mother. Pray let me know where she is, and how she does, let her have decem minas upon my account as long as she lives. I have sent the present state of the Church, apud Americanos as far as we have gone; the first year from Dover, eighty miles eastward from Boston in New England, to Philadelphia in Pensylvania; since that scheme was finished, I have gone up and down in E. and W. Jersey preaching and baptizing and preparing the way for several Churches there. At Amboy they are going to build one, at Hopewell another, and at Shrewsbury, Coll. Morris is going to build one at his own cost and charge, and he will endow it as he says, which I don't doubt, for he is an honest Gentleman, and a member of the Honorable Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign parts. I was at Burlington last Lady day, and after prayers we went to the Ground where they were going to build a Church, and I laid the first stone, which I hope will be none other than the House of God and Gate of Heaven to the People. Coll. Nicholson, Governor here, was the chief founder of this as well as many more; and indeed he has been the benefactor to all the Churches on this land of North America. God bless this Church and let them prosper that love it. We called this Church St. Mary's, it being upon her day. January last I was at the opening of a church at Chester; I preached the first sermon that ever was there, on Sunday the day before

the Conversion of St. Paul, and after much debate what to call it, I named it St. Paul's. This is one of the best Churches in these American Parts, and a very pleasant place; but they have no minister as yet, but Mr. Evans of Philadelphia officiated there once in three weeks. The Governor of Virginia is building several more churches: Two at North Carolina, where we are going next week, and one at New Castle, where in all appearance we shall have a considerable Congregation of Christian People. The place is very well planted for trade both by sea and Land. It being allmost in the midway between Philadelphia and Maryland upon Delaware River; where, God willing, I intend to spend some labour and pains; though I can't find in my heart to settle in any place for my own, but to travel, as I told you, for the good of the Church in general. I should be glad to hear how you did about the Centurion, and how matters of account stand between us. Tis good to reckon some time if we never intend to pay, though I hope to be out of debt to the world. Yet I shall always count myself obliged to my friend. I have been with George Keith a year next June 12th, then my £60 becomes due. This has been a sickly year apud Americanos, but God be praised I have had good health all this time. And I believe I have done the Church more service -ince I came hither than I would in seven years in England. Perhaps when I have been here six or seven years, I may make a Trip home to see some Friends (for they won't come to me) but then it will be Animo Revertendi, for I have given myself up to the service of God and his Church apud Americanos; and I had rather dye in the service than desert it. Pray give my service and thanks to the Honorable Society for their Generous Allowance to bear my charges. I shall take care to fulfill my mission, and goe as far with it as any body that they shall send forth. We came hither in a sloop from Pensylvania, when we were out of Delaware River, a North west wind took us and carried us out to sea and lost us ten or twelve hours so as I was never lost in my life; 'tis true sometimes, as the sailor sayes, the last storm was the worst. The sea never got any thing before by my sickness, but then I was so sick that I had much adoe to keep my bowels within my body; we arrived safe at

last, God be praised; but I shall be hardly catched on board so small a vessel again in a good while. We are going now by land to Pamplico in North Carolina, a place where there never was any minister but only one Dan. Brett, a scandalous Fellow, that has done more harm than good every where. He was the worst I think that ever came over.

"We want a great many good ministers here in America, especially in those parts mentioned in the scheme; but we had better have none at all than such scandalous beasts as some make themselves; not only the worst of ministers but of men. If you know none so good as to come, I hope you will find them that are willing to send. Some good books would do very well in the mean while. I am sure there is no want of them in England, they have enough and to spare. Indeed we have had many of Dr. Bray's books and I could wish we had more. his way and method is not the best for this people that we have to do withal, Quakers and Quakers' friends; to most of them, nothing but controversy will serve their turn, 'tis a hard matter to persuade to the Baptismal Covenant, on which the Doctor has writ three or four Books to the folio, that they may be ever learning and yet never be able to come to the knowledge of the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, nor the Ten Commandments.

But

"Those that we have to deal with are a sharp and inquisitive people they are not satisfied with one Doctor's opinion but must have something that is authentick if we hope to prevail with them.

"We should have some Common Prayer Books new or old, of all sorts and sizes with the thirty-nine articles, and some books of Homily's, to set up the worship and service of God till we have ministers; some of Dr. Comber's Books would be of right good use here to give those that ask a Reason of all things contained in our English Liturgies; which has still stood the Best Test of all adversaries that were not blind and deaf. Above all, Mr. Lesly, the Author of the 'Snake in the Grass,' has given Quakerism a deadly wound, I hope never to be healed: and his five Discourses about Baptism and Episcopacy have brought many to the Church. We want a 1000 of them to dispose of in the way that we goe. I use to take a wallet full of