"Oh may my future hours be givenTo peace, to virtue, and to Heaven,My hopes retain immortal birth,My joys ascend above the earth,My steps retrace the path they trod,My heart be fixed alone on God!"
"Oh may my future hours be givenTo peace, to virtue, and to Heaven,My hopes retain immortal birth,My joys ascend above the earth,My steps retrace the path they trod,My heart be fixed alone on God!"
"Oh may my future hours be given
To peace, to virtue, and to Heaven,
My hopes retain immortal birth,
My joys ascend above the earth,
My steps retrace the path they trod,
My heart be fixed alone on God!"
While still young she burned most of her prose and poetic compositions, partly because she was so oftenforced to read them aloud to company, and very little from those years remains.
The following short poem may be as interesting as any, as her early wish here expressed was so perfectly fulfilled in the character of her accepted life-companion:
"What! shall a face, then, win my heart,Mere symmetry of form?Such thrilling rapturesthisimpartWithlove my bosomwarm?As well might ocean's billow heaveWhen not a wind did rise,As Fancy thus my heart deceiveAnd fix my wandering eyes,No; 'tis the beauty of the soulThat could my bosom fire;This would my tenderest thought control,And love and truth inspire."
"What! shall a face, then, win my heart,Mere symmetry of form?Such thrilling rapturesthisimpartWithlove my bosomwarm?As well might ocean's billow heaveWhen not a wind did rise,As Fancy thus my heart deceiveAnd fix my wandering eyes,No; 'tis the beauty of the soulThat could my bosom fire;This would my tenderest thought control,And love and truth inspire."
"What! shall a face, then, win my heart,
Mere symmetry of form?
Such thrilling rapturesthisimpart
Withlove my bosomwarm?
As well might ocean's billow heave
When not a wind did rise,
As Fancy thus my heart deceive
And fix my wandering eyes,
No; 'tis the beauty of the soul
That could my bosom fire;
This would my tenderest thought control,
And love and truth inspire."
The thoughts expressed in some of her maxims show the bent of her mind, whether they are original or not. For example: "If you are told that another reviles you, do not go about to vindicate yourself, but reply thus: My other faults, I find, are hid from him, else I should have heard of them too;" "Fix your character and keep to it, whether alone or in company;" "No man can hurt you unless you please to let him; then only are you hurt when you think yourself so."
Whatever her early attempts may show, Sybil Jones was certainly of a highly poetic nature. Her whole organism was so delicate that musical tones proceeded from her at the slightest touches from within or without. Melodious words came almost unsummoned toher lips as she plead with sinners to come to the waters of life and "drink without money and without price." John Bright told the present writer that it was always a delight to him to listen to her, and that he regarded her as a poet of high degree in her thought and expression.
So with her daily duties and her thoughts of life and the future she developed from girlhood to womanhood, and at the age of twenty-five became the wife of Eli Jones. The joy and fruit resulting from their union show unmistakably how fully they were suited for each other, and they gave each other mutual help and inspiration. Their married life was begun at South China upon a farm which has since been divided into a number of smaller ones. The young wife was very careful in her expenditures, and an accurate account of all their expenses and their income was minutely kept by her.
The Friends' meeting-house was three miles away at Dirigo. Thither they rode through the long, quiet woods every First and Fifth day to take their places among the rows of Friends waiting upon the Lord. Few houses made with hands have received more devoted worshippers, and few places have been more hallowed by the presence of pure souls met with one purpose, that of honoring the Ruler of the universe and learning from His Holy Spirit. Here, in the presence of sympathizing listeners, the voices of these two young Friends were often heard, and they were early enrolled among the ministers of the Society. The phrase of the early Friends was truly fitting in their case: "Their gifts were acknowledged." The men and women of Chinameeting made it their greatest endeavor to serve God acceptably in the path of daily duty and self-denial. One by one their beautiful lives have ended; happily, a few of them are yet left as examples, but a Quakerism—or rather a Christianity—which could round and perfect such characters had no earthly origin. China meeting at this time did not abound in powerful ministers, but its members were men and women whose lives were transparent and pure. They were "diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," and they lived sermons. There has almost always been in this community one or two Hymenæuses and Philetuses who have drawn creeds for their private guidance and who have severely troubled the Friends; but such disturbances have generally resulted in the exaltation of the true faith, and as in the natural world the struggle to overcome hindrances to growth adds strength and vigor, so a wolf in sheep's clothing within the fold increases the vigilance of the spirit and the dependence on the great Shepherd. There were many intricate questions now and then arising for discussion which gave valuable instruction to the young ministers, and they were gradually being prepared for useful service. Those of other denominations who know only of a training in a theological seminary as a fitting for preaching and teaching cannot understand how they were being taught in this remote country village; but "by the Spirit's finer ear" they were hearing truths of life and immortality, and on the Rock they were building characters of gold, silver, precious stones.
Eli Jones was a hard-working man, not only doing his farm-work, but at different times owning shares inmills at Albion and in China and assisting in the work of running them. After living a few years at South China he removed to Dirigo and settled on a farm near the Friends' meeting, where he lived until 1886.
While Eli Jones was in London in 1875 he wrote to Sarah Fobey, a lifelong friend of his beloved wife, for her recollections of their school-days together, and her thoughts as to Sybil Jones's spiritual exercises then and since. She wrote from Montreux, Switzerland, as follows:
"My mind is filled with sweet and precious memories of the dear one. She and I met at Friends' School in Providence in 1825. We met as strangers, but a feeling of sympathy which is not easily explained soon drew us together, and our intercourse there was the commencement of one of the most delightful friendships that in all this changing scene grew stronger and brighter with every passing year. I remember her as one of the most studious pupils in the school, always coming to her class with her lessons fully prepared and reciting them in a manner that gained the admiration of her classmates. She had great love for the beautiful, and a keen enjoyment of beautiful language whether poetry or prose, and committing to memory, as she did, with ease, her mind thus early became stored with much that was an enjoyment to her in after years. In our Scripture lessons we made our own selections, hers were always the most beautiful portions of the Bible, often from Isaiah and the Psalms, a long chapter thoroughly committed to memory, and recited in amanner which showed she appreciated the truths it declared.
"To her schoolmates she was most kind and affectionate, and by her readiness to assist them in their lessons and in every way to do them good gained their universal love and esteem.
"She had a great flow of animal spirits, and entered with warmth and interest into all our innocent pleasures and amusements; but such was her sense of justice and of right that she would never overstep the bounds of order nor disobey the regulations of the school. Of her religious feeling and experience at that time I cannot speak. It was not the custom then, as now in our Society, to speak of conversion or to tell what God had done for our souls; and I had supposed that it was not until after her return home that she gave her heart to Jesus and became fully and entirely a child of His, ready to do His bidding, and desiring above every other consideration to follow Him in the way of His leading. How faithfully she did so, going from place to place, from city to city, from State to State, finally from continent to continent, declaring the unsearchable riches of Christ! One of the most affectionate and loving of mothers, she counted nothing too near or too dear to part with for His blessed name's sake.
"How many sinners she has warned! how many inquirers she has pointed to Jesus, the door of hope! how many mourners she has comforted! She faithfully obeyed the injunction, 'Sow ye beside all waters,' and the seed thus sown has taken root, and will continue to bear fruit long after we shall have gone to join the dear ones who earlier than we have entered intotheir Master's rest. Who can calculate the amount of good that one such life of dedication and devotion has accomplished? It seems to me that a faithful record of it should be an incentive to others to seek to follow her as she followed Christ. To me she was the most remarkable woman I have ever met, and I feel it to have been a peculiar blessing to have known her so long and loved her so well. Now, as I write, 'Memory opens the long vista of buried years,' and my heart travels through them all. I linger around sunny spots, happy hours, days of delight, seasons of sweet spiritual communion, in which she related to me the wonderful dealings of her heavenly Father toward her, and the remarkable manner in which she was often supplied with means to accomplish the service she believed He required of her—how when there seemed no way for her to move He made a way.
"She always seemed to me to be so spiritually-minded, and to live so near her Saviour, as to be led and guided in a remarkable manner by Him. I remember her when she opened her prospect to go to Europe for the last time. She rises before me now, as she has often done, as I saw her then. Soon after the meeting of ministers and elders assembled Doctor Tobey arose and said, 'If there is a subject of particular interest and importance to come before the meeting, this seems to be the proper time.'
"She had not expected to present it at that sitting, but, as she afterward told me, she said to herself, 'That surely means me.'
"She sat a little, while a feeling of great solemnity overspread the meeting. She then arose with the mostbeautiful and heavenly expression of countenance, her whole soul filled with the engrossing subject, and with a grace and elegance of manner of which she was entirely unconscious told us in beautiful and touching language what she felt called to do in the service of her Lord, gratefully acknowledging His many mercies thus far in her journey of life, and her unshaken confidence and trust in Him for all that was to come. The meeting was greatly moved and she was liberated with entire unity.
"How lovely and sweet she was! and, though she lived so many years and did so much good in them all, it always seems to me that she died 'in the midst of her years.'
"Oh, we should have liked to keep her longer, the dear one! But He who seeth to the end knew when to close the strife—
'Knew when to loose the silver cord,To break the golden bowl,And give to her that richest gift,Salvation of the soul.'"
'Knew when to loose the silver cord,To break the golden bowl,And give to her that richest gift,Salvation of the soul.'"
'Knew when to loose the silver cord,
To break the golden bowl,
And give to her that richest gift,
Salvation of the soul.'"
"He who in glory did on Horeb's heightDescend to Moses in the bush of flame,And bade him go and stand in Pharaoh's sight—Who once to Israel's pious shepherd came,And sent him forth his champion in the fight,—He within my heart thus spake to me:Go forth! Thou shalt on earth my witness be.'"Schiller.
"He who in glory did on Horeb's heightDescend to Moses in the bush of flame,And bade him go and stand in Pharaoh's sight—Who once to Israel's pious shepherd came,And sent him forth his champion in the fight,—He within my heart thus spake to me:Go forth! Thou shalt on earth my witness be.'"Schiller.
"He who in glory did on Horeb's height
Descend to Moses in the bush of flame,
And bade him go and stand in Pharaoh's sight—
Who once to Israel's pious shepherd came,
And sent him forth his champion in the fight,—
He within my heart thus spake to me:
Go forth! Thou shalt on earth my witness be.'"
Schiller.
In the autumn of 1840, Sybil Jones was liberated by her Friends to attend meetings and do religious work in the provinces, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In this work she was attended by her husband, and they passed through many trying circumstances; but, being sustained from above, they came home bringing sheaves with them and feeling that they had been instruments in God's hand of doing good. A brief account of this journey was kept by Sybil Jones. It has never been published, but is full of interest to all those who love to follow the steps of devoted servants of the Lord.
During the first winter of the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold and a band of soldiers forced their way over almost insurmountable obstacles through the Maine woods to capture Montreal, Quebec, and the other Canadian strongholds. Historians havefollowed their track, carefully noting every detail of their march, recording what they suffered and what injuries they inflicted, and that, too, though the expedition failed of its end and many a fair young life was lost in vain. Certainly, we can well afford to follow the pilgrimage of two soldiers of the cross fully as heroic, carrying to those otherwise perishing the news of life and salvation.
Sybil Jones was thirty-two years old when she made this visit; she was in delicate health, and obliged to leave her two young children, James Parnell and Narcissa, behind; but her whole soul was in the work, and she writes as she would have done when years had fully developed her. In this and her other diaries there often occur expressions which to the frequent readers of Fox and the early missionary Friends may sound stated and formal, but there is a life pervading the whole which shows conclusively to a thoughtful person that these phrases are not forms, but words clearly expressive of what she felt burning in her heart, and they add to rather than detract from the weight of her account. There is a wonderful depth of meaning and originality in the expressions of Friends which unfortunately is lost sight of by continual use, just as in all language word-metaphors which subtly picture thoughts become cold by use and lose their picturesqueness. In reading the pages recording the earnest labors of long ago let us read in them all that was put there by looking for the feeling and life under the words:
"Left home with a certificate from some of my friends to visit some of the British provinces, the 23dof 8th mo., 1840, in company with my husband. He also has a certificate for said service. Being disappointed in a female companion, we had either to resign the prospect of a visit this season or proceed with no other company than our dear friend Daniel Smiley, who, with a minute from his monthly meeting, concluded to accompany us to Nova Scotia. It was a trying case, but, feeling as though the present time was the right time, we informed the committee appointed by the monthly meeting for the purpose of providing us with suitable company, how it was with us. They met with the elders, and informed us of their conclusion, which was that they thought best for us to proceed if it seemed like the right time, as we had informed them. We had to proceed on the prospect of apprehended duty under discouraging circumstances, yet I trust with a humble reliance on Him who hath said, 'I will be a defence unto Israel.' Being favored to resign ourselves to His direction and protection, we felt our only strength to be in Him, feeling, too, the consoling assurance that our dear friends we have left behind will travail in exercises with us for the Truth's honor and our preservation from every hurtful thing. We leave our dear children in the best place we could find.... Above all, we have felt a humble trust that He who never slumbers will keep them; and in remembrance of the blessed promise, that all things shall work together for good to them that love and fear God, I have been enabled under multiplied discouragement to adopt the language, 'Thy will, not mine, be done.' Blessed be His name for ever who has been with me in sixtroubles, and has given me assurance that He will not forsake even in the seventh if my place is where Mary's was of old.
"We attended two meetings the day we left—one in Windsor, the other in Whitefield—which were very trying meetings....
"Second day, 31st.Arrived at Joseph Ester's in Calais; had a favored meeting this evening in the Calvinist Baptist meeting-house. The people here are so attached to Friends that they think it a privilege to let us have a house for a meeting. The Baptists claimed the privilege, and we thought best to improve it. After meeting I took cold from the damp air so frequent in this place, and was confined to the house till 9th mo. 4th. Proceeded to an appointment at St. Stephen's (English side), First day, 9th mo. 6th, at twoP. M.,at the Methodist house, which was a humbling season to the poor creatures, but the eternal truth reigned over all, and I hope the 'blessed Master of assemblies' had the honor, for it was by the might of His power that the tall cedars of Lebanon bowed and the oaks of Bashan bent. Nothing is too great for Him to do for us when our trust is in Him. May it ever be placed there! Second day, 7th, had a meeting at St. Stephen's in a Baptist house; put up at Ruggles's temperance house; felt quite at home here; they were an interesting family. We sat with the family before leaving them, and divine ability was given to speak in the language of encouragement to them, assuring them that alittlewith the incomparable blessing of a peaceful mind was better than hoards of gold obtained in a way toinjure our fellow-creatures. The demoralizing effects of the sale and use of ardent spirits were lamentably felt here. The landlord told us that he was once in the habit of keeping them for travellers and others, but became convinced that it was wrong. It brought him into a close trial, he told us, for this was the chief source of income. He said he prayed to his heavenly Father to direct him what to do, and the answer was that he must carry on the baking business. He accordingly entered into it, and with the assistance of two or three daughters he made a good income. Oh that all would go and do likewise who are in this iniquitous practice, that must surely prove, if persisted in, their condemnation!
"8th.Parted from several of our dear friends who came to bid us farewell, and proceeded on our journey; came about noon to Oak Bay, parish of St. David's, a small village. Here we paused a little, but proceeded. My mind became distressed for leaving the place without trying to have a meeting, which I kept to myself until we had travelled about two and a half miles, when I was obliged to request our dear friend to turn about; which was crossing to us all, feeling very anxious to get along, having been detained from my ill-health, meetings, etc. beyond our expectations. But on turning toward the place I think we all participated in the reward of peace. We stopped at William Josling's, who met us with tears of joy. Oh may we omit nothing required of us, but be willing to do and suffer His will who will do all things well! This evening had a meeting in the Baptist house. It was a solemn season, and to the honor of truth, I trust. Lodged at William Golding's, who was in a tried state of mind owing to entanglement withthe doctrine of predestination. He spoke of the circumstance of Pharaoh where the Lord said, 'For this same purpose I have raised thee up;' also named the passage from the apostle, 'Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?' He said that he considered it as a temptation of the enemy, but at times could hardly keep it out of his mind. As the subjects opened to my mind I endeavored to explain them.... He seemed satisfied, and said he had never had so clear an explanation before. Not feeling clear of the place without trying for another meeting, we accepted the Methodist house, which was kindly offered. A Universalist encountered me after meeting. I endeavored to keep near best help. He became silent, and I think the truth sank deep in his heart. We parted in mutual love and good feeling. He was a member of the legislative council, a man of talents. We called on the Methodist minister and his wife, who received us gladly; we thought them sincere-hearted followers of Christ. Parted under a feeling of holy relationship. Left this place for Tower Hill, in the parish of St. David. Arrived in a lonely-looking place, very desolate, where were a few inhabitants and a schoolhouse. There are few here who reflect, I think, that they must die, and that it is needful to prepare for that solemn event. We left them under serious impression, I think. We called on a woman apparently dying, who said she was not prepared to die; her sins were not forgiven. The family and several neighbors present were in great distress. I felt moved to call her attention to Jesus, who alone could help, reminding herof the penitent thief upon the cross. Surrounding beholders were warned to seek the Lord while in health, and not put it off till a dying bed, as the pains of the feeble body were enough to bear, without the indescribable pains of a wounded conscience. We called again on the sick woman, who seemed a little revived. I felt drawn to impart some words of encouragement, also to supplicate our heavenly Father on behalf of all present. My dear husband imparted some words of encouragement to her. We then left her bedside, where extreme poverty and want were strikingly apparent, with some assurance that she would find forgiveness and go in peace. We proceeded to meeting. A large number of thoughtless mortals were assembled. We had to travail in deep exercises for the awakening of life. Dear husband supplicated for divine aid, which was mercifully granted. Truth finally obtained the victory. It is the Lord's doing and marvellous in our eyes.
"15th.Had a meeting at Bearing in a schoolhouse at the fourth hour, and one at Mehanas, parish of St Stephen's, at seven—the last a truly contriting season. I proceeded, accompanied by my dear husband, to visit some public-houses and places where liquor is sold, and to visit some serious people. This work of apprehended duty was most humiliating to the poor creature, but cheerful submission clothed my mind with sweet peace. We were treated kindly by all, and all expressed their thankfulness to us for calling, and received civilly what we had to deliver to them, saying they knew the right, but were unwilling to do it. Not feeling clear of these parts without a meeting with the Congregationalistsat Calais, though I thought it probable that they would not grant it, I informed our company of it, who encouraged me to attend to the opening. Accordingly, a messenger was despatched, and returned word that they were expecting to meet in the evening for a prayer-meeting, and would cheerfully give up the meeting to us without a single objection. The Lord will make a way where there appears to be no way. In the evening we met with them, and had a good meeting, mutually satisfactory.
"17th.Sat down at the house where we were staying with the family at meeting hour. Our little number with the family were enough to inherit the Saviour's blessed promise, 'There will I be in the midst of them.' We gave no notice, but two or three neighbors somehow got information and joined our company. At first it was a stripped season. The cloud as big as a man's hand was hardly discernible, but in the Lord's own time He blessed us indeed. His power arose to the contriting of all present. It was truly a refreshing time, in which we could say, 'The Lord is my goodness and fortress, my high tower.'
"18th.Had a meeting at the Ledge in St. Stephen's at two o'clock. Some of the true wrestling seed were present, who were visited in their low dwelling-place and refreshed with the circulating influence of divine love, which spread even to the skirts of the assembly. I am ready to say, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.' 'He brought me into his banqueting-house, and his banner over us was love.'
"26th, which was First day.Had a meeting in the city of St. John, in the Methodist chapel in Germaniastreet, at 2P. M., and one at 6 o'clock in the parish of Portland, in the Methodist house. Several thousand souls met with us this day, and the Lord blessed us abundantly to the refreshing of the weary traveller toward the city of rest. Lodged at the Methodist preacher's, William Temple, who was truly hospitable. On the morning of the 28th went to the steamboat bound to Annapolis, but, it being stormy, the captain deemed it improper to put out to sea. Having our horses and carriage put on board at high tide, and could not get them off until tide served again, we felt some anxiety, fearing we had not done right in this procedure, as the elements seemed against us. We met with a man named Abial L. Brown on board, who kindly asked us to go home with him and remain until the boat should go. We gladly accepted his invitation and went to the house, where the family received us with affection, set some refreshments before us, of which we gladly partook, not having taken any breakfast and having walked some distance in the wet and cold. After being thus refreshed and having warmed ourselves, we felt inclined to assemble the family for a religious opportunity, which was gladly acceded to on their parts. The season was a truly comforting one. Afterward we inquired for a woman who had spoken to us the evening before after meeting and manifested a great desire to have an interview with us. From our description one of the daughters kindly offered to try to find her, though they could not tell her name. She made a successful attempt, and soon came with Elizabeth Girard, as she said her name was. She was a Friend in principle, though belonging to the Methodists. She lamented much theextravagant conformity to the vain fashions of the world, which is at enmity to Christ—said they had sorrowfully departed from the simplicity which marked the members in their rise in Wesleyan days. She spoke of the spiritual worship very clearly as that which was alone acceptable unto God. The storm subsided at about ten o'clock. We left, accompanied by E. G., who went to the steamboat with us. After our imparting some advice to this dear friend, she left. At about one o'clock we left St. John's City, and in twelve hours were across the Bay of Fundy at Annapolis. I was not very seasick; He who holdeth the waters in His hand preserves us yet. Little vital religion is felt in this part of the heritage. The people here have many advantages for a livelihood. The land has a rich soil, and the Annapolis River flowing through it in the midst of an extensive valley, where many of its farms stretch along its banks, the rich products may be borne through the river into the Bay of Fundy to distant parts. Thus was a kind Providence bountifully blessed, but a worldly spirit is prevailing among them.
"14th.Held a meeting at Granville, and on the 15th went over Young's Mountain. Again not feeling clear, had a meeting in the evening, a memorable season of humbling contrition to most present. A young man named James Van Blarcum, being at this meeting, was convinced of the truth. May the Lord give him strength to suffer for His cause, which will no doubt be the case if he proves faithful!"[3]
Eli and Sybil Jones attended many more meetings in the provinces, among them Annapolis, Wilmot Mount, Wolfville, Falmouth, Pictou, and Truro, making many weary journeys, some days riding as much as forty-three miles to hold a meeting. These long rides were attended with many discomforts, as it was the eleventh month, and the weather extremely raw and cold. The roads were in poor condition, and the mud oftentimes almost impassable. Sybil Jones describes the difficulties encountered in making their way to Truro: "Coming to two roads about noon, we inquired of an innkeeper the direct road to our destination. We followed his directions, found excellent roads, but, being through a thick forest, it was rather lonely. The weather being cloudy, night came on early, without discovering any opening in the dense forest that encompassed us. The thought did not occur that we might be on the wrong road until the horses began to wade very deep in mud. My husband sprang out of the carriage to lead the horses. After proceeding a few steps, the mire growing deeper, he ordered the carriage stopped, and after travelling around some time in the dark he exclaimed that we were on the wrong road—that we had come to the end of a road. Our feelings can better be imaginedthan described. Strangers in a strange land, in a vast wilderness at the end of our road, and the night being without even starlight, I shall never forget my feelings. We found our carriage was fast in the mire. After unharnessing the horses, which with some difficulty leapt out on hard footing, the men soon pried the carriage out and harnessed to return, while I stood on a dry spot where my dear husband had placed me. I was afraid that we had been directed there for a wicked design, when these words came to me: 'Judah's lion guards the way, and guides the traveller home.' After going back about fifty rods we discovered a light, and, going to it, found that it proceeded from a little hut. The people said that we could get across the woods, to the right road by going a quarter of a mile, and kindly offered to go with us and show us the way. We followed through the roughest road I ever passed. One had to hold the carriage behind to keep it from upsetting. We arrived safe on the road, happy and thankful."
They had many "opportunities" in family circles, which they always found refreshing. They met with great kindness, although in many places they were greatly grieved to find that the spirit of the world held sway over the people. In many cases a great controlling power was felt, and they left believers much strengthened in the Lord to cope with the adversary. Owing to the inclemency of the weather they deemed it expedient to return to their homes. The homeward journey was long, and they were often able to get but scanty accommodations; but they ever found the "Lord a covert from the storms," and proved Him to be "asthe shadow of a great rock in a weary land." They were greatly cheered on retracing their steps to find that the seed scattered on their journey of love had fallen in good ground. The tavern-keeper with whom they had labored so lovingly had given up his sinful business, and was now keeping a strictly temperance house. Indeed, there was now no rum sold in the town. With deep interest and love for the dear people in the field in which they labored, and looking to God to bless their labors, they took their way to the home where were the dear children whom to leave was so hard.
It was the beginning of winter before they prepared to return, so that it was impossible for them to use the carriage with which they made the journey, and it was finally decided to put the carriage on runners, and in this way the long return journey was made.
Some years later they went over the same ground by carriage on a second visit to the provinces. In one place, as they were driving along through a long wood, they were met in the road by a huge bear, which stood its ground for some time, but finally retreated and allowed the Friends to go on their mission. Soon after this visit Eli Jones felt that it was his duty to go over the meetings of Canada and to speak to the Friends there, both in the different assemblies and by their firesides. His dear wife in the mean time was making a tour through New England, doing the work which was laid upon her. It was a trial for them to be so widely separated, but each was in the proper place. Sybil Jones was brought low with sicknessand forced to hasten home. Eli Jones came from his field of service, and called on his friend Daniel Smiley, where he found his wife very ill; but recovery was granted, and they came rejoicing to the family at home.
"I have always been thinking of the different ways in which Christianity is taught, and whenever I find any way that makes it a wider blessing than any other, I cling to that: I mean to that which takes in the most good of all kinds, and brings in the most people as sharers."
"I have always been thinking of the different ways in which Christianity is taught, and whenever I find any way that makes it a wider blessing than any other, I cling to that: I mean to that which takes in the most good of all kinds, and brings in the most people as sharers."
After their return from this last visit they passed a few years in quiet work at home, often attending the different quarterly meetings in New England, and generally taking an annual trip to Newport to be present at the yearly meeting, which was occasionally attended by Friends from the West and from Great Britain, bringing thither knowledge of far-off lands where the whitening fields called for more laborers.
In 1845 they felt called to go over the meetings of Friends in nearly all parts of the United States, and this and the next year were mostly taken up with that work.
Eli Jones has since travelled over this ground many times, and has often visited the different yearly meetings of America, but always with quite different feelings from those which were in their hearts at the first extensive visit. John Wilber had been "disowned" by the Friends only two years before, and his upholders who had separated from the Society were in many of the meetings which they visited. There was a generalfeeling of sorrow that a second unhappy division should appear in the midst of peaceful neighborhoods and the animosity arising from fruitless argument had weakened the loving spirit and dampened the zealous ardor of many who should have been the unbiased spokesmen of the gospel of Christ.
Eli and Sybil Jones endeavored to draw the two parties together into the house of faith and true belief. It is almost impossible in the midst of church differences for any one who is interested to be unprejudiced in his judgment. Bitterness shows itself in the hearts of the most loving. Differences are exaggerated and words are misunderstood for things. The main body are over-eager to win back those they are losing, while they are inflicting deeper wounds by their too hasty blows at what seems the heresy of their opponents, and the latter cherish a feeling of glory in the size of the rent they are making. These two Friends tried sweetly and gently to persuade those differing with them that the ancient Rock was the only foundation for their building. They visited the families of nearly all the meetings and impressed their thoughts on the individual members. If perhaps they accomplished little in cementing the two bodies, they did much to strengthen the weak and to point the unsheltered to a Tower of safety and defence. It may be interesting to follow them in a few extracts from Sybil Jones's journal:
"Left home 9th mo., 1845, with a certificate to visit in the love of the gospel the yearly meetings of Ohio, Indiana, Baltimore, and North Carolina. We tookpassage on the steamer John Marshall from Augusta to Boston, and from there by cars to Lynn, where we attended their quarterly meeting. Friends in this meeting are brought under deep exercise on account of the attendance of a committee from the Separatists and John Wilbur in person. They took full liberty to throw out their sentiments and bore very hard on Friends, all of which Friends were mercifully favored to bear with true Christian patience. After being detained seven hours the meeting adjourned until nine the next morning, at which time they convened without interruption and were greatly refreshed together.
"From Lynn we went to New Bedford, where a small meeting of the Wilburites is held, some of whom we called to see and were treated kindly, but were painfully afflicted in spirit under a sense of their alienation from the unity of the Spirit by which we are called. Friends here are not numerous, but upright standard-bearers. In the morning attended Newtown meeting, which was also attended by the Separatists (a few being here). After a time of solemn retirement before the Lord truth rose into dominion and a contriting time it was."
They went on by boat to New York, and from there to Philadelphia and Baltimore, where John Meader, Thomas Willis, Richard Carpenter, and others met them to go in their company farther west: "We reached Mount Pleasant the day previous to select meeting, which began the 8th of 9th mo. The spirit of bitterness has made sad havoc here. The four visiting Friends were duly proved in suffering with the suffering. No notice was taken of any certificateson their minutes. The servants of the Lord in attendance were of one heart and one mind, and there were times amid the conflict that the gracious ear, I doubt not, inclined to the fervent petition, 'Lord, save us or we perish.' A calm stole over the troubled waves, and ability was vouchsafed to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ.
"The meeting closed on the 12th of the month, and the next morning we proceeded on our way to Cincinnati. We took the steamer New Hampshire, and were more than five days on the Ohio River. The water was low, so that we were often aground some hours. We had a meeting on board with the passengers, and it was crowned by the presence of Him who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand and causeth the mountains to flow down at His presence. We were treated with great kindness and respect. The first part of our passage I noticed some playing cards, which brought me under great exercise, and after carefully examining the subject I thought it my duty before retiring to rest to walk to the table and express my feelings. Asking leave of them, I proceeded to relieve my mind, which was received kindly, and I saw no more card-playing afterward. I felt great peace in taking up this cross. May I always be willing to do His will who leadeth safely and sustaineth the soul amid every conflict!
"We arrived in Cincinnati on the 18th. After our arrival I informed a Friend that the subject of visiting families had rested with great weight upon my mind; which he communicated to some of the select members, and it resulted in an opportunity with all of them.I opened the subject before them, and a sweet cementing season of divine approval was graciously afforded. They fully and feelingly united with us and encouraged us to proceed therein."
They visited nearly all the families in that region, and felt encouraged in the labor. She writes:
"I believe it is the design of the Head of the Church to pour out a rich blessing on this part of His inheritance; indeed, He seems turning His hand upon the little ones, and will, I believe, raise up valiants among the youth, who will publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all His wondrous works."
Having done much work in Ohio and Indiana, they came over the Alleghany Mountains, and revisited Baltimore, forming many pleasant acquaintances with the Friends in that city, and holding meeting for public worship, as well as visiting the families for more quiet work. They next turned toward the South, and reached North Carolina in time for the yearly meeting. There was much feeling here in regard to the separation, and an epistle from the Separatists was rejected at this yearly meeting.
In regard to the slaves, she writes:
"Vital religion is very low. Truth has fallen in the streets, and Equity cannot enter in some places. Here is a suffering seed in many portions of this land of slavery. Friends have borne in meekness a noble testimony against its iniquity, and, though they often feel disheartened at the shadowy prospect, I believe their upright example has had, and will still have, salutary influence. The Lord has inclined His gracious ear to the multiplied cries of the oppressed, andthose who suffer for them as being bound with them, and will hasten the blessed day when Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand unto God and the oppressor shall no more oppress.
"There are so many rents and divisions throughout Christendom that many are crying, Who shall show us any good? I earnestly desire that these overturnings and siftings may tend to draw the people to the living eternal Substance, to build on the ancient Foundation of all the holy prophets and apostles. There is great need of more dedication and a stirring up to greater diligence in this land."
The work and service in Carolina were carried on in great bodily weakness, and often Sybil Jones was compelled to remain at home while Eli Jones and the Friends with them attended the meetings. At the beginning of the new year they returned to their Maine home to pass a few quiet years before undertaking a still more extensive journey.
"Be sure they sleep not whom God needs, nor fearTheir holding light his charge, when every hourThat finds that charge delayed is a new death,* * * * * *So intimate a tie connects me with our God."Browning.
"Be sure they sleep not whom God needs, nor fearTheir holding light his charge, when every hourThat finds that charge delayed is a new death,* * * * * *So intimate a tie connects me with our God."Browning.
"Be sure they sleep not whom God needs, nor fear
Their holding light his charge, when every hour
That finds that charge delayed is a new death,
* * * * * *
So intimate a tie connects me with our God."
Browning.
There is wonderful harmony in God's work in the different kingdoms and sub-kingdoms of His domain. When His method of working is resisted, there is always harsh conflicting, and finally He removes the obstacle; but wherever we look, so long as there is a submission to His plan, there is never a jar, never a halt on the road to the great end which He has in view, be it in the growth of a tree, in the motion of a world through space, in the maturity of animal or human life, or in the development of spiritual being. But the first rule that must be fulfilled before He can rightly use any of His intelligent creations is that they fully submit themselves to Him to be trained and used. Just as the brook yields strict obedience to the gentle impulse which moves it from its source on through its winding channel to its home in the great ocean of waters, so all who are to be the servants of the Most High must bewillingto become the instruments through which He works, and must let Him flow through unhindered. Those whom He will use Heprepares just as much, and in a higher sense, as He makes the lily grow—not by any toiling and spinning on its part, but by putting a life within it which animates and builds up the whole structure; and as the lily adorns the spot in which He puts it, so His workmen should beautify the vineyard where He sets them.
It is a very marked fact in the lives of the two of whom I am writing that they not only gave themselves up to be prepared by Him who was to use them, but they also waited until He showed them where they should work. There is work everywhere which is waiting to be done, nor does any one do well who idly sits still until he is told just where to begin, but God has His chosen workmen fitted on purpose for a special place, as much as an earthly master-builder, and the time comes to every one when it is imperative for him to hear the order which he is to execute. The Lord spake unto Moses often, and He who made known His ways then has power to tell His will to whom he wishes now, and the proper messenger does not embark before the message comes.
I find in the earlier life of Eli and Sybil Jones that their great, absorbing wish was that they might be in full harmony with Him whom they served. They looked up to be taught, and He gave just the right service to enlarge and strengthen their powers, so that they might be prepared for the more difficult undertaking which now presented itself. No one who reads the journal which follows will think they went to Liberia prompted by their own feelings, but the service was evidentlylaid upon them.
To understand properly the struggle through which Sybil Jones passed before leaving her home, it will be necessary to picture to ourselves the circumstances surrounding her nearly half a century ago. She had grown to womanhood in a little town in Maine, having exceedingly limited opportunities for obtaining a knowledge of the world and the ways of men and women; she was now the mother of five children, who needed their parents' care; she had just undergone the sorrow of seeing many dear to her pass from earth, while still others of her family were already on deathbeds: and now she was to go from all that earth held dearest to her, perhaps never to see even her own country again. To-day to travel is the ordinary course; fifty years ago it was a rare and momentous event for one to go far from home. It would seem most hazardous to a frail woman to go from Maine to Baltimore, there to embark, not in a steamer with modern conveniences, but in a sailing-packet with rough passengers and still rougher crew, for the west coast of Africa. Let us not wonder as we read her account that she waited long and counselled earnestly with her own heart, for if she should go self-sent only perils insurmountable would be before her, but on God's errands, sent by His command, she knew of nothing to fear.
TheFriends' Reviewfor 6th mo. 28, 1851, has the following paragraph: "In the meeting of ministers and elders of New England Yearly Meeting on Seventh day, 14th, our dedicated friend Sybil Jones opened a prospect of an extensive religious visit to Great Britain, Ireland, some parts of the continent of Europe, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and some islands on the westcoast of Africa and in the West Indies; and her husband, Eli Jones, informed the meeting that he believed it his duty to bear her company in this extensive and arduous engagement. The subject obtained the weighty and feeling consideration of the meeting, and, though Friends were fully sensible to the magnitude and importance of the undertaking and of the apparently inadequate state of her health, such a current of unity with the prospect was experienced that all doubt of its propriety was taken away; and they were accordingly liberated for the service. The sympathy and prayers of their friends will unquestionably follow them."
As the most of the following year's work was in Liberia, it may be well to speak briefly of the position and condition of that country.
Liberia is a negro republic on the west coast of Africa. Its length along the coast is about three hundred and eighty miles, and its entire area about twenty-four thousand square miles. Sierra Leone, the country to the north of Liberia, was colonized by colored men from Great Britain, assisted by such men as Grenville Sharp, Wilberforce, and Clarkson, the first settlement being made in 1787, and composed partly of negroes who had served in the British army during our Revolutionary War. This and successive colonies were terribly weakened by the death-stroke of the African fever, but they were finally successful; and American philanthropists, who were eager to help an unfortunate race, founded here in 1822 a colony of freedmen who might enjoy the political and social privileges denied to them in the United States. The town of Monroviawas founded and named after James Monroe, then President. They landed in the midst of heathendom, and the first years were years of struggle; but these colored men showed that they could govern themselves. They drew up a constitution much like the American, the first article of which read, "All men are born equally free and independent, and among their natural inherent and inalienable rights are the rights of enjoying and defending life andLIBERTY;" and the fourth section, "There shall be no slavery within this republic."
The republic has a President, Senate, House of Representatives, and a judicial department, so that good laws are passed, explained, and enforced. In 1847 the republic declared its independence, and was finally in 1861 recognized by the United States as a sovereign state. The Methodist Church established a mission here in 1833; the Presbyterian Church followed this example, and sent J. B. Penny into the field the same year. The American Episcopal Church was at work in the republic as early as 1836, while the Baptists turned their attention there in 1845, so that it was in fact a "missionary republic." The present population of the republic comprises about 18,000 civilized negroes, chiefly of American origin, and 1,050,000 half-wild natives, who are gradually adopting a settled life and conforming to the habits of their civilized countrymen. Professor David Christy said in a lecture in 1855: "If a colony of colored men, beginning with less than a hundred, and gradually increasing to nine thousand, has in thirty years established an independent republic amidst a savage people, destroyed the slave-trade onsix hundred miles of the African coast, put down the heathen temples in one of its largest districts, afforded security to all the missions within its limits, and now casts its shield over three hundred thousand native inhabitants, what may not be done in the next thirty years by colonization and missions combined were sufficient means supplied to call forth all their energies?"
It was during this visit to Liberia that Eli Jones first felt his heart fill with zeal for missionary work. One day, going to pay a visit to President Roberts, he found a large band of fierce natives assembled in the President's room to have him arbitrate their quarrel. The dispute being settled peacefully, the President introduced Eli Jones, asking a noble-looking chief if he would like to have this man go with them to talk about God to their tribe. The prompt and earnest answer was, "Yes, and we will build him a house if he will come and stay." At once he saw in mind the needs of these and the thousands of other human beings waiting for some one to bring to them the fuller teaching of the way to a higher Christian civilization, and from that date he was more than ever desirous to be an instrument of help.
The following poem was written by Elizabeth Lloyd[4]on the departure of Eli and Sybil Jones for Africa:
THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.
"Behold, I will send my messenger."