FRIENDS’

REVIEW.

A Beligions, Literary and Miscellaneous Sournal,

 

Von. XV.

PHILADELPHIA, EIGHTH MONTH 16, 1862.

No. 50.

 

- EDITED BY SAMUEL RHOADS,
To whom all Communications may be addressed.

: PUBLISHED WEEKLY,
At No. 109 N. Tenth street, Philadelphia.

Price, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE, Two dollars per annum, or six copies
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Postage on this paper, When paid quarterly oryearly in advance
13 cents per annum in Pennsylvania, and 26 cents per annum ip
other States. Bere

 

For Friends’ Review.
NOTICES OF DAVID COOPER.
NO. XXI. ae

[Diary resumed.]—“ Fifth mo. 5th. At a Se-
lect Quarterly Meeting held at Salem,a proposal
from Salem Friends, (which had been mentioned
at two preceding Quarters,) of altering the hour
of meeting from 11 to 12 o’clock, was now con-
sidered, Friends appearing very generally against
any alteration, it was consented, out of conde-
scension to Greenwich Friends, to make the al-
teration in the one held in 11th month, for three
years, on trial.

‘At this Select Quarterly Meeting, a public
Friend, in pressing to. humility, urged that his
lowest times were always his best times, which
expression he several times repeated : on which
I feel free to leave this remark. Whilst he was
speaking, I thought I was sensible from whence
arose this mistake, which is too common among
Friends, of believing chat to be humility which
is only a mixture of creaturely will and contract-
edness of spirit, and is for levelling distinctions
which in Divine Wisdom appear in the church.

 

Such persons, by comparing their own weak and

feeble state with those who are more active, and
upon whom a larger share of the weight of busi-
ness rests, considér the one humility, and the
other exaltation and an aspiring mind; when
the latter is often, in reality, much the humblest
man and worthy of double honor, while the
other is but a species of envy instead of humility.
Our lowest times are those in which faith and
hope are the lowest, when we feel ourselves the
most poor and destitute of Divine favor and
strength, and unable to do anything for his

 

honor; so as at times to be even on the brink of
despair, a state in which we can neither do nor
receive good. If these are our best times, then
when we are the most sensible of Divine regard,
and are favored with the largest share of strength
to labor in his cause, must be our worst times ;
which, I trust, neither this Friend nor any other
will admit. : ,
“Sth mo. 27th. I set off from home with
Mark Reeve, to attend Burlington Quarterl
Meeting held at Chesterfield. e were at their
Select Meeting on Seventh-day. On First-day
we were at Stony Brook, which at this time is
looked upon asa sort of Yearly Meeting, from the
expectation that strangers coming to attend the
Quarterly Meeting will be there. Here was a
great gathering of fine topping people, many of
whom appeared very raw, evincing little solidity.
or thoughtfulness. There was a great number

‘more than the house could contain, including

near a hundred negroes. It was a pretty satis-.
factory meeting. At the conclusion, the whites
were desired to withdraw, and give the colored’
persons an opportunity to come in; with whom
there was a satisfactory meeting held. On
Second-day the business of the church was trans-
acted, and on Third-day was held a favored
Youths’ Meeting, after which the Select Meeting
had a short sitting, which was a tendering time.
On Fourth-day we fell in with Ancocas meeting,
and on Fifth-day morning I reached home, wi
satisfaction to my own mind.” i
Although the “ Youths’ Meetings,” here re-
ferred to, are now obsolete, yet many of our
readers are aware that in olden days large meet-
ings for the young persons were held statedly,
which were often seasons of spiritual revival.
On these occasions, the immature state of the
youthful mind was condescended to by the pub-
lic reading of portions of Scripture, and the wri-
ter has in his possession a manuseript collection —
of selected texts issued for the purpose by the
Yearly Meeting. The appointment of a suitable
reader by each Monthly Meeting was enjoined,
and as the number of texts was large, embracing
many topics, it may be presumed that on each
occasion an intelligent selection was made having
reference to the needs of the day. =