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Show S7G c~.r h, Rife ami Progrefs ~ VoL. I. r. tiJ<m But antecedent to this, they firft prefent themfelves, to t694- ~~aM~nthly Meeting, for the Affairs of the Church where they re~de;_there ~ declaring their Intentions, to take one an_orher a~ H~sband and W1fe, tf the fltd Meeting b:1ve noth1ng rna.terial to ~bJeft: agamft tt. They are c~nftan~· 1 afked the neceffary Queihons, as. m Cafe. of Parents or Guard1ans, tf the have acquainted them wit~ rh:tr lntenuon, an~ have then Confent, f.:lc y The Method of the Mee!mg JS, ~o take a h:1mute thereof, and to 'oint roper Perfons to enqune oftheu Conve!fatton and Cl~arnefs from :ftPothe~ and whether Jhey have d1fcharged theu Duty to their Paten~ at Guardians; and to make Report thereof to. the next Monthly Me~ttng, where the fame Parties; are defired to gr,Me the!r Atteffindanche.' Pin Cafc1e1tt aP_; ears thty have proceed~ orderly, the 7eung pa es t eu ropo a, an~ forecords it in rheirMeetmg ~ook. And 1n Cafe the Woman he a Wtdow, and hath Children, due Care IS there t~ken, that Pro.v1fion alfo be made by her for the Orphans, before the Meenn~ pafs the Pr?pofal~ of Marruge: Advifmg the Parties concerned,. to app~mt a convemen~ T1me and Pl.ace, ;~:nd to give fining Notice to rheu R~lanons, and i?ch Fr!ends and Ncngh· bouts, as they defire fhould be the W1tnelfes of thel[ ¥arnag_e : Where they take one another by the Hand, and by Name, prom1fe Re~tprocally, ~ove and Ftdelity, after the Manner before expre!fed. Of all wh•c~ Proceedings, N rative in Way of Certificate is made, to wh1ch theftud Parnes firft fer ~heir s;nds, thereby making it their 1\a and Deed; .and then dtvers R lations Spef.\ators and Audttors fer theu Names as Wttneffe$, of what th~y Sail and Stgned~ And this Certificate is a!"ter"'!ard Reg~ftred in ~he Record belonging to the Meeting where the ~arna~e 1s folemrnze9. Whtch 1 ular Method bas been, as it deferves, a~ judged 10 ~urts of Law a good ;f . where it has been by crofs and 11l People d1fputed, a1td conrefted, r::~;: ~f the accuA:omed Formalmes of Prielt and Rin~, f.1c Ceremo-nies they ha\·e refufed: not out of Humour, but Conft;lcnce reafonahly rounded; tnafmuch as no Scnpture·Example ~ells us, t~t the Pndt had ~ny other Part of old Ttme, than that of a Wunefs among ~he reft, before hom the ]ew1 ufed to take one another: And therefore th1s PAOple look w on it as an Impofition to advance the Power and P~ofits of ·the Cler!JY: ~d fo; the Ufeof the Rmg, it is enough to fay, that 1t was an HeatbeDijh and Vain Cuftom, and never in PraEhce among the Peopl,e 9f God, ]ewt, or Primitive Cbriflian.t: The Words of the ufual Form, as wllh my Body I tbee worfoip, &c. are hardly defenfible. In fhort,. ~ey are more careful, exaa and regular, than any Form now ufed; and lt IS f!ee of the Inco.oveIliencics, with which other Methods are atte~ded: T~etr Care and Checks being fo many, and fuch, as that no Cb.ndeihne M:ur1,3ges can be perform~ ed xam Iotn gm tahye mno. t be unfit to fay fornethm. g here of '·• · B' b > B · l ~.,.uetr trt zany. ur111 s, whi~h make up fo much of the Pomp and Sol~moity of .too many ~lied Ghriftians. For Births, the Parents N_ama tbeu own Children;_ wh_Jch ~s ufually .fome Days after they are born, m the ~refence of the M1dw1fe, 1f fh can be there and thofe that were at the Btrth, who afterwards fign a c:Ctiticate for that Purpofe vrepared, Of the Bi~th ~nd Name of the Ch_ild or Children; which i1 recorded in a.p~operBoo·k, 1n the Mo!tthly ~eetmg 10 which the Parents belong; avotdmg the accuftomed Ceremomes and Fe~\va¥heir Burials are performed ~ll'h the fame Simplicity. If the BoJy of th~Deceafed be near any publick Meeting Place, ir il ufually ~rried thither, for the more conve~ient ReceptiOn of thofe that acc~mpany 1t, t~ the Burying·Ground. And u fo falli our fometimes, that whtle the M~et lng is g:Jthering for the Burial, fame or other has a Word ~f Exhortat1o~, for the Sake of the People there met together. After whtch the Body IS born away by Young Men, or e~fe thofe that are of theirNeighbourbood,ot thofe that were mofi of the lnnmacy ofthedeceafed Party: T~e Corps be· ingina PltzinCoffin. witho11tany CovermgorF11rnuure PP?n lt: At the Ground, they paufe fome Tin;te before th~y put the Body Int-o 1t's Grave, that if any there fhould have anr Thtng upo~ rhem 1P exhort the People, VoL. I. OJ the People r:all'd Quakers. People, they. may nor be difappoint!;d, and that. the Relation• may the more R~tJredly and Solemnly take their la!t Leave of the Body of rheir departed Ktndr~d, and the Speilators have a Senfe of Mortality, by the O~cafion then gtven them, to retleEt: upon their own Latter End. Other· Wife, they_ have no fet Rites or Ceremonies on thofc Occafions. Neithe't ~o the Kmdred of the Deceafed ever wear Mourning ; they looking upon ~t as a Worldlr <;eremony and Piece of Pomp; and that what Mourning lS ~t for a Chnfttan to ~ave, at the Departure of a Beloved Relation or Fncnd, fhould be worn In the Mind, which is only fenfible of the LoiS . and the Love they had to them, and Remembrance of them to he out~ wardly 7xprefs'd by a Refpe£\: to their Advice, and Care of th~fe they ha:ve lefr be_hmd them, and_ their Love of that they Loved. WJ!:ich ConduEl:: of th~us, tho' unmod1(h or unfafhionable, leaves nothing of the Subftance of. ~hmgs n7gl~8:ed or undone: And as they aim :tt no more, fo that Sim~ l!City of L1fe 1s what they_ obferve with great Satisfaction 1 tho' it fomeH~ ein~appens not to be wuhour the Mockeries of the vain World they Thefe Things to befure gave them a Rough and Difagreeable Appearance Wit~ the ~eneraltty; who thought them T11rners 1[ the World upfide down, as mdeed, In fome Senfe they were: But in no other than th:tt wherein Paul WJS f? charged, viz. To bring.Tbings h_ack imo rl~eir Primitive nnd rigbt Order agam. For thcfe and fuch like PraCltces of the!Ts were not the Refult of Humour, or f?r Civil DiflinOion, _as fame have fancied, but a Fruit of If/Ward ~enfe, w.h1ch God, through h1~ Holy Felt, had begotten in them. T hey dtd not confider how to .con~radt8: the World, or diftinguiflt themfel ':'es as a Parry fro~ others ; H bemg none of their Bufinefs1 as it was not thctr lote~.:eft: No, It was not the Refulr of Confultarion or a Framed Defign, by which to declare or recommend Schirm or Noveity. But God ha\'ing given them a Sight of rhemfelves, they faw the whole V/orld in rhef11mt Glaft of Tr11th; and fenfibly difcerned the Affeaions am\ Paffions of Men, and the Rife and Tendency of Things: What it was that gratified the Luft of the Flejh, rbe Lujl oj rbe Eye and the Pride of L ife, wbicb art nor of the Father but of rbe World. And from thence fprang in the Night ofDarknefs and Apoftacy, which hath been over People through their Degeneration from the Light and Spirit of God, thefe and many other vain Cuftoms, which are feen by the Heavenly Day of OJrift, tbar dawn$ in the Soul, to be, either wrong in their Original; or, by Time and Abufe hurtful in their Praaice. And tho' rhefe Things feemed Trivial to fo~e, and rend red thefe People Stingy and conceited in fuch Perfons Opinion ; there was and is more in them, than they were, or are aware of, It was not very eafie to our Primitive Friend$ to m::~ke rhemfelves Sigbrr and Spellockr, and the S~orn and Derifion of the World; which they eafily forefaw muft be the Confequence of fo Unfajhionable a Converfation in it: B.ur here was the ~ifdom of God ~een il1 the Fooli!hnefs of thefe Things;, F1Ift, That they .d1fcovered the SarrsfaOton and Concern that People had in and for the Fafh10ns of this World, notwithftand ing their High Pretences to another; in that any Difappointmcnt about them came fo very near them, as that rhe grearefi: Honetly, Virtue, Wifdom and Ability, were unwelcome without them: Secondly. It feafonably and profitably diviJetl Convcrfation; For this making their Society uneafte to their Relationr and Acquaintance, it gave them the Opportunity of mbre Retirement and Solirude s wherein they mer with better Company, even the Lord God their ReJcemer; and grew thong in his Love, Power and Wifdom, and were thereby better qualified for his Service. And the Succefs abundantly tbow'd it: BlejJed be the Jo.'nme of tbe LorJ. And though they were not Great and Learned in the Efteem of this World (for then they haQ. not wanted Followers upon their own Credit and Authority) yet they were genera1ly of the mo{l Sober of the feveral Per~ fwafions they were in, and of the moft Repute for Religion; and many of them of good Capacity, Subfinnu and A.aount among Men. · Aoo |