to Walney Island must have drawn
their friendship closer than ever. In spite of hardships these were
happy days as they went about the country together on God's errands.
But these days came to an end.

You see, Nayler had not found his faith after a long struggle as
George Fox had done. Perhaps he had accepted it a little too easily,
and too confidently, in his own strength. He was a splendid, brilliant
preacher, and he loved arguing for his new belief in public. Once, in
Derbyshire, in an argument with some ministers, he got so much the
best of it that the crowd was delighted and cried out, 'A Nailer, a
Nailer hath confuted them all.'

Another time, when he was attending a meeting at a Friend's house, he
says that 'hundreds of vain people continued all the while throwing
great stones in at the window, but we were kept in great peace
within.' It would be rather difficult to sit quite still and 'think
meeting thoughts' with large stones flying through the windows, would
it not?

Once, when I was at a service on board ship, a few years ago, a
tremendous wave broke through the port-hole and splashed the kneeling
men and women on that side of the saloon. They were so startled that
nearly all of them jumped, and one called out quite loudly, 'Oh,
what's that?' But the clergyman went on quietly reading the service,
and very soon everything became still and quiet again.

James Nayler also continued to give his message of stillness and calm,
and the gathered people, listening to him intently, forgot to think
about the stones. He must have had a great deal of that strange
quality that we call magnetism. Just as a magnet attracts bits of iron
to it, so some people have the power of attracting others to listen to
them and love them. Fox was the most powerful magnet of all the Quaker
preachers. He attracted people in thousands all over the country. But
Nayler seems to have had a great deal of magnetism too, though it was
of a different kind. For one thing he was handsomer to look at than
Fox. He is described as 'of ruddy complexion and medium height, with
long, low hanging brown hair, oval face, and nose that rose a little
in the middle: he wore a small band close to his collar, but no band
strings, and a hat that hung over his brows.'

But it would have been happier for him if he had not been so
good-looking, as you will see presently. He must have had much charm
of manner, too. A court lady, Abigail, Lady Darcy, invited him