of such a voyage in such a vessel, the risk, the thought of the
dangers and misery it would bring, took possession of his mind once
more, as he himself confesses: 'Yet entering into reasoning and
letting in temptation and hardships, and the loss of my life, wife,
and children, with the enjoyment of all earthly things, it brought me
as low as the grave, and laid me as one dead to the things of God.'

'Let the sacrifice be made, if it must be made,' he said to himself,
'but it is too much to expect any man to make it willingly.' For days
he went about, in his own words, 'as one dead.'

The eagerness of the Friends to depart, their plans for the voyage,
their happy cares, only loaded his spirit the more. It was a dark,
sad, miserable time; and a dark, sad, miserable man was the owner of
the _Woodhouse_.

Till on a certain day, the Friends coming as usual to visit his ship
brought another with them, a Stranger; taller, stronger, sturdier than
them all; a man with a long drooping nose and piercing eyes--yes, and
leather breeches! It was, it could be no other than George Fox!

What did he say to Robert Fowler? What words did he use? Did he argue
or command? That was unnecessary. The mere presence of the strong
faithful servant of the Lord drew out a like faithfulness in the other
more timid soul.

Robert Fowler's narrative continues:

'But by His instrument, George Fox, was I refreshed and raised up
again, which before was much contrary to myself that I could have as
willingly have died as gone; but by the strength of God I was now made
willing to do His will; yea even the customs and fashions of the
customs house could not stop me.'

'Made willing to do His will.' There is the secret of this 'wonderful
voyage.' For it was absurdly dangerous to think of sailing across the
Atlantic in such a vessel as the _Woodhouse_: or it would have been,
had it been a mere human plan. But if the all-powerful, almighty Will
of God really commanded them to go, then it was no longer dangerous
but the only safe thing they could do.

'Our trembling hands held in Thy strong and loving grasp, what shall
even the weakest of us fear?'

Perhaps Master Robert expected when once he was ready to obey
cheerfully, that all his difficulties would vanish. Instead, fresh
difficulties arose; and the next difficulty was truly a great one. The
press-gang came by, and took Robert Fowler's servants off by force to
help to man the British fleet that w