was the explanation of the wonderful voyage. The
_Woodhouse_ and her little company had not been solitary and
unprotected, even when the three 'pretty great ships' drew off for
fear of the Dutch men of war and left them alone.

The prayers of their friends in England were following them across the
vast Atlantic, though unseen by human eyes, even as those hosts of
shining fish, which surrounded the vessel as she drove her prow
through the clear water, would be unseen to a spectator above its
surface. George Fox was praying for the travellers. William Dewsbury
was sure to be praying for them. Friend Gerard Roberts would be also
much in prayer, since the responsibility of the voyage was largely on
his shoulders. Besides these, there were the husbands, wives, and
little children of some of the Friends, the brothers and sisters of
others, all longing for them to arrive safely and do their Master's
work. Now here came the fish to assure Robert Fowler that the faith he
believed was true. Real as the things we can see or touch or feel seem
to us to be, the unseen things are more real still. Ever after, to
those who had crossed the Atlantic in the good ship _Woodhouse_, the
assurance of God's clear guidance and the answered prayers of His
people must have been the most real of all.

Robert Fowler's story of the marvellous voyage ends with these words:
'Surely in our meeting did the thing run through me as oil and bid me
much rejoice.'

FOOTNOTES:

[34] She sometimes spelled her name Dorithy, which is not the way to
spell Dorothy now, but spelling was much less fixed in those days.

[35] The meaning seems to be that whenever fear or misgiving came to
Fowler's heart, the sea also became stormy; while his spirit remained
trustful, the sea was likewise calm.

[36] As the navigating officer of the ship was then called.

[37] It is not quite easy at this distance of time to understand why
'a lion in the way' should mean 'go north,' unless it was because the
'drawing' had been strongly south hitherto, and now that path was
blocked.

XXVI. RICHARD SELLAR AND THE 'MERCIFUL MAN'

_'To resort to force is to lose
faith in the inner light. War only
results from men taking counsel
with their passions instead of
waiting upon God. If one believes,
as Fox did, that the most powerful
element in human nature is that