m in
glory. O how these seasons of refreshing will rise up against us in the
great day of account, if we are not concerned to improve by them! Grant,
dearest Father, that I may experience a nearer and stronger tie to do thy
will more perfectly; and let it please thee to remember those in this
place and this land for whom my spirit so often secretly mourns and prays.

The Diary of 1823 opens with a profound and solemn reflection.

1823. 1 _mo_. 4.--For want of faith we are too much inclined to serve
ourselves before we are willing to serve the Great Master, thinking we may
be able to do much for him afterwards, when it will more accord with our
situation in life. But, alas! this time may never come; if we thus put by
the _acceptable season_, our lives may close with our only having
performed very imperfectly the part which had been designed for us in the
Church militant. Painful would be the sting when appealing to the Judge of
the earth, in a moment when we no longer possessed the capability of
serving him, should the declaration be, Thou hadst a desire to serve me
when in health and strength, but thou wished _first_ to _serve
thyself_. My time was not then thy time, therefore _thy time_ is
not now _my time_.

A letter to his brother, written in the summer of this year (6 mo. 9),
gives a description of the mode of bleaching in use in Germany, which
will, we believe, be interesting to the English reader. John Yeardley
says:

Wilt thou not be surprised when I tell thee that I am about to commence
yarn-bleaching? Thou mayst be sure there is a pretty certain prospect of
considerable advantages, with not much risk, to induce me to make the
attempt. The advantages are threefold--safety, expedition and cheapness.
The first consists in the simplicity of treatment and safety of the
ingredients, no chemical process being made use of; the second arises from
the heat of the climate; the last is easily accounted for from the low
price of labor and the cheapness of the raw material, which is produced in
abundance in the neighborhood. In the country around, for a very
considerable distance, almost every family make their own linen; they grow
or buy the flax, spin the yarn and get it woven, and either bleach it
themselves or send it to others who have better conveniences in water, &c.
As the spring commenced, I noticed these little bleaching-plots wherever I
went, and often wondered that the color was so good. Knowing that s