en he interrupted a meeting in Philadelphia, he was
forcibly ejected by a burly blacksmith. He remained, however, the most
fearless of the earliest abolitionists. Though his methods were
entirely different from Woolman's, and though, no doubt, neither
reformer was influenced by the other, Lay's stubborn fight against
slavery was obviously helpful to Woolman's calmer campaign against the
same evil.

Anthony Benezet, on the other hand, was a reformer of riper judgment
and calmer methods than Lay. He has been described as "a small,
eager-faced man, full of zeal and activity, constantly engaged in
works of benevolence, which were by no means confined to the
blacks."[184] He was a descendant of persecuted French Protestants.
He, therefore, inherited an aversion to any form of persecution, and
readily became a benefactor of the slave. It was inevitable that he
should become a friend of Woolman, and a coadjutor in the movement to
abolish slavery.[185]

Whether Lay or Benezet was influenced by Woolman may be a matter of
speculation and debate. The consideration of primary importance is the
increasing interest manifested in abolition. The Friends were
beginning to realize that slavery was contradictory to the basic
principles of their organization. Woolman's real opportunity,
therefore, came at the memorable Yearly Meeting of 1758, in
Philadelphia--the meeting which Whittier has seen fit to term "one of
the most important convocations in the history of the Christian
church." All during the early part of the meeting, Woolman remained
silent, his "mind frequently covered with inward prayer." But when,
towards the close of the meeting, the subject of slavery was brought
up, he took such an active part in the discussion that he dominated
that part of the meeting. His remarks were simple but impressive.[186]
The effect was so immediate that many slaveholders expressed a desire
to pass a rule to treat as offenders Friends who in the future bought
slaves. But there arose the criticism that the real evil could hardly
be cured "until a thorough search was made in the circumstances of
such Friends as kept Negroes with respect to the uprighteousness of
their motives in keeping them, that impartial justice might be
administered throughout." Sober thought prevailed. Many assented to
the proposition, and others declared that liberty was the Negro's
right. Before the meeting closed, John Woolman, John Scarborough,
Daniel Stanton, and John S