Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the GospelYeardley, John
Religion
Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel
Yeardley, John
Clergy -- United States -- Biography; Quakers -- Biography; Yeardley, John, 1786-1858
We reached the head of the fiord, writes John Yeardley by 12 o'clock, and
found but poor accommodation. We three had one room with three beds; Endre
Dahl with his willing-hearted and contented men lodged in a barn on straw.
There was time enough to arrange for a meeting in the morning, and we
applied for a room at the inn; but a little knot of illiberal Haugeans
[followers of Hauge], or _Saints_, as they call themselves, persuaded
our landlord not to let us meet in his house. But we obtained better
accommodation under the rocks in a house containing two rooms connected by
a passage, and, seating ourselves in the centre, could be well heard by
those outside the door. We had a good meeting.
Returning to Sand, he continues:--
The wind being against us, the men had to work very hard at the oar to
bring us in time for the meeting appointed for 6 o'clock at Sand. Some of
the Friends from near Saevde accompanied us in their small boat; and some
from Sand had gone many miles to attend the meeting at Saevde, and returned
to the one at Sand. Their zeal is great and their love fervent. This was a
very crowded meeting, and proved a satisfactory time. We found here a few
of the _Saints_, but of a more liberal cast; they expressed great
grief that their brethren at the head of the fiord had refused the
peaceable messengers of the gospel from a far country a house in which to
meet. This unwelcome news had reached them long before our arrival.
At a later date, John Yeardley relates an occurrence which happened at
Sand, worthy of note in itself, and which must have been not a little
confirmatory of his faith. It came to his knowledge after his return to
Stavanger.
When we were at Sand, one of the Friends who joins in holding the silent
meeting invited several of our ship's company to his house; but the man's
wife was so exasperated that she drove them away, saying she would not
have such folks under her roof. She had confounded the principles of
Friends with those of some wild persons who had gone about the country
spreading ranterism, and giving the people the idea that they were of our
Society. It was in vain to reason with her, and the husband, for the sake
of peace, mildly consented to let the Friends withdraw. However, she
attended our public meeting, where the gospel doctrine of our Society was
pretty fully illustrated; and I felt constrained also to preach on the
unreasonableness of persecution for conscience' sake, either by the
government, private persons, or families. Conviction seized her heart, and
she became broken to pieces. After the meeting she sought up the Friends
whom she had driven from her house, and told them she could not be happy
unless they would give her a proof of forgiveness by taking up their abode
in her family so long as they might remain in the place. Several of them
accepted the invitation, which gave them an opportunity for free and
satisfactory conversation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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