3. That respectable body of protestant Dissenters, who have assumed the name of FRIENDS, and are by others called _Quakers_, have long had a place of worship in this town, and formed a reputable part of its population. It seems that some of our townsmen have been of that denomination ever since the year 1655. _George Fox_ himself visited this town in the course of that year, and preached here with considerable effect. A Person was sent about the town to apprize the inhabitants of his arrival, and invite them to give him a hearing, especially the more sober and pious part of them, together with the officers of the garrison. A large congregation appears to have assembled, many of whom were much affected by the sermon: consequently, as we learn from Fox’s Journal, a fine meeting or congregation was formed here, “_who had come from the hireling teachers to sit under the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ_.” From that time to this it is supposed that there has always existed here a society of Friends or Quakers. Fox, however, was not the first of that Denomination who visited Lynn. It was visited, as _Sewel_ informs us, by _Thomas Briggs_ two years before, who warned the people to repent, but appears not to have been much listened to, and even to have met a very unchristian reception—“a great mastiff (says Sewel,) was set upon him; but the dog coming near, fawned upon him, and would do him no harm:” so that the poor brute behaved to him much better than those of his own species. But it has often so happened to those who endeavoured to reform the world and turn mankind from the errors of their ways. Fox visited Lynn again in 1662, when some of his Friends were confined here in prison. We find that he preached here then with acceptance; which was, probably, what excited the magistrates to have him apprehended and imprisoned; but before they could effect their cruel purpose, he escaped out of their jurisdiction. Where those of his persuasion held their meetings here in those troublesome times does not appear, but they afterwards met in the Cross Yard near Lady Bridge, which continued to be their place of worship till the erection of their present place in New Conduit Street. This is a neat, but small place; though quite large enough for their congregation, which is supposed to be now much smaller than it has been in former times, as is also the case in most parts of the kingdom—the modern Quakers having but a small portion of that zeal in disseminating their principles which was manifested by their early ancestors. This is to be regretted, as some of those principles are certainly very excellent, and deserve every possible exertion to disseminate them throughout the world. Of the particular tenets of the Quakers a full account may be found in _Barclay’s Apology_, and also in _Clarkson’s Portraiture of Quakerism_. They have no preaching among them, here except when a stranger comes, as they have no public friend or