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to him to publish it. And yet George Keith pretended that it was printed in great disunity, and against the mind of many Friends, as though it was only approved and promoted by a party, &c. Which I mention, to shew that he stuck at nothing to make good his part.

Against this book of Thomas Ellwood's, George Keith made a heavy complaint to Friends, to have it called in, as being very injurious to him, (to his cause to be sure.) Poor man! who had wrote so many books against Friends, after he had wrote so many for them, and would not take Friends' advice himself, how then could he expect they should answer him? So that his complaint and clamour not prevailing to stifle it, he takes another way; first putting out a sheet against it, called a Loving Epistle; (but envious enough) in which he charged Thomas Ellwood with fifty perversions, &c. which he said he had noted in his book; but left his proofs behind to come after, (the first by post, as the proverb is, the second by Tom Long the carrier) in another book which he threatened to publish, if Thomas Ellwood's was not called in and disowned; which not prevailing either, some weeks after he sent forth his threatened book, miscalled, a Seasonable Information, &c. but very unseasonable for himself, as to his reconciliation with Friends; which he pretended he had rather lay down his natural life, or have his right hand cut off, than be disunited or dis

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jointed from. This book he pretended to be an answer to Thomas Ellwood's epistle, and to contain his proofs (such as they were) of the charge he had published before. Το both of these our friend Thomas Ellwood replied this year, 1694; in a book entitled, A Further Discovery of that Spirit of Contention and Division, which hath appeared of late in George Keith, &c. wherein hiş cavils are answered, his falsehood is laid open, and the guilt and blame of the breach and separation in America, &c. are fixed faster on him; written by way of epistle, as the former was, and recommended as a further warning to Friends. Which begins thus:

'Dear Friends, who have received the truth in the love of it, and have kept your habitation therein, unto whom the truth is exceeding precious, and who desire the prosperity thereof above all things; unto you is the salutation of my endeared, love, in this blessed truth, in which the fellowship of the faithful stands. In this it is I desire to know you, to be known by you, and to have fellowship with you; earnestly breathing to the God of truth, the Father of spirits, that he would be pleased to pour forth more abundantly of his good spirit into all our hearts, and fill us with the blessed fruits thereof, that there may be no room for the enemy to enter, to break this holy fellowship; but that all who profess to believe in the light, may so walk therein, that a clear sight they may have

thereby, and a true discerning between things that differ, and may be able to make a right judgment what is of God, and what is not; that so the design of that spirit, by whatsoever instrument it works, which would break or disturb the church's peace, and cast reproach upon the heritage of God, may be so discovered and laid open, that all may see and shun it. As this is the exercise and travel of my spirit, so it is the service I have been of late, and am at present engaged in. For Friends, it is not many months since I saluted you with an epistle, wherein my spirit was drawn forth, briefly to commemorate the gracious dealings of the Lord with his people; and as in a general way, to remind you of the many attempts the enemy hath made, by force and fraud, to hinder the work of God from going on; so more particularly to warn you to beware of that spirit of contention and division, which hath appeared of late in George Keith, and some few others that joined with him; who have made a separation from Friends in some parts of America. In writing that epis tle I did not consult flesh and blood, neither had I an eye to my own ease and quiet outwardly; for I had no reason to expect rest from so restless a man, nor fair treatment from one, who in his late writings and personal debates, hath so notoriously let loose his pen and tongue, to an unbridled liberty of railing and reviling. But I cleared my conscience, in discharging my duty to God, and to his

church, and therein have that his abuses cannot disturb.'

peace, which all

And so he proceeds to clear himself of the perversions, &c. which George Keith charged him with, and answers all his cavils against his book; manifesting his deceit, evasions and sophistry so effectually, that I do not find that George Keith ever replied to it; being answered home, and having enough, I suppose of the controversy with Thomas Ellwood; for though our friend Thomas an swered several other of G. Keith's books afterwards, (of which hereafter) he never replied to any of them, which shews he had enough of it.

At the end of this book of George Keith's, John Raunce came forth again, with a new slander against Thomas Ellwood, (all his old ones being baffled) reflecting on him about the burial of his father, as if it had not been decently done; which however was false. George Keith's mean mind, it seems, could not resist John Raunce's slight offer, to take off an hundred of his books; but rather glad of any help to run down his opponent, if he could with slander; which he found he could not do with arguments. But had George Keith been a man of any worthiness, says Thomas Ellwood, or his cause defensible, he would not, though an adversary, have suffered John Raunce to have added his abusive piece. to the end of his book, to throw dirt at his opponent. And had John Raunce been a manly adversary, he would have scorned to have

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crept in at the tail of another's book, to renew his slander, no way relating to the subject of the book, when Thomas Ellwood's Fair Examination had lain a twelve-month at his door unanswered. But to creep behind such a mickle man as George Keith was taken to be, John Raunce perhaps might count it no disgrace to repeat his slander, which Thomas Ellwood had answered in his postscript to the Fair Examination; and for a final stroke to it, he produces certificates from those who were concerned about his father, at the time of his death and interment, that he was decently buried; which may be seen at the end of this book, in reply to George Keith. Which put an end to all those lying stories raised concerning the dead, to asperse the living; to the shame and confusion of all the inventors and fomenters of them. The man was dead and in his grave, and there should have rested without envy or detraction; and I am only sorry he seemed to retain his aversion to his son for the truth's sake, which he received in his early days. To the honour of which I attribute it, that he was preserved, and carried through and over all opposition, and lived in reputation and renown to his dying day.

1695. His next book is entitled Truth defended, and the Friends thereof cleared, from the false Charges, foul Reproaches, and envious Cavils cast upon it and them, by George Keith, an apostate from them, in two Books by him lately published; one called A true

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