"But—but if thee art a true Friend, would not the word of the Lord be the same to thee as to my father?" said Bessie after a pause.
"Nay, that is where thee makest so grave a mistake," said Dame Drayton, sitting down by Bessie's side, and drawing little Rose close to her. "The Lord hath a word of guidance for each if we will but listen and obey it, without seeking to follow what He may say to another. See now, He hath made me the mother of tender children, and given to thee the care of little sisters, which is next in honour to that of being their mother. Now His word to us will be in accord with this, to guide and direct us in our duty, how to walk before them in love."
"But my mother—?" began Bessie.
"Thy mother is a brave and true Friend, following the word of the Lord, I doubt not," said Dame Drayton quickly; "but because she did that which the Lord, bade her do, it doth not follow that thee should do the same, for the voice of the Spirit may have altogether another word for thee, and thou must listen to that word and follow it, though it lead thee in the way thou wouldest shun. Just now, thou art longing to proclaim to all London that thou art of the despised sect of Quakers, and by this thou wouldest bring grave trouble upon all this household, for the Lord Mayor would not send to arrest a girl like thee, but the man and woman who harboured thee, and so we should be sent to the Bridewell, and thou and my own little ones become an added burden to our brethren."
"Would they not send me to prison?" said Bessie, in a disappointed tone.
"I trove not; though King Charles may profess to think men and women are plotting against his throne, he would scarcely accuse a child like thee, and so thou and thy sisters would but be cast forth upon the world again. Wilt thou try to think of this, Bessie; and to remember that the Lord ever speaks to us of the duty that lies nearest to our hand, if we will but listen and obey, instead of seeking to follow the word He may have given to another? This is how so many mistakes are made, dear child. We think that the word spoken to another must be for us also, and so our ears are deafened to the true message that the Spirit is trying to make us hear and understand."
"But dost thou not think my father obeyed the voice in his heart?" asked Bessie quickly.
"Yea, verily, dear child. Nought but the strength that God alone can give can help even a Friend to bear testimony to the truth before such cruel enemies; but dost thou not see that, while some are called to be martyrs for the truth, others are commanded to take up the cross of everyday life, and bear it meekly and patiently, though it lead not to such honour and renown as the martyr may claim? This is what we are called to, dear child. Thou and I must take care of the little ones at home, not denying our faith if any ask us concerning it, but seeking not to thrust it before the eyes of men; content to be unnoticed and unknown, but ever listening to the voice that will not fail to make itself heard in our hearts, if we will but listen with a simple mind."
Bessie bowed her head, but she was only half convinced of the truth her friend had spoken. Her father had declared again and again that they had no right to sit calmly doing the everyday work of life, while sinners were perishing for lack of the word of life.
He had not scrupled to denounce his neighbours who went to church as formalists and hypocrites, and even in the church itself had stood up and warned parson and people alike, telling them that God could be worshipped in the open fields, in the house or shop, better than in a steeple-house; and he had gathered crowds around him in the fields beyond Southwark, and taught them the truth as he had received it from the lips of George Fox, the founder of their Society.