He halted, therefore, as if waiting till my companion should make way for him; and, as they sat fronting each other, I could not help thinking that they might have formed no bad emblem of Peace and War; for although my conductor was unarmed, yet the whole of his manner, his stern look, and his upright seat on horseback, were entirely those of a soldier in undress, He accosted the Quaker in these words, 'So ho! friend Joshua, thou art early to the road this morning.

Has the spirit moved thee and thy righteous brethren to act with some honesty, and pull down yonder tide-nets that keep the fish from coming up the river ?' 'Surely, friend, not so,' answered Joshua, firmly, but good-humouredly at the same time; 'thou canst not expect that our own hands should pull down what our purses established.

Thou killest the fish with spear, line, and coble-net; and we, with snares and with nets, which work by the ebb and the flow of the tide.

Each doth what seems best in his eyes to secure a share of the blessing which Providence hath bestowed on the river, and that within his own bounds.

I prithee seek no quarrel against us, for thou shalt have no wrong at our hand.' 'Be assured I will take none at the hand of any man, whether his hat be cocked or broad-brimmed,' answered the fisherman.