Page:Darby - A narratives of the facts.djvu/79

 unjust knoweth no shame.” “We are virtually excommunicated persons.” Did any one ever dream that I excommunicated Mr. Hatchard, or Mr. Courtenay, and a thousand other saints, because I do not go to the Established Church. Was ever such nonsense palmed on people? And yet one of my reasons is because they do not judge evil nor exercise discipline, as it is as to Ebrington Street. Mr. Newton’s alleged evil, and to my mind proved evil, deserved to be judged, and so did other evil, and it was not, but was avoided and refused to be judged. When the brethren, who certainly treated me with very little concern, whatever they did Mr. Newton, said I must be judged too, I made no difficulty: but nothing could induce Mr. Newton to allow it, and they had no courage to go any further. It was not to be. But this is not treating people as excommunicated. Mr. Clulow urged at one time, walking in love as brethren still on me in Mr. Rowe’s shop. Did I treat him as excommunicated, or Mr. Soltau. But this is not all. It is really not a shameful but a shameless statement. Mr. Soltau who signs first here, positively refused to dine at table with me. Will he deny it? Mr. Newton refused to meet me, when investigation was desired by our coming face to face, because I was an excommunicated person. It was the common ground of triumph that I could not bring the matter before the Church, because I was an excommunicated person, by leaving the assembly. Shall I say that Mr. Dyer lectured that though Christians, yet, all were not to be treated as such? Shall I name all those who, led by the example and instruction of Mr. Newton, refused to salute us in the street? Those who by Mr. N.’s directions refused to see old friends they had previously sent for? Mr. N. began it to a sister, who stated she had proposed calling on him to assure him it was no want of good feeling towards him in leaving, by refusing to see her, and telling