Eliza Paul Kirkbride Gurney

I came across this collection of correspondence of Eliza P. Gurney (1801-1881), a prominent Quaker lady of her time.

http://archive.org/stream/memoirandcorres01gurngoog#page/n9/mode/2up

Her letters are very moving and spiritually deep! Obviously I'm a Catholic and not a Quaker, but even I find much of what she says very touching, and often helpful.

There is an interesting account of meeting the King and Queen of the French and their family in 1843. Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie had recently lost their eldest son in a tragic accident.

A former Quaker and convert to Catholicism once said to me that Quakerism and Catholicism were so far apart that they meet, if you know what I mean. They share similarities, especially in the appreciation of the need for silence in the spiritual life.

Very interesting! That could be. Then again, God is always working trying to inspire and lead everyone to the truth, so it makes sense that we would find insight even in places which might surprise us.