1662
After Catharine and Sarah had been imprisoned at Malta about three years, there came one Daniel Baker, who did whatever he could, and went also to the inquisitor, to obtain their liberty, but in vain; for he required that some English merchants at Leghorn, or at Messina, should engage for four thousand dollars, that they being released, should never return into those parts. But they were unwilling to enter into those terms, as not knowing what the Lord one time or other might require of them. Daniel, seeing he could not obtain their deliverance this way, offered himself to be imprisoned instead of them; and this not being accepted, he went yet further, and signified, that he was willing to lay down his life for their liberty, if it was not to be purchased otherwise. Great love indeed! of which but few instances are to be found. And they hearing of this, were touched with exceeding great admiration. In the meanwhile, he found a way to get some letters delivered to them, and wrote also himself, both to comfort and exhort them to steadfastness. At length he found means also to speak to them: for on a time, as they stood at the prison gates, he being come in their sight, saluted them in those words: ‘The whole body of God’s elect, right dearly beloved, own your testimony, and ye are a sweet savour unto the Lord and his people.’ To which one of them answered, that it was a trouble to them that they could not be more serviceable. This made his heart melt with pity and compassion, considering the wonderful mercy of the Lord in preserving them without fainting in that sharp trial: and they beholding one another at a distance through the iron grates, were mutually refreshed at that season. They afterwards wrote to him, and signified with the most tender expressions, how highly they valued his great love; and also sent him letters for their friends and relations in England; and he neglected not to write back again to them during his stay, which was in the forepart of the year 1662. But he was forced to leave them prisoners there: yet the time of their redemption drew nigh, which was brought about at the instance of George Fox and Gilbert Latey, by writing to the lord Aubigny, as hath been said already.
Some time before Daniel Baker came to Malta, it had been told them, that if they would turn Catholics, they might dwell at Malta. To which their answer was, that they were true Catholics. One of the magistrates said, that if they would not turn Catholics, they must yet suffer long imprisonment by the pope’s order. And yet it was not true that there was such an order. It was also told them, if they would kiss the cross, they should be released; and they might stay at the house of the English consul, until an opportunity offered to carry them to England. In the meanwhile they heard that the pope had given order to let them pass to England without doing them any hurt. But however it was, they were preserved well contented, and they said resolutely, that they would not kiss the cross, nor purchase their liberty at that rate. It seems the consul aimed at some advantage by their releasement; for he told them that the inquisitor had said, if any one would engage for three or four thousand dollars to be paid, if ever they came thither again, they should be set at liberty. This he said also to D. Baker, and added, that if none would engage, they must die in prison, and that this was the pope’s order. After Baker’s departure, word was sent to some English merchants, concerning such an engagement, but none appeared willing to enter into it; and the prisoners were so far from desiring, that they spoke against it. Yet there were many that sought to obtain their liberty, showing themselves willing to engage for what was reasonable; but all their endeavours were in vain.
Once they fasted three days, and though it was a cold season, they sat upon the ground, with a very little clothes, without stockings or shoes, having nothing upon their heads but ashes. The inquisitors seeing it, wondered exceedingly; and Sarah began to speak zealously against superstition and idolatry. And when the time of their fast was expired, Catharine composed the following
HYMN TO GOD.
All praise to him that hath not put
Nor cast me out of mind,
Nor yet his mercy from me shut,
As I could ever find.
Infinite glory, laud, and praise.
Be given to his name,
Who hath made known in these our days.
His strength and noble fame.
Oh none is like unto the Lamb!
Whose beauty shineth bright,
O glorify his holy name,
His majesty and might.
My soul praise thou the only God,
A fountain pure and clear,
Whose chrystal streams spread all abroad,
And cleanseth far and near.
The well-springs of eternity,
Which are so pure and sweet,
And do arise continually,
My bridegroom for to meet.
My sweet and dear beloved one,
Whose voice is more to me
Than all the glory of the earth,
Or treasures I can see.
He is the glory of my life,
My joy and my delight.
Within the bosom of his love
He clos’d me day and night.
He doth preserve me clean and pure
Within his pavil’lon,
Where I with him should be secure,
And saved from all wrong.
My soul praise thou the Lord, I say,
Praise him with joy and peace;
My sp’rit and mind both night and day,
Praise him and never cease.
O magnify his majesty,
His fame and his renown,
Whose dwelling is in Sion high,
The glory of his crown.
O praises, praises to our God,
Sing praises to our King;
O teach the people all abroad,
His praises for to sing.
A Sion song of glory bright,
That doth shine out so clear;
O manifest it in the sight
Of nations far and near;
That God may have his glory due,
His honour and his fame,
And all his saints may sing anew
The praises of his name.
After Catharine had joyfully sung thus, she went to the well in the court, and drank much water in the sight of the prisoners, as did Sarah also: for they were very dry, and Sarah washing her head also in cold water, they cried out in their language, ‘Ye will kill yourselves, and go to the devil.’ But this they did not fear, neither caught they any cold, and so became a wonder to others.
About half a year after Daniel Baker was gone, it came into Catharine’s heart, that if she could speak with the inquisitor, he would grant them their liberty. And it was not long after that he came to the inquisition court chamber, which they hearing, desired to speak with him, which was granted, and being admitted into his presence, they told him they had not wronged or defrauded any, but had suffered innocently almost four years for conscience-sake, &c. After this the inquisitor was very courteous to them, and promised their liberty in a few days, saying he would send for the consul, and get him to engage for five hundred dollars, to be paid for them if ever they came again. And in case the consul denied this, he would send to Rome to the pope, to set them at liberty without any obligation.
Not many days after the inquisitor came with his lieutenant, the chancellor, and others, and after some discourse, asked them whether they would return back again to their husbands and children, if it were the will of God: to which they answered, it was their intent in the will of God so to do. Hereupon they were released, and the inquisitor took his leave very courteously of them, and wished them a prosperous return to their own country; so likewise did the magistrates, and the inferior officers, not requiring one pennyworth for fees or attendance; yet in their own freedom they gave something to the keeper and some poor men.
Being thus set at liberty, they kneeled down and prayed God never to lay to their charge what they did unto them, because they knew them not. And then they were delivered into the consul’s hands, who told them that he had engaged for them to get them free; but they could never find that it was true. Now they were kept eleven weeks at the consul’s house, before they could get a passage from thence. Catharine in the meanwhile, being under a great concern, because of a judgment that was impending over the city, wrote a paper to the rulers of Malta, in which she said, that on the 25th of the month called August, it came upon her from the Lord to write thus to them in his name, ‘My wrath is kindled against you, and my judgment is set up amongst you, because of your hard-heartedness and unbelief. I the Lord, who desire the death of no man, but that all should return unto me and live, have cast my servants amongst you, contrary to their will, and without their knowledge, to go and forewarn you of the evil that was coming upon you. For all the wicked shall be brought to judgment. I will establish my beloved Son upon his throne, and he shall rule in his princely power, and reign in his kingly majesty, whose right it is over all; and his own spiritual government shall he set up in all places, righteous rule and pure worship in Spirit and in Truth. There is nothing that can prevent the Lord, who saith, If ye will not hear my servant, which speaketh my word, whom ye proved almost these four years, whose life hath been harmless and spotless, in pure innocency amongst you, then will I bring wo upon wo, and judgment upon judgment upon you, till the living shall not be able to bury the dead. My mouth hath spoken it, and my zeal will perform it; and every man’s hand shall be upon his loins for pain; for the day of recompence is come. But if you will hear my servant which speaketh in my name, and return in your minds to the light in your consciences, which convinceth of all evil, and deny all evil thoughts, words, and actions, then will I pour out my spirit upon you, and will soon cure you of your diseases, and heal you of your pain.’
This, and more she wrote, and delivered to the consul to give it to the grand master, and the rest of the governors; but the consul not being pleased with it, threatened her with imprisonment again. What further became of the paper I do not find, but this, that on the 8th of October, there was great thunder and lightning, which set on fire and blew up one of the powder-houses about a mile out of the city, and another powder-house was thrown down; and in the city, five houses were overthrown, most of the glass windows of the palaces and other houses broken, the doors lifted off their hooks, the walls torn, and the whole city terribly shaken, so that being at midnight, a cry went through the whole city, and the bells were rung. At the bed’s feet where Catharine and Sarah lay, was a glass window, which also was broken, but they received no hurt, though the house was so shaken that they did exceedingly fear and quake; but being given up unto the Lord to live and die, their fear was soon taken from them, and turned into joy in the Lord. When it was day the consul came to them, and they being still and quiet, he asked whether they were not dead: and while he was speaking others came in, telling what was done in the city; and he told them that even the ships in the harbour had suffered damage. Then they said, ‘One wo is past, and behold another wo cometh quickly, if ye do not repent.’
Some days after Sarah fasted, sitting upon the ground with ashes upon her head, her neck and shoulders bare; and she spoke to the consul to desire the grand master to proclaim a fast, and to make the people to meet together to wait upon the Lord, with their minds turned to him, that so he might turn away his judgments from them; for the hour of his judgments was come, wherein the painted harlot should be stripped naked, and receive a cup of trembling from the hand of the Lord. The consul performed this message to the magistrates, and the friars said the woman had a good intent. Sometime after the inquisitor came, and talking with them, said, ‘Your intent is good, but the devil hath deceived you.’ And they asked him whether the devil could give power over sin: to which he said, the devil could transform himself into an image of light. This they assented to, but yet said he could not hide himself from the children of light; though they that were in the dark could not discern him. He could not abide to hear this, but went away, and the consul, who was present, wrought against them to get them into bondage again, but in vain. Many now died in the town of a violent fever: whether any other disaster followed upon their prediction, I cannot tell.
At length there came one of the king of England’s frigates, called the Sapphire, commanded by captain Samuel Titswel, who took them in, together with some knights of Malta; among them was the inquisitor’s brother, who often spoke to the captain, that they might not want any thing that was in the ship, and he told them, if they came to Malta again, they should not be persecuted so. And to the captain he said, ‘If they go to heaven one way, and we another, yet we shall all meet together at last.’ But they told him that Christ Jesus, the light of the World, was the only way to the Father.
Departing from Malta, after some time they came to Leghorn, where the merchants showed them great kindness, and sent wine and other things for their refreshment, proffering them also money; but they were unwilling to accept it. From thence they came to Tangier, which the king of England had in marriage with the daughter of the king of Portugal. This place was at that time besieged by the Moors, yet Catharine and Sarah entered the town, and many came flocking into the house where they were lodged, for they boldly exhorted the people to depart from wickedness. They also went to the governor, who was courteous to them, and took their admonition in good part, and promised to follow their counsel. And he would have given them money, but they took none, though they accepted his love; for he commanded that none of the garrison should abuse them either in word or deed, upon pain of severe punishment: yet the Portuguese and Irish were ready enough to have done them mischief. They being inclined to go out to the Moors, desired the governor to let them go forth, but he told them they must expect from that savage people nothing but cruel death, or bonds forever: and though they signified to him that they believed the Lord would preserve them, since they were persuaded that he required of them to go to the Moors, yet the governor in a friendly manner withheld them from going. Being thus stopped, they believed that the Lord accepted of their good will. When they went aboard again, though in another ship, several took shipping with them, from a belief, that on their account, they should have a safe passage. The captain and others that were in the ship, behaved themselves very civilly towards them; and though they met with tempests, yet at length they arrived safe in England.
Catharine afterwards related, that when, (in the inquisition,) she was for many days together in expectation that they should be burnt, she saw in a dream in the night, a large room, and a great wood fire in the chimney, and she beheld one sitting in the chair by the fire, in the form of a servant, whom she took to be the Eternal Son of God: likewise she saw a very amiable well-favoured man-child, sitting in a hollow chair over the fire, (not appearing to be above three-quarters of a year old, and having no clothes on but a little fine linen about the upper parts,) and the fire flamed about it; yet the child played, and was merry. She would then have taken it up, for fear it should have been burnt; but he that sat in the chair bid her let it alone. Then turning about she saw an angel, and he that sat in the chair bid her take up the child, which she did, and found it had no harm; and then awaking, she told her dream to Sarah, and desired her not to fear, since the heavenly host thus followed them.
I have collected this relation of the occurrences of these women at Malta, from several papers and letters, which not long after their return home were published in print. And since no due order was observed there, and many things mentioned, which to avoid prolixity I have passed by, as not very material, I may have haply missed in some case or other, as to the order or series of time, but yet I think the matters of fact are not mutilated. Now to give the reader an idea of the frame of these women’s minds, and their sufferings, I will insert some of their letters: among those which they wrote to their friends in England was this following:
‘O dearly beloved friends, fathers, and elders, and pillars of God’s spiritual house, and brethren and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the measure of love and life of our God, do we salute you all, and do embrace you in that which is eternal, and we do greatly rejoice, and glorify the name of our heavenly Father, that he hath counted us worthy to be partakers of the death and sufferings of his blessed Son with you; though we be the least of God’s flock, yet we are of the true fold, whereof Christ Jesus is shepherd; and he hath had as tender a care over us, as he hath had of any of his lambs which he hath called forth in this the day of his power, and hath carried us through and over as great afflictions as most of our brethren and sufferers for his name, both in mockings, scoffings, scornings, reproaches, stripes, contradictions, perils at land, perils at sea, fiery trials, cruel threatenings, grief of heart, sorrow of soul, heats and colds, fastings, and watchings, fears within, and fightings without; terrible temptations and persecutions, and dreadful imprisonments, and buffetings of Satan; yet in all these our trials, the Lord was very gracious unto us, and did not absent himself from us, neither suffered his faithfulness to fail us, but did bear us up, and keep us from fainting in the midst of our extremity. We had not another to make our moan to, but the Lord alone; neither could we expect a drop of mercy, favour, or refreshments, but what he did distil from his living presence, and work by his own strength; for we sat one in one room, and the other in another, near a year; as owls in deserts, and as people forsaken in solitary places. Then did we enjoy the presence of the Lord, and did behold the brightness of his glory, and we did see you, our dear friends, in the light of Jesus, and did behold your order and steadfastness of your faith and love to all saints, and were refreshed in all the faithful-hearted, and felt the issues of love and life which did stream from the hearts of those that were wholly joined to the fountain, and were made sensible of the benefit of your prayers.
‘O the sorrows, the mournings, the tears! “But those that sow in tears, shall reap in joy.” A true sorrow begets a true joy; and a true cross a true crown: for when our sorrows did abound, the love of God did abound much more: the deeper the sorrows, the greater the joys; the greater the cross, the weightier the crown.
‘Dear friends and brethren, marvel not that Israel is not gathered, our judgment remains with the Lord, and so do our labours; for it was not for want of travail, nor pain, nor love to their souls; for we could have been contented to have fed upon the grass on the ground, so we might have had our freedom amongst them: for, had it not been for the great opposition, they would have followed after us, as chickens after a hen, both great and small. But oh! the swelling seas, the raging and foaming waves, stormy winds and floods, and deep waters, and high mountains and hills, hard rocks, rough ways, and crooked paths, tall cedars, strong oaks, fruitless trees, and corrupted ones, that cumber the ground, and hinder the righteous seed to be sown, and the noble plants from being planted. Oh! they shut up the kingdom against the simple-hearted, and hide the key of knowledge from the innocent ones, and will not enter into the kingdom themselves, nor suffer them that would enter, but stir up the magistrates to form carnal weapons, thinking to prevent the Lord of taking to him his inheritance, and to dispossess his Son, who is heir of all, that he might not have a dwelling-place among them, nor a habitation nigh them; because that his light will discover their darkness, and his brightness will burn up all their abominations, and mar their beauty, and stain their glory, their pomp, and their pride, that it may perish as the untimely figs, and fall as the flower of the field, and wither as the grass upon the house-top. Oh! the belly of hell, the jaws of Satan, the whole mystery of iniquity is at the height, and all manner of abomination that makes desolate, stands where it ought not, and is upholden by a law, that upon pain of death none must speak against it, nor walk contrary to it. But praises to our God, he carried us forth to declare against it daily. Oh! the blind guides, the seducing spirits, that do cause the people to err, and compel them to worship the beast and his image, and have his mark in their foreheads, and in their hands, and to bow to pictures and painted walls, and to worship the things of their own hands, and to fall down to that which their own fingers have fashioned, and will not suffer them to look towards Sion upon pain of death, nor to walk towards Jerusalem upon pain of faggot and fire, but must abide in Babel, and believe whatsoever they speak or do to be truth. But oh! the ways, the worships, the fashions, forms, customs, traditions, observations, and imaginations, which they have drawn in by their dark divinations, to keep the poor people in blindness and ignorance, so that they perish for want of knowledge, and are corrupted, because the way of Truth is not made known among them; they are all in the many ways, out of the one true living way, and their ways be so many and so monstrous, that they are unrehearsable; but the Lord our God hath kindled a fire in the midst of them, that will consume all forms, fashions, customs, and traditions of men, and will burn up the briers, thorns, and tares, stubble, and fruitless trees, and corrupted ones; and will blast all the fruits, works, and labours of wicked and ungodly men, with the mildews of his wrathful indignation, and will scatter all his enemies with the whirlwinds of his displeasure. They do not know the Scriptures: their bibles would grieve any honest heart to behold them, because of the corruption.’
This letter was signed by both of them, though perhaps Catharine was the writer, who also wrote a letter of exhortation to the popish inquisitor at Malta, and another to friar Malachy. Among the letters she wrote to her husband and children, I count the following really worthy to be delivered to posterity:
‘For the hands of John Evans, my right dear, and precious husband, with my tender-hearted children, who are more dear and precious to me than the apple of my eye.
’Most dear and faithful husband, friend, and brother, begotten of my eternal Father, of the immortal seed of the covenant of light, life, and blessedness, I have unity and fellowship with thee day and night, to my great refreshment, and continual comfort. Praises, praises be given to our God for evermore, who hath joined us together in that which neither sea nor land can separate or divide.
‘My dear heart, my soul doth dearly salute thee, with my dear and precious children, who are dear and precious in the light of the Lord, to thy endless joy, and my everlasting comfort; glory be to our Lord God eternally, who hath called you with a holy calling, and hath caused his beauty to shine upon you in this the day of his power, wherein he is making up of his jewels, and binding up of his faithful ones in the bond of everlasting love and salvation, among whom he hath numbered you of his own free grace; in which I beseech you, dear hearts, in the fear of the Lord, to abide in your measures, according to the manifestation of the revelation of the Son of God in you. Keep a diligent watch over every thought, word, and action, and let your minds be staid continually in the light, where you will find out the snares and baits of Satan, and be preserved out of his traps, nets, and pits, that you may not be captivated by him at his will. Oh, my dear husband and children, how often have I poured out my soul to the everlasting Father for you, with rivers of tears night and day, that you might be kept pure and single in the sight of our God, improving your talents as wise virgins, having oil in your vessels; and your lamps burning, and clothed with the long white robe of righteousness, ready to enter the bed-chamber, and to sup with the Lamb, and to feed at the feast of fat things, where your souls may be nourished, refreshed, comforted, and satisfied, never to hunger again.
‘My dear hearts, you do not want teaching; you are in a land of blessedness, which floweth with milk and honey, among the faithful stewards, whose mouths are open wide to righteousness, to declare the eternal mysteries of the everlasting kingdom, of the endless joys and eternal glory; whereunto all the willing and obedient shall enter and be blessed for ever.
‘My dear hearts, the promises of the Lord are large, and are all Yea and Amen to those that fear his name; he will comfort the mourners in Sion, and will cause the heavy-hearted in Jerusalem to rejoice, because of the glad tidings: they that do bear the cross with patience, shall wear the crown with joy; for it is through the long-suffering and patient waitings, the crown of life and immortality comes to be obtained. The Lord hath exercised my patience, and tried me to the uttermost, to his praise, and my eternal comfort, who hath not been wanting to us in anything in his own due time; we are witnesses he can provide a table in the wilderness, both spiritual and temporal. Oh, the endless love of our God, who is an everlasting fountain of all living refreshment, whose crystal streams never cease running to every thirsty soul, that breatheth after the springs of life and salvation.
‘In our deepest affliction, when I looked for every breath to be the last, I could not wish I had not come over sea, because I knew it was my eternal Father’s will to prove me, with my dear and faithful friend. In all afflictions and miseries the Lord remembered mercy, and did not leave nor forsake us, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail us; but caused the sweet drops of his mercy to distil upon us, and the brightness of his glorious countenance to shine into our hearts, and was never wanting to us in revelations or visions. Oh, how may I do to set forth the fulness of God’s love to our souls: no tongue can express it, no heart can conceive it, nor mind can comprehend it. Oh, the ravishments, the raptures, the glorious bright shining countenance of our Lord God, who is our fulness in emptiness, our strength in weakness, our health in sickness, our life in death, our joy in sorrow, our peace in disquietness, our praise in heaviness, our power in all needs or necessities; he alone is a full God unto us, and to all that can trust him. He hath emptied us of ourselves, and hath unbottomed us of ourselves, and hath wholly built us upon a sure foundation, the rock of ages, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, where the swelling seas, nor raging, foaming waves, nor stormy winds, though they beat vehemently, can be able to remove us. Glory, honour, and praise, is to our God for ever, who, out of his everlasting treasures, doth fill us with his eternal riches day by day; he did nourish our souls with the choicest of his mercies, and doth feed our bodies with his good creatures, and relieve all our necessities in a full measure. Praises, praises be to him alone, who is our everlasting portion, our confidence, and our rejoicing, whom we serve acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire.
‘Oh, my dear husband, and precious children, you may feel issues of love and life, which stream forth as a river to every soul of you, from a heart that is wholly joined to the fountain. My prayers are for you day and night without ceasing; beseeching the Lord God of power to pour down his tender mercies upon you, and to keep you in his pure fear, and to increase your faith, to confirm you in all righteousness, and strengthen you in believing in the name of the Lord God Almighty, that you may be established as Mount Sion, that can never be moved. Keep your souls unspotted of the world, and love one another with a pure heart fervently; serve one another in love, build up one another in the Eternal, and bear one another’s burdens for the Seed’s sake, and so fulfil the law of God. This is the word of the Lord unto you, my dearly beloved.
‘Dear hearts, I do commit you into the hands of the Almighty, who dwelleth on high, and to the word of his grace in you, who is able to build you up to everlasting life and eternal salvation. By me, who am thy dear and precious wife, and spouse, in the marriage of the Lamb, in the bed undefiled,
C. E.’
‘My dearly beloved yoke-mate in the work of our God, doth dearly salute you. Salute us dearly to our precious friends in all places. I do believe we shall see your faces again with joy.’
This was written in the Inquisition at Malta, in the 11th month, in the year 1661.
The following letter was written by Sarah to her husband, Henry Cheevers, and Children.
‘My dear husband, my love, my life is given up to serve the living God, and to obey his pure call in the measure of the manifestation of his love, light, life, and Spirit of Christ Jesus, his only begotten Son, whom he hath manifested in me, and thousands, by the brightness of his appearing, to put an end to sin and satan, and bring to light immortality, through the preaching of the everlasting gospel, by the Spirit of prophesy, which is poured out upon the sons and daughters of the living God, according to his purpose; whereof he hath chosen me, who am the least of all: but God, who is rich in mercy, for his own name-sake hath passed by mine offences, and hath counted me worthy to bear testimony to his holy name, before the mighty men of the earth. Oh the love of the Lord to my soul! My tongue cannot express, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, to conceive of the things that God hath laid up for them that fear him.
‘Therefore doth my soul breathe to my God for thee and my children, night and day, that your minds may be joined to the light of the Lord Jesus, to lead you out of satan’s kingdom, into the kingdom of God, where we may enjoy one another in the life eternal, where neither sea nor land can separate; in which light and life do I salute thee, my dear husband, with my children, wishing you to embrace God’s love, in making his truth so clearly manifest amongst you; whereof I am a witness, even of the everlasting fountain that hath been opened by the messengers of Christ, who preach to you the word of God, in season and out of season, directing you where you may find your Saviour, to purge and cleanse you from your sins, and to reconcile you to his Father, and to have unity with him and all the saints, in the light, that ye may be fellow-citizens in the kingdom of glory, rest, and peace, which Christ hath purchased for them that love him, and obey him. What profit is there for to gain the whole world, and lose your own souls? Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, and all other things shall be added to you. Godliness is great gain, having the promise of this life that now is, and that which is to come; which is fulfilled to me, who have tasted of the Lord’s endless love and mercies to my soul; and from a moving of the same love and life do I breathe to thee my dear husband, with my children; my dear love salutes you all; my prayers to my God are for you all, that your minds may be joined to the light, wherewith you are lightened, that I may enjoy you in that which is eternal, and have communion with you in the spirit. He that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit, one heart, one mind, one soul; to serve the Lord with one consent. I cannot by pen or paper set forth the large love of God, in fulfilling his gracious promises to me in the wilderness, being put into prison for God’s truth, there to remain all the days of my life, being searched, tried, examined, upon pain of death, among the enemies of God and his Truth; standing in jeopardy for my life, until the Lord had subdued and brought them under by his mighty power, and made them to feed us, and would have given us money or clothes; but the Lord did deck our table richly in the wilderness. The day of the Lord is appearing, wherein he will discover every deed of darkness, let it be done never so secretly; the light of Christ Jesus will make it manifest in every conscience; the Lord will rip up all coverings that are not of his own spirit. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Written in the Inquisition prison by
SARAH CHEEVERS.’
Several other letters both she and Catharine wrote to their husbands, and relations. But since great part of my narrative was fetched from thence, I pass them by. But by these inserted, one may see that they were not women of a dull temper, but ingenious and cheerful.
In a letter of Sarah’s to her friends in Ireland, I find these words:
‘My life is given up to the service of the Lord: bonds, chains, bolts, irons, double doors, death itself, is too little for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God; so the seed be gathered, it is but a reasonable sacrifice. Bonds and afflictions betide the gospel of Christ. Those that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution.’
And in a letter to Daniel Baker, Catharine said,
‘The time is too little for me to disclose the twentieth part of the terrible trials; but whensoever we were brought upon any trial, the Lord did take away all fear from us, and multiplied our strength, and gave us power and boldness to plead for the Truth of the Lord Jesus, and wisdom of words to stop the mouths of the gainsayers; but then they would say, we had not the true faith, but we had all virtues. Dearly beloved, pray for us, that we fall not, nor fail; whereby our enemies may have any advantage to rejoice, and say, we served a god that could not serve us, and called upon a god that could not deliver us; as if we were like them, to call upon stocks, stones, pictures, and painted walls, and dead things that cannot hear, see, nor speak. We do beseech thee to tell all our dear friends, fathers, and elders, the pillars of our spiritual building, with all the rest of our Christian brethren, that we do desire their prayers, for we have need of them.’
This letter they concluded with the following Poem:
How strong and pow’rful is our King
To all that do believe in him?
He doth preserve them from the snare,
And teeth of those that would them tear.
We that are suff’rers for the seed,
Our hearts are wounded, and do bleed
To see th’ oppression, cruelty,
Of men that do thy Truth deny.
In prisons strong, and dungeons deep,
To God alone we cry and weep:
Our sorrows none can learn nor read,
But those that in our path do tread.
But he whose beauty shineth bright,
Who turneth darkness into light,
Makes cedars bow, and oaks to bend
To him that’s sent to the same end.
He is a fountain pure and clear,
His crystal streams run far and near,
To cleanse all those that come to him
For to be healed of their sin.
All them that patiently abide,
And never swerve nor go aside,
The Lord will free them out of all
Bondage, captivity, and thrall.
They composed several others, which fell into the hands of their enemies, and copies of them were given to the inquisitor. But now I leave them; and yet before I return to transactions in England, I shall relate a singular case of Daniel Baker, who being come to Smyrna, with intent to travel from thence to Constantinople, was stopped by the English consul, and sent to the Isle of Zant, where a ship lay bound for Venice, in which he embarked, and coming into that city, he staid there a week, and went from thence to Leghorn, with intent to take shipping there for England: but during his stay in that place, he inwardly felt drawings towards Malta, to try whether he could be helpful to Catharine and Sarah, that were prisoners there, since he had several times been stirred up thereto; and though the difficulty of the matters had kept him back, yet he could not have peace in his mind, before he gave himself up to that service; and so he embarked in a French ship for Sicily: and coming to Syracuse, he staid there five days, and then set sail for Malta; where being arrived, he got admitted to the pope’s inquisitor, to whom he spoke in the Italian tongue on this wise: ‘I am come to demand the just liberty of my innocent friends, the English women in prison in the inquisition.’ The inquisitor asked him if he were related to them as husband or kinsman, and whether he came out of England on purpose with that message. To this Daniel answered, that he came from Leghorn for that same end. But the inquisitor told him they should abide in prison till they died, except some English merchants, or others that were able, would engage for the value of three or four thousand dollars, that they should never return into those parts. His request being thus denied, he went to the English consul, and spoke with him and several others: but all his endeavours proved vain; and he himself was threatened with the inquisition; and the pope’s deputy would have had him bound, that he should neither speak good nor evil to any body, while he was on the island, save to him and the consul.
After a stay here of three weeks, he passed again to Italy, and from thence took shipping for England: but being come into the Streights of Gibraltar, he saw that the high mountain there, was the same place he had seen the foregoing year in a dream, when prisoner in Worcester jail in England. Here the ship wherein he was, with several other vessels, lay about a month, because of the contrary wind, so that they could not set sail. In the meanwhile being under a burden, he perceived there was a service for him ashore; but, considering this to be dangerous, he wished to have been excused of it; but felt no peace before he fully gave up, whatever, either bonds or death, might ensue. Whilst the fleet lay here wind-bound, divers ships attempted to pass through, but could not: and the like temptation attended him as that of Jonah, viz. to flee from the place, and so to escape the burden under which he laboured. But he found, as afterwards signified in a printed relation, that obedience was his duty, though it was required of him to be a sign against the idolatry of the church of Rome. He then told the master of the ship in which he was a passenger, something of the matter, and said that he believed that God would soon give opportunity for the fleet to pass away, after his service was performed. The master was hard to be persuaded to put him ashore, yet at length he suffered it, upon the day they used to call Maundy Thursday. Being now landed, he went to the town, and so into the mass-house, where he found the priest at the high altar, upon his knees, in his white surplice, adoring the host. After he had awhile been viewing this idolatry, he felt the indignation of God kindled in his heart against it: and turning his back upon the priest and his dead god, he set his face towards the people, and saw the multitude upon their knees also, worshipping they knew not what. In this posture, spreading forth his arms, he slipped off his upper garment, and rent it from top to bottom in divers pieces, which he cast from him with indignation: then he took his hat from off his head, as being the uppermost covering of man, and casting it down, stamped upon it with his feet, and appearing in sackcloth covering, he with a loud voice, thrice sounded repentance, and said that the life of Christ and his saints was arisen from the dead. And so he passed away unmolested, sounding the same message with repentance through the streets, till he came to the sea-side, where he kneeled down to pray, and gave thanks to the Lord for his wonderful preservation, and that he had suffered no man to touch or do him any harm. Being on shore, he delivered a paper, written in the Spanish tongue, to the governor and inhabitants of Gibraltar, with some Latin books. That to the governor, &c. was as followeth:
‘Behold, behold, the great day of God is come, and of his wrath, and of the wrath of his Lamb. The hour of his judgment is come. Wherefore, O inhabitants of the earth, repent, repent, repent! Fear God, and give glory and honour to him that made heaven and earth and the fountains of waters. Wo, wo, wo to the inhabitants of the earth. John heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” These are the words of the power of Christ, that is contrary to the false church. Behold, behold, plagues, plagues, plagues are coming upon the church of Rome, and upon her heads in all parts of the world.’
Daniel being now come again on ship-board, the next day the Lord gave them a fair wind, and all the fleet set sail; and after some time he arrived safe in England. But being come to London, it was not long, ere he, who had travelled without hurt in foreign parts, was imprisoned by his countrymen, as will be related hereafter: and being shut up in prison, he wrote a narrative of his travels, from which I took my relation.
About this time John Stubbs returned into England, having been in the dominions of the great Turk. But I do not find that he met with any singular occurrences, but that he had spread some books. He and Alexander Parker coming to London, found G. Fox there, with whom they travelled towards Bristol: by the way they had several meetings, and being come to Bristol, they understood that the officers were likely to come and disturb the meeting. Yet on the First day of the week they went thither, and A. Parker stood up first to preach; but while he was speaking, the officers came and took him away. Then G. Fox stood up and preached undisturbed, so that the meeting ended peaceably. And he, staying in town that week, visited his friends, and was visited by them. The next First-day some of his friends came to him, and endeavoured to persuade him not to go to the meeting that day; ‘For,’ said they, ‘the magistrates have threatened to take thee away, and in order thereto, have raised the trained bands.’ G. Fox desired them to go their way to the meeting, without telling them what he intended to do. Yet not long after he went thither: but being met by some of his friends, they did what they could to stop him; and, ‘What,’ said one, ‘Wilt thou go into the mouth of the beast?’ ‘Wilt thou go into the mouth of the dragon?’ said another. But G. Fox would not suffer himself to be thus prevented, but went on. Being come thither he perceived a concern and fear upon his friends for him, but his preaching there was so powerful, that all fear departed from them; and having concluded his sermon with a prayer, he stood up again and told the auditory, now they might see there was a God in Israel that could deliver: for the officers and soldiers had been breaking up another meeting, which had taken up their time; and they were in a great rage that they had missed him; for it was resolved on now to persecute the Quakers, and, if possible to root them out.
G. Fox, after having tarried yet some days at Bristol, went through Wiltshire and Berkshire, back again to London; yet he did not stay long there, but travelled towards Leicestershire, and passing by Barnet Hills, he found there one captain Brown, a Baptist, whose wife belonged to the society of those called Quakers. This captain, for fear his wife should go to meetings and be cast into prison, had left his house at Barrow, and taken a place on the said hills, thinking himself more safe there. G. Fox going to see the wife, and being come into the house, asked him how he did; ‘How I do!’ said he, ‘the plagues and vengeance of God are upon me, a runnagate, a Cain, as I am: God may look for a witness for me, and such as me; for if all were no faithfuller than I, God would have no witness left in the earth.’ In this condition Brown lived there on bread and water, and thought it too good for him; but at length he returned with his wife to his own house at Barrow, where he came to be convinced of the Truth professed by those called Quakers, and died in it; and a little before his death, he said that though he had not borne a testimony for Truth in his life, he would bear a testimony in his death; desiring to be buried in his orchard in a plain way.
But I return to G. Fox, who being come into Leicestershire, went to Swanington, to the house of a widow woman, where at night came one called the lord Beaumont, and a company of soldiers, who took him out of the hall where he was, and brought him to the said lord who asked him his name: to which he answered, ‘My name is George Fox, and I am well known by that name.’ ‘Aye,’ said Beaumont, ‘you are known all the world over.’ Then he put his hands into George’s pockets to search them, and pulled out his comb-case, and afterwards commanded one of the officers to search for letters: which made G. Fox say, that he was no letter carrier, asking him why he came amongst a peaceable people with swords and pistols without a constable; since this was contrary to the king’s proclamation; and it could not be said there was a meeting; for G. Fox had been talking in the hall only with the widow woman and her daughter. Beaumont sending then for the constables, gave them charge to watch G. Fox, and some that were with him that night; accordingly the constables set a watch upon them, and next morning brought them to Beaumont’s house, who then told them they met contrary to the act: for not long before this time the parliament, by the instigation of the clergy, had made an act against conventicles, containing that if any were convicted of having been at a conventicle, they should incur a fine not exceeding five pounds, or imprisonment not above three months. G. Fox saying to the lord Beaumont, that he did not find them in a meeting, and so there was no transgression of the said act, Beaumont asked him, whether he would take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy: to which G. Fox answered, ‘I never took any oath in all my life.’ And desired him to show that oath, that they might see whether it was not for the discovery of Popish recusants. But Beaumont being unwilling, caused a mittimus to be made, which mentioned that they were to have had a meeting: a cunning artifice indeed to vex an innocent people. And with the mittimus he charged the constables to convey them to Leicester jail. The constable who was charged to bring G. Fox and his friends to prison, was loath to do it himself, and being harvest time, it was hard to get any body to go with them; and therefore he would have given them the mittimus to carry it themselves to the jailer. This they refused, though sometimes some of their friends had done so: for the constables had such experience of their fidelity, that they durst trust them even in such a case, without fearing the bird would escape. Then the constable hired a poor man, who was loath to go with them on this errand. Yet they rode with him through the country, being five in number, and some carried their bibles open in their hands, and passing through towns, they told people they were the prisoners of the Lord Jesus Christ, going to suffer bonds for his name’s sake. Being come to Leicester, and going into an inn, the master of the house seemed somewhat troubled that they should go to prison; but they being unwilling to consult with lawyers, to which they were advised, suffered themselves to be had to prison; where being come, G. Fox asked whether the jailer or his wife was master: and it was told him, ‘The wife,’ who though she was lame, and not able to go without crutches, yet, would beat her husband when he came within her reach, if he did not do as she would have him.
G. Fox perceiving from this that without her leave he should not be able to agree with her husband, got somebody to bargain with her for a room, for him and his friends, and to leave it to them to give her what they would; to which she consented. But then it was told the prisoners, the jailer would not suffer them to fetch any drink out of the town into the prison; but what beer they drank they must take it of him, and that, as was easily to be guessed, would be at a dear rate.
This made G. Fox say, he could remedy that; for since the jailer could not deny them water, he would get a pail of it once a day, and put some wormwood into it, and that might serve their turn. So long as G. Fox was in prison there, he and his friends had a meeting every First-day of the week in the yard, to which came not only the debtors and felons that were prisoners, but also several people out of the town and country; whereby many were convinced of the truth he preached, and continued to be faithful witnesses for it.
Whilst G. Fox was confined there, several more of his friends were sent to prison; to the number of about twenty. And when the sessions came they were brought before the justices, who tendered to them the oaths of allegiance and supremacy: for this was the ordinary snare, when no other thing could be found to lay hold on. But G. Fox told them he never took any oath in his life; ‘And ye know we cannot swear because Christ and his apostles forbade it; and therefore this is but as a snare to us; yet if ye can prove that after Christ and his apostles forbade swearing, they ever did command Christians to swear, then we will take these oaths; otherwise we are resolved to obey Christ’s command, and the apostle’s exhortation.’ To this it was returned that they must take the oath to manifest their allegiance to the king. G. Fox, to show that he was not unfaithful to the king, told them that formerly he had been sent up a prisoner by colonel Hacker, from that town to London, under pretence that he held meetings to plot for bringing in king Charles. Then he desired that their mittimus might be read, which set forth the cause of their commitment to be, that they were to have a meeting. And he said also, that the lord Beaumont could not by the act send them to jail, unless they had been taken at a meeting; and therefore he urged the reading of the mittimus, that it might be seen how wrongfully they were imprisoned. But whatever he said, they would not take notice of the mittimus, but called a jury, and indicted the prisoners for refusing to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. When the jury was sworn and instructed, as they were going out, one that had been an alderman spoke to them, and recommended them to have a good conscience: but one of the jury being a peevish man, told the justices there was one affronted the jury. Whereupon he was called up, and to try whether he was a Quaker, the oath was also tendered to him, and he took it; and thus the snare intended against him did not hold.
Whilst the prisoners stood waiting, a cut-purse had put his hand into the pockets of some of them, which they told the justices of, and showed them the man. They then called him up, and upon examination he could not deny the fact, yet they let him go free, just as if the robbing of those called Quakers was no crime.
It was not long before the jury returned, and brought the prisoners in guilty. And then the justices whispered together, and bade the jailer take the prisoners and carry them back to jail. But a little after they were in prison again, the jailer came to them and said, ‘Gentlemen, it is the court’s pleasure that ye should all be set at liberty,’ &c. Thus they were released on a sudden, which was indeed remarkable, because the jury had brought them in guilty; on which passing of sentence must have followed. But G. Fox’s liberty seems to have been owing to the following cause: he had a letter from the lord Hastings, who having heard of his imprisonment, had written from London to the justices of the sessions to set him at liberty. This letter he had not as yet delivered to the justices, who perhaps had some knowledge of the said lord’s mind from another hand, which made them resolve on this sudden discharge. G. Fox being now free, carried this letter to the lord Beaumont, who having opened and read it, seemed somewhat troubled; and yet threatened him, if he had any more meetings at Swanington, he would disperse them, and send him to prison again. But notwithstanding these threatenings, he and his friends went to Swanington, and had a meeting there without being disturbed. From thence he travelled to London, where we will leave him, and in the meanwhile see what happened elsewhere.
Some time before, Thomas Goodair and Benjamin Staples were imprisoned at Oxford, and being brought into the court of judicature before Sir William Walter, who sat there as judge, and Goodair being examined and nothing found against him, the oath of allegiance was tendered, to which he answered, that he acknowledged the king as supreme ruler in civil temporal matters, and that he was willing to obey him in all just commands. ‘But,’ said he, ‘if king Charles and those who are in authority under him, enjoin me to any thing contrary to the command of Christ, then I will rather obey Christ than king Charles, or those in authority under him. It is for conscience-sake that I cannot swear, though I could gain the whole world thereby; for Christ hath forbidden it, and said “Swear not at all;” and James saith, “Above all things swear not.”’ But whatever Goodair said was in vain, for they would needs have him swear. He continuing to refuse swearing, justice Walker asked those that were with him on the bench, whether they had any thing to say against his passing sentence against them: to which they having said no, he spoke thus to Goodair, ‘Hearken to your sentence: you are out of the king’s protection. All your lands, real estate, and chattels, are forfeited, and shall be seized for the king’s use: and you are to remain prisoner during the king’s pleasure.’ Then he bid the jailer take Goodair away, who asked whether the jailer had charge to fetter him, for he had been fettered as thieves and felons, before he had been brought into the court. Whereupon the judge answered, ‘The jailer may do with you what he will: for you are now out of the king’s protection.’ Then he was led away, and B. Staples brought to the bar, to whom the oath being also tendered, and he refusing to take it, the same sentence was passed on him. Both being returned to prison, the jailer said to the other prisoners that were there for evil or debts, ‘If ye want coats, ye may take those of the Quakers, for they are now out of the protection of the law.’ But one of the prisoners was so honest as to say he would rather go naked, than take away those men’s coats. How long they were in prison, and whether they died there, or were at length released, I know not.21
But now I return to Ambrose Rigge, who being come to Hurst Pierpoint in Sussex, had a meeting there at the house of his father-in-law, captain Thomas Luxford; this so displeased the priest Leonard Letchford, that Rigge was taken and brought before the Justices, Walter Burril, Nisel Rivers, and Richard Bridger, who being minded to bring him under sufferings, tendered him the oath of allegiance; and he, saying that for conscience-sake he could not swear, was forthwith sent to Horsham prison, and at the time of the assizes brought into the court, where judge Samuel Brown then sat, and passed the sentence of premunire upon him. Then he was carried back, and by the instigation of the said Leonard Letchford, committed close prisoner, where he continued above ten years, and suffered during that time much hardship by the malice of the jailers, since such prisoners as he was, are shut out of the king’s protection. In the meanwhile the aforesaid priest Letchford summoned Rigge’s wife for tithes, and she refusing payment, was also imprisoned at the prosecution of this priest; and then he seized her goods, taking away also that which her husband had earned in prison by his hard labour, not leaving him and his wife a bed to lie on; nay, he also took away a pot they had borrowed from other prisoners to boil victuals in, and vaunted he had Rigge so fast, that it was not in the King’s power to release him. But notwithstanding this wicked boast, yet to his great disquiet and vexation, he lived to see Rigge released by the king under the great seal. And Thomas Luxford, A. Rigge’s father-in-law, being also become one of the society of those called Quakers, and refusing to pay him tithes, felt likewise the effects of his fury; for he caused him also to be cast into jail, where he kept him six years: and the prisoners being then released by the sheriff, he was excommunicated by Letchford, and afterwards at his suit, by virtue of the statute De Excommunicato capiendo, shut up again in prison, from which he was set at liberty by an act of parliament.
Not long after, Letchford got a warrant to sue also some others of the Quakers, so called, belonging to his parish, for not paying tithes: but before he could get them imprisoned, it happened, that having at night gone to bed healthy, in the morning he was found stiff dead in his bed, according to the testimony of his neighbours; and this prevented the stroke he had levelled against others.
Not being willing to finish this relation abruptly, I am advanced in time, but now I return to the year 1662. In the middle of this year, Sir Henry Vane and John Lambert, both vigorous champions against king Charles the First, and having been in great authority under the former government, were brought to their trial. Vane behaved himself with very great presence of mind: how far he was guilty I am not to inquire; but he was declared guilty, and afterwards beheaded on Tower-Hill. He was reputed to be a man of great knowledge, having been one of the chief members of the long parliament, and also an opposer of Cromwell: for he was an entire republican, and had a great share in the administration of state affairs. Lambert, who had been an eminent general, saved his life: for since Vane, as Ludlow saith, pleaded for the lives and liberties of his country, and Lambert for his own, he evaded the storm which took away Vane. Lambert now, though condemned to death, begged mercy, and was confined to perpetual imprisonment, and carried to a small isle near Plymouth, where he finished his days.
Seeing, on the insurrection of the Fifth-monarchy-men, occasion was taken to make an act against plotting, and seditious meetings, the persecution against the Quakers increased, under a pretence that their meetings were dangerous, and to the terror of the king’s subjects, and an act was made against those who refused to take an oath, as appeared by the title of it, viz:
‘An act for preventing mischiefs and dangers that may arise by certain persons called Quakers, and others refusing to take lawful oaths.
‘Whereas of late times, certain persons under the name of Quakers, and other names of separation, have taken up, and maintained sundry dangerous opinions and tenets, and among others, that the taking of an oath, in any case whatsoever, although before a lawful magistrate, is altogether unlawful, and contrary to the word of God; and the said persons do daily refuse to take an oath, though lawfully tendered, whereby it often happens, that the truth is wholly suppressed, and the administration of justice much obstructed: and whereas the said persons, under a pretence of religious worship, do often assemble themselves in great numbers in several parts of this realm, to the great endangering of the public peace and safety, and to the terror of the people, by maintaining a secret and strict correspondence amongst themselves, and in the meantime separating and dividing themselves from the rest of his majesty’s good and loyal subjects, and from the public congregations, and usual places of divine worship:
II. ‘For the redressing therefore, and better preventing the many mischiefs and dangers that do, and may arise by such dangerous tenets, and such unlawful assemblies, (2) Be it enacted by the king’s most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons assembled in parliament, and by authority of the same, that if any person or persons, who maintain that the taking of an oath, in any case soever, (although before a lawful magistrate,) is altogether unlawful, and contrary to the word of God, from and after the four-and-twentieth day of March, in this present year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred and sixty-one, shall wilfully and obstinately refuse to take an oath, where, by the laws of the realm he or she is, or shall be bound to take the same, being lawfully tendered, (3) or shall endeavour to persuade any other person, to whom any such oath shall in like manner be duly and lawfully tendered, to refuse and forbear the taking of the same, (4) or shall by printing, writing, or otherwise go about to maintain and defend that the taking of an oath in any case whatsoever, is altogether unlawful; (5) and if the said persons, commonly called Quakers, shall at any time after the said four-and-twentieth day of March, depart from the places of their several habitations, and assemble themselves to the number of five or more, of the age of sixteen years or upwards, at any one time, in any place under pretence of joining in a religious worship, not authorized by the laws of this realm, (6) that then in all and every such cases, the party so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted, by verdict of twelve men, or by his own confession, or by the notorious evidence of the fact, shall lose and forfeit to the king’s majesty, his heirs and successors, for the first offence, such sum as shall be imposed upon him or her, not exceeding five pounds; (7) and if any person or persons, being once convicted of any such offence, shall again offend therein, and shall in form aforesaid be thereof lawfully convicted, shall for the second offence forfeit to the king, our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, such sum as shall be imposed upon him or her, not exceeding ten pounds: (8) the said respective penalties to be levied by distress, and sale of the party’s goods so convicted, by warrant of the parties before whom they shall be so convicted, rendering the overplus to the owners, if any be: (9) and for want of such distress, or non-payment of the said penalty within one week after such conviction, that then the said parties so convicted shall for the first offence be committed to the common jail, or house of correction, for the space of three months; and for the second offence during six months, without bail or mainprize, there to be kept to hard labour: (10) which said moneys so to be levied, shall be paid to such person or persons, as shall be appointed by those before whom they shall be convicted, to be employed for the increase of the stock of the house of correction, to which they shall be committed, and providing materials to set them on work: (11) and if any person after he, in form aforesaid, hath been twice convicted, of any the said offences shall offend the third time, and be thereof, in form aforesaid, lawfully convicted, that then every person so offending, and convicted, shall for his or her third offence, abjure the realm; or otherwise it shall and may be lawful to, and for his majesty, his heirs and successors, to give order, and to cause him, her, or them, to be transported in any ship or ships, to any of his majesty’s plantations beyond the seas.
III. ’And it is ordained and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all and every justice of Oyer and Terminer, justices of assize, and jail-delivery, and the justices of the peace, shall have full power and authority, in every of their open and general quarter-sessions, to inquire, hear, and determine all and every the said offences, within the limits of their commission to them directed, and to make process for the execution of the same, as they may do against any person being indicted before them of trespass, or lawfully convicted thereof.
IV. ’And be it also enacted, that it shall and may be lawful to, and for any justice of peace, mayor, or other chief officer, of any corporation, within their several jurisdictions, to commit to the common jail, or bind over, with sufficient sureties to the quarter-sessions, any person or persons offending in the premises, in order to his or their conviction aforesaid.
V. ‘Provided always, and be it hereby further enacted, that if any of the said persons shall, after such conviction as aforesaid, take such oath or oaths, for which he or she stands committed, and also give security that he or she shall for the time to come forbear to meet in any such unlawful assembly as aforesaid, that then, and from thenceforth, such person and persons shall be discharged from all the penalties aforesaid: any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding.
VI. ‘Provided always, and be it ordained and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all and singular lords of the parliament, for every third offence committed against the tenor of this act, shall be tried by their peers, and not otherwise.’
This act caused E. Burrough to write a small book, called, ‘The Case of the People called Quakers, stated, to show the falsehood of the accusations charged upon them.’ First he showed in this treatise, that suppose the Quakers were heretics and erroneous people, which was never yet proved; yet we found no examples in Scripture that such should be imprisoned, or afflicted with corporal punishments. Having treated of this matter at large, he laid down the state of their way of meeting and worship, appealing to others on this account, with these words:
‘What judgment do our neighbours give in this case? They say, concerning our meetings, that they have known us to meet together in such manner, for divers years, in towns and villages, and never knew, nor understood of any harm or danger therein, nor ever were any way prejudiced, either in their persons or estates, in our meetings. The very witness of God in all our neighbours does testify, and give judgment, that our meetings have always been peaceable and quiet, and that we come together in peace and good order, and part in the same, and no person hath been harmed by such our meetings; inquire of the neighbourhood, and they will tell you they believe in their consciences, our meetings are for good, and have good effects, and are not evil, nor bring forth any evil, to any.
’And as for the manner of our meeting and sitting together, it is orderly and decently, and of good report among men; and for any doctrine that ever was there held or heard by any, none can truly accuse it to be either error, or heresy, or sedition; but on the contrary, they know it witnesseth against all sin and iniquity, and tends to the turning of people from ungodliness and unrighteousness to truth and holiness: and many can tell, this is effected by our doctrine preached in our meetings; and our neighbours can witness that we part again in peace and good order, and in convenient time; and they can show you they are not terrified, nor the peace of the land disturbed, (on our part,) by our meetings, which are in God’s fear, and to the glory of his name, which all sober men know are according to the law of God, and gospel, and primitive Christian example.
‘We are accused as heinous offenders, and imprisoned, because it is supposed we do not submit to obey the known laws of the land, but break them, and will not conform to the church, pay tithes, take oaths, have meetings together, &c. though we know the laws of the land command these things.
‘Plea first, as to submitting to all known laws of the land; this is known to God and our neighbours, that our principle and practice is, and ever hath been, to submit to every government, and to submit to all laws of men, either by doing or by suffering, as at this day we resist not the greatest of afflictions and tribulations that can be imposed on us; and this is well known to our neighbours and all people, that we are submissive to all laws of men, by patient suffering without resistance: even when any law requires any thing of us, which we cannot perform for conscience-sake, that law we fulfil by patient suffering, resisting no man, nor rendering evil for evil to any. And the judgment of the Scriptures, which are according to both law and gospel, and the precedents of saints justify us in this case, in choosing patiently to suffer the greatest penalties of the law, rather than to obey, (by doing,) any such law as requires things contrary to our pure consciences; as in the example of the three children, Dan. iii. who were commanded, to fall down and worship the golden image, at what time soever they heard the sound of the music, upon the penalty of being cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace: which commandment they could not obey, nor could they fall down to worship the image; but rather chose to suffer the penalty of being cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, which accordingly was done unto them. Again in the case of Daniel, chap. vi. who was commanded to make no petition to any god or man for thirty days, save to king Darius, upon the penalty and affliction of being cast into the lion’s den: but Daniel did rather choose to suffer the penalty, to be cast into the den of lions, than to obey the commandment; and was cast into the lion’s den. By these examples of holy men, with many more that might be given out of the Scriptures, it is evident, that righteous men will rather choose to suffer than to obey any law of man contrary to their consciences. So the law of God, and example of saints, and Holy Scriptures, give judgment for us in this case, of rather choosing to suffer, than to obey laws contrary to our consciences; and consequently must needs condemn such that persecute and imprison us, because they require obedience of us in things against our consciences.
Secondly. ‘Though we disobey laws, and cannot actively obey every law of man, when it requireth and commandeth things contrary to a good conscience; yet herein also are we justified by the law of God, example of saints and Holy Scriptures, and they give judgment for us, and consequently against our enemies in this case; and in particular in the two examples before-mentioned in Daniel, the three children were expressly commanded to fall down and worship the golden image: and Daniel was also required by the king’s decree, not to pray to any God or man, save to king Darius; yet all these holy men of God did absolutely disobey the law and decree so requiring of them, and did contrary to the commandment: for the three children did not bow, nor Daniel cease to pray to God, but prayed as at other times, and yet were justified of God in so doing. Also the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts iv. 18,) were commanded to preach no more in the name of Jesus; but the apostles did disobey their commandment, and went on and preached in the Spirit and power of Christ, contrary to the commandment of the rulers; and appealed to them, whether it were not better to obey God than man. Many examples we might collect out of the Scriptures, that the servants of God did disobey the commands of kings and rulers, and could not obey, (by doing,) any command contrary to God, but rather chose to suffer afflictions, and death itself, than to obey such laws and decrees, as required any thing contrary to a pure conscience: and this is our case at this day: we cannot obey, (by doing,) any thing against our consciences, but must break the laws of men, and disobey their commandments, rather than break the law of God, and sin against our own consciences, whatsoever we suffer because hereof; and the examples of saints and Scriptures justify us in this behalf.
‘And let our enemies cease to cry out, ‘Rebellious and disobedient to laws and government;’ for we are not such as do wilfully and obstinately disobey any laws of men, but for conscience-sake, and that we may not sin against God, nor offend his witness in us; therefore we cannot obey laws contrary to our consciences, whatsoever we suffer, which we resist not, nor rebel against any in this case: so that our principles and practices are to obey every law and government, either by doing or suffering. And though we disobey such laws as are not according to the law of God, and rather do choose to suffer, yet herein we are justified by the law of God, and the Holy Scriptures.
Thirdly. ’And as for our conversations among men, in respect of our daily walking and converse with them in our dealing, in respect of honesty and faithfulness, and truth and justness in works and words, our neighbours shall give witness for us. We will not justify ourselves, it is God that justifies us, and the law of God, gospel of Christ, Scriptures, examples of holy men, our neighbours, and the witness of God in all men’s consciences shall bear witness to us; and all these do give judgment for us in these cases, to whom we do appeal for judgment. And O Lord God everlasting, do thou judge our cause; do thou make it manifest in thy due season to all the world, that we are thy people; that we love thee above all; that we fear thy name more than all; that we love righteousness and hate iniquity; and that we now suffer for thy holy name and truth, and for thy honour and justice, and for thy truth and holiness. O Lord, thou knowest we are resolved to perish, rather than to lose one grain hereof. Amen, Amen.
‘Our accusations and answers truly compared, and weighed in the balance of justice and truth in every man’s conscience, let all the world judge of the case: do we deserve to be ruined, destroyed, imprisoned and banished, and to be devoured of wild beasts, as our enemy threatens us he will do? Is it so? Are we heretics? Are we seditious? Are we drunkards? Are we double dealers? Are we such as the law of God condemns? What evil have we done in the land? Do we hurt any body? Are we not innocent before the Lord and men? We appeal to the just witness of God and men. Let it be answered; and though no man will hear and consider our cause this day, yet the Lord will plead our cause in his time, and season, and make the world to know we are his people; in the meantime we are willing to suffer the reproaches of ungodly men, till the Lord works deliverance in the earth.
‘But now it may be objected by the magistrates and rulers, that we have now a law against you, and you must suffer, for we cannot but put the law in execution, according to our oaths and offices; and it is not we that persecute you, but it is the law of the land by which you now suffer; and we cannot be blamed for your suffering, we only execute the law. And after this manner is the reasoning of some at this day,’ &c.
Answer. ‘To all which I do answer: It is true there is a law now enacted against us, which is pretendedly made the ground of our suffering; but whether that law be in itself just or unjust, I shall not now demonstrate, but shall leave it to the judgment of all Christian men that know us, our principles, doctrines, ways, conversations; and let them judge whether we deserve the penalties and punishments therein described, for any principles or practice held and maintained by us. And though there be a law against us, yet the magistrates that are executors thereof, may execute the same with moderation or with violence; with discretion, or too much rigour; and it will be well for them to use moderation and discretion in this case: hereby may they save themselves from that weight of anger and indignation of the Lord God, that will come upon all violent-doers, who seek to destroy the innocent, and rejoice in the occasion administered.
’And though this law be enacted against meetings, not ours I may say, but such meetings as are dangerous to the public peace, and to the terror of the people: but our meetings are not such, and therefore this law may not justly extend in its execution to the breaking of our meetings, nor to banish us because of our meeting together, which is for the worship of God, and are peaceable and of good report among all good men; and are not for disturbance of the peace, nor terror of the people, and therefore justly free from this law as aforesaid.
‘And though this law is pretended against us, for to banish us, and to rid the land of us, as some vainly suppose; yet must it needs be executed to the height of it, without limitation or restriction? Must this law be executed to its height more than some others laws that are as truly enacted, and as fully in force as this act can be? Yet some such laws there are, which better deserve execution than this, yet they lie dormant, as it is visibly apparent at this day, as in 4 Jac. c. 5, in these words: ‘Be it enacted, &c. that all and every person or persons, which after forty days next following the end of this present session of parliament, shall be drunk, and of the same offence of drunkenness shall be lawfully convicted, shall for every such offence, forfeit and lose five shillings, &c. to be paid to the hands of the church-wardens of that parish where the offence shall be committed, who shall be accountable therefor to the use of the poor of the same parish. And if the said person or persons so convicted, shall refuse or neglect to pay the said forfeiture, then the same shall be levied off the goods of every such person or persons, by warrant of precept from the court, judge, or justices, before whom the same conviction shall be; and if the offender be not able to pay the sum of five shillings, then he shall be committed to the stocks for the space of six hours.’ I pray you read the statute at large; it is worth a sober man’s pains to read over, and then judge whether that law be duly executed at this day: and also whether it deserves not more strict execution than the present act against us. Also the 1 Jac. c. 7, in these words: ‘That all persons calling themselves scholars, going about begging; all idle persons going about in any country, either begging or using any subtle craft, or unlawful games or plays, or feigning themselves to have knowledge in physiognomy, or pretending that they can tell fortunes, or such other like fantastical imaginations; all fencers, bear-wards, common players of interludes and minstrels, wandering abroad, shall be taken, adjudged, and deemed as rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy-beggars, and shall suffer such pains and punishments as are expressed, 39 Eliz. c. 4. viz. That every such person shall be stripped naked from the middle upwards, and shall be openly whipped, until his or her body be bloody, &c. and shall be forthwith sent from parish to parish,’ &c. Read the statute at large, and then consider how duly it is executed now, and whether it deserve not the execution as much as the late act against us, though in some places the one is more executed than the other, where many of our friends being honest sober persons, and of good conversation, yet are hauled out of their meetings, where they are met only to worship God, and for no other end, and sent to prison, and persecuted to the very height of the said act; whereas idle persons following unlawful games and plays, and bear-wards, common players of interludes and minstrels of divers kinds, do wander up and down city and country, and having their play-houses public, where their wickedness is acted; such persons and such things, though appearing publicly, yet are permitted, and little or no notice taken of them by some of the magistrates, so as to punish them for breach of the laws, for the preventing of these evils; but such wickedness is too much suffered, though there be divers acts of parliament against such persons and such actions, as well as there is one against our meetings; yet the act against us is more put in execution in some places, for the breaking of our meetings, which are for the worship of God, than the good laws for suppressing of wickedness, though there is better law for the one than for the other. Divers other laws and statutes made for good ends, for the suppressing of wickedness in the land there are, which are but easily executed at this day; but here is one act against peaceable meeting together for the worship of God, which is violently prosecuted and executed upon innocent men; let all just men judge of these things. Though there be a law enacted against our meetings, so there is against drunkards and drunkenness, and unseasonable tippling in taverns and ale-houses, and against minstrels, fiddlers, pipers and players, common players, and stage players that go up and down the countries, and have their play-houses in public cities; which statute ought rather to be executed, though they are not: but these things we shall leave to all sober people to judge of.
‘And seeing that the law against us is more put in execution than those other laws, it doth appear that there is more envy against us and our peaceable religious meetings than there is against profaneness, and wickedness, drunkenness, and stage-playing, and such like: and such magistrates wheresoever they are, are not excusable in the sight of God, though there is a law against us, while they prosecute it against us, and not those other good laws, against profane and ungodly persons and practices; and therefore seeing we do suffer, we must say it is not only because there is a law against us, but it is also, or rather, because there is enmity, and wrath, and wickedness in the hearts of men against us, which is the main cause of our sufferings at this day.’
Thus was E. Burrough always laborious, and like a faithful and diligent minister of Christ, he was so totally devoted to the service of God and the church, both in preaching and writing in the defence of the gospel, that he scarce reserved any time for himself, and seldom took rest, but continued to work incessantly till the time of his departure drew near; plainly manifesting that it really was his meat and drink to do the will of his heavenly Father; and this he endeavoured unweariedly to the end of his days.
Now I turn again to New England, where though the murdering part was acted to the full, yet their blood-thirstiness was not quenched, as may appear from the following relation I shall give of the cruel whippings inflicted on some. If I should relate all of that kind that happened there, it would make up a pretty big volume by itself; and therefore I will mention some few instances only.
Among these, I meet with Josiah Southwick, (whose father and mother, Lawrence and Cassandra, had been of the first that were banished from Boston because of their religion, as hath been said before; and whose brother and sister had been ordered to be sold for bound slaves,) who, having been in Old England, and had found himself obliged notwithstanding the severe law, to return to Boston, was sentenced to be whipped at a cart’s tail, first at Boston, and then at Rocksbury and Dedham, when with out-stretched arms, he said to those who sentenced him, ‘Here is my body; if ye want a further testimony of the Truth I profess, take it, and tear it to pieces; it is freely given up; and for your sentence, I matter it not:’ adding further, ‘it is no more terrifying unto me, than if ye had taken a feather and blown it up in the air, and had said, take heed it hurt thee not: for surely tongue cannot express nor declare the goodness and love of God to his suffering people.’ Then he was stripped and tied to the cart’s tail in Boston, where the hangman scourged him with what vehemency he could. It is remarkable that the whip used for those cruel executions, was not of whip-cord, as those in England, but of dried guts, and every string with three knots at the end, which, being fastened to a stick, the hangman many times laid on with both his hands, which must cause violent torture to the body. But all this cruelty was not able to make Josiah faint; for as he was led through the streets of Boston at the cart’s tail, he sung aloud, and was heard to utter these words: ‘They that know God to be their strength, cannot fear what man can do.’ The same day he was whipped also at Rocksbury, and the next morning, it being very cold, at Dedham, where he was discharged and turned into the wilderness; for so inhuman were these furious New England professors, that they seemed to think that whatever it was, there was nothing done amiss to the Quakers. Nay, it hath happened that being shut up with thieves, and endeavouring to turn them from their wicked lives, they have been ill-treated on that account, and the thieves set at liberty, lest they should turn Quakers.
At Dover, in New England, Anne Coleman, Mary Tomkins, and Alice Ambrose, were sentenced to very cruel whipping, only for being come there: the warrant was as followeth:
‘To the constables of Dover, Hampton, Salisbury, Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, Wennam, Linn, Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, and until these vagabond Quakers are carried out of this jurisdiction.
‘You and every of you, are required in the king’s majesty’s name, to take these vagabond Quakers, Anne Coleman, Mary Tomkins, and Alice Ambrose, and make them fast to the cart’s tail, and driving the cart through your several towns, to whip them upon their naked backs, not exceeding ten stripes apiece on each of them, in each town; and so to convey them from constable to constable, till they are out of this jurisdiction, as you will answer it at your peril; and this shall be your warrant.
Per me,
RICHARD WALDEN.’
At Dover, dated December 22, 1662.
Cruel indeed was this order; because to whip these three tender women through eleven towns, with ten stripes apiece at each place, through a length of near eighty miles, in bitter cold weather, would have been enough to have beaten their bones bare, and their lives out of their bodies.
Now in a very cold day the deputy Walden, at Dover, caused these women to be stripped naked from the middle upward, and tied to a cart, and then whipped them, while the priest looked on, and laughed at it; which some of their friends seeing, and taking notice of Walden’s cruelty, testified against him; for which Walden put two of them in the stocks.
The women being thus whipped at Dover, were carried to Hampton, and there delivered to the constable, William Fifield, who having understood by the constable of Dover what work he had in bringing them through a deep road, thought to have daunted them, and said, ‘I profess you must not think to make fools of men.’ To which they answered, they should be able to deal with him as well as the other. This constable the next morning would have whipped them before day, but they refused, saying that they were not ashamed of their sufferings. Then he would have whipped them on their clothes when he had them at the cart; but they said, ‘Set us free, or do according to thy order;’ which was to whip them on their naked backs. He then spoke to a woman to take off their clothes; but she said she would not do it for all the world. ‘Why,’ said he, ‘I profess I will do it myself.’ So he stripped them, and then stood trembling with the whip in his hand, and so he did the execution, though at first he professed himself so stout. Then he carried them to Salisbury, through dirt and snow, half the leg deep, and here they were whipped again. Among the rest of the spectators, Edward Wharton accidentally passing along that way, came to be one; and beholding this whipping, one Thomas Broadberry, clerk of the courts of Salisbury and Hampton, said to him, ‘Edward Wharton, what do you here?’ ‘I am here,’ answered he, ‘to see your wickedness and cruelty, that so if ye kill these women, I may be able to declare how ye murdered them:’ for indeed their bodies were so torn, that if Providence had not watched over them, they might have been in danger of their lives. But it fell out so that they were discharged: for the constable at Salisbury, who must have carried them to Newberry, was desired by one Walter Barefoot, to make him his deputy, who thus receiving the warrant, set them at liberty; though John Wheelright, the priest, advised the constable to drive on, as his safest way.
These three women being thus unexpectedly released, went to New Quechawanah, where they had a meeting, and Shubal Drummer, the priest of the place, came also thither, and sat quiet. And the meeting being ended, he stood up and said, ‘Good women, ye have spoken well, and prayed well; pray what is your rule?’ They answering, ‘The Spirit of God is our rule, and it ought to be thine, and all men’s, to walk by:’ he replied, ‘It is not my rule, nor I hope ever shall be.’ A clear evidence how prejudice may bias even discreet people; for being prepossessed thereby, men will speak sometimes rashly, without considering what.
Not long after these women returned to Dover to visit their friends, and being in a meeting the next First-day of the week, the constables, Thomas Roberts, and his brother John, rushed in, and laid hands on Alice Ambrose, as she was in prayer, and taking her, one by the one arm, and the other by the other, they dragged her out of doors, almost a mile, with her face towards the snow, which was near knee deep, over stumps and old trees, having put on their old clothes on purpose not to dirty their better suits. They then locked her up in a certain house, and so went back to fetch Mary Tomkins, whom they dragged in the same manner, which their father, old Thomas Roberts seeing, lamented, and cried, ‘Wo that ever I was father to such wicked children.’ But they seemed not to matter what their father said, who had been, a member of the church at Dover above twenty years; but because he no longer frequented their worship for their degeneracy, they took away his cow, which with its milk, helped to support him and his wife. Mary Tomkins being brought into the house where Alice was, Anne Coleman was also fetched. Next morning they got a canoe, and threatened the women they would now do so with them, that they should be troubled with them no more; by which saying they seemed to signify that they would give them up to the mercy of the sea, which made the women unwilling to go to the water-side. Then one Edward Weymouth took Mary by the arms, and dragged her on her back over the stumps of trees, down a very steep hill, by which she was much bruised, and often died away. They also laid hold on Alice, whom they plucked violently into the water, and kept her swimming by the canoe, so that she was in danger of being drowned or frozen to death. Anne Coleman was also rudely dealt with, and all this in the presence of one Hate-evil Nutwel, a ruling elder, who stirred up the constables to this wicked action, and so showed that he bore a wrong name. But the wicked intention of these men was stopped by a power from on high, for on a sudden a great tempest arose, so that they brought the women back again to the house, and about midnight they turned them all out of doors in the snow, the weather being so frosty that Alice’s clothes were frozen like boards. How barbarously soever these women were treated, yet the Lord was pleased to preserve and support them.
Afterwards it happened that Anne Coleman and four of her friends were whipped through Salem, Boston, and Dedham, by order of William Hawthorn, who before he was a magistrate, had opposed compulsion for conscience; and when under the government of Cromwell it was proposed to make a law that none should preach without license, he publicly said at Salem, that if ever such a law took place in New England, he should look upon it as one of the most abominable actions that were ever committed there, and that it would be as eminent a token of God’s having forsaken New England, as any could be: and yet afterward this man became a fierce persecutor of those who asserted liberty of preaching: though formerly it may be, if any one had foretold him how he would be given to persecution, he would have said as Hazael to the prophet Elisha, ‘What, is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing?’ But to return to Anne Coleman, when she was to be whipped at Dedham, and fastened to a cart, deputy Bellingham having seen Hawthorn’s warrant, said, ‘The warrant is firm;’ and then bade the executioner go on; who, thus encouraged, laid on so severely, that with the knot of the whip he split the nipple of her breast, which so tortured her, that it had almost cost her her life; and she, who was a little weakly woman, thinking this would have been her lot, said once, that if she should happen to die thus, she was willing that her body should be laid before Bellingham’s door, with a charge from her mouth that he was guilty of her blood.
The usage Elizabeth Hooton met with, I cannot pass by in silence, because of her age, being about sixty, who hearing of the wickedness committed by those of New England, was moved to make a voyage to America.
In order thereto she went from England in the year 1661, having one Joan Broksup with her, a woman near as aged as herself, who freely resolved to be her companion: and because they could not find a master of a ship that was willing to carry them to New England, because of the fine for every Quaker that was brought thither, they set sail towards Virginia, where they met with a ketch which carried them part of the way, and then they went the rest by land, and so at length came to Boston. But there they could not soon find a place of reception, because of the penalty on those that received a Quaker into their houses. Yet at length a woman received them. Next day they went to the prison to visit their friends; but the jailer altogether unwilling to let them in, carried them to the governor Endicot, who with much scurrilous language called them witches, and asked Elizabeth what she came for: to which she answered, ‘To do the will of him that sent me.’ And he demanding what was that: she replied, ‘To warn thee of shedding any more innocent blood.’ To which he returned that he would hang more yet; but she told him he was in the hand of the Lord, who could take him away first.22 This so displeased him, that he sent them to prison, where many more of their friends were. After consultation what to do with them, they were carried two days’ journey into the wilderness, among wolves and bears; but by Providence they got to Rhode Island, where they took ship for Barbadoes, and from thence to New England again, and so they returned to Boston. But then they were put into a ship, which carried them to Virginia, from whence Elizabeth departed to Old England, where she staid some time in her own habitation.
But it came upon her to visit New England again; and so she did, taking her daughter Elizabeth along with her. And being arrived, those of the magistrates that were present, would have fined the master of the ship an hundred pounds, for bringing her over contrary to their law. But he telling them that Elizabeth had been with the king, and that she had liberty from him to come thither to buy her a house, this so puzzled these snarling persecutors, that they found themselves at a loss, and thus were stopped from seizing the master’s goods.
Elizabeth being come to Boston, notwithstanding the rulers, went to them, and signified that she came thither to buy a house for herself to live in. She was four times at the court for that purpose, but it was denied her; and though she said that this denial would give her occasion if she went to England again, to lay it before the king, it was in vain, and had no influence upon them.
Departing then, and passing through several places, she came to Cambridge, and was thrust into a stinking dungeon, where there was nothing to lie down or sit on. Here they kept her two days and two nights, without affording her any thing to eat or drink; and because a certain man in compassion brought her a little milk, he was also cast into prison and fined five pounds. Being brought to the court, they ordered her to be sent out of their coasts, and to be whipped at three towns with ten stripes at each. So at Cambridge she was tied to the whipping-post, and lashed with ten stripes, with a three-stringed whip, with three knots at an end. At Water Town she had ten stripes more with willow rods; and to make up all, at Dedham, in a cold frosty morning, she received ten cruel lashes at a cart’s tail. And being thus beaten and torn, she was put on horseback and carried many miles into the wilderness, and towards night they left her there, where were many wolves, bears, and other wild beasts, and many deep waters to pass through; but being preserved by an invisible hand, she came in the morning into a town called Rehoboth, being neither weary nor faint; and from thence she went to Rhode Island, where coming to her friends, she gave thanks to God for having counted her worthy, and enabled her to suffer for his name’s sake, beyond what her age and sex, morally speaking, could otherwise have borne.
After some stay there, she returned to Cambridge, about eighty miles, to fetch her linen and clothes, which the inhuman persecutors would not suffer her to take with her after they had whipped her. Having fetched these things, and going back with her daughter and Sarah Coleman, an ancient woman, she was taken up by the constable of Charlestown, and carried prisoner to Cambridge; where being asked by one of the magistrates, whose name was Daniel Goggin, wherefore she came thither, seeing they had warned her not to come there any more: she answered that she came not there of her own accord, but was forced thither, after she had been to fetch her clothes, which they would not let her take with her when she was whipped and sent away; but that now returning back, she was taken up by force out of the highway, and carried thither. Then the other old woman was asked whether she owned Elizabeth and her religion: to which she answered, she owned the Truth. And of Elizabeth’s daughter he demanded, ‘Dost thou own thy mother’s religion?’ To which she was silent: and yet they were sent to the house of correction, with order to be whipped. Next morning the executioner came betimes before it was light, and asked them whether they would be whipped there: which made Elizabeth ask whether he was come to take away their blood in the dark: and whether they were ashamed that their deeds should be seen: but not heeding what she said, he took her down stairs, and whipped her with a three-stringed whip. Then he brought down the ancient woman, and did the like to her. And taking Elizabeth’s daughter he gave the like to her also, who never was there before, nor had said or done any thing. After this Elizabeth the mother was whipped again at the cart’s tail at Boston and other places, where she came to see her friends: since which I have several times seen her in England in a good condition.
I could relate many more severities of the New England persecutors; but I long to come to an end, and therefore shall make a large step, and outrun some space of time.
Notes
21 They both were supposed to be discharged at the next general jail delivery: for T. Goodair in 1666, had been prisoner some years at Warwick, being premunired without legal trial or judgment. At length he died at Selby in Yorkshire, 1693.—J. Whiting’s Account.
22 Which was fulfilled, for after that he never took away the lives of any more of those called Quakers.
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