[20] N. B. There is a passage in the book called, The complete
History of England, vol. iii. page 201, which says that J.
Nayler died with no fruits, nor so much as signs of repentance.
How the author came by such information, we cannot tell, but
that it is a manifest mistake we doubt not but the impartial
reader is by this time abundantly convinced.
This was J. Nayler’s last testimony, or dying words; and thus he gave
proof, that though he had erred, yet with great confidence he hoped for
a happy resurrection.
So I conclude the story of J. Nayler, and leaving him now, time calls
me to New England.
It was in the month called July, of this present year, when Mary Fisher
and Ann Austin arrived in the road before Boston, before ever a law was
made there against the Quakers; and yet they were very ill treated;
for before they came ashore, the deputy-governor, Richard Bellingham,
(the governor himself being out of town,) sent officers aboard, who
searched their trunks and chests, and took away the books they found
there, which were about one hundred, and carried them ashore, after
having commanded the said women to be kept prisoners aboard; and the
said books were, by an order of the council, burnt in the market place
by the hangman. Afterwards the deputy-governor had them brought on
shore, and committed them by a mittimus to prison as Quakers, upon this
proof only, that one of them speaking to him, had said thee, instead
of you; whereupon he said, he needed no more, for now he saw they
were Quakers. And then they were shut up close prisoners, and command
was given that none should come to them without leave; a fine of five
pounds being laid on any that should otherwise come at, or speak with
them, though but at the window. Their pens, ink, and paper were taken
from them, and they not suffered to have any candle-light in the night
season; nay, what is more, they were stripped naked, under pretence to
know whether they were witches, though in searching, no token was found
upon them but of innocence: and in this search they were so barbarously
misused, that modesty forbids to mention it: and that none might have
communication with them, a board was nailed up before the window of the
jail. And seeing they were not provided with victuals, Nicholas Upshal,
one who had lived long in Boston, and was a member of the church there,
was so concerned about it, liberty being denied to send them provision,
that he purchased it of the jailer at the rate of five shillings a
week, lest they should have starved. And after having been about five
weeks prisoners, William Chichester, master of a vessel, was bound in
one hundred pounds bond to carry them back, and not to suffer any to
speak with them, after they were put on board; and the jailer kept
their beds, which were brought out of the ship, and their bible, for
his fees.
Such was the entertainment the Quakers first met with at Boston, and
that from a people, who pretended, that for conscience-sake, they
had chosen the wilderness of America, before the well-cultivated old
England; though afterwards, when they took away the lives of those
called Quakers, they, to excuse their cruel actions, did not stick to
say, that at first they had used no punishment against the Quakers.
Scarce a month after the arrival of the aforesaid women at Boston,
there came also Christopher Holder, Thomas Thirstone, William Brend,
John Copeland, Mary Prince, Sarah Gibbens, Mary Whitehead, and Dorothy
Waugh; they were locked up in the same manner as the former, and after
about eleven weeks stay, sent back; Robert Lock, a master of a ship,
being compelled to carry these eight persons back on his own charge,
and to land them no where but in England; having been imprisoned till
he undertook so to do.
The Governor, John Endicot, whose blood-thirstiness will appear in
the sequel, being now come home, bid them ‘Take heed ye break not our
ecclesiastical laws, for then ye are sure to stretch by a halter.’
And when they desired a copy of those laws it was denied them; which
made some of the people say, ‘How shall they know then when they
transgress?’ But Endicot remained stiff, having said before, when at
Salem he heard how Ann Austin and Mary Fisher had been dealt with at
Boston, ‘If I had been there, I would have had them well whipped.’
Then a law was made, prohibiting all masters of ships from bringing
any Quakers into that jurisdiction, and themselves from coming in,
on penalty of the house of correction. When this law was published,
Nicholas Upshal, already mentioned, could not forbear to show the
persecutors the unreasonableness of their proceedings: warning them
to take heed that they were not found fighting against God, and so
draw down a judgment upon the land. But this was taken so ill, that
though he was a member of their church, and of good repute, as a man
of unblameable conversation, yet he was fined in twenty-three pounds,
and imprisoned also for not coming to church, and next they banished
him out of their jurisdiction. This fine was exacted so severely that
Endicot said, ‘I will not bate him one groat.’ And though a weakly old
man, yet they allowed him but one month’s space for his removal, so
that he was forced to depart in the winter.
Coming at length to Rhode Island, he met an Indian prince, who having
understood how he had been dealt with, behaved himself very kindly, and
told him, if he would live with him, he would make him a warm house.
And further said, ‘What a God have the English, who deal so with one
another about their God!’ For it seems Upshal was already looked upon
as one that was departing from his church-membership. But this was but
a beginning of the New England persecution, which in time grew so hot,
that some of the Quakers were put to death on the gallows, as will be
related in its due time.
Now I return to Old England, where we left G. Fox at Exeter, from
whence he went to Bristol. Here he had a great meeting in an orchard;
and since some thousands of people were come thither, and many very
eager to see him, he stepped upon a great stone that stood there, and
having put off his hat, stood a pretty while silent, to let people
look at him. A Baptist was there named Paul Gwyn, who began to find
fault with G. Fox’s hair, and at last said to the people, ‘Ye wise men
of Bristol, I strange at you, that ye will stand here, and hear a man
speak, and affirm that which he cannot make good.’ Hereupon G. Fox
asked the people whether they ever heard him speak before, or ever saw
him before? And he bid them take notice what kind of man this Gwyn was,
who so impudently said, that he spake and affirmed that which he could
not make good; and yet neither Gwyn nor they ever heard him, or saw
him before; and that therefore it was a lying, envious, and malicious
spirit that spoke in him. Then G. Fox charging Gwyn to be silent, began
to preach, which lasted some hours, without being disturbed.
After this meeting, G. Fox departed from Bristol, and passing through
Wiltshire, Marlborough, and other places, he returned to London; and
when he came near Hyde Park, he saw the Protector coming in his coach;
whereupon he rode up to the coach side, and some of his life-guard
would have put him away; but the protector forbade them. Then riding
by his coach side, he spoke to him about the sufferings of his friends
in the nation, and showed him how contrary this persecution was to
Christ and his apostles, and to Christianity. And when they were come
to the gate of St. James’s Park, G. Fox left Cromwell, who at parting
desired him to come to his house. The next day Mary Sanders, afterwards
Stout, one of Cromwell’s wife’s maids, came to G. Fox’s lodging, and
told him, that her master coming home, said he would tell her some
good news; and when she asked him what it was, he told her G. Fox was
come to town; to which she replied, that was good news indeed. Not
long after, G. Fox and Edward Pyot went to Whitehall, and there spoke
to Cromwell concerning the sufferings of their friends, and directed
him to the light of Christ, who had enlightened every man that cometh
into the world. To which Cromwell said, This was a natural light; but
they showed him the contrary, saying that it was divine and spiritual,
proceeding from Christ, the spiritual and heavenly man. Moreover G.
Fox bid the protector lay down his crown at the feet of Jesus. And as
he was standing by the table, Cromwell came and sat upon the table’s
side by him, and said he would be as high as G. Fox was. But though
he continued to speak in a light manner, yet afterward was so serious
that when he came to his wife and other company, he said that he never
parted so from the Quakers before.
G. Fox having visited the meetings of his friends in and about London,
departed thence, and travelled almost through all England, not without
many occurrences, which for brevity’s sake I pass by. At length he
returned to London again, this year being now come to an end.
1657.
In the parliament which Cromwell had called, a law was made whereby
Charles Stuart’s title of king was rejected, and the year 1657 being
come, subsidies were granted to Cromwell, and there was a contrivance
underhand to make him king, of which, though he expressed his dislike,
yet he seemed not altogether averse to it; for speaking once with
general Fleetwood, and colonel Desborough, he began to droll with them
about the word monarch, and said, it was but a feather in a man’s cap;
and therefore he wondered that men would not please the children, and
permit them to enjoy their rattle. But they not obscurely signified
to him, that this business did displease them; and told him, that
those who put him upon it, were no enemies to Charles Stuart; and that
if he accepted of it, he would infallibly draw ruin upon himself.
Now, though he would not openly oppose them, yet he did not stick
to tell them, they were a couple of scrupulous fellows, and so left
them. It is related also, that major-general Lambert told Cromwell,
that if he accepted the crown, he could not assure the army to him.
The design thus miscarrying, and Cromwell having now seen that the
matter would not go so cleverly, he refused the title of king; and the
parliament confirming him in his title of protector, it was agreed
that the parliament henceforth should consist of a lower house, and
another house; and that the protector should name a successor in the
government. Now he was solemnly vested in his authority, a throne for
that purpose being erected in Westminster Hall, and he being clothed
in a purple robe lined with ermines, and the sceptre and sword being
presented him, took the oath to rule faithfully. Cromwell having called
a new parliament, it consisted of two houses, viz. a house of commons,
and another house as they called it. And many excluded members having
taken place again in the house of commons, it was believed that more
than an hundred of the members were enemies to Cromwell; and the
authority of the upper house began to be called in question by some,
because it was filled up with many of his creatures, some of them of
low rank. And this matter was so carried on in the house of commons,
that Cromwell dissolved the parliament; and he also made major-general
Lambert surrender his commission.
Edward Burrough, who often wrote to Cromwell, having heard of the
design of making him king, wrote a letter to him, wherein I find, that
after having told the protector, that he had had many warnings from the
Lord, he thus speaks to him:
‘I as one that hath obtained mercy from the Lord, and unto
whom his word is committed, being moved of him, do hereby in
his presence yet once more warn thee, that thou fear before
him, and diligently hearken to him, and seek him with all thy
heart, that thou mayest know his will and counsel concerning
thee, and mayest do it, and find favour in his sight, and live.
Now is the day that his hand is stretched forth unto thee, to
make thee a blessing or to leave thee a curse forever; and the
days of thy visitation are near an end, when God will no more
call unto thee, nor hear thee, when in the day of thy trouble
thou callest to him. And if thou rejectest the counsel of the
Lord, and followest the desires of thine own heart, and the
wills of men, and wilt not have the light of the world, Christ
Jesus, only to rule thee, and to teach thee, which condemns all
evil, then shall evil surely fall upon thee, if thou lovest not
the light in thee which condemns it; and the judgments of God,
nor the day of his last visitation with vengeance, thou mayest
not escape. Therefore consider and mark my words, and let this
counsel be acceptable unto thee; let it move thee to meekness,
to humbleness, and to fear before the Lord; assuredly knowing
that it is he that changeth time and things, and that bringeth
down, and setteth up whomsoever he will; and how that thou wast
raised from a low estate, and set over all thine enemies. And in
that day when thou wast raised up, when the fear of the Lord was
before thy face, and thy heart was towards him, and thou wast
but little in thine own eyes, then was it well with thee, and
the Lord blessed thee. And it was not once thought concerning
thee, that the hands of the ungodly would have been strengthened
against the righteous under thee, or that such grievous and cruel
burdens and oppressions would ever have been laid upon the just,
and acted against them in thy name, and under thy dominion, as
unrighteously have come to pass in these three years: and this
thy suffering of such things is thy transgression, and thou
hast not requited the Lord well for his goodness unto thee, nor
fulfilled his will in suffering that to be done under thee, and
in thy name, which the Lord raised thee against, and to break
down, hast thou been faithful to the end.
‘Again, consider, and let it move on thy heart, not to exalt
thyself, nor to be high-minded, but to fear continually, knowing
that thou standest not by thyself, but by another, and that he
is able to abase thee, and give thee into the will of thine
enemies whensoever he will; and how the Lord hath preserved
thee sometimes wonderfully, and doth unto this day, from the
murderous plots, and crafty policy of evil men, who seek thy
evil, and would rejoice in thy fall, and in the desolation of
thy family and countries: how have they, and do they lay snares
for thy feet, that thou mayst be cut off from amongst men, and
die unhappily, and be accounted accursed? And yet to this day he
hath preserved thee, and been near to keep thee, though thou hast
hardly known it; and the Lord’s end is love to thee in all these
things, and yet a little longer to try thee, that thou mayst give
him the glory.
‘O that thy heart were opened to see his hand, that thou mightest
live unto him, and die in him, in peace. And beware lest hardness
of heart possess thee, if thou slight his love, and so be shut up
in darkness and given to the desires of thine enemies, and left
to the counsels of treacherous men, who may seek to exalt thee by
flattery, that they may the better cast thee down, and destroy
thee, and blot out thy name in reproach, and make thy posterity a
people miserable. But now, O consider, and let it enter into thy
heart, for thou hast not answered the Lord, but been wanting to
him, for all this, and hast chosen thy own way and glory, rather
than his, and not fulfilled his counsel in raising thee; for the
bonds of cruelty are not loosed by thee, and the oppressed are
not altogether set free; neither is oppression taken off from the
back of the poor, nor the laws regulated, nor the liberty of pure
consciences altogether allowed: but these dominions are filled
with cruel oppressions, and the poor groan every where under the
heavy hand of injustice; the needy are trodden down under foot,
and the oppressed cry for deliverance, and are ready to faint for
true justice and judgment. The proud exalt themselves against
the poor, and the high-minded and rebellious contemn the meek of
the earth; the horn of the ungodly is exalted above the Lord’s
heritage, and they that are departed from iniquity, are become
a prey to oppressors: and the cruel-hearted deal cruelly with
the innocent in these nations. Many are unjustly, and wofully
sufferers, because they cannot swear on this, or that occasion;
though in all cases they speak the truth, and do obey Christ’s
commands, even such are trodden upon, by unjust fines charged
upon them; and this is by the corruptness of some that bear rule
under thee, who rule not for God as they ought, but turn the
sword of justice. Some suffer long and tedious imprisonments,
and others cruel stripes and abuses, and danger of life many
times, from wicked men, for reproving sin, and crying against the
abominations of the times, (which the Scriptures also testify
against,) in streets, or other places: some having been sent to
prison, taken on the highway, and no evil charged against them;
and others committed, being taken out of peaceable meetings, and
whipt, and sent to prison, without transgression of any law, just
or unjust, wholly through the rage and envy of the devil, and
such who have perverted judgment and justice; and some in prison
have suffered superabundantly from the hands of the cruel jailers
and their servants, by beatings and threatenings, and putting
irons on them, and not suffering any of their friends to visit
them with necessaries; and some have died in the prisons, whose
lives were not dear to them, whose blood will be reckoned on
account against thee one day. Some have suffered hard cruelties,
because they could not respect persons, and bow with hat or knee;
and from these cruelties canst thou not altogether be excused in
the sight of God, being brought forth in thy name, and under thy
power. Consider, friend, and be awakened to true judgment, and
let the Lord search thy heart; and lay these things to mind, that
thou mayest be an instrument to remove every burden, and mayest
at last fulfil the will of God. O be awakened, be awakened, and
seek the Lord’s glory, and not thine own; lest thou perish before
the Lord and men: nay, if men would give thee honours, and high
titles, and princely thrones, take them not; for that which would
exalt and honour thee in the world, would betray thee to the
world, and cast thee down in the sight of the world: and this is
God’s word to thee: what! shall the whole nation be perjured men,
and thou the cause of it? And wilt thou transgress by building
again that which thou hast destroyed? Give heed unto my words,
and understand my speech: be not exalted by man, lest man betray
thee. Deal favourably, and relieve the oppressed; boast not
thyself, though the Lord hath used thee in his hand; but know
that when he will, he can cast thee, as a rod, out of his hand,
into the fire; for in his hand thou art. If thou wilt honour him,
he will honour thee; otherwise he can, yea, and will confound
thee, and make thee weak as water before him. His love through
my heart breathes unto thee: he would thy happiness, if thou
wilfully contemn it not, by exalting thyself, and seeking thy
own glory, and hardening thy heart against the cry of the poor.
This I was moved in bowels of pity to lay before thee, who am thy
friend, not in flattery, but in an upright heart, who wishes well
unto thee in the Lord.