This letter being printed, a copy of it was given to each parliament
man, before Monk with his army came into London; and how soon the
predictions contained therein, as well as those of E. Burrough, in the
foregoing year, came to be fulfilled, when many of the great ones were
hanged and quartered, we shall see in the sequel.
General Monk came now, with part of the army he commanded, out of
Scotland; into England, and made great alterations among the officers,
putting in such as were believed to be no enemies to Charles Stuart;
for whatsoever Monk said of his resolution to be true and faithful to
the parliament, and to promote the interest of a commonwealth; yet it
appeared ere long that he aimed at something else; which he could do
the easier, because he wanted not adherents in the parliament; though
he did not stick to say to Edmund Ludlow, ‘We must live and die for,
and with, a commonwealth:’ and to others he declared, that he would
oppose to the utmost the setting up of Charles Stuart. In the meanwhile
he so ordered it, that many members of the parliament, that had been
long excluded as unqualified, took session again in that assembly; and
these brought it about, that sir George Booth, who was confined to the
Tower, for having carried on a design for Charles Stuart, was set at
liberty. Neither was the city of London in a condition to oppose Monk;
for he caused the port-cullies, and doors of the city gates, and the
posts to be pulled down; and the royalists were now become so bold,
that they printed a list of the names of the judges that condemned
king Charles the First to death; and some of them were secured, whilst
others fled away. General Lambert was also sent to the Tower, and Monk,
whose authority now increased, sent for the lords, who until the year
1648, had sat in parliament, and bade them return to the house where
they formerly used to sit.
In these overturnings G. Fox came to London, to wit, in the time when
they were breaking the city gates. He then wrote a paper to those
that were now sinking, and told them, that now the prophecies were
fulfilling upon them, which had been spoken to them; and that they
who used to call the Quakers fanatics, and giddyheads, now seemed
themselves giddy, and fugitives or wanderers.
From London G. Fox went to Sussex, and from thence to Dorsetshire. At
Dorchester he had a great meeting in the evening at the inn where he
lodged, and there came many soldiers, who were pretty civil. But the
constables and officers of the town came also, under pretence to look
for a Jesuit, whose head, they said, was shaved. So they took off G.
Fox’s hat, but not finding any bald place on his head, they went away
with shame. This was of good service among the soldiers and others, and
it affected the people, who were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then he passed into Somersetshire, where his friends meetings were
often disturbed. One time there came a wicked man, who having a
bear’s skin on his back, played ugly pranks in the meeting; and
setting himself opposite to the person that was preaching, lolled his
tongue out of his mouth, and so made sport for his wicked followers,
and caused great disturbance in the meeting. But as he went back
from thence, an eminent judgment overtook him; for there being a
bull-baiting in the way, he staid to see; and coming within his reach,
the bull pushed his horn under the man’s chin, into his throat, and
forced his tongue out of his mouth, so that it hung out in the same
manner as before he lolled it out in derision in the meeting: and the
bull running his horn into the man’s head, swung him about in a most
fearful manner.
G. Fox travelling through Somersetshire, came into Devonshire, and so
went into Cornwall, till he came to the Land’s End. Whilst he was in
Cornwall, there were great shipwrecks about the Land’s End. Now it
was the custom of that country, that at such times both rich and poor
went out to get as much of the wreck as they could, not caring to save
the people’s lives; and this custom so prevailed, that in some parts
of the country they called shipwrecks, God’s grace. This grieved G.
Fox not a little, considering how far these professed Christians were
below the heathen at Melita, who courteously received Paul, and the
others that had suffered shipwreck with him, and made him a fire. On
this consideration, he was moved to write a paper to the magistrates,
priests, and others, both high and low; in which he showed them the
wickedness of their deeds, and reproved them for such greedy actions,
telling them how they were ready to fight with one another for the
spoil, and spend what they got in taverns or ale-houses, letting those
that escaped drowning, go a begging up and down the country. Therefore
he seriously exhorted them, to do unto others, what they would have
done to themselves.
This paper he sent to all the parishes thereabouts: and after having
had many meetings in Cornwall, and several eminent people being
convinced of the Truth preached by him, he went to Bristol, where the
meetings of his friends were exceedingly disturbed by the soldiers.
Having heard this, he desired George Bishop, Thomas Gouldney, Thomas
Speed, and Edward Pyot, to go to the mayor and aldermen, and desire
them to let his friends have the town-hall to meet in, provided it
should not be on such days when the mayor and aldermen had business to
do in it; and that for this use they would give twenty pounds a year,
to be distributed among the poor. These four persons were astonished
at this proposal, and said, the mayor and aldermen would think them
mad; for the mayor and the commander of the soldiers had combined
together to make a disturbance in their meetings. But G. Fox so
encouraged them, that at last they consented to what he desired. Being
come to the mayor, he was moderate beyond expectation; and when they
had laid the thing before him, he said, for his part, he could consent
to it; but he was but one. So they left him in a loving frame of mind;
and coming back, G. Fox desired them to go also to the colonel that
commanded the soldiers, and to acquaint him of their rude carriage,
and how they disturbed the meetings. But the aforesaid four persons
were backward to go to him. Next morning being the First day of the
week, a meeting was kept in an orchard, where many people came; and
after G. Fox had been preaching a pretty while, there came several
rude soldiers, some with drawn swords, and some drunk, and among these
one that had bound himself with an oath to cut down, and kill the man
that spoke. But when he came pressing in through the crowd, and was
within two yards of G. Fox, he stopped at those four persons before
mentioned, and fell a jangling with them; but at length his sword was
put up again. The next day they went and spoke with the colonel, and
he having heard how mischievous his soldiers had been, sent for them,
and cut and slashed some of them. When this was told G. Fox, he blamed
those his friends, thinking they might have prevented the cutting of
the soldiers, if they had gone to the colonel when he would have had
them. Yet this had such effect, that the meeting there was kept without
disturbance a good while after.
G. Fox then also had a general meeting at Edward Pyot’s, near Bristol,
at which were several thousands of people; and so many of Bristol, that
some said, the city looked naked; and all was quiet.
But in other places, about this time, things were not so quiet; for
the soldiers, under general Monk’s command, were often very rude in
disturbing of meetings. But when complaint was made to him, who was
then at Westminster, he showed that he would not countenance such
wickedness, and did in that respect better than several other generals
had done, for he gave forth the following order.
‘_St. James’s, March 9, 1659-60._
‘I do require all officers and soldiers, to forbear to disturb
the peaceable meetings of the Quakers, they doing nothing
prejudicial to the parliament or commonwealth of England.