Swarthmore, the 5th of the 12th
month, 1678.
Persecution was now very hot in many places. At Bawnasse, in
Westmoreland, it happened that those of the society called Quakers
being religiously met together, were much abused by the rude people;
and besides other insolencies that were committed, a dog being thrown
among them, one John Thompson said to this wicked crew, that they
ought to behave themselves civil and moderate; and for saying so he
was informed against as a preacher, and on that account fined twenty
pounds. Mary Tod, a poor ancient widow in Yorkshire, having had a
meeting at her house, was also fined twenty pounds by justice Francis
Driffield; and when the informers told him that her goods were not
worth so much, he ordered them to take all that they could find: this
they did, and did not leave her a bed to lie on; nay, took away all
her clothes.
This year the ambassadors of the king of France, and those of the
United Netherlands, with those of several other potentates, were met
at Nimeguen, to treat about a general peace; and therefore Robert
Barclay wrote an epistle to them in Latin, to exhort them to this good
work: the epistle, together with his Apology for the true Christian
Divinity, in Latin, was delivered to each of the said ambassadors, viz.
a book for every one of them, and one for their principals. George Fox
also wrote an exhortatory epistle to them, which being translated and
printed in Latin, was also sent to them. And before this year came to
an end, the peace was concluded.
1679.
In the meanwhile persecution went on in England, and those that were
envious did not want a specious pretence to gild their malice; for
about this time a plot of the Papists being discovered, there seemed a
necessity to watch against seditious assemblies; insomuch, that those
who had no mind to persecute, were in a manner constrained to it; of
which an instance was seen in the year 1679, at Castle Dumington in
Leicestershire: for John Evat having been fined for a meeting at his
house, and goods enough to answer not being found, the constable, and
three other officers were fined each five pounds, because they had been
backward to take away the said Evat’s goods. But the ecclesiastics
showed themselves more covetous, to get what they pretended to be their
due; and one Michael Reynolds, at Farringdon in Berkshire, was this
year despoiled of cattle, barley, and beans, for tithes, to the value
of more than ninety-seven pounds, and all this only for one year.
Thus honest men were oppressed, which gave occasion to a certain writer
of that time, (who in print gave many instances of this nature,) to
say, ‘Truly the Papists may laugh because of their victory, now they
have got a law, whereby one Protestant fights against another.’ This
was chiefly levelled against conventicles; for thereby many families
were impoverished, because often they were robbed of thrice as much as
the fine amounted to; and the basest means that could be thought of
were used to enrich the persecutors with the spoil of the innocent:
for it happened that four of those called Quakers travelling on the
way, this was deemed a transgression, by adding a fifth to their
number who was not of their society. And thus the informers, (some of
whom were often whores, or wives of informers,) made a meeting of it,
and this passed; so great was the power of these profligates; and on
this account the goods of the said four persons were distrained. More
abominable actions of that kind I could mention, if I did not think it
might seem tedious. Such despoiling was permitted now to any naughty
fellow, and this made them so insolent, that one John Hill, constable
at Walsingham in Norfolk, when he was showed the injustice of the
warrant he had, said ‘Justice or no, I will take it for all that.’
At Norwich lived one William Wat, who for several years had carried on
the trade of informing, but whatever he got by it turned to no account;
and often he was seized with such fits of weakness, that he could not
stand on his legs; but this year, in October, the hand of God fell so
heavy upon him, that it put a period to his life. He had supped at
night, and was as well, according to his wife’s relation, as ever; but
on a sudden he sunk down to the ground, and his daughter crying aloud,
he seemed to look at her, and so died without more ado: but what was
looked upon as a very strange thing, his corpse stunk so grievously,
that none were willing to carry it, and the overseers of the poor were
necessitated to hire four men to hear it to the grave.
Far otherwise was the exit of Isaac Pennington, an eminent minister
and author among those called Quakers, and a man of an acute wit, and
great endowments, who in the year 1658, on Whitsunday, so called,
being in a meeting at the house of John Crook in Bedfordshire, was so
reached by the preaching of G. Fox, that he, who before that time, had
contradicted the Quakers with his natural wisdom, now embraced their
doctrine as truth, and did not stick to make public profession of it,
for which he afterwards several times suffered imprisonments during
the space many of years; but he continued steadfast to the end without
fainting, and died piously in October, at his house near Goodnestone in
Kent, from whence his corpse was carried to Buckinghamshire, where he
formerly lived, and was honourably interred there.
Some time before, G. Fox had written some queries to the pope and
the Papists, which being translated into Dutch, and printed, I was
desired by him to translate into Latin, and to send them to Rome to the
pope.[51] This I did at his desire, but never received or heard of any
answer to them.
[51] These queries in Latin, with what the author W. S. wrote to
the pope on that occasion, are to be seen in the Appendix to the
Dutch history, which being translated into English, the reader
may take as follows.
_To Innocent XII. Pope of Rome, S._
‘GREAT PRELATE,
‘Thou wilt perhaps at first sight admire that the writing
inclosed should be sent to thee; but know it was done at the
command of the author; and not undeservedly; for if thou
rightly weighest and considerest the matter, thou must with
us acknowledge, that it would be very unworthily done to keep
this little treatise from thy view, which hath been already
printed in the Dutch language, and carries the pope’s name in
the frontispiece. Nor wilt thou be able to deny, that thou art
not only not injured hereby, but that we have also performed a
duty that we owed thee, in transmitting these questions which
properly belong to thee. But if thou pleasest to read them and
return an answer, thou wilt both oblige the author, and also
remove the suspicion of error from your religion, in the sight of
all Christendom, provided thou canst give a clear answer to the
objections, not only in word, but in deed also.
I write this at the request of certain
of my friends called Quakers.