Chapter VI (2)

From the aforesaid village we came up to Thomas Bewley’s, near CALDBECK; and from thence, having had some service for the Lord there, I passed to a town, where I had a meeting at the Cross; and all was pretty quiet. When I had declared the truth unto them, and directed them to Christ their teacher, some received the truth. We had another meeting upon the borders, in a steeple-house yard, to which many professors and contenders came; but the Lord’s power was over all; and when the word of life had been declared amongst them, some received the truth there also.

From thence we came to CARLISLE, and the pastor of the Baptists, with most of his hearers, came to me to the abbey, where I had a meeting, and declared the word of life amongst them; and many of the Baptists, and of the soldiers, were convinced. After the meeting, the pastor of the Baptists, a high notionist, and a flashy man, came to me, and asked me, “what must be damned;” I was moved immediately to tell him, “that which spoke in him was to be damned.” This stopped his mouth; and the witness of God was raised up in him. I opened to him the states of election and reprobation, so that he said he never heard the like in his life. He also came afterwards to be convinced.

Then I went up to the castle among the soldiers, who beat a drum, and called the garrison together. I preached the truth amongst them, “directing them to the Lord Jesus Christ to be their teacher, and to the measure of his Spirit in themselves, by which they might be turned from the darkness to the light, and from the power of Satan unto God. I warned them all, that they should do no violence to any man, but should show forth a Christian life; telling them, that he who was to be their teacher, would be their condemner, if they were disobedient to him.” So I left them, having no opposition from any of them except the sergeants, who afterwards came to be convinced.

On the market-day I went up into the market, to the market-cross. Now the magistrates had both threatened and sent their serjeants; and the magistrates’ wives had said that if I came there, they would pluck the hair off my head; and that the serjeants should take me up. Nevertheless, I obeyed the Lord God, and went upon the Cross, and there declared unto them, that the day of the Lord was coming upon all their deceitful ways and doings, and deceitful merchandize; and that they should put away all cozening and cheating, and keep to yea and nay, and speak the truth one to another; so the truth and the power of God was set over them. After I had declared the word of life to the people, the throng became so great that the serjeants could not get to me, nor the magistrates’ wives come at me, I passed away quietly. Many people and soldiers came to me, and some Baptists, that were bitter contenders; amongst whom one of their deacons, being an envious man, and finding the Lord’s power was over them, cried out for very anger. Whereupon I set my eyes upon him, and spoke sharply to him in the power of the Lord; and he cried, “Do not pierce me so with thy eyes; keep thy eyes off me.”

On the First-day following I went into the steeple-house; and after the priest had done, I preached the truth to the people, and declared the word of life amongst them. The priest got away, and the magistrates desired me to go out of the steeple-house. But I still declared the way of the Lord unto them, and told them, “I came to speak the word of life and salvation from the Lord amongst them.” The power of the Lord was dreadful amongst them in the steeple-house, so that the people trembled and shook, and they thought the steeple-house shook: and some of them feared it would fall down on their heads. The magistrates’ wives were in a rage, and strove mightily to be at me: but the soldiers and friendly people stood thick about me. At length the rude people of the city rose, and came with staves and stones into the steeple-house, crying, “Down with these round-headed rogues;” and they threw stones. Whereupon the governor sent a file or two of musketeers into the steeple-house, to appease the tumult, and commanded all the other soldiers out. So those soldiers took me by the hand in a friendly manner, and said they would have me along with them. When we came forth into the street, the city was in an uproar, and the governor came down; and some of those soldiers were put in prison for standing by me, and for me, against the town’s-people. A lieutenant, that had been convinced, came, and brought me to his house, where there was a Baptists’ meeting, and thither came Friends also, and we had a very quiet meeting; they heard the word of life gladly, and many received it.

The next day, the justices and magistrates of the town being gathered in the townhall, they granted a warrant against me, and sent for me to come before them. I was then gone to a Baptist’s house; but hearing of it, I went up to the hall to them, where many rude people were; some of whom had sworn strange, false things against me. I had much discourse with the magistrates, wherein I laid open the fruits of their priests’ preaching, and showed them how void they were of Christianity; and that, though they were such great professors (for they were Independents and Presbyterians,) they were without the possession of that which they professed. After a large examination they committed me to prison as a blasphemer, a heretic, and a seducer; though they could not justly charge any such thing against me. The jail at CARLISLE had two jailers, an upper and an under, who looked like two great bear-wards. Now when I was brought in, the upper jailer had me up into a great chamber, and told me, I should have what I would in that room. But I told him, he should not expect any money from me, for I would neither lie in any of his beds, nor eat any of his victuals. Then he put me into another room; where after a while, I got something to lie upon. There I lay till the assizes came; and then all the talk was, that I was to be hanged. The high sheriff, whose name was Wilfred Lawson, stirred them much up to take away my life; and said, he would guard me to my execution himself. They were in a great rage, and set three musketeers for a guard upon me; one at my chamber door, another at the stairs’ foot, and a third at the street door; and they would let none come at me, except one sometimes, to bring me some necessary things. At night they would bring up priests to me, sometimes as late as the tenth hour; who were exceedingly rude and devilish. There was a company of bitter Scotch priests, Presbyterians, made up of envy and malice, who were not fit to speak of the things of God, they were so foul-mouthed; but the Lord, by his power, gave me dominion over them all, and I let them see both their fruits and their spirits. Great ladies also (as they were called) came to see the man that they said was to die. Now, while both the judge, justices, and sheriff, were contriving together how they might put me to death, the Lord disappointed their design by an unexpected way; for the judge’s clerk (as I was informed,) started a question among them, which confounded all their counsels; so that after that they had not power to call me before the judge.

Anthony Pearson being then in Carlisle, and perceiving that they did not intend to bring me, as was expected, upon my trial, wrote a letter to the judges, directed as follows:—

TO THE JUDGES OF ASSIZE AND JAIL-DELIVERY FOR THE NORTHERN PARTS,
SITTING AT CARLISLE.

“You are raised up to do righteousness and justice, and sent forth to
punish him that doth evil, and to encourage him that doth well, and to
set the oppressed free. I am therefore moved to lay before you the
condition of George Fox, whom the magistrates of this city have cast
into prison, for words that he is accused to have spoken, which they
call blasphemy. He was sent to the jail, till he should be delivered
by due course of law; and it was expected he should have been
proceeded against in the common-law court at this assizes. The
informations against him were delivered into court; and the act allows
and appoints that way of trial. How hardly and unchristianly he hath
been hitherto dealt with, I shall not now mention; but you may
consider, that nothing he is accused of is nice and difficult. And, to
my knowledge, he utterly abhors and detests every particular, which by
the act against blasphemous opinions, is appointed to be punished; and
differs as much from those people against whom the law was made, as
light from darkness. Though he is committed, judgment is not given
against him; nor have his accusers been face to face, to affirm before
him what they have informed against him; nor was he heard as to the
particulars of their accusations; nor doth it appear, that any word
they charge against him, is within the act. But, indeed, I could not
yet so much as see the information, no, not in court, though I desired
it, both of the clerk of the assizes and of the magistrates’ clerk;
nor hath he had a copy of them. This is very hard; and that he should
be so closely restrained, that his friends may not speak with him, I
know no law nor reason for. I do therefore claim for him a due and
lawful hearing, and that he may have a copy of his charge, and freedom
to answer for himself; and that rather before you, than to be left to
the rulers of this town, who are not competent judges of blasphemy, as
by their mittimus appears; who have committed him upon an act of
parliament, and mention words as spoken by him at his examination,
which are not within the act, and which he utterly denies. The words
mentioned in the mittimus he denies to have spoken; and hath neither
professed nor avowed them.”

ANTHONY PEARSON.

Notwithstanding this letter, the judges were resolved not to suffer me to be brought before them; but reviling and scoffing at me behind my back, left me to the magistrates of the town; giving them what encouragement they could to exercise their cruelty upon me. Whereupon (though I had been kept up so close in the jailer’s house that Friends were not suffered to visit me, and Colonel Benson and Justice Pearson were denied to see me,) the next day, after the judges were gone out of town, an order was sent to the jailer to put me down into the dungeon among the moss-troopers,[29] thieves, and murderers, which accordingly he did. A filthy nasty place it was, where men and women were put together in a very uncivil manner, and not even a house of convenience to it; and the prisoners so lousy that one woman was almost eaten to death with lice. Yet, as bad as the place was, the prisoners were all made very loving and subject to me; and some of them were convinced of the truth, as the publicans and harlots were of old; so that they were able to confound any priest, that might come to the grates to dispute. But the jailer was very cruel, and the under-jailer very abusive to me and to Friends that came to see me; for he would beat Friends with a great cudgel, that did but come to the window to look in upon me. I could get up to the grate, where sometimes I took in my meat; at which the jailer was often offended. One time he came in a great rage, and beat me with a great cudgel, though I was not at the grate at that time; and as he beat me, he cried, “Come out of the window,” though I was then far enough from it. While he struck me, I was made to sing in the Lord’s power; and that made him rage the more. Then he fetched a fiddler, and brought him in where I was, and set him to play, thinking to vex me thereby; but while he played, I was moved in the everlasting power of the Lord God to sing; and my voice drowned the noise of the fiddle, and struck and confounded them, and made them give over fiddling and go their way.

Footnote 29:

Moss-troopers were the remnant of a kind of freebooters, who infested
the borders of England and Scotland in feudal times, making incursions
on each other, less for the purpose of contention in arms, than for
committing depredations on cattle and property.

Justice Benson’s wife was moved of the Lord to come to visit me, and to eat no meat but what she ate with me at the bars of the dungeon window. She was afterwards herself imprisoned at YORK, when she was great with child, for speaking to a priest; and was kept in prison, and not suffered to go out, when the time of her travail was come; so she was delivered of her child in the prison. She was an honest, tender woman, and continued faithful to the truth until she died.

Whilst I was in the dungeon at CARLISLE, James Parnell, a little lad of about sixteen years of age, came to see me, and was convinced. And the Lord quickly made him a powerful minister of the word of life, and many were turned to Christ by him, though he lived not long: for, travelling into ESSEX, in the work of the ministry, in the year 1655, he was committed to COLCHESTER castle, where he endured very great hardships and sufferings; being put by the cruel jailer into a hole in the castle wall, called the oven, so high from the ground, that he went up to it by a ladder; which being six feet too short, he was obliged to climb from the ladder to the hole by a rope that was fastened above. And when Friends would have given him a cord and a basket, to draw up his victuals in, the inhuman jailer would not suffer them, but forced him to go down and up by that short ladder and rope, to fetch his victuals, (which for a long time he did), or else he might have famished in the hole. At length, his limbs being much benumbed with lying in that place, yet being constrained to go down to take up some victuals, as he came up the ladder again with his victuals in one hand, and caught at the rope with the other, he missed the rope, and fell down from a very great height upon the stones; by which fall he was exceedingly wounded in his head and arms, and his body was so much bruised, that he died in a short time after.[30] When he was dead, the wicked professors, to cover their own cruelty, wrote a book of him, and said, “he fasted himself to death;” which was an abominable falsehood, and was manifested so to be by another book, which was written in answer to that, and was called “The Lamb’s Defence against Lies.”

Footnote 30:

James Parnell, according to the historian Sewell, was trained up in
the schools of literature. Though young, he became a valiant soldier
of the Lamb;

“In age a stripling, but in service old;”

and died a true martyr in a dungeon’s gloom. Particulars of his
barbarous treatment, and consequent death in jail, may be found in
Sewell’s _History_, vol. i., under date 1655; and fuller information
in his _Life_ by Callaway. In Barclay’s _Letters of early Friends_ is
one from James Parnell written from Colchester Castle, wherein he
says, “They have laboured to make my bonds grievous, but my strength
the Philistines know not: I am kept and nourished in the midst of mine
enemies; glory be to God the Highest, who hath counted me worthy to
bear the bonds of the gospel.”

Now when I saw that I was not likely to be brought to a public hearing and trial (although I had before answered in writing, the particular matters charged against me, at the time of my first examination and commitment), I was moved to send the following paper, as a public challenge to all those that belied the truth and me behind my back, to come forth and make good their charge:—

“If any in Westmorland, or Cumberland, or elsewhere, that profess
Christianity, and pretend to love God and Christ, are not satisfied
concerning the things of God, which I, who am called George Fox, have
spoken and declared, let them declare and publish their
dissatisfaction in writing, and not back-bite, nor lie, nor persecute,
in secret: this I demand of you all in the presence of the living God,
as ye will answer it to him. For the exaltation of the truth, and the
confounding of deceit, is this given forth. To that of God in your
consciences I speak; declare or write your dissatisfaction to any of
them, whom you call Quakers, that truth may be exalted, and all may
come to the light, with which Christ has enlightened every one that
cometh into the world: that nothing may be hid in darkness, in
prisons, holes, or corners, but that all things may be brought to the
light of Christ, and by the light of Christ may be tried. This am I
moved of the Lord to write, and send forth to be set upon the
market-crosses in Westmorland, and elsewhere. To the light of Christ
in you I speak, that none of you may speak evil of the things of God,
which you know not; nor act contrary to the light, that gave forth the
Scriptures; lest you be found fighters against God, and the hand of
the Lord be turned against you.”

G. F.

While I thus lay in the dungeon at CARLISLE, the report raised at the time of the assize, “that I should be put to death,” was gone far and near; insomuch that the parliament then sitting (which, I think, was called the Little Parliament), hearing, that a young man at CARLISLE was to die for religion, caused a letter to be sent to the sheriff and magistrates concerning me. About the same time I wrote also to the justices at CARLISLE, that had cast me into prison, and that persecuted Friends at the instigation of the priests for tithes; expostulating the matter with them thus:—

“FRIENDS, THOMAS CRASTON AND CUTHBERT STUDHOLM.

“Your noise is gone up to London before the sober people. What
imprisoning, what gagging, what havoc and spoiling of the goods of
people have you made within these few years! Unlike men; as though you
had never read the Scriptures, or had not minded them! Is this the end
of Carlisle’s religion? is this the end of your ministry; and is this
the end of your church, and of your profession of Christianity? You
have shamed it by your folly, your madness, and blind zeal. Was it not
always the work of the blind guides, watchmen, leaders, and false
prophets, to prepare war against them that would not put into their
mouths? And have not you been the priests’ pack-horses, and
executioners? When they spur you up to bear the sword against the
just, do not you run on against the creatures, that cannot hold up
such as the Scriptures did always testify against? Yet will you lift
up your unholy hands, and call upon God with your polluted lips, and
pretend a fast, who are full of strife and debate. Did your hearts
never burn within you? Did you never come to question your conditions?
Are you wholly given up to do the Devil’s lusts, to persecute? Where
is your loving of enemies? Where is your entertaining of strangers?
Where is your overcoming evil with good? Where are your teachers that
can stop the mouths of gainsayers, and can convince gainsayers and
such as oppose themselves? Have you no ministers of the Spirit, no
soldiers with spiritual weapons displaying Christ’s colours? But all
the dragon’s, the murderer’s, the persecutor’s arm of flesh; Cain’s
weapons, chief priests taking counsel; Judas and the multitude with
swords and staves; Sodom’s company raging about Lot’s house; like the
priests and princes against Jeremiah; like the dragon, beast, and
great whore, and the false church, which John saw, should cast into
prison, and kill, and persecute? Whose weapons are you bearing? Doth
not the false church make merchandise of cattle, corn, wine, and oil,
even to the very souls of men? And hath not all this been since the
true church went into the wilderness? Read Revelations the xiith, with
the xviiith: do you not read and see what a spirit you are of, and
what a bottomless pit you are in? And have not you dishonoured the
place of justice and authority? What! turned your sword backward like
madmen, who are a praise to the evil-doer, and would be a terror to
the good, with all force and might to stop the way of justice! Doth
not the Lord, think you, behold your actions? How many have you
wronged? how many have you imprisoned and persecuted, and put out of
your synagogues? Are you they that must fulfil the prophecy of Christ,
Matt. xxiii. John xvi.?

“Read the Scriptures, and see how unlike you are to the prophets,
Christ, and his apostles; and what a visage you have, like unto them
that persecuted the prophets, Christ, and the apostles. You are found
in their steps, wrestling with flesh and blood, and not with
principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness, and your
teachers imprisoning and persecuting for outward things, you being
their executioners; the like whereof hath not been in all the nations.
The havoc that hath been made, the spoiling of the goods of people,
taking away their oxen and fatted beeves, their sheep, corn, wool, and
household goods, and giving them to the priests, that have done no
work for them; more like moss-troopers than ministers of the gospel,
they take them from Friends; sueing them in your courts, and fining
them because they will not break the commands of Christ; that is,
because they will not swear. Thus you act against them that do not
lift up a hand against you; and as much as you turn against them you
turn against Christ. But he is risen that will plead their cause, and
you cannot be hid; for your works are come to light, and the end of
your ministry is seen, what it is for—for means. You have dishonoured
the truth, the gospel, and are they that make it chargeable. You have
lost your glory. You have dishonoured yourselves. Persecution was ever
blind and mad. Read the apostle, what he saith of himself, when he was
in your nature. Exaltation and pride, and your lifting up yourselves,
hath brought you to this; not being humble, not doing justice, not
loving mercy. When such as have been beaten and bruised by your rude
company, to whom you are a praise and encouragement, have come, and
laid things before you, that you might do justice, preserve and keep
peace, you, knowing they could not swear, have put an oath to them.
This hath been your trick and cover, that ye might not do justice to
the just; but by this means you have gone on still further to
encourage the evil-doer. But the Lord sees your hearts! If ye were not
men past feeling, ye would fear and tremble before the God of the
whole earth, who is risen and will stain your glory, mar your pride,
deface your beauty, and lay it in the dust. Though for a time you may
swell in your pride, glory in your shame, and make a mock of God’s
messengers, who for reproving sin in the gate, are become your prey,
you will feel the heavy hand of God, and his judgments at the last.

“This is from a lover of the truth, and of righteousness, and of your
souls; but a witness against all such as make a trade of the
prophets’, Christ’s, and the Apostles’ words, and are found in the
steps of them that persecuted the prophets’, Christ’s, and the
Apostles’ life; who will persecute them, that will not hold you up,
and put into your mouths, and give you means. Tithes were before the
law, and tithes were in the law; but tithes, since the days of the
apostles, have been only since the false church got up. Now Christ,
who is come to end the law, and to end war, redeems men out of the
tenths, and out of the nines also. The redeemed of the Lord shall
reign upon the earth, and know the election, which was before the
world began. Since the days of the apostles, tithes have been set up
by the Papists, and by them that went forth from the apostles into the
world; so set up by the false church, that made merchandise of people,
since the true church went into the wilderness. But now is the
judgment of the great whore come, and the beast and false prophet, the
old dragon, shall be taken and cast in the fire, and the Lamb and his
saints shall have the victory. Now is Christ come, who will make war
in righteousness, and destroy with the sword of his mouth all these
inventors and inventions, that have got up, and been set up since the
days of the apostles, and since the true church went into the
wilderness. And the everlasting gospel, which is the power of God,
shall be preached again to all nations, and kindreds and tongues, in
this the Lamb’s day, before whom you shall appear to judgment. You
have no way to escape. For He hath appeared, who is ‘the First and the
Last, the beginning and the ending, the Alpha and the Omega; He that
was dead, is alive again, and lives for evermore!’”

I mentioned before that Gervase Benson and Anthony Pearson, though they had been justices of the peace, were not permitted to come to me in the prison; whereupon they jointly wrote a letter to the magistrates, priests, and people at CARLISLE, concerning my imprisonment; which was thus:—

“Him, who is called George Fox, who is persecuted by rulers and
magistrates, by justices, by priests, and by people, and who suffers
imprisonment of his body at this present, as a blasphemer, and a
heretic, and a seducer, him do we witness, who in measure are made
partakers of the same life, that lives in him, to be a minister of the
eternal Word of God, by whom the everlasting gospel is preached; by
the powerful preaching whereof the eternal Father of the saints hath
opened the blind eyes, hath unstopped the deaf ears, hath let the
oppressed go free, and hath raised up the dead out of the graves.
Christ is now preached in and among the saints, the same that ever he
was; and because his heavenly image is borne up in this his faithful
servant, therefore doth fallen man (rulers, priests, and people)
persecute him. Because he lives up out of the fall, and testifies
against the works of the world, that the deeds thereof are evil, he
suffers by you magistrates; not as an evil-doer. For thus it was ever,
where the seed of God was kept in prison under the cursed nature, that
nature sought to imprison them in whom it was raised. The Lord will
make him to you as a burdensome stone; for the sword of the spirit of
the Almighty is put into the hands of the saints, which shall wound
all the wicked, and shall not be put up till it hath cut down all
corrupt judges, justices, magistrates, priests, and professors; till
he hath brought his wonderful thing to pass in the earth; which is to
make new heavens and a new earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness;
which now he is about to do. Therefore fear the Lord God Almighty, ye
judges, justices, commanders, priests, and people; ye that forget God,
suddenly will the Lord come, and destroy you with utter destruction,
and will sweep your names out of the earth, and will restore his
people judges, as at the first, and counsellors, as at the beginning.
And all persecutors shall partake of the plagues of the whore, who
hath made the kings of the earth and the great men drunk with the wine
of her fornications, and hath drunk the blood of the saints; and
therefore shall you be partakers of her plagues.

“We are not suffered to see our friend in prison, whom we witness to
be a messenger of the living God. Now all people, consider whether
this be according to law, or from the wicked, perverse, envious will
of the envious rulers and magistrates, who are of the same generation
that persecuted Jesus Christ; for, said he, ‘as they have done to me,
so will they do to you.’ And as he took the love, the kindness, and
service that was showed and performed to any of his afflicted ones in
their sufferings and distress, as done unto himself, so the injuries
and wrongs that were done by any to any of his little ones, he
resented, as done unto himself also. Therefore you, who are so far
from visiting him yourselves in his suffering servant, that ye will
not suffer his brethren to visit him, ye must depart, ye workers of
iniquity, into the lake that burns with fire. The Lord is coming to
thrash the mountains, and will beat them to dust; and all corrupt
rulers, corrupt officers, and corrupt laws, the Lord will take
vengeance on, by which the tender consciences of his people are
oppressed. He will give his people his law, and will judge his people
himself, not according to the sight of the eye, and hearing of the
ear, but with righteousness, and with equity. Now are your hearts made
manifest to be full of envy against the living truth of God, which is
made manifest in his people, who are contemned and dispised of the
world, and scornfully called Quakers. You are worse than the heathens,
that put Paul in prison, for none of his friends or acquaintance were
hindered to come to him by them; therefore they shall be witnesses
against you. Ye are made manifest to the saints, to be of the same
generation that put Christ to death, and that put the apostles in
prison on the same pretence that you act under, in calling truth
error, and the ministers of God blasphemers, as they did. But the day
is dreadful and terrible, that shall come upon you, ye evil
magistrates, priests and people, who profess the truth in words
outwardly, and yet persecute the power of truth, and them that stand
in and for the truth. While ye have time prize it, and remember what
is written, Isa. liv. 17.”

GERVASE BENSON.
ANTHONY PEARSON.

Not long after this, the Lord’s power came over the justices, and they were made to set me at liberty. But some time previous, the governor, and Anthony Pearson, came down into the dungeon to see the place where I was kept, and understand what usage I had. They found the place so bad, and the savour so ill, that they cried shame on the magistrates for suffering the jailer to do such things. They called for the jailers into the dungeon, and required them to find sureties for their good behaviour; and the under-jailer who had been such a cruel fellow, they put into the dungeon with me, amongst the moss-troopers.

After I was set at liberty, I went to Thomas Bewley’s, where came a Baptist teacher to oppose me; but he was convinced. Robert Widders being with me, was moved to go to CALDBECK steeple-house, and the Baptist teacher went along with him the same day. The people fell upon them, and almost killed Robert Widders; and took the Baptist’s sword from him and beat him sorely. This Baptist had the inheritance of an impropriation of tithes; and he went home, and gave it up freely. Robert Widders was sent to CARLISLE jail, where having lain a while, he was set at liberty again.[31] William Dewsbury also went to another steeple-house hard by, and the people almost killed him, they beat him so; but the Lord’s power was over all, and healed him again. In that day many Friends went into the steeple-houses, to declare the truth to the priests and people, and great sufferings they underwent; but the Lord’s power sustained them.

Footnote 31:

Robert Widders is often mentioned in this Journal, having travelled
with George Fox in Scotland, as also in many parts of America. They
went through great perils by sea and land, in the wilderness and in
woods, in danger of wild beasts; yet through all the Lord supported
him, and kept him faithful to the end. He was valiant for God’s truth,
establishing many in the faith. He was a great sufferer from
persecutors; once, at Caldbeck, he was thrown down on the ground, and
kicked and beaten so cruelly, that blood gushed out of his mouth, and
he was supposed to be dead. At Lamplugh, his clothes were torn on his
back, and the hair from off his head; and at Bishop-Auckland, he was
stoned and sorely bruised. His cattle, corn, and household goods were
also swept away by wholesale, yet he was not at all dejected or
concerned, knowing well for what he suffered. He was much resigned
during his last sickness, often saying on his death-bed, “his heart
was filled with the love of God;” and he departed this life in great
peace in 1686, aged sixty-eight years.

Now I went into the country, and had mighty great meetings. The everlasting gospel and word of life flourished, and thousands were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to his teaching. Several that had taken tithes, as impropriators, denied the receiving of them any longer, and delivered them up freely to the parishioners. Passing into WESTMORLAND, I had many great meetings. At STRICKLAND-HEAD I had a large meeting, where a justice of peace out of Bishoprick, whose name was Henry Draper, came, and many contenders were there. The priests and magistrates were in a great rage against me in WESTMORLAND, and had a warrant to apprehend me, which they renewed from time to time, for a long time; yet the Lord did not suffer them to serve it upon me. I travelled on amongst Friends, visiting the meetings till I came to SWARTHMORE, where I heard that the Baptists and professors in Scotland had sent to have a dispute with me. I sent them word, that I would meet them in CUMBERLAND, at Thomas Bewley’s house, whither accordingly I went, but none of them came.

Some dangers at this time I underwent in my travels; for at one time, as we were passing from a meeting, and going through WIGTON on a market-day, the people of the town had set a guard with pitch-forks; and although some of their own neighbours were with us, they kept us out of the town, and would not let us pass through it, under the pretence of preventing the sickness; though there was no occasion for any such thing. However, they fell upon us, and had like to have spoiled us and our horses; but the Lord restrained them, that they did not much hurt; and we passed away. Another time, as I was passing between two Friends’ houses, some rude fellows lay in wait in a lane, and exceedingly stoned and abused us; but at last, through the Lord’s assistance, we got through them, and had not much hurt. But this showed the fruits of the priest’s teaching, which shamed their profession of Christianity.

After I had visited Friends in that county, I went through the county into DURHAM, having large meetings by the way. A very large one I had at Anthony Pearson’s, where many were convinced. From thence I passed through NORTHUMBERLAND to DERWENT-WATER, where there were great meetings; and the priests threatened that they would come, but none came. The everlasting word of life was freely preached, and freely received; and many hundreds were turned to Christ, their teacher.

In NORTHUMBERLAND many came to dispute, of whom some pleaded against perfection: unto whom I declared, “that Adam and Eve were perfect before they fell; and all that God made was perfect; and that the imperfection came by the Devil, and the fall; but Christ, that came to destroy the Devil, said, ‘Be ye perfect.’” One of the professors alleged that Job said, “Shall mortal man be more pure than his Maker? The heavens are not clean in his sight. God charged his angels with folly.” But I showed him his mistake, and let him see, “that it was not Job that said so, but one of those that contended against Job; for Job stood for perfection, and held his integrity: and they were called miserable comforters.” Then these professors said, the outward body was the body of death and sin. I showed them their mistake in that also; for “Adam and Eve had each of them an outward body, before the body of death and sin got into them; and that man and woman will have bodies, when the body of sin and death is put off again; when they are renewed up into the image of God again by Christ Jesus, which they were in before they fell.” So they ceased at that time from opposing further; and glorious meetings we had in the Lord’s power.

Then we passed on to HEXHAM, where we had a great meeting at the top of a hill. The priest threatened he would come, and oppose us, but he came not; so that all was quiet; and the everlasting day, and renowned truth of the ever-living God was sounded over those dark countries, and his Son exalted over all. It was proclaimed amongst the people that “the day was now come, wherein all that made a profession of the Son of God, might receive him; and that to as many as would receive him, he would give power to become the sons of God, as he had done to me.” And it was further declared, that “he that had the Son of God, had life eternal; but that he that had not the Son of God (though he professed all the Scriptures, from the first of Genesis to the last of the Revelations), had not life.” After all were directed to the light of Christ, by which they might see him and receive him, and know where their true teacher was, and the everlasting truth had been largely declared amongst them, we passed away through HEXHAM peaceably, and came to GILSLAND, a country noted for thieving.

Here a Friend seeing the priest, went to speak to him; whereupon the latter came down to our inn, and the town’s-people gathered about us. The priest said, he would prove us deceivers out of the Bible, but could find no Scripture for his purpose. Then he went into the inn; and after a while came out again, and brought some broken sentences of Scripture, that mention “the doctrines and commandments of men, &c., and, touch not, taste not, &c., for they perish with the using.” All which, poor man! was his own condition; whereas we were persecuted, because we would not taste, nor touch, nor handle their doctrines and traditions, which we knew perished with the using. I asked him what he called the steeple-house? “O,” said he, “the dreadful house of God, the temple of God.” Then I showed him, and the poor dark people, that their bodies should be the temples of God; and that Christ never commanded these temples, but ended that temple at Jerusalem, which God had commanded. While I was speaking, the priest got away; and afterwards the people appeared as if they feared we would take their purses, or steal their horses; judging us like themselves, who are naturally given to thieving.

The next day we came through the country into CUMBERLAND again, where we had a general meeting of many thousands of people at the top of a hill near LANGLANDS. A glorious and heavenly meeting it was; for the glory of the Lord did shine over all; and there were as many as one could well speak over, the multitude was so great. Their eyes were fixed on Christ their teacher; and they came to sit under their own vine; insomuch that Francis Howgill, coming afterwards to visit them, found they had no need of words; for they were sitting under their teacher Christ Jesus; in the sense whereof, he sat down amongst them, without speaking anything. A great convincement there was in CUMBERLAND, DURHAM, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORLAND, LANCASHIRE, and YORKSHIRE; and the plants of God grew, and flourished, the heavenly rain descending, and God’s glory shining upon them, so that many mouths were opened by the Lord to his praise; yea, to babes and sucklings he ordained strength.