Some time after this several New England magistrates came over, with one of their priests. We had several discourses with them concerning their murdering our Friends, the servants of the Lord; but they were ashamed to stand to their bloody actions.
On one of these occasions I asked Simon Broadstreet, one of the New England magistrates, whether he had not had a hand in putting to death those four servants of God, whom they hung only for being Quakers, as they had nicknamed them. He confessed that he had. I then asked him and the rest of his associates that were present whether they would acknowledge themselves to be subject to the laws of England; and if they did, by what laws they had put our Friends to death. They said they were subject to the laws of England, and had put our Friends to death by the same law that the Jesuits were put to death in England.
I asked them then whether they believed those Friends of ours whom they had put to death were Jesuits or jesuitically affected. They said, "Nay." "Then," said I, "ye have murdered them, if ye have put them to death by the law by which Jesuits are put to death here in England, and yet confess they were no Jesuits. By this it plainly appears ye have put them to death in your own wills, without any law."
Then Simon Broadstreet, finding himself and his company ensnared by their own words, asked if we came to catch them. I told them they had caught themselves, and might justly be questioned for their lives; and if the father of William Robinson, one of them that were put to death, were in town, it was probable he would question them, and bring their lives into jeopardy.
Here they began to excuse themselves, saying, "There is no persecution now amongst us." But next morning we had letters from New England telling us that our Friends were persecuted there afresh. We went again and showed them our letters, which put them both to silence and to shame; and in great fear they seemed to be lest some one should call them to account and prosecute them for their lives. Especially was Simon Broadstreet fearful; for he had before so many witnesses confessed that he had a hand in putting our Friends to death, that he could not get off from it; though he afterwards through fear shuffled, and would have unsaid it again. After this, he and the rest soon returned to New England again.
I went also to Governor Winthrop, and discoursed with him on these matters. He assured me that he had no hand in putting our Friends to death, or in any way persecuting them; but was one of them that protested against it.
About this time I lost a very good book, being taken in the printer's hands; it was a useful teaching work, containing the signification and explanation of names, parables, types, and figures in the Scriptures. They who took it were so affected with it, that they were loth to destroy it; but thinking to make a great advantage of it, they would have let us have it again, if we would have given them a great sum of money for it; which we were not free to do.
Before this, while I was prisoner in Lancaster Castle, the book called the "Battledore" was published, which was written to show that in all languages Thou and Thee is the proper and usual form of speech to a single person; and You to more than one. This was set forth in examples or instances taken from the Scriptures, and books of teaching, in about thirty languages. J. Stubbs and Benjamin Furly took great pains in compiling it, which I set them upon; and some things I added to it.[133]