Went to schoole in London, a private schole on that hill, and his father kept a tutor in the house: but first he went to school at Chigwell in Essex.
<He was> mighty lively, but with innocence; and[580] extremely tender under rebuke; and very early delighted in retirement; much given to reading and meditating[581] of the scriptures, and at 14 had marked over the Bible. Oftentimes at 13 and 14 in his meditations ravisht with joy, and dissolved into teares.
The first sense he had of God was when he was 11 yeares old at Chigwell, being retired in a chamber alone. He was so suddenly surprized with an inward comfort and (as he thought) an externall glory in the roome that he has many times sayd that from thence he had the seale of divinity and immortality, that there was a God and that the soule of man was capable of enjoying his divine communications.—His schoolmaster was not of his perswasion.
To Christ's Church in Oxon anno 1660, anno aetatis 16; stayed there about two yeares.
Anno 1662, went into France; stayd there two yeares.
Returnd and was entred of Lincoln's Inne.
About the plague, growing entirely solitary, was again diverted. Was employed by his father in a journey into Ireland to the duke of Ormond's court: the diversions of which not being able to keepe downe the stronger motions of his soule to a more religious and retired life, upon the hearing of one Th<omas> Lowe, a tradesman, of Oxon, at Cork, 1667, was so thoroughly convinced of the simplicity and selfe-deniall of the way of the people called Quakers that from thence he heartily espoused that judgment[582] and beliefe.
Since which time he haz passed a life of great variety of circumstances[583], both with respect to good and evill report, divers controversies orall and written[L.], severall imprisonments[LI.] (one in Ireland, one in the Tower, <a> 3rd in Newgate).
[L.] Ben Clark the bookseller[584] will give me a catalogue of all his writings.
[LI.] Quaere annum et diem of his imprisonments and his sicknesses and dangers.—MS. Aubr. 8, fol. 34v.