THOMAS MALLET.’
To Sir John Lenthal, knight, marshal of the King’s Bench, or his deputy.
G. Fox having been prisoner now above twenty weeks, was thus very honourably set at liberty by the king’s command. After it was known that he was discharged, several that were envious and wicked, were troubled, and terror seized on justice Porter; for he was afraid G. Fox would take the advantage of the law against him, for his wrong imprisonment, and thereby undo him: and indeed G. Fox was put on by some in authority, to have made him and the rest examples. But he said, he should leave them to the Lord; if the Lord did forgive them, he should not trouble himself with them.
About this time, Richard Hubberthorn got an opportunity to speak with the king, and to have a long discourse with him, which soon after he published in print. Being admitted into the king’s presence, he gave him a relation of the state of his friends, and said,
‘Since the Lord hath called us, and gathered us to be a people, to walk in his fear, and in his truth, we have always suffered and been persecuted by the powers that have ruled, and been made a prey of, for departing from iniquity; and when the breach of no just law could be charged against us, then they made laws on purpose to ensnare us; and so our sufferings were unjustly continued.’
King. It is true, those who have ruled over you have been cruel, and have professed much which they have not done.
R. H. And likewise the same sufferings do now abound in more cruelty against us in many parts of this nation: as for instance, one at Thetford in Norfolk, where Henry Fell, (ministering unto the people,) was taken out of the meeting and whipt, and sent out of the town, from parish to parish, towards Lancashire; and the chief ground of his accusation in his pass, (which was shown to the king,) was, because he denied to take the oath of allegiance and supremacy; and so because that for conscience sake we cannot swear, but have learned obedience to the doctrine of Christ, which saith, “Swear not all;” hereby an occasion is taken against us to persecute us; and it is well known that we have not sworn for any, nor against any, but have kept to the truth, and our yea hath been yea, and our nay, nay, in all things, which is more than the oath of those that are out of the truth.
King. But why can you not swear? for an oath is a common thing amongst men to any engagement.