‘On the 14th of this instant, there was one William Leddra, who was put to death. The people of the town told me, he might go away if he would; but when I made further inquiry, I heard the marshal say, that he was chained in prison, from the time he was condemned, to the day of his execution. I am not of his opinion: but yet truly methought the Lord did mightily appear in the man. I went to one of the magistrates of Cambridge, who had been of the jury that condemned him, as he told me himself, and I asked him by what rule he did it? He answered me that he was a rogue, a very rogue. But what is this to the question, I said, where is your rule? He said, he had abused authority. Then I goes after the man, and asked him, whether he did not look on it as a breach of rule to slight and undervalue authority? And I said that Paul gave Festus the title of honour, though he was a heathen. (I do not say that these magistrates are heathens) I said. Then, when the man was on the ladder, he looked on me, and called me friend, and said, know that this day I am willing to offer up my life for the witness of Jesus. Then I desired leave of the officers to speak, and said, Gentlemen, I am a stranger both to your persons and country, and yet a friend to both: and I cried aloud, for the Lord’s sake, take not away the man’s life; but remember Gamaliel’s council to the Jews. If this be of man it will come to nought, but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it: but be careful ye be not found fighters against God. And the captain said, why had you not come to the prison? The reason was, because I heard the man might go if he would; and therefore I called him down from the tree, and said, come down, William, you may go away if you will. Then captain Oliver said, it was no such matter; and asked, what I had to do with it? And besides, bade me be gone: and I told them, I was willing; for I cannot endure to see this, I said. And when I was in the town, some did seem to sympathise with me in my grief. But I told them, that they had no warrant from the word of God, nor precedent from our country, nor power from his majesty to hang the man. I rest,
Your Friend,
THOMAS WILKIE.’
To Mr. George Lad, master of the America of Dartmouth, now at Barbadoes.
William Leddra being thus despatched, it was resolved to make an end also of Wenlock Christison. He therefore was brought from the prison to the court at Boston, where the governor, John Endicot, and the deputy-governor, Richard Bellingham, being both present, it was told him, ‘Unless you renounce your religion, you shall surely die.’ But instead of shrinking, he said with an undaunted courage, ‘Nay, I shall not change my religion, nor seek to save my life; neither do I intend to deny my master; but if I lose my life for Christ’s sake, and the preaching of the gospel, I shall save my life.’ This noble resolution gave such a check to his persecutors, that they did not then go on with the trial, but sent him away to prison again. And it being said by somebody, that William Leddra was dead, a certain person said to Wenlock, ‘O thy turn is next.’ To which he gravely replied, ‘The will of the Lord be done,’ showing thereby his entire resignation.
Being now locked up again in prison, he was kept there till about the Fourth month: but then the court being set, a spirit of confusion appeared there, and a division among several of the members; for though the greatest part were for taking the same course with him as with those that were already put to death, yet several would not consent to it. And as natural occurrences sometimes cause reflections among observing people, so it happened here; for during their deliberations how to deal with Wenlock Christison, which lasted for the space of two weeks, the sun in the firmament shone not, a thing at that season somewhat extraordinary; which gave occasion for some to say that the sun abhorring this bloody business, hid itself from them. But after many debates, the sanguinary council at length agreed, and Wenlock was brought to the bar, where the governor, John Endicot, asked him, what he had to say for himself, why he should not die? He answered, ‘I have done nothing worthy of death; if I have I refuse not to die.’ To this another said, ‘Thou art come in among us in rebellion, which is as the sin of witchcraft, and ought to be punished.’ Hence it appears how perversely these blood-thirsty persecutors applied the Holy Scriptures to their cruel ends, and so made a wrong use of the prophet Samuel’s words to Saul; to which false conclusion Wenlock answered, ‘I came not in among you in rebellion, but in obedience to the God of heaven, not in contempt to any of you, but in love to your souls and bodies; and that you shall know one day, when you and all men must give an account of the deeds done in the body. Take heed, (thus he went on,) for you cannot escape the righteous judgments of God.’ Then said major-general Adderton, ‘You pronounce woes and judgments, and those that are gone before you pronounced woes and judgments; but the judgments of the Lord God are not come upon us as yet.’ So insolent and hard-hearted may man become, as not to stick even to defy the Most High. But before we draw the curtains of this stage, we shall see the tragical end of this Adderton, who now received this answer from Wenlock: ‘Be not proud, neither let your spirits be lifted up: God doth but wait till the measure of your iniquity be filled up, and that you have run your ungodly race; then will the wrath of God come upon you to the uttermost. And as for thy part, it hangs over thy head, and is near to be poured down upon thee, and shall come as a thief in the night suddenly, when thou thinkest not of it.’
Then Wenlock asked, ‘By what law will you put me to death?’ The answer was, ‘We have a law, and by our law you are to die.’ ‘So said the Jews of Christ, (replied Wenlock,) We have a law, and by our law he ought to die. Who empowered you to make that law?’ To which one of the board answered, ‘we have a patent, and are the patentees; judge whether we have not power to make laws.’ Hereupon Wenlock asked again, ‘How! have you power to make laws repugnant to the laws of England?’ ‘No,’ said the governor. ‘Then, (replied Wenlock,) you are gone beyond your bounds, and have forfeited your patent; and that is more than you can answer. Are you, (asked he,) subjects to the king, yea, or nay?’ ‘What good will that do you,’ replied the secretary? ‘If you are, (answered Wenlock,) say so; for in your petition to the king, you desire that he would protect you, and that you may be worthy to kneel amongst his loyal subjects.’ To which one said, ‘Yea, we are so.’ ‘Well, (said Wenlock,) so am I, and for any thing I know, am as good as you, if not better; for if the king did but know your hearts as God knows them, he would see that you are as rotten towards him, as they are towards God. Therefore seeing that you and I are subjects to the king, I demand to be tried by the laws of my own nation.’ It was answered, ‘You shall be tried by a bench and a jury:’ for it seems they began to be afraid to go on in the former course of trial without a jury, this being contrary to the laws of England. But Wenlock said, ‘That is not the law, but the manner of it; for I never heard nor read of any law that was in England to hang Quakers.’ To this the governor replied, that there was a law to hang Jesuits. To which Wenlock returned. ‘If you put me to death, it is not because I go under the name of a Jesuit, but of a Quaker: therefore I appeal to the laws of my own nation.’ But instead of taking notice of this, one said, that he was in their hands, and had broken their law, and they would try him. Wenlock still appealed to the law of his own nation: yet the jury being called over, went out, but quickly returned, and brought him in guilty. Whereupon the secretary said, ‘Wenlock Christison, hold up your hand.’ ‘I will not,’ said Wenlock, ‘I am here and can hear thee.’ Then the secretary cried, ‘Guilty or not guilty?’ ‘I deny all guilt,’ replied Wenlock, ‘for my conscience is clear in the sight of God.’ But the governor said, ‘The jury hath condemned thee.’ Wenlock answered, ‘The Lord doth justify me; who art thou that condemnest?’
They then voted as to the sentence of death, but were in a manner confounded, for several could not vote him guilty of death. The governor seeing this division, said, ‘I could find in my heart to go home:’ being in such a rage, that he flung something furiously on the table; which made Wenlock cry, ‘It were better for thee to be at home than here, for thou art about a bloody piece of work.’ Then the governor put the court to vote again; but this was done confusedly, which so incensed the governor, that he stood up and said, ‘You that will not consent, record it: I thank God I am not afraid to give judgment.’ Thus we see that to be drunk with blood, doth not quench the thirst after blood; for Endicot the governor, seeing others backward to vote, precipitately pronounced judgment himself, and said, ‘Wenlock Christison, hearken to your sentence: You must return to the place from whence you came, and from thence to the place of execution, and there you must be hanged until you are dead, dead, dead.’ To which Wenlock said, ‘The will of the Lord be done, in whose will I came amongst you, and in whose counsel I stand, feeling his eternal power, that will uphold me unto the last gasp.’ Moreover he cried thus: ‘Known be it unto you all, that if ye have power to take my life from me, my soul shall enter into everlasting rest and peace with God, where you yourselves shall never come. And if ye have power to take my life from me, the which I do question, I do believe you shall never more take Quakers’ lives from them: note my words: do not think to weary out the living God, by taking away the lives of his servants. What do you gain by it? for the last man that you have put to death, here are five come in his room. And if ye have power to take my life from me, God can raise up the same principle of life in ten of his servants, and send them among you in my room, that you may have torment upon torment, which is your portion; for there is no peace to the wicked, saith my God.’ The holy confidence with which he uttered these words show, and the sequel made it appear plainly, that something supernatural was contained in them: and it is remarkable, that among the imprisoned Quakers, there were then several that had been banished on pain of death; and among these also Elizabeth Hooton; and Edward Wharton staid in his habitation contrary to his sentence of banishment.
Wenlock having received sentence of death, was brought to prison again, where having been detained five days, the marshal and a constable came to him with an order from the court for his enlargement with twenty-seven more of his friends, then in prison for their testimony to the Truth, saying they were ordered by the court to make him acquainted with their new law. ‘What means this?’ said Wenlock, ‘Have ye a new law?’ ‘Yes,’ said they. ‘Then ye have deceived most people,’ said Wenlock. ‘Why?’ said they. ‘Because,’ said he, ‘they did think the gallows had been your last weapon. Your magistrates said that your law was a good and wholesome law made for your peace, and the safeguard of your country. What, are your hands now become weak? The power of God is over you all.’
Thus the prison doors were opened, and Wenlock, with twenty-seven more of his friends, as aforesaid, set at liberty, save that two of them, viz. Peter Pearson and Judith Brown, being stripped to the waist, and fastened to a cart’s tail, were whipped through the town of Boston with twenty stripes apiece.
Now though not long after an order came from the king, as will be said anon, whereby these persecutors were charged to desist from putting the Quakers to death, yet is seems they had got some scent of the king’s displeasure, who had a mind to stop their bloody career: for having got a book written by George Bishop, containing a relation of the cruel persecution in New England, and reading a passage concerning major-general Denison, who, to put off those that complained of their wicked proceeding, said, ‘This year ye will go to complain to the parliament, and the next year they will send to see how it is; and the third year the government is changed.’ He took much notice of this, and calling to the lords to hear it, said, ‘Lo, these are my good subjects of New England: but I will put a stop to them.’