Middleton now weary, as it seemed, of his speaking, cried, ‘Bring the book, and put the oath of allegiance and supremacy to him.’ But G. Fox knowing him to be a Papist, asked him, whether he who was a swearer, had taken the oath of supremacy; for this oath tending to reject the pope’s power in England, was a kind of test to try people whether they were Papists, or no: ‘But as for us,’ said G. Fox, ‘we cannot swear at all, because Christ and his apostles have forbidden it.’ Now some of these that set there, seeing Middleton was thus pinched, would not have had the oath put to G. Fox; but others would, because this was their last snare, and they had no other way to get him into prison: for all other things had been cleared; but this was like the Papists’ sacrament of the altar, by which they formerly ensnared the martyrs: and in the Low Countries they asked the Baptists, whether they were re-baptized; and if this appeared, then they said, ‘We do not kill you, but the emperor’s decree condemns you.’ So they tendered G. Fox the oath, and he refusing to take it, they consulted together about sending him to jail: but all not agreeing, he was only engaged to appear at the sessions; and so for that time they dismissed him.
Then he went back with Margaret Fell to Swarthmore, where colonel West, who was at that time a justice of the peace, came to see him. And G. Fox asking him, what he thought they would do with him at the sessions, he said, they would tender the oath to him again. The time of the sessions now approaching, G. Fox went to Lancaster, and appeared according to his engagement; where he found upon the bench, justice Flemming, who in Westmoreland had offered five pounds to any man that would apprehend G. Fox. There were also the justices Spencer and Rawlinson, and colonel West; and a great concourse of people in court, and when G. Fox came up to the bar, and stood with his hat on, they looked earnestly upon him. Then proclamation being made for all to keep silence on pain of imprisonment, he said twice, ‘Peace be among you.’ Then Rawlinson, who was chairman, spoke, and asked, if he knew where he was? To which he answered, ‘Yes, I do; but it may be my hat offends you; but that’s a low thing, that’s not the honour I give to magistrates: for the true honour is from above; and I hope it is not the hat which ye look upon to be the honour.’ To which the chairman said, ‘We look for the hat too. Wherein do you show your respect to magistrates, if you do not put off your hat?’ G. Fox replied, ‘In coming when they call me.’ They then bid one take off his hat. After some pause, the chairman asked him, whether he knew of the plot. To which he returned, that he had heard of it in Yorkshire, by a friend that had it of the high-sheriff. The next question was, whether he had declared it to the magistrates; and his answer was, ‘I have sent papers abroad against plots and plotters, and also to you, as soon as I came into the country, to take all jealousies out of your minds concerning me and my friends: for it was, and is our principle to declare against such things.’ Then they asked him, if he knew not of an act against meetings. To which he made answer, that he knew there was an act that took hold of such as met to the terrifying of the king’s subjects, and were enemies to the king, and held dangerous principles. ‘But I hope,’ said he, ‘ye do not look upon us to be such men; for our meetings are not to terrify the king’s subjects, neither are, we enemies to him, or any man.’
That which followed hereupon, was the tendering of the oath of allegiance and supremacy to him. To which he told them, that he had never taken any oath in his life: and that he could not take any oath at all, because Christ and his apostles had forbidden it. Then Rawlinson, who was a lawyer, asked him, whether he held it was unlawful to swear? G. Fox presently perceived this question to be put on purpose to ensnare him; for by a certain act 13 and 14 Car. 2. cap. 1, such who said, it was unlawful to swear, were liable to banishment, or to a great fine. Therefore to avoid this snare, he told them, that in the time of the law amongst the Jews, before Christ came, the law commanded them to swear; but Christ who did fulfil the law in the gospel time, commands, not to swear at all; and the apostle James forbids swearing, even to them that were Jews, and had the law of God. Now after much other discourse, the jailer was called, and G. Fox committed to prison. He then having the paper about him which he had written against plots, desired it might be read in the court; but this they would not suffer. Being thus committed for refusing to swear, he said to those on the bench, and all the people, ‘Take notice that I suffer for the doctrine of Christ, and for my obedience to his command.’ Afterwards he understood, the justices said, that they had private instructions from colonel Kirby to prosecute him, notwithstanding his fair carriage, and seeming kindness to him before.
Leaving G. Fox in prison, I am to say that the act already mentioned, whereby a penalty was laid on all such who should say, it was unlawful to take an oath, was that which extended to banishment, being made not long before, and expressly levelled against the Quakers, as plainly appeared by the title. This is that act, by direction whereof the Quakers, so called, were afterwards banished, as may be related in due time and place; and though the king himself was pretty good-natured, yet he suffered himself to be so swayed by the instigations of some envious men, as well among the ecclesiastics, as among the laity, that he gave the royal assent thereto.
Whilst G. Fox was prisoner at Lancaster, many of his friends were also imprisoned, for frequenting religious meetings, refusing to take oaths, and for not paying tithes to the priests; but since he was not brought to his trial till next year, we will leave him still in jail, and in the meanwhile will take a turn to Colchester, where persecution now was exceeding fierce.
In the month of October, William More, mayor of that town, came on a First-day of the week, and broke up the meeting of the Quakers, so called, and committed some of them to prison; the next week he did so again, and a week after he caused a party of the county troop to come to the meeting. These beat some, and did much mischief to the forms, seats, and windows of the meeting-place. And afterwards the mayor employed an old man to stop people from going in at the gate to the meeting-room; who told those that would have entered, that the mayor had set him there to keep them out. Now though they knew he was no officer, nor had any warrant, yet they made no resistance, but continuing in the street, thus kept their meeting in a peaceable manner, being not free for conscience-sake to leave off their public worship of God, though in that time of the year it was cold, and often wet weather; and thus it continued many weeks, though attended with so much difficulty.
In the forepart of December there came about forty of the king’s troopers, on horseback, in their armour, with swords, carbines, and pistols, crying, ‘What a devil do ye here?’ And falling violently upon this harmless company, they beat them, some with swords, and others with carbines, without distinction of male or female, old or young, until many were much bruised, chasing them to and fro in the streets. The next First-day of the week these furious fellows came again, having now got clubs, wherewith, as well as with swords and carbines, they most grievously beat those that were peaceably met together in the street to worship God. This cruel beating was so excessive, that some got above an hundred blows, and were beaten so black and blue, that their limbs lost their natural strength. One there was whom a trooper beat so long, that the blade of his sword fell out of the hilt, which he that was thus beaten seeing, said to the other, ‘I will give it thee up again,’ which he did, with these words, ‘I desire the Lord may not lay this day’s work to thy charge.’
But to avoid prolixity. I shall not mention all the particular misusages which I find to have been committed there. These cruel doings continued yet several weeks, and some were beaten so violently, that their blood was shed in the streets, and they sunk down and fainted away. One Edward Graunt, a man of about threescore and ten years of age, (whose wife and daughters I was well acquainted with,) was so terribly knocked down, that he outlived it but a few days. So hot was this time now, that these religious worshippers, when they went to their meeting, seemed to go to meet death; for they could not promise to themselves to return home either whole or alive. But notwithstanding all this, their zeal for their worship was so lively, that they durst not stay at home, though human reasoning might have advised them thereto. And some of them had been people of note in the world; as, among others one Giles Barnadiston, who having spent six years in the university, in the study of human literature, afterwards came to be a colonel; but in process of time, having heard G. Fox the younger, preach, he was so entirely convinced of the Truth by him declared, that laying down his military command, he entered into the society of those called Quakers, and continuing faithful, he in time became a minister of the gospel among the said people; being a man of a meek spirit, and one whom I knew very well. This Barnadiston did not forbear frequenting meetings, how hot soever the persecution was, being fully given up to hazard his life with his friends.
One Solomon Fromantle, a merchant, with whom I was well acquainted, was so grievously beaten, that he fell down and lost much of his blood in the street; and yet the barbarous troopers did not leave off beating him. His wife, a daughter of the aforesaid Edward Graunt, fearing lest he should be killed, fell down upon him, to cover and protect him from the blows with the hazard of her own body, as she herself told me in the presence of her said husband: a conjugal love and fidelity well worthy to be mentioned, and left upon record. And though she then did not receive very fierce blows; yet there were some women whose lot it was to be sorely beaten with clubs, whereinto iron spikes were driven, as among the rest an aged widow, who received no less than twelve such bloody blows on several parts of her body; and another woman was pierced in her loins with such a spiked club. An ancient man of sixty-five years was followed a great way by three on foot and one on horseback, and so beaten and bruised, that a woman, pitying this old man, spoke to these mischievous fellows to leave off; but this so incensed him that was on horseback, that he gave her a hard blow with his sword on the shoulder, with cursing and railing. This barbarity continued, till the persecutors seemed to be more wearied out than the persecuted, who seemed to grow valiant in these sore tribulations, how grievous soever. A great promoter of this furious violence was captain Turner, who drove on his troopers to act thus; nay, such was his malice, that once at the breaking up of a meeting, he not only gave order to beat the people, but also to spoil the doors, windows, and walls, so that the damage came to five and twenty pounds.
Now I could enter upon a large relation of the trial of many prisoners at Worcester, before the judges Hide and Terril; but since that trial was much after the same manner as that of John Crook, here before-mentioned at large, I will but cursorily make some mention of it. When the prisoners, being brought to the bar, asked, why they had been kept so long in prison; they were answered with the question, whether they would take the oath of allegiance. And endeavours were used to draw some to betray themselves, by asking them, where they had been on such a day. For if they had said, at meeting, then it would have appeared from their own mouth that they had acted contrary to the law; but they answered warily, that they were not bound to accuse themselves. Others by evidence were charged with having been at a meeting; and when they said, that their meetings were not always for public worship; but that they had also meetings to take care for widows, fatherless, and others that were indigent; yet it was said to the jury, that though there was no evidence, that there had been any preaching in the meeting, yet if they did but believe that the prisoners had kept a meeting for religious worship, it was sufficient for them to approve the indictment. And yet such proceedings in other cases would have been thought unwarrantable.