But before I part with him, I must mention, that some time before he had written several papers to the emperor, the kings of France and Spain, and also to the pope. These writings were by somebody else turned into Latin, and so given out in print. In these he levelled chiefly against persecution for religion’s sake. He reproved the king of Spain more especially, because of the inquisition, and the burning of people: and he did not spare the pope, as being the spring of these evils, saying, ‘Innocent blood hath long cried for vengeance to the Lord: the earth almost swims with innocent blood; and the cry of it is heard. Your frozen profession, and your cold winter images being set up in your streets, the Lord God of power and death, and of heaven and earth, will be avenged on thee, and you all; his day is approaching. Ye great and rich cardinals and pope, ye have been fed like fat hogs; and seeing that thou wouldest not receive the Lord’s messengers, but threw them in prison, and in your inquisition, it may be the Lord may give you a visit another way, for his dread is gone out, and his zeal is kindled against you.—The fields are sprinkled with the blood of the innocent, and ye are the aceldama, or the field of blood. But the Lord is coming to take vengeance upon you; his hand is stretched over your heads, and his power is gone over you; with that he will rule you, and smite you down, and bring you that are lofty from your seats, and abase your pride, and take the glory to himself.—How much blood, which is unmeasurable, and cannot be measured here, have ye drank since the days of the apostles, and made yourselves drunk with it! But now is the indignation and wrath of the Almighty come and coming upon you; and thou pope must feel it. Tremble therefore, thou pope, tremble, fear, and quake thou pope, tremble ye cardinals, tremble ye jesuits, tremble ye priors, tremble ye monks and friars, of what rank soever, for the army of the Lord God is coming over you, by whom ye shall be taken, and dashed to pieces.’ These are but small sparkles of that flame which G. Fox blew against the pope, intermixing his writings with many demonstrations, that the Romish church was the whore of Babylon, and that she it was that had defiled herself with idolatry and superstition, and had bathed herself in the blood of the saints, having furiously attacked them with sword and fire. This he concluded with these words: ‘The plagues of God will be thy portion, O pope, who hath deceived the nations: and all ye jesuits and cardinals, howl, for your misery is coming, the mighty day of the Lord God upon you all; the Lord God, who will be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and with none of your inventions.’ Thus G. Fox wrote in that day to the pope and his counsellors; and no wonder that he paid dear for this sharp language against the head of the church of Rome; for it may be believed, that a great many of the court party, in those days, were either concealed Papists, or favourers of them: and yet among the national clergy, and even those of other persuasions, many branded the Quakers with the odious name of secret Papists, thereby to make them incur the hatred of the people.
Now I return to Francis Howgill, whom in the foregoing year we left in prison at Appleby. It was in the forepart of this year that he was brought to his trial. Being come into court before the judges sat, he spoke to the clerk of the assizes, and told him, he did not know whether they expected his appearance then or not: the clerk said, ‘You have done well,’ and that he would acquaint the judge, and he should only engage to him to appear the next assizes, to answer the indictment against him, and that he should not appear in court; Francis bid him do what he would. In the meantime Sir Philip Musgrave, (so called,) a great adversary to the Truth, and the great and chief prosecutor of Francis, had informed the judges against him, that he was a dangerous person, a ringleader, and a keeper up of meetings of dangerous consequence, and destructive of the peace of the nation; so then they concluded he should appear in court; and so the clerk informed him, and told him about what time he should be called. So the court began; judge Twisden gave the charge to the grand jury, in which he said, there was a sort of people, who under pretence of conscience and religion, seemed to build upon the king’s declaration from Breda, and under colour of this hatched treasons and rebellions, and gave the jury charge to inquire and present such, that the peace of the nation might be preserved; so they impanneled the jury, and Francis was called to the bar, and the judge spake as followeth:
Judge, speaking calmly to him, said, the face of things was much altered since the last assizes, and made a large speech to him and the country, telling him, that all sects under pretence of conscience did violate the laws, and hatched rebellions, ‘Not, (saith he,) that I have any thing to charge you with; but seeing the oath of allegiance was tendered to you the last assizes, and you refused to take it, it was looked upon that such persons were enemies to the king and government;’ and said, ‘I will not trouble you now to answer to your indictment, but I must do that the next assizes; in the meantime you must enter into recognizance for your good behaviour.’
To which F. H. answered, I desire liberty to speak, which he had without interruption, and said as followeth:
F. H. Judge Twisden, thou very well knowest upon how slender an account, or none, I was brought before thee the last assizes, where thou wert pleased to tender me the oath of allegiance, though I believe both thou and the rest of the court, did know it was a received principle among us not to swear at all; many reasons I gave thee then, many more I have to add, if I may have audience; for it may appear to you an absurd thing, and obstinacy in me to refuse it, if I should not tender a reason; I am, (said he,) none of those that make religion a cloak of maliciousness, nor conscience a cloak to carry on plots or conspiracies, the Lord hath redeemed me and many more out of such things, and seeing I am engaged to appear at the next assizes, I desire no further thing may be required of me.
Judge. You must enter into bond this dangerous time, and therefore consider of it, and tell me now, or before the assizes end.
The second day of the assizes he was called again.
F. H. Seeing thou art pleased to let me answer to the indictment, which I am willing to do, I have been of good behaviour, and shall so continue; but it seems a hard thing to me, and full of severity, that seeing I am obliged to appear to answer an indictment of so high a nature, (if prosecuted against me,) which tends to the loss of my liberty for life, and my estate forever, I hope the court will not envy my liberty for five months.
Judge Turner said, We do not desire your imprisonment, if you will be of good behaviour.