G. Fox travelling on, came to Swanington, in Leicestershire, where there was a general meeting, to which many of his friends came from several parts, and among these, J. Audland, and F. Howgill, from Bristol; and E. Burrough, from London. After this, G. Fox came to Twycross, and some ranters there sang and danced before him; but he reproved them so earnestly, that some of them were reached, and became modest and sober.
Then he went to Drayton, his birth-place, to visit his relations; where Nathaniel Stevens, the priest, having gotten another priest, sent for him. G. Fox, having been three years abroad, knew nothing of their design, but yet at last he went to the steeple-house yard, where the two priests had gathered abundance of people; and they would have had him gone into the steeple-house: but he asked them what he should do there; and it was answered him, Mr. Stevens could not bear the cold. At which G. Fox said, ‘He may bear it as well as I.’ At last they went into a great hall, R. Farnsworth being with him, where they entered into a dispute with the priests concerning their practice, how contrary it was to Christ and his apostles. The priests asked where tithes were forbidden, or ended; whereupon G. Fox showed them out of the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. vii. that not only tithes, but the priesthood that took tithes, was ended; and that the law was ended and disannulled, by which the priesthood was made, and tithes were commanded to be paid. Moreover, he, knowing Steven’s condition, laid open his manner of preaching, showing, that he, like the rest of the priests, did apply the promises to the first birth, which must die; whereas the promises were to the seed, not to many seeds, but to the one seed, Christ, who was one in male and female: for all were to be born again, before they could enter into the kingdom of God. Then Stevens said, that he must not judge so. But G. Fox told him, he that was spiritual judged all things. Stevens confessed, that this was a full scripture: but ‘Neighbours,’ said he, ‘this is the business; G. Fox is come to the light of the sun, and now he thinks to put out my star-light.’ To this G. Fox returned, that he would not quench the least measure of God in any, much less put out his star-light, if it were true star-light, light from the morning star: but that if he had any thing from Christ, or God, he ought to speak it freely, and not take tithes from the people for preaching; seeing Christ commanded his ministers to give freely, as they had received freely. But Stevens said, he would not yield to that.
This dispute being broke off for that time, was taken up again a week after by eight priests, in the presence of many people: and when they saw that G. Fox remained unshaken, they fawningly said, ‘What might he have been if it had not been for the Quakers!’ Afterwards the dispute was resumed in the steeple-house yard, where G. Fox showed, by abundance of Scriptures, that they who preach for wages were false prophets and hirelings; and that such who would not preach without wages or tithes, did not serve the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies. This he treated on so largely, that a professor said, ‘George, what! wilt thou never have done?’ To this his answer was, that he should have done shortly. And when he broke off, one of the priests said, they would read the Scriptures he had quoted. ‘With all my heart;’ said he: then they began to read Jer. xxiii. and when they had read a verse or two, George said, ‘Take notice, people.’ But the priests cried, ‘Hold thy tongue, George.’ He then bid them read the whole chapter throughout; but they stopping, asked him a question: and he told them, that if the matter he charged them with was first granted, then he would answer their question: for his charge had been that they were false prophets, and false teachers, such as the true prophets, Christ and his apostles, cried against. ‘Nay,’ said a professor to that: but he said, ‘Yes; for you, leaving the matter, and going to another thing, seem to consent to the proof of the former charge.’ Now their question was, seeing those false prophets were adulterated, whether he did judge priest Stevens an adulterer. To this he answered, that he was adulterated from God in his practice, like those false prophets.
Then they broke up the meeting, and Stevens desired, that G. Fox, with his father and mother, might go aside with him, that he might speak to him in private. George, though his relations yielded to it, was very loth to do so; yet, that it might not be said he was disobedient to his parents, he went: but many of the people being willing to hear, drew close to them. Then Stevens said, if he was out of the way, George should pray for him; and if George was out of the way, he would pray for him: moreover, that he would give to George a form of words to pray by. To this G. Fox replied, ‘It seems thou dost not know, whether thou art in the right way or no; but I know that I am in the everlasting way, Christ Jesus, which thou art out of: and thou wouldst give me a form of words to pray by, and yet thou deniest the common prayer book to pray by, as well as I. If thou wouldst have me pray for thee by a form of words, is not this to deny the apostles’ doctrine and practice of praying by the Spirit as it gave words and utterance?’ Here, though some of the people fell a laughing, yet others, that were grave and sober, were convinced of the Truth, and the priests were greatly shaken: insomuch that George’s father, though he was a hearer and follower of the priest, was so well satisfied, that, striking his cane upon the ground, he said, ‘Truly I see, he that will but stand to the Truth, it will carry him out.’
G. Fox did not stay long at Drayton, but went to Leicester, and from thence to Whetstone, where a meeting was to be kept; but before it began, there came about seventeen troopers, of colonel Hacker’s regiment, who, taking him up, brought him to the said colonel, where there was also his major and captains. Here he entered into a long discourse with them, about the priests, and about meetings; for at this time there was a noise of a plot against Cromwell: and he spoke also much concerning the light of Christ, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world. The colonel hearing him speak thus, asked whether it was the light of Christ that made Judas betray his Master, and afterwards led him to hang himself? G. Fox told him, ‘No; that was the spirit of darkness which hated Christ and his light.’ Then the colonel said to George, he might go home, and keep at home, and not go abroad to meetings. But he told him, he was an innocent man, free from plots, and he denied all such works. Then the colonel’s son, Needham, said, ‘Father, this man hath reigned too long; it is time to have him cut off.’ G. Fox asked him for what? ‘What have I done, or whom have I wronged from a child; and who can accuse me of any evil?’ Then the colonel asked him, if he would go home, and stay there. To which G. Fox answered, that if he should promise him so, it would imply that he was guilty of something, to go home, and make his home a prison to himself; and if he went to meetings, they would say, he broke their order; but that he should go to meetings, as the Lord should order him; and that therefore he could not submit to their requirings: and having further added, that he and his friends were a peaceable people: the colonel said, ‘Well then, I will send you to-morrow morning by six o’clock, to my lord Protector, by captain Drury, one of his life-guard.’ The next morning, about the appointed time, he was delivered to captain Drury. Then G. Fox desired he would let him speak with the colonel, before he went; and so the captain brought him to the colonel’s bed-side, who again bade him go home and keep no more meetings. But G. Fox told him he could not submit to that; but must have his liberty to serve God, and go to meetings. ‘Then,’ said the colonel, ‘you must go before the Protector.’ Whereupon G. Fox kneeled on his bed-side, and prayed the Lord to forgive him: since, according to his judgment, he was as Pilate, though he would wash his hands; (for he was stirred up and set on by the priests,) and therefore George bade him, when the day of his misery and trial should come upon him, then to remember what he had said to him. Far was it now from Needham, who would have had G. Fox cut off, to think that one time this would befal his father, in an ignominious manner, at Tyburn. But what afterwards happened, when he was condemned as one of the judges of King Charles the First, will be related in its due place.
G. Fox then having left colonel Hacker, was carried prisoner by captain Drury to London; where the captain went to give the Protector an account of him; and coming again, he told G. Fox, the Protector did require, that he should promise, not to take up a carnal sword or weapon against him, or the government as it then was: and that he should write this in what words he saw good, and set his hand to it. G. Fox considering this, next morning writ a paper to the Protector, by the name of Oliver Cromwell, wherein he did in the presence of God declare, that he denied the wearing or drawing of a carnal sword, or any outward weapon, against him, or any man: and that he was sent of God to stand a witness against all violence, and against the works of darkness; and to turn people from darkness to the light, and to bring them from the occasion of war and fighting, to the peaceable gospel; and from being evil-doers, which the magistrates sword should be a terror to. Having writ this, he set his name to it, and gave it to captain Drury, who delivered it to Oliver Cromwell; and after some time returning to the Mermaid, near Charing-cross, where G. Fox was lodged, he carried him to Whitehall, and brought him before the Protector who was not yet dressed, it being pretty early in the morning. G. F. coming in, said, ‘Peace be in this house,’ and bid the Protector keep in the fear of God, that he might receive wisdom from him; that by it he might be ordered, and with it might order all things under his hands to God’s glory. He had also much discourse with him concerning religion, wherein Cromwell carried himself very moderately, but said that G. Fox and his friends quarrelled with the ministers, meaning his teachers. G. Fox told him, he did not quarrel with them; but they quarrelled with him and his friends. ‘But, (thus continued he,) if we own the prophets, Christ, and the apostles, we cannot uphold such teachers, prophets, and shepherds, as the prophets, Christ, and the apostles declared against; but we must declare against them by the same power and spirit.’ Moreover, he showed that the prophets, Christ, and the apostles preached freely, and declared against them that did not declare freely, but preached for filthy lucre, and divined for money, or preached for hire, being covetous and greedy, like the dumb dogs, that could never have enough: and that they that had the same spirit, which Christ, the prophets, and the apostles had, could not but declare against all such now, as they did then. He also said, that all Christendom, (so called,) had the Scriptures, but they wanted the power and spirit, which they had who gave them forth; and that was the reason they were not in fellowship with the Son, nor with the Father, nor with the Scriptures, nor one with another. Whilst he was thus speaking, Cromwell several times said, it was very good, and it was truth. G. Fox had many more words with him; but seeing people coming in, he drew a little back: and as he was turning, Cromwell catched him by the hand, and with tears in his eyes, said, ‘Come again to my house; for if thou and I were but an hour of a day together, we should be nearer one to another:’ adding, that he wished him no more ill than he did to his own soul. To this G. Fox returned, that if he did, he wronged his own soul; and bid him hearken to God’s voice, that he might stand in his counsel, and obey it; and if he did so, that would keep him from hardness of heart; but if he did not hear God’s voice, his heart would be hardened. This so reached the Protector, that he said it was true.
Then G. Fox went out; and captain Drury following, told him, that the lord Protector said he was at liberty, and might go whither he would: yet he was brought into a great hall, where the protector’s gentlemen were to dine; and he asked what they did bring him thither for? They told him it was by the Protector’s order, that he might dine with them. But George bid them tell the Protector he would not eat a bit of his bread, nor drink a sup of his drink. When Cromwell heard this, he said, ‘Now I see there is a people risen, and come up, that I cannot win either with gifts, honours, offices, or places; but all other sects and people I can.’ But it was told him again, that the Quakers had forsook their own, and were not like to look for such things from him.
It was very remarkable that captain Drury, who, while G. Fox was under his custody, would often scoff at him, because of the nickname of Quakers, which the Independents had first given to the professors of the light, afterwards came to him, and told him, that as he was lying on his bed to rest himself in the day time, a sudden trembling seized on him, that his joints knocked together, and his body shook so, that he could not rise from his bed; he was so shaken, that he had not strength enough left to rise. But he felt the power of the Lord was upon him, and he tumbled off his bed, and cried to the Lord, and said, he would never speak against the Quakers more, viz. such as trembled at the word of God.
The particular occurrences that befel G. Fox, when he was at liberty in London, I pass by. He had great meetings there, and the throngs of people were such, that he could hardly get to and from the meetings, because of the crowd. In the meanwhile the number of his friends increased exceedingly, and some belonging to Cromwell’s court were also convinced of the Truth preached by him. He wrote about that time several papers, one of which was against pride, gaudy apparel, and the world’s fashions.