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Some time after this several of New England's magistrates came over hither, and one of their priests; and we had several discourses with them at several times concerning their murdering our friends, the servants of the Lord, but they were ashamed to stand to their bloody actions. At one of those meetings I asked Simon Broadstreet, (who was one of the New England magistrates) whether he had not an hand in putting to death those four servants of God whom they hanged for being Quakers only, as they had nick-named them; and he confessed he had. I then asked bim and the rest of his associates that were present, whether they would acknowledge themselves to be subjects to the laws of England, and if they did, by what law they had put our friends to death? they said they were subjects to the laws of England, and they had put our friends to death by the same law as the jesuits were put to death here in England. I asked them then whether they did believe that those friends of ours, whom they had put to death, were jesuits or jusuitically affected; and they said, nay: then, said I, ye have murdered them if ye have put them to death by the law that jesuits are put to death here in England, and yet confess they are no jesuits. By this it plainly appears ye have put them to death in your own wills, without any law. Then Simon Broadstreet, finding himself and his company ensnared by their own words, said, did we come to catch them?. I told them they had catched themselves, and they might justly be questioned for their lives; and if the father of William Robinson (who was one of them that was put to death), were in town, it was probable he would question them, and bring their lives into jeopardy. Hereupon they began to excuse themselves, saying, there was no persecution now amongst them but next morning we had letters from New-England, giving us account that our friends were persecuted there afresh. Thereupon we went to them again, and shewed them our letters, which put them both to silence and to shame; and in great fear they seemed to be, lest some should call them to account, and prosecute them for their lives, especially Simon Broadstreet; for he had at first, before so many witnesses, confessed he had a hand in putting our friends to death, that he could not get off from it; though he afterwards through fear shuffled, and would have unsaid it again. But after this, he and the rest of them soon left the city, and got back to New-England again. I went also to governor Winthrop, and discoursed with him about these matters, but he assured me he had no band in putting our friends to death, or in any way persecuting of them;

but was one of them that protested against it. Now these stingy persecutors of New-England were a people that fled out of Old England thither, from the persecution of the bishops here: but when they had got power into their hands, they so far exceeded the bishops in severity and cruelty, that whereas the bishops had made them pay twelve pence a Sunday (so called) for not coming to their worship here, they imposed a fine of five shillings a day upon such as should not conform to their will-worship there; and spoiled the goods of friends that could not pay it. Besides, many they imprisoned, divers they whipped, and that most cruelly; of some they cut off ears, and some they hanged; as the books of friends sufferings in New-England largely shew, particularly a book written by George Bishop of Bristol, entitled, New-England judged. (In two parts). Some of the old royalists were earnest with friends to have prosecuted them, but we told them, we left them to the Lord, to whom vengeance belonged, and he would repay it. And the judgments of God have since fallen heavy on them, for the Indians have been raised up against them, and have cut off many of them.

About this time I lost a very good book, being taken in the printer's hands: it was a useful teaching book, containing the signification and explanation of names, parables, types and figures in the scriptures. They who took it were so affected with it, that they were loth to have destroyed it; but thinking to have made a great advantage of it, they would have let us have had it again, if we would have given them a great sum of money for it; which we were not free to do.

And some time before this, while I was prisoner in Lancaster castle, the book called the Battledore, came forth, which was written to shew, that in all languages Thou and Thee is the proper and usual form of speech to a single person; and You to more than one. This was set forth in examples or instances taken out of the scriptures, and out of books of teaching, in about thirty languages. J. Stubbs and Benjamin Furly took great pains in the compiling of it, which I put them upon; and some things I added to it. When it was finished, some of them were presented to the king and his council, to the bishops of Canterbury and London, and to the two universities one a piece; and many bought of them. The king said it was the proper language of all nations; and the bishop of Canterbury being asked what he thought of it, was so at a stand, that he could not tell what to say to it. For it did so inform and convince people, that few afterward were so rugged

towards us, for saying thou and thee to a single person, which before they were exceeding fierce against us for. For this thou and thee was a sore cut to proud flesh, and them that sought self-honour, who though they would say it to God and Christ, would not endure to have it said to themselves. So that we were often beaten and abused, and sometimes in danger of our lives, for using those words to some proud men, who would say, What, you ill-bred clown, do you Thou me? as though there lay breeding in saying You to one; which was contrary to all their grammars and teaching books, by which they had taught and instructed their youth.

Now the bishops and priests being busy and eager to settle and set up their form of worship, and compel all to come to it, I was moved to give forth the following paper, to open unto people the nature of the true worship which Christ set up, and which God accepts; thus:

'Christ's worship is free in the spirit to all men; and such as worship in the spirit and in the truth, are they that God seeks to worship him for he is the God of truth, and is a Spirit, and the God of the spirits of all flesh. And he hath given to all the nations of men and women breath and life, to live, and move, and have their being in him; and hath put into them an immortal soul. So all the nations of men and women are to be temples for him to dwell in; and they that defile his temple, them will he destroy. Now as the outward Jews, while they had their outward temple at outward Jerusalem, were to go up thither to worship (which temple God hath long since thrown down, and destroyed that Jerusalem, the vision of peace; and cast off the Jews and their worship; and in the room thereof hath set up his gospel-worship in the spirit and in the truth), so now all are to worship in the spirit and in the truth. And this is a free worship for where the Spirit of the Lord is, and ruleth, there is liberty: and the fruits of the Spirit are seen, and will manifest themselves; and the Spirit is not to be limited, but to be lived and walked in; that the fruits of it may appear. The tares are such, as hang upon the wheat to weigh it down, and thereby to draw it down to the earth; yet the tares and the wheat must grow together, till the harvest, lest they that take upon them to pluck up the tares, should pluck up the wheat with the tares. The tares are such as worship not God in the spirit and in the truth; but do grieve the spirit, and vex it, and quench it in themselves, and walk not in the truth: yet will scraul and hang about the wheat, the true wor

shippers in the spirit and in the truth. Christ's church was never established by blood, nor held up by prisons; neither was the foundation of it laid by carnal, weaponed men, nor is it preserved by such. But when men went from the spirit and truth, then they took up carnal weapons to maintain their outward forms, and yet cannot preserve them with their carnal weapons; for one plucketh down another's form with his outward weapons. And this work and doing hath been among the Christians in name, since they lost the spirit and spiritual weapons, and the true worship which Christ set up, that is in the spirit and in the truth, which spirit and truth they that worship in, are over all the tares. All that would be plucking up the tures are forbidden by Christ, who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him; for the tares and the wheat must grow together till the harvest, as Christ hath commanded. The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth; now, if the stone do fill the whole earth, all nations must be temples for the stone. And all that say they do travail for the seed, and yet bring forth nothing but a birth of strife, and contention, and confusion; their fruit shews their travail to be wrong; for by the fruit the end of every one's work is seen of what sort it is.' G. F.

About this time many papists and jesuits began to fawn upon friends, and talked up and down where they came, that of all the sects the Quakers were the best and most self-denying people; and said it was great pity that they did not return to the holy mother church: thus they made a buz among the people, and said they would willingly discourse with friends. But friends were loth to meddle with them, because they were jesuits, looking upon it to be both dangerous and scandalous. But when I understood it, I said to friends, Let us discourse with them, be they what they will. So a time being appointed at Gerrard Roberts's house, there came two of them like courtiers. When we were come together, they asked our names, which we told them; but we did not ask their names, for we understood they were called Papists, and they knew we were called Quakers. I asked them the same question that I had formerly asked a jesuit, namely, whether the church of Rome was not degenerated from the church in the primitive times, from the spirit, and power, and practice, that they were in in the apostles' times? He to whom I put this question being subtile, said he would not answer it. I asked him why; but he would shew no reason. His companion

said he would answer me; and he said they were not degenerated from the church in the primitive times. I asked the other whether he was of the same mind, and he said yes. Then I told them, that for the better understanding one another, and that there might be no mistake, I would repeat my question over again after this manner, Whether the church of Rome now was in the same purity, practice, power, and spirit, that the church in the apostles' time was in ? When they saw we would be exact with them, they flew off, and denied that, saying, It was presumption in any to say, they had the same power and spirit which the apostles had. But I told them, it was presumption in them to meddle with the words of Christ and his apostles, and make people believe they succeeded the apostles, and yet be forced to confess they were not in the same power and spirit that the apostles were in. This, said I, is a spirit of presumption, and rebuked by the apostles' spirit. Then I shewed them how different their fruits and practices were from the fruits and practices of the apostles. Then got up one of them and said, Ye are a company of dreamers. Nay, said I, ye are the filthy dreamers, who dream ye are the apostles' successors; and yet confess ye have not the same power and spirit which the apostles were in. And are not they defilers of the flesh who say, it is presumption in any to say, they have the same power and spirit which the apostles had? Now, said I, if ye have not the same power and spirit which the apostles had, then it is manifest that ye are led by another power and spirit than the apostles and church in the primitive times were led by. Then I began to tell them how that evil spirit, which they were led by, had led them to pray by beads, and to images; and to set up hunneries, and frieries, and monasteries, and to put people to death for their religion and this practice of theirs I shewed them, was below the law, and far short of the gospel, in which is liberty. They were soon weary of this discourse, and went their way, and gave a charge (as we heard) to the papists, that they should not dispute with us, nor read any of our books so we were rid of them. But we had reasonings with all the other sects, as presbyterians, independents, seekers, baptists, episcopal-men, sociniaus, brownists, lutherans, calvinists, armenians, fifthmonarchy-men, familists, muggletonians, and ranters; none of which would affirm they had the same power and spirit that the apostles had, and were in: so in that power and spirit the Lord gave us dominion over them all.

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As for the fifth-monarchy-men, I was moved to give forth a paper to them, to manifest their error to them; for they

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