a Mittimus to send me to Prison and in that time my Companion and Brother John Braythwait which was with me was speaking without upon the staires So they brought him also and committed us both together to Prison where we were a Month and they would have had us to promise to have gone out of the Town and not to have come again our answer to them was we could not yield to any such thing and they were vexed and grieved and wished they had Whipped us and let us go at the first and so they released us and let us go In that time there were many People convinced up and down thereaway so the Lords work hath prospered Blessed and Praised be his Name for evermore In Yarmouth I was moved of the Lord to go through the Town up and down in the streets to proclaim the mighty terrible Day of the Lord God that all might repent and fear him that made Heaven and Earth and the Fountain of the great Deep and a great Multitude of rude People did follow after me and the mighty power of the Lord God was strong upon me and the word of the Lord was sharper than a two edged Sword and I turned my Face about to them and fear smote them that they ran away And after a little time one called an Officer came and took hold upon me and did lead me very gently and I did declare to the People while he did lead me on that I had a very good time to clear my self and he brought me before the Magistrate who ordered him to put me out of the Town and when he had so done I went by the Water side and got a Boat and came into the Town another way and had a Meeting among Friends and went away in Peace And in several Towns and Markets I was moved to declare to People of the mighty and terrible day of the Lord that was appearing and the Lords everlasting power that did move in me to go to declare the Message of the Lord did preserve me and uphold me and many times delivered me out of the hands of them that had an intent to have destroyed me For in a Town that is called Lin I was moved of the Lord to go through the Streets to warn People to Repent and Turn to the Lord and as I was going in the streets and declaring they set a mighty Dog upon me one of the greatest that ever I saw And when the Dog came to me he did fawn upon me as he would do to his Master and I laid my hand upon his back so the power that Created all things bound the Dogs nature and I received no harm by him And as I was declaring and going over a Bridge a Company of wicked People combined themselves together to throw me down into the Water but the Lord God of my life who sent me and was with me put it into the heart of an Officer that was there present and prevented them that I went on in the service that the Lord required of me and cleared my self and so came away in much peace And thus it was with me in Olivers days that I have gone through four or five Towns in a day to warn People to Repent and turn to the Lord that the Lord might be clear and I might be clear of the Blood of all Men So blessed be the Lord God who preserved me from the Mouth of the Dog And sometimes Swords have been drawn against me and Axes that they cut wood withal have been taken up to hew me in pieces and that which they intended to do they could not do and thus by the mighty power of the Lord I was preserved Blessed and praised be his Name for evermore and several who have heard my Voice who have not seen my Face have confessed since that a power did reach them and they were convinced by the power and brought into the Truth by which I know my labour in the Lord hath not been in vain And it was upon me to go through most part of Wales to declare the mighty and terrible day of the Lord God of power and in a Town called Clanzous as I was so declaring many People were attentive a pretty time till the Constable came forth and stirred up the People and Cryed out Kill him Kill him and they did throw stones upon me that were so great that I did admire they did not kill us but so mighty was the power of the Lord that they were as a Nut or a Bean to my thinking The Constable himself took hold upon my Coat with an intent to have pulled me down under his Feet and my Coat did Rent and he got the one half and the other did hang about my Neck and one that was with me said let us flee for our Lives and it rose up in me that I might fight the Lords Battle and not flee And I turned again upon him in the dread of the Lord you must give an account for this daies work and one Man came with the half of my Coat and desired me to take it again for he was smitten inwardly for that which they had done and I put off the other part that was about my Neck and left it with them to be a Witness against them and afterward they sowed it together and sent it to a Friends House I was moved of the Lord to go through Cardiff for a sign I got up in the Morning and went out of a Friends House with my Coat upon me till I came into the Street and when I came there I let my Coat fall down and so went naked up and down through the Streets and this was the Message that the Lord put into my Mouth to declare unto them which was a Town of great Profession Thus must you be stripped of all your Profession that are not found in the Life of Righteousness and I went through a Steeple-House where People were gathered to Worship and the power and dread of the Lord God that was upon me did so smite them that I did not hear them say a word against me and truly when I was Naked in the streets the Burden was taken off me that I said in my self Oh how easy am I now it is good to obey the voice of the Lord so in several places in Wales did I declare the Message of the Lord as formerly Mentioned And in Windsor was I moved of the Lord God to declare of the mighty and terrible day of the Lord God of Power that is appearing against all the workers of iniquity that they might turn and repent while they have space and time and they were very wicked and many stones with mire and dirt were thrown at us and Isaac Peningtons Coat was much dirted with the throwing but I passed to and fro in the streets twice and received no harm Blessed be the Lord God for evermore In the time of the Committee of Safety after Olivers days I
was moved of the Lord to go to the Committee of Safety to tell them the mind and will of the Lord what he would have them to do and when I came to the Door the Door-keeper said I should not come in there and there was an Embassador come from a far Country and he was admitted to come in but the Lords Messenger they would not let come in but shut the Door against me and so it was in me from the Lord. You shut the Lords Messenger out of Door and we will shut you out also And so to clear my self I was glad to go to them one by one as I could find them to declare the Lords Message unto them whether they would hear or forbear that is if they would take away the Law by which Tythes was upheld by which Law the People of God had suffered greatly and make good their promise the Lord would let them see a way by which they might go on and prosper and if they did not they should all be turned out which came to pass in a little time afterwards And the word of the Lord came to me that I must go through the streets of London and preach Repentance and that the Lord God of power would overturn and overturn till it come to him whose right it is and through that great City the most part of it the Lord did carry me with his mighty power that I received no hurt and as I came back again in Cheapside the word of the Lord came unto me that Nineve repented at the preaching of Jonah and the Lord spared Nineve and except London repent God would destroy it All these my Travels and Exercises with many more were in Olivers daies and soon after Also in those daies as I was travelling in the South Parts it was upon me to set a Paper upon the Door of the Steeple-house to bear a Testimony against the Priest and I did so And as I was going by a House it was in me the Priest was in that House and as I was gone a little past it I said to my Brother John Braythwait there is a Priest in that House and I must return back again to speak to him and I went to the Door and knocked and the Man of the House came to the Door and I said Friend wilt thou let me come into thy House and he was willing to let me in and I went up to the Chimney Corner where I found the Priest sitting and charged him in the Name of the Lord to give over deceiving the People for dishonest gain the Man of the House was grieved and took me by the Shoulder and put me out and I said Friend thou gavest me leave to come in when I was in the Street the power of the Lord was upon me and I left my voice and rung the Gospel Bell among them and many People came and so I bear my Testimony against the Priest and directed People to their Teacher within So in much peace and ease I went on my journey so to the Lord God and to his power be the Glory and Honour and Praise for ever whose right hand and power is known that brings mighty things to pass Jonathan Chapham a Priest in Norfolk I was moved to go to bear Testimony against at his House he came out of his Door and would not speak to me and ser his Dog upon me and his Dog would not bite me and he turned in again as a Man grieved and thus the Hireling fled like an Hireling As I was coming out of Wales in Shrowsbury at the time the Monarchy Men rose at London I was taken by the Souldiers and brought before Justices who proferred me the Oath and because I could not Swear contrary to the Command of Christ they made a Mittimus and sent me and another Friend to Prison and the Jayler being very wicked put me and another Friend into a Dungeon where they put Persons Condemned to die and we could get nothing to lie on but a little Pease Straw and there I remained ten weeks But the Lord was very good to me and other Friends that were in Prison at that time for his presence did so fill our hearts though it was a Noisome place that I could truly say it is good being here for the Lord is with us And though they kept us very close and would hardly let any come to see us the word of the Lord came to me thou shalt be delivered out of this place and go and declare my Name among the People but thou must go into Prison again and at the ten weeks end before the releasement came for all Friends from the King the Justice that did commit us asked me if I would promise never to take Arms up against the King I said I am a Witness of the Day that the Prophet spoke of saying They shall beat their Swords into Plow shares and their Spears into Pruning hooks and they shall learn War no more for I have learned of Christ Jesus to do to all Men as I would have them do to me And he said get as many into that mind as you can And He and his Wife had a good Esteem for Friends for she was there that time and he had a desire to have a Quaker to be his Miller and he got one And when the Turn-Coat Justice would have sent Friends to Prison he was very favourable to them and would take their word to appear when they were sent for He was one of them they call the Royalists and one of the Deputy Lieutenants in Shropshire his name was Thornes And I travelled up and down in Staffordshire among Friends as I was moved of the Lord and then returned again towards Wales and in Herefordshire I had a Meeting at one Nicholas Dyers where we had a Pretious Meeting and the Power of the Lord and his Presence was much manifest with us and a Priest dwelling near thereby heard of our Meeting and got a Lieutenant with his Souldiers to come and break up our Meeting and they came in when I was at Prayer on my Knees to the Lord God of Heaven and Earth and commanded me to give over and set a Pistol to my Breast The Lord prevented them that it would not do that which they intended and I continued in Prayer till they stopped my Mouth with a Pair of Gloves So they haled us out and carryed us to Hereford City before a Justice there who made a Mittimus and sent twelve of us to Prison where we remained twelve weeks till the Assizes and the Goaler was very wicked at the first and would not let us have the Priviledge of the House of Easement and kept us close in a Cock-loft for a time but he was exceedingly tormented and confessed he could have no Peace and then he let us have liberty to walk in the Garden and then his Son and Daughter were convinced and he became very loving to me
For he found case in being so to me and said when I was released he would ask no fees And at the Assizes we were called before the Judge and the Power and Presence of the Lord was so with us that when the Judge examined us many times he would turn his Face another way and he set all Friends at Liberty but me and there I remained three weeks and I wrote to the Justice that did commit me to Prison for by him I was commâ—ted and I laid it upon him to release me and at the three weeks end he sent for me and I met him in the Street as I was going to his House and he looked cheerfully on me and I am perswaded the Lord did plead my cause with him and he demanded of me that if I would promise to come again at the Assizes I should have my Liberty And I said if I had my Health and Liberty I should appear again at the Assizes When the Assizes came I did appear and sent to him that I was come to answer what was laid against me he sent me word again there was nothing laid against me I might go which way I would so I went to the Goaler and he desired me that if I came into that Town I would call upon him and see him for he had a love for me and after that time the Goaler was very loving to Friends who had been very wicked before Blessed be the Lord God of Heaven and Earth for evermore who by his blessed power has made our Enemies become our Friends I with John Moon appointed a Meeting in Wiltshire near to the Vizes where many Friends and People of the World came to our Meeting and two Justices of Peace hearing of it came to our Meeting and broke it up and took the names of most part of Friends that were there and let them all go but John Moon and me and three other Friends and they took us to a House by our selves and examined us The one of the Justices was a Royalist and the other a Turn-Coat a deceitful Man they made a Mittimus to send us to the House of Correction for three Months and when they had done we who were Committed were filled with the Power and Presence of the Lord exceedingly and I said to the Justices Friends I am one that believes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and better it were for you that a Milstone were hanged about your Neck and you be cast into the Sea than to offend one of the little ones that believe in his Name And so we went to the House of Correction and the Man that was the Master of it in a little time became exceeding loving and we had very many pretious Meetings while we were there and many Friends came to visit us And in that time the Justice that had been a Turn-Coat being a Parliament Man went up to London and as he returned home again he Dyed I never saw his Face more We did understand by their Speeches when they examined us that they did intend to profer us the Oath at the three Months end and so to continue us Prisoners but the Lord prevented them and so the keeper of the Prison according to the command of the Justices when the three Months were up sent to know what he should do with us the Man that was a Steward to that great Man who was a Royalist perswaded him to let us go for we were honest Men and through the mercy and goodness of the Lord their snare was broken and we were delivered Blessed be the Name the Lord God for evermore And since that time I have travelled and laboured in the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many parts of England and thrice through the most part of Ireland where I have found the blessed presence of the Lord to go along with me and have had a good service for the Lord. And also I went to the West Indies to Barbados with George Fox and other Friends and the power and presence of the Lord was largely manifest with us and over us and many were wonderfully refreshed and comforted and many turned from the Darkness to the Light and from the power of Satan to Christ And I and William Edmundson went down to Anlego where we had several pretious Meetings and many believed and received our Testimony with gladness of heart we also went down to Mevis to visit Friends in that Island and when we came there an Old Persecutor called Wheeler sent eight Souldiers aboard the Vessel to stop us from coming on Shore for many Friends of that place came to visit us and were refreshed abundantly though he was wicked to hinder us to come a shore to see Friends So we returned again to Anlego and had some Meetings there and then returned again to Barbades And I being long upon the Sea was very weak and few Friends did expect that I should live I was giving up freely to stand in the will of God for Life or Death and as I was waiting on the Lord one Morning in my Bed to know his Mind and Will the word of the Lord came to me and broke my heart in great tenderness and said to me lie low before me thou shalt not die in this Island but return to thine own Nation and there thou shalt lay down thy Head in Peace And thus the Lord hath dealt Mercifully and Bountifully with me in all my Travels and Labours in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus his power and presence hath attended and been with me Blessed and Praised and Magnified be his holy Name for evermore Amen IN the forty third year of my Age I was convinced and in the Year of our Lord God 1653. I was drawn out to go from my dwelling Place to declare the everlasting Gospel in most parts of this Nation and these were the words given unto me that John spoke in the Revelations saying The Angel flying in the midst of Heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach again saying fear God and give Glory to him and give over Worshipping the Beast and Worship him that made Heaven and Earth and the Fountains of the great Deep for the hour of his Judgment is come and coming upon all false ways and worship for God who is a Spirit will be worshipped in the Spirit and the Truth and such he hath sought and is seeking to worship him And this is that worship that will stand with Christ Jesus set up Sixteen hundred years ago when he reasoned with the Woman of Samaria saying Neither at this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem will the Father be Worshipped but true Worshippers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth and in the power of the Lord was I carried on to declare the Truth through this Nation and other parts who preserved me and kept me in all my Travels by his mighty power to him be Glory Honour and Praise for ever and for evermore Amen