I sate up all night, and next morning, about six, I was putting on my boots and spurs to go with them before some justice; but they pulled off my spurs, took my knife out of my pocket, and hastned me away along the town with a party of horse and abundance of people, not suffering me to stay till my own horse came down. When I was gone about a quarter of a mile with them, some Friends, with Margaret Fell and her children, came towards me; and then a great party of horse gathered about me in a mad rage and fury, crying out, "Will they rescue him? Will they rescue him?" Whereupon I said unto them, "Here is my hair, here is my back, here are my cheeks; strike on!" With these words their heat was a little assuaged. Then they brought a little horse, and two of them took up one of my legs and put my foot in the stirrup, and two or three lifting over my other leg, set me upon it behind the saddle, and so led the horse by the halter; but I had nothing to hold by. When they were come a pretty way out of the town, they beat the little horse, and made him kick; whereupon I slipped off him, and told them they should not abuse the creature. They were much enraged at my getting off, and took me by the legs and feet and set me upon the same horse, behind the saddle again. By this time my own horse was come to us, so they let me get upon my own, through the persuasion of some of their own company. When I was come over the Sands, I told them I heard I had liberty to choose what justice I would go before; but the constables cried no, I should not. Then they led me to Lancaster, about fourteen miles, and a great triumph they thought to have had; but as they led me, I was moved to sing praises to the Lord, in His triumphing power over all.
When I was come to Lancaster, the spirits of the people being might fly up, I stood and looked earnestly upon them; and they cried, "Look at his eyesi" After a while I spake to them; and then they were pretty sober. Then came a young man and took me to his house; and after a little time the officers had me to Major Porter's, the justice who had sent the warrant against me; he had several others with him. When I came in I said, "Peace be amongst you." Porter asked me why I came down into the country that troublesome time. I told him, "To visit my brethren." "But," said he, "you have great meetings up and down." I told him though we had, our meetings were known throughout the nation to be peaceable, and we were a peaceable people. He said we saw the devil in people's faces. I told him, "If I saw a drunkard, or a swearer, or a peevish, heady man, I could not say I saw the Spirit of God in him." And I asked him if he could see the Spirit of God, He said we cried against their ministers. I told him that while we were as Saul, sitting under the priests, and running up and down with their packets of letters, we were never called pestilent fellows, nor makers of sects; but when we were come to exercise our consciences towards God and man, we were called pestilent fellows, as Paul was. He said we could express ourselves well enough, and he would not dispute with me; but he would restrain me. I desired to know for what, and by whose order he sent his warrant for me; and I complained to him of the abuse of the constables and other officers, after they had taken me, and in their bringing me thither. He would not take notice of that, but told me he had an order, but would not let me see it; for he would not reveal the King's secrets; "and, besides, a prisoner," he said, "was not to see for what he was committed." I told him that was not reason, for how should he make his defence then. I said, "I ought to have a copy of it"; but he said, "There was a judge once that fined a man for letting a prisoner have a copy of his mittimus; and," said he, "I have an old clerk, though I am a young justice." Then he called to his clerk, saying, "Is it not ready yet? Bring it," meaning the mittimns; but it not being ready, be said to me I was a disturber of the nation. I told him I had been a blessing to the nation, in and through the Lord's power and truth, and the Spirit of God in all consciences would answer it.
Then he charged me as an enemy to the King; that I endeavoured to raise a new war, and imbrue the nation in blood again. I told him I had never learned the postures of war, but was clear and innocent as a child concerning those things, and therefore was bold. Then came the clerk with the mittimus, and the jailer was sent for and commanded to take and put me into the Dark-house, and to let none come at me; but keep me there a close prisoner, till I should be delivered by the King or Parliament. Then the justice asked the constables where my horse was; "for I hear," said he, "that he has a good horse; have ye brought it?" I told him where my horse was, but he did not meddle with him. As they took me to the jail, the constable gave me my knife again, and then asked me to give it him; but I told him nay, he had not been so civil to me. So they put me into the jail, and the under-jailer, one Hardy, a very wicked man, was exceedingly rude and cruel, and many times would not let me have meat brought in, but as I could aet it under the door. Many people came to look at me, some in great rage and very uncivil and rude.
Being now a close prisoner in the common jail at Lancaster, I desired Thomas Cummins and Thomas Green to go to the jailer, and desire of him a copy of my mittimus, that I might know what I stood committed for. They went; and the jailer answered he could not give a copy of it, for another had been fined for so doing; but he gave them liberty to read it over. To the best of their remembrance the matters therein charged against me were, that I was a person generally suspected to be a common disturber of the peace of the nation, an enemy to the King, and a chief upholder of the Quakers' sect; and that together with others of my fanatic opinion, I had of late endeavoured to raise insurrections in these parts of the country, and to embroil the whole kingdom in blood. Wherefore the jailer was commanded to keep me in safe custody, until I should be released by order of the King or Parliament. When I had thus got the heads of the charge contained in the mittimus I wrote a plain answer, in vindication of my innocency in each particular.
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Upon my being taken and forcibly carried away from Margaret Fell's house, and charged with things of so high a nature, she was concerned, looking upon it to be an injury offered to herself. Whereupon she determined to go to London, to speak with 'the King about my being taken, and to shew him the manner of it, and the unjust dealing and evil usage I had received. When Justice Porter heard of this he vapoured that. he would go and meet her in the Gap. But when he came before the King, having been a zealous man for the Parliament against the King, several of the courtiers spake to him concerning his plundering their houses; so that he quickly had enough of the Court, and soon returned into the country.
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About this time Ann Curtis, of Reading, came to see me; and understanding how I stood committed, it was upon her also to go to the King about it. Her father,(1) who had been sheriff of Bristol, had been hanged near his own door for endeavouring to bring in the King; on which consideration she had some hopes the King might hear her on my behalf. Accordingly, when she returned to London, she and Margaret Fell went to the King together, who, when he understood whose daughter she was, received her kindly. And her request to him being to send for me up, and hear the cause himself, he promised her he would, and commanded his secretary to send down an order for bringing me up. But when they came to the secretary for the order, he, being no friend to us, said it was not in his power; he must act according to law, and I must be brought up by an habeas corpus before the judges. So he wrote to the judge of the King's Bench, signifying that it was the King's pleasure that I should be sent up by an habeas corpus. Accordingly a writ was sent down, and delivered to the sheriff; but because it was directed to the chancellor of Lancaster, the sheriff put it off to him; on the other hand, the chancellor would not make the warrant upon it, but said the sheriff must do that. At length both chancellor and sheriff were got together; but being both enemies to Truth, they sought occasion for delay, and found, they said, an error in the writ, which was that, being directed to the chancellor, it stated:.
"George Fox in prison under your custody." whereas the prison I was in was not, they said, in the chancellor's custody, but in the sheriff's; so the word your should have been his. On this they returned the writ to London, only to have that one word altered. When it was altered and brought down again, the sheriff refused to carry me up, unless I would seal a writing to him, and become bound and pay for the sealing and the charge of carrying me up; which I refused, telling them I would not seal anything to them, nor be bound. So the matter rested a while, and I continued in prison.
Meanwhile the Assize came on; but as there was a writ for removing me up, I was not brought before the judge. At the Assize many people came to see me; and I was moved to speak out of the jail window to them, and shew them how uncertain their religion was; and that every sort, when uppermost, had persecuted the rest.
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It was long before the sheriff would yield to remove me to London, unless I would seal a bond to him and bear their charges; which I still refused to do. Then they consulted how to convey me, and first concluded to send up a party of horse with me. I told them if I were such a man as they had represented me to be, they had need send a troop or two of horse to guard me. When they considered what a charge it would be to them to send up a party of horse with me, they altered their purpose, and concluded to send me up guarded only by the jailer and some bailiffs. But, upon further consideration, they found that would be a great charge to them also, and therefore sent for me to the jailer's house, and told me if I would put in bail that I would be in London such a day of the Term, I should have leave to go up with some of my own friends. I told them I would neither put in bail, nor give one piece of silver to the jailer; for I was an innocent man, and they had imprisoned me wrongfully, and laid a false charge upon me. Nevertheless, I said if they would let me go up with one or two of my friends to bear me company, I might go up, and be in London such a day, if the Lord should permit; and if they desired it, I, or any of my friends that went with me, would carry up their charge against myself. At last, when they saw they could do no otherwise with me, the sheriff yielded, consenting that I should come up with some of my friends, without any other engagement my word, to appear before the judges at London, such a day of the Term if the Lord should permit.
Whereupon I was let out of prison, and travelling on, visiting Friends' meetings, in about three weeks of my coming out of prison, I reached London.
When we came to Charing-Cross, multitudes of people were gathered together to see the burning of the bowels of some of the old King's judges, who had been hanged, drawn, and quartered.
I went next morning to Judge Mallet's(2) chamber, who was putting on his red gown to go sit upon some more of the King's judges. He was very peevish and froward, and said I might come another time. I went again to his chamber, when Judge Foster(3) was with him, who was called the Lord Chief Justice of England. With me was one called Esquire Marsh(4) who was one of the bed-chamber to the King. When we had delivered to the judges the charge that was against me, and they had read to those words that I and my friends were embroiling the nation in blood, &c., they struck their hands on the table. Whereupon I told them I was the man whom that charge was against, but I was as innocent of any such thing as a new-born child, and had brought it up myself; and some of my friends came up with me without any guard. As yet they had not minded my hat, but now seeing it on, they said, "What! do you stand with your hat on?" I told them I did not so in contempt of them. They then commanded it to be taken off; and when they called for the marshal of the King's Bench, they said to him, "You must take this man and secure him; but let him have a chamber, and not put him amongst the prisoners." "My Lord," said the marshal, "I have no chamber to put him into; my house is so full I cannot tell where to provide a room for him, but amongst the prisoners." "Nay," said the judge, "you must not put him amongst the prisoners." But when he still answered he had no other place to put me in, Judge Foster said to me, "Will you appear to-morrow about ten o'clock at the King's Bench Bar in Westminster Hall?" I Said, "Yes, if the Lord give me strength." Then said Judge Foster to the other judge, "If he says yes and promises it, you may take his word , so I was dismmsed.
Next day I appeared at the King's Bench Bar at the hour appointed, Esquire Marsh going with me. I was brought into the middle of the Court; and as soon as I came in, I was moved to look round, and turning to the people, said, "Peace be among you"; and the power of the Lord sprang over the Court. The charge against me was read openly. The people were moderate, and the judges cool and loving; and the Lord's mercy was to them. But when they came to that part which said that I and my friends were embroiling the nation in blood, and raising a new war, and that I was an enemy to the King, &c., they lifted up their hands. Then, stretching out my arms, I said, "I am the man whom that charge is against; but I am as innocent as a child concerning the charge, and have never learned any war postures. And," said I, "do ye think that if I and my friends had been such men as the charge declares, that I would have brought it up myself against myself, or that I should have been suffered to come up with only one or two of my friends with me? Had I been such a man as this charge sets forth, I had need to have been guarded with a troop or two of horse. But the sheriff and magistrates of Lancashire thought fit to let me and my friends come up with it ourselves, nearly two hundred miles, without any guard at all; which, ye may be sure, they would mot have done had they looked upon me to be such a man." Then the judge asked me whether it should be filed or what I would do with it. I answered, "Ye are judges, and able, I hope, to judge in this matter, therefore do with it what ye will; for I am the man these charges are against, and here ye see I have brought them up myself; do ye what ye will with them, I leave it to you" Then Judge Twisden(5) beginning to speak some angry words, I appealed to Judge Foster and Judge Mallet, who had heard me over-night. Whereupon they said they did not accuse me, for they had nothing against me. Then stood up Esquire Marsh and told the judges it was the King's pleasure that I should be set at liberty, seeing no accuser came up against me. They asked me whether I would put it to the King and Council. I said, "Yes, with a good will." Thereupon they sent the sheriff s return, which he made to the writ of habeas corpus, containing the matter charged against me in the mittimus, to the King, that he might see for what I was committed.
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On consideration of the whole matter, the King, being satisfied of my innocency, commanded his secretary to send an order to Judge Mallet for my release.
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Thus, after being a prisoner more than twenty weeks I was set at liberty by the King's command,
the Lord's power wonderfully wrought for the clearing of my innocency.
1. Robert Yeamans, sheriff in 1641-2. (N.P.)
2. Sir Thomas Mallett (1582-1665). (N.P.)
3. Sir Robert Foster (1589-1663). (N.P.)
4. Richard Marsh (c. 1589-1671/2.) (N.P.)
5. Sir Thomas Twisden (1602-1683). (N.P.)