1663. to that Man. And when he confeffed, he was but a poor Man; yet then thou hadft no regard: but Lancafter raft away Pity, not hearing, what he would fay. Prifon. "And now he is kept up in Prifon, because he could

6 not Swear, and break the Command of Christ and the Apoftle: It is to be hoped, thou wilt take Care for his Family, that his Children do not ftarve; and fee, that they do not want Bread. Can this be Allegiance to the King, to do that, which Chrift and his Apoftle fay, is Evil, and brings into Con• demnation? And would not you have caft Chrift and the Apoftle into Prifon, who command not to Swear, if they had been in your days? Confider alfo thy poor Neighbour William Wilfon, who was known to all the Parish and Neighbours to be an Induftrious Man, and careful to maintain his Wife and Children; but had little, but what he got with his Hands in Diligence and Travels, to fupply himself: How should his Wife maintain her Children, when "thou haft caft her Husband into Prifon, and thereby made him uncapable of working for them? "Therefore it may be expected, thou wilt have a care of his Wife and Children, and fee, they do not want for how fhould they live, having no other way to be fuftained, but by the little that he got? Surely, the noife of this is in the very Markets and the Death of thy two Neighbours, and the Cry ' of the Widows, and the Cry of the Fatherless is heard: And all thofe Fatherlefs, and those Widows are made fo for Righteousness fake. For might not John Stubbs and William Wilfon have had their Liberty ftill, if they would have Sworn; though they had been fuch as go after Mountebanks and StagePlays, or run a hunting? O confider! for the < Lord's Mind is otherwife; for he is tender: And the King hath declared his Mind to be, that there fhould be no Cruelty inflicted upon his peaceable Subjects. Befides, feveral poor, honeft People were Fined, who had need to have fomething given them; And it had been more honourable, to have given

the

i

'them fomething; than to Fine them, and fend them 1663. to Prison: fome of whom live upon the Charity of w other People. Now, what Honour or Grace can it Lancalter Prifon. be to thee, to caft thy poor Neighbours into Prifon, who be peaceable; feeing thou knoweft, these 'People cannot do that, which thou requireft of 'them, if it were to fave their Lives, or all that they have? because in tenderness they cannot take any 'Oath, Thou makeft that a Snare to them. What, 'thinkeft thou, do the People fay concerning this? We know, fay they, the Quakers Principle, that keep to Tea and Nay, but we fee others Swear and Forfwear: For many of you have Sworn firft one way, and then another. So we leave it to the Spirit of God in thy Confcience, Juftice Flemming, who 'was't fo eager for the taking of George Fox, and fo offended with them, that had not taken him; and now haft fallen upon thy poor Neighbours. But Oh! where's thy Pity for their poor, Fatherless ' Children, and Motherlefs Infants? O take heed of • Herod's Hard-heartedness, and cafting away all Pity! Efau did fo, not Jacob. Here is alfo Thomas 'Walters of Boulton caft into Prifon, and the Oath Imposed on him through Thee; and for denying to Swear at all, in Obedience to Chrift's Command, he is continued in Prifon : who hath Five small 'Children, and his Wife near down-lying. Surely, 'thou fhouldeft take Care for them alfo; and fee,that his Wife and fmall Children do not want: who are as Fatherlefs, and he as a Widow through Thee. 'Doft thou not hear in thy Ears the Cry of the Fa'therless, and the Cry of the Widows, and the Blood ' of the Innocent fpeak, who through thee have been perfecuted to Prifon, and now dead? Oh! heavy 'Sentence at the Day of Judgment! How wilt thou Anfwer, when Thou and thy Works come to be Judged, when thou shalt be brought before the Judgment-Seat and Bar of the Almighty, who in thy Profperity haft made Widows and Fatherless for Righteoufnefs fake, and for Tenderness of Con⚫ fcience

Prison. <

1663. fcience towards God? The Lord knows and fees it! w O Man! Confider in thy Life-time, how thou haft Lancaster ftained thy felf with the Blood of the Innocent! When thou had'ft Power, and might'ft have done Good amongst thy peaceable Neighbours, thou wouldeft not; but ufed'ft thy Power not to a good Intent, but contrary to the Lord's Mind, and to the King's. The King's Favour, and his Mercy and Clemency to fober People, and to tender Confciences hath been manifefted by Declarations and • Proclamations; which thou haft abused and flighted, by perfecuting his peaceable Subjects. For at London, and in other parts the Quakers Meetings are peaceable and if thou look but as far as TorkShire, where the Plot hath been, Friends Innocency hath cleared it felf in the Hearts of fober Juftices; and for you here to fall upon your peaceable Neighbours and People, and to be rigorous and violent against them, that are tender, godly and righteous, it is no Honour to you. How many Drunkards, and Swearers, and Fighters, and fuch as are fubject to Vice, have you caufed to be brought before you to your Courts? It were more honourable for you to look after fuch: for the Law was not made for the Righteous, but for Sinners and Tranfgreffors. • Therefore Confider, and be humbled for these things; ' for the Lord may do to thee, as thou haft done to ' others and thou doft not know, how foon there may be a Cry in thy own Family, as the Cry is amongst thy Neighbours, of the Fatherlefs and Widows, that are made fo through thee. But the Quakers can and do fay; The Lord forgive thee, and lay not these things to thy Charge, if it be his

6

· Will.

Befides this, which went in the Name of Many, I fent him alfo a Line or two, fubfcribed by my felf only, and directed

T

Friend,

TH

To Daniel Flemming.

'Hou haft Imprisoned the Servants of the Lord, without the Breach of any Law: Therefore 'take heed, what thou doft, (for in the Light of the 'Lord God thou art feen) left the Hand of the Lord 'be turned against thee!

G. F.

It was not long after this, e're Flemming's Wife died, and left him Thirteen or Fourteen Motherless Children.

When I was Prifoner at Lancaster, there was Prifoner alfo one Major Wiggan, a Baptift-Preacher. He boafted much before-hand, what he would fay at the Affize, if the Oath fhould be put to him; and that he would refufe to Swear. But when the Affize came, and the Oath was tendered him, he defired Time to confider of it: and that being granted him, till the next Aflize; he got leave to go to London, before the Affize came again; and came no more back, but ftaid at London, till the Plague brake forth: and there both he and his Wife were Cut off. He was a very Wicked Man, and the Judgments of God came upon him: For he had published a very wicked Book againft Friends, full of Lies and Blafphemies; the Occafion of which was this. Whilft he was in Lancafter-Caftle, he challenged Friends to have a Difpute with them: Whereupon I got leave of the Jailer to go up to them. And entring into Difcourfe with him, he affirmed: That Some Men never had the Spirit of God; and that the true Light, which enlightneth every one, that cometh into the World, is natural. For proof of his firft Affertion, he inftanced Balaam, affirming; That Balaam had not the Spirit of God. I affirmed and proved, That Balaam had the Spirit of God; and that Wick'ed Men have the Spirit of God, elfe how could they quench it, and vex it, and grieve it, and re

1664. 3 Lancafter Prison

1664. fift the Holy Ghoft, like the ftiff-necked Jews? To his Second Affertion I answered ; That the true Lancafter Light, which enlightneth every Man, that cometh Prifon. into the World, was the Life in the Word; and that was Divine and Eternal, and not Natural. And he might as well fay, that the Word was Natural, as that the Life in the Word was Natural. And • Wicked Men were enlightned by this Light, elfe how could they hate it? Now it is exprefly faid, ⚫ that they did hate it: And the Reafon given, why they did hate it, was, because their Deeds were evil; and they would not come to it, because it reproved them and that muft needs be in them, that re proved them. Befides, that Light could not be the Scriptures of the New-Teftament; for it was testified of, before any part of the New-Teftament was written: So it must be the Divine Light, which is the Life in Chrift the Word, before Scriptures were. And the Grace of God, which brought Salvation, had appeared unto all Men; and taught the Saints but they that turned it into Wantonnefs, and walked defpitefully against the Spirit of Grace, were the Wicked. Again, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghoft, the Comforter, which leads the Difciples of Chrift into all Truth, the fame fhould Reprove the World of Sin, of Righteousness, and of Judgment, and of their Unbelief. So the Wicked • World had it to reprove them; and the true Difciples and Learners of Chrift, that believed in the Light, as Chrift commands, they had it to lead them. But the World, that did not believe in the Light, though they were lighted; but hated the Light, which they fhould have believed in, and loved the Darkness rather than it, this World had a Righteoufnefs and a Judgment, which the Holy Ghoft reproved them for, as well as for their Unbelief. So having proved, that the Good and the Bad were enlightned, and that the Grace of God had appeared unto them all, and that all had the Spirit of God, elfe they could not vex and grieve it;