10. And for that purpose they got the Lord Chief Juftice Rainsford's Warrant for to take me; he was a deadly Enemy to me, as will appear, in that he would have taken away my Life if he could, but I defended the Spiritual Court from being excommunicated, and from his Warrant being executed, or ferved upon me, until these two Trials in the common Law, against these two Tenants of the rich Man, were ended.

II.

I was forced to be absent from my own House, for above a Quarter of a Year: I was entertained by that ever honoured, and true Believer; that young Widow, Ann Hall, I was entertained by her as an Angel of God, when other Believers durft not: I was kept at her Houfe in obfcurity from Friends and Enemies, not knowing where I was, yet I employed my Lawyers to manage my Bufinefs in both Courts, and in my Abfence they overthrew my Adverfaries, in the two Caufes afore-mentioned, in the common Law, and I received again, that which the rich Man had taken away, with fome of my Charges again.

12. But the Wardens of the Stationers Company, because they could not catch me, though they hunted after me as Blood Hounds, but could not find me out to ferve their Warrant upon me; then they preffed hard in the Spiritual Court to get me excommunicated, they fearing I might overthrow them in the common Law, for breaking open my Houfe, and taking my Goods, for they had committed an abfolute Burglary and Felony, by the Laws of England.

13. But I being preffed fo hard upon in the Spiritual Court, that it came to this Refultation in the Court, that if I did not perfonally appear the next Court Day, then I fhould be excommunicated, and being advised by him that managed my Bufinefs in that Court, to appear, he faying, he thought there would be no Danger.

14. Now by his Words I was perfwaded to appear, though against my own Mind, for I did fear I fhould be trapan'd, and as I fear'd it came to pafs, and it proved of woeful confequence to me; as will appear by what doth follow.

X 2

15. To

15. To omit many Circumftances, I fhall record the heads and fubftance of the whole Matter, and as I did appear in the Spiritual Court, to prevent myfelf of being excommunicated; the Court had little to fay unto me, only afked me, if I did own that Libel, which they knew I denied by my Proctor before.

16. This was only to deliver me into the temporal Magiftrates Hand; for the Wardens, the Lord Mayor, the Lord Chief Juftice, together with the Spiritual Court, were agreed together to proceed against me this way; otherways they could never have catched me while they lived, nor have brought me under their Law.

17. Therefore the Wardens, Merne and Clark, they got the Lord Chief Juftice of England's Warrant, with a Conftable ready, and as foon as I was discharged in the Spiritual Court at Dettors Commons; that curfed Court is meerly to betray People into the Hands of their Enemies, and to ruin the Eftates of the poor People, for it is of no more confequence for the good of the Nation, then to throw Stones against the Wind.

18. For the Wickednefs and Envy of the ignorant People is fuch, because they cannot be revenged of the Innocent and Juft, by the temporal laws of the Land, then they cite the Innocent, (that cannot bow down to their Worship) into the Spiritual Court, which I have had great Experience of this eurfed Court, which did betray me into the Hands of wicked, envious Magiftrates, as will appear.

19. For as foon as I was coming out of the Court, the Conftable ferved the Lord Justice Rainsford's Warrant upon me; then was I delivered into the Hands of Satan, to be plain, into the Hands of Devils.

20. And I was led to Guild-Hall before the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, the Mayor's Name was Thomas Davis, a Stationer by Trade, a deadly Enemy to me, and to all Moral Juftice, and a Man made up more of Malice and Ignorance of the law of the Land, than natural Wifdom, or moral Knowledge And as to fpiritual Knowledge he was as Blind as a Beetle.

21. The

21. The Conftable gave Judge Rainsford's Warrant into the Lord Mayor's Hand, and the Wardens gave the whole Book bound into his Hand; and the Lord Mayor asked me whether I did own this Book; I faid, I did.

22. Then he commanded me to withdraw into another Room, and I did fo, with an Officer with me; I stayed a little while, and the fame Conftable brought my Mittimus from the Lord Mayor, to carry me to the Goal of Newgate until the next Seffions.

23. Sol being carried to Prifon, I was Bailed out until the 17th of January, in the Year 1676, then did Merne and Clark draw up an Indictment against me, but out of one of those Books they ftole from me, called, The Neck of the Quakers Broken.

I.

CHA P. II.

Of the Bill of Indictment, and of the Cruelty of the Judges.

N

OW follows the Bill of Indictment, as I was condemn'd for. The Perfons or Jury Sworn for our Lord the King, gave in that Lodowick Muggleton, late of London, Labourer, being a Man Pernicious, Blafphemous, Seditious, Heritical, and a Monster in his Opinions.

Pretending that he the faid Lodowick Muggleton, is one of the two laft Witneffes of Almighty GOD, and devifing, and intending to fpread abroad his pernicious, plafphemous, feditious, and monftrous Opinions, and to disturb the peace and quiet of this Kingdom of England, and despise and debase the true Religion, established and exercised therein.

3.

As alfo to make and excite difcord, between the King and his Subjects, and to bring into Odium and Difgrace, his faid Majefty's Kingdom, as to ecclefiaftical Matters.

4. He the faid Lodowick Muggleton, on the 30th of August, in the 23d Year of His Majefty's Reign, in St. Giles's Parith without Cripplegate, London, aforéfaid, by force and arms, did

un

unlawfully, wickedly, malicioufly, fcandaloufly, blafphemoufly, feditiously, fcifmatically, and heritically, write, print, and fell, utter and publish, a certain malicious, fcandalous, blafphemous, feditious, and heritical Book, Intituled, The Neck of the Quakers Broken.

5. In which Book, written to Edward Burne, are contained thefe unlawful, blafphemous, feditious, heritical, and fcandalous Sentances following, viz. I write thefe Lines unto you Edward Burne, knowing you to be the feed of the Serpent.

6. There was repeated out of this Book much more, as page the 18, 31, and 54. That whofoever reads that Book, may fee thofe Blafphemies, thefe Quakers did firft judge me with; fo that I had cause enough given me to pronounce those fad Sentances of Damnation upon them, and those Books was known to the powers of the Nation many Years before, and the powers of the Nation took no Notice of it, because that, and all others were pardoned by the King, and act of Parliament, till within three Years, and that Book was printed 13 Years before.

7. Yet thefe wicked Judges, and Jury, and others, confpired together, to perfwade the Court, that this Book was antidated 13 Years ago, yet publifhed this, Auguft 30th, 1676, that it might come within the act of three Years.

8. Now thefe Words that were taken out of this Book, made fome of the Judges mad with Envy, and grind their Teeth, and their Council faid, It made his Hair ftand on an end, he was fo affrighted, which caufed one of the Judges to belch out of his Mouth, faying, It was to the great contempt and scandal of their faid Lord the King, of his Crown and Dignity.

9. When as that Book did not meddle with their Eftablished Religion at all, neither was it any difhonour to the King, but rather an Honour, if he had but read it over; but Truth doth always offend the Reafon of Man, as is feen by what a multitude of hellish Expreffions, and palpable Lies, uttered in their Indictment, being patch'd up with Reproaches, and Slanders, against the pureft Truth, that ever was fpoken by Prophet or Apoftle.

10. I fhall now record how unjustly Judge Rainsford, dealt with me before the Trial: The Seflions before I was tryed, the Bill of Indictment was read in Court, and I anfwered not Guilty, and faid unto Davis, then Lord Mayor, that I would travifs the Indictment, and put in Bail to the Indictment.

11. So Davis afked whither I could put in three fufficient Men, that could fwear they were worth two Hundred Pounds a Man, he would accept of Bail, thinking I could not have procured fuch great Security: And Judge Rainsford fat at the right Hand of the Mayor, and I heard Judge Rainsford fay to the Lord Mayor, that it was pity but I fhould be burn'd; I heard by his Words, and faw by his Countenance, that he was, and would be a deadly Enemy.

12. But the Mayor could not deny Bail, nor to travifs the Indictment by the Laws of England; fo the Men were called, and the Mayor being envious, asked one of them if they were of my Gang, one of them anfwered and faid thus? Sir we do not come here to be examin'd whofe Gang we are of, but we came to be Bail for this Man for Six Hundred Pounds for his Appearance the next Seffions; The mayor faid no more but accepted it.

13. And when the Time drew near, I did according to Law (with my Lawyer) go to this Judge Rainsford, and got his Clerk to draw up a Seffarary, which was to remove it out of that Court, into the Court of King's Bench, and this envious Judge, being Judge of the King's Bench-Court, and we could not have a Seffarary in any Court elfe, which he knew well enough, which caufed his envy to act fo wickedly and unjustly towards me.

14. For when his Clerk, and my Lawyer had drawn up the Writing, and had received their Money, (near Forty Shillings) they went into the Judges Chamber, for him to fet his Hand to it, to remove my Caufe into his own Court, which was but Law, but he made them Anfwer, and faid, he would not fet his Hand to it, but would hear the Trial himself, at the Seffions.

15. So