it was said, desired justice Parker to write to the king for my liberty, or for a noli prosequi, because they were satisfied I was not such a dangerous person as I had been represented. This, it was said, he promised to do, but did it not.

After I had got a copy of the indictment, I went to London, visiting Friends as I went. When I came there, some that were earnest to get me out of the hands of those envious justices that sought to premunire me at Worcester, would needs be tampering again, to bring me before the judges of the king's bench; whereupon I was brought again by an habeas corpus before them. I tendered them a paper, in which was contained what I could say instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, as followeth :

THIS I do in the truth and in the presence of God declare, that king Charles the second is lawful king of this realm, and of all other his dominions; that he was brought in and set up king over this realm by the power of God; and I have nothing but love and good will to him and all his subjects, and desire his prosperity and eternal good. I do utterly abhor and deny the pope's power and supremacy, and all his superstitions and idolatrous inventions; and do affirm, that he hath no power to absolve sin. I do abhor and detest his murdering of princes, or other people, by plots or contrivances. And likewise I do deny all plots and contrivances, and plotters and contrivers against the king and his subjects; knowing them to be the works of darkness, the fruits of an evil spirit, against the peace of the kingdom, and not from the spirit of God, the fruit of which is love. I dare not take an oath, because it is forbidden by Christ and the apostle; but if I break my yea or nay, let me suffer the same penalty as those that break their oaths.

'GEORGE FOX.'

But the business being so for proceeded in at Worcester, they would not meddle in it, but left me to appear again before the justices at the next general quarter sessions at Worcester.

Meanwhile the Yearly Meeting of Friends came on, at which I was present; and exceeding glorious the meetings were, beyond expression; blessed be the Lord!

After the Yearly Meeting, I set forward for Worcester, the sessions drawing on, which were held in the fifth month. When I was called to the bar, and the indictment read, some scruple arising among the jury concerning it, the judge of the court, justice Street, caused the oaths to be read and tendered to me again. I told him, 'I came now to try the traverse of my indictment; and that his tendering me the oaths anew, was a new snare. I desired him to answer me a question or two;

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and asked him, whether the oaths were to be tendered to the king's subjects, or to the subjects of foreign princes?' He said, 'to the subjects of this realm.' Then,' said I, 'you have not named me a subject in the indictment, and therefore have not brought me within the statute.' The judge cried, read the oath to him.' I said, I require justice.' Again I asked him, whether the sessions ought not to have been holden for the king, and the body of the county?' He said, yes.' Then,' said I, 'you have there left the king out of the indictment; how then can you proceed upon this indictment to a trial between the king and me, seeing the king is left out?" He said, the king was in before.' But I told him, 'the king's name being left out, here was a great error in the indictment, and sufficient, as I was informed, to quash it. Besides, I told him that I was committed by the name of George Fox, of London, but now I was indicted by the name of George Fox, of Treddington, in the county of Worcester. I wished the jury to consider how they could find me guilty upon that indictment, seeing I was not of the place the indictment mentioned. The judge did not deny but there were errors in the indictment; but said, 'I might take my remedy in its proper place.' I answered, 'you know that we are a people that suffer all things, and bear all things; and therefore ye thus use us, because we cannot revenge ourselves; but we leave our cause to the Lord.' The judge said, the oath hath been tendered to you several times, and we will have some satisfaction from you concerning the oath.' I offered them the same declaration instead of the oath, which I had offered to the judges above; but it would not be accepted. Then I desired to know, seeing they put the oath anew to me, whether the indictment was quashed or no? instead of answering me, the judge told the jury, they might go out.' Some of the jury were not satisfied; whereupon the judge told them, 'they had heard a man swear that the oath was tendered to me the last sessions ;' and then directed what they should do. I told him, he should leave the jury to their own consciences.' However, the jury, being put on by him, went forth, and soon after came in again, and found me guilty. I asked them, 'how they could satisfy themselves to find me guilty upon that indictment, which was laid so false, and had so many errors in it? They could make but little answer; yet one who seemed to be the worst of them, would have taken me by the hand: but I put him by, saying, how now, 'Judas, hast thou betrayed me, and dost thou now come with a kiss?' So bid him and them repent. Then the judge began to tell me, how favourable the court had been to me.' I asked him, how he could say so? was ever any man worse dealt by than I had been in this case, who was stopped in my journey when travelling upon my lawful occasions, and imprisoned without cause; and now had the oaths put to me only for a snare? I desired him to answer me in the presence of the

Lord, in whose presence we all are, whether this oath was not tendered to me in envy?' He would not answer that; but said, 'would you had never come here, to trouble us and the country!' I answered, I came not thither of myself, but was brought, being stopped in my journey. I did not trouble them, but they had brought trouble upon themselves.' Then the judge told me, what a sad sentence he had to tell me.' I asked him, whether what he was going to speak was by way of passing sentence, or for information? for I told him I had many things to say, and more errors to assign in the indictment, besides those I had already mentioned, to stop him from giving sentence against me upon that indictment.' He said he was going to show me the danger of a premunire, which was the loss of liberty and of all my goods and chattels, and to suffer imprisonment during life.' But he said, 'he did not deliver this as the sentence of the court upon me, but as an admonition to me.' Then he bid the gaoler take me away.' I expected to have been called again to hear the sentence; but when I was gone, the clerk of the peace (whose name was Twittey,) asked him, as I was informed, 'whether that which he had spoken to me should stand for sentence?' And he, consulting with some of the justices, told him, 'yes, that was the sentence, and should stand.' This was done behind my back, to save himself from shame in the face of the country. Many of the justices, and the generality of the people, were moderate and civil; and John Ashley, a lawyer, was very friendly both the time before and now, speaking on my behalf, and pleading the errors of the indictment for me; but justice Street, the judge of the court, would not regard, but overruled all. This justice Street said to some Friends in the morning before my trial, That if he had been upon the bench the first sessions, he would not have tendered me the oath; but if I had been convicted of being at a conventicle, he would have proceeded against me according to that law; and that he was sorry that ever I came before him;' yet he maliciously tendered the oath to me in the court again, when I was to have tried my traverse upon the indictment. But the Lord pleaded my cause, and met with both him and justice Simpson, who first insnared me with the oath at the first sessions; for Simpson's son was arraigned not long after at the same bar, for murder. And Street, who, as he came down from London, after the judges had returned me back from the king's bench to Worcester, said,Now I was returned to them, I should lie in prison and rot;' had his daughter (whom he so doted on that she was called his idol,) brought dead from London in a hearse to the same inn where he spoke these words, and brought to Worcester to be buried within a few days after. People took notice of the hand of God, how sudden it was upon him; but it rather hardened than tendered him, as his carriage afterwards showed.

After I was returned to prison, several came to see me; amongst others, the earl of Salisbury's son, who was very loving, and troubled that they had dealt so wickedly by me. He staid about two hours with me, and took a copy of the errors of the indictment in writing.

The sessions being now over, and I fixed in prison by a premunire, my wife came out of the north to be with me; and the assizes coming on in the sixth month, the state of my case being drawn up in writing, she and Thomas Lower delivered it to judge Wild. In it was set forth the occasion of my journey, the manner of my being taken and imprisoned, the proceedings of the several sessions against me, and the errors in the indictment by which I was premunired. When the judge had read it he shook his head, and said, 'We might try the validity or invalidity of the errors, if we would;' which was all they could get from him.

While I lay in prison, it came upon me to state our principle to the king: not with particular relation to my own sufferings, but for his better information concerning our principle, and us as a people.

• To the King.

THE principle of the Quakers is the spirit of Christ, who died for us, and is risen for our justification; by which we know we are his. He dwelleth in us by his spirit, and by the spirit of Christ we are led out of unrighteousness and ungodliness. It brings us to deny all plottings and contrivings against the king, or any man. The spirit of Christ brings us to deny all manner of ungodliness, as lying, theft, murder, adultery, fornication, all uncleanness, debauchery, malice, hatred, deceit, cozening and cheating whatsoever, and the devil and his works. The spirit of Christ brings us to seek the peace and good of all men, and to live peaceably, and leads us from such evil actions as the magistrate's sword takes hold upon. Our desire and labour is, that all who profess themselves christians may walk in the spirit of Christ; that they through the spirit may mortify the deeds of the flesh, and by the sword of the spirit may cut down sin and evil in themselves. Then the judges and other magistrates would not have so much work in punishing sin in the kingdom; neither then need kings or princes fear any of their subjects, if they all walk in the spirit of Christ, for the fruits of the spirit are love, righteousness, goodness, temperance, &c. If all that profess themselves christians did walk in the spirit of Christ, and by it did mortify sin and evil, it would be a great ease to the magistrates and rulers, and would free them from a great deal of trouble, for it would lead all "to do unto others as they would have others do unto them," and so the royal law of liberty would be fulfilled. For if all called christians did walk in the spirit of Christ, by it to have the evil spirit and its fruits mortified and cut down in them, then, not being led by the evil spirit, VOL. II.

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but by the good spirit of Christ, the fruits of the good spirit would appear in all. For as people are led by the good spirit of Christ, it leads them out of sin and evil, which the magistrate's sword takes hold of, and so would be an ease to the magistrates. But as people err from this good spirit of Christ, and follow the evil spirit, which leads them into sin and evil; that spirit brings the magistrate into a great deal of trouble, to execute the law upon the sinners and transgressors of the good spirit. That spirit, which leads people from all manner of sin and evil, is one with the magistrate's power, and with the righteous law; for the law being added because of transgression, that spirit which leads. out of transgression must needs be one with that law which is against transgressors. So that spirit which leads out of transgression is the good spirit of Christ, and is one with the magistrates in the higher power, and owns it and them; but that spirit which leads into transgression is the bad spirit, is against the law, against the magistrates, and makes them a great deal of troublesome work. The manifestation of the good spirit is given to every man to profit withal; and no man can profit in the things of God but by the spirit of God which brings to deny all sin and evil. It is said of Israel, Nehem. ix. "The Lord gave them his good spirit to instruct them, yet they rebelled against it." If all people did mind this manifestation of the spirit which God hath given to instruct them, it would lead them to forsake all manner of sin and evil, enmity, hatred, malice, unrighteousness and ungodliness, and to mortify it. Then in the spirit of Christ they would have fellowship and unity, which is the bond of peace; then would love and peace, which are the fruits of the good spirit, flow among all that are called christians.

'We are a people, who, in tenderness of conscience to the command of Christ and his apostle, cannot swear; for we are commanded in Matt. v. and James v. to keep to yea and nay, and "not to swear at all; neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath, lest we go into evil, and fall into condemnation." The words of Christ are these: "Ye have heard that it hath been said by (or to) them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths." These were true and solemn oaths, which those who made ought to have performed in old time; but these Christ and his apostle forbade in the gospel-times, as well as false and vain oaths. If we could take any oath at all, we could take the oath of allegiance, knowing that king Charles was by the power of God brought into England, and set up king of England, &c. over the heads of our old persecutors; and as for the pope's supremacy, we utterly deny it. And the apostle having commanded us not to swear, but to keep to yea and nay, we dare not break their commands; therefore, many knowing this have put the oaths to us as a snare, that they might make a prey of us.. Our denying to swear is not