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The Life of William Dewsbury Epistles—Laborers increase—State of the prisons— Sufferings of Friends—The cause—Faithfulness to their calling—Evidences that it was not of man — Sewel's testimony. THE three following short epistles are introduced to the reader, in expectation that they will prove both interesting and profitable. They appear to have been written during this period of suffering, some particulars of which have just been related. They contain as well as the preceding ones strong indications of the writer's character, and evidence both his tenderness and watchful care over the flock of Christ, and of the sharpness which he was capable of exercising, when circumstances appeared to require it. "To the tender," says one who knew him well, "he was exceedingly tender; but to the stubborn and lofty he was sharp and plain, admonishing them, and declaring the righteous judgment of God against that state." In each of the addresses there are expressions, from which we may gather, that some for whose eye they were intended, had a zeal not altogether according to knowledge, which was displayed in an aptitude to give utterance to feelings under apprehension of duty, when silence would have been more consistent with a sound judgment, and more profitable to the body.
It was no slight proof of the reality of that wonderful power, which attended these witnesses for a true, entire, and glorious reform, that their hazardous attacks upon the existing order of things relating to religion, should have been so signally crowned with the divine blessing; that their exertions in faithfully laying open the prejudices and corruptions of their day, should have been attended with such remarkable effects. At quite an early period, we find a large number of laborers were called into the field, eminently gifted for their work, but above all things furnished with an unconquerable willingness to suffer shame for the cause they had espoused, and to expose themselves to the fury of persecution. In the year 1654, as Sewel informs us, there were above sixty ministers, (known as the Valiant Sixty), of the word raised up among Friends, who traveled in the work and service of the Gospel, laboring diligently "to turn people from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God." But their sufferings kept full pace with the increase of their numbers; of which all of these were more or less partakers. In the preceding year, George Fox was cast into Carlisle dungeon; and such was the malice of his persecutors, that they still contemplated his destruction. But their design coming to the knowledge of the parliament, it was arrested. The state of the prisons too, in which so many Friends passed a large portion of their time, as Clarkson informs us in his "Portraiture of Quakerism," was not easily to be conceived; some for filth and pestilential noise, and others for exposure to the inclemency of the elements. Indeed, the condition of these prisons previous to the latter years of the last century, was a disgrace to any civilized community; not only on account of their filthy, unwholesome, and neglected condition, but equally so, because of the indiscriminate association to which all classes of prisoners were subjected. It was common for Friends, mostly men of the better order, often of reputable or wealthy families, to be cast into those dismal dungeons, one of which is now preserved at Warwick jail, and is shown as a relic of former times. I remember visiting it myself in 1810; and the impression I then received will never be erased. Howard, in his description of this jail, says, "The night-room of the felons is an octagonal dungeon, about twenty-one feet in diameter, down thirty- one steps, damp and offensive; the jailer on going down took a preservative. "Basil Montagu, whose name is so honorably associated with the subject of prisons, prison-discipline, and the punishment of death for crime, in his account of a visit he paid to the same prison in 1815, says, "This offensive vault, which may now be seen in the prison, is eighteen feet ten inches under ground. In the middle is a cesspool; on the side is a stream for the prisoners to slake their thirst. There is a large heavy chain now in the dungeon, that passed through a link in the chains of each of the felons, which was then carried up the steps and secured to the outer door of the vault. The only light and air admitted, is through an iron grate on the top, and nearly even with the surface of the ground. These are the dismal cells in which Friends were often made to suffer, in company with the most abandoned characters; and in which, as these sufferings abounded, their consolation did often much more abound; under a sense of which, they sang praises to God in their bonds, and with William Dewsbury esteemed the locks and bolts as jewels. It was in Warwick jail, that William Dewsbury was imprisoned twenty years of his life, four years of which he was a close prisoner; whether in the pit or not is not stated. Nor should we have known that this was the fact respecting his confinement in Northampton jail from any statement of his own, for he suffered too cheerfully to lay much stress on the vile durance he underwent. But it was stated by others that he was there imprisoned in a dungeon twelve steps underground among the worst of felons. In such a dungeon as we have been describing, George Fox was confined for six months at Derby, “in a lousy, stinking place, without any bed, among thirty felons." Let any person read the account he gives of the dungeon in which he lay at Launceston, and he will hardly believe that such dreadful cruelties and oppressions could even then have been practiced in England, the boasted land of liberty and Christianity. "This place was so noisome, that according to common observation, few ever came out of it in health. He was forced to stand in sewage which topped his shoes and had not been cleaned for years. And though the liberty to cleanse it was requested, it was long before Friends were permitted to cleanse it themselves. They were neither allowed beds nor straw to lie on. And this was not sufficient cruelty upon the Friends; but the prisoners lodging over head, encouraged by the jailer, poured their sewage through the floor on the heads of those beneath. This dungeon was called Doomsdale. The head jailer had been a thief, and was burnt both in the hand and shoulder, his wife in the hand; and the same distinctions had also been conferred on the under-jailer and his wife. At Lancaster prison," says George Fox, "I was put up into a smoky tower, where the smoke of the other prisoners' fires came up so thick, that it stood as dew upon the walls; and sometimes the smoke would be so thick, that I could hardly see the candle when it burned; and I being locked under three locks, the under-jailer, when the smoke was so great, could hardly be persuaded to come up to unlock one of the uppermost doors, for fear of the smoke, so that I was almost smothered. Besides, it rained in upon my bed; and many times when I went to stop out the rain in cold winter season, my shirt would be as wet as muck with the rain that came in upon me, while I was laboring to stop it out. And, the place being high and open to the wind, sometimes as fast as I stopped it, the wind, being high and fierce, would blow it out again." Numerous other instances might be adduced of the woeful state of the prisons at the period we are now considering, and of the lamentable suffering, often to death, which the early Friends endured in them. It is, however, to the credit of the present more enlightened time, in which the successors of those sufferers may fairly claim their share of congratulation, that the state of the prisons is at this time so widely different. Some remarks have already been made, relative to the unsettled state of the government, at the period in which Friends were first gathered into a distinct church; and it has been hinted, that the political as well as the religious ferment, into which from various causes the whole community was thrown, happened to be one source of the sufferings which this people had to endure. In addition to this, it cannot be concealed, whatever difference of sentiment may exist as to the propriety of the circumstance, that it was the zealous protest of Friends against the prevailing customs and character of the day, to which they were strongly impelled from a sense of religious duty, that mainly laid them open to the persecutions which followed them in their course. But then, on the other hand, it may be said with equal truth, that the apostles and early Christians did the same thing, and had to endure a similar ordeal from rulers and others, who, in the darkness of their minds, were not able to admit the validity of that divine authority, under which true believers have always acknowledged them to have moved. They were said to turn the world upside down; and a charge of this nature necessarily attaches in a greater or less degree to reformers of every age and class. Believing, and that not without good and sufficient reason, in the divine mission of George Fox, William Dewsbury and others associated with them, such will have no hesitation in asserting, that when those laborers were called into the Lord's vineyard, they were furnished according to the service that was laid upon them. The particular portion of labor which fell to their lot, was that of carrying on the great work of the reformation, even in some points as regards the principles of religious faith, to a much further extent than was laid upon the reformers of the fifteenth century. Although the early Friends were, on this account, charged with being deniers of the Scriptures, because they preached boldly a revelation of divine knowledge to the mind of man, they did this as moved by the Holy Spirit, upon Scripture authority itself, and upon the ground of their own blessed experience. In the spiritual view which they were led to take of the Christian dispensation, they were indeed true believers in and supporters of the Scriptures; because they bore a fuller testimony to the scope and intent of those sacred writings. They not only acknowledged them, with as much sincerity as others, to be preeminently depositories of revealed truth, but they never shrunk from bringing those matters among the various sects which called for reformation, as well as their own doctrines and practices, to the test of Scripture, after the example of all true reformers. But in so doing, they were never suspected of an intention of overlooking the important fact, that the sacred volume itself needs a holy interpreter. Indeed, it was no other than this interpreter itself, as they believed, opening the Scriptures to the subjected understandings of the early Friends, that pointed out to them those things among the churches, which in that day required, and which still demand the hand of reform, and against which they were called to bear so public and so unflinching a testimony. Nor were they left destitute of sufficient evidences of various kinds, spiritual, supernatural, and providential, intended no doubt for the confirmation of their belief, from one time to another, that the Lord was himself with them in their labors. In what manner the great work of individual repentance and regeneration was first carried forward in their own minds, we have now before us in the case of William Dewsbury, who was only a single instance among a large number, who were favored to arrive at the same enlarged experience. But "the evil heart of unbelief," under very specious forms of reasoning, is at all times endeavoring to shake the faith of the weak and the unwary, often by insinuating, that the superstructure of the heavenly building is not to be of the same materials as the foundation. But this we know and are assured, is neither scriptural, nor was it the belief of the early Friends. The same divine work, according to what they learned and what they taught, requires at all times the same divine power to carry it on. Time has made no such change of circumstances, as to invalidate the truth of this position. The natural man is the same in all ages; and he is not more able at one day than at another, to comprehend with savor the things of the Spirit of God, for they will ever continue to be "foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned." In regard to the evidences above alluded to, and which are abundantly scattered through the writings of the early Friends, I introduce the following laudatory statement of facts from the pen of George Fox, to show the sort of encouragement that he derived from such experience as fell within the sphere of his own labors. He says:
The preceding quotation is no enigma; it bears a faithful testimony to the facts of that day, although neither he, his companions, nor his successors in belief, have ever laid great stress on such occurrences however true; and have avoided insisting on them as proofs of their ministry. Although Friends in the early times did, with George Fox and with William Dewsbury, (as the reader will find when he arrives at the closing scene), acknowledge such instances of the marvelous extension of divine regard to be consistent with Scripture and sound reason, they concluded it to be proper in these latter ages of the church, to receive them simply as collateral assurances, that the Lord's power is the same in one day as another, rather than as essential evidences or as requisite fruits of the true faith. But many have found it difficult to reconcile the bold and inflexible conduct of the early Friends, in bearing their open and public testimony against the prevailing sects and parties in religion, as though none were right but themselves. That this was actually the case with William Dewsbury, we shall see when the transactions of his life are further laid open before us; and it was the same with George Fox, and with the Friends in general. The question may be very fairly asked, How is it that such does not continue to be the ostensible line of conduct with Friends in the present day? There is little doubt, but that such as were well satisfied with the established religion, or such as had dissented from it into various sects and shades of difference, must have thought it highly obtrusive and presumptuous in any, though not altogether without precedent, thus publicly to call in question their principles or practices, especially if those persons were in the majority of instances but simple, homely, illiterate men. Neither do I wish to be understood as justifying every act which was the product of their generally well-directed zeal.* But I am ready to affirm it as my belief, that the manner of their appearance was well-suited to their day; that the amount of benefit to the nation and to the church, resulting from their labors and sufferings, has never yet been fully calculated, and that they were the means of laying the foundation of certain precious principles in the minds of men, which, the more they become developed in practice, the greater will be the gratitude of mankind on this account. The question therefore, in regard to their early practices, is not as to what might be agreeable or seem decorous or otherwise; but whether the Lord of the vineyard, did, or did not, see it proper to send laborers into his vineyard after such a peculiar manner; and whether he did, or did not, require this especial service at their hands, however repulsive or revolting their appearance might be to the carnal and hypocritical professors of those times. For many of these professors were very soon manifested not to be what they would pass for, some by the eager persecution which they raised against the truth, others by their cowardly compliances to shun persecution. On the other hand, we know beyond contradiction, that under this ministry, unsophisticated and unacceptable as it was to the worldly minded, thousands were soon turned from the evil of their ways; for we are informed by the testimony of authenticated records, which the whole history of the Society proves, that such a wonderful power attended the early preaching of this people, as for hundreds to be overcome by it at one time, and to be convinced of the truths which they heard. So that unpleasing as such instances of interference might be to the natural, impatient, unregenerate mind, the true Christian, the spiritual man, can have no doubt that the ministry of this people was a fresh display of that dispensation, which is love from God to his creatures. However feebly Friends may appear to have occupied their own ground in later times, it is worthy of very deliberate examination why it is so, and whether those primitive laborers were, or were not, divinely called unto this extraordinary work.
We have seen under what kind of impressions William Dewsbury moved, in various instances, from very early life, and how by revelation the mystery of unrighteousness, and the mystery of the gospel, which is according to godliness, was made known to him; and by what means he became an able minister of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit. When he received what he most surely believed, and what the event proved without contradiction, to be a divine gift and call to the work of the ministry, the word to him was, "What I have made known to you in secret, that declare you openly." If under such clear impressions of duty, (and it was equally the case with others his brethren), these men went forth, as with their lives in their hands, to publish the gospel of peace, to show the people their errors, and to make known to them what they themselves had both seen, and tasted, and handled of the word of life, it does seem to require some considerable caution how we allow our preconceived notions, or our un-subjected wills and reasonings to rise up in judgment against such a dispensation. Thus, "as Sewel informs us, " it may be seen, by what means the Quakers so called grew so numerous in those early times. As on one hand there were raised zealous preachers; so on the other there were abundance of people in England, who having searched all sects, could nowhere find satisfaction for their hungry souls. And these, now understanding, that God by his light was so near in their hearts, began to take heed to it there, and soon found that this gave them far more victory over the corruption of their minds, under which they had long groaned, than all the self-willed worships which they with some zeal had performed for many years. And besides those who were thus prepared to receive a further manifestation of the way of life, there were also many, who being pricked to the heart, and by the Christian patience of the despised Quakers brought over, became as zealous in doing good as formerly they had been in working evil. Perhaps some will think it was very indecent, that they (the Friends) went so frequently to the steeple-houses, and there spoke to the priests; but whatever any may judge concerning this, it is certain that those teachers generally did not bring forth the fruits of godliness. This was well known to those who themselves had been priests, and had freely resigned their ministry, after to follow Christ in the way of his cross, [see Howgill as an example]. These were none of the least zealous against that society, among whom they had formerly ministered with upright zeal. Yet they were not for using sharp language against such teachers, as according to their knowledge feared God; but they leveled their aim chiefly against those who were rich in words only, without bringing forth true Christian fruits and works of justice.* Thus it was that Thomas Curtis, who was formerly a captain in the Parliament army, but afterwards entered into the society of the people called Quakers, wrote [as follows,] in a letter to Samuel Wells, priest of Banbury, and a persecutor:
None, therefore, need think it strange that those called Quakers did look upon such teachers as hirelings. And that there were not a few of that sort, appeared plainly when King Charles II was restored. For, [in many instances] those who had formerly cried out against Episcopacy, and its Liturgy, as false and idolatrous, then became turncoats, and put on the surplice, to keep in possession of their livings and benefices. But by so doing, these hypocrites lost not a few of their listeners; for this opened the eyes of many, who began to inquire into the doctrine of the despised Quakers, and saw that they had a more sure foundation, and that it was this that made them stand unshaken against the fury of persecution. 1655. Address to the nation—William Dewsbury often a prisoner—Discharged from Northampton jail— Warning to his persecutors and those in authority— Travels to London—Kent—Land's End— George Fox's labors in Cornwall—Humphrey Lower—William Dewsbury holds a meeting at his house—Foresees a storm—Soldiers arrest him at Torrington— Brought before the mayor—His treatment—Delivered out of their hands—Writes to the mayor— Proceeds into Somersetshire — Bristol— Wales— Epistle to Friends about Plymouth. IN William Dewsbury's collected works, under the date of 1655, we have an address to the people of England, containing the following paragraph, Sewel's History. Vol. I. p. 97. 6th edit. 1834, which was thought to be altogether worthy of the reader's attention.
So very large a portion of William Dewsbury's time was spent within the walls of prisons, that the materials from which a narrative of his life is to be composed, are necessarily very scanty, and in many instances the chain of events respecting him can alone be rendered complete, by the insertion of little more than dates gathered from epistles, which at various periods he addressed to his friends and to the churches. After his liberation from the fifteen months' cruel imprisonment, which he endured in the dungeon of Northampton jail, he was favored to enjoy a pretty considerable respite from suffering in that way; which allowed him the opportunity of pursuing his religious duties, according as his great and good Master was pleased to lay them upon him. But previous to his deliverance from this confinement, he sent the following animated and solemn warning to such as were in authority, and were involved in the guilt of those persecutions under which Friends were then suffering. It possesses the peculiar characteristics of the writer's mind, as strongly as anything which is the product of his pen.
It was in the twelfth month, 1655, that he obtained his liberty; and it is reasonable to conclude that no long time would elapse, before he proceeded to Wakefield to join his wife and children, after so long and so trying a separation. Friends in those days, however, may truly be said to have married as though they married not, and to enjoy as though they possessed not; so freely and so sincerely were they given up to serve the cause of Christ. We accordingly find William Dewsbury, in the third month following, at a meeting two miles from Northampton, no mention being made of his having returned home in the interval. Here again, he narrowly escaped a prison, and was actually seized at the meeting in company with several other Friends, who were sent to the very dungeon he had himself so lately occupied, and were confined there a considerable time. Among these were John Crook, lately a justice of the peace, and Thomas Stubbs, a man of education, both therefore persons of some account where they lived. On this occasion, William Dewsbury's detention was only temporary; he was soon dismissed. Here a chasm of nearly a year intervenes in the biographical narrative, which the Editor will not attempt with any exactness to fill up. But, by a memorandum in the Author's handwriting, it seems, that had he been spared to have perfected his design, he would in this place have introduced some notice of the part taken by William Dewsbury in the affecting and disastrous affair of one who was a companion with him in labor and a brother beloved. The case of James Naylor is perhaps as widely known, [see separate page for details] both to the public at large and to the Society of Friends, as any circumstance in our history; and therefore much need not be here said on the subject itself. Enmity and prejudice, however, have contrived from that time to the present to raise false conclusions from, and even to misrepresent the plain facts of the case, although explanations have been abundantly given forth, clearing the Society and their principles from the slightest implication in the whole matter. On this head, J. G. Bevan's Life of James Naylor, with a refutation of some of the more modern misrepresentations of the Friends, may be consulted with advantage. "James Naylor," says George Fox in his Journal, "was a monument of human frailty. His gift in the ministry was eminent, his experience in divine things truly great. He fell through un-watchfulness, but was restored through deep sufferings and unfeigned repentance. His own writings are the most clear and lively description of the various dispensations he underwent; some of them deserve to be transmitted to the latest posterity." William Dewsbury speaks of a journey to London, and of the dealings of the Lord with Naylor in the course of it, he says,—"who has restored many captives, and brought in many that were turned aside, in much brokenness of heart, in the sense of his mercy in their recovery." "I was led of the Lord," he continues, "into London, according to his will, in the service he had determined at that time in that place. I was much filled with comfort in him, to behold his appearance among his people, who did mightily refresh his babes with his own presence, in which I and my brethren are refreshed in him. The Lord laid it much upon me, that dear George Fox and James Naylor might meet together. My travail was great in spirit, until the Lord answered; which, in the day he determined, was done. Mighty was his majesty among his people, in the day he healed up the breach,* which had been so long to the sadness of the hearts of many. The Lord clothed my dear brethren, George Fox, Edward Burrough, Francis Howgill, with a precious wisdom; his healing Spirit did abound within them, with the rest of the Lord's people there that day, according to their measure of the Lord's Spirit in all, reached to embrace it with gladness of heart. Then I was set free to pass from London, through Surrey, and so to Bristol, to be there the first-day after, being the 5th day of the twelfth month."
Before giving the reader further extracts from this letter, relative to Bristol, it will be proper to add something as to William Dewsbury's conduct and dealing with James Naylor himself. A very judicious communication from the former of these Friends to the latter, with the reply of the latter, is now in the possession of the editor; by which it appears, that William Dewsbury had watched over and yearned towards his offending brother, and had seen with clearness the steps by which he had fallen, and the subtle snares which Satan had laid for his feet. These he traces out to him, reminding him how it had been with him in the hour of his temptation, and telling him where it was the enemy had gotten entrance, so as to prevail over him and others — how they had given way to a spirit of self-exaltation, by not abiding in the truth, nor in the light, nor in the grace by which we are saved, and by which alone the soul can be kept out of the reach of all delusion, deceits, and vain imaginations; and from an undue admiration and respect of persons, how they had proceeded to cry out against those who kept their habitations in the power of God; and at length to separate themselves from such, and to gather adherents about them, to the stumbling of many whose faces were set towards Zion, the saddening the hearts of the Lord's upright children, and causing his holy name to be blasphemed. He speaks of having been moved to come to London in the Lord's service; and that when there, he had sent for those who had so run out:-
James Naylor's reply manifests throughout, as clear and becoming a frame of mind as could be desired.
To return to Bristol. On the first Friends visiting this place, there were great disturbances from the rabble, incited by the priests and encouraged by the magistrates, as Sewel and others relate. This, it is presumed, was at furthest only two years previous to William Dewsbury's coming there; and his letter in lively manner conveys a picture of those times, and of the preservation and strength vouchsafed to the Lord's faithful little ones.
On the 9th of the 2nd month, 1657, William Dewsbury dates an epistle from London; [but before this, a letter to Margaret Fell conveys, that he had been through Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex on his way. Few particulars are entered into; but he states, that he found Friends in their measures preciously grown in the life, and that there was a great people in those parts. -Editor.] Having arrived in London, he appears to have tarried something short of six weeks, and then moved forward into Kent; from which district, in an epistle dated the 22nd of third month, he gives the following hints on spiritual obedience, and the exercise of gifts in order to the ministry.
[Of his visit to Kent, the only additional vestige is gleaned from the communication to Margaret Fell, mentioned above, the date of which is near Sandwich, the 3d of fourth month. He says, that he has had large meetings since coming into the county, and that "the power of the Lord broke in upon many of them;" also of his having been on board a vessel in the Downs, in which were a number of Friends, men and women, bound for New England in the service of the Gospel. He says, they were bold in their measure in the power of God; and adds, "his everlasting presence keep them in the unity of the life, and prosper them in his work." The master of the vessel, Robert Fowler, afterwards gave some account of the hand of Providence being with him in his voyage, which was called "A Quaker's Sea Journal." In it, he makes mention of the refreshment they had from the company of William Dewsbury, and that he recommended them to the grace of God. — Editor] From Kent he traveled westward to the Land's End, preaching the word of eternal life through the southern counties. There is no account preserved, of how or where he was particularly occupied between the above date and that of the 17th of seventh month, when he writes a letter from the Land's End, in which he relates the particulars of some trials that befell him previous to his reaching that part of the country. The year previous to William Dewsbury's arrival in Cornwall, George Fox had traveled through most parts of that county; so that the ground was already broken up for succeeding laborers. Great, "says the former," was the service of my God in that country. "On the first-day of the week, being the 27th of the month, he was at a meeting at Humphrey Lower's, who had formerly been a justice of the peace. He was one of the many who had been convinced by George Fox while prisoner in Launceston jail, where the latter suffered nine months' confinement, part of the time under the most revolting circumstances, in the dungeon of the prison which, was called Doomsdale, some particulars of which have been before related. This Humphrey Lower, George Fox describes as "a grave, sober, ancient man," who among others went to visit him while a prisoner there, and was thoroughly convinced, and so continued to his death. It was at Lower’s house that William Dewsbury’s meeting was held; and he was a near neighbor to the high-sheriff of the county, a man, as William Dewsbury writes, "who was wickedly against the truth of our God." "It was said, he threatened to break up the meeting; but in the power of my God I did stand, which chained him, and the meeting continued precious in the Lord." On the 29th, William Dewsbury was at a meeting at Launceston; after which he pursued his journey into Devonshire, his mind having been strongly impressed with an apprehension, "as the Lord had let him see, "that he would meet with a storm in that county, or near it, which in fact took place at Torrington. He was arrested there and, under a guard of soldiers, was brought before the mayor and other functionaries, who badly imbibed the persecuting spirit of the day. "Some of them," he says, “were very cruel and wicked against the truth of God, and dealt very rudely with me. In great wrath they took my hat off my head, and threw it on the ground, and committed me to prison for two nights and nearly three days." He was many times brought before them, and they accused him of being a Jesuit and a foreigner, and read to him many new laws, threatening to proceed against him as a vagabond: "in which," he says, "the Lord reigned over them." They then read him the oath of abjuration, the common care with which Friends were caught at that time; and they told him he must take it. He refused on account of the testimony he had to bear against all swearing under the Gospel, no less against the pope and all idolatry, than the other points embraced by the oath. On the second day of his examination, towards night, he was brought forth, and they inquired of him how he became a minister of Christ; which subject had been before alluded to. It appears to have been a mystery to them, how a man could be in the way of his duty in leaving his wife and children in the North of England, "to preach the word of eternal life through the southern counties unto Cornwall." And when, in answer to their questions, “he was free in the Lord to declare to them how he came to be a minister of Christ," they were so cut to the heart, that one of the justices wept, and the clerk said, “If you had spoken this much before, this would have never happened.” But there appears to have been great confusion of purpose and difference of sentiment among the magistrates, so that Dewsbury attempting to speak further on the subject was not allowed. Others offended at his hat, stormed against him for having it on, and he was sent again to prison. "Many times," he says, "I was brought before them, to see if they could ensnare me. But in the wisdom of God, I stood innocent." The case was difficult, and there was a power among them to which they were unwilling to be subject, yet were unable to control. For although they made out a mittimus to commit the prisoner to the common jail at Exeter, they were so divided that some of them objected to his going there; but the mayor, "he who had the chief rule," told him, he should not see his face any more until he was before the judge at the next assize at Exeter. "Do with me what you have power to do, my innocence will plead for me," replied Dewsbury; and he was remanded to prison, where he lay on the bare floor; remaining in this condition until the 2nd day of the eighth month. "I was then," he says, "brought before them. My God had pleaded my cause, and changed the heart of man, which failed in them. For the man who said I would see his face no more, until I was before the judge at Exeter, tore the mittimus in pieces before my face, and said to me, 'You are free.' So did my God set me free, out of the hands of unreasonable men, according to his promise made to me; praises to his name forever." Before he left Torrington, he addressed a close and faithful letter to the mayor of the town, telling him, that he and others in commission had abused their power, and turned their hands against the innocent; "whom," he says, "you wounded as much as you could. In the fear of God consider what you have done. Is this the fruit of your fasting and humbling yourselves, as you say; when you have done, to smite with the fist of wickedness, and instead of entertaining strangers, to use them so barbarously?" "An account you must give to the Judge of heaven and earth." He then referred to some of the latter portions of the 25th chapter of Matthew, telling them, it will be in vain to say, "When did we see you hungered, and fed you not," etc. inasmuch as they did it not to the least of the brethren; and he calls upon them to prize their time, and not to slight the day of God's mercy: — to incline their ear to his counsel, the divine light in their consciences, that would discover to them the evil of their hearts, and their unjust proceeding against innocent men; that so the Lord might give them repentance unto life, lest otherwise they should perish in the day of his fierce wrath, when he will recompense to every man according to his works: and finally takes his departs, by expressing his desire, that the Lord would not lay what they had done against him to their charge. Having thus regained his liberty, he proceeded without delay on his journey into Somersetshire; and, on the 4th of the eighth month, was at a large meeting in that county, and tarried a night in Ilchester jail, with Thomas Salthouse and others, who were imprisoned there. The next day he went forward into Wiltshire, where he held another meeting. On the 11th, being-the first-day of the week, he was at a meeting which was thought to he attended by two thousand persons: in reference to which, he says," My God was mighty in his power, to the glory of his name." He then passed through Gloucestershire, and on to Bristol, which he reached on the 18th of the month. [It is not likely that the termination of his services on this journey was at Bristol; for, by a letter from his wife to a Friend, it would seem, that on the 28th of eighth month, he was intending to enter Wales. There is also a letter from himself, which, though it wants a date, maybe referred to this period; by an extract from it we may see how great his exercises and labors in this district must have been, and that they were "not in vain in the Lord," his Guide, Counselor, and Helper. “Our God," he says," in mercy is answering the prayers of his people, in bringing back again them that have been driven away in the hour of temptation, and now is seeking the lost, and restoring the scattered of the house of Israel. Many in Wales and elsewhere return, with brokenness of heart for what they "have done against the Lord, and his servants; and God pardons them, and restores them in his mercy. And most of the meetings that were scattered, are in the mercy of our God established: many of them owned their condemnation openly, for what they had done against the Lord, to their shame and his glory, who prospers his work in his own hand, and with his outstretched arm glorifies his name, to our comfort, whom he has chosen to do his will, to his glory, who is worthy: blessed be his name forever!"-Editor.] The account of this journey shall be closed by the following epistle, dated Cornwall, 1657, which is now for the first time printed.
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