Then coming to Derby I lay at a doctor's house, whose wife was convinced; and so were several more in the town. And as I was walking in my chamber, the bell rung, and it struck at my life at the very hearing of it; so I asked the woman of the house what the bell rung for; and she said there was to be a great lecture there that day, and many of the officers of the army, and priests and preachers were to be there that day, and a colonel, that was a preacher. Then was I moved of the Lord to go up to them; and when they had done I spake to them, what the Lord commanded me, and they were pretty quiet. But there came an officer, and took me by the hand, and said I must go before the magistrates, and the other two that were with me. It was about the first hour afternoon that we came before them. They asked me why we came thither; I said, God moved us so to do; and I told them God dwells not in temples made with hands. I told them also, all their preaching, baptism, and sacrifices, would never sanctify them; and bid them look unto Christ in them, and not unto men; for it is Christ that sanctifies. Then they ran into many words; but I told them they were not to dispute of God and Christ, but to obey him. And the power of God thundered amongst them, and they did fly like chaff before it. They put me in and out of the room often, hurrying me backward and forward often; for they were from the first hour till the ninth at night in examining me. And sometimes they would tell me, in a deriding manner, that I was taken up in raptures. At last they asked me whether I was sanctified; I answered yes, for I was in the paradise of God. Then they asked me if I had no sin; I answered, Christ, my Saviour, has taken away my sin, and in him there is no sin. They asked how we knew that Christ did abide in us; I said, by his Spirit, that he hath given us. They temptingly, asked if any of us were Christ; I answered, Nay, we were nothing, Christ was all. They said, if a man steal is it no sin; I answered, all unrighteousness is sin. So when they had wearied themselves in examining me, they committed me and one other man to the House of Correction in Derby for six months, as blasphemers, as may appear by the mittimus, a copy whereof here followeth :

To the Master of the House of Correction in Derby,

greeting.

We have sent you herewithal the bodies of George Fox, late of Mansfield, in the county of Nottingham, and John

Fretwell, late of Staniesby, in the county of Derby, husbandman, brought before us this present day, and charged with the avowed uttering and broaching of divers blasphemous opinions, contrary to a late Act of Parliament, which, upon their examination before us, they have confessed. These are therefore to require you forthwith, upon sight hereof, to receive them, the said George Fox and John Fretwell, into your custody, and them therein safely to keep during the space of six months, without bail or mainprize, or until they shall find sufficient security to be of the good behaviour, or be thence delivered by order from ourselves. Hereof you are not to fail. Given under our hands and seals this 30th day of October, 1650.

Ger. Bennet,
Nath. Barton.

Now did the priests bestir themselves in their pulpits to preach up sin for term of life; and much of their work was to plead for it; so that people said, never was the like heard. Then after some time, he that was committed with me, not standing faithful in his testimony, got in with the gaoler, and by him made way to the justice to have leave to go see his mother; and so got his liberty. And then they reported, that he should say I had bewitched and deceived him; but my spirit was strengthened when he was gone. Now the priests and professors, the justices and the gaoler, were all in a great rage against me. The gaoler watched my words and actions, and would often ask me questions to ensnare me; and sometimes he would ask me such silly questions as, whether the door was latched or not; thinking to draw some sudden unadvised answer from me, from whence he might take advantage to charge sin upon me; but I was kept watchful and chaste, so that they could get no advantage of me, and they admired at it.

Not long after my commitment I was moved to write both to the priests and magistrates of Derby; and first I directed these following lines to the priests.

O friends, I was sent unto you to tell you, that if you had received the gospel freely, you would minister it freely without money or price; but you make a trade and sale of what the prophets and the apostles have spoken, and so you corrupt the truth. And you are the men that lead silly women captive, who are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth; you have a form of Godliness, but you deny the power. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do you resist the truth, being men of corVOL. 1.

rupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But you shall proceed no further, for your folly shall be made manifest to all men, as theirs was. Moreover the Lord sent me to tell you, that he doth look for fruits. You asked me if the scripture was my rule; but it is not your rule to rule your lives by, but to talk of in words. You are the men that live in pleasures, pride, and wantonness, in fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness. See if this be not the sin of Sodom. Lot received the angels, but Sodom was envious. You shew forth the vain nature; you stand in the steps of them that crucified my Saviour, and mocked him; you are their children; you shew forth their fruit. They had the chief place in the assemblies, and so have you; they loved to be called Rabbi, and so do you.'

G. F. That which I wrote to the magistrates who committed me to prison, was to this effect:

'Friends,

I am forced, in tender love unto your souls, to write unto you, and to beseech you to consider what you do, and what the commands of God call for. He doth require justice and mercy, to break every yoke, and to let the oppressed go free. But who calleth for justice, or loveth mercy, or contendeth for the truth? Is not judgment turned backward, and doth not justice stand afar off? Is not truth silenced in the streets, or can equity enter? And do not they that depart from evil make themselves a prey? Oh! consider what ye do in time, and take heed whom ye do imprison; for the magistrate is set for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. Now, I intreat you, in time take heed what you do; for surely the Lord will come, and will make manifest both the builders and the work. And if it be of man it will fail; but if it be of God, nothing will overthrow it. Therefore I desire and pray, that you would take heed, and beware what you do, lest ye be found fighters against God.' G. F.

Now, after I had thus far cleared my conscience to them, I waited in the holy patience, leaving the event to God, in whose will I stood. And after some time I was moved to write again to the justices, that had committed me to prison, to lay their evils before them, that they might repent. One of them that signed the mittimus, to wit, Nathaniel

Barton, was both a colonel, a justice, and a preacher; so I wrote to them as followeth :

'Friends,

'You did speak of the good old way, which the prophet spake of; but the prophet cried against the abominations which you hold up. Had you the power of God, ye would not persecute the good way. He that spake of the good way, was set in the stocks. The people cried, Away with him to the stocks,' for speaking the truth. Ah! foolish people, which have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, without understanding! "Fear ye not me," saith the Lord, "and will ye not tremble at my presence!" your pride and abominations are odious in the eyes of God! You (that are preachers) have the chiefest place in the assemblies, and are called of men, master; and such were and are against my Saviour and Maker. And they shut up the kingdom of heaven from men, neither go in themselves, nor suffer others. Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation, who have their places, and walk in their steps. You may say, if you had been in the days of the prophets, or Christ, ye would not have persecuted them; wherefore be ye witnesses against yourselves, that ye are the children of them, seeing, ye now persecute the way of truth. O consider, there is a true judge, that will give every one of you a reward according to your works. O mind where you are, you that hold up the abominations, which the true prophet cried against! O come down, and sit in the dust! The Lord is coming with power, and he will throw down every one that is exalted, that he alone may be exalted.'

And as I had thus written unto them jointly, so, after some respite of time, I wrote to each of them by himself. To justice Bennet thus:

• Friend,

Thou that dost profess God and Christ in words, see how thou dost follow him; to take off burdens, and to visit them that be in prison, and shew mercy, and cloath thy own fle-h, and deal thy bread to the hungry; these are God's commandments: To relieve the fatherless, and to visit the widows in their afflictions, and to keep thyself unspotted of the world; this is pure religion before God. But if thou dost profess Christ, and followest covetousness, and greediness, and earthly-mindedness, thou deniest him in life, and deceivest thyself and others, and takest him for a cloke. Wo be to you greedy men and rich men ;

weep and houl for your misery that shall come. Take heed of covetousness and extortion; God doth forbid that. Wo be to the man that coveteth an evil covetousness, that he may set his nest on high, and cover himself with thick clay. O do not love that, which God doth forbid. His servant thou art, whom thou dost obey, whether it be of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. Think upon Lazarus and Dives; the one fared sumptuously every day, the other was a beggar. See, if thou be not Dives be not deceived, God is not mocked with vain words; evil communication corrupteth good manners; awake to righteousness, and sin not.'

That to justice Barton was in these words:

Friend,

G. F.

Thou that preachest Christ, and the scriptures in words, when any come to follow that which thou hast spoken of, and to live the life of the scriptures, then they that speak the scriptures, but do not lead their lives according thereunto, persecute them that do. Mind the prophets, and Jesus Christ, and his apostles, and all the holy men of God; what they spake was from the life; but they that had not the life but the words, persecuted and imprisoned them that lived in the life, which they had back-slidden from.'

G. F.

Now, as I had written to the justices and to the priests, so it was upon me to write to the mayor of Derby also; who (though he did not sign the mittimus) had a hand with the rest in sending me to prison; and to him I wrote after this manner :

• Friend,

Thou art set in place to do justice; but in imprisoning my body thou hast done contrary to justice, according to your own law. O take heed of pleasing men more than God, for that is the way of the Scribes and Pharisees; they sought the praise of men more than God. Remember who said, "I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; I was in prison, and ye visited me not." O friend, thy envy is not against me, but against the power of truth. I had no envy to you, but love. O take heed of oppression, for the day of the Lord is coming, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble;