ble, take him away." Several being thus led away, the constable came also to her, and perceiving by her dress that she was a Dutch woman, pulled her by the sleeve, and said with admiration, "What, a Dutch Quaker!" but meddled no farther with her. This keeping of meetings in the streets became now a customary thing in England; for the Quakers, so called, were persuaded that the exercise of their public worship was a duty no man could dis.. charge them from, and they believed that God required the performance of this service from their hands. And by thus meeting in the streets, it happened sometimes that more than one, nay, it may be three or four at a time, did preach, one in one place, and another in another, which in their meeting places could not have been done conveniently, But thus they got abundance of auditors, and among these sometimes eminent men, who passing by in their coaches, made their coachmen stop. At this rate they found there was a great harvest, and thus their church increased under sufferings; and in those sharp times they were pretty well purified of dross, since the trial was too hot for such as were not sincere; for by frequenting their meetings in such a time, one was in danger of being either imprisoned, or beaten lame, or unto death but this could not quench the zeal of the upright.

Now the taking away of one preacher, and the standing up of another, became an ordinary thing in England, and it lasted yet long after, as I myself have been an eye-witness of there. And when there were no more men preachers present it may be a woman would rise, and minister to the meeting; nay, there were such, who in years being little more than boys, were endued with a manly zeal, and encouraged their friends to steadfastness. In the meanwhile many also were imprisoned, without being haled out of their meetings; for some have been apprehended for speaking only something on the behalf of their friends; as Rebecca Travers, who, going to the lieutenant of the Tower, desired him to have compassion on some who were imprisoned for frequenting meetings. But he grew angry at this; and when she went away, one of the keepers gave her ill language; on which she exhorting him to be good in his place, whilst it was the Lord's will he had it, he was so offended, that going back to the lieutenant, he complained that she had spoken treason, and thereupon she was apprehended, and sent to prison. Nay, the rude soldiers were encouraged to cruelty by officers who were not a whit better, for they themselves would sometimes lay violent hands on peaceable people; as amongst the rest the afore-mentioned alderman Richard Brown, who formerly had been a major general under Crom

well and now behaved himself with such outrageous fierceness, that even the comedians did not hesitate to expose him, by an allusion to his name Brown, and saying, "The devil was brown."

A book was also printed, wherein many base abuses, and also his furious behaviour were exposed to public view; and this book was dedicated to him with this short epistle :

"Richard Brown,

"If thou art not sealed up already for destruction, and if repentance be not utterly hid from thy eyes, the Lord convert thee, and forgive thee all thy hard and cruel dealings towards us we desire thy repentance rather than thy destruction; and the Lord God of heaven and earth give judgment of final determination between thee and us, that all the earth may know whether thy cause against us, or our cause be just before him, who only is the righteous judge."

The said book, though published without the author's name, yet one of them was not only sent to Brown, but as a sign that the Quakers, so called, owned it, others were, by about thirty of them, delivered to the lord mayor, and the sheriffs of London, that so they might know what was acted under their authority; for some, though not authorised, yet being favourites at court, made bold to act against the Quakers

to.

whatever their malice prompted them Among these was one Philip Miller, who, though not an officer, yet in the month called May of this year, came into a meeting of the said people in John's street in the parish of Sepulchres, at London, without any order or warrant, and having a cane in his hand, commanded the rabble who attended him, to secure whom he pleased; and then he fetched a constable, whom he forced by his threats to go along with him, and five persons he apprehended, among whom was John Crook, of whom farther mention is like to be made again. Some days after, this Miller came to the said meeting place again, and struck several persons with his cane, because they would not depart at his command; and then he charged the constables, whom he brought along with him, to secure and take into custody whom he pleased.

About the latter end of the aforesaid month, on a first day of the week, one captain Reeves, and some soldiers with muskets and drawn swords, came violently rushing into the Bull and Mouth meeting, where they pulled down him that was preaching, and presently laid hold of another, who desired Reeves to shew his order for this his doing: to which he answered, he would not in that place; but it appeared afterwards that he could not, as having no warrant. Yet he caused his soldiers to take

away about forty persons, (some of whom were not at the meeting, but had been taken up in the streets,) and have them into Paul's yard where they were kept till the public worship was ended there; and then alderman Richard Brown came into the place where the prisoners were guarded, and with great rage and fury laid hands first on a very aged person, and pulled him down twice by the brim of his hat, whereby he lost it. Then he served another in like manner, and a soldier struck this person a great blow with a pistol on his bare head: two others Brown used in the like manner, and then he sent them all to Newgate, guarded by soldiers.

The same day some soldiers came to a meeting in Tower street, and without any warrant, took away twenty-one persons, called Quakers, and carried them to the Exchange, where they kept them some time, and then brought them before the said Richard Brown, who in a most furious manner struck some, and kicked others; which made one of the prisoners, seeing how Brown smote one with his fist on the face, and kicked him on the shin, say," what Richard, wilt thou turn murderer? Thou didst not do so when I was a soldier under thy command at Abingdon, and thou commandedst me with others, to search people's houses for pies and roast meat, because they kept Christmas as a holy time; and we