no better than a Pillory'd Person I and my Husband and my Father also were of the old Royallists and suffered much in the time of the civil Wars in England in the days of King Charles the first upon the Account of Loyalty Therefore I thought good to let the Bishop of Norwich know what my Family and Relations are not out of any Ostentation but to give some satisfaction to my Friends and Relations that I am so much abused and stand upon Record no better than a perjured Person in F. Bugg's Books and the Bishops Certificate countenances it I was the eldest Daughter of William Waldegrave of Buers in the County of Suffolk Son and Heir to Sir William Waldegrave the Younger so called because Sir William his Father and he deceased both in less than a Years time as I have heard my Grand-mother say It was an Ancient Protestant Family I heard my great Uncle my Father's Uncle Henry Waldegrave say That his Grand-father Sir William Waldegrave was persecuted in Queen Mary ' s days by the Bishop of Norwich and so closely beset by his Emissaries that he did not go home to his House but was fed in his Tenants Barnes until he got out of the Bishop's Diocess to a House he had in another place where he ended his days in Peace Now is a time of Liberty that we are not persecuted in our Persons and Estates as we have been formerly yet we are persecuted even to the murdering of our Reputations altho' we were never found in any Plot or Rebellion against the Government since we first appeared to be a People in England under the name of Quakers that I ever heard of yet some Men are so uneasie at our Liberty and restless as appears by some of the Clergy that they have entertained such a wicked Emissary as this F. Bugg is whose desperate Fortune hath made him so resolute that he is not ashamed to Abuse and Scandalise a great Body of People in General and vent whatsoever the Devil puts in his Heart who is the Father of all Lyers and those that incourage them also Yet it is the desires of our Hearts that they may come to Repentance and Amendment of Life if it be God's gracious Will that we may live peaceably in this day of the visitation of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ wherewith he hath visited us by his Light and Grace in our Hearts and Consciences to bring us to Salvation and not to have any dependency on any fallible or blind Guides for as the Apostle says 1 Cor. 14. 8. For if the Trumpet gives an uncertain Sound who shall prepare for the Battle Now a true Christian's Life is a continual Warfare against the Enemies of their Souls and they ought to put on the Armour of Light Rom. 13. 12. This is the infallible Guide to those that live in Obedience to the Teaching thereof this is the gift of God that he hath given to all Mankind to lead them into the way of Righteousness if Man do not resist it or be not lead out from it to follow the devices and desires of his own Heart to imbrace the Delights Vanities and Deceits of this wicked World which is the cause that too many have laid down their Heads in Sorrow altho' they have had all the injoyment this World could afford I have a request to my Reader that he would not be biased by any interest but sincerely mind the Light and Grace of God in his own Heart and Conscience and then shall my end be answered in what I have written and that the Bishop of Norwich may read the Ancient Principles of our Religion in the Light and if he find any Error in them to shew it us in Love and if he find none to give a Testimony he owns them to be true which is the satisfaction that I desire for my Self and my Friends for all the uncharitable Censures and Defamations he hath at unawares given Credit to by owning and incouraging F. Bugg's abusive Books full of mis-representations against us that desire to live peaceably with all Men. Our Ancient Principles are inserted before in this Book I may repeat them that they may be known more amply in this place 't is Entituled Truth 's Principles Or those things about Doctrine and Worship which are most surely believed and received amongst the People of God called Quakers These Principles are a Declaration of the Light and Grace of God which shews that That is the Quakers Teacher and Belief concerning Doctrine and Worship but this is accounted a dangerous Principle amongst those Teachers that keep People always in teaching that they may be always paying them These would spoil their Trade if People would come to be taught by the Light and Grace of God in their own Hearts and Consciences which is my Desire for all Mankind that they may no more be led away by the Craft and Subtelty of those Men that make a Money Trade of Religion and are always obstructing the blessed Light and Grace of God which would shew unto all Mankind the true and real Way to Salvation and will no ways deceive them that be obedient to it which will give more Satisfaction to the humble and contrite Heart than all Worldly Injoyments which is witnessed by me and many more that have had full Experience of it and desire that all Mankind would be so kind to themselves as to make their Calling and Election sure by being obedient to it Farewel Your unfeigned Friend in the Light and Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ANN DOCWRA Cambrige the 13th Day of the Month called December 1698. FINIS BOOKS Printed and Sold by T. Sowle in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-Street and at the Bible in Leaden-Hall-Street near the Market 1699. An Epistle of Love and good Advice to my Old Friends and Fellow-Sufferers in the late Times the old Royallists and their Posterity and to all others that have any sincere Desires towards God By Ann Doâ—wra A Defence of a Paper Entituled Gospel-Truths against the Exceptions of the Bishop of Cork's Testimony against the Quakers By W. Penn. Price Bound 1. s. The Tryal of Spirits both in Teachers and Hearers Wherein is held forth the clear Discovery and certain Downfal of the Carnal and Anti-christian Clergy of these Nations Testified from the Word of God to the Vniversity Congregations in Cambrige By William Dell Minister of the Gospel and Master of Gonvil and Caiâ—… College in Cambrige Whereunto is added a plain and necessary Confutation of divers gross Errors delivered by Mr. Sydrach Sympson in a Sermon preached to the same Congregation at the Commencement Anno MDCLIII Wherein among other things is declared that the Vniversities according to their present Statutes and Practices are not as he affirmed answerable to the Schools of the Prophets in the time of the Law but rather to the Idolatrous High Places And that Humane Learning is not a Preparation appointed by Christ either for the Right Vnderstanding or Right Teaching the Gospel With a brief Testimony against Divinity-Degrees in the Vniversities As also Luther's Testimony at large upon the whole Matter And lastly the Right Reformation of Learning Schools and Vniversities according to the state of the Gospel and the Light that shines therein All necessary for the Instruction and Direction of the Faithful in these last times Price Bound 1 s. 6 d
that was by way of Paraphraise so at first when he writ Lyes his Pen run too quick and now his Lyes are Paraphraises and such crafty or rather crazy foolish Stuff his Books are composed of if he had been well in his Wits he would not have scribled away a fair Estate and run many hundred Pounds in debt beside to no purpose I really believe all that he lost by the Quakers does not amount to 32 l. see page 31. where he names their names and the Sums also but in page 148. F. Bugg says That the Quakers are the chief Cause of my Misfortune not only in Respect of Controversie but Six or Eight breaking in my Debt If they had been real Quakers he would have named them every Man for he writes at large upon such Matters but to my Knowledge there was some that died in his Debt that were of his own Fraternity that went about to make Division amongst us It was his restless Spirit and shattered Head that was the Cause of his Misfortune They that are well acquainted with his Books may perceive it In the Title Page of divers of his Books shews his wild Fancy I will quote some of them His second Book the Title Page The painted Harlot stript and whipt c. The Title Page of some of the rest his 7 th Book battering Rams against Rome c. His 8 th Book One Blow more against New Rome c. His 9 th Book New Rome unmasked and her Foundation shaken c. His 10 th Book New Rome arraigned and out of her own Mouth condemned c. This Book is the strangest Fiction that ever I read His 15 th Book A Second Summons to the City Abeb by way of Metaphor deliver up Sheba the Son of Bichri 2 Sam. 20. i. e. George Whitehead by Name This shews his Malice against G. W. I know of a certain that shatter-headed People are very malicious and not to be qualified and the Reason is because their Imagination works so strong that it serves for nothing but to make a Grave for their Reason I have something to say concerning Edward Burrough one of our Preachers he was before my time I not being acquainted with him only by reading his Books where I find him to be a Man both for Natural and Supernatural Parts extraordinary well Qualified But F. Bugg says that he finds in his Works that he said That the Sufferings of the Quakers were greater than the Sufferings of Christ and his Apostles There is something upon Record to that purpose as I understand and this was in Oliver's Days which he did say That the Quakers Sufferings were worse in some respect than the Sufferings of Christ And his Reason was because the Jews pretended Law for what they did and the Quakers Sufferings were very much upon the account of small Trivial Things and no Law so much as pretended Although no Quakers do justifie this Passage yet it may be excused in some measure and that according to Truth Some of the best of Men have broke out into Passion under Sufferings and E. Burrough's Sufferings were great at that time not only for himself but seeing so many of his Innocent Friends under great Afflictions and Sufferings Under the Agony of Sufferings the best of Men have shewed much Weakness and Passion when God had forsaken them or hid his Face from them for a short time And this was witnessed by Job and the Prophet Elijah and others our Saviour Christ upon the Cross when he cried out under the Agony of his Suffering My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now God's hiding his Face from the best of Men for a short time was his Love to Mankind to shew to Man his Weakness That no Flesh should Glory but in the Lord. But F. Bugg and his Clergy makes a great Noise to have us retract our Books if they can prove Error in them we have answered what they can Charge us withal already and will do further if God Almighty requires it but will not concern our selves with F. Bugg and his Clergy any further than God requires us to do Our Books are a Testimony of the Sufficiency of the Light and Grace of God in our Hearts to bring us to Salvation if it be obeyed to it we have many Testimonies For that and our Sufferings upon that Account which we shall preserve God willing that the Generations to come may Rejoice in our Testimony as we do Rejoice in the Testimonies of the Suffering People of God in all Ages under what Denomination soever they are Recorded For such People injoyed a large Measure of the Light and Grace of God in their Hearts that bore them up above all their Sufferings in a publick Testimony in all Suffering Times which do witness that such People are the Chosen People of God to set forth his Praise from one Generation to another I am now come to the Bishop of Norwich's Certificate These are to Certifie That I have known Francis Bugg some Years and that he hath appeared to me a Sober Honest and Industrious Man and that he hath taken much Pains to Undeceive and Convert the Quakers by Publishing Useful Books and that not without success but by the Hardness of Times several Losses and the Charge of Printing the Books he writ he is reduced to great Difficulties Therefore I apprehend him a real Object of Charity and that he doth truly deserve the Bounty of Well-disposed Persons unto whom I recommend him October 22. 1698. John Norwich It will be Matter of Admiration to all Inquisitive People when the real Truth of this Concern is known that a Bishop of the Church of England should appear so publickly to Vindicate F. Bugg and his Books which the Bishop calls Useful and that F. Bugg hath taken great pains to Undeceive and Convert the Quakers and not without Success c. This were a Matter of great Concernment if it were true I intend to take notice of the several Passages in the said Certificate First As to his Honesty and Industry if he had been Honest and Industrious as the Bishop says he would not have lost his Time and neglected his Trade for near Twenty Years as I can make it appear out of his own Books and spent a good Estate in Scribling against the Quakers to no purpose as will further appear and run many Hundred Pounds in Debt more than he was able to pay and his Creditors must needs have lost much Money by him if this Project with the Bishop and some of the Clergy did not take which was a thing doubtful by his own Confession In his 20th Book p. 147. there may be much more said upon this account I will Instance but few of them In or about the beginning of the Year 1697. he Married his Daughter made great Feasting and Entertainments that was said to be very Chargable and promised 300 l. Portion with her upon the Marriage And at the same
time he was Indepted many Hundred Pounds more than he was worth He also gave Bond to make his Wife a Jointure of some part of his Estate which he hath since Sold to his Son These things he has confessed to me and others And a few Months after the aforesaid Marriage of his Daughter he broke and was sculking about in the Isle of Ely He then writ to me to conveigh a Paper-parcel to Milden-Hall for him the Letter bears Date as followeth June Saturday the 19 th or 20 th Day 1697. When I received this Letter I was much surprised that F. Bugg should make such a Request to me which had held no Correspondence with him for above Twelve Years nor so much as read any of his Books in that time only I had seen the Answers to them This Request to me I looked upon as a Trapan that he might have some Colour to pretend that I was one of his Party in Print I did not intend to concern my self with any of his Paper-parcels if they had been brought to me and I writ to him an answer to that purpose And in my Letter I reproved him for his Apostacy also So I cleared my self of his Concerns at that time These aforementioned things concerning his Daughter's Marriage his Defrauding his Wife of her Jointure and Scribling away that which should have pay'd his Debts shews that the Bishop lies under a great mistake as to F. Bugg ' s Honesty and Industry The Bishop in his Certificate further says That F. Bugg took great Pains to Undeceive and Convert the Quakers by publishing Useful Books and that not without Success This is a Matter of great Concernment if it were true I and many more can Witness that he neither proved us in Error neither were we so far Influenced by F. Bugg as to give Credit to what he writ although F. Bugg counted me to be one of his Proselytes in his 20th Book Pag. 133. where he says That I opposed G. Fox ' s Tyranny I never had any Controversie with G. Fox from the time I was first acquainted with him to the time of his Decease And when I had heard the Controversie on both sides I found that there was many Lyes Forged of him which made me pitty him and have the better esteem of him I never heard any of the Separate Quakers that opposed him except F. Bugg say that he was a Tyrant But some of them have said to me that now in his old Age he was Childish and Wilful I did not perceive any Childishness in him after that but I pleaded that G. Fox had done much Service for Truth and if I had a Dog that had done me good Service I would not hang him in his old Age nor use him ill when his Service was at an end that shewed an ill Nature to do so But to return to my former Discourse of what Proselytes F. Bugg hath made amongst the Quakers I have as good Intelligence as the Bishop in our own Concerns and I hear of none that owned F. Bugg or his Books except he counts those that Conformed to the Church of England in the time of the Persecution to save their Estates and they may be more properly accounted the Persecuting Magistrates and the Bishop's Proselytes than F. Bugg's yet I never heard that those People owned F. Bugg's Books But F. Bugg may plead That there are some Separate Quakers that own him and his Books that was before he conformed to the Church of England that many of them did own his first Book and his second Book was owned by some of them which occasioned me to write to one of them of my Acquaintance That F. Bugg had written Lyes in his second Book to give the Separatists warning of him I believe it will be hard for the Bishop and F. Bugg to produce five Persons that ever was Quakers that do own any of his Books that have been written for these last seven Years and more even those that were called Separate Quakers It is true that he spent his Time and Estate in making Divisions amonst us and a Separate Meeting was set up in London which continued divers Years called Harp-Lane Meeting but have been disolved about two Years and those People excepting a very few comes now to our Meetings as I understand There are divers honest People amongst them they might see the inconveniency of Separate Meetings and withdraw from it which might happen by George Keith and some others making Divisions amongst them by rasing new Notions of Religion which was not entertained amongst most of them but they held the same Principles as to Religion and Worship as we do although F. Bugg says to the contrary but he does not say true for I was at one of their Meetings and there was two Preachers and they preached the same Doctrine that all other Quakers do the Differences that F. Bugg raised at first was about some particular Men that was owned by some and dis-owned by others about Church Government F. Bugg and some others were for Liberty without true Measure this was Rantisnt as appears by F. Bugg's own Books there came down from London some Orders for Church Government that were friendly recommended to us about several things But that which was made a Controversie of in these Parts Was an Order to prevent Clandestine Marriages and some other necessary Things Also Men and Women's Meetings that should take care for the Poor This was all the principal Matter of F. Bugg's Quarrels and not about any of our Principles of Religion I heard his complaints often and they were only these things I have here inserted I did not contradict him lest I should disturb his Head and set him a scribling against me at a time when I was not willing to enter into Controversie with him to put him to Charges it concerned others at that time that he had much abused in Print to take him in Hand And although I declined him then yet there is now a Bishop and some part of the Clergy that have not only countenanced him but incouraged him also which hath imboldened him to be so insolent as to Charge us in General and me in Particular with Crimes that are meerly his own Invention which will not stand with his Bishop or Clergy's Reputation if things be rightly understood See his Pilgrims Progress Page 59. in the Margent where F. Bugg says I told a Lye to the Magistate with design to Deceive as bad as Perjury Altho' I have cleared my self and my Friends as to matter of Fact in this case in the fore-part of my Book yet there remains a further Consideration in this point that we may have some Satisfaction from F. Bugg's Bishop and Clergy if they do not make good F. Bugg's Charge against me and others by credible Witnesses which is no less than the Laws of the Land requires It is a disparagment to my Friends and Relations to have one of them