An Account OF THE TRAVELS Sufferings Persecutions OF Barbara Blaugdone Given forth as a Testimony to the Lord's Power and for the Encouragement of Friends Printed and Sold by T. S. at the Crooked-Billet in Holywell-Lane Shoreditch 1691. An Account of the Travels Sufferings and Persecutions of B. B. c. IN my Youth and Tender Years I feared the Lord and was afraid to offend him and was zealous and diligent in the Profession I was in and sought the Lord earnestly although I knew not where to find him until I was directed by Friends that came from the North John Audland and John Camm by Name whose Behaviour and Deportments were such that it preached before ever they opened their Mouths and it was then revealed to me That they had the Everlasting Gospel to Preach in this City And when they did open their Mouths I was made to bless God that I had lived to hear the everlasting Gospel preached and they directed my Mind unto the Light of Christ therein to wait which I was diligent to do and found the Vertue of it and as the Evil was made manifest I departed from it and willingly took up the Cross and yielded Obedience unto it in plainness of Speech and in my Habit the People were so offended with it when I went into their Publick Places and Steeple-houses to speak that they took away their Children from me so that I lost almost all my Imployment and they kept me in Prison a quarter of a Year at a time And great was my Sufferings in that Day but the Lord so filled me with his Power that I was preserved through it all And the Diligent and Faithful did prosper then and so they do now And therefore my Counsel to Friends is that they keep in God's Power for there is no other way to be preserved nor to receive Life and Salvation it s my Testimony for God For whosoever shuns the Cross and goes out of the Power they lose their way and dishonour God but whosoever keep in the Faith and abide in the Power they are in Safety I have had living Experience of it therefore I mention it and it has been with me a pretty while to publish it for the benefit of those that are passing through and are yet to pass through the Sufferings and therefore do I declare my Experience And so dear Friends the Cross is the Way to the Crown of Life and to the Crown of Glory and they that continue Faithful and Obedient they obtain the Eternal Crown which they that are disobedient lose I speak my Experience of the Dealings of the Lord with me in my Travels and passings through my Spiritual Journey for the benefit of those that Travel rightly after And I can speak it to the glory of God he never moved me to any thing but that he gave me Power to perform it and made it effectual although I past through much Exercise in the performance of it And the Power of God wrought in me long before I knew what it was and when Friends came that my understanding was opened I soon took up the Cross and came into the Obedience and the Lord cleansed me by his Power and made me a fit Vessel for his Use And when I had laboured pretty much at home he called me forth to labour abroad and I stood so in the dread awe and fear of the Lord that his Spirit strove much with me before I could open my Mouth and the Word of the Lord came unto me in a Meeting That the Lord would have War with Amalek from Generation to Generation And the Power and Spirit of the Lord was so strong in me that it set me upon my Feet and constrained me to speak the words for I was never hasty nor forward And then the Lord caused me to abstain from all Flesh Wine and Beer whatsoever and I drank only Water for the space of a whole Year and in that time the Lord caused me to grow and to prosper in the Truth And then I was made to go and to call the People forth from among the dumb Idols and suffered much Imprisonment for it but yet I was made to go till the Lord gave me dominion so that I could go into their Places and say what I had to say and come forth again quietly And as Mary Prince and I was coming Arm in Arm from a Meeting that was at George Bishop's House there was a Rude Man came and abused us and struck off Mary Prince her Hat and run some sharp Knife or Instrument through all my Clothes into the side of my Belly which if it had gone but a little farther it might have killed me but my Soul was so in love with the Truth that I could have given up my Life for it at that day And then I was moved to go to Marlborough to the Market-place and Steeple-house where I had pretty much Service where they put me in Prison for six Weeks where I Fasted six Days and six Nights and neither eat Bread nor drank Water nor no earthly thing then I came to a feeding upon the Word and had experience that man doth not live by Bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of the Lord. And when I was released I went to Isaac Burges the man that committed me and discoursed with him and he was really Convinced of the Truth but could not take up the Cross but was afterwards very loving to Friends and stood by them upon all occasions and never Persecuted a Friend any more and when he came unto this City he came unto my House to see me and confest That he could not take up the Cross although he knew it was the Truth And a while after I was made to go into Devonshire to Molton and Bastable and Bediford where I had a Prison in all those Places and I went to the Earl of Bathes where I had formerly spent much time in Vanity to call unto them to come out of their Vanity and I asked to speak with the Countess and they refused to let me in but one of the Servants that knew me bid me go to the Back-Door and their Lady would come forth that way to go into the Garden and they sent forth a great Wolf-Dog upon me which came fiercely at me to devour me and just as he came unto me the Power of the Lord smote the Dog so that he whined and ran in crying and very Lame so that I saw clearly the Hand of the Lord in it for my preservation blessed be his Name and then the Lady came forth and stood still and heard me all that I had to say unto her and when I had done she gave me Thanks but never asked me to go into her House although I had eat and drank at her Table and lodged there many a time And then I was moved to go to Great-Torrington in Devonshire unto the Steeple-house there where
was a very bad Priest indeed though I had little to him but to the People and when I had spoken in the Morning I went to my Lodging and what I had not room to clear my self of I went to Writing and the Constables came and took away my Writing and commanded me to go along with them to their Worship and I answered them That they would not suffer me to speak there and that I knew no Law would compel me to go twice in a day and they all knew that I was there in the Morning and so I would not go So the next day the Mayor sent for me and when I came the Priest was there and the Mayor was moderate and loath to send me to Prison but the Priest was very eager and said I ought to be Whipt for a Vagabond And I bid him prove where ever I askt any one for a bit of Bread but he said I had broken the Law by speaking in their Church So he was so eager with the Mayor that he made him make a Mittimus and send me to Exeter-Prison which was Twenty Miles distant where I remained for some time and was commanded of the Lord to Fast fourteen Days and fourteen Nights without tasting Bread or Water or any earthly thing which I performed for a Witness against that dark professing People and there I was until the Assizes and was not called forth to a Tryal but after the Assizes was over a petty Fellow sent for me forth and read a Law which was quite wrong and did not belong to me at all and put me to lodge one Night among a great company of Gypsies that were then in the Prison and the next day the Sheriff came with a Beadle and had me into a Room and Whipt me till the Blood ran down my Back and I never startled at a blow but the Lord made me to rejoyce that I was counted Worthy to Suffer for his Name 's sake and I Sung aloud and the Beadle said Do ye Sing I shall make ye Cry by and by and with that he laid more Stripes and laid them on very hard I shall never forget the large Experience of the Love and Power of God which I had in my Travels and therefore I can speak to his Praise and glorifie his Name for if he had Whipt me to Death in that state which then I was in I should not have been terrified or dismayed at it Ann Speed was an Eye Witness of it and she stood and lookt in at the Window and wept bitterly And then the Sheriff when he saw that the envy of the man could not move me he bid him forbear for he had gone beyond his Orders already So when he had left me Ann Speed came in and drest my Wounds and the next day they turned me out with all the Gypsies and the Beadle followed us two Miles out of the City and as soon as he left us I returned back again and went up into the Prison to see my Friends that were Prisoners there at the same time So I took my leave of them and went to Topsom where there was a fine Meeting of Friends among whom I was sweetly refreshed and staid there one Night and then I came home to Bristoll and in my Travels I went several Miles upon long Downs and knew nothing of the way but as the Lord was with me and did direct me and in all this I have experience of the Love and Power of the Lord to me wards blessed be his Name for ever I cannot forget his Loving-kindness to me in my Distress And in my Travels near Bridgewater I went to speak to a Priest that I had formerly known one Edward Piggot and when I came back to the Inn where I had bespoke my Lodging they would not let me come in so I lookt about for shelter to keep me from the fierceness of the Frost and I found the Pig-stye swept very clean and the Trough turned up and never a Pig in it and I sate me down on the Trough and that was my Lodging all that Night and the next Night I could get no lodging but was fain to lodge in a Barn and in all this the Lord exercised me in the Patience Then I went to Bediford and there I was put into the Town-Hall and they searched me to see whether I had Knife or Scissers about me and the next day they brought me before the Mayor for speaking in a private Meeting and he discoursed much with me and had a sence of what I said unto him and received it and at last he set open two Doors one right against the other and said He would give me my choice which I would go forth at whether I would go to Prison again or go home And I told him that I should choose Liberty rather than Bonds So I went homeward and then he took his Horse and came and followed me for there was some tenderness in him and he would have had me Rid behind him but I found that when any Body which he knew did meet us then he would draw back and lag behind and as soon as they were gone he would come up to me again so therefore I would not ride behind him but he rode three or four Miles with me and discoursed me all the way and when we parted I was made to kneel down and pray for him in which time he was very serious and afterwards he grew very solid and sober and in a little time he dyed but I writ to him once before he dyed a little after I came home And then I was moved of the Lord to go to Bazing-stoke to endeavour the Liberty of two Friends viz. Thomas Robison and Ambrose Riggs which were taken up at the first Meeting that Friends had there and when I came they would not let me come in to them and I having a Letter from John Camm unto them put it in at a Chink of the Door to them and then I went to the Mayor to desire their Liberty and he told me That if he should see the Letter which I brought them they should have their Liberty and I told him he should so I went and fetcht it to him and he read it and could fee no hurt in it So he told me I should have my Brethren out but he would not let them out presently Nevertheless we had a fine Meeting the next day being First Day and coming from the Meeting I met with the Priest and told him his portion and in a few days the Friends had their Liberty and thus the Lord made my Journey prosperous And then the Lord moved me to go for Ireland and I went in a Vessel bound for Corke and the Lord so ordered it that the Ship was carried about to Dublin and we had much foul Weather so that the Sea-men said That I was the cause of it because I was a Quaker and they conspired to fling me over-board but
was still in the Cabbin and the Waves beat in upon me in abundance almost ready to stifle me And so when I found freedom I went and stood upon a piece of the Deck that was left and then the Master of the Vessel the Man Friend called to me and told me If I would venture to leap down they would venture to come into the Water to save me So they came into the Water up so far as their Necks and I leaped down to them and they caught hold of me but I being intangled in the Ropes in leaping down was drawn from them again but as the Lord ordered it a Wave came and beat the Ship out whereas if it had beat in it would have killed us all three but beating out they recovered me again and drew me to Shore So the Lord's Power and Mercy was wonderfully shown at that time for my preservation I cannot but bless his Name for it So then I went to Dublin where I spake in the High-Court of Justice amongst the Judges and then they put me in Prison where I lay upon Straw on the Ground and when it Rained the Wet and Filth of the House-of-Office ran in under my Back And they Arraigned me at the Bar and bid me plead Guilty or Not Guilty And I answered that there was no guilt upon any ones Conscience for what they did in Obedience unto the Lord God And the Judge could not speak to me but spoke to another Man that stood by him to speak to me So I could not say as they bid me and they returned me to Prison again where I had very hard Exercise And there was a Man that could not injoy some Land except he could prove that his Brother was dead and he brought a Man into Prison that said he would prove that he was killed at such an Inn and buried under a Wall He accused the Inn-keeper and his Wife and their Man and Maid and a Smith to be guilty of this Murther So I went to him and sate down by him and spake a few Words to him and askt him how he could conceal this Murther so long when he was as guilty of it as either of them if it were true He trembled and shook exceedingly and his Knees smote one against another and he confest That he never saw the People with his Eyes nor never was at the place in his Life nor knew nothing of it but only he was drawn in by the Man that was to have the Land and was perswaded to Witness it And the Prisoners heard this his Confession to me so I sent to the Deputy to send down his Priest that he might hear his Confession So he came and he confest the same to him as he had done to me and the five Persons which he accused was then in Prison but only the Maid in the Prison with me and the Man confest the same once before the Judge But the Man that brought him in came to him every day and filled his Head with Drink and caused the Goaler to lock me up that I might not come at him So I writ to the Inn-keeper and his Wife and the Coach-man and I writ to the Judge also and told him the Day of his Death did draw nigh wherein he must give an Account of his Actions and bid him take heed how he did condemn so many Innocent People having but one Witness in whose Mouth their were so many Lyes found and they all said they were Innocent They called him Judge Pepes who Condemned them all Then a Priest came to speak with the Maid that was Condemned which was with me in the Prison but she would not see him but said Nay he can do me no good I have done with Man for ever But God thou knowest that I am Innocent of what they lay to my Charge So they were all Hanged and the Man that accused them was hanged up first for fear he should confess when he saw the rest hanged And a heavy day it was and I bore and suffered much that day Then there were some Friends of mine namely Sr. William King Colonel Fare and the Lady Browne these hearing I was in Prison came to see me and they would needs go to this Judge to get me released so when they came he told them that he was afraid of his Life And they laughed and told him they had known me from a Child and there was no harm in me at all And they were all very earnest to get my Liberty and at last they did obtain it And then I was moved to go to the Steeple-house where this Judge was and the Lord was with me and I Cleared my self of him and he went to Bed and Died that Night And one of the Prisoners had writ the Letter which I sent to him and when they heard he was dead they all said that I was a true Prophetess unto him And thus as an Instrument in the Hand of the Lord to do his Work I was faithful and obedient unto his Power and he caused me to grow and prosper through my great Sufferings blessed be his Name for ever that I had great experience of his love and power Elizabeth Gardiner and Rebecca Rich and Samuel Clareges Wife knew all this to be true And then I went to Limrick where I had some Service and they put me in Prison So in a while I was released and then I took Shipping for England again and then there was a great Storm took us at Sea and the Lord moved me to go to Prayer and I went to Prayer and in a little time the Storm ceased and we were preserved And coming towards Mineyard we met a Pirate which had abundance of men on board and I began to consider whether there was any Service for me to do among those Rude People but I found little to them so they came on Board us and took away all that I had and one of my Coats from off my Back but they were not suffered to do me any further harm So they took away the Master with them until he should pay them a sum of Money for the Ship and Goods And so we came home to England But in all my Travels I Travelled still on my own Purse and was never chargeable to any but paid for what I had And much more could I declare of my Sufferings which I passed through which I forbear to mention being not willing to be over-tedious And I have written these Things that Friends may be encouraged and go on in the Faith in the Work of the Lord For many have been the Tryals Tribulations and Afflictions the which I have passed through but the Lord hath delivered me out of them all Glory be given to him and blessed be his Name for ever and evermore Barbara Blaugdone THE END