Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	edward_n	john_n	thomas_n	46,013	5	8.1273	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54467	Persecution appearing with its own open face, in William Armorer as will be sufficiently manifest to all that may impartially read this following relation of the cruel proceedings of the said William Armorer, with some others, against the innocent people of GOd called Quackers, in the town of Reading, in the county of Berks, of his taking them up, and imprisoning great numbers of them, and of the continuance of their sufferings to this day, being almost three years and a half : and of his unwearied and cruel practices against that innocent people from time to time : discovered and laid open, to the end that lyes and false reports may be stopped and that the King and all people may be rightly informed, and truly acquainted with the case, as it is clearly and truly in it self.	Armorer, William.	1667 (1667)	Wing P1658; ESTC R12485	70,047	89

Order there being so many it may be the burden was too heavy for him to bear so they were dropp'd and taken no notice of And Tho Curtis and George Lamboll were not had thither but the seven men before mentioned committed for not giving Sureties were called and discharged and the rest of the men last taken being there called were indicted for being at an unlawfull Meeting and having pleaded Not guilty the Court demanded Sureties for not finding of which they were sent back again to Gaol The 13th day of the 11th Month 62 the Sessions for the County was held at Reading but none of our Friends the Prisoners were called but were kept till the next Quarter-Sessions holden at Newberry the 28th of the second Month called April 63 and being had thither twenty one in number being called into the Court the Judg said to them You are discha●ged and pray God bless you but though we do discharge you yet we cannot give away the Cle●ks fees The Prisoners told them they would speak with the Clerk which having done told him they could give him no money but however he discharged them And Geo Tho●ne Mayor having thus g●ven the onset upon his peaceable and harmless Ne●ghbours for their tender Conscience sake and having haled them to prison and thronged them together and hurried them backward and forward from one Sessions to another till his own works had even tired him his fury being pretty much spent another Instrument appeared to carry on that w●rk to wit William Armorer who came on with open mouth as it were as if he would have devoured at once the sheep of the Lords Pasture and as if he had bid defiance to the Lord God of Israel and were resolved to destroy his chosen people being furnished with great strength and authority and having his will for his Law and prisons ready to receive all that come to his hand or rather what his own heart and hand found out searching the Houses Chambers and Shops of innocent people for that end as if it were Crime enough to be called a Christian Quaker and his punishment must far exceed the quality of the Crime being almost three year and a half 's Imprisonment And thus he has continued to this time as the Reader may observe Upon the 27th day of the first Month in the Year 1664 William Armorer came to the house of Thomas Curtis where the people of God were peaceably met together to wait upon and worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth according to their usual manner and pulled out of the Meeting the young children then took thirty four men whose Names are as followeth viz. William Lamboll Richard Hutchins William Tompson Jasper May Edward Lambourn John Fellow James Marlow Anthony Sadler Thomas Tudway Iames Whiteheart Walter Emerton Ioseph Phipes Tho Speed Tho Chelton Tho Cenicke Tho Heifeild Tho Hinde Daniel Green Henry Pizeing Iames Lavell Hen Bristow Rob Pider Tho Curtis Geo●ge Lamboll Leonard Key Iohn Kembell Ionathan Lamboll Leo Coale Io Paine Iohn Becke Tho Norris Edward Fellow William Whistler and Christopher Page and caused the Clerk to make a Mittimus the substance whereof was for being at an unlawful meeting contrary to an Act of Parl●ament made about a year or two before c. and delivered them to Richard Iohnson and Iohn Creed Constables who had them to the County-Gaol in Reading The 3 d. day of the 2 d Month called April 1664 came William Armorer again to the meeting and took two men viz. Robert Paine and John Bolt being all the men that were at the meeting And said to them what a Devil are you met again I will send you all to Prison what a Devil are you all Dumb hath the Devil cast his Club over you and bewitched you I. Boult said We have learned of a better Spirit even the Spirit of Christ Jesus which teacheth us to deny the Devil and all his Instruments William Armorer Who a Devil will believe you hang you you are deluded by the spirit of the Devil I will send you all to Prison I. Boult Many good people will believe us and we wholly deny the spirit of the Devil having chosen a better sp●rit the spirit of Christ Jesus which is a spir●t of love and meekness of patience and humility W. A. You say true it is so I. B. And the spirit of the Divil is an angry furious hasty persecuting spirit W. A. sa●d he is so I. B. Come let us try who is of this spirit thee or us W. Armorer A Devil on you I could find in my heart to lay you over the pate with my Cane I. Boult I hou oughtest to keep the peace and I hope thou wilt not go to break it did'●t thee ever read that Christ or any of his Apostles did Persecute any W. Armo●er Did none then Ch●ists flock is but a little flock and there is but a few of you but I will make you fewer I will hunt you out and send you to Prison I. Boult that 's the weakest thing that thou can'st do if thou can'st convince me of any thing that is evil I will hear thee and let the Pri●ons alone after some other discourse he caused a M●ttimus to be made and sent them to Goale And the 19th day of the same Month the General Quarter Sessions for the County was held at Newbe●●y but the Prisoners before mentioned were no● had thither nor Called neither at the Sessions for the Burrough of Reading held about the same time though most of them were Inhabitants of the same Corporation The First of the 3 d Month called May 1664 came William Armorer again to the Meeting and took one man and six women viz. Tho. Bartlet Anne Hat Anne Sharp Hanah Webb Sarah Pa●ne Dorothy Clarke and Elizabeth Crage and made a Mittimus much after the manner of the former and sent them to Goal by Rich. Iohnson Constable The 8th of the same Month came W. Armorer to the Meeting again there being no man there he took seven women Bridget Smith Anne Curtis Sarah Lambol Iudeth Smith Katharine Woodard Martha Cheeseman and Elizabeth Hampon and made a Mittimus as before and sent them to Goale by Tho. Coats Constable Upon the 2● d of the same Month W●lliam Armorer came again to the Meeting in great fury as formerly but finding only a few Children and young Maidens he pulled them out himself and his men having a great Club or Staff in his hand struck one of the Maidens a sore Stroke that she felt it for some time after and told them he would send them to Prison and other throatning speeches what he would do to them if they came there again And on the seventh of the fourth month the Gaoler called for all the Women and Maids before-mentioned except six viz. Ann Hatt Ann Curtis Sa●ah Lamboll A. Sharp Sarah Pa●ne and Eliz. Crage and gave them leave to go out of prison and to come again when he sent

and order was given that none should come at the Jury and that they should not have fire nor candle c. The Jury being kept all night and the Court being sate the next morning they sent to the Jury to know if they were agreed Who returned answer No. But after some time two of the Jury-men began to yeeld it is judged rather through fear and weariness then being satisfied in their judgments And some of them cryed A verdict a verdict and so they came in And the Court asked if they were agreed One of them answered He was not satisfied W. Armorer replyed You shall be satisfied and the Fore-man saying Guilty they took no farther notice though four of them were not satisfied but in hast calling the Prisoner to the Barr the Judg Edw D●lby past sentence on him That he should be transpo●ted to some of His Majesties Plantations there to remain seven years So was returned back to the Gaol The Prisoner seeing of them resolved to do their work said little to them but some short time after sent a Letter to Edw Dolby a Copy whereof here followeth Reading-Gaol the 23d of the 11th Month 1666. Justice Dolby SEeing thou satest as Judg of the Sessions the last week and gavest sentence of Banishment against me and being not permitted to speak then for my self in the Court but threatned to be gagged though my life was concerned I now send this unto ●hee desiring thy ser●ous consideration hereof And what hath been done against me and how unjustly I have been proceeded against from first to last till sentence of Exilement from my Native Countrey be past I leave to the witness of God in thy own Conscience which can bring thy actions to thy remembrance and will speak the truth of all things as they are To which I do refer thee for a more particular account of all things that have past and with which I leave my cause to be pleaded even in thy own conscience between the Lord and thee only hereby I give a hint of some things c. Thou mayest remember that when W. A●morer and thy self came to the house of Thomas Curtis I was there with two persons more above the age of sixteen years besides A. Curtis and some children who are not to be accounted as persons to make up the number five And it appears by the Act that four may meet and also W. A. and several others of the Kings Justices have told us that four may meet and they would not meddle with us and it is ridiculous to think that children of twelve or fourteen years of age will plot or contrive insurrections for against such persons as do so contrive insurrections and plot against the Government the Act was intended according to the Preamble of it c. And besides if such childrens being there do make up the number how is it that you punish not the children by that Law And if the children are not under the breach of that Law how can three persons break it there being no more there I leave to thy consideration And the Witness did only say we were there to seek the Lord or that we said so now I hope the Act will not simply in it self take hold of such as meet together to seek the Lord for that is according to the Liturgy of the Church of England which saith That in all places and at all times men ought to perform holy duty to God and no other could be proved against me but that we said we were there to seek the Lord and is it not a sad thing that men should so far lose their reason and moderation and deny Christianity as to banish people for meeting together to seek the Lord and to perform holy duty to him when nothing else can be proved except they will make it a crime worthy of Banishment and Death to be at the House of Tho Curtis which no Law doth for no man can prove nor ever shall find that we meet to contrive Insurrections or plot against the Government and the God of Heaven knows who knows the intents of the hearts of all men that we never so much as thought much less intended any such thing and thy own conscience may tell thee the same And this not being proved how can any impartial Jury find us guilty of the breach of this Act and bring us in guilty of Banishment and Death if we return when nothing can be proved but that we were at such a place and said we were seeking the Lord For nothing else did ever appear And yet notwithstanding the Jury must go on right or wrong or else be threatned with fines c. in case they bring in not guilty when they are upon their oaths and ought to go according to the Evidence and not to put their consciences to the vote and to give away the Liberties Lives Rights and Priviledges of free-born English men and to oppress and destroy the Kings Subjects by violating his Laws and turning of them to a wrong end as in this case This Act was made against such as do at their Meetings contrive insurrections c. and not against such as do meet really to seek the Lord as appears by the Preamble of it Therefore such as do punish people for seeking the Lord do go quite contrary to the Act and turns it to a wrong end and are no true Friends to the King in so doing though they pretend Law and to act according to Law when indeed their own wills and malicious minds leads them contrary to Laws and how contrary it was to the Consciences of some of the Jury-man thou mightest see who were not satisfied no nor it is believed and credibly reported are not to this day but is a load upon their Consciences and may well be in that they gave away their power and indeed the power of the Law being over-awed by high words for they ought to have been sat●sfied in their own Consciences and not to have looked at the displeasure of any man being sworn well and truly to try c. which I doubt not but thou very well knowest if thou hadst but done accordingly and whether these things be according to Reason and Equity upon which the ancient Laws are said to be grounded I say I shall leave to the Witness of God in thy Conscience which answers the righteous Law and which will deal truly and plainly with thee and will either condemn or justifie thee in the day of Account For Friend know this and mind also in secret That an account to God the Judg of quick and dead must be given by thee and all men upon the earth and assuredly he doth behold and mark thy actions and they are recorded in a Book of remembrance which shall be accounted for and though thou maist hide thy self as from man yet thou canst not hide thy self from him who is the searcher of all hearts and the tryer of all reins