futing those truths that are sincerely held by them, he broached many gross errors of his own therein, as in the book Judas and the Chief Priests, &c., in answer to him, is manifested.

Cotton Mather." His," George Keith's, "testimonies at last procured him, and his few adherents, a storm of persecution from the Friends at Pennsylvania, who had formerly made such tragical outcries against the persecution which New England had heretofore used, upon far greater provocation." Answer. This is false in the whole and every part of it, and only calculated to palliate their own persecutions. For First, as to a "storm of persecution,' that could not be, or properly so called, because it was not for religion. Secondly, his "testimony to the truth" did not procure it, but his turbulent, contentious, and provoking carriage, reviling the magistrates in such language, as, "impudent man, impudent rascal, presumptuous, insolent," &c., as the Quakers never used to the magistrates in New England; and if Cotton Mather can produce any such, let him, if he is minded to enter into particulars, I dare enter the list with him; and telling them that "his back did itch to be whipped," on purpose to provoke them to it, that he might have occasion against them; and yet they did not whip him, though the New England men did many undesired. And did ever our Friends in New England give them any such provocation? Surely nay. So that there is no more comparison, as to the provocation, than the proceedings; and consequently the tragicalness was on their side, whatever outcries the sufferers made of it, as the martyrs did before them. Did our Friends in Pennsylvania imprison any on their first arrival, before they had anything to lay to their charge, in order to send them away the first opportunity, before they knew wherefore they came; and fine the ship-master, and bind him in a hundred-pound bond to carry them away again; and in the mean time keep them so close, that none must come at, or visit them, without leave of the Court or magistrates; and take away their goods for fees, to their very bedding and Bible; and refuse to let them have pen, ink, or paper; or strip any stark naked, and search them as witches, so immodestly, as they did two innocent women of good repute; or

beat any with pitch-ropes, till their flesh was like a jelly, as they did William Brend; or whip others, and rend their nipples, as they did Ann Coleman's, that she was ready to die under the torment; or hale others before magistrates, when they were so sick, as not able to go, but fell down as dead in the streets, yet ordered them to be whipped out of their hearing; or did they ever cut off the ears of any, as they did Christopher Holder's, John Copeland's, and John Rouse's? Or did they ever brand any with the hot iron, or break into people's houses in the night, like robbers, to search for any, as they did for Quakers, and hunt after them in the woods, as if they had been some wild creatures; or fine or imprison any for not putting off their hats; or take away their goods for meeting, and not swearing, even all they had of many, to the ruin of their families; or fine any five shillings a day, for not coming to their public worship, even such as had nought but their labour to sustain them, and to sell what they had, and remove if they could not pay it; or banish any on pain of death, as they did twenty or thirty, or force them to hire a man to do it, or pick their pockets for it; and upon their return put to death four, and condemned a fifth, if not a sixth and a seventh, leading them to the place of execution, with drums beating, that they might not be heard, worse than Papists, and taunt them at their deaths, like heathens; or keep any chained to a log, as they did William Leddra, in the cold of Winter, and others without firing or food, near to starving, and imprison such as came to relieve them; and not only withhold fire in Winter, but stop up their windows to keep out the air in Summer, to stifle them; or lay any neck and heels in irons, or put women in stocks and dungeons, and whip them in such a cruel and inhuman manner through several towns in frost and snow, drive them into the woods or wilderness, and there leave them against night, to be devoured by wild beasts or savage Indians, or drowned in great rivers, or starved with cold in frost and snow, and famished with hunger; or keep any in prison many miles from their wives and children, though they were ready to perish for want of assistance by their labour, and their other affairs perishing the meanwhile; or refuse to let them

work there, except at the jailer's, and accept of fourpence out of a shilling, too, in such victuals as he would afford them, and in sickness, and other distresses, and after all their extravagant fines for meetings and entertaining Quakers, and for not swearing nor going to their public worship; and as extravagantly spoiling their goods, taking away all that some had, to the ruin of many families, even to the poor man's cow, that had no other to give milk for his children; exposing their wives and children to great hardships, without pity or remorse, and some their husbands in prison at the same time; and at last, when they had no more left to satisfy their fines, to sell their children for bondmen and bondwomen, to make up their fines, bespeaks the height of obdurateness and cruelty, as they did Daniel and Provided Southwick, son and daughter of Lawrence Southwick, whom with his wife Cassandra they had, after long imprisoning, often whipping, and taking away what they had, banished to Shelter Island; where indeed they were sheltered from them, but where they soon after finished their course, in three days of each other, leaving their blood upon their heads, to cry for vengeance on them, for the ruin of them and their family.

Reader, if these are Christians, the Papists, the Turks, the Heathens and Indians are so too, nay, exceed them in many things; and for whom I doubt not it will be more tolerable, especially for the latter, in the Day of Judgment, than for them. Is this like "a country so signalized for the profession of the purest religion," as he says, that is so impure, and so notorious for such cruelties, barbarities, and inhuman persecutions, for pure religion, "and for the protection of God upon it," says he, "in that holy profession," that is so unholy, and defiled with blood, and from whom the protection of heaven hath been so withdrawn, and the hedge of His providence removed, for their wickedness, as will be shown in its place? No wonder he says, "Their backsliding heart has plunged the whole country into so wonderful a degeneracy, that he had been sometimes discouraged from writing the Book I., chap. ii., page 1. † Book VII., chap. ii., page 56.

church history of it," and yet would. But why wouldest thou then write the history of such a degenerate persecuting country and people? I believe it will not redound to thy credit in the end, especially as thou hast done it, except thou hadst performed it with more impartiality between the persecutors and sufferers than thou hast done, though thou pretendest to it. Thou mightest well say,* "Thou sawest a visible shrink in all orders of men among you, from that greatness and that goodness which was in the first grain that our God brought from three sifted kingdoms into that land, when it was a land not sown;" for whatever the first grain was, it is blasted now, and the land sown with other seed, viz., of the adulterer, murderer, and evil-doer, that shall never be renowned; and the shrink so visible from all that is great and good, as I said in the introduction; and that in all orders of men among them, from the magistrate to the priest, and to the jailer and marshal, that it is hard to find anything that is good among them, but cruelty and wickedness, as appears by their actions. But how doth this agree with what he says, in his introduction, as cited in mine, "That they have given great examples,-a specimen of many good things," when it hath been so much the contrary, as I there noted, even by his own confession? But now I think on it, seeing he tells of their giving great examples, it brings to my mind what great examples they gave of persecution, for others to do the like; as I will show in one instance more, with which I shall close this bloody roll, having given so many before, though I could many more, and that is of the barbarous usage of Robert Hodson, in the Dutch Plantation, on Long Island, through their example, and therefore owing to them, and justly to be placed to their account, being stirred up and instigated thereto by them; being friendly before, till their Captain Willet incensed the governor against him. The said Robert, coming to Hempstead, in that government, was apprehended, and committed to the sheriff and jailer,† who came above twenty miles with a guard of twelve mus

* Book III., chap. ii., page 11.

† See his own Relation in Francis Howgill's Popish Inquisition, pages 6 and 7; and Book aforesaid, page 163, &c.

keteers, who searched him, took away his knife, books, and papers, pinioned him, tied to a cart's tail, and drew through the woods, near thirty miles, cast into a wet, dirty, nasty, stinking dungeon, fined six hundred guilders, (fifty pounds,) or to work at a wheelbarrow, locked with a chain; which he refusing to pay the one or do the other, being never used to that work, they took him out of the dungeon in the morning, and locked him to a wheelbarrow, among slaves to work, and took a ship-rope, near four inches about, and commanded a blackamoor to beat him, which he did, till he fell down; the sheriff commanded him to take him up, and beat him again, it was judged a hundred blows; then he was forced into the Fort, and sent a moor to gather rods to whip him, so that with the blows and the heat of the sun he sunk down where he stood, and was there until the seventh hour in the night, when the jailer came to unlock him, and put him in the dungeon, being so swollen that he could hardly stand; and next morning taken out about the fifth or sixth hour, and locked to the barrow again, till the seventh at night; then put in the dungeon about a week, then brought forth stripped to the waist, hung up by the hands, with a great log tied to his feet, and whipped by a strong blackamoor with rods, stripes without number, back, sides, and breasts, which was cut very sore; then put into the dungeon again, two nights and days without bread or water, until, the jailer being drunk and asleep, two soldiers got in and gave him some water; afterwards they took him forth again, and asked him, "If he would pay the fine?" the fine?" He told them, "He could not." They asked him, "If he would work, or be whipped every day?" He asked, "What he had done, or what law he had broken, and to know his accuser?" So they hung him up again, and put him to great pain, being so long hung; and, whipping him, asked, "If he would work?" And then whipped him again, four or five times; then took him down, and put him in the dungeon; and a woman coming to wash his stripes, went home, and telling her husband how he was, he proffered the sheriff a fat ox to let him come to his house, for she expected to hear when he was dead; but the governor would not suffer it, unless the whole fine