There being some Friends out of Derbyshire, one of whom was named
Thomas Fauks, Lord Beaumont, after he had asked all their names, bid
his man set down that man's name as Thomas Fox. The Friend said, Nay;
that his name was not Fox, but Fauks. In the mean time some of the
soldiers came, and fetched me out of the hall to him. He asked my
name. I told him my name was George Fox, and that I was well known
by that name. "Aye," said he, "you are known all the world over." I
said, I was known for no hurt, but for good.
Then he put his hands into my pockets to search them, and plucked out
my comb-case, and afterwards commanded one of his officers to search
further for letters. I told him I was no letter-carrier, and asked
him why he came amongst a peaceable people with swords and pistols
without a constable, contrary to the king's proclamation and to the
late act. For he could not say there was a meeting, I being only
talking with a poor widow-woman and her daughter.
By reasoning thus with him, he came somewhat down; yet, sending for
the constables, he gave them charge of us that night, and told them
to bring us before him next morning. Accordingly the constables set a
watch of the townspeople upon us that night, and had us next morning
to his house, about a mile from Swannington.
When we came before him, he told us that we had met "contrary to
the Act."[137] I desired him to show us the Act. "Why," says he,
"you have it in your pocket." I told him he did not find us in a
meeting. Then he asked whether we would take the oaths of allegiance
and supremacy. I told him I never took any oath in my life, nor
engagement, nor the covenant. Yet still he would force the oath upon
us. I desired him to show us the oath, that we might see whether we
were the persons it was to be tendered to, and whether it was not
for the discovery of popish recusants. At length he brought a little
book, but we called for the statute-book. He would not show us that,
but caused a mittimus to be made, which mentioned that we "were
to have had a meeting." With this mittimus he delivered us to the
constables to convey us to Leicester jail.
[137] This was an act passed in 1662, "for preventing mischiefs
and dangers that may arise by certain persons called Quakers, and
others refusing to take oaths." The act declared it "altogether
unlawful and contrary to the word of God" to refuse to take
an oath, or to persuade another person to refuse to do so. It
further made it an offense for more than five persons, "commonly
called Quakers," "to assemble in any place under pretense of
joining in a religious worship not authorized by the laws of this
realm."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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