The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.Sewel, William
History
The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.
Sewel, William
Society of Friends -- History -- Early works to 1800
The parliament after judgment was concluded, resolved that the speaker
should be authorized to issue his warrants to the sheriffs of London
and Middlesex, the sheriff of Bristol, and governor of Bridewell, to
see the said judgment put in execution. By some it was questioned
whether that was a sufficient warrant, unless the protector concurred
in the matter; but he seemed unwilling to meddle with it. The thing
being thus far agreed upon, J. Nayler was brought up to the bar; and
when the speaker, sir Thomas Waddrington, was about to pronounce the
aforementioned sentence, Nayler said he did not know his offence.
To which the speaker returned, he should know his offence by his
punishment. After sentence was pronounced, though J. Nayler bore the
same with great patience, yet it seemed he would have spoken something,
but was denied liberty; nevertheless was heard to say, with a composed
mind, ‘I pray God, he may not lay it to your charge.’
The 18th of December, J. Nayler suffered part of the sentence; and
after having stood full two hours with his head in the pillory,
was stripped, and whipt at a cart’s tail, from Palace-yard to the
Old Exchange, and received three hundred and ten stripes; and the
executioner would have given him one more, (as he confessed to the
sheriff,) there being three hundred and eleven kennels, but his foot
slipping, the stroke fell upon his own hand, which hurt him much.
All this Nayler bore with so much patience and quietness, that it
astonished many of the beholders, though his body was in a most pitiful
condition: he was also much hurt with horses treading on his feet,
whereon the print of the nails were seen. Rebecca Travers, a grave
person, who washed his wounds, in a certificate which was presented to
the parliament, and afterwards printed, says, ‘There was not the space
of a man’s nail free from stripes and blood, from his shoulders, near
to his waist, his right arm sorely striped, his hands much hurt with
cords, that they bled, and were swelled: the blood and wounds of his
back did very little appear at first sight, by reason of abundance of
dirt that covered them, till it was washed off.’ Nay, his punishment
was so severe, that some judged his sentence would have been more mild,
if it had been present death: and it seemed indeed that there was a
party, who not being able to prevail so far in parliament as to have
him sentenced to death, yet strove to the utmost of their power to make
him sink under the weight of his punishment: for the 20th December was
the time appointed for executing the other part of the sentence, viz.
boring through his tongue, and stigmatizing in his forehead; but by
reason of the most cruel whipping, he was brought to such a low ebb,
that many persons of note, moved with compassion, presented petitions
to the parliament on his behalf, who respited his further punishment
for one week.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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