Then the prisoners were brought into another room, where John Rous said to the marshal, ‘We have appealed to the chief magistrate of England.’ To which he answered, he had nothing to do with that. Holder said, ‘Such execution as this should be done publicly, and not in private; for this was contrary to the law of England.’ But captain Oliver replied, ‘We do it in private to keep you from tattling.’ Then the executioner took Holder, and when he had turned aside his hair, and was going to cut off his ear, the marshal turned his back on him, which made Rous say, ‘Turn about and see it; for so was his order.’ The marshal then, though filled with fear, turned, and said, ‘Yes, yes, let us look on it.’ Rous, who was more undaunted than his persecutor, suffered the like, as well as the third, and they said, ‘those that do it ignorantly, we desire from our hearts the Lord to forgive them; but for them that do it maliciously, let our blood be upon their head; and such shall know in the day of account, that every drop of our blood shall be as heavy upon them as a millstone.’ Afterwards these persons were whipt again; but this practice becoming so common in New England as if it was but play, I will not detain my reader with it. Persecution being now come to the cutting off of ears, did not stop there, but went higher, and rested not, before it came to the taking away of lives. But to compass that proved very difficult; for there were many honest people who abhorred such a cruelty. Yet John Norton, and the other priests, petitioned the magistrates, to cause the court to make some law to banish the Quakers, upon pain of death. This gave encouragement to the magistrates, for since the churchmen pushed on so wicked a business, no scruple was made to go on with this bloody work; and the court of magistrates voted it to be put in execution by a country court, which three magistrates made up, the majority of which might hang at pleasure, without trial by a jury; a thing not heard of in Old England: but it served the purpose of Norton, and his fellow preachers. The court where this law was made, consisted of twenty-five persons; and when it was put to the vote it was carried in the affirmative, the speaker and eleven being on the negative, but thirteen on the affirmative, so that one vote carried it. This so troubled one Wozel, when he heard it, having through illness been absent, that he got to the court, and weeping for grief, that his absence should occasion such a law to pass, said, if he had not been able to go, he would have crept upon his knees, rather than it should have passed. But what he said proved in vain; they had now passed the Rubicon, and what was eagerly desired, was obtained. Yet there was a great difference in the court, and the twelve that had voted in the negative, resolved to enter their dissents to that law; which the others seeing, and that so many difficulties would weaken their law, they admitted this