The History of Thomas Ellwood Written By HimselfEllwood, Thomas
History
The History of Thomas Ellwood Written By Himself
Ellwood, Thomas
Ellwood, Thomas, 1639-1713; Quakers -- Biography
Being come to the warden’s, he asked me again the same questions he had
asked me before; to which I gave him the like answers. Then he told me
the penalty I had incurred, which he said was either to pay so much money
or lie so many hours in the stocks, and asked me which I would choose; I
replied, “I shall not choose either. And,” said I, “I have told thee
already that I have no money; though if I had, I could not so far
acknowledge myself an offender as to pay any. But as to lying in the
stocks, I am in thy power, to do unto me what it shall please the Lord to
suffer thee.”
When he heard that he paused awhile, and then told me, “He considered
that I was but a young man, and might not perhaps understand the danger I
had brought myself into, and therefore he would not use the severity of
the law upon me; but, in hopes that I would be wiser hereafter, he would
pass by this offence and discharge me.”
Then putting on a countenance of the greatest gravity, he said to me:
“But, young man, I would have you know that you have not only broken the
law of the land, but the law of God also; and therefore you ought to ask
His forgiveness, for you have highly offended Him.”—“That,” said I, “I
would most willingly do if I were sensible that in this case I had
offended Him by breaking any law of His.”
“Why,” said he, “do you question that?”—“Yes truly,” said I; “for I do
not know that any law of God doth forbid me to ride on this day.”
“No!” said he: “that’s strange. Where, I wonder, was you bred? You can
read, can’t you?”—“Yes,” said I, “that I can.”—“Don’t you then read,”
said he, “the commandment, ‘Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the seventh day is
the Sabbath of the Lord; in it thou shalt not do any work.’”—“Yes,”
replied I, “I have both read it often, and remember it very well. But
that command was given to the Jews, not to Christians; and this is not
that day, for that was the seventh day, but this is the first.”—“How,”
said he, “do you know the days of the week no better? You had need then
be better taught.”
Here the younger constable, whose name was Cherry, interposing, said:
“Mr. Warden, the gentleman is in the right as to that, for this is the
first day of the week, and not the seventh.”
This the old warden took in dudgeon, and looking severely on the
constable, said: “What! do you take upon you to teach me? I’ll have you
know I will not be taught by you.”—“As you please for that, sir,” said
the constable; “but I am sure you are mistaken in this point; for
Saturday I know is the seventh day, and you know yesterday was Saturday.”
This made the warden hot and testy, and put him almost out of all
patience, so that I feared it would have come to a downright quarrel
betwixt them, for both were confident and neither would yield; and so
earnestly were they engaged in the contest, that there was no room for me
to put in a word between them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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