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
Not many days after this I received twenty shillings from my father, who
being then at his house in Oxfordshire, and by letter from my sister
understanding that I was a prisoner in Bridewell, sent this money to me
for my support there, and withal a letter to my sister for her to deliver
to one called Mr. Wray, who lived near Bridewell, and was a servant to
Sir Richard Brown in some wharf of his, requesting him to intercede with
his master, who was one of the governors of Bridewell, for my
deliverance; but that letter coming to my hands, I suppressed it, and
have it yet by me.
Now was my pocket from the lowest ebb risen to a full tide. I was at the
brink of want, next door to nothing, yet my confidence did not fail nor
my faith stagger; and now on a sudden I had plentiful supplies, shower
upon shower, so that I abounded, yet was not lifted up, but in humility
could say, “This is the Lord’s doing.” And without defrauding any of the
instruments of the acknowledgments due unto them, mine eye looked over
and beyond them to the Lord, who I saw was the author thereof and prime
agent therein, and with a thankful heart I returned thanksgivings and
praises to Him. And this great goodness of the Lord to me I thus record,
to the end that all into whose hands this may come may be encouraged to
trust in the Lord, whose mercy is over all His works, and who is indeed a
God near at hand, to help in the needful time.
Now I durst venture myself into the club to which I had been invited, and
accordingly, having by this time gained an acquaintance with them, took
an opportunity to cast myself among them; and thenceforward, so long as
we continued prisoners there together, I was one of their mess.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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