“Consider also thy poor neighbour, William Wilson,[5] who was known to all the parish and neighbours to be an industrious man, and careful to maintain his wife and children; yet had little, but what he had got with his hands in diligence and travels to supply himself. How should his wife maintain her children, when thou hast cast her husband into prison, and thereby made him incapable of working for them? Therefore it may be expected, thou wilt have a care of his wife and children, and see they do not want; for how should they live, having no other way to be sustained, but by the little that he got? Surely the noise of this is in the very markets, the death of thy two neighbours; and the cry of the widows and fatherless is heard. All those fatherless and widows are made so for righteousness’ sake. For might not John Stubbs and William Wilson have had their liberty still, if they would have sworn, though they had been such as go after mountebanks and stage-plays, or run a hunting? “O! consider, for the Lord’s mind is otherwise; he is tender. And the king hath declared his mind to be, that there should be no cruelty inflicted upon his peaceable subjects. Besides, several poor, honest people were fined, who had need to have something given them; and it had been more honourable to have given them something, than to fine them and send them to prison; some of whom live upon the charity of other people. What honour or grace can it be to thee, to cast thy poor neighbours into prison who are peaceable, seeing thou knowest these people cannot do that which thou requirest of them, if it were to save their lives, or all that they have? Because in tenderness they cannot take any oath, thou makest that a snare to them. What, thinkest thou, do the people say concerning this? ‘We know,’ say they, ‘the Quakers’ principle, that keep to Yea and Nay; but we see others swear and forswear.’ For many of you have sworn first one way and then another. So we leave it to the Spirit of God in thy conscience, Justice Fleming, who wast so eager for the taking of George Fox, and so offended with them that had not taken him, and now hast fallen upon thy poor neighbours. But, oh! where is thy pity for their poor, fatherless children, and motherless infants? O, take heed of Herod’s hard-heartedness, and casting away all pity! Esau did so, not Jacob.