one of the cows dying, the marshal demanded the hide, and also marked a living cow in the dead cow's stead. And this they did to him, though he had lived at Sandwich about two and twenty years; and was one of the first setters up of their public church worship; and sometime member of their church, and never excommunicated by them, but left them for Truth's sake, and had formerly taken the oath of fidelity; and for not training, though he was a man of great years, and by reason thereof might require a dismiss, they fined him ten shillings, and distrained pewter for it as they pleased, with which sort of household goods a man cannot easily be supplied again there; yea, so unreasonably and with cruelty was he used, that they compelled this old man to appear before them at Plymouth, twenty miles distant, and there the governor fined him twenty shillings for not putting off his hat, and for this they distrained a young beast worth thirty-five shillings. Indeed Captain Willet said to his wife, "That he took God to witness, that he desired not a farthing of their goods, nor the aching of one of their fingers." But how he hath had to do with their goods, in taking it from, and impoverishing their families, is manifest, and hereafter declared, and his falsehood therein, and his being bold with the Lord in taking Him to witness, whose witness is against him; and he will know it is so when it rises up in him, and rise it will, "A worm that will never die, and a fire that will never go out." For this man hath had more than a little share in the sufferings of the innocent, not only in this plantation, but in that of the Dutch, where Robert Hodgson and others suffered most unusual cruelties; and for which I must reckon with him anon, whose father and he fled into Holland, and so to New England, for liberty of conscience.

Also his pot wherein he boiled his victuals, not being able to get

another till about a year and a half afterwards, and was forced to borrow during that space of time, which was done unto him in malice, for his wife threw down a new piece of cloth worth double the sum; but nothing would satisfy but the pot, who lived about sixty miles from the market where he should supply himself again. And this was for not training, and though he had lived at Sandwich about ten years and had three children; and the very first year he came he was made a freeman, and had his vote in town meetings and common privileges, yet he was denied his share in whale oil, which, as a freeman, fell to him. And the constable said, "He must not speak, for he was no freeman.' And for not swearing, he was fined and distrained as aforesaid, and for coming to meetings, and for having a meeting or meetings at his house, Thomas Prince, the governor, Captain Willet, Thomas Hinckley, and Josiah Winslow were, the men that came and sat at the house of Richard Bourne, and fined him and others, to the number of sixteen, the sum of five pounds a-piece for refusing to swear; and because they did not presently depart the Court, the governor cast three of them into prison, and there kept them for several days in the cold weather from their families: the said Josiah or Major Winslow, who, for his cruelty to the people of the Lord, gained this promotion, shewing much vehemence and fierceness of spirit against them; sometimes starting up and smiting the table with his stick, then with his hand, then stamping with his feet like a madman, saying, "He could not bear it!" And why? Because Robert Harper desired it might be made appear that that was the country's cow that Edward Perry, aforesaid, had killed before she was attached by the marshal. And because Thomas Ewer spake of the marshal's wearing of his clothes, which he had upon his back, and was charged with robbing Edward Perry of his goods, and with seizing on their cattle, and taking them away when the owners were abroad, and saying nothing to them when they passed by to take them. And further he, the said Winslow, said, "Let them have the strapado;" who never knew, it is likely, what really belonged to a soldier. Yet such as these are the cruel executioners of the innocent.

Michael Turner is the next, from whom they took nine ewes, valued at thirteen pounds and ten shillings;

And from John Newland, one beast, valued at two pounds and six shillings.

These are part of the sufferings of the innocent, and of the men of Sandwich and of the people of Plymouth Patent jurisdiction; which I have set down to the end that all may see what are the sufferings of the people of the Lord in that colony. For all are not come to my hands, but by what I have done as to the inhabitants of the town, or some of them, in a short space of time, the rest may be judged; and in what a condition those servants of the Lord are, with their wives, children, and families, who lie under the cruelty of such oppressors, both as to their persons and estates; though, as to their inward man, they are free in the Lord, and rejoice that they have anything to lose for the Lord and for the sake of His truth; who hath shewed unto them mercy and raised them out of their graves, and given them faith in God through the resurrection of the dead: whose is the praise, and the glory, and the dominion, forever; for this His visiting of His inheritance, and giving them to be able to suffer for His name.

Now, as I said, these are not all that might be brought into this account; for Thomas Johnson had his house and land seized on, and the marshal's daughter gathered the fruit of his orchard, and when he demanded her order, she said, "Her father would bring it," but he brought none, and other words she said, viz., "That the apples, and house, and land were theirs; and when the peaches were ripe, she would come and gather them also;" a sore provocation. But he was preserved quiet in the Will of the Lord, who gave him content, though he was a cripple; his orchard and garden, and the fruits therein, was that which he made use of for the maintenance of him and his family. It was the 25th of the Sixth month, 1659, that she came to gather the fruits.

And Arthur Howland, a man of nearly seventy years of age,

who had waited for the salvation of God, living in a town called Marshfield, in that Patent, and bearing testimony against the ministry of man, now the Son is come, they distrained his iron furniture belonging to his draught, which quite disabled him from making use of the same; and this for the priest. And because he delivered not up Robert Hodgson, a servant of the Lord, to the constable, who had no warrant, they fined him five pounds, and for that they took away, the 28th of the Third month, 1658, a steer and a bull. Yet this would not satisfy them, but such was their rage at the old man, that they committed him to prison in the depth of Winter, though he appealed to the chief magistrate in England; for it was his life they sought, and his life they would have had if such hardships as these would have taken it, had not his brother and Friends, who could not bear it, entered into a bond for him. Thus you neither regarded the old man, nor the young, the hoary head, nor him that leaned upon his staff by reason of age.

I might also speak of Henry Howland, of Duxbury, who, for having a meeting of Friends in his house and not swearing, to make him a juryman, was fined thirty shillings, which was levied upon him.

Further I might go, and relate of those who bore testimony to your faces in your Courts against your unjust proceedings, and oppressing of the innocent, whom ye imprisoned; as Nicholas Davis, who, being by at the Court, in the Fourth month, 1659, when many of the Friends of Truth were had before them, and sentenced for their refusing to swear, in obedience to the Lord, seeing how slightly they made of the marshal's cruelty, and his wicked and unjust usages of them, destroying their cattle and vexing them, the said Nicholas, spreading his arms abroad, spake in testimony and zeal, "That he was a witness for the Lord against their oppression," and would have declared therein, but they suffered him not to speak, but committed him to prison. About this time you imprisoned William Leddra and Peter Pearson, and continued them prisoners about ten months in Plymouth.

And here I must pass to the next plantation, to wit, that of

New Haven, and there account with you for what was done in that colony; for it was through your encouragement and by your instigation that these things have been done.

Humphrey Norton, coming into Southhold, in his way to the Dutch plantation, whither he was going to visit the Seed of the Lord, was that evening apprehended without being asked which way he travelled, or whither, and committed to the marshal, and conveyed by water to New Haven, there cast into prison, and kept night and day, for the space of twenty days, chained to a post, with great weights of iron, in an open prison, without fire or candle, or any suffered to come and visit him, in the bitter cold Winter, being the Twelfth month, 1657, enough reasonably to have starved him. And on the 11th of the First month, 1658, was had before their Court, and there was John Davenport, their priest, unto whom Humphrey had sent some queries. And this priest spake as he pleased before the people, and that in answer to the queries. And H. Norton endeavoured to make a reply, but was not suffered to do so, but instead thereof had a great iron key tied athwart his mouth till the priest had done. See what shifts the priests make to secure what they say. After this H. Norton was had to prison, and there detained for the space of ten days, and then sentenced to be severely whipped and to be burnt in the hand with the letter H for heresy, who was convicted of none, and be sent out of the colony, and not to return upon pain of the utmost penalty they could inflict by law; and to pay ten pounds toward the charge of the Court and colony; and this to be done that afternoon, as the judge said. And the drum was beat and the people gathered, and H. Norton was fetched and stripped to the waist, and set with his back to the magistrates, and given, in their view, thirty-six cruel stripes; and was then turned and his face set toward them, and his hand made fast in the stocks, where they had before set his body, and burned very deep with a red-hot iron; and then let loose and had to prison again, and tendered his liberty upon paying of his fine and fees, and there kept until they were paid by a Dutchman, whose face Humphrey never saw before, viz., twenty nobles, which he paid