"My lord,' directing herself to judge Hale, 'I make bold to come once again to your lordship, to know what may be done with my husband.'

"To whom judge Hale said, Woman, I told thee before I could do thee no good, because they have taken that for a conviction which thy husband spoke at the sessions; and unless there be something done to undo that, I can do thee no good.'

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"My lord,' said she, he is kept unlawfully in prison; they clapped him up before there were any proclamations against the meetings. The indictment also is false besides, they never asked him whether he was guilty or no; neither did he confess the indictment.'

“Then one of the justices that stood by, whom she knew not, said ' My lord, he was lawfully convicted.'

"It is false,' said she; for when they had said to him, "Do you confess the indictment?" he said only this, that he had been at several meetings, where there were preaching the word, and prayer, and that they had God's presence among them.'

"Whereat judge Twisdon answered very angrily, saying, 'What! you think we can do what we list your husband is a breaker of the peace, and is convicted by the law,' &c. Whereupon judge Hale called for the statute-book.

"But,' said she, 'my lord, he was not lawfully convicted.'

"Then justice Chester said, 'My lord, he was lawfully convicted.'

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"It is false,' said she; 'it was but a word of discourse that they took for a conviction, as you heard before.' But it is recorded, woman, it is recorded,' said justice Chester: as if it must be of necessity true because it was recorded. With which words he often en

deavoured to stop her mouth, having no other argument to convince her but 'It is recorded, it is recorded.'

"My lord,' said she, 'I was awhile since at London, to see if I could get my husband's liberty, and there I spoke with my lord Barkwood, one of the House of Lords, to whom I delivered a petition, who took it of me, and presented it to some of the rest of the House of Lords, for my husband's releasement; who when they had seen it, they said that they could not release him, but had committed his releasement to the judges at the next assizes. This he told me; and now I am come to you to see if anything may be done in this business, and you give neither releasement nor relief.' To which they gave her no answer, but made as if they heard her not.

"Only justice Chester was often up with this,' He is convicted,' and 'It is recorded.'

"If it be, it is false,' said she.

"My lord,' said justice Chester, 'he is a pestilent fellow; there is not such a fellow in the country again.' "What! will your husband leave preaching? If he will do so, then send for him.'

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"My lord,' said she, 'he dares not leave preaching as long as he can speak.'

"See here, what should we talk any more about such a fellow! Must he do what he lists? He is a breaker of the peace.'

"She told him again that he desired to live peaceably, and to follow his calling, that his family might be maintained; and moreover, said she, 'My lord, I have four small children, that cannot help themselves, one of which is blind, and we have nothing to live upon but the charity of good people.'

"Hast thou four children ?' said judge Hale; 'thou art but a young woman to have four children.'

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My lord,' said she, 'I am but mother-in-law to them, having not been married to him yet full two years. Indeed, I was with child when my husband was first apprehended; but being young and unaccustomed to such things,' said she, 'I, being smayed * at the news, fell into labour, and so continued for eight days, and then was delivered, but my child died.'

"Whereat he, looking very soberly on the matter, said, 'Alas, poor woman!'

"But judge Twisdon told her that she made poverty her cloak; and said, moreover, that he understood I was maintained better by running up and down apreaching than by following my calling.

"What is his calling?' said judge Hale.

"Then some of the company that stood by said, 'A tinker, my lord.'

"Yes,' said she, 'and because he is a tinker, and a poor man, therefore he is despised, and cannot have justice.'

"Then judge Hale answered very mildly, saying, 'I tell thee, woman, seeing it is so, that they have taken what thy husband spake for a conviction, thou must either apply thyself to the king, or sue out his pardon, or get a writ of error.'

"But when justice Chester heard him give her this counsel, and especially, as she supposed, because he spoke of a writ of error, he chafed, and seemed to be very much offended, saying, 'My lord, he will preach and do what he lists.'

"He preacheth nothing but the word of God," said she.

"He preach the word of God!' said Twisdon (and

* Dismayed.

withal she thought he would have struck her); 'he runneth up and down, and doth harm.'

"No, my lord,' said she, 'it is not so; God hath owned him, and done much good by him.'

“God!' said Twisdon, ‘his doctrine is the doctrine of the devil.'

"My lord,' said she, 'when the righteous Judge shall appear, it will be known that his doctrine is not the doctrine of the devil.'

"My lord,' said Twisdon to judge Hale, 'do not mind her, but send her away.'

"Then said judge Hale, 'I am sorry, woman, that I can do thee no good; thou must do one of those three things aforesaid, namely, either apply thyself to the king, or sue out his pardon, or get a writ of error; but a writ of error will be cheapest.'

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At which Chester again seemed to be in a chafe, and put off his hat, and, as she thought, scratched his head for anger: 'But when I saw,' said she, 'that there was no prevailing to have my husband sent for, though I often desired them that they would send for him, that he might speak for himself, telling them that he could give them better satisfaction than I could in what they demanded of him, with several other things, which I now forget; only this I remember, that though I was somewhat timorous at my first entrance into the chamber, yet before I went out I could not but break forth into tears, not because they were so hard-hearted against me and my husband, but to think what a sad account such poor creatures will have to give at the coming of the Lord, when they shall there answer for all things whatsoever they have done in the body, whether it be good, or whether it be bad.'

"So, when I departed from them, the book of

statutes was brought; but what they said of it I know nothing at all, neither did I hear any more from them.'

"SOME CARRIAGES OF THE ADVERSARIES OF GOD'S TRUTH WITH ME AT THE NEXT ASSIZES, WHICH WAS ON THE 19TH OF THE FIRST MONTH, 1662.

"I shall pass by what befell between these two assizes; how I had, by my jailer, some liberty granted me more than at the first; and how I followed my wonted course of preaching, taking all occasions that were put into my hand to visit the people of God, exhorting them to be steadfast in the faith of Jesus Christ, and to take heed that they touched not the common prayer, &c., but to mind the word of God, which giveth direction to Christians in every point, being able to make the man of God perfect in all things through faith in Jesus Christ, and thoroughly to furnish him unto all good works,' 2 Tim. iii. 17.* Also, how I, having, I say, somewhat more liberty, did go to see the Christians at London; which my enemies hearing of were so angry, that they had almost cast my jailer out of his place, threatening to indict him, and to do what they could against him. They charged me, also, that I went thither to plot and raise division, and make insurrection, which, God knows, was a slander; whereupon my liberty was more straitened than it was before; so that I must not now look out of the door.† Well, when the next sessions came, which was about the 10th of the eleventh month, 1661, I did expect to

* He was present at the church meetings in June and July, 1661. Bedford church book.-IVIMEY.

+ From there being no account of him at the church meetings from 1661, to August, 1668, it should seem that this rigour continued for seven years.-IVIMEY.