Whilst the Society kept steadily pursuing its path, and increasing in numbers, notwithstanding the persecutions to which its members were everywhere subjected, it was not to be expected that every individual who was found within its precincts should have been rightly prepared for the station which he might have assumed. It would have been indeed remarkable, if, in the multitude of those who went forth in that day of zeal, in the service of the ministry, there had not been instances of men who had taken upon them (perhaps mistakenly) the office of a gospel minister, without waiting for the preparation and the call. And it would have been still more surprising if such forward spirits had proved firm in the day of outward trial, or of inward fascinations and snares of the enemy.

73. About this time persecution was very hot, and from estimates deduced from documents of the period, it is probable that, in 1661 or 1662, there were no less than 4,500 Friends in prison, in England and Wales, at one time, for meeting to worship God, refusing to swear, &c. And in such prisons too! They who would know what the miseries of prisoners have been in England, let them read Sewell’s History, which exhibits such a scene of savage persecution on the one hand, and firmness and patience in suffering on the other, as is not easily paralleled. Little known as these things are, it will hardly be credited now, that to such a length was hatred carried against the Quakers, that few of them, except those below the cognizance of the magistrates, were not in prison, at one time or other, for their religious faith.

The interruption of family ties, the breaking up of households, the loss to many of all means of support, were hard and cruel sufferings for conscience’ sake, but they were grievously aggravated at this period by the damp and filthy condition of the prisons, holes, and dungeons in which the sufferers were confined, as well as by their very crowded condition. And to all these circumstances of trial, must be added those of personal abuse, fines, distraints, and, it may strictly be said, of wholesale robberies they endured. Some died of the beatings which they received in the breaking up of their meetings, and many from the filthy and close state of the prisons, in some of which they were so closely packed that they had to take it by turns to stand up, whilst others sat or lay down. They were also often overrun with lice and other vermin.

74. Katherine Evans and Sarah Chevers suffered a dreadful confinement for about four years in the Inquisition at Malta, of which a full account has been published. A more condensed one may be seen in Select Miscellanies, v. p. 50-68.

Some idea of the sufferings of these poor creatures may be formed from the fact of their often lying down before the crevice of their prison-door, to inhale what air could be obtained from it. In this state their skin was parched, the hair fell off their heads, and, they frequently fainted; and, in moments when the strength and glory of the Divine presence was not so feelingly experienced as at others, it cannot occasion surprise that, through human weakness, they wished for death; their distress sometimes being such, that when it was day they longed for night, and yet when night came it was only to prompt the constant sigh for returning light. Yet the heavenly content which, on the whole, was the portion of these sufferers for Christ’s sake, in this dark and cloudy day, was remarkable. One of them, in writing to her relatives in England, says, “We are witnesses that the Lord can provide a table in the wilderness, both spiritual and temporal. In all our afflictions and miseries, the Lord remembered mercy, and did not leave nor forsake us, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail; but caused the sweet drops of his mercy to distil upon us, and the brightness of his glorious countenance to shine into our hearts.”

The other of these suffering captives writes that she could not, by pen and paper, set forth the extent of the love of God to her soul, in fulfilling his gracious promises to her in the wilderness. They were indeed enabled to “sing the Lord’s song in a strange land;” and in the midst of heaviness, “their mouths were often filled with laughter, and their tongues with joy,” being strong in the faith, giving praises and glory to God.

The following, composed by them in the Inquisition, affords a view of the motives and abilities of these devoted women:—

It was not in the Inquisition only that these women suffered, but much also in England. In 1657, Katherine Evans was stripped, and tied to a whipping-post in the market-place at Salisbury, and there whipped, for exhorting the people to repentance. Her husband, a man of property, also suffered several imprisonments, and at last died in prison for obeying our Saviour’s command, “Swear not at all.”

75. Cases similar to the above are not rare in the early history of the Society; even thieves being allowed to escape, whilst the party robbed, being unwilling to swear to the known fact, have been made to suffer. In 1660, the following occurrence took place at Reading assizes:—Henry Hodges, a poor smith, lost three cows, which were found in the possession of the thief who stole them, he was brought to trial, and Hodges appeared to claim his cows. The judge told him they must be proved on oath before he could have them again. He replied that he could not swear for conscience sake. The judge said if any of his neighbours would swear they were his, they should be returned to him; upon which one of his neighbours took his oath, and the judge promised that they should be returned. Thus far, the proceedings appeared just and equal, but many thought the judge too rigorous, when, having observed the sincerity and tenderness of the poor man’s conscience, who could not swear in a case of his own property, he caused the oath of allegiance to be tendered him in court; and, for his refusing to take it, sent him to jail.—(Besse.)

76. This Captain Lawrence, who has been mentioned before, was a man of some note in the days of the Commonwealth. After he joined Friends, he became a faithful sufferer for Christ. In 1660, with his brother, Joseph Lawrence, and George Whitehead, he was imprisoned in Norwich castle, in a small narrow cell called the Vice, where they endured much hardship. In speaking of this imprisonment, George Whitehead says, “I remember one morning, Joseph Lawrence, after his pleasant manner, said to his brother John, ‘O, Captain Lawrence, I have seen the day thou wouldst not have lain there!’”

Where particularly ambiguous errors occur, a link has been added to direct the reader to the relevant transcriber note.

The handling of hyphenation of compound words across line breaks is governed by the frequency with which they are hyphenated midline.

‘Steeple-house’ is nearly always hyphenated in midline, and the few outliers that were not have been corrected. The exceptions are where ‘steeplehouse’ occurs in the editorial apparatus. See footnote 6, and (arguably) in the parenthetical phrase at 25.28.

As one can see from the list below, the printer was not consistent in the use of the opening quote mark in long, multi-paragraph passages. There were also a number of occasions where a closing quote mark either was missing or illogically added. On rarer occasions, a single quote was employed matching a double quote (and vice versa). These have been added where missing, emoved where they were deemed spurious, and corrected where appropriate:

61.15 [“]The (added); 63.3 saved,[’] (added); 75.1 wise.[’] (added); 142.5 [“]There (added); 150.20 [‘/“]Consider (added); 198.33 him,[’](added); 208.9 order.[”](added); 210.14 [“]But (added); 217.8 me.[’] (added); 217.47 [“]The (added); 218.41 [“]Sing (added); 219.48 [“]Where (added); 220.36 [“]Now (added); 221.11 [“]But (added); 224.13 [“]Christ (added); 224.35 [“]There (added); 232.29 inn;[”] (added); 281.8 [“]doth (added); 288.21 land.[”/’] (replaced); 297.2 therein;[’] (added) 298.2 [“]O! abominable (added); 305.13 [“]Noah, (added); 305.44 [“]You say (added); 307.21 [“]Beware,(added); 307.38 [“]Therefore (added); 309.19 [“]Now (added); 379.24 God.[”] (added); 336.30 church;[’] (removed); 353.6 world,[’] (added); 367.28 peace.[”/’](replaced); 368.43 many.[”] (added); 374.10 town.[’] (added); 405.5 [“]I will (added); 411.6 would.[”] (added); 416.14 could.[”] (added); 430.8 [“/‘]remembrance (replaced); 486.21 myself?[”] (removed); 507.1 them.[”] (added); 522.11 [“/‘]three (replaced); 522.17 persons.[”/’] (replaced); 526.10 it.[”] (added).

The word ‘chace’ at 4.8, is likely an obsolete spelling of ‘chase’, which refers to a large wooded estate.

A quotation beginning at line 114.1 (“amongst whom I declared...) has no closing mark. The voice seems to shift on line 114.15 (..to dwell in.”). and the closing mark was added there.

A quoted passage ending on p. 122 most likely should have been opened at 121.32 (“was their first step to peace...), and an opening quote was added.

A sentence beginning at 208.22 (“Whereupon I kneeled...)and ending at 208.26, (...what I had said to him.”) seems an error. It does not seem to be part of the dialogue and the surrounding quote marks have been removed.

A lonely closing quote appears at 421.12 (...fellowships in the world.”) A logical point for this quote to open is on the previous page at 420.19 ([“]The promise of God...). Judging by the context, the paragraph is a continuation of the previous quoted passage.

The word ‘throughly’ (xxv.2) is likely an obsolete spelling of ‘thoroughly’.

Other errors, deemed most likely to be the printer’s, have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original.

Footnotes have been collected at the end of the text, and are linked for ease of reference.

Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.

The Index includes references to Volume 1, which are linked to that volume in the Gutenberg repository.

Any corrections are indicated using an underline highlight. Placing the cursor over the correction will produce the original text in a small popup.

The cover image was created by adding title page information to a blank cover and is placed in public domain.

Any corrections are indicated as hyperlinks, which will navigate the reader to the corresponding entry in the corrections table in the note at the end of the text.

THE JOURNAL OF GEORGE FOX.

“His life well repays study. It is a rich mine, and every page of it seems to be solid gold. Books now-a-days are spun out, and you get little after reading much; but The Journal of George Fox contains ingots of gold—things to be thought on and that will have to be thought on month by month before you get at the bottom of them.”—Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

The present issue of The Journal of George Fox has been printed from the stereotype plates of the Eighth (Bi-Centenary) Edition, slightly corrected, and has been furnished with additional particulars of previous editions of The Journal (see pp. 541-544) and with greatly enlarged Indexes.

To accompany this issue, a map has been prepared to show the places mentioned in The Journal, the spelling of the names being mostly taken from the First Edition. This work has necessitated a considerable amount of research and enquiry in order to identify some of the more obscure localities referred to by George Fox. It is hardly to be expected that the positions of all these, after this lapse of time, will accord with the judgment of all readers, but it is hoped that the map may promote the intelligent perusal of these volumes.

The Journal may be obtained with or without the map (see advertisement on page ii.).

London, 1901.