to the master of requests, who procured an order from the king for my release. The substance of the order was, "that the king being certainly informed, that I was a man principled against plotting and fighting, and had been ready at all times to discover plots, rather than to make any, &c., therefore his royal pleasure was, that I should be discharged from my imprisonment," &c. As soon as this order was obtained, John Whitehead came to Scarbro' with it, and delivered it to the governor; who, upon receipt thereof, gathered the officers together, and without requiring bonds or sureties for my peaceable living, being satisfied that I was a man of a peaceable life, he discharged me freely, and gave me the following passport :

"Permit the bearer hereof, George Fox, late a prisoner here, and now discharged by His Majesty's order, quietly to pass about his lawful occasions, without any molestation. Given under my hand at Scarbro' Castle, this first day of September, 1666." JORDAN CROSLANDS,

Governor of Scarbro' Castle.

After I was released, I would have made the governor a present for the civility and kindness he had of late showed me; but he would not receive anything; saying, "whatever good he could do for me and my friends he would do it, and never do them any hurt." And afterwards, if at any time the mayor of the town sent to him for soldiers to break up Friends' meetings, if he sent any down he would privately give them a charge "not to meddle." He continued loving to his dying day. The officers also and the soldiers were mightily changed, and became very respectful to me, and when they had occasion to speak of me, they would say, "he is as stiff as a tree, and as pure as a bell; for we could never bow him."

The very next day after my release, the fire broke out in London, and the report of it came quickly down into the country." Then I saw the Lord God was true and just The great fire of London occurred towards the latter end of 1666.

in his word, which he had showed me before in Lancaster jail, when I saw the angel of the Lord with a glittering sword drawn southward, as before expressed. The people of London were forewarned of this fire; yet few laid it to heart, or believed it; but rather grew more wicked, and higher in pride. For a Friend was moved to come out of Huntingdonshire a little before the fire, to scatter his money, and turn his horse loose on the streets, to untie the knees of his breeches, let his stockings fall down, and to unbutton his doublet, and tell the people, "so should they run up and down, scattering their money and their goods, half undressed, like mad people, as he was a sign to them ;" and so they did, when the city was burning.

Thus hath the Lord exercised his prophets and servants by his power, showed them signs of his judgments, and sent them to forewarn the people; but, instead of repenting, they have beaten and cruelly entreated some, and some they have imprisoned, both in the former power's days and since. But the Lord is just, and happy are they that obey his word. Some have been moved to go naked in their streets, in the The narratives given in the Diaries of Evelyn and Pepys, who were eyewitnesses of it, are sad indeed. Evelyn writes-" Sept. 3. The fire continued all this night (if I may call that night, which was light as day for ten miles about), after a dreadful manner-when conspiring with a fierce eastern wind, in a very dry season. I went on foot to the Bankside in Southwark, and saw the whole south part of the city burning from Cheapside to the Thames, and all along Cornhill, Tower Street, Gracious Street, and so along to Bainard's Castle, and was now taking hold of St. Paul's Church. The conflagration was so universal, and the people so astonished, that from the beginning (I know not by what despondency or fate) they hardly stirred to quench it; so that there was nothing heard or seen but crying out and lamentation, and running about like distracted creatures. O! the miserable and calamitous spectacle! such as happily the world had not seen the like since the foundation of it, nor to be outdone till the universal conflagration. All the sky was of a fiery aspect, like the top of a burning oven, the light [being] seen above forty miles round about for many nights. The poor inhabitants were dispersed about St. George's Fields and Moorfields, as far as Highgate, and several miles in circle-some under tents, some under miserable huts and hovels, many without a rag or necessary utensils, bed or board; who, from delicateness, riches, or easy accommodations in stately and wellfurnished houses, were now reduced to extremest misery and poverty," &c., vol. i. p. 372-374.

other power's days, and since, as signs of their nakedness; and have declared amongst them "that God would strip them of their hypocritical professions, and make them as bare and naked as they were." But instead of considering it, they have many times whipped, or otherwise abused them, and sometimes imprisoned them. Others have been moved to go in sackcloth, and to denounce the woes and vengeance of God against the pride and haughtiness of the people; but few regarded it. And in the other power's days, the wicked, envious, and professing priests, put up several petitions both to Oliver and Richard, called protectors, and to the parliaments, judges, and justices, against us, full of lies, vilifying words and slanders; but we got copies of them, and, through the Lord's assistance, answered them all, and cleared the Lord's truth and ourselves of them. But O! the body of darkness that rose against the truth in them that made lies their refuge. But the Lord swept them away; and in and with his power, truth, light, and life, hedged his lambs about, and preserved them as on eagles' wings. Therefore we all had, and have great encouragement to trust the Lord, who, we saw by his power and Spirit, overturned and brought to naught all the confederacies and counsels that were hatched in darkness against his truth and people; and by the same truth gave his people dominion, that therein they might serve him.

Indeed I could not but take notice, how the hand of the Lord turned against those persecutors, who had been the cause of my imprisonment, or had been abusive or cruel to me in it. The officer that fetched me to Holker-Hall wasted his estate, and soon after fled into Ireland. And most of the justices that were upon the bench at the sessions when I was sent to prison, died in a while after; as old Thomas Preston, Rawlinson, Porter, and Matthew West, of Borwick. And Justice Fleming's wife died, and left him thirteen or fourteen motherless children, who had imprisoned two Friends to death, and thereby made several children fatherless.

Colonel Kirby never prospered after. The chief constable, Richard Dodgson, died soon after, and Mount, the petty constable, and the wife of the other petty constable John Ashburnham, who railed at me in her house, died soon after. William Knipe, the witness they brought against me, died soon after also. Hunter, the jailer of Lancaster, who was very wicked to me while I was his prisoner, was cut off in his young days: and the under-sheriff that carried me from Lancaster prison towards Scarbro', lived not long after. And Joblin, the jailer of Durham, who was prisoner with me in Scarbro' castle, and had often incensed the governor and soldiers against me, though he got out of prison, yet the Lord cut him off in his wickedness soon after. When I came into that country again, most of those that dwelt in Lancashire were dead, and others ruined in their estates; so that, though I did not seek revenge upon them, for their actings against me contrary to the law, yet the Lord had executed his judg ments upon many of them.

CHAPTER II.

1666-1669.-George Fox visits a man above one hundred years old, who had been convinced-refutes a slander that Friends love none but themselves-has a meeting at Captain Taylor's [at Brighouse], where a neighbouring knight threatens again to imprison himcomes to London, and finds the city in ruins as he had seen it in a vision some years before-is moved to recommend the setting up of monthly meetings to take care of God's glory, and to admonish and exhort such as walk disorderly-travels through the nation for this purpose-meets with opposition in Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire-when at Shrewsbury it was rumoured that "the great Quaker of England was come to town"-the hypocrisy of the Presbyterians detected-they and the Independents persecute when in power, but flinch in time of persecution by other powers-George Fox recommends certain regulations to be observed relative to Friends' marriages-he also recommends the establishment of a school at Waltham for boys, and one at Shacklewell for girls-the meetings for discipline are the means of a great reformation among the people-George Fox discovers a cheat, writes a prophetic warning to Friends-monthly meetings settled throughout the nat on the order and good results thereof-George Fox disputes with a Papist-confers with Esquire Marsh (Justice), and shows him how to distinguish between Friends and other dissenters who refused the oath-Justice Marsh is afterwards very serviceable to Friends in screening them from suffering, and recommends the king to grant liberty of conscience-fourteen monthly meetings are settled in Yorkshire-Isaac Lindley to George Fox-when at Scarbro' the governor presses George Fox to accept his hospitality-large and precious meetings.

BEING now freed from my imprisonment in Scarbro' castle, I went about three iniles to a large general meeting at a Friend's house, that had been a chiet constable; and all was quiet and well. On the fourth day after, I returned to Scarbro', and had a meeting in the town at Peter Hodgson's house. To this came one called a lady, and several other great persons, also a young man, son to the bailiff of the town, who had been convinced, while I was there in prison. That lady (so called) came to me, and said, "I spoke against the ministers." I told her, "such as the prophets and Christ declared against formerly, I declared against now."