in the fall, in the destruction, where they destroy one another. Therefore come out of Adam in the fall, into the Adam that never fell, and so live in love and peace with all men; and keep out of all the bustlings in the world, and meddle not with the powers of the earth, but mind the kingdom, the way of peace. Ye that be heirs of grace, and heirs of the kingdom, and heirs of the gospel, and heirs of salvation, and saints of the Most High, and children of God, whose conversations are in heaven, that is above the combustions of the earth, let your conversation preach to all men, and your innocent lives, that they which speak evil of you, beholding your godly conversation, may glorify your Father which is in heaven. And all friends every where this I charge you, which is the word of the Lord God unto you all, Live in peace, in Christ the way of peace, and therein seek the peace of all men and no man's hurt. As I said before, in Adam in the fall is no peace; but in Adam out of the fall, in him is the peace: so ye being in Adam which never fell, it is love that overcomes, and not hatred with hatred, nor strife with strife. Therefore live all in the peaceable life, doing good to all men, and seeking the good and welfare of all men.'

G. F.

It was not long after this before George Booth rose in arms in Cheshire, and Lambert went down against him. At which time some foolish rash spirits, that came sometimes amongst us, were ready to have taken up arms; but I was moved of the Lord to warn them, and forbid them, and they were quiet. In the time of the Committee of Safety (so called), we were invited by them to have taken up arms, and great places and commands were offered some of us; but we denied them all, and declared against it both by word and writing; testifying that our weapons and armour were not carnal, but spiritual. And lest any that came amongst us should be drawn into that snare, it came upon me from the Lord, to write a few lines on that occasion, and send them forth as a caution to all amongst us; of which this is a copy:

'All friends every where, take heed to keep out of the powers of the earth, that run into the wars and fightings, which make not for peace, but go from that; such will not have the kingdom. And friends, take heed of joining with this or the other, or meddling with any, or being busy with other men's matters, but mind the Lord, and his power, and his service: and so let friends keep out of

other men's matters, and keep in that which answers the witness in them all, out of the man's-matters-part, where they must expect wars and the dishonour. And all friends every where, dwell in your own, in the power of the Lord God, to keep your minds up to the Lord God, from falling down to the strength of Egypt, or going thither for strength after ye are come out of it, like the children of Israel after they were come out of outward Egypt. But dwell in the power of the Lord God, that ye may keep over all the powers of the earth, amongst whom the just hand of God is come; for they have turned against the just, and disobeyed the just in their own particulars, and so gone on in one against the just, therefore the just sets them one against another. Now he that goes to help among them, is from the just in himself, in the mad and unstaid state, and doth not know by the all-seeing Eye, (that beholdeth) him that recompenseth and rewardeth, and lives not in the hand, in the power, that mangles and overturns, which vexeth the transgressors, that come to be blind, and zealous for they do not know what. Therefore keep in peace, and in the love and power of God, and in unity and love one to another, lest any go out and fall with the uncircumcised: that is, they that are from the Spirit in themselves, and they that go from it, go into the pit together. Therefore stand in that (it is the word of the Lord God to you all) in the fear and dread of the Lord God, his power, life, light, seed and wisdom, by which ye may take away the occasion of wars, and so know a kingdom which hath no end, and fight for that with spiritual weapons, which takes away the occasion of the carnal; and there gather men to war, as many as ye can, and set up as many as ye can with these weapons."

G. F.

Now after I had staid some time in London, and had visited friends' meetings there and thereabouts, and the Lord's power was set over all, I travelled into the countries again, passing through Essex and Suffolk into Norfolk, visiting friends, till I came to Norwich, where we had a meeting about the time called Christmas. The mayor of Norwich having got notice before-hand of the meeting I intended to have there, granted out a warrant to apprehend me. Wherefore when I was come thither, and heard of the warrant, I sent some friends to the mayor to reason with him about it. His answer was, the soldiers should not meet, and did we think to meet? He would have had us gone out and met without the city; for he said, VOL. I.

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the town's people were so rude that he could hardly order them, and he feared, that our meeting would make tumults in the town; but our friends told him, we were a peaceable people, and that he ought to keep the peace, for we could not but meet to worship God, as our manner was. So he became pretty moderate, and did send his officers to the meeting. A large meeting it was, and abundance of rude people came, with an intent to have done mischief; but the Lord's power came over them, so that they were chained by it, though several priests were there, and professors and ranters. Among the priests, one, whose name was Townsend, stood up and cried, Error, blasphemy, and an ungodly meeting.' I bad him not burden himself with that which he could not make good, and I asked him what was our error and blasphemy; for I told him, he should make good his words before I had done with him, or be shamed. As for an ungodly meeting, I said, I did believe there were many people there that feared God, and therefore it was both unchristian and uncivil in him, to charge civil godly people with an ungodly meeting. He said, my error and blasphemy was, in that I said, that people must wait upon God by his power and Spirit, and feel his presence when they did not speak words; I asked him then, whether the apostles and holy men of God did not hear God speak to them in their silence, before they spake forth the scripture, and before it was written? he replied Yes, David and the prophets did hear God before they did pen the scriptures, and felt his presence in silence before they spake them forth. Then said I, All people take notice, he said this was error and blasphemy in me to say these words, and now he hath confessed it is no more than the holy men of God in former times witnessed. So I shewed the people, that as the holy men of God who gave forth the scripture as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, did hear and learn of God before they spake them forth; so must they all hearken and hear what the Spirit saith, which will lead them into all truth, that they may know God and Christ, and may understand the scriptures. O said the priest, this is not that George Fox I would speak withal, this is a subtle man, said he. So the Lord's power came over all, and the rude people were made moderate, and were reached by it; and some professors that were there, called to the priests, saying, 'Prove the blasphemy and errors which ye have charged them with; ye have spoken much against them behind their backs, but nothing ye can prove now (said they) to their faces:' but the priest began to get away; whereupon I told him, we had many

things to charge him withal, therefore let him set a time and place to answer them, which he did, and went his ways. A glorious day this was, for truth came over all, and people were turned to God by his power and Spirit, and to the Lord Jesus Christ their free teacher, who was exalted over all. And as we passed away, generally people's hearts were filled with love towards us; yea, the ruder sort of them desired another meeting, for the evil intentions that they had against us, were thrown out of their hearts. At night I passed out of town to a friend's house, and from thence to colonel Dennis's, where we had a great meeting; and afterwards travelled on through the countries, visiting friends up and down in Norfolk, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire. But George Whitehead and Richard Huberthorn staid about Norwich to meet the priest, who was soon confounded and down, the Lord's power came so over him.

After I had travelled through many countries in the Lord's service, and many were convinced, notwithstanding that in some places the people were very rude, I returned to London again, when general Monk was come up thither, and the gates and posts of the city were pulling down. Long before this I had a vision, wherein I saw the city lie in heaps and the gates down; and it was then represented to me, just as I saw it several years after, lying in heaps,

when it was burned.

Divers times had I, both by word and writing, forewarned the several powers, both in Oliver's time and after, of the day of recompense that was coming upon them; but they rejecting counsel, and slighting those visitations of love to them, I was moved now, before they were quite overturned, to lay their backsliding, hypocrisy, and treacherous dealing before them, thus:

'Friends, now are the prophecies fulfilled and fulfilling upon you, which have been spoken to you by the people of God in your courts, in your steeple-houses, in your towns, cities, markets, highways, and at your feasts, when ye were in your pleasures and puffed up, that ye would neither hear God nor man; when ye were in your highness and height of authority, though raised up from a mean state, none might come nigh you without bowing, or the respect of persons, for ye were in the world's way, compliments and fashions, which, for conscience sake towards God they could not go into, being redeemed therefrom; therefore they were by you hated for that cause. But how are ye to be brought low who exalted yourselves above your brethren,

and threw the just and harmless from among you, until at last God hath thrown you out; and when ye cast the innocent from among you, then ye fell a biting one another until ye were consumed one of another. And so the day is come upon you, which before to you was told, though before ye would not believe it. And are not yet your hearts so hardened, that ye will hardly yet believe, though ready to go into captivity? Was it not told you, when ye spilt the blood of the innocent in your steeple-houses, in your markets, in your highways and cities, yea, and even in your courts also, because they said the word thou to you, and could not put off their hats to you, that if something did not arise up amongst yourselves, to avenge the blood of the innocent, there would come something from beyond the seas, which lay reserved there, which being brought by the arm of God, the arm of flesh and strongest mountain cannot withstand? Yet ye would not consider, nor regard, nor hear; but cried, peace, peace, and feasted yourselves, and sate down in the spoil of your enemies, being treacherous both to God and man, and who will trust you now? Have ye not taken covenants and oaths? and broken covenants and oaths betwixt God and man, and made the nations breakers both of covenants and oaths, so that nothing but hypocrisy, and rottenness, and falshood under fair pretence was amongst you? When ye pretended to set up the old cause, it was but yourselves, for which ye long stunk to sober people, who saw that no good ye would do. But it was a joy for any of you to get up into authority, that ye might have praise, and honour, and respect, and they that were in the self-denial were a derision to you, from amongst whom that was banished. Thus ye became the nation's masters and not servants, whereas the greatest of all should be the servants of all. But there ye lost your authority, not considering your estates from whence ye were, and to what end God had raised you up, but forgot the Lord, and quenched that which was good in yourselves, and persecuted them that lived in it; and so are grown so gross and perverse, that at last ye are fit for neither God nor man. Have not ye used to call the Quakers the fanatic people, and the giddy heads? But whither now are ye giddying? into Cain's city Nod, which signifies fugitive or wandering? Have not ye persecuted and imprisoned to death, such as God had respect to, and is now reproving you for their sakes, by them whom ye have hated? Were not many amongst you cut off for your persecution, and yet the rest of you would not take warning? Was there not a book of examples set out