494 FRIENDS presence, not even when brought before the courts of law. He declared every form of oath to be a profane violation of the express com- mand of the Lord. He put a literal construc- tion upon all those precepts of the gospel which seem most difficult to be carried out in real life, and gave to them a literal obedience. On one occasion, when brought before a court, the clerk struck him in the face because he refused to remove his hat, and he calmly turned the other cheek in readiness for another blow. For four years Fox was the only preacher of his doctrines. The second who entered upon that office was a woman named Elizabeth Hoo- ton. Soon 25 preachers were engaged in pro- mulgating the doctrines of Fox, and in the seventh year of his preaching there were more than 60. The age was one in which religious toleration was neither understood nor practised. There were several powerful sects, each ani- mated with a blind zeal for its own opinions and a fierce hatred of the opinions of all others. The peculiarities of the Quakers im- mediately brought persecution upon them, which had the usual effect of attracting atten- tion to its victims. From 1652 until the death of Fox in 1691 their numbers rapidly increased, and among them were many persons of high social standing. Of these the most prominent were William Penn and Robert Barclay, the former a man of great experience in practical affairs, the latter one of the most learned and able writers of his time. They as well as Fox were repeatedly fined and imprisoned, but this treatment only confirmed their faith, attracted public notice and sympathy, and increased the number of their followers. The persecutions inflicted upon the Quakers during the first 40 years of their existence have hardly a parallel in the history of the last two centuries. Bad as are many of our prisons now, they are places of comfort compared to the loathsome dungeons of the 17th century. In their pestilential cells there were confined at one time more than 4,000 Quakers. In 1662, 20 died in the jails of London alone; in 1664, 25; in 1665, 52; and many others died after being set at liberty, in consequence of their sufferings while in prison. All the old statutes of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth which had been passed against the Papists and other recusants were brought to bear against them, and new and cruel statutes were passed to torment them in cases when the old ones failed to reach them. The most grievous fines, a large portion of which went to the informers, were inflicted upon them. They were insulted with impunity by the lowest of the populace ; their women and children were dragged by the hair along the streets, their meeting houses were stripped of windows and doors or nailed up. In 16TO an order of the king, signed by the archbishop of Canterbury and thirteen others, directed Mr. Christopher Wren to pull down the Quaker meeting houses in Ratcliffe and Horsleydown. It was done, and the materials were sold. When they met in the open air by their ruined meeting houses, they were driven away by soldiers, who beat them over the head with the butts of their muskets, and in this way many of them were killed. Constables and informers broke into their houses and carried off their food and their tools. On the Quakers of Bristol there were levied at one time fines amounting to 16,400, and the value of their property destroyed in England during this period of their tribulation amounted to more than 1,000,000. In 1686, when, partly through the influence of Penn, a proclamation was issued by the king and council releasing all persons imprisoned on ac- count of religion, among those set at liberty were 1,490 Quakers. When brought before the magistrates, if all other charges failed, they were required to take the oath of alle- giance and supremacy. To the matter of the oath they made no objection, but swear to it they would not. They resolutely refused, to violate the divine command, u Swear not at all," which they construed literally, and to which they believed there was no exception. Their goods were continually seized in conse- quence of their refusal to pay tithes, and their refusal to bear arms or enroll themselves in the military force of the country excited alike the hatred and the contempt of their fellow subjects. On the other hand, the purity of their lives, the patience with which they en- dured insult and persecution, never returning evil for evil, their zeal, their devotedness, and their love for each other, often compelled the admiration even of their opponents. To es- cape persecution many of them emigrated to the continent, to the W^est Indies, and to America. But in the two latter countries they immediately became the victims of perse- cution. In September, 1656, two Quaker women, Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, arrived in Boston from Barbadoes. Before landing their trunks were searched and their books taken and burned by the common hangman. They were thrown into prison, stripped, and their persons searched for signs of witchcraft. None were found, but after five weeks' impris- onment they were convicted of heresy, and according to the law in such cases they were "thrust out of the jurisdiction;" in other words, expelled from Massachusetts. Nine others, men and women, who arrived soon after from London, were similarly treated. The severity of the laws against them was in- creased from year to year. From 1658 to 1661 three men and one woman were hanged. They had been banished from the colony on pain of death if they returned. They came back openly defying the courts, and were ar- rested to their great satisfaction. Many more were sentenced to death, but were not exe- cuted. In Rhode Island they were not inter- fered with in any manner, and very few of them went there at first ; but from 1672 they increased rapidly, and in 1674 William Cod- dington, who had become a Quaker after found-
