Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

such as did abuse him. And being called before the Court in the First month, and going to reply to John Davenport, they caused a great iron key to be tied across his mouth, and sentenced him to be severely whipped, and burned in the hand with the letter H, for heresy, which was cruelly performed with thirty-six stripes; and they brought a pan with hot burning coals, and their iron in it, and took his hand and made it fast in the stocks, and burned it more deep than usual.

And one Edward Harnett,* a poor old man, about sixty-nine, and his wife seventy-three, was forced to sell what he had, viz., a poor house and a little land, and be gone, or wrong his conscience; his labour being almost done, and not being able to stand under the fine of five shillings a week; yet, though he was going away, and not trouble them, the marshal was sent, and took away thirty-seven shillings from them; and about the same time, one William Shattock, of Boston, the First month, 1658, a poor man, absenting from the public worship, was had to the Court, for the five shillings a week, imprisoned, whipped, and none suffered to converse with him; and the jailer took his work, not allowing his family a penny, though they had nothing but their labour to live on; and sending to the Court to know what they would do, had word sent, "That if he was able to pay the five shillings a week, he might stay;" but Bellingham, the deputygovernor, said, "Seeing he had no house of his own, he should not come into his (being his tenant), and that none should receive him, and so must abide in the House of Correction, intending to take his children to be their servants. The case being so hard, he desired to look out for a habitation in another jurisdiction; so they gave him but three or four days to depart the colony, having a wife and four small children, R. Bellingham† endeavouring to persuade his wife against him, charging her not to hearken to him, but to take his counsel, and that "if she would disown him, she and her children should not want," &c.,‡

Popish Inquisition, page 35.

† New England Ensign, page 68.
Popish Inquisition, page 36.

as may be seen more at large in the book on the margin, and in George Bishop's book, page 57.

There being a meeting near Salem, one Edmund Batters, a commissioner, came in great rage and took their names, who being had to the Court, they sent six to the House of Correction as Quakers. They desired to know what a Quaker was; they answered, "Thou art one, because thou comest in with thy hat on." He replied, "That was a horrible thing, to make such cruel laws of whipping, and cutting off ears, and burning through the tongue, for not putting off the hat." So they were sent to the House of Correction, and four of them were whipped, the other two being whipped before, viz., Lawrence Southwick, and his son, but his wife was whipped the second time. Now, besides the fine of five shillings a week for not coming to their meeting, to add to that, they must now pay ten shillings a time for meeting themselves to worship God; and if any spoke in their meetings, five pounds a time. And Nicholas Phelps, coming into the Court at Salem with his hat on, was fined forty shillings for owning a paper that owned magistrates, and sent to Ipswich House of Correction, whipped, and required to work; which he would, if they would let him go home; but thought it unreasonable to work for them, seeing the jailer was to have eight pence out of every shilling; so they whipped him three times in five days. Friends being met again out of town, the constable came, and broke up the door with an axe, and took their names; for which some were sent for, and fined five shillings a week for not coming to the Public Assembly, and ten shillings a time for meeting by themselves; and for coming into Court with their hats on, were again sent to prison, whipped, and used hardly at first entrance; and when at Court afterward they desired a fair trial, they told them, "They were not punished for matters of judgment, but fact;" yet their law charges "heresy and blasphemy;" they desired to be tried according to it, but they would not hear them. And John Norton, priest, being the mouth of the Court, put many ensnaring questions, which they refused to

answer him, not being a magistrate; and then he put questions into the magistrates' mouths; but, not gaining their ends, they were released, only to be gone by the Court in May.

Sarah Gibbins and Dorothy Waugh* coming through great hardships to Salem and Boston, and going to their place of worship, Sarah offering to speak after John Norton had done, a sergeant laid hands on her and pulled her down; and Dorothy bidding them to "fear God," &c., they were had to prison, and shut up in a close room, not suffered to have food for their money, the jailer saying, "If they would not eat the prison food, they should famish;" and would not let them have any for eight days, saying, "They should leave their carcasses behind them." And being examined by John Endicott, governor, and Richard Bellingham, he told Sarah, "She was a witch," and sentenced them both to be severely whipped; which was done with ten stripes a-piece, with a threefold cord, and knots at the end, to tear the flesh and torment the creature; and then they were shut up, and the windows stopped, to prevent them having air or any manner of refreshment, and so continued some time for their fees.

Harriet Gardner, of Newport, in Rhode Island, a mother of many children, being moved to go with a babe at her breast to Weymouth, to bear her testimony, was soon hurried before John Endicott, who, after abusing her with unsavoury language, committed her and the girl, Mary Stanton, that helped her bear her child, to the jail, where they received ten stripes a-piece, with the threefold cord of their covenant with death and hell. Were these good men? Or, that told Thomas Harris, when he came from Barbadoes to warn them, the Fourth month, 1658, "That he deserved to be hanged," and sent him to prison, where he was shut up in a close room, and none suffered to come unto him, nor suffered to buy food for his money, and required to work, out of which he was to have four pence in a shilling, in such diet as they would give him, then whipped ten stripes with their three-corded whip, and shut up again; and at the end of

*New England Ensign, page 69; Second month, 1658.

five days had food conveyed in at a window by a friend, else he might have starved; then told, "If he would hire the marshal to convey him out of their jurisdiction, he might be gone;" which because he could not, he was whipped again twenty-two blows, and again fifteen.

William Brend and William Leddra, coming to Salem, &c.,* were entrapped by a priest at Newbury, and sent by Captain Garesh back to Salem, and had before the Court, who sent them to the House of Correction, and from thence with six more to Boston prison. The jailer, taking them up into a high room, stopped it so close, that he left no hole for air, and stopped food and all necessaries from them, except they would work, and take his food for it. So he kept them without any, five days, and, on the Second day of the week, called them down to be whipped, which he laid on them with as much fury and violence as ever he could, twenty blows, with a three-stringed whip, with knots at the end; and after told them, "That they were clear according to law, and might go, if they would pay the marshal to go with them out of the colony;" which they could not do, it being so unreasonable to pay a man for banishing of them. Then he demanded, "Whether they would work?" which they refused at his will. Then he threatened what he would do; and the next day came with irons, and put one on each thigh of William Brend, and another about his neck, and locked them together so near, that there was but just room for the horse-lock between; and so kept him sixteen hours bowed together, and next morning had him down to the mill and bid him go to work, and took a rope about an inch thick, and laid upon him as hard as he could, about twenty blows at least, till his rope untwisted, so that his back and arms were swollen; then going up into the room where they were locked, the jailer brought a larger rope, and haled him down again, saying, "He would make him bow to the law of the country;" and bid him work, and began to lay on again

*F. Howgil's Popish Inquisition in New England, pages 29 and 30, and page 75; the Fifth month, 1658.

with his rope, on his back, William having only a serge cassock on his shirt, being in the heat of Summer; but he had no compassion, but with violence laid fourscore and seventeen blows more on him, as hard as he could lay them on; and, if his strength and rope had not failed, would have laid on more, threatening to give him as many more next morning, and so locked him up; so that being weakened for want of air and diet,* and lying so many hours in irons, and receiving so many blows, he lay down on the boards and soon swooned away, and grew cold and stiff, without seeing, feeling, and hearing, his flesh being beat like a jelly; and yet John Norton would not let the jailer be questioned for it; but the power of the Lord raised him again, and healed him.

[ocr errors]

Were these good men? Or those, that on the coming of Christopher Holder, John Rouse, and John Copeland to Boston again, said, "That they should be sure to have their ears cut off"? And John Endicott, that said, "He looked upon it to be a great judgment of God to them, that they were suffered so often to come amongst them;" and that, 'sure enough they did seek to ensnare them"? Or Major Dennison, that said, "It was not fit to call the governor by his name;" and asked John Rouse, "What judgment of God he looked for, except he looked for a halter, or to be stricken with a thunderbolt"? That said, "It is the sentence of the Court, that you three shall have your right ear cut off by the hangman." And accordingly, though they severally made their appeals to England against it, sent them to prison,‡ and sent the marshal to the prison; who, when they had let in whom they would, locked the door and would not let in one Friend; so cut off their ears in private, though such executions ought to be done in public; but Captain Oliver said, "They did it in private, to keep them from tattling." Are these good men?

* New England Ensign, page 82, &c.; Popish Inquisition, page 18, &c. Have you not had greater since?

September, 1658.

« AnteriorContinuar »