hearts of the believers. Next they demanded of him, why he suffered those women to worship and adore him; to which he replied, "Bowing to the creature I deny; but if they beheld the power of Christ, wherever it is, and bow to it, he had nothing by which he might resist that, or gainsay it' "* and withal said to the ministers, "Have you thus long professed the Scriptures, and do you now stumble at what they hold forth?" Whereupon they desiring one instance of scripture wherein such a practice was held forth, he answered, "What think you of the Shunamite's falling down at the feet of Eli

* The most that I find in his examination, either at Bristol, or London, before the committee of parliament, as published from their report, was, that he owned Christ in him, but never that he was Christ; and that he took the honour given, not as to himself, but to Christ in him; which yet is more than any man ought to receive, for when the beloved disciple John fell at the angel's feet to worship him, he [though an angel] said unto him, "See thou do it not, I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus, worship God," Rev. xix. 10. And if an angel ought not, surely no mortal man ought to receive or accept it, on any pretence whatsoever; though falling down or kneeling to one another, is too frequently used by some other people, and if it is not to their person, it must be to their function, quality, or character in the church: but that he received it to himself, as a creature, he utterly denied. Trial, page 15. And that there could not be a more abominable thing, than to take from the Creator, and give to the creature, &c. J. Whiting.

sha, and bowing before him? As also divers others in scripture spoken of, as that of Abigail to David, and that of Nebuchadnezzar to Daniel :" Upon which they pausing a while, said at length, "That was but a civil act or acknowledgment:" to which he returned, "So you might interpret the act of those women also, if your eye were not evil, seeing the outward action is one and the same :" and he perceiving that they were seeking to wrest words from him to their own purpose said, "How soon have you forgotten the works of the bishops, who are now found in the same, seeking to ensnare the innocent." Whereupon they rose up, and with bitterness of spirit burnt what they had written before, and so left him with some bemoaning expressions; and when they were departing, he desired of them, that the parliament would send him such questions in writing as they desired satisfaction to, and give him leave to return his answers in writing also.

By this it seems that Nayler, though still under some cloud, yet was a little more clear in his understanding than before; but he was encountered by fierce enemies, and therefore the execution of his sentence was not stopped, but performed on the 27th of December. Robert Rich, that forward man of whom something hath been mentioned already, was this day at the parliament door, from eight in the morning

till about eleven, crying variously to the parliament men, as they passed by. To one whom he judged to be innocent, he said, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, for God is love:" and to another whom he thought to be swayed by envy, he said, "He that hates his brother is a manslayer, and he that hates his brother is a murderer." Some then thought that Nayler would not have suffered any farther punishment, because many honourable persons had attended the parliament and the protector on his behalf: but Rich knowing how the case stood, told the people, that the innocent was going to suffer and to some of the parliament men he cried, that he was clear from the blood of all men; and that he desired them to be so too. Then he went towards the Exchange, and got on the pillory, and held Nayler by the hand while he was burned on the forehead, and bored through the tongue; and was not a little affected with Nayler's suffering, for he licked his wounds, thereby as it seems to allay the pain; and he led him by the hand from off the pillory. It was very remarkable that notwithstanding there might be many thousands of people, yet they were very quiet, and few heard to revile him, or seen to throw any thing at him and when he was burning, the people both before and behind him, and on both sides, with one consent stood bareheaded, as seeming generally

moved with compassion and goodwill towards him.

Many now rejoiced, seeing how some few among the Quakers, as Rich, and the like sort of people did side with Nayler, whilst the Quakers generally spoke against him and his doings; for those who hoped to see the downfall of them, signified not obscurely, that now things went as they would have, since the Quakers (as they said) were divided among themselves. But time shewed that this pretended division soon came to an end, and those diviners and guessers overshot themselves. How it went with the execution of Nayler's sentence at Bristol, I am not informed; but by a letter of one Richard Snead, an ancient man of about eighty years, I have understood that Nayler had written a letter to the magistrates of Bristol, wherein he had disapproved, and penitently condemned his carriage there. After this he was brought to

* He was sent to Bristol, and there whipped from the middle of Thomas-street, over the bridge, up High-Street to the middle of Broad-street, all which he bore with wonderful patience, as related by an eye-witness, and then sent by Tower-lane the back way to Newgate, and from thence returned to Bridewell, London, according to the sentence. J. Whiting.

+ After he was set at liberty, he went to Bristol, where in a public meeting he made confession of his offence, as to his former fall, and declared in so powerful a manner, as tendered and broke the meeting into tears, so that

Bridewell, London, (as sentenced) where he continued prisoner about two years, during which confinement he came to a true repentance of his transgression; and having got the use of pen and ink, wrote several books and papers, condemning his error, which were published in print; and after his release he published several others, one of which by way of recantation, runs thus:

66

Glory to God Almighty, who ruleth in the heavens, and in whose hands are all the kingdoms of the earth; who raiseth up and casteth down at his will: who hath ways to confound the exaltation of man, and to chastise his children, and to make man to know himself to be as grass before him; whose judgments are above the highest of men, and his pity reacheth the deepest misery; and the arm of his mercy is underneath to lift up the prisoner out of the pit, and to save such as trust in him from the great destruction which vain man, through his folly, brings upon himself: who hath delivered my soul from darkness, and made way for my freedom out of the prison house, and ransomed me from the great captivity; who divides the sea before him, and removes the mountains out of

there were few dry eyes (as related by some then present) and many were bowed in their minds and reconciled to him. J. W's account.