I now come to make these following Observations, on the words of his late Answer, and former Testimony, touching my Charge concerning him; in his late Answer to my Charge, he saith, I remember, I was sitting in a Meeting at Bristol, when another was speaking, and some Officers came up, and took him away, and when he was gone, I kept the Meeting, and none meddled with me. Now let us compare this with his former Testimony, which thus begins, Whereas William Rogers hath falsly charged me, that I should flee in time of Persecution, &c. and then proceeds this saying, As for the Meeting at Bristol, there came no Souldiers or Officers, whilst I was in the Meeting, neither before nor after. He that runs may read, that George Fox, in some cases, doth not matter what he saith, which by his own Rule (witness his before-voted words, in relation to Nathaniel Crips) is the very Mark of that Spirit, that made some like Devils. By his former Testimony it also appears, that there were some Friends at Edward Pyott’s; and that he bid them, Go away; that Edward Pyott’s Son (who I know was a Young Lad then) accompanyed him through the Fields; that when Dennis Hollister and Thomas Gouldney met him, he bad them, Walk by; and though at length he came to the Meeting, (and, as is credibly reported, by back and unusual Ways) yet I find not one word positively testifying, That he stayed in the Meeting, until the Meeting broke up; neither is it rational from his words to suppose, that he thought the Meeting ought then to break up; for if he had, to what end did he ask this Question Why do Friends busle and make such a Throng? Since ‘tis certainly known, that at the Breaking up of Meetings, 'tis usual to have a Throng and Busle, and therefore (comparing this with Testimonies, that hereafter will follow viz. that G.F. should say, Friends, keep your Meetings, keep your Meetings,) 'tis rational to conclude, that though G.F. designed to depart himself, yet he thought it not meet that the {Fifth Part 62} Meeting should then break up; and if so, no doubt, this in G.F. may as justly be termed Fleeing in time of Persecution, as the like action pretended to be done by another may: And to be very plain, I no way doubt, but that if a False Witness-Bearer had wrongfully said, but thus much of John Story, as G.F. or some of Party with him, that would have scrupled to have said, John Story had acted from that very Spirit which said, Master, save thy self.
And although all impartial and understanding Readers, from what is already said, may have a sense that G.F. hath Fled in time of Persecution (if the Rule of himself or his Party be good, in relation to their Pretence of John Story’s departing out of a Meeting) yet for a further manifestation of what is now intended, the following Certificates are cited.
We do declare, that we were present at a certain Meeting held in Broad Mead within the City of Bristol, on account of the Worship of God, and that it was at a time when Persecution attended Friends in their Meeting, and that at that Meeting, George Fox stood up and spoke in the Meeting, and after departed out of the Meeting at a Back Pair of Stairs, as very considerable time before the Meeting broke up, and was not taken Prisoner that day; and the ground of his Departure at that time, we have cause to believe, was to avoid being taken Prisoner.
Mary Gouldney
Mary North
Ann Day
{Fifth Part 63} To this Testimony I also can bear witness, with this further Addition, that after he steps down from the place he stood upon to speak, and was departing, some Friends were moving to go with him, and he perceiving it (as I took it) said, holding out his hand, Keep your Meetings, Keep your Meetings; and accordingly the Meeting was held, a considerable time longer after his Departure.
William James.
I Do remember on this Occasion aforesaid, that George Fox did depart out of the Meeting aforesaid, before the Meeting broke up, or Friends departed, and that at that time Friends were attended with Persecution; and as he was departing, he said to Friends to the Effect, Keep your Meeting; and I believe his so departing was, to save himself from being taken by the Persecutors.
Nathaniel Day.
I Do on the Occasion aforesaid, declare, that I do remember, that George Fox did depart out of the Meeting aforementioned, a considerable time before the Meeting broke up, {Fifth Part 64} or Friends departed, and that at that time, Friends were attended with Persecution; I do also remember that my uncle Dennis Hollister did acquaint me, that George Fox did advise him to absent himself from Meetings, in time of Persecution.
Samuel Hollister.
And now, though it be not so immediately my concern, to take notice of what he writes touching the Meeting at Ringwood, as that at Bristol, yet since he hath made mention thereof, and that ‘tis (as I take it) the most he can speak in his own favour, in relation to that Matter; I think it needful to make some Observations thereon, which are real Cause of Jeaousie, that G.F. was at that time led by such a Spirit, as would have by him, and many of Party with him, been termed, That Spirit that seeks to save Self, had it but appeared in John Story.
The First thing I take notice of, is these his Words, There came ten or twelve Women from Pool, who, in Probability came with an Intention to come to a Meeting; and yet by G.F’s Relation, they came five or six Hours before the Meeting was to begin; whether this be probable, I shall at present leave to the sense of others.
The Second thing I take Notice of, is this, G.F. walkt with a Young Man, and then there came another Young Man; this is Cause of Jealousie that G.F. had a shifting kind of design, to take Young Men for his Companions, even as he did Edward Pyott’s Young Son Edward, and bid some, whom he calls Friends, Go their Way; (how good they were in G.F’s esteem is a question, because he tells us, they said, Thou art more than a thousand of us and yet he doth not manifest his dislike of their so saying) and after this he bad some (who are known to have been {Fifth Part 65} ancient, grave Friends) to walk by, because many people were walking there.
The Third thing I take notice of, is this, that G.F. was for having a good Meeting after the Souldiers were gone, saying, if the Souldiers should come before that time, we might happen to get a good Meeting afterward; and though the Young Man said in Answer, that the Souldiers were Neighbours, and civil People, and would hardly meddle; (which was an encouragement to George Fox to stand in his Testimony) yet he kept still walking in the Fields.
The Fourth thing I observe is this that one of the Young Men went from him about two Bow shots under the Hedge, waving his Hat to G.F. this I may not term a Boy on top of a Hill, waving his Hat to Friends (spoken of by G.F. by way of Refection on John Story, though denied by John Story, and by his Answers intended only (so far as I understand) to shew Friends the way to the Meeting) but a Boy under a Hedge, waving his Hat to; George Fox; and, as may reasonably be supposed, to keep him from Meeting, because G.F. saith, As I turned back to go round about the Orchard, there was a place I could see over the Hedge, the Souldiers were all over the Orchard; truly I did not go in among them: I shall now leave it to the Impartial Reader to consider, whether if it were so, that any Friends when they met without doors, did, for Conveniency set a Boy on top of a Hill, to wave his Hat, to signifie the Way Friends might pass unto a good Meeting, be not more justifiable, than to have a Boy under a Hedge, to wave his Hat, to keep G.F. from Meeting.
The Fifth thing I take notice of, it this; [That was a horrid Lye that I hid my self in a Ditch;] for my own part, I cannot imagine wherein, from G.F’s own words, the horrid {Fifth Part 66} Lye doth consist, more then in saying, a [Ditch] when it ought to have been said a [Bank] cast up, which in Probability is G.F’s mistake; for ‘tis well known, that in many places where Banks are cast up in the Country, there is also a Ditch; however, 'tis observable, that his words cannot reasonably be taken to import a Denial, that he hid himself behind a Bank.
The Sixth thing I take notice of, is this, That the Meeting broke up about three of the Clock, and that he went not into the house where the Meeting was, but to another two Bowshots off, and stayed to refresh himself; and yet rode twenty miles that Night, which is not very common for G.F. to do, as ever I could understand, after a meeting broke up so late.
The Seventh thing I take notice of, is this, that though as to that Meeting at Ringwood (if Report be true) there are many notorious Circumstances, to shew him a Fleer in time of Persecution, yet I observe he makes mention but of one particular thing, that he saith is a Lye or False, and that is before signified, which I take to be no more than saying [in a Ditch] instead of [behind a Bank] which to me is a Demonstration, that he could not in Truth deny other things reported of him on this Occasions, which puts me in mind thus farther to say, that if instead of telling that they swept the Barn, &c. he had named the Hour when he came in the Meeting, as well as when the Meeting broke up; and that he did not advise the Friends to gather together, and then be gone from them, until the Soudiers were gone, that so he might come and stay a little while amongst them, and then be gone twenty miles that night, to be sure to be far enough out of their reach; it might have made his Testimony look with a better face, especially if he had so much Patience as to have gone into the house, after {Fifth Part 67} Meeting, to visit the Distressed Family, the Woman (as he saith) being dead.
To conclude my Observations herein, I thus say; That I firmly believe, ‘would have tended more to G.F’s Credit, plainly to have confest that at Times and Seasons he hath contrived to save himself, and keep out of the reach of Persecutors; than after he hath so done, to cover the matter by such sort of Discourses, as these now manifested are; wherein his Weakness and Confusion, doth so appear, as cannot but be obvious to every Impartial and Judicious Reader.
And now forasmuch as John Ward and twenty seven more, have given forth a coefficients intending thereby to clear G.F. I thought it needful to add that also, that so nothing that may be pretended would have favoured his Cause, might be omitted by me, that said Certificate now follows.
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