IT is not unknown to many of you, what Contests have been about Religious Concerns in this Nation, and what Un­merciful Means have been used to bring all Protestant Dissenters to the Church of England; and altho' the Penal Statutes, allowed both a lawful and reasonable Excuse, that would not be allowed, but some of the most sottish and busie Men of the Clergy always obstruct­ed it, under pretence that no Law was to be allowed, but in case of Old Age, or Infirmities of Body; by which means, the Magistrates that were most ignorant and busie, were meer drudges to those Clergy-men of the immo­derate sort, and would hear nothing of Rea­son many times, nor suffer Consciencious Dis­senters to speak for themselves: But our Mer­ciful God, looking upon the Afflictions of his People, moved in the Heart of the King, and Civil Magistrates, to grant Tole in a do the Protestant Dissenting Subjects of this a­tion, for which we are truly thankful, and [Page 4] I do really believe, that God hath a Blessing in store for all Kings that are so well dispo­sed, as to grant Liberty in the Exercise of Religion, to Dissenting Subjects, although of different Persuasions in matters of Religi­on; 'tis of greater concern than any world­ly Interest or Profit, and will be a great means to root Hypocrisie out of this Nation; for forced Conformity makes Hypocrites, but never makes good Christians, or Subjects to any Prince: Now Liberty is granted, there can be no pretence of quarrelling with the Government that is kind to them, whatso­ever some have lately pretended to the con­trary, which hath been some cause of my undertaking this Work, to Vindicate my Self, and some Others that are unjustly charged with matter of Fact.

Some of the Clergy (I Charge not all) ei­ther being uneasie under the Liberty granted to the People called Quakers, or by reason of their Ignorance of the Principles of their Re­ligion, have of late Years entertained a Poor Indegent Person, viz. Francis Bugg of Milden-Hall, in the County of Suffolk, to abuse and clamour against the said People in Print; but Lam persuaded it will not be for their Cre­dit, i [...] the Civil Magistrate would be so kind as to bear both Parties in their Book, Im­p [...] Michael Dalton, in his Book, call'd, Th [...] [...]try Justice, Printed, Cum Privilegio, 1630. exhorts the Magistrates to hear both [Page 5] Parties; and brings several places of Scriptures for it; one more remarkable than the rest, in the Eighth Page, ‘Where God Almighty gives you an Example, exprest in these Words, Gen. 18. 21. in the case of Sodom, I will now go down and see, if it be alto­gether according to the Cry that is come up unto me.’ Thus he shews the Magi­strate how to perform his Office in true Justice in the ordering the affairs of the Nation.

Now, because the said Francis Bugg hath accused us of matter of Fact, high Crimes and Misdemeanors against the Government: It belongeth to the Civil Magistrate to take notice of such things; and we do desire it, that they would read our Answers to his Aspersions, that our Innocency may be clear­ed of what we are accused off.

This Francis Bugg says, that he was a Quaker 25 Years: He was but a Poor Man when he came first among us, and Suffered Imprison­ment several times, upon the account of his Religion, when he was Poor; afterward he grew Rich, and increased in Wealth very much, his Father Died, and there fell to him near 30 l. a Year, by Relation; he also pur­chased an Estate at Milden-Hall aforesaid, with a fair Brick House upon it, Built by a Knight Baronet, for himself, to dwell in for his Pleasure, because his Estate lay in a durty Country; I knew the Person that Built it, [Page 6] he was my near Relation. This F. Bugg had also a great Stock, he was a Wool-man, and used the Wool-Trade, and a Shop besides of Cloaths and Stuffs, and divers other things, and an Adventure at Sea, in a Coal Ship at Ipswich, which he withdrew, because of the smallness of the Profit he received by it; this shews he was a Rich fore-handed-man, and now Poor, and blames the Quakers of being the chief cause of it, which may be ea­sily proved to the contrary; neither was his Sufferings more than other Rich Men, but still continued Rich so long as he was amongst us, but being uneasie under his Sufferings, he begun to contrive how to avoid them, by subtle indirect means, he writ two con­tentious Books against us, before he conform­ed to the Church of England; and when he was in danger of having the Statute of 20 l. a Month put in Execution against him, he conformed to the Church of England, and went on Writing against the Quakers, until he had scribled away his Estate, and run ma­ny Hundred Pounds in Debt, and now goes about a Begging, with a Certificate from the Bishop of Norwich.

About the Year 1682. he came to my House at Cambridge, and made great com­plaint of George Fox, that he had brought in Innovations into the Church about Marriages, that all Marriages must be published at twice in the Men and Womens Meetings, whereas [Page 7] they used to be published but once former­ly; I heard him, but did not give my Judg­ment in this concern, but let it rest until I had inquired further of it; at last I understood it was an Order of Marriage of his own Re­cording, in the Quakers Meeting Book in the Isle of Ely, and partly of his own making (as I understood by John Ainslo of Over, in the County of Cambridge) he also told me that F. Bugg was quarrelsome, and that he see no way to prevent it, he was so given to Contention. This I can prove by his first Book he writ against the Quakers, that he began the Quarrel, and hath continued it to this Day.

F. Bugg came again to me, and renewed his complaints against George Fox and George Whitehead, that they were the cause of bringing Innovations into the Church, he also brought a Book to me of his own Writing, which he had got Printed, I bought it of him, the Title Page was, Liberty of Conscience upon its true and proper Ground. This Book, Doctor Gunning Bishop of Ely read, and said that it was an Envious Thing; but the chief matter which was the Grounds of his Contention was, that he would have been a Ruler over the Quakers to make Laws for them, that all Preachers should tell their Names when In­formers came into a Meeting to convict it, whether they were asked their Names or no, and pay their 20 l. Fines themselves, if they were able, if Poor, then Money should be [Page 8] gathered at the Meetings for that purpose (if he were fined for a Preacher) that he might pay only his own Fine, that did not exceed 10 s. this may be proved out of his own second Book, intituled, The Painted Harlot, &c. no Quaker that I knew would consent to this.

F. Bugg might have kept from the Meet­ings, if he was not free to suffer what Fines the Magistrate laid upon him; for his com­plaints concerning the due order of Marri­ages, that was but a Cavil to cover these de­signs, but after we were Rid of him, we have had no Contention about that, or any matter in this County, or the Isle of Ely: But when he see he was slighted by his Friends in these parts, he travelled about into other places, to make Division amongst the Qua­kers in other parts of the Nation; and so went on Writing, until he had Written 20 Books against the Quakers, first and last, some of them are above 300 Pages, which must needs be a great Charge, the Printing, besides his neglecting his Trade, and giving himself wholly to Contention, and Travel­ling about upon that account, until he was forc'd to fly to the Clergy for relief: The Bi­shop of Norwich hath so far taken him under his special Care, as to give him his charitable Recommendation, and he, and those Clergy­men that have incouraged him in his Writ­ing Books, ought to pay his Debts, and [Page 9] provide for his Livelihood; if they do not they must needs come of with some Dis­grace in this Business.

At that time, when F. Bugg brought me his first Book, I knew nothing of the grounds of his Quarrel, I had not inquired into the whole business, and knowing nothing to the contrary but that he was morally Ho­nest; he being at my House with his usual Complaints against G. Fox and G. Whitehead, I told him, That I had not been at London many Years, but I did intend to go thither in the Spring, and examine the cause of his Complaints. One of my Sisters, hearing of my Intention, sent to me to take up her Lodgings, but they were to remote from my business. In the beginning of the Month called April, 1683. I took my Journey to London in the Stage-Coach, a Maid Servant with me; when I came at my Inn, there met me a Woman in a Coach to conduct me to my Lodging, she was a Stranger to me, but very Civil and Kind to me, she told me, That F. Bugg had provided me Lodgings at her House; I went along with her, it was a Whole-Sale Mercer's House, I shall forbear to name him at length, but by T. C. I was very kindly used by him in all respects, but he was something reserved about the Differences between G. Fox. G. White­head and F. Bugg, but he referred me to a Manuscript that lay in his Ware-House, in [Page 10] Folio, of a verry large Vollume, I read in it divers times, when I was at leasure, and looked over some of it, the greatest part of what I read was about the Controversies be­tween the Quakers and the Clergy of the late Professing Times, called Oliver's Days; and something concerning the Magistrates also; I told T. C. that it did little concern the present Differences that was now in Con­troversie, which might be written in a very small Vollume; he told me, he had some thoughts of Printing a few of them; I was unwilling he should be at so unnecessary a Charge, which signified little or nothing; I disswaded him from it; I saw that it would not quit Cost, to satisfie any Party whatsoever,

F. Bugg's Charges and Arguments (I take to be mostly in that Manuscript) that he hath writ against the Quakers, and not pro­ceeding from his own Genius, except it be some of his Fantastical Whimsies and Per­versions, that he hath added to the Work.

I had never seen George Fox before this Journey to London, nor George Whitehead but once, and that but a very short time; I went to his House, where I met with George Fox, I had but little Discourse with them, the Woman of the House was Sick at that time, but G. Fox directed me to the Meeting-Chamber for Business, and the Clerk that kept the Chamber would satisfie me in any [Page 11] business I desired; when I came there, he shewed me some Books, one was writ against F. Bugg, and some others, I looked into it, and perceived the Differences were too wide for me to Compose. I stay'd a Month in Town, in that time I writ an Epistle of Love and Good-will to my old Friends, and Fel­low-Sufferers, in the late Times, the old Royalists and their Posterity, &c. and car­ried it to G. Whitehead, who got it Printed for me. When I had finished my Concerns at London, I paid T. C. what he asked for my Bord, and he was very reasonable; then I returned home to Cambrige.

Soon after I came home, I writ a Paper of the most material Passages of the Con­troversie that hapned in those parts where I dwelt, I sent it to T. C. aforesaid to be Printed; it was Printed upon a Sheet of Pa­per upon one side only, with no Person's Name in it; T. C. sent me down about a Quire of them, and disposed of the rest him­self; about a Month after he sent me this Paper, I received from him the same Paper Reprinted in half a Sheet, printed on all sides, with an Addition of Characters, and Names in it, viz. G. F's party, G. Whitehead and T. Ellwood, with my name to the Paper; I complained in a Letter to T. C. that I was abused in Printing that Paper without my Consent or Knowledge, and to set my name to it; T. C. writ me word, That if I would [Page 12] not own it, I might put out a short Adver­tisement in Print to disown it, and he would get it printed for me, and it should cost me no more than a Burying-Ticket, which was Five Shillings; I soon sent up a quarter of a Sheet of Paper, with a short Advertisement in it, the substance of it was, That I did disown the half Sheet with the Characters and Names in it, and what I writ in my whole Sheet was not against Parties nor Persons, but a­gainst the wrong Spirit; when he had re­ceived this small Paper, and the 5 s. he soon got it printed, and sent me down some of them, and writ me word, that he had carri­ed the rest to the Meeting Chamber for Business, and delivered them to the Clerk; therein T. C. did honestly, and shewed me kindness, but F. Bugg I always found to the contrary, as may be seen hereafter.

When I went next to London, I made in­quiry who was the cause of the putting out the aforesaid half Sheet, T. C. would tell me nothing; I was acquainted with none of F. Bugg's Friends but old John Penniman, I went to him to know if he had a hand in the Printing the half Sheet; he said, he had seen it, but he scorned to do such an unjust thing; the next time I see F. Bugg, I exa­mined him, if he had a hand in that piece of Deceit, the half Sheet that was printed without my knowledge, and my Name set to it, he did not absolutely own it, nor [Page 13] disown it, but laugh'd, and said, That Paper was true. In the Year. 1684. I had heard he had Conformed to the Church of England, I asked him the cause, his answer was, What will you have me do, the Statute of 20 l. a Month will be put in Execution against me, and I have suffered enough al­ready? Last Year he came to my House, I charged him with this, his answer was, That the Statute was laid aside in the Year 1684. I told him, That was false, and that I knew that That Statute was put in Execution, both in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, the County where he dwelt that very Year. My Maid was by when we had this Discourse.

This Year he came to my House again, a Clergy-Man came with him, one of the Fellows of Sidny-Colledge, I charged him with his Apostacy again, and told him of what he said the Year before, That the Statute of 20 l. a Month was laid aside in the Year 1684. he look'd down, and said, They did not meddle with me, he had Conformed then to the Church of England, and that was the reason the Statute was not put in Ex­cution against him, nor any else that Con­formed.

I do intend now to take notice of some of his Books, of some passages in them, but not so far as entirely to Answer one of them, they have been answered already mostly; for he writes but the same thing in [Page 14] most of his Books, as to matters of Religion and Government, and writes them over and over in divers of his Books, and very many times over in his late Book; I will shew one passage in his Fifth Book, Entituled, The Quakers detected, &c. this Book was writ­ten two Years after he Conformed to the Church of England.

F. Bugg says, ‘The first Point under Con­sideration is, how I came to be a Member of their Society, viz. In the beginning they taught, that all Men were inlightned, ac­cording to John 1. 9. and that this Light, wherewith Christ had inlightned them, was sufficient, if obeyed, to lead to Salvation; and that it was the Work of the Ministers of Christ, to turn People from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan unto God; affirming that this Light was a suf­ficient Teacher, Leader and Guide to every Believer, without the help of outward Pre­scriptions, Forms, Orders and Decrees of Men; upon this and the like Notions, I became persuaded to try their Doctrine; and when I came to see and observe their Practices, Conversation and Deportment in the beginning, & what Simplicity and Plain­ness attended their Ministry, I was still more confirmed, that it was a Dispensation of the Love of God sent as a Visitation to Man­kind: Being thus persuaded, I resolved to bear the Cross, and did utterly despise the [Page 15] Shame, that attended them and their Mes­sage, and was not behind any of my Equals, both in doing and suffering for the Testi­mony thereof, as some among them can still bear me Witness; and in this manner we went on for many Years, and loved one another with Love unfeigned; and doubt­less God blessed our Meetings with the Comfortable Injoyment of his Presence.’

This is a sufficient Explanation of his Apo­stacy since, it is a Truth that will stand for ever, that the Quakers preach, that the Light and Grace of God is Sufficient, both to lead and bring us to Salvation, if it be obeyed: For the Light and Grace of God are all One, tho' under divers Names, 'tis one Principle, not divided; if this be not a sufficient Guide, I know no Man is able to procure Salvation to himself, or others, without it; nor with it, except they be obedient to it; it were Blasphemy to set any Man's Learning or Natural Parts above it, or against it, neither have they any Scripture to disprove the Suf­ficiency of the Light, the Grace of God, except they Expound one place of Scripture to make it Repugnant to another, which the Clergy are Sworn to the contrary, see the 20 th Article of the Church of England; those Articles are called, The Faith and Doctrine of the Church of England.

And in the first of Eliz. Chap. I. An Act to Restore the Crown to the Ancient Juris­diction, [Page 16] over the State Ecclesiastical and Spiritual, and to Abolish all Foreign Power, repugnant to the same: By this Statute all Commissioners are limitted, that have Authority to Hear and Determine the Offences of Error, Heresies, Schisms, Abuses and Enormities, so that they shall not in any wise have Authority or Power to Order, or Determine, or Judge any Matter or Cause to be Heresie, but only such as have formerly been Adjudged so to be by the Cononical Scriptures exprest in plain words, &c. This Statute says further, That there must be Two sufficient Witnesses to prove the said Offences mentioned in this Statute, and the Witness brought Face to Face, if the party requires it. I write this to put the Magistrates in mind of this Sta­tute, and also to inform such Persons as are ignorant of this Remarkable Law of the Protestant Religion.

And whereas we are accused of all, or most of these Crimes mentioned in this Sta­tute, by the said F. Bugg, in his three last Books mostly, and Countenanced by the Bishop of Norwich, and some of the Clergy, it is my Request, That We, the People called Qua­kers, may clear our selves, so as our Inno­cency may appear to the Civil Magistrate, and not lie under such Scandals and Reproaches as we do, from every Unjust Charge, that may render us Obnoxious to the Govern­ment; and my reason is, Because the Bishop [Page 17] of Norwich, and some of the Clergy, have given Countenance to his Quarrel against us, and some of them have given Credit to what he says; but if the Truth be known, I am fully persuaded, it will not be for their Credit, that have incouraged him in this Work.

I have Propounded nothing but what is the Right of every Free-Born Subject of this Nation, that the Civil Magistrate should un­derstand our Innocency. I believe there are but few ignorant of what we have suffered many Years by a long Grinding Persecution, both in our Persons and Estates: And now Liberty is granted, we stand upon equal Terms of Justice and Right with our Op­posers, and in Matters that concerns Re­ligion, we are Accountable to God, and have as much Right to common and civil Priviledges as other Perswasions have. We never were found in any Plots or Rebellions since we first appeared to be a People in this Nation, but always yielded true and real Passive Obedience under all our Cruel Suf­ferings.

I will now take notice of some Passages in his Three last Books, the 18th, the 19th, and the 20th Book; the 18th Book, Enti­tituled, The Picture of Quakerism drawn to the Life, there is not much in them but what may be found in his former Books, which have been answered already; for he writes [Page 18] the same thing over and over again meerly; his Books are without method, most-rambling Stuff, not worth the regard­ing, had not some of the Clergy Counte­nanced him, and owned his Books, which gives us occasion to take notice of them, to clear our selves of what we are wrongfully Accused of.

In his 18th Book, page 60. F. Bugg says, ‘That there was a Rumour in the Country in the Year 1663 or 1664. that George Fox had in one Nights time 24 Languages given to him by Divine Inspiration; and I did believe (says F. Bugg) and divers others for Twenty Years.’ That he did believe it, this I know to be true; but for divers more, I never heard of but one, and he was accounted a Shatter-headed Man by all that knew him. I heard this Story many Years ago, and took notice of it, and spoke of it to my Brother G. Barnadistone of Clare, in the County of Suffolk; a Man well known to be a Wise and Honest Man; I told him, that we had some Shatter-brained People amongst us, and if they went on so, we should want a Religious Bedlam for such Mad Folks; my Brother Replied, that it was true, there was some Shatter-headed People amongst us, and the best way was to use them kindly, so long as they were morally Honest; for some had recovered, being sin­cerely Honest, but they were not to be di­sturbed, for that would make them worse. I

[Page 19] I always used F. Bugg kindly, for I saw nothing to the contrary but that he was morally Honest for divers Years, after this, only I perceived he had some Freaks and Whimsies at times, which I took no notice of to him; I saw he was a Man capable of managing his own Concerns well enough, and some other Peoples business, if he un­dertook it.

In his 18th Book, the Second Part, page 148, 149, and 150. there is a Letter con­cerning a Common Bank; this Letter hath no Name to it in that Book, but in his 19th Book he chargeth this Letter upon me; I read over his 18th Book twice, and did not in the least suspect it to be mine, it was so Metamorphosed; but I do not charge F. Bugg with the false Transcribing it; the Man is dead I writ to concernig a Common Bank, and I suppose it came into F. Bugg's hands of late Years, since the Man died; for if he had had it sooner, I suppose that it would have been Printed before the Year 1697. which is the Date of his 18th Book; the Date of the Letter is 1684. After I un­derstood he charged me with this Printed Letter, I sent for a Cambridge Man that I used to imply to send Letters into Harford­shire for me, that was acquainted with some of my Concerns, I shewed him a Copy of a Letter concerning a Common Bank, he re­membred the Letter very well, for I read it [Page 20] to him before I sealed it, because he was con­cerned in this Letter as well as my self, and sent it by him, he since gave me a Certifi­cate of the whole sum of the Letter, which is as followeth,

In his 19 th Book, entituled, A Sober Ex­postulation, &c. in Page 10. F. Bugg writes to John Peacock of St. Ives, Draper, viz. ‘Why do you suffer your She-Prelate, i. e. Ann Dockwra, to tell solemn lyes to the Magistrate to serve a turn, which being by the Magistrate asked, whether the Quakers had a common Purse or Bank, she answer­ed No; which, said she in her letter to me, gave them great Satisfaction, yet in the same letter to me, confesses to me that you have a Bank, or common Fund; and that it would never be well, whilst the Quakers put away their Dagon, as at large in her letter to me, printed in The Picture of Quakerism, &c. p. 148, to 150.’ This is such a piece of Forgery as is seldom heard of, that I should write to him about a common Bank, after he had conformed to the Church of England, and charge him with those things in that letter; this is the true liberty of an Apostate-Consci­ence, to Forge lyes of me that always used him kindly, and never disobliged him, un­til after he had printed these things, and then I reproved him sharply.

I have dwelt above 18 Years in Cambridge, and I can truly say, that no Magistrate asked me such a Question, whether we had a common Bank or not; neither had I any discourse, with any of them, about any such thing, untill F. Bugg had printed this Story; then I took notice of it to a Magistrate, that [Page 24] was then a Parliament-man, him I told that the Quakers had no common Bank, that ever I heard of.

F. Bugg had the Confidence to send me this 19 th Book to read; and a short time af­ter he came to my House, a Clergy-man came with him, one of the Fellows of Sidny Col­lege, I charged him with this aforesaid Forg­ed Letter, that he said I sent him; he stood stifly in it, that I did send it to him; then I asked him who that J. C. was, mentioned in the Letter, he could not tell me that, then I asked him who was the Man I writ the Letter to, he could not tell me that also; I suppose he did not know who I writ my Letter to then; but I told the Clergy-man who the J. C. was, and so F. Bugg came to know his name, and printed it in his 20 th Book; it is the same Man that gave me the aforesaid Certificate, viz. John Clements, of Cambridge, aforesaid.

I will say something concerning the Prelacy he charges me with, the matter concerning a common Bank, do not belong to a Pre­late, it concerns the Magistrate only, if he had called me a She-Lawyer, he had had some grounds for this; for when I was about 15 Years of Age, my Father finding me reading some Idle Books, he took them from me, and told me he would have me read better Books, and pointed to the great Statute Book that lay upon the Parlor Window, and bid me read that, and said it was as proper for [Page 25] a Woman as a Man to understand the Laws, because they must live under them as well as Men; I soon applied my self to obey his commands, and was very diligent in learn­ing them: My Father was a Justice of the Peace, in the Days of King Charles the first, many Years, but not afterward; although he lived about Seven Years after the Wars began: I have read several Law-Books, be­sides the Statute-Book, which were very be­neficial to my self and others in the time of the Persecution: F. Bugg knew that I had some understanding in the Laws and Statutes of the Land, therefore he might have given me a more rational Title than a She- Prelate.

Most of this little Pamphlet is writ against G. Whitehead, who hath answered most of his Books, as well as such rambling Stuff, full of Tautologies, can be answered: G. Whitehead hath so gauled him with his An­swers, that he is the object of his Malice, in most of his Books.

I come now to his 20 th Book, Entituled, The Pilgrims Progress, &c. In the front is his Picture, and in the first and second Page, his Pedegree and Education, he says ‘his Father's name was Robert Bugg, second Son of Fran­cis Bugg, who was Chief Constable many Years; his Parents were of a good Yeoman Family, and lived in good Repute, and brought him up in the Profession of the Church of England.’ I will say somthing [Page 26] concerning this matter, as it was related to me by my Uncle Docwra of Hinton, which is as followeth, he told me that there was one Bugg a Serving Man in the Family of the Docwra's; this Man Debauched one of the Daughters of that Family when he was a Servant, then Stole her away and Married her as was supposed: This Francis Bugg's Grandfather was one of the Posterity of the aforesaid Serving Man, and was a Poor Boy, some of the Docwra's bound him out Ap­prentice to the Wool-Trade, and when his time of Apprentiship was expired, Money was gathered in the Family of the Docwra's to set him up; he grew Rich, yet he was troublesome to some of the Docwra's, prey­ing upon them by indirect means, that I perceived he was much slighted by the whole Family at the time I was Married to my Hus­band, which is above 52 Years ago: Robert Bugg (Father to this Francis Bugg that writes now a­gainst us) was a melancholly down look'd Man by Relation, and dwelt with his Son, this Bugg; some Years after F. Bugg was Marri­ed, he arose from Dinner one Day and went out, and was found Drowned in a Water, where he had no occasion to go to that place, as F. Bugg and his Wife related; I had some discourse about it with her, and other Per­sons with him, so that they both concluded he Drowned himself; nevertheless the Jury was favourable, they had no proof he [Page 27] drowned himself, and did not find it wilful Murther; which saved the 30 l. a Year that F. Bugg boasts of in Page 31. for he cannot prove that he had 30 l. a Year before his Father's Death, which was long after he came of Age, although he writes of much more: It was the Advice of Friends to be tender to F. Bugg, least some such Misfor­tune should befall him when he was amongst us; and that was one reason that he was hu­mer'd in giving him Certificates when he re­quired, which he hath since printed.

As to his Religion, he says he was brought up in the Profession of the Church of England; this I believe is not true, because he told me, many Years ago, that he was a Presby­terian when he came amongst the Quakers: This agrees with his Books, where he Ca­vils much with E. Burroughs's Works, which were written against those People, when he was Persecuted by them in the late professing Times; when the Church of England was turn­ed out of Doors.

In Page 4. he speaks concerning our Si­lent Meetings, in the beginning of his De­claration he speaks something of Truth in this weighty concern, although it is not so well worded, nor confirmed by Scripture Texts as our Preachers declares it. But afterward he goes on and makes them as ridiculous as he can, calling them Schools of Ignorance: There hath been much written by the Qua­kers [Page 28] concerning them, and never contradict­ed in Print, by any Clergy-Man that ever I heard of; I have seen the same Exercise al­low'd by a dignified Clergy-Man in Print, of late Years, which he calls Vigils, but it is in a more Dark and Unprofitable manner than they ought to be; for he speaks of the use of them but in Saints Eves, or the Night be­fore a Saint's day, so called.

In Page 7. he says, ‘He hath given a Mortal Wound to the Female Government, as appears in my first Book (Entitued, Li­berty of Conscience, &c. the Second Part, Page 33, 34, 35, 36, 37.) a Wilder Imagi­nation, never appeared amongst the People in Bedlam.’ This he means by the Wo­mens Meetings, which are alive and whole as ever they were; they were set up to take care for the Poor, and where there is need of them, they are in as much use as ever they were, where Friends are numerous. The Men cannot perform so great a Work without the assistance of the Women; the Women meet together to take Care of the Poor, and to inform the Men what is want­ing for that Service, and agree about Visi­ting the Sick and Lying-in Women that are poor, and to help young Maids to Services, and all such Works of Charity: These Works are Ordinances of God, although Men and Women are his Instruments to perform them. But in some places, where [Page 29] we are but few, and can do that Service without a distinct Womens Meeting; and in divers Monthly Meetings the Men and Wo­men meet together for the Care of the Poor, and other Services needful, and not meerly for Formality sake, as F. Bugg would make the World believe we do some things.

F. Bugg makes a great noise, in divers of his Books, of the Quakers Address to King James, for granting liberty in the exercise of Religion, and he says we have made no Address to King William; our Address to King James, is as justifiable as any other Perswasion whatsoever, in the 3 d. Month called May, 1687. in a Gazette I find the Bi­shop of Durham presented an Address to the King in the behalf of the City of Durham, and the Bishop of Chester; also another Ad­dress in the behalf of himself, and the Clergy in general belonging to his Diocess; also the Independants and Anabaptists of the City of Bristol, and the Presbyterians also of the same City; and it is likely there was more, for I find all these before-mentioned in one Ga­zette, and all these Addresses were concern­ing liberty in the Exercise of Religion.

In my Judgment they did well to incou­rage the King to keep his promise, for Li­berty in the Exercise of Religion is a good thing; and whatsoever is good in it self comes from God, altho King James was In­strumental to procure it; yet it stands to this [Page 30] day, and there was no doubt but that King William would confirm it; coming out of a Country where Liberty is allowed, and hath been so beneficial to that Government; there was no need to incourage King William in this concern: I have not seen any Address made to him by any Dissenters, yet I be­lieve they are all thankful for their Li­berty.

F. Bugg says in Page 7. ‘That Quakerism is such a Sandy Foundation that they are not able to produce the Articles of their Faith they pretend to.’ [The Quakers are no Faith makers, they say that true Faith is the Gift of God Only] This shews what a Quaker he was when he was amongst us, al­tho' the Quakers are no Faith makers, yet they have the Principles of their Religion, contained in a small Book, about three Sheets of Paper, entituled, Truth's Principles: Or, those things about Doctrine and Worship which are most assuredly believed and received amongst the People of God called Quakers. (And other Books also) these are our Ancient Principles, and hath been reprinted three or four times since I came amongst the Quakers, which is above 35 Years, I bought a dozen of them at one time, and gave them amongst the most Eminent of the Clergy, whereof Doctor Gunning, afterward Bishop of Ely, was one of them, I desired an answer of him, and o­thers also, but never received one from any [Page 31] of them; at last a Clergy-man came to my House that was related to my Husband, I desired him to answer them, he promised me before he read them that he would, but when he had read them, he said that I should have no other answer than this ( that he did not intend to be a Fool in Print) these Princi­ples declares that our Faith is not a Man­made Faith: Also, they treat of the Sub­stance of true Religion in General.

I believe there are but few Magistrates, that are not Priest-ridden, but may under­stand so much of the Priciples of our Reli­gion, as to clear us of those Aspersions that F. Bugg has cast upon us in divers of his Books, upon the account of our Religion; he charges the Quakers with preferring their own Books above the Scriptures; this is as false as any thing can be, for the Scriptures are often quoted and expounded in our Meetings, as most People that comes to our Meetings can witness, but for our Books they are never quoted nor mentioned in our Meetings, by our Ministers in Preaching, that I know.

But F. Bugg pleads that we read Epistles from our Ministers, and never read a Chap­ter in the Bible; these Epistles are read after our Meetings for Worship are over, at the end of the Meeting, and that not once in a Year scarcely.

In Page the 25 th F. Bugg says, ‘I have a Letter by me which my Cousen Ann Doc­wra [Page 32] Widdow of Cambridge, sent me, da­ted the 26 th of the 12 th Month, viz. G. Whitehead hath sent me one of his Books, for me to read, and there is the old Mony-Story in it, with I know not what besides; I was asked by an honest Friend if he was not a Jesuit, I answered nay, it is not solid enough for them to own, especially when they write to a solid People, there is pret­ty much airy conceited Stuff in it.’ This Letter is a meer forged thing, I can truly say I never writ any such Letter to him, nei­ther did G. Whitehead send me any Book to read with a Mony Story in it, or without one; I was not so well acquainted with him then, as for him to send me Books to read: But I remember F. Bugg came to my House about that time this Letter was dated, and complained of G. Whitehead very much, and of a Book he had writ that con­cerned him; I remember'd I had seen such a Book in our Booksellers hands, but I read but little of it, because I did not buy it, but what is in this forged Letter, he spoke to me then by word of Mouth, and not I to him; he calls me Cousin, there is no reason for that, I am sure he is nothing a-Kin to me, neither can he make it appear that he is Kin to my Husband, I have seen my Husbands Pedegree, and there is not the name of F. Bugg in it.

[Page 33] I will now take notice of something of Concernment in his Book, Page 58. he says, that the Preachers take Mony for Preaching: This is a strange Story to me, that such a thing should be amongst us, and I not know it, which have been above 35 Years amongst Them, and never heard any Body say so but F. Bugg; a pritty many Years ago, I asked him who paid them? He answered, They were George Fox' s Pensioners: This shews that F. Bugg gave them no Mony, for if he had he would have printed it, and the Sum also, in some of his Books: I can truly say I ne­ver gave any Mony upon that account of Preaching, neither was I ever asked for any, only upon the account of a great loss a Preacher had by Fire; I gave Mony upon that account: But if Preachers be Poor, they ought to be relieved, I know no ho­nest Friend that will see them want, or grudge what they do upon that account; but to my knowledge some Apostate Quakers have done so.

In Page 34. F. Bugg says, That his Charges were greater to the Quakers Preachers in three Months, than the Church of England Mi­nisters have been in 15 Years. I know no rea­son that the Church of England Preachers should lye upon F. Bugg more than upon o­thers, they want it not, they have the Tenth Part of the increase of the greatest part of the Lands in the Nation, and of the Labour [Page 34] and Industry of the Husband-man, and seve­ral other Incomes that I could reckon: I partly know the Charge he hath been at for the Quakers Preachers, which was sometimes a Nights Entertainment for them and their Horses, and that not without some Invitati­on on F. Bugg's part; but this i know, by what he said to me upon that account, that the grudged their entertainment although he invited them to his House; he divers times told me, that the Quakers were chargeable to him: I told him it was his own fault to give them entertainment, and then grudge it.

After the decease of my Husband, I kept a publick Meeting at my House in the Coun­try, about three Miles from Cambrige, for about seven Years, and entertained all Tra­velling Preachers, and some others also; I did not find it so chargeable as F. Bugg speaks of; I do not think I was the Poorer upon that account of entertaining Preachers, what I lost was upon the account of the Magistrate in the Year 1673. who plunder'd me for keeping Meetings at my House; at a time when the King, by Proclamation, had granted Liberty of Conscience in matters of Religion; nevertheless I kept up the Meet­ing at my House for above Six Years after that, until a publick Meeting-House was provided on that side of the Country where I dwelt, and then there was no need of my [Page 35] House; so I removed to Cambrige: F. Bugg knows this, he hath been at some Meetings at my House, and lain at my House also.

In Page 62. F. Bugg says, ‘if we look in­to Fox's Order for Marriages, you may ob­serve that he points to have the matter laid before the Ministers, and therefore I shall shew you a brief Testimony of one of their Female Preachers, a Woman of Note a­mongst them;’ in a Letter I have by me, &c. in the Margent he quotes Ann Docwra's Letter: This Letter I have disowned before, with a Certificate to prove it false, towards the beginning of this Book; it mostly con­cerns a Common Bank, and obstructing a Lawful Marriage by an Apostate-Quaker; one that went about to make Devisions amongst us, as F. Bugg did; and to his report, that I am a She-Preacher, that he cannot prove, that I ever Preached in a publick Meeting; I have dwelt above 18 Years at Cambrige, and he cannot prove this to be true: That is not the Office in the Church that God hath called me to; I have no Commission from God to Preach in a Meeting; our Preachers have a Commission from God, and they speak what he requires of them; they know when to speak, and when to be silent: And when God requires me to speak or write I will not be silent, as I am not at this time to reprove F. Bugg in writing, for [Page 36] abusing so many honest Persons as he hath done in this wicked Book.

I suppose that F. Bugg was not the Author of some part of this Book, called the 20 th. Book, for divers reasons; for I heard that he was 16 weeks from home when this Book was written; only he came home some times for a night or two, least his Family should be at a loss for him, and think he was come to some Misfortune. Secondly, he was seen at Oxford at the same time when this Book was about writing. Thirdly, it is written somthing in a better Form than his former Books are; yet there is much of F. Bugg's Whimsies in divers places in it, but more particularly in the Front under his Picture, he was first courted by the Library-keeper of Bodleian Library at Oxford. See his 19 th. Book, called the Picture of Quakerism, the Second Part, Page 164. there is a Letter from the Library-keeper to F. Bugg, which begins thus, Mr. Bugg, you must needs think it strange to receive a Letter from a Man so utterly unknown to you, &c.

It is matter of Admiration, that Universi­ty-Men should take his Books for Truth, up­on the Credit and Relation of F. Bugg, being a stranger to them, and an Apostate-Quaker, which was never accounted good by any Rational Honest Men, of what Persuasion so­ever.

[Page 37] I have read his three last Books lately, and do affirm that there are as many repetitions of Lyes as there are Leaves in those Books, only they are the same Lyes written over and over again, very many times: But F. Bugg met with Credulous Persons, for his pur­pose, to make a Market on, to get his Debts paid: For F. Bugg says in his last Book, that ☞ Oxford exceeded Cambrige in their bounty to him. It is worth the observing, and a Mercy to us also, that now they have en­tertained F. Bugg for their Informer against the Quakers, they are obliged to pay him out of their own Purses: formerly the Informers were paid out of our Estates, by the spoil of our Goods.

I now come to answer something more that concerns my self and some others, page 64, 65. there are Verses, F. Bugg says, I writ of G. Fox, this is False, and that he knows in his own Conscience, that I have told him divers times to the contrary, in former Years, and lately also, a little before he writ this last Book. The Verses I writ had a short Declaration at the beginning, wherein a Preacher is mentioned, but not G. Fox, nor any other Man by Name: I always told him that whatsoever I writ, it was not a­gainst G. Fox; these Printed Verses are part­ly mine, and partly his own; there is both adding and diminishing from mine in several places of them, and mis-placing divers of [Page 38] them; and making them hobble like his own in the very beginning, by adding John Story's Name in them; the Man that these Verses did concern, was dead some Years before G. Fox's decease. But F. Bugg says he hath the Manuscript by him: That may be forged; I writ a plain hand, easie to be Counterfeited. I have several of the Copies of my Verses by me, and can prove that those Printed Verses differs from mine in di­vers places.

I have something to say of some of our Preachers, which F. Bugg hath abused much in Print: The first two are Thomas Green and Samuel Cater, my Brother G. Barnardi­ston's Companions, in his Travels beyond the Seas, in the Service of Truth, to spread the Gospel in Forreign Nations.

F. Bugg says, that ‘ Thomas Green was a poor Mason, and now worth many Thou­sands.’ But he does not say of what; if he means Pounds, I believe he does not say true; T. Green hath neither House nor Land that ever I heard of upon enquiry, his Wife, Ellen Green, had several Hundred Pounds given her by some of her Relations, as I have often heard, which she being an Ingenious Industrious Woman, imployed in a Trade, so that between twenty and thirty Years she got enough to maintain them well in their Old Age, now they have given over Trading.

[Page 39] F. Bugg quarrels with T. Green for not en­tertaining him at his House, when he and his Wife came to London: It cannot be the Custom of our Preachers, to entertain eve­ry one that comes to London, although they have been entertained in their Travels, when they visited the Meetings in the Countries where they preached; if they should do so, their Houses would be like Inns. But F. Bugg accuses him for not keeping one of his poor Brothers; there was no reason for that, for what Ellen Green got by her Indu­dustry, should be spent by such an extrava­gant woman as his Brother's Wife was, by Relation, what they gave him, he should be little the better for, his Wife would devour it: But T. Green kept his own Mother, and his Wife's Mother many Years, in Meat, Drink, and Cloaths, during their Lives; and hired them a House to dwell together, and found them all other necessaries, as I have heard. I never went to London, but they always gave me entertainment, although T. Green seldom came to my House in the Coun­try, and both Thomas and his Wife were very serviceable to me, in providing me Lodgings, or any other thing I desired.

Samuel Cater I have known about Thirty Years, he hath been a great Sufferer upon the account of his Religion, Imprisoned ma­ny times, Six Years at one time, a close Pri­soner, for Three Years of the time not stirr­ed [Page 40] out of the Prison. F. Bugg says, that ‘he was a poor Journey-man Carpenter, and now a Rich Man, worth Hundreds of Pounds.’ What then, shall an Industrious Man work more than Forty Years, and get nothing? His Trade was a gainful Trade, if it be wisely managed, and yet he is not a Rich Man; he hath a Commendable House, and the Lot that belongs to it, when the Fenns were taken in, at little Port in the Isle of Ely, and two Acres and a half of Arable Land in the Fields; and this is all his visible Estate that I can hear of; besides a small Stock to carry on the Butter Trade, for he is a Factor to send Butter to London, altho' he is about seventy Years of Age, yet he gets his living by that Trade.

F. Bugg makes a great noise against S. Ca­ter, about a Meeting where S. C. was Fined for Preaching, and had his Timber siezed; but, ‘Had it again, says F. B, and had 10 l. sent him by his Friends towards his Loss.’ That he had his Timber again, appears to me to be a false Story of F. B's making; for S. Cater does affirm that he never had his Tim­ber again, and that the Officers sold it; his Goods in his House were siezed at the same time, them he had again, a Neighbour bought them of the Officers, and sent them to him: This shews what: a Malicious Lyer F. B. is; and if any of his Friends were so Charitable, as to send him 10 l. to help to [Page 41] pay Debts, or to carry on his Trade, they did well in so doing, better than F. B. in upbraiding him.

Now I come to George Whitehead; F. Bugg hath vented his Malice against him in an a­bundant manner, in most of his Books, the Cause whereof is, because he hath answered most of them, and laid him open effectual­ly: It is hard to recount how bitterly mali­cious this F. Bugg hath been against him, the slanderous Lies that he hath vented against him, are hard to be numbred, his own Books will witness against him, that what I say is true; for G. Whitehead, I have not known him but by Report till of late Years; F. Bugg reports him a poor Boy, came out of the North on foot, his Father dwelt in a poor Cottage not worth above 50 s. His Edu­cation from his Youth shews to the contra­ry, although I was not acquainted with him but of late Years, yet I can say something to prove his Education and Learning in his Youth, which is to be preferr'd before F. Bugg's, that was but a Wool-Comber: George White­head, when he was a Young Man, travelled in the Service of Truth, into Suffolk. I had an Aunt, a Person of Quality, according to the World's Account; she was a wise Wo­man, and inquisitive after Religion, and de­sired that a Quaker might be brought to her, [Page 42] to discourse with. G. Whitehead was brought to her, and after her Discourse with him, she told me and others, That the Quakers held the same Opinion that her Cousin Barrow did, that was hanged for his Religion in Queen Elizabeth' s Days, and that this Barrow was Chaplain to her Grandfather, Sir Nicholas Bacon: I heard my Grandmother say the same thing, that Hen­ry Barrow was her Father's Chaplain, and Tu­tor to his Children, whereof she was one of them; and that the Bishop of London was the chief Cause of his Death; and said further, that he was a very religious good Man; and for G. Whitehead, my Aunt said, that she did believe that he was a Gentleman born, or brought up under the same Education with them, and call'd him the Gentleman Qua­ker, always when she spoke of him.

In Pag. 137, F. Bugg tells a long Story of Stephen Crisp deceased, and Samuel Duncon's Wife of Norwich deceased. I have examined the Truth of this Matter, and I find it to be very false, and a wicked Report of Bugg's raising: He names Joseph Carver, and Tho­mas Buddery, both of Norwich, for his Wit­nesses. Since I read this Book Joseph Carver hath been at my House, I examined him, and he said that his Wife was Samuel Duncon's Si­ster, and that he went often to S. Duncon's House, and if there had been any thing as F. Bugg says, he should have heard something of it, which he never did; I desired him to [Page 43] send a Letter of what Tho. Buddery could say in this Case. Tho. Buddery says, in the Let­ter he sent me, That this Story is like F. Bugg's old Way of belying the Dead as much as the Liv­ing; and says further, That Sam. Duncon' s Wife was well known to all her Neighbours, to be a sober, honest Woman. This Woman was lame, and made use of a Surgeon for Help; and Bugg makes an Evil of that also. F. Bugg, in Pag. 33. says, That Stephen Crisp was a poor Weaver at the Beginning, and died a very rich Man. What then if it were so? This does not conclude him a dishonest Man: He married a second Wife, that was a Dutch Woman, that had Children by a former Hus­band: It was said that she was very rich. She died before him; and I have heard, that when she died S. C. gave all she brought to him, to her Children, and did not inrich himself by her, therefore I have no Reason to believe that he died a very rich Man. He was a good Lawyer: I have made use of his Counsel, and it was very beneficial to me; but he took no Mony of me for it. He was Guardian to many Orphans, and their E­states, which he managed with much Indu­stry and Honesty for the Benefit of the Or­phans. This I have heard from divers cre­dible Persons.

George Fox is much quoted in F. Bugg's Books, for making Laws for the Quakers. This I must needs say, That he was a very wise [Page 44] Man, and a Man of great Courage in what he undertook, and always successfull, al­though he had many Enemies to oppose him, as well Apostate Quakers as others. I never heard that he was worsted in any thing he undertook: He was an Instrument in the Hands of the Lord, to set up Meetings in all Countries in this Nation, to take Care of the Poor amongst us, and poor Ministers who travelled beyond Seas, to be relieved with such Necessaries as they wanted, and this is the Reason that F. Bugg calls them G. Fox's Pensioners.

F. Bugg knows, if he would speak the Truth, that we have no common Bank to go to, but only occasional Contributions for charitable and necessary Supplies: Neither hath he any Grounds to surmise it, only this false Letter that he hath printed, which he cannot prove to be a true Copy of what I writ; but I can prove it a meer Cheat put upon us by F. Bugg, or some of his Confede­rates.

F. Bugg says, That G. Fox was a poor Jour­neyman Shoemaker, and died worth Abundance: I have heard that he did not die so rich as F. B. reports; but he was an Adventurer at Sea, and might get something considerable by that, if he used it many Years: F. Bugg says, He lived in as much Plenty as any Knight in England: I do not believe this; I have heard this Story formerly from F. Bugg. I [Page 45] had a Desire to know how he fared: Some Years before his Decease, I being at London, and understanding where his Lodging was, I went about Dinner Time; when I went in­to the Room where he was, I found him sit­ting down to Dinner, his Meat was upon the Table, it was only a Piece of very salt Beef, as big as a Man's Fist, it was cold Meat: I sate down by him until he had dined, but did not eat with him, I did like his Dinner so well: He had no Wine, his Beer was said to have Wormwood in it: I did not drink with him neither; and this is the whole Bill of his Fare at that Time: I had heard before, by one of my Brothers that was well acquain­ted with him, that most of his Diet was salt Beef when he could get it, and Wormwood stampt and squeezed into his Beer. After he arose from Dinner, he made a short Decla­ration to me, the Substance of it was, ‘That I should not look at him, but look to the Light and Grace of God in my own Heart, the Appearance of that would teach me more than Man could teach me, that would shew me who were God's Friends, and who were his Enemies, if I were obedient to it, and did wait in Silence for God's teaching.’ This was no more than what I knew before, and had had some Experience of it, nevertheless I kindly received his In­structions, and so we parted. I do not in­tend to rehearse the whole Matter of Bugg's [Page 46] Charge against G. Fox, I will not trouble my Reader with Tautologies that have been an­swered already, but I will say something more of a new Charge against G. Fox, the strangest Lye that ever was heard of: Pag. 133. That he was, some Years before his Decease, like a Statue or unsensible Image, which could scarce see or understand, being grown so corpulent in Bulk as two or three Men, and so dozed away his Time with strong Liquors and Brandy, who left these Words for William Rogers, John Rance, Ann Docwra, and others, who have opposed his Tyranny and Usurpation. For W. Rogers and J Rance, they are wholly Stran­gers to me, A. Docwra, only I read some Part of a Book that W. Rogers put forth: I did not like it, there was many of F Bugg's Cavils in it against G. Fox and G. Whitehead: For my own part, I never knew any Tyran­ny or Usurpation by G. F. I did not see him for some few Years before his Decease, yet I always observed him much when I was in his Company, because his Enemies made a great Noise of his Bulk.

He was pretty tall of Stature, and a very great Bon'd Man in my Judgment, but his Face was not so fat as some fat Mens Faces are, by much; his Hands were stiff and swell'd, so that he could not well Write in the latter part of his Days; his Limbs were stiff, I could perceive that by his rising up and siting down, it is likely his Body was [Page 47] swell'd, I have heard him speak to that pur­pose; he wore loose Garments always when I saw him, that I cannot discribe his bulk, but I could perceive that he was somewhat Burly, but not as F. Bugg describes him. And for his Doziness and Insensibility, that ma­ny Hundreds can Witness to the contrary; for in less than three Days before his De­cease, he Preached in the Meeting in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-street, he Preached be­fore a great Congregation of People, and Prayed also: In his Declaration it is cre­dibly Reported, That he opened many weighty Truths, to the Refreshment of many of the Hearers, with as much Power and Clearness, as at other times; and when he came out of the Meeting, he was taken ill, and soon took his Bed, and Deceased on the Third Day following, in the same Week. This is upon Record, see G. F's Journal, p. 613.

Now I come to Page 141, 142, 143. F. Bugg says, ‘That George Smith of Little Port, having a Wife of his own, since Dead, be­ing Bailiff for a Gentleman in the same Town, whose Wife was a handsome young Woman; G. Smith in time grew very kind to his Wife, the Gentleman falling Sick, gave his Wife warning of G. Smith, he dy­ing, there was room for him to accomplish his design.’ This looks like a feigned Story, that a Man should entertain G. Smith for his [Page 48] Bailiff to his dying Day, and be Jealous of him concerning his Wife, and not put him away before. F. Bugg goes on with a long formal Story, more than he can prove by half; he says, that the Widow had two Children by G. Smith; the Woman was well known to all her Neighbours to be a Light Woman, as the General Report goes; so that no Body could truly say who was the Father of her Children. Nevertheless, G. Smith was so ho­ness, as to own that Child that he thought might be his; and it was made publick by G. Smith's Friends and Neighbours. After this G. Smith did acknowledge his Offence, and it is really Believed, that he did sincere­ly Repent; for he caused his Repentance to be Recorded in our Quarterly Meeting-Book, at Hadnam, in the Ille of Ely, and set his Name to it. There was a Man in the Town that would have Married this Widow at the same time, when she was with Child (with that Child that G. Smith owned) but it was put by then by her self, or some other Per­sons; but she happened to be with Child again, and then the same Man Married her, that would have Married her when she was with Child before; but the common Report goes, that the Child she was withal, when she Married, was neither G. Smith's, nor the Man's she Married; but the Woman was Rich, and that preferr'd her to a Husband. It is said, that she lives honestly and sober­ly [Page 49] with the Man that she is now Married to, they are no Quakers, so called, neither the Man nor the Woman.

After I read this Story of F. Bugg's, I made strict inquiry by credible Persons, and have made a true Relation, according to the Ac­count I received, although I knew most of it before. This G. Smith I am acquainted with, and will give this Character of him, as most understanding Men in Little Port do say, That he is a Man of excellent Parts to manage any Business concerning Estates; he has been Guardian to many Orphans, and their Estates. not only Quakers Children, but People of other Perswasions, have made him Guardian to their Children's Estates also; and he hath performed his Trust with so much Honesty and Industry, for the advantage of the Orphans, that he hath gained great Re­putation, in the Town where he dwells, and Country thereabouts: I will Vindicate him further, by a Warrantable Example of David's Sin and Repentance: For if there had been no more Recorded in the Holy Scriptures of David but his Adultery, he would have been esteemed a worse Man than G. Smith, because of the known Murder; but true Repentance wipes away the Re­proach of Man's Sin, out of the Sight of God and Good Men.

But F. Bugg says, The Boy the Widow had, is like G. Smith, which he does not own. It [Page 50] may be never the more so for Bugg's say so, and if it were supposedly so, that is no certain Rule: There may be a secondary cause of likeness after a Child is begotten, whosoever reads F. Malebranch, that Famous French Man, in his Search after Truth, which is the Title of his Book, may find therein many excellent Things, both Divine and Natural; but I do not justifie all that is in that Book, but do approve of many things in it; he hath a pretty large Discourse of the Acci­dents that happens to a Child in the Womb of a Woman, after it is Begotten, in produ­cing different likeness, with remarkable Ar­guments upon this subject.

That which makes me the larger upon this subject, is to shew F. Bugg's Malice to so near a Relation as G. Smith is to him; they are Cousin Garmans, own Sisters Children: This shews F. Bugg's ill Nature and Folly, in mak­ing such a Noise, to render so near a Rela­tion rediculous; but some cause of it is plainly to be seen, in his Malice against G. Whitehead, because he said, that G. Smith was a well-meaning Man, one that hath liv­ed uprightly ever since he came amongst us. F. Bugg can prove nothing to the contrary, when G. Whitehead writ this Relation of him, nor any Body else that I know of; but it is really believed he was really so then, this that G. W. hath written, was some Years before G. Smith's failing, and we doubt not, [Page 51] but that his Repentance will shew forth, that he hath a real Principle of Sincerity towards God and Man at this Day.

In Bugg's Picture of Quakerism, the second Part, Page 164. the University Library-keep­er of Oxford promised F. Bugg, That his Books shall be received into the University Library at Oxford; and there be preserved, and his Donation shall be particularly registred amongst other Benefactors: If it may be permitted, the Book, called, The Cobler of Glocester, may be registred also: That Book shews the Vices of many of the Clergy, and points at them, naming their Names and Habitations; which those Clergy-men mentioned therein, never refuted, or took notice of, nor any Body else for them, that ever I heard of.

F. Bugg in his Pilgrims Progress, Page 154. in the Margent says, About four Years thereof, I was in their Community labouring for a Refor­mation. His Book, called, The Painted Har­lot, &c. shews that his Labour was to get Mony when he was fined for any Preacher, of whomsoever he could get it, amongst us; he got 15 l. of his Cousin G. Smith afore­said, by Fraud, upon that account, that was no Preacher; this I know to be true, he hath confessed it to me, and Printed it also, and covered it with bold Excuses, as much as he could. F. Bugg was fined for a Preach­er 15 l. and got it by Fraud of his Kinsman aforesaid; the Justice that fined him, gave [Page 52] him 5 l. of the Mony back again, this he concealed divers Years, until Edward Swan­ton, the Priest of the Town, where the Meeting was fined, discovered it, and gave a Certificate under his Hand, that the Ju­stice told him that he gave F. Bugg 5 l. of the Mony again, that he was fined for, at that Meeting at Lacking-Heath in Suffolk, but F. Bugg says, That Edward Swanton the Priest was a bad Man, and not to be believed: And that the Justice gave him the 5 l. upon another account. I have heard that the Justice was Dead, before this Controversie was on foot: F. Bugg is now in the Church of England, and would have the Priests believed in the Pul­pit, but not out of the Pulpit, except it is for his Interest: It is likely that this Edward Swanton did give this Certificate meerly out of Conscience, when he heard that F. Bugg had defrauded his Kinsman of the whole 15 l. upon the account of that Meeting, and had concealed the 5 l. that the Justice gave him back, a short time after the Justice had the 15 l. in his Hand.

In Pag. 155. F. Bugg brings divers Certifi­cates to clear himself of several things, whereof one is as followeth, viz. That F. Bugg neither is, nor ever was distracted nor dis­composed since any of us can remember him, or that ever we heard of. This is the worst Chara­cter of him that his Friends could give: But if he be not shatter-headed, and discomposed [Page 53] in his Mind: He is one of the greatest Decei­vers and Lyers that this Age hath produced: But my Judgment is more favourable. I know, by the Discourse I have had with him lately, that he is disturbed in his Mind beyond all Reason, if he be crossed in any Discourse or Writing against him, and then he knows not when he speaks Truth, and when he Lyes: When he first writ a­gainst us, some Friends told him that he writ Lyes: His Answer was, That his Pen would run too quick sometimes; and now lately, I told him of some Passages in his Books, that he had made false Quotations out of our Books, and mentioned one to him out of Edward Bur­rough his Works, where he had rambled above a hundred Pages, and gathered up Words, and made one intire Paragraph of them: His Answer was, that that was by way of Paraphraise; so at first, when he writ Lyes, his Pen run too quick, and now his Lyes are Paraphraises, and such crafty, or ra­ther crazy foolish Stuff his Books are com­posed of, if he had been well in his Wits, he would not have scribled away a fair E­state, and run many hundred Pounds in debt, beside to no purpose: I really believe, all that he lost by the Quakers, does not amount to 32 l. see page 31. where he names their names, and the Sums also; but in page 148. F. Bugg says, That the Quakers are the chief Cause of my Misfortune, not only in [Page 54] Respect of Controversie, but Six or Eight breaking in my Debt. If they had been real Quakers, he would have named them every Man, for he writes at large upon such Matters; but to my Knowledge, there was some that died in his Debt that were of his own Fraternity, that went about to make Division amongst us: It was his restless Spirit, and shattered Head that was the Cause of his Misfortune: They that are well acquainted with his Books, may perceive it: In the Title Page of divers of his Books shews his wild Fancy, I will quote some of them. His second Book, the Title Page, The painted Harlot stript and whipt, &c. The Title Page of some of the rest; his 7 th Book, battering Rams against Rome, &c. His 8 th Book, One Blow more against New Rome, &c. His 9 th Book, New Rome un­masked, and her Foundation shaken, &c. His 10 th Book, New Rome arraigned, and out of her own Mouth condemned, &c. This Book is the strangest Fiction that ever I read. His 15 th. Book, A Second Summons to the City Abeb, by way of Metaphor, deliver up Sheba the Son of Bichri, 2 Sam. 20. i. e. George Whitehead by Name: This shews his Malice against G. W. I know of a certain, that shatter-headed Peo­ple are very malicious, and not to be quali­fied; and the Reason is, because their Imagination works so strong, that it serves for nothing but to make a Grave for their Reason.

[Page 55] I have something to say concerning Ed­ward Burrough, one of our Preachers; he was before my time, I not being acquainted with him, only by reading his Books, where I find him to be a Man, both for Natural and Supernatural Parts, extraordinary well Qua­lified. But F. Bugg says, that he finds in his Works, that he said, That the Sufferings of the Quakers were greater than the Sufferings of Christ and his Apostles. There is something upon Record to that purpose, as I understand; and this was in Oliver's Days, which he did say, That the Quakers Sufferings were worse, in some respect, than the Sufferings of Christ. And his Reason was, because the Jews pre­tended Law for what they did; and the Quakers Sufferings were very much upon the account of small Trivial Things, and no Law, so much as pretended: Although no Quakers do justifie this Passage, yet it may be excused in some measure, and that accord­ing to Truth. Some of the best of Men have broke out into Passion under Sufferings; and E. Burrough's Sufferings were great at that time, not only for himself, but seeing so many of his Innocent Friends under great Afflictions and Sufferings: Under the Ago­ny of Sufferings the best of Men have shew­ed much Weakness and Passion, when God had forsaken them, or hid his Face from them, for a short time. And this was wit­nessed by Job, and the Prophet Elijah, and [Page 56] others, our Saviour Christ upon the Cross, when he cried out, under the Agony of his Suffering, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. Now God's hiding his Face from the best of Men, for a short time, was his Love to Mankind, to shew to Man his Weakness, That no Flesh should Glory but in the Lord.

But F. Bugg, and his Clergy, makes a great Noise to have us retract our Books, if they can prove Error in them; we have an­swered what they can Charge us withal al­ready, and will do further if God Almighty requires it; but will not concern our selves with F. Bugg, and his Clergy, any further than God requires us to do. Our Books are a Testimony of the Sufficiency of the Light and Grace of God in our Hearts, to bring us to Salvation, if it be obeyed; to it we have many Testimonies: For that, and our Sufferings upon that Account, which we shall preserve, God willing, that the Gene­rations to come may Rejoice in our Testi­mony, as we do Rejoice in the Testimonies of the Suffering People of God in all Ages, under what Denomination soever they are Recorded: For such People injoyed a large Measure of the Light and Grace of God in their Hearts, that bore them up above all their Sufferings, in a publick Testimony in all Suffering Times; which do witness, that such People are the Chosen People of God, [Page 57] to set forth his Praise from one Generation to another.

I am now come to the Bishop of Nor­wich's Certificate.

It will be Matter of Admiration to all In­quisitive People, when the real Truth of this Concern is known; that a Bishop of the Church of England should appear so publickly to Vindicate F. Bugg, and his Books, which the Bishop calls Useful, and that F. Bugg hath taken great pains to Undeceive and Convert the Quakers, and not without Success, &c. This were a Matter of great Concernment, if it were true. I intend to take notice of the several Passages in the said Certificate. First, As to his Honesty and Industry; if he had been [Page 58] Honest and Industrious, as the Bishop says, he would not have lost his Time, and neg­lected his Trade, for near Twenty Years, as I can make it appear out of his own Books, and spent a good Estate in Scribling against the Quakers, to no purpose, as will further appear; and run many Hundred Pounds in Debt, more than he was able to pay; and his Creditors must needs have lost much Money by him, if this Project, with the Bi­shop, and some of the Clergy, did not take; which was a thing doubtful, by his own Confession. In his 20th Book, p. 147. there may be much more said upon this account, I will Instance but few of them. In or about the beginning of the Year 1697. he Married his Daughter, made great Feasting and En­tertainments, that was said to be very Chargable, and promised 300 l. Portion with her, upon the Marriage: And at the same time he was Indepted many Hundred Pounds more than he was worth. He also gave Bond, to make his Wife a Jointure of some part of his Estate, which he hath since Sold to his Son. These things he has confessed to me and others. And a few Months af­ter the aforesaid Marriage of his Daughter, he broke, and was sculking about in the Isle of Ely: He then writ to me to conveigh a Paper-parcel to Milden-Hall for him; the Letter bears Date as followeth, June, Satur­day the 19 th or 20 th Day, 1697. When I [Page 59] received this Letter, I was much surprised, that F. Bugg should make such a Request to me, which had held no Correspondence with him for above Twelve Years, nor so much as read any of his Books in that time, only I had seen the Answers to them. This Re­quest to me, I looked upon as a Trapan, that he might have some Colour to pretend, that I was one of his Party in Print. I did not intend to concern my self with any of his Paper-parcels, if they had been brought to me; and I writ to him an answer to that purpose: And in my Letter I reproved him for his Apostacy also. So I cleared my self of his Concerns at that time. These afore­mentioned things, concerning his Daughter's Marriage, his Defrauding his Wife of her Jointure, and Scribling away that which should have pay'd his Debts, shews that the Bishop lies under a great mistake, as to F. Bugg' s Honesty and Industry.

The Bishop, in his Certificate, further says, That F. Bugg took great Pains to Undeceive and Convert the Quakers, by publishing Useful Books, and that not without Success. This is a Matter of great Concernment, if it were true: I and many more can Witness, that he neither proved us in Error, neither were we so far Influenced by F. Bugg, as to give Credit to what he writ; although F. Bugg counted me to be one of his Proselytes in his 20th Book, Pag. 133. where he says, That [Page 60] I opposed G. Fox' s Tyranny. I never had any Controversie with G. Fox, from the time I was first acquainted with him, to the time of his Decease: And when I had heard the Controversie on both sides, I found that there was many Lyes Forged of him, which made me pitty him, and have the better esteem of him. I never heard any of the Separate Quakers that opposed him, except F. Bugg say, that he was a Tyrant. But some of them have said to me, that now in his old Age, he was Childish and Wilful: I did not perceive any Childishness in him after that, but I pleaded, that G. Fox had done much Service for Truth; and if I had a Dog that had done me good Service, I would not hang him in his old Age, nor use him ill when his Service was at an end; that shewed an ill Nature to do so: But to return to my former Discourse, of what Proselytes F. Bugg hath made amongst the Quakers, I have as good Intelligence as the Bishop, in our own Concerns, and I hear of none that owned F. Bugg, or his Books, except he counts those that Conformed to the Church of Eng­land in the time of the Persecution, to save their Estates; and they may be more pro­perly accounted the Persecuting Magistrates, and the Bishop's Proselytes, than F. Bugg's; yet I never heard that those People owned F. Bugg's Books.

[Page 61] But F. Bugg may plead, That there are some Separate Quakers that own him and his Books; that was before he conformed to the Church of England, that many of them did own his first Book, and his second Book was owned by some of them; which oc­casioned me to write to one of them, of my Acquaintance, That F. Bugg had written Lyes in his second Book, to give the Separa­tists warning of him.

I believe it will be hard for the Bishop and F. Bugg to produce five Persons that ever was Quakers, that do own any of his Books, that have been written for these last seven Years, and more, even those that were called Separate Quakers. It is true, that he spent his Time and Estate in making Divi­sions amonst us; and a Separate Meeting was set up in London, which continued di­vers Years, called, Harp-Lane Meeting; but have been disolved about two Years, and those People, excepting a very few, comes now to our Meetings, as I understand. There are divers honest People amongst them, they might see the inconveniency of Sepa­rate Meetings, and withdraw from it; which might happen by George Keith, and some others, making Divisions amongst them, by rasing new Notions of Religion, which was not entertained amongst most of them; but they held the same Principles, as to Religion and Worship, as we do; al­though [Page 62] F. Bugg says to the contrary, but he does not say true, for I was at one of their Meetings, and there was two Preachers, and they preached the same Doctrine that all other Quakers do, the Differences that F. Bugg raised at first, was about some parti­cular Men, that was owned by some, and dis-owned by others, about Church Govern­ment: F. Bugg and some others were for Li­berty without true Measure, this was Ran­tisnt, as appears by F. Bugg's own Books; there came down from London some Orders for Church Government, that were friendly re­commended to us about several things: But that which was made a Controversie of, in these Parts: Was, an Order to prevent Clan­destine. Marriages, and some other necessary Things: Also, Men and Women's Meetings that should take care for the Poor. This was all the principal Matter of F. Bugg's Quarrels; and not about any of our Principles of Religion: I heard his complaints often, and they were only these things I have here inserted; I did not contradict him, lest I should disturb his Head, and set him a scribling against me, at a time when I was not willing to enter into Controversie with him, to put him to Charges, it concerned others at that time, that he had much abused in Print, to take him in Hand.

[Page 63] And although I declined him then, yet there is now a Bishop and some part of the Clergy, that have not only countenanced him, but incouraged him also; which hath imboldened him to be so insolent, as to Charge us in General, and me in Particular, with Crimes that are meerly his own Inven­tion, which will not stand with his Bishop, or Clergy's Reputation, if things be rightly understood.

See his Pilgrims Progress, Page 59. in the Margent, where F. Bugg says, I told a Lye to the Magistate, with design to Deceive, as bad as Perjury: Altho' I have cleared my self, and my Friends, as to matter of Fact, in this case, in the fore-part of my Book; yet there remains a further Consideration in this point, that we may have some Satisfaction from F. Bugg's Bishop and Clergy, if they do not make good F. Bugg's Charge, against me and others, by credible Witnesses, which is no less than the Laws of the Land requires: It is a disparagment to my Friends and Relations, to have one of them no bet­ter than a Pillory'd Person. I and my Hus­band, and my Father also, were of the old Royallists, and suffered much in the time of the civil Wars in England, in the days of King Charles the first, upon the Account of Loyalty: Therefore I thought good to let the Bishop of Norwich know, what my Fa­mily and Relations are; not out of any O­stentation, [Page 64] but to give some satisfaction to my Friends and Relations, that I am so much abused, and stand upon Record no better than a perjured Person in F. Bugg's Books, and the Bishops Certificate countenances it.

I was the eldest Daughter of William Walde­grave, of Buers, in the County of Suffolk, Son and Heir to Sir William Waldegrave the Younger, so called, because Sir William his Father, and he, deceased both in less than a Years time, as I have heard my Grand-mo­ther say, It was an Ancient Protestant Family: I heard my great Uncle, my Father's Uncle, Henry Waldegrave, say, That his Grand-father, Sir William Waldegrave, was persecuted in Queen Mary' s days, by the Bishop of Norwich, and so closely beset by his Emissaries, that he did not go home to his House, but was fed in his Te­nants Barnes, until he got out of the Bishop's Diocess to a House he had in another place, where he ended his days in Peace. Now is a time of Liberty, that we are not persecuted in our Persons and Estates, as we have been for­merly; yet we are persecuted, even to the murdering of our Reputations, altho' we were never found in any Plot or Rebellion, against the Government, since we first appeared to be a People in England, under the name of Quakers, that I ever heard of; yet some Men are so uneasie at our Liberty, and restless, as appears by some of the Clergy, that they [Page 65] have entertained such a wicked Emissary, as this F. Bugg is, whose desperate Fortune hath made him so resolute, that he is not asham­ed to Abuse and Scandalise a great Body of People in General, and vent whatsoever the Devil puts in his Heart, who is the Father of all Lyers, and those that incourage them also.

Yet it is the desires of our Hearts, that they may come to Repentance and Amend­ment of Life, if it be God's gracious Will, that we may live peaceably in this day of the visitation of our blessed Lord and Savi­our Jesus Christ, wherewith he hath visited us, by his Light and Grace in our Hearts and Consciences, to bring us to Salvation, and not to have any dependency on any fallible or blind Guides; for as the Apostle says, 1 Cor. 14. 8. For if the Trumpet gives an uncertain Sound, who shall prepare for the Bat­tle? Now a true Christian's Life, is a con­tinual Warfare, against the Enemies of their Souls, and they ought to put on the Armour of Light, Rom. 13. 12. This is the infallible Guide to those that live in Obedience to the Teaching thereof; this is the gift of God, that he hath given to all Mankind, to lead them into the way of Righteousness, if Man do not resist it, or be not lead out from it, to follow the devices and desires of his own Heart, to imbrace the Delights, Vanities and Deceits of this wicked World, which is [Page 66] the cause that too many have laid down their Heads in Sorrow, altho' they have had all the injoyment this World could afford.

I have a request to my Reader, that he would not be biased by any interest, but sincerely mind the Light and Grace of God, in his own Heart and Conscience, and then shall my end be answered in what I have written; and that the Bishop of Norwich may read the Ancient Principles of our Religion, in the Light, and if he find any Error in them, to shew it us in Love; and if he find none, to give a Testimony he owns them to be true; which is the satisfaction that I de­sire, for my Self and my Friends, for all the uncharitable Censures and Defamations he hath at unawares given Credit to; by own­ing and incouraging F. Bugg's abusive Books, full of mis-representations against us, that desire to live peaceably with all Men.

Our Ancient Principles are inserted be­fore in this Book, I may repeat them that they may be known more amply in this place, 'tis Entituled, Truth's Principles: Or, those things about Doctrine and Worship, which are most surely believed and received amongst the People of God, called Quakers. These Princi­ples are a Declaration of the Light and Grace of God, which shews that That is the Quakers Teacher, and Belief concern­ing Doctrine and Worship; but this is accounted a dangerous Principle amongst [Page 67] those Teachers, that keep People always in teaching that they may be always pay­ing them: These would spoil their Trade, if People would come to be taught by the Light and Grace of God in their own Hearts and Consciences, which is my Desire for all Mankind, that they may no more be led away by the Craft and Subtelty of those Men that make a Money Trade of Religion, and are al­ways obstructing the blessed Light and Grace of God, which would shew unto all Man­kind, the true and real Way to Salvation, and will no ways deceive them that be obedi­ent to it, which will give more Satisfaction to the humble and contrite Heart, than all Worldly Injoyments, which is witnessed by me and many more that have had full Expe­rience of it, and desire that all Mankind would be so kind to themselves, as to make their Calling and Election sure, by being obedient to it: Farewel.