Chap. VIII. The HISTORY of the PvRI rn rts. 365 " imprifoning and detaining at their pleafure our poor bodies, without wen " 0 any trial, releafe, or bail ; and hitherto without any caufe either for er- Elizabeth, " ror or crime directly objected. - -Some of us they have kept in clofe 'L 5 " prifon four or five years with miferable ufage, as Henry Barrowe and ohn Greenwood now in theFleet ; others theyhave calf into Newgate, " and laden with as many irons as they could bear ; others into dangerous " and loathfome goals, among the molt facinorous andvile perfons, where " it is lamentable to relate how many of thefe innocents have perifhed " within thefe five years ; aged widows, aged men, and youngmaidens, " &c. where, fo many as the infection bath fpared, lie in woful diftrefs,. " like to follow their fellows if fpeedy redrefs be not had; others of us " have been grievoufly beaten with cudgels in Bridewell, and cafe into " a place called Little Bye, for refufing to come to their chapel fervice;. " in which prifon feveral have ended their lives; but upon none of our " companions thus committed by them, and dying in their prifon, is any " fearch or inqueft fuffered to pals, as by law in like cafe is provided. Their manner of purfuing and apprehending us is with no lets vio. " lence and outrage ; their purfuevants, with their aßìftants, break into " our houles at all times of the bight, where they break open, ranfack, and rifle at their pleafure, under pretence of fearching for feditious and " unlawful books. The hufbands in the deep of the night they have plucked out of their beds from their wives, and haled them to prifon. " Some time fnce their purfuevants late in the night entered in " the queen's name, into an honeft citizen's houle upon Ludgate-bill, " where after they had at their pleafure fearched and ranfacked all places,, 0° thefts, &c. of the houle, they apprehended two of our mini/'ers, Mr.. " Francis fohnfòn, and iohn Greenwood, without any warrant at all, both " whom between one and two of the clock after midnight, they with bills " and haves led to the counter of Woodflraoe, taking affuranceof Mr. Boys; the mafter of the houle, to be prifor .3 his houle -till next day; at " which time the archbifhop with cert: doctors his affociates, commit- " ted them to dole prifon, two to the Cher; and the third to the Fleet;, " where they now remain in diftrefs. Since this they have cafe into pri_ o fon Thomas Settle, Daniel Studley, and Nicolas Lane, taken upon a " Lord's day in our aí%mbly, and (hut them up in the Gate-houfe ; others " of our friends they are in continual purfuit of;, fo that there is no fafety " for them in any one place. " We therefore humbly pray, in the name of God, and our fovereign " the queen, that we may have the benefit of the laws, and of the pub- " lickcharter of the land, namely, that eve may be received to bail till we " be by order of law convir°ced of Tome crime dcferving bonds. We plight unto your honours ourfaith unto God, andour allegiance to her maje /ly,, " that,
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