Oliver Protetlor. r6 5 6. ~ The HISTORY if the PuRITANs. VoL. U. and upon the ~h?le, fix of the eight !hips were deftroyed; the plate to the value of two millions, was brought to Portfmouth, and conveyed in carts toLondon, and carried through the city to the 'Tower to b~ coined. Ad~ miral Blake, with the reil: of the fleet, wintered upon the coaft of Spain and defiroyed another fleet of much greater value the next fummer. ' Hijlory of the quakers &ontinucd, After the difcovery of Syudercomb's plot, the pre!atifls, pnjbyteriam, and levellers, were pretty quiet, but the quakers began to be very trouble– fame. The reader has be_en infon~e~ und_er the yeur 16 so, that George Fox travelled the countms, declatmmg m the marktt places, and in churches, againft all ordained minilters, and placing the whole of reli– gion in an imcard light, and an extraordinary impulfe if the holy jpirit, ln the yea_r J 652 the quake1s fet up feparate alfemblies in Lancajhire, and the adJ<!Cent parts. 1n I 6 54 they opened the firfi feparate meeting of the people called quakers in the houfe of Robert Dring, in Watlin– jlreet London. Thefe unwary people, by interrupting public wodhip, and refufing to pay any refpee1 to the magiftrate, frtquently expofed them– fe!ves to fufferings. One of them in a letter to the protector, fays,. " that though there are no penal laws in force, obliging men to comply " with the eftablifhed religion, yet the quakers are expofed upon other " accounts; they are fined and imprifoned for refufing to take an oath ; '• for not paying their tithes; for dill:urbing the public alfemblies, and " meeting in the fireets, and places of public refort; fome of them " have been whipped for vagabonds, and for their plain fpeeches to the Their ~xtra- " magiftrate." But the quakers were fo far fi·om being difcouraged , ~agar~,Clr'f.· that they opened a public meeting under favour of the toleration, at the P~,~~\~ dl. Bull and lvfouth inn, in Alderjgatejlreet, where women as well as men fpake as they were moved; and when none were moved, there was no [peaking at all. The novelty of this alfembly drew great numbers of people thither out of curiality ; nor did any give them difturbance, as long as they continu ed quiet withinthcmfelves; but in feveral places where they had no bufi nefs, the extravagance of their fpeakers was in(ufterable; one of them interrupted the miniftcr in lf7hitechapel church,and difturbed the whole alfemb!y. A female came into Whitehall chapel, )lark naked, in the midfi of public worihip, the lord protector himfelf being pre(ent. Another came into the parliament honfe with a trenchard in her band, which fhe broke in pieces, faying, thus jha/1 ye be broke in pieces. 'Tho– mas Adams having complained to the protector of the imprifon ment of fome friends in the country, and not finding redre[s, he took off his cap and tore it ;n pieces, faying, fo Jba!l thy go"Jernment be torn from thee, and thy houft. Several pretending an extraordinary melfage from heaven, went about the fireets of London, denouncing the judgments of God againfi the proteCtor and his counciL One came to the door of t_he parlta~
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