part, you should not have brought him before me;" to which the constable replied, "Sir I think so too:" upon which Gilbert had a few words sprang in his heart to the justice, concerning the way of the Lord; whereupon the justice desired the constable to take him away, saying, he was come there to preach to him also. And then the constable and Gilbert went away together, and he was left at his liberty to go where he pleased. After this he several times accidentally met with Manton, and still challenged him to prove his doctrine, which he never could; but at last meeting him in Westminster Abbey, (whereas at several times before he would have shunned Gilbert,) he followed him close, and charged him as he had done several times before, to prove his doctrine; to which, seeing he could not well longer shift, Manton said, he was never able to prove it as Gilbert would have it; to which Gilbert replied, "If thou hadst told me so sooner, I had been better satisfied," and so left him. And these being early days, after the breaking forth of the truth here away, Gilbert was committed to the Gate house prison in Westminster, together with about fifteen or sixteen of his friends, for meeting together, in the fear of God to worship him; they were all put into a little dungeon, or hole, which was about ten feet wide, and eleven feet long, and so dark that they could see no

more light at mid-day than at mid-night; the walls of it were wet, and they being pressed in so narrow a compass, had room only to lie down by turns; so that while some lay down to rest, others were forced to stand: and the prison keeper was so cruel as to command the turnkey not to admit a little straw to be brought in, to be put on the ground for them to lie on; but the Lord was with them, and supported them under all the cruelty that was suffered to be inflicted upon them, for the trial of their faith, and exercise of their patience and delivered them from their sufferings.

After this the spirit of persecution still raged in divers parts of the nation, and many hundred Friends being put into prisons, houses of correction, and dungeons, a paper was drawn up to a meeting of persons called a Parliament, or Committee of Safety, to whom one Glanvil was speaker, or chairman; to whom the paper being delivered, was read, and was to this effect, That Gilbert and the Friends present, desired their friends, who were under these severe sufferings and confinement, might be set at liberty; and that they were willing to go into prison in their steads. But this could not be accepted, and being towards the latter part of Cromwell's time, persecution still raged, and Friends were under great sufferings for going to steeple houses, and crying against the priests and their forced mani

tenance; for which many Friends were committed to prison in divers places; and among the rest, some to the Gate house and Bridewell in Westminster, where they met with severe and hard usage from the master of the Gate house whose name was Wickes; upon which a concern came upon Gilbert, who seeing the severity of the gaoler, and his severe usage of our friends, drew up a paper, manifesting also the exorbitant demands of the master of the prison, who, for fees, demanded a noble from each person, besides seven shillings a week a piece for their bed (although there were three beds in a room, and two persons lay in a bed,) besides garnish money, for which they suffered the taking away of their clothes, which were disposed of for the demand; and as for bread and beer, they must have it but according to the prison rates: all which Gilbert seeing, was very much troubled in his spirit, not only at this severity, but that many who were cleared, lay after this miserable manner for their fees, some of whom died in prison; and he now delivered to the justices of peace for Westminster, the paper which he had drawn up; and it being in particular, received and read by sir William Wheeler, who was in commission for the peace, but not being then well, he promised, that if it should please Lord to enable him to go abroad again, he hole call to account the matter complained of. feet lo

In some short time God in his mercy having restored him, and enabled him to get abroad, he, on the bench of justices, then opened the matter, and an order was made, that Gilbert should bring witnesses to prove his allegations; and the witnesses being two prisoners then in custody, the master of the prison having an understanding hereof made it his business to stifle, or, as much as in him lay, to hinder Gilbert from pro. ducing such evidence as the bench of justices directed, and therefore turned out of prison all such as lay for their fees; and the day appointed for the hearing that matter being at hand, he hoped by that means to frustrate Gilbert from producing evidence to prove his charge; but not withstanding, Wickes's cruelly and subtlety, it pleased God to order things to be so brought to light, that the very morning the matter was to come on to a hearing, two women in good habit, having by some means heard of this matter, came from the post house, at the White hart, at Charing cross, and informed Gilbert, that their husbands were kept in the Gate house prison for tees till they both died; upon which Gilbert and another Friend, having got the evidence drawn up, and signed by the women, approached the court; and the matter being called, Wickes the master of the prison, appeared and Gilbert's charge against him being read, and he having a couple of Friends there with him who were pri

soners, to attest the charge, as well as the evidence, under the two women's hands the justices asked the two Friends if they were witnesses; to which they replied, they were, and that the matter there read and complained of was true; whereupon the justices told Wickes, the master of the prison, they would call all these things to account. Whereupon Wickes returned home, and the Friends who were in the court, not being wholly cleared of the prison, followed him, and asked him what they had to pay for their lodging; and he, like one who had received a mortal blow, answered faintly, What they pleased, and so went into his house, and continued about three or four days, and in that time cried out, and said, "God will cut me off in the midst of my iniquity," and so died. Notwithstanding all this his widow repented not, but grew more hardened; and some time after was married to one Major Broughton, and was more wicked if possible, than before.

This was still in Oliver's time; and Friends being under sufferings for their consciences in Maryland, notwithstanding they were some of the first planters there, and had large promises of liberty and freedom made to them, upon their going to settle there; the old adversary and enemy having stirred up some there to inflict hardship upon them on account of their tender consciences; Gilbert often attended the Lord