Ill News from New England, Letter 2 – Floating text 10
The 12 of the 7th. M. 51. To the Honoured Governour.
Honoured Sir,
HOwever you may judge of me, yet am I dayly waiting to ſtand before him who ſhall judge quick and dead, and now becauſe I am under reproach, and ſenſure by many, and the more by reaſon of ſome words ſpoken by your ſelf, as though I were an evill perſon in life and converſation, and although I may be accounted as a fool, yet hear me a little to plead mine innocency, and I hope you will not too far condemn me untill you hear me ſpeak; Sir, I acknowledge only free grace, and that by his power alone I have been kept, and what my life and manner of converſation was for ſix or ſeven years while I was with you, I appeal to your ſelf, and the experiences you have had of me, and to your Elders, and to the whole Church; who ever reproved me of evill? and ye recommended me to others, and for four years time I walked with them at Rehoboth, who alſo ſhould have reproved me if under Sin; but when it pleaſed the Lord to cauſe me to hear his voice, and I ſeparated from them, which was occaſioned by an unrighteous Act of theirs as I judged, which was, that ſeven of the Brethren ſhould paſs an Act of Admonition upon a Brother without the Conſent of the reſt, we being 23 in number, who might all in one hours ſpace, if in health, have come together, ſo when I heard of it I went to Mr. Newman, and told him of the evill which he, and the other ſix had done, he told me they were the Church Repreſentative, and if 4 of them had done it, it had been a Church Act; when this comes to the Congregation, with much a doe, he got five more to himſelf, and then they were 12, and we eleven, then they owned themſelves to be the Church, and ſo began to deal with me for ſaying, they had abuſed the Church, and had took from them their power, whereupon I told them I ſhould renounce them, and not have any more fellowſhip with them, till either they ſaw their Sin, or I further light; after which divers others to the number of ſeven, or eight fell off from them, and we met once a week, and every firſt day, and ſo continued for a long ſpace of time, yea and the day was known when we intended to be Baptized, and there were many Witneſſes obſerving our Faith, and Order, and yet not one Man or Woman of Mr. Newmans company that ever came to deal with me for evill, neither in Judgment, nor Practice, untill a long time after that appointment of our Lord was diſpenced; Thus I ſay, when I had ſeparated from them, and a long time after, I underſtood by their Meſſenger that they intended to proceed againſt me, ſo I deſired the meſſenger to tell me for what evill, he told me I ſhould know when I came there, ſo I ſent one of their own Brethren to tell them from me, though I owned them not as Brethren, yet if any Man or Woman had ought againſt me, I would come to them, although they had not delt with me according to any rule; but none came to me, nor charged me with any evill; and when upon occaſion I came before all the Congregation, and ſtrangers, I demanded for what cauſe it was that they proceeded againſt me, ſeing I had ſent to them before, and no man accuſed me; Mr. Newman told me, it was for non appearance; and now judge of the evill in your own way, and that for my Excommunication as you call it, I am by you rendred that wicked perſon; as for the ſuſpition of that moſt abominable evill of uncleanneſs, and Adultery, which many think I am guilty of, by reaſon of ſome perſons ſpeeches, I deſire to bleſs my Lord, who hath cauſed me to deny all uncleanneſs and wickedneſs, and God forbid that I ſhould take the Members of Chriſt, and make them the Members of an Harlot, and I challenge all Men and Women that dare ſtand before the judgment ſeat of the Lord, to come forth, and ſay if they ever heard unclean words proceed out of my mouth, or any unſeemly geſture, much leſs action, to any in my life at Salem, Seacunck, or elſwhere, yea let them come forth before any to meet me in private, or publick, upon any friends requeſt without the Magiſtrates Warrant; but I remember my Lord was called Belzebub, and what though I be called an Adulterer, or Witch, or Blaſphemer, and every one ſaith what he pleaſeth, yet I ſtand before the judgment of my Lord; And whereas it was alſo reported I Baptized Goodwife Bowdiſh naked, I bleſs the Lord he hath taught me to do that which is comly, and of good report, yea and I know a Man, or Woman may be drowned in their Cloathes, or buryed in earth with their Cloathes, but that ſhe had comly garments from the Crown of her head to the ſole of her foot, many being preſent with her huſband can teſtifie and if any be pleaſed to reproach me behind my back, and not to ſpeak to my face, let them know the Lora knows how to deliver the innocent, unto whom I commit my ſelf, with my prayers for you, and am,
Yours still as formerly to command in all Lawfull things Obediah Holmes.
Whilſt he (through the ſpirit of the Lord that reſted upon him) bore theſe bloody ſtrokes with ſo cheerfull a ſpirit as if he felt them not, divers of the ſtanders by, beholding, it were ſo affected with joy, that when he was looſed could not forbear to come to him, and to ſhake him by the hand, thereby to manifeſt their rejoycing with him, that the Lord had ſupported him; but information hereof being given to the Magiſtrates, warrants were ſent forth (as is reported to the number of 13) whereupon ſome through fear were fain to hide themſelves, and being ſtrangers, to haſten away, or change their habit, two of them were taken as aforeſaid, that is to ſay John Spur, and old Iohn Hazell, and committed to priſon as the Warrant herewith declares.
To the Keeper or his Deputy.
BY virtue hereof you are to take into your cuſtody, and ſafe keeping, the body of Iohn Spur for a hainous offence by him committed, hereof not to f…il. Dated the 5th. of the 7th. Month 1651. Take alſo into your ſafe keeping Iohn Hazell.
By the Court, INCREASE NOWEL.
John Spur profeſt to me, and before many Witneſſes, that his heart was ſo taken with what he ſaw and heard, that he could not but go to him, take him by the hand, and bleſſe the Lord who had been ſo preſent with him, but to ſave me a labor his own words here followeth.