I Meeting with a Paper, Entituled, The quakers unmasked and clearly Detected: Put ſorth by VVilliam Prynne, wherein he ſlanders and falſly accuſeth thoſe people ſcornfully called quakers, and ſaith they are ſent from Rome to ſeduce the intoxicated, giddy headded Engliſh Nation; his ground being an information (he ſaith) taken upon oath in the City of Bristol, which he ſets down, as followeth; The Information of George Cowliſhaw of the City of Briſtol aforeſaid, Iron-monger, taken the two and twentieth day of Ianuary, 1654. who informeth upon his oath, that in the Month of September laſt, this Informant had ſome diſcourſe in Briſtol, with one he calls Mr. Coppinger an Iriſh man, formerly a School-fellow of his, that came thither purpoſely for his paſſage into Ireland, who told this Informant that he had lived in Rome and Italy eight or nine years, and had taken upon him the order of a Fryer of the Franciſcan Company; and he told this Informant that he had been at London lately, for ſome months, and whileſt he was there he had been at all the Churches and meetings publike and private that he could hear of, and that none came ſo neer him as the quakers, and being at a meeting of the quakers, he there met with two of his acquaintance in Rome, the which two perſons were of the ſame Franciſcan order and company that were now become chiefe Speakers amongſt the quakers; and he himſelf had ſpoken amongſt the quakers in London, about thirty times and was wel approved of amongſt them; and this Informant further ſaith, that the ſaid Coppinger asked him what kinds of Opinions in Religion there was in Briſtol, and this Informant told him that there were ſeveral opinions and judgements, and not naming any Opinions of the quakers; the ſaid Coppinger asked him whether there had been any quakers in Briſtol; and the ſaid Informant anſwered him no; whereupon the ſaid Coppinger told him (the ſaid Informant) two or three times, that if he did love his religion and his ſoul, he ſhould not hear them, whereupon this informant told him that he thought none of them would come to Briſtol, who expreſly replyed that if this Informant would give him five pound, he would make it five hundred pounds if ſome quakers did not come to Briſtol within three weeks or a month then following; and on the morrow following, the ſaid Coppinger departed from this Cifor Ireland, his Native place, and about eighteen dayes after, there came to this City two perſons, that bare the name of quakers: This is a true Coppy of the information taken upon oath at Briſtol.

This Being the ground of that ſcandalous Paper, put forth by thee VVilliam Prynne, to it I ſhal anſwer, and clearly make appear, that theſe ſcandalls are falſe and ſul of confuſion: Firſt, that they are falſe, it wil appear two of us (whom the World reproachfully calls quakers, came from the North (being moved of the Lord to come to the City of Briſtol) our both and beeing according to the fleſh, was in VVeſtmoreland, not far from Kendal, and there at this preſent, is our outward habitations and families: we came from thence in the Month called Iune, and we came into the City of Bristoll the 12. day of the month, called Iuly, and on the morrow (being the 13▪ day) we were at two meetings, the one was with the people called Anabaptiſts, the other with the people called Independants, and we were moved by the Lord to ſpeak at both their meetings, which we did, and this was the thirteenth day of the month, called Iuly, which was a little before the Fair at Bristol, called Iames-Fat • e, as ſeverall of thoſe people can bear witneſs. Then further thou ſaith, it being in September, George Cowliſhaw, being aſked by the ſaid Coppinger, if there had been none of thoſe people called quakers at Bristol, he anſwered no: now this is falſe, ſome of us (who is ſo called) was then at Briſtol, and here I ſhall take many people to witneſs againſt thee, for we had meetings then in Bristol, the tenth day of the month called September, we had a meeting at the Fort, the thirteenth day of the ſame month, a meeting at the Red-Lodge in Briſtol, and at both meetings there were ſeveral hundreds of people: and likewiſe a meeting at F • eltin, the fifteenth day of the ſame month and the ſeventeenth day we had a meeting at Biſhford, and hundreds went out of the City of Briſtol to that meeting: the nineteenth day we had a anomeeting at the Red-Lodge, and ſeveral other meetings we had in about Briſtol, in the ſame Month, called September, which wil all bear witneſs againſt thee, that thy ſlander is falſe, and thy oath falſe, who ſaith we were not at Briſtol in September, which he hath ſaid on his oath we were not; and here I have proved thy information falſe; again it is ful of confuſion, who ſaith that Coppinger ſaid that none came ſo neer him as the quakers, and that he met with two in London of his own order, and yet he ſaith to the informant, if that he loved his religion and his ſoul, he ſhould not hear them, and yet ſaith they came near him, and was of his own order, which is falſe, we deny ſuch lyars, and their order, and here he is proved to be in confuſion, let all that can diſcern judge.

Again, the man that took the oath (as thou ſayeſt) ſaid that Coppinger was one of the Franciſcan company, and had taken upon him the order at Rome or Italy, here the informant hath made himſelf guilty of, and liable to the Law in ſuch caſes, provided, who was privy to him, who ſaid he had taken up that order, and did not diſcover him (but let him go) and then accuſeth thoſe that are innocent, which bears the name of quakers. Now here thou art made manifeſt, to be a falſe accuſer, and a ſlanderer; I have proved that we came to the City of Briſtol in the month called July, before the fair, and likewiſe that we were at thoſe meetings before mentioned and ſeveral other meetngs we were at, in and about Briſtol, in the Month, called September, and this oath before mentioned, being the ground of a warrant given forth by the Magiſtrates of Briſtol, and ſeveral of our names therein expreſſed, we who had been at Briſtol, whoſe names were there mentioned, came all forth of VVeſtmoreland, near unto Kendal, none of us having never been out of the Nation, but we lived and walked in and at our own habitations, excepting at the time of the wars, when we were in the ſervice of the Commonwealth • and ſeverall of the commanders and magiſtrates, in that countrey can bear witneſs to our places, and beings, and here your lyes and ſlanders are made to appear and utterly denyed; and VVilliam Prynne, here thou art clearly detected, who ſlandereſt the innocent, living in the ſpawn thou ſpeaks of, the Poiſon of aſps being under thy tongue, and ſpuing out thy venome againſt the harmleſs, and thy informant is proved to be guilty, in not diſcovering the man hee ſpeak of, which he hath on his oath ſaid that he confeſſed to him he had been at Rome, and taken upon him the order of a Fryer of the Franciſcan company. Now here let all people take notice of the dealings of the magiſtrates, who gave out a warrant againſt the innocent, whom they cannot juſtly prove any thing againſt whereof they do accuſe them, and yet lets him go free who concealed the ſaid Coppinger, which on his oath declared, that the ſaid Coppinger confeſſed himſelf to be one of that order, and we deny all of his Order, who lives in lying and confuſion, or any▪ ſuch to ſpeak amongſt us, for we know the voice of Chriſt from the voice of the ſtranger, ſo the devil being the father of lyes, and a lye being thy foundation, thou art taken with a lye in thy mouth, and ſo ads lye unto lye, and builds one lye upon another; and then thou cryes againſt thy own lyes, for thou can prove no ſuch thing by us, as thou accuſeth us of, ſaying that the quakers uſe inchanted Potion, Bracelets, Ribbands, Sorcery, and witchcrafe, which is falſe, and thou like the raging Sea caſts up thy mire and dirt; O thou ful of all miſchiefe, and enemy to all righteouſneſs, I charge thee, or any of thy companions of the ſame order, who lives in lying, to prove any ſuch thing by us, and make it appear publikely as thou haſt accuſed us, or let thy mouth be ſtopped, and own thy condemnation, and confeſs thy deceipt, and call in thy filthy paper, and take ſhame to thy ſelf, for know this, that the Lord God wil plead with thee for all thy hard ſpeeches, and juſtly by him ſhalt thou be rewarded; and we utterly deny, and do bear witneſs againſt all ſuch filthy waies and practiſes of all ſuch Frogs as thou mentions, and againſt thee who prints lyes, as I have already proved, and lyars muſt be caſt into the Lake; and here I have found thee, and proved thee in the intoxicated, giddy headed condition thou ſpeaks of, who art already deceived, and need be deceived no farther, and thou art fallen into the pit thou digged, and they for whom thy not was ſpread (being innocent) are eſcaped, and thy folly is unmasked, and thou art clearly betected, and proved to be in error in thy very foundation, and ſo all thy building is made void, and if thou cannot begin upon better evidence, let thy mouth for ever be ſtoyyd, and let ſhame cover thy lips, and repent of the evil of thy wayes, leſt the wrath of the Lord break out againſt thee, and there be no remedy; to the Light in thy conſcience I ſpeak, and remember that thou art warned.

Friend, thy Spirit is ſavoured and tryed, and now this is the end of thy zeal, who art become a perſecutor of the life which thou haſt profeſſed in words, and now thy zeal appears without the knowledge of God, for the Jeſuits, Romiſh Fryers, and Frogs (as thou calls them, are in the ſame nature as thou art in, againſt that people whom thou ſcornfully calls quakers; and ſo there is many unfavoury ſpeeches in thy Paper, putforth by thee VVilliam Prynne, which (worth the mentioning) are not; but thou haſt manifeſted the end of thy P • o • eſſion, who appears now to be one of thoſe giddy headded Engliſh men thou ſpeaks of: and as touching leading ſilly women Captive laden with ſin, and led away with divers luſts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, to thee th • s home ſhall return who appears to be in this ſtate, learning alwaies, and ſilly, for how many years haſt thou been learning, and now doeſt reſiſt the truth with thy unclean Spirit, as Iannes and Iambers did the Children of Iſrael, which was comming out of Egypt, with their corrupt Spirits, ſo with what Meaſure thou meaſureſt, it ſhall be meaſured to thee again, good weight, running over, preſſed down: and friend, in the day of thy calamity, remember whom thou haſt deſpiſed in the day of thy proſperity, and what thou haſt rejected with thy ful Stomack, and now loathes the Honny-Comb, and the precious, and the vile chuſ • th, and ſo one with the Harlot art become, the light doth thee comprehend; thou ſaiſt there was trembling or quaking in the hoaſt in the field, & among all the people, the garriſons and the ſpoylers, they alſo trembled, ſo it was a very great trembling, or quaking: this for thy ſelfe ſhal ſtand, when thou thy ſelf canſt read a ſpoyler, and ſee thy ſelf in the field, the ſtrong man that muſt bow himſelf, and thy fenced Cities muſt be broken down, and thy Garr • ſon, with all thy carnall weopons, then the hoaſt ſhal thee fail, and then trembling and quaking wil not be deſpiſed, which ſtands with a put ful compaſſion to all ſouls, and quaking and trembling doth not deſpiſe, for thou unmasked thy ſelf in this paper haſt, to be a ſcorner and ſcoffer at Gods righteous ſeed, which he upholds with his arm, for which thou ſhalt give an account▪ to the light in thy conſcience, which changes not, is it ſpoken.

And whereas thou, William Prynne, ſaith that Coppinger confeſſed that he ſpake about thirty times at London, among them called quakers; it is falſe▪ he did not ſpeak amongſt us who are ſo called, but them that have ſpoken amongſt us, their names we know, and ſo we (whoſe names are ſubſcribed) bear witneſs againſt that untruth thou haſt publiſhed in print, Amors Toddert, Simon Dring, John Bolton; William Creake, Gervaſe Roberts, Henry Clerke, Robert Dring; William Kaymond, Richard Davies, William Weſt.

FRiend, thou pretending a reply to that which is before printed, in a paper put forth by thee, bearing the ſame title, which thou ſaith is the ſecond Edition, enlarged; to thee I ſhal reply, that the things which I proved ſtands good, and not detected by thee, but thou art clearly detected; and proved to make a lye thy foundation, and now in thy lying enlarged Edition, thou haſt gathered up more lyes; & ſent them abroad into the world, & ful of venome thou art, ſpawned from the Serpent, crawling in the mire like the frogs thou peaks of, caſting up thy filth, and foming like the Sea, and when thou haſt gathered up a heap of lyes together, thou wouldſt caſt them upon the children of light, wwo in ſcorn are called quakers, who denyes thee among the reſt of the Roman • vermine, & giddy-headded, brain-ſick generation, and were thou not blinde thou would not utter forth ſuch confuſion, Babylon is thy habitation, the deſtruction of thy City is ha tningapace, Miſery and lamentation from the Lord God, is comming upon you, the burthenſome ſtone wil grind you to pieces.

Thou ſaith the chiefe exception is againſt Cowliſhaw, his Oath is untrue, for, ſayeſt thou, though we were in Briſtol, and went to two meetings, yet that was unknown to Cowliſhaw.

Reply. Here thou haſt confeſſed that the oath is untrue, in that he ſware the thing he knew not, which thing proves contrary to what he ſware, and and this again p • oves thy foundation falſe, who faith we had not been at Briſtol, and ſware the thing he knew not, as is before expreſſed.

Thou ſayeſt, we ſpoke to thoſe people then, not under the notion of quakers, but onely of Anabaptiſts, and Independants.

Reply. This is falſe, lye to lye thou ads, take them away, and thy refuge is gone, we did not ſpeak to them as Anaba • tiſts, or as Independants, and this many of the people wil witneſs for us, and againſt thee, and there was ſeveral in that City that knew us to be of thoſe people that were called quakers, which proves another lye upon thee.

Thou ſaiſt, when the meetings was in September, we began to take upon us the name and title of quakers, and that thoſe meetings was after Cowliſhaws conference with Coppinger, who adds that about eighteen dayes after.

Reply. Thy covering is too narrow, by the Light thou art diſcovered, for the information faith it was in September, and then were we in Briſtol, and the words about eighteen dayes after, which 〈◊〉 proves the th • ng falſe, we being at Briſtol then at thoſe publike meetings before mentioned, and that we began to take upon us the title of quakers then is falſe; and with ſuch filthy ſtuff thou makes up thy enlarged Edition.

Thou ſaith this convinceth Audland of a ſlander, and doube ly: Firſt, in accuſing Cowl • ſhaw for making a falſe oath, which his own anſwer to it juſtifieth it to be true.

Reply. This is a double ly, for plainneſs of ſpeech I uſe, and gives a lye the name of a lye: firſt, I am not convinced that he is ſlandered, for the oath is proved to be falſe, in affirming that which he knew not, and that which was not; and that the anſwer juſtifies it to be true, is falſe again, for the Anſwer proves it abſolutely untrue. S • condly, thou ſaith in averring, that he (and his Companions) were moved by the Lord, and his eternal Spirit, to leave their own Habitations and Callings in the North, to come to ſeduce the People of Briſtol.

Reply. Let ſhame cover thy lips (if thy heart be not hardned) thou wilt bluſh, are theſe my words, or thy own? I charge thee to be a ſlanderer, and a falſe accuſer of the Brethren, theſe words was never uttered by me, all ſeducers and ſeducing by the Spirit of God is denyed, and witneſſed againſt, and thou art witneſſed againſt by the Spirit of God, that thou art ful of venome, froth, and filth, which is not worth raking up after thee; thy Heart is overcome with it, let it return into the Pit from whence it came, where the Frogs lodges, who are thy companions. Again, that which is ſpoken, as touching the breach of the Law in not diſcovering Coppinger, but concealing him, and letting him depart, is true according to the Law and thy evading it, by ſeeming to cover it, by Coppingers haſty departure, and the ſuſpenſion of the Lawes, thou ſaith, to that purpoſe, doth no whit prove the contrary, and had not your envy tranſported you beyond the bounds of equity, you would be aſhamed to publiſh ſuch a thing, but it's clearly ſeen whom you ſhout at, and whom you would devour, though you pretend the Juſuits, they are ſo near of kin to you, you can let them go, and after conference with them (as thou ſaith Cowliſhaw had with Coppinger) who confeſs themſelves to be ſuch, thou concealeſt them, and bring in their words to ſlander the innocent, and truth ever ſuffered under reproachful names and tongues, in which thou haſt not a little ſhare, thou fils up thy meaſure, and accordingly ſhal thou be rewarded.

Thou ſaith, I except againſt thee for averring that the quakers are but the ſpawn of Romiſh frogs, Jeſuits, and Franciſcan Fryers, and to deny this is alledged that they came out of the North, and thou ſaith to come out of the North is a ſhrew'd ſigne of their badneſs, for the Scriptures ſpeaks, that out of the North an evil ſhall break forth.

Reply. To prove that we came out of the Nort, and had never been out of Nation, and of our birth and habitations, doth ſufficiently confute thee, who made that thy ground to have proved by the information, that we were Coppingers acquaintance in Rome, for ſaiſt thou, thoſe two perſons which came to Briſtol, was moſt likely his two fellow Franciſcan Fryers, and here thy likeneſs is another lye, and the Scripture doth not prove thy ſhrew'd ſigne, neither doth it cover thee, nor hide thee, but upon thee will evill break forth, who the evil haſt committed, a grievour ſtorm and whitlwind will fall upon the wicked, and ſweep away the refuge of lyes and lyars into the Lake, read thy portion▪ and put it not from thee.

Secondly, Thou ſaith for affirming that the quakers uſe inchanted potions, Bracelets, Ribban • s▪ Sorcery, and witchcraft to intoxicate their diſciples; and thou ſaiſt, this is evidenced in the Pr • miſes, and apparent in moſt places where they ramble, and thou ſhalt prove it no farther, but cloſe up all with two Scripture exhortations.

Reply. I demanded of thee before to prove any ſuch thing by us, or let thy mouth be ſtopt, and as touching proving any ſuch thing, thy mouth is ſtopt, and thy premiſes proves it not by us, but is made up of lyes and ſlanders, and falſe reports, which thou haſt gathered where thou haſt rambled up and down in thy imaginations, ſending out a pack of filthy lyes, ſpawned out from the old Serpent the Devil, and Satan, out of whoſe mouth proceeds the frogs and there may thou read thy ſelfe apparently, his diſciple intoxicated, and thee with all the reſt of the ſpawn of Romiſh Frogs, Jeſuites, and Franciſcan Fryers is denyed, and caſt out from amongſt the people of God, ſcorn-called quakers, and if thou can prove no better then to cloſe up as thou doth, the lyes wil reſt upon thy own head; but wilt thou turn back a little, and take one exhortation where thou art giving two, if there be any ſpark of honeſty in thee, or any remembrance of thy latter end, or any conſideration that lyars muſt be caſt into the Lake, repent of the evil of thy doings, and ceaſe lying and ſlandering the innocent, which thou canſt not prove to be offenders, and lay thy mouth in the duſt, if ſo be there may be hope▪ ſo here in plainneſs thy lyes is turned upon thy own head, and the former anſwer is juſt, and ſtands a witneſs againſt thee, and thou art more unmasked, and clearly detected, and til thou can begin upon better evidence, ſilence beſt becomes thee: Remember again thou art warned, ceaſe thy gainſaying, leſt ton periſh in thy rebellion, and go down alive into the Pit.