THE Cry of the Oppressed  pray Remember the poor De●tors.  depiction of a street. Many people on the street and one is begging for money. Through two windows covered with bars, many people are visible.   

THE Cry of the Oppressed.  
BEING A True and Tragical Account of the unparalleled Sufferings of Multitudes of poor Imprisoned Debtors, in most of the Gaols in England, under the Tyranny of the Gaolers, and other Oppressors, lately discovered upon the occasion of this present Act of Grace, For the Release of poor Prisoners for Debt, or Damages; some of them being not only Iron'd, and lodged with Hogs, Felons, and condemned Persons, but have had their Bones broken; others Poisoned and Starved to Death; others denied the Common Blessings of Nature, as Water to Drink, or Straw to lodge on; others their Wives and Daughters attempted to be ravished; with other Barbarous Cruelties, not to be paralleled in any History, or Nation: All which is made out by undeniable Evidence.  
TOGETHER With the CASE of the Publisher.  
Let Extortion have an end; let the Spoiler cease, and let the Oppressors be Consumed out of the Land; who by reason of the multitude of their Oppressions make the Oppressed to Cry.  
Illustrated with Copper-Plates.  
London, Printed for Moses pit, and sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster, 1691.   

To the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons Assembled in Parliament.  
My Lords and Gentlemen,  
I Here present your Honours with a short Account of some great Oppressions, &c. many of us Their Majesties poor Imprisoned Subjects have, and still do Groan under, tho' we must with all Thankfulness acknowledge your great Goodness and Charity, in that the last Sessions you were pleased in a great measure to hear our humble Petitions, and pass that most Gracious Act, For Relief of poor Prisoners for Debt or Damages, by which many Thousands of Their Majesties poor Imprisoned Subjects are Released from their Starving Condition, and are thereby enabled to serve Their Majesties and the Commonwealth both at Sea and at Land, in this time of Exigency, and also in some measure are enabled to pay their Honest Debts, and to Maintain themselves and Families, all which was impossible for them to do during their Imprisonment; and it were to be wished, that this most Gracious Act had been without a Limited sum, which then would have relieved many Thousands more of us Their Majesties most Miserable and Oppressed Subjects, and many Hundred of Thousands of Pounds of Debts had been paid, which now of necessity, by reason of our continuance in Prisons, will,( besides the Service of our Persons,) be lost to this Nation. And now most Noble Patriots, In this small Book 〈…〉 here present to your View ou●… Wounds and our Distempers, our Boils and our Carbuncles, the Briberies and Perjuries, the Oppressions and Extortions, we Groan under. You are not only our Princes, but our Physicians, unto whom should we Complain and Cry,( next to God and Their Majesties,) but to You for Healing? Oh! give us the poor Imprisoned no longer cause to Cry our in the Words of the Prophet Jeremiah, Is there no Balm in Gilead, is there no Physician there? Why then is not the Health of the Daughter of my People Recovered? And now you have opened the Prison-Doors, and let many Thousands of us the poor Out-casts dwell with you, be you still a Covert to us that remain in Prisons from the Face of the Spoiler; Let Extortion have an end, let the Spoiler cease, and let the Oppressors be consumed out of the Land, who by reason of the multitude of their Oppressions, make us the poor Oppressed Prisoners to Cry. Then in Mercy shall the Throne be Established to our gracious King& Queen,& they shall sit upon it in Truth, Judging, and speaking judgement, and hasting Righteousness. And be you such Counsellors to Their Majesties, as Jethro advised Moses to take; Able Men, such as fear God, Men of Truth, hating Covetousness, and then God will be with you, and help you against the Mighty Enemies of Their Majesties and these Kingdoms, and all other Oppressors, which is the Hearty Prayers and Desires of  
Your Honours most humble Servant, The Publisher.   

TO THE READER.  
Reader,  
I Here put into thy Hand a small Book, as full of Tragedies as Pages, which are not Romances but Truths, they are not Acted in Foreign Nations among Turks and Infidels, Papists and Idolaters, but in this our own country, by our own countrymen and Relations each to other, not Acted time out of mind, by Men many Thousands, or Hundred Years ago, but now at this very Day by Men now living in Prosperity, Wealth, and grandeur; they are such Tragedies as no Age or country can parallel. That Men and Women should be Imprisoned all Days of their Lives, by Bribers, Oppressors, Extortioners, Perjured Persons, &c. and there lye Starving, Rotting with Soars and Carbuncles, devoured with Vermin, Poisoned with Nasty Stinks, knocked on the Head, and that for no Crimes, but for their Misfortunes, Miscarrs 〈◇〉, and Losses, by Trade and Merchandizing, which in no Times or Ages could be avoided, nor Care or Industry prevent. Certainly the Ten first Persecutions under Nero, &c. The Massacre at Paris, the Persecutions of the poor Protestants of the valleys of Piedmont, the Rebellion of Ireland, and the Tyranny and Cruelties at this time exercised by that Monster of France, against his poor Innocent huguenot Subjects, do not exceed the Barbarities practised at this Day in our own Nation, against poor imprisoned Debtors: An Account of many of which Barbarities thou hast here related with Truth and Sincerity, by which thou wilt find, that the Condition of a poor imprisoned Debtor is far worse than a Criminal, be he fellow, or murderer, for he shall have his fair trial in Six Months, and either be Acquitted, or found Guilty of the Crime Accused of, and then he is Released, or Executed, but a poor Debtor is kept a Prisoner as long as it shall please God to lengthen out his Life, altho' the Oppressor, upon whose Account he is imprisoned, has taken away all the Estate he has in this World, and knows that his Imprisonment is no Advantage to him, yet his Cruelty is so great, knowing that our Laws do not Check his Revenge, that he will keep him in to starve him to Death, that so he may rejoice in this, That he has made Dice of his Bones, which is not at all suffered in any Nation under the Copes of Heaven, but ours: for in our Neighbour Nations, if an unmerciful Creditor will keep his imprisoned Debtor in Gaol, he must make him an Allowance to keep him from Starving, otherwise the jailer, according to the Laws of the country, will set the Prisoner at Liberty; but here in our Nation, a poor Imprisoned Debtor that has not wherewith to pay, by reason of his great Losses and Crosses in the World, or by reason of his Oppressing Adversaries, can never expect his Liberty, but by an Act of Grace for the Relief of poor Prisoners for Debt or Damages, the which we have not had since May 1678, till this Act made in the Second Year of Their Majesties Reign, which Discharges those that were in Prison the 28th Day of November, 1690, who are not charged with more than One Hundred Pounds principal Money, or Damages, for which we that are the Imprisoned, that have no Benefit of the said Act, as well as those that have, do return Their Majesties, and both Houses of Parliament, all humble and hearty Thanks for this Their great Charity to many Thousands of poor Imprisoned Debtors, but withal, in all Humility, do put the Parliament in mind, That they have this Expression in the beginning of the said Act, That, Now Their present Majesties taking into Their Charitable and Pious Consideration, the sad Condition of many Thousands of poor Prisoners in Prison for Debt, ready to perish; and being no less Piously inclined and intended to Ease and Relieve Their poor Distressed Subjects in Prison, than any other Kings and Queens Their Predecessors have been: And withal, in all Humility, do here set down what has been done for the Relief of poor Imprisoned Debtors, under our several Governments since the Year 1648, without any design of Reflections on their Honours, but for their Information,( for Bernardus non vidit omnia,) from the Year 1648, to 1660, were passed no less than Six several Acts for the Relief of poor Debtors, and all of them without a limited sum, by one of them was Released that great Oracle of the Law, Sir F— P— who has had the Honour of being Lord Chief Justice of the King's-Bench, and also Common-Pleas; the First was Septemb. the 4th; the Second, Decemb. the 21st, 1649. The Third, April the 6th, 1650. The Fourth, April the 27th, 1652. The Fifth, October the 5th, 1653. And the Sixth was 1656. Where it was Enacted, That the Acts made Decemb. 21st, 1649, and April the 6th, 1650, be revived and continued in force for Twelve Months, from the 27th of June, 1657, as to such persons as are or shall be in Prison within that time. By which 'tis plain, that that Parliament did Relieve those also that took Sanctuary in Privilege-places,( whose Sad Condition doth also deserve the Pity and Compassion of the Honourable House of Commons) There was also Two Acts to this purpose made in the Reign of K. Charles the Second. The First, April the 14th, 1671, which was also without a limited sum. The Second was May the 29th, 1678. And this till now was the only Act in which was inserted a Proviso, That no person, by virtue of this Act, shall be discharged out of Prison, who shall stand Charged in Execution with more than the sum of Five Hundred Pounds to any one Person Principal Money, and Damages. Now this Proviso was purposely inserted, to prevent some Knavish Bankers that were some time before broken for great sums of Money, from taking the Benefit of the said Act, and not to detain the Honest Gentleman, Merchant, and Tradesman, in Prison, who by unavoidable Losses, &c. are Ruined and Imprisoned. But I, with all Humility, leave it to the Wise Consideration of this present Parliament, Whether they ought not to make Good Their Majesties Pious Inclinations, and Intentions, to Relieve Their poor Distressed Subjects in Prison, than any other Kings and Queens Their Predecessors, by throwing open the Prison-Doors without any Proviso of a limited sum, and let the Captives go free. And so I pass on to give the Reader an Account how I came to the knowledge of these Tragedies here related. Upon Saturday the 20th of April, 1689, I was brought Prisoner into the Fleet-Prison, London, on the Monday after came to me Two Prisoners, and  told me, They had a Bill in the House of Commons, for the Relief of poor Imprisoned Debtors, and desired my Charity towards the Charges of Carrying it on; upon which I gave them my Mite; but the Parliament sometime after being dissolved, that Bill was lost, and these Two Gentlemen disheartened in their Undertakings. Soon after this present Parliament was called, and then another Bill was put in by the Prisoners into the Honourable House of Commons, and there being a Prorogation this Bill was likewise lost. Upon this, at the next Sessions of Parliament, the poor Imprisoned Debtors Petitioned the Honourable House of Commons to bring in another Bill for their Relief, which was granted them; but before they could bring in their Bill, the Right Honourable Hugh Boscowin, Esq; one of Their Majesties Privy Council, out of his great Goodness and Charity, brought into the Honourable House of Commons this Bill which is now brought forth into an Act, and passed the Royal Assent the 5th of January, 1690. Whilst these things were Transacting we the Prisoners of the Fleet Considering, that though both Houses of Parliament were very Charitable, and were very willing to Relieve us the most Miserable; yet we well knew that the Fees due to their Clerks, and other Officers, besides Soliciting Fees, must be paid, upon this we called a Common-Hall the 20th of September, 1690, to make Choice of a Person to be a Collector, Treasurer, and Disposer of what Moneys should be given by well disposed Charitable People for the carrying on of this, or any other Bill, which is or shall be put in Parliament for the Relief of the poor imprisoned Debtors in England; upon which they made Choice of myself under all their Hands,( which were in Number Seventy,) and also the Common-Seal of the said Prison. Upon this, knowing that most Prisoners are very poor, I was resolved to study and contrive all the lawful ways I could to raise Moneys, so that if possible the poor Prisoners might be excused from advancing any towards the said Charges. Upon this the first thing I did, I published in the Gazette, that if any good people would be Charitable to poor Prisoners, in helping them to Moneys to pay the Charges of passing this Act, that they should sand their Charity to myself a Prisoner in the Fleet. The putting this in the Gazette cost me Ten Shillings, but this way did not at all help us, for I never received one Farthing upon this Advertisement. At the same time also I requested William Lee Esq; a counsellor of the Temple, to Treat with the Prisoners of the King's-Bench, they being Twenty times the Number of us in the Fleet, to see what they would be willing to pay towards the Charges of this Act; he did agree with them, that we of the Fleet paying one Third of the Charges, they of the King's-Bench would pay the other Two Thirds,( with which Agreement we of the Fleet were well pleased,) but they never performed their Agreement; all that they paid was but Fifty Five Shillings, as Witness Mr. John Hooks of Chffords-Inn, one of the Clerks of Mr. Joderel Clerk to the House of Commons. The next way I attempted to get Money, was by Begging of a small Congregation that came from abroad to hear one Mr. Tho Beaverley a Prisoner in the Fleer, who preached every Lords-Day in the chapel of the said Prison, and there I got Six Pounds Twelve Shillings and Three Pence, whereof 5 s. was given by the Warden of the Fleet. Then I employed a Friend to Mr. Firmin in Lumbardstreet, whom I was  told was a very Charitable Man, and had great sums of Charity Money to bestow, and got the said Mr. Beaverley's Letter to him, but could not prevail with him to give one Penny. Then I thought with myself it would be prudence to apply myself to the Clergy, both Conformist and Nonconformist,( knowing that there was not a greater Charity to be performed in this World, than setting at liberty so many Thousand poor Imprisoned Debtors, as this Act would do,) the which I did, and accordingly I sent my Friends to them, particularly to the Dean and Chapter of— I sent a Letter, and also a Petition, under the Common-Seal of the Fleet, but could not get one Farthing, only my Friend that I employed,( who did belong to the said Church) gave me his Five Shillings, and another near Relation of my own, gave half a Crown, and this was all the Moneys that I could get from any that were Exempted from the Misfortune of a Prison. Then I applied myself to all my Fellow-Prisoners in the Fleet, and got most of them to Subscribe what they would give towards the Charges of the Act; some of them paid me their Subscription-Money, but others,( although several of them received the Benefit,) refused to pay, but notwithstanding I got of them in all 20 l. But finding this Moneys would not pay the Charges of this Act of Parliament, I was resolved to apply myself to all the Countrey-Gaols in England and Wales, to see what Moneys I could get from them; upon my diligent search and enquiry, I found out in all Sixty Five Prisons; I immediately wrote to them and gave them an Account, that we the Imprisoned Debtors had a Bill pending in Parliament for our Relief, and that both Moneys and Interest was necessary to carry it on to perfection, and therefore I did advice them to Petition all the Members of their several Countreys, that they would promote the said Bill, and get it pass into an Act, and sent them a Petition in true form. I also Advised them to sand what Moneys they could Raise among themselves, or Friends, to help to pay the Charges; and also from time to time gave them an Account what progress was made in it; and to this purpose I sent away above Sixty Letters of a Post-Night, and always kept a Correspondency with them, to my great Charges. Upon this they from all parts Wrote to me, that they had Petitioned their Parliament Men, as I Advised, particularly Fisherton Prison in Wiltshire, sent me word that they had Petitioned Thirty One of the Members of the House of Commons, and that they would sand me 6 l. as their Quota to help to pay Charges; and from York Castle they would sand me 8 l. for their Quota, and from most of the other Prisons, some promised me 3 l. some more, and some less, and all this with the greatest Asseveration and Assurance, even Life itself, and with all the Expressions of Kindness and Gratitude, which Letters I have by me to produce upon occasion. But after all those fair promises, to this Day I never received one Penny from any of those Sixty Five Gaols I kept Correspondency with, but these mentioned; and I have also set down the full sums I received from each Gaol, which is as followeth. First, the Name of the Gaol; Secondly, the Names of the Persons I received the Money of; and Thirdly, the sums.  
Reading, Mr. Makerell, 10 s. Salop, Mr. Husbands, 15 s. Bury St. Edmonds, Mr. Gyrling, 1 l. 3 s. Bristol, Mr. King, 5 s. Ailsbury, Mr. Carter, 10 s. Hallifax, 20 s. Derby, Mr. Ward, 17 s. Makelsfield, Mr. Foden, 16 s. Carlisle, Mr. Milner, 17 s. 6 d. Chesterfield, 5 s. Barwick, Mr. Lucas, 15 s. Fleet-Prison, 20 l. Mr. Beaverley's Congregation, 6 l. 12 s. and 3 d. My two Friends, 7 s. and 6 d. 〈◇〉 In all, 34— 13— 3  
This is a True Account of all Moneys that I ever received towards carrying on this Bill, and I publish this faithfully to the World, that if any person whatsoever has given any thing towards carrying on this Act, to any Gaol, or Person, than what is here mentioned, they are Cheated of their Moneys, and those that have received the said Moneys ought to be called to Account for Abusing so great a Charity, and be severely punished for it. And now Reader I think myself Obliged to give Thee an Account of my Disbursements, which I will also faithfully do as near as I can, and as short as may be.( Note, That the King's-Bench Prisoners paid into Mr. Joderel's Office Fifty Five Shillings towards the Charges of this Act, and no more, if I am truly informed.) My Disbursements were as follows.  
Paid Mr. Joderel, Clerk to the House of Commons, for the Copy of the Bill, and his Fees, for which I have Mr. Jo. Hooks, &c. Receipts, 18 l. 1 s. Given Mr. Joderel's Younger Clerks, Door-Keeper, and Mr. Toppin's Man, 1 l. 8 s. Paid for the Speaker's Warrant to the Warden, to bring me before the Committee of Grievances, 1 l. 1 s. 6 d. Advertisement in the Gazette, 10 s. Two Day-Writs paid the Warden,( each Day-Writ being 11 s. 2 d.) 14 s. The other, 8 s. and 4 d. to be paid at my going out of the Prison-Door, but I lost my Money, he not suffering me to go. To Counsel, solicitors, Messengers, Letters, expenses, Vo●es, Gazettes, Paper, Ink, Pens, Wafers, Amanuences, Printing Reasons against the badge( D) Reasons for passing the Bill, a Plea for the poor Orphans and Debtors, the Deplorable Condition of poor Prisoners for Debt, a Letter from Bury of the Cruelty of Gaolers towards poor Prisoners for Debt, Directions for poor Imprisoned Debtors to get their Liberty, and several other papers, 34 l. 11 s. 1 d.  
Disbursements, 56 05 07 Receipts, 34 13 03 Rests due to me, 21 12 04  
Now, Reader, I hope thou wilt believe this both a True and also a Reasonable Bill of Charges, considering that I paid 5 l. 18 s. for the Copies of this Bill and the former, which I have  told thee was lost, out of the 18 l. 1 s. I charged Mr. Joderel, so that in Reality, he had but 12 l. 3 s. for his Fees, and I have Reason to believe, that the Right Honourable Sir John Trevor, one of the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, and Speaker of the House of Commons, out of his great Charity did forgive his Fees,( for which we humbly thank him.) But now I presume the Reader would gladly know what I did to pay the Fees due for passing it at the House of Lords; the Fees due there were, as I was informed, 30 l. for the payment of which my good Friend Mr. John Hearn a Minister, unto whom I stand indebted 400 l. besides Interest, proffered to pay Ten Pounds, provided that the Clog of 100 l. might be taken off, and that the Act might pass without a limited sum,( which if it had so past I should have had the Benefit of it,) and also my Worthy Friend Mr. William Tyndall, who was one of my most diligent solicitors, and did it Gratis, had prevailed with a Charitable Lady to pay the other 20 l. upon the like Condition. In the mean time I applied myself by Letters to several of the Lords, with whom I had the Honour te be Acquainted, Beging of them that the Bill might pass into an Act, if possible, without a Proviso, which if that could not be done, then to let it pass as it was sent them from the Honourable House of Commons. Their Honours Considering, that if they should make any Alteration in the said Bill, it might occasion a Conference with the House of Commons, and by doing so the Bill might be lost, for they were adjourned the Day it passed the Royal Assent; for this Reason they passed the Bill as it was, and it being an Act of great Charity, the Right Honourable Sir Robert Atkins, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and Speaker of the House of Lords, forgave his Fees, and all the other Fees due to their Officers that Attend the House were likewise forgiven, for which we humbly thank their Honours. And now Reader I think myself obliged to give thee an Account how I came by this 21 l. 12 s. 4 d. which I am out of pocket,( besides what I have received) in carrying on this Bill. My Brethren Book sellers, and several of the Company of Haberdashers,( of which Company I am a Freeman) Considering how Barbarously I have been dealt with by Adiel Mill, and his Confederates, as Related in my CASE herewith Printed, have from time to time out of their Kindness and Charity sent me Moneys to keep me from Starving,( which I Gratefully acknowledge, and Return them Thanks,) so by a Frugal way of Living, by Eating Milk, and Bread, and Cheese, and such wholesome and Cheap Fare, and having a Plate of Flesh sent me every Lord's Day for my Dinner, by a Friend, I saved this said Moneys out of my Belly. And then I must further Thank the Booksellers for their kindness in Subscribing for a very Considerable Number of this small Book, without the Credit of which I, that have been concerned in Printing of some Hundred of Thousands of Books in Folio, Quarto, Octavo, &c. could not have been able at this time to have Printed this small Narrative. And now Reader I pass on to tell thee what Diffioulties I and my Friends met with in our progress in carrying on this Bill; I myself was a confined Prisoner within the Doors of the Prison all this time, and notwithstanding the Warden of the Fleet's Charity of 5 s. towards the Charges of the Bill, understanding that I was Industrious in this Affair, he denied me my Two Day-Writs, altho' I had paid 14 s. towards them; telling me, That I was endeavouring for an Act to Release Prisoners, whereby he should lose his Fees and Chamber-Rent;( for the former Acts of King Charles the Second, which are revived by this Act, forgive Chamber-Rent, and all Fees due to Gaolers,) and soon after that, under the specious pretence of my Non-payment of Chamber-Rent, altho' I had paid him as Related in my CASE, he threw me into the Wards( or Dungeon) of the Prison, where I have ever since lodged with those that Beg at the grace; and since I begun to writ this Epistle to the Reader, one of the said poor Begging Prisoners, whose Bed joined to my Beds-Head, Died at 12 of the Clock at Night, I myself being in Bed; he was, as I am informed, a Burst Man, of a Corrupt Body, and full of Vermin. Many others of my Chamber-Fellows also being so lousy, that the Vermin Crawled on the outside of their Cloths;( this Reader at present is my sad Condition.) Whilst the Bill was pending in the House of Lords, my Friends struggling to get off the Clog,( the Proviso of 100 l.) my Friend Mr. Tyndall was threatened to be knocked on the Head by the Steward and poor Prisoners of the King's-Bench, that thought themselves within the Benefit of the Act. And I myself was also served so by the Prisoners of the Fleet; but I  told them, I valued not Dying, for I hoped I was always prepared for it. These were the Difficulties and Troubles we underwent.  
Whilst our Bill was thus pending in both Houses, the Prisoners of the King's-Bench Petitioned the Honourable House of Commons against the Marshall, Complaining of several Abuses Committed by him on the Prisoners; upon this the House appointed a Committee to inspect those Abuses, and also Abuses Committed by the Warden of the Fleet; when I saw these Votes, it came into my thoughts, that now I had an opportunity to discover the Grievances of Countrey-Prisons; upon this I wrote to them to sand me their Grievances, upon which they sent me these Tragical Stories here in this little Book Related. The first that came to my Hands, was that of John Suckerman's, Dated the 24th of October, 1690, from Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk: The villainies therein Related of the jailer, and other Oppressors, did so far affect me, that I did immediately Print it. About this time the Committee of the House of Commons being met, Sir Jonathan Jennings was their chairman, and they being impowered by the House to sand for Persons, Papers, and Records, the Committee were pleased to sand for me to inform them of the Abuses of the Warden of the Fleet. The Warden refused to Obey their Warrant, pretending I was in Execution. So then the House of Commons was moved about it, and the Speaker sent his own Warrant, before the Warden would carry me down before the Committee, which said Warrant cost me a Guinea. That Afternoon the Warden was to carry me before the Committee, there was a Prisoner removed by Habeas Corpus from Ipswich Gaol in Suffolk to the Fleet Prison( for a Debtor may be removed from any Gaol in England, by Habeas Corpus, to the Fleet, or King's-Bench, and to no other Prison, and the reason is, you cannot Charge any Prisoner in Execution in any Prison in England, that is only Committed to Prison on mien Process, till you bring him up to one of these two Prisons.) The Under-Sheriff and the jailer came both into the Fleet with him, and I being called through a mistake into their Company, I produced my Printed Letter from Bury, the which the Under-Sheriff Samuel Fisher took up and red, and throws down on the Table, and Crys out, It was all Stuff. Upon which I Answered him, Sir, What do you mean by calling it stuff, is it Truth, or not Truth? Upon which I took out of my Pocket the Second Letter from Suckerman, Dated the 17th of November, 1690, and red it to them myself, and when I came to that passage,[ And James King broken the Goatch of Beer,] they all fell into a very great Laughter; and one of their Company Cries out to me, Mr. pit, Exe Homo. Now it seems this jailer of Ipswich was this same James King that broken the Goatch,( or Pitcher,) and was then Under-Keeper, and Father in Law to Patrick jailer of Bury; upon this the said King did confess he did break the Goatch, and asked of me, if I knew any of the Prisoners that Wrote me these Letters? I  told him, No, I did not, nor ever did hear that there was any such people in the World as he or them, till I received these Letters. Upon which I urged them to tell me whether they were Truth, or not? They both  told me, They could not well deny the matter. Then I  told them, That they were so far from Stuff, that they were Crimes fit to be punished by the Judges. I further said to them, That I was just going before the Committee of the House of Commons appointed to hear the Complaints of the Prisoners against the Marshall of the King's-Bench, and Warden of the Fleet, and I would certainly make a Complaint against them, and other Gaolers and Under-Sheriffs, and therefore I did advice them to meet me at the Committee, and contradict what my Letters did Accuse them with, if false, and Acquit themselves like Honest Men. But they desired to be excused from so doing. But now Reader thou mayst think, that this Story of the Goatch, and many other Stories in this Book, is not worth Relating, for what great Cruelty was this in King the jailer to break an Earthen Goatch, worth 4 d. and to spill 6 d. in Beer. Reader I will show thee the Cruelty and Barbarity of it,( if my information be true.) There were Twelve imprisoned Debtors, that had no Drink all Day, and in the Evening they joined there Halfpenny a Man, and sent into Town there Goatch for Six Pence in Beer, having as much more in Town for their Moneys, and better Drink, than they could have in the Gaol; and probably some of the poor Men had no more Money; but as soon as this jailer King saw this Goatch with Beer out of the Town, he broken it out of Malice to the poor Debtors, because they had not this Drink of him. Now suppose this thy own Case, that thou wert without Drink for Twenty Four Hours, and then having only a Halfpenny worth, thou wouldst think it very hard to lose it, and know not where to get more. But now I will give thee an Account of my being carried before the said Committee: Some few Days before, I sent to Sir Jonathan Jennings the Chairman, the Complaints of the Warden of the Fleet Printed in this little Book, all except that which concerned myself, and that I then gave an Account of to the Committee, the Warden standing by and heard all; and the Chairman Ordered his Clerk to take all in Writing, and did at the same time red to the Warden all the said Complaint. When this was done, I offered to make my Complaint of the Bad Usage of poor Imprisoned Debtors in country Gaols, and to that purpose did produce these very Letters now here presented to thee, but Sir Jonathan Jennings  told me, that it was not in their power to hear me, because they were not empowered by the Votes of the House to Inspect Country Gaols, but advised me to Petition the House about it; and that Worthy Gentleman Mr. Christy promised to deliver my Petition, and to speak to it; but nothing has been since done in these Matters.  
And now, Reader, I cannot forbear to Acquaint thee with a passage which happened whilst I was writing the last mentioned Paragraph of this my Epistle, which was, One of my Fellow-Prisoners calls me, and tells me, that there were Two countrymen Asking to speak with me: I immediately went to them, and asked them if they would speak with me? One of them, who I perceived, was a little heated with Drink, asked me in a rustic way, if I would Drink a Pot of Ale with him? I  told him, I would: and upon this we went all Three together, and had Two Pots of Drink. I asked him what countryman he was? He  told me, he came from Bedford, and that he was a Prisoner there, and that he would spend one Shilling on me, and that he would give me a Pint of Sack, and that he came to see me, for he had seen several of my Letters to the Prison, and that all that I had wrote to them was truth; for which she said he had a respect for me. I  told him, he should not spend one Shilling on me, for I seldom Drank between Meals, but I overlooked him for his kindness, and asked him, if they did not receive a Letter from me, wherein I advised them, if they had any Grievances they should sand me word what they were? He  told me, they had so, and they were about sending an Account of them to me, but they Considered they were under the Gaoler's Lash, and it might be the worse for them. For, saith he, we have a Privilege of Walking in the Prison-Yard Three Hours every Day, which the jailer often will not suffer us to do, upon which, we have fallen together by the Ears. And then, saith he, a Prisoner was discharged, and there was due from him to the jailer Thirteen Shillings Four Pence. The Prisoner had sent for his Horse to carry him home, which Horse was very well worth Five Pounds, and the owner was proffered Four Pounds Ten Shillings in his bearing; the jailer would have this Horse of him, but the Prisoner would not let him; upon this the jailer locked up the Prisoner, and would not let him go till he gave him his Horse for the Thirteen Shillings and Four Pence he owed him, and would never give him one Farthing more. And that he himself was in Prison for Three Pounds odd Shillings. That another was in Prison but for Thirty odd Shillings. Another in upon Execution this Six Months for Seven Shillings Six Pence. And another upon Execution this Twelve Months for Five Shillings, and that the Original Debt was but Fifteen Shillings, and that he had paid Ten Shillings of it; and that Complaint of this was made to the Judges at the Assizes, and the Judges sent both for the jailer and the Attorneys concerned; but they being in Confederacy kept out of the way till the Judges were gone, and so the poor Men are in Prison still, and intend to take the benefit of the Act. The Name of him that is in Execution for Five Shillings,( as he  told me,) is Stephen Holmes. Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the Streets of Askelon, lest the Danghters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the Daughters of the Uncircumcised Triumph. And here, Reader, I will tell thee my own Observation, I have been a Prisoner in the Fleet above this Two Years, and I never, to my Remembrance, knew any Prisoner brought hither for Debt, that ever paid the full Debt that he was cast into Prison for, and went fairly out by so doing,( for its a true Proverb, A Prison pays no Debts,) and I further say, That where there is one Creditor that gets his real Debt by Arresting his Debtor, and casting him into Prison, there are Ten Creditors that lose all by doing so, and there are many substantial Reasons may be given for it. Prisons are Afflictions to the Good, the virtuous, and Honest Debtor, for they will do their utmost Endeavours, by parting with all their Estates they have to pay their Just and Honest Debts; which if that will not do, and their Creditors be Unmerciful to them, they must be Content, and submit to the Misfortune of a Prison, and the Tyranny of a jailer; and to have both their Eyes and their Ears open to the Wicked practices of the Vilest of Men, Such as Job scorned to put among the Dogs of his Flock. So that they may justly say with David, Wo is me, that I sojourned in Mesech, that I dwell in the Tents of Kedar. But on the contrary, Prisons are Sanctuaries to Cheats and Villains, for as soon as they are brought into a Prison, they being flushed with Honest Creditors Moneys, they enter into Combination with the jailer for to Cheat their Creditors; and by Bribing and Feasting the jailer, and those in Confederacy with him, they Enjoy all the Liberty their own Wicked Hearts can Wish; they have the Liberty of their Rules,( which no Man knows how far they reach,) they turn Night into Day, and Day into Night, by Drinking, Whoring, dicing, Roaring, Swearing, Cursing, Blaspheming, and all other ways of Debauchery; this with grief of Heart I see with my Eyes, and bear with my Ears. And to show thee, Reader, what kind of Persons those are that Prisons are a Sanctuary to, I will give thee one Story of one of the Gaoler's favourites, that has a considerable Estate, which by parting from it, might for ought I know satisfy all his Creditors, but he had rather spend it in a Gaol on his Lusts. This Man meeting me one Day in the Yard of the Prison, tells this Story following of himself, That he being a Prisoner in a Countrey-Gaol, He broken the Prison, and not only let himself out, but several of his Fellow-Prisoners: but they being afterwards taken, and the jailer being satisfied that this Person was the Man that broken the Prison, got Pardons for all the rest, and he at last being taken, was tried for the Fact, but before his trial, he found out one of his Fellow-Prisoners who had his Pardon,& was also freed from his Imprisonment, and persuaded him, that he would appear at the Assizes, and Swear that he himself broken the Prison, and not he who was Indicted for it. Telling him, he could not suffer for it, because he had his Pardon, for which Service he would new Cloth him, and put Moneys into his Pocket; upon which the Business was done effectually, and he came off with flying Colours. He  told me this Story by way of Boasting. I asked him, If he never Repented of this? Repent, saith he, No, for what reason have I, it was Se Defendendo, Man. Upon this I forsook my Fellow-Prisoner. Another Prisoner that had been a Knavish Banker, and broken for several Thousands of Pounds, having a mind to be in favour with the jailer, whereby he might live at Ease, &c. presented the Gaoler's Wife with a pair of Silver-Candlesticks of the Value of Thirty Pounds, and some time after Died. The Gaoler's Wife, when she heard he was Dead, Well, saith she, there is a good Man Dead, and if ever any Man went to Heaven, that's the Man, for he gave me my Silver-Candlesticks. Thus, Reader, thou mayst see what esteem the person Bribed has for the Briber, little Considering the Fatal Consequences that attend this Monster Sin. Bribery is a Root that beareth gull and Wormwood, for it brings forth Oppression, Extortion, Forgery, Perjury, Subornation of Perjury, Breach of Trust; it's a Fire that consumeth to Destruction Kingdoms, Persons, and Families; for this Sin God will destroy for ever, he will pluck the Briber, and the Bribed, out of the dwelling place, and Rout them out of the Land of the Living. And although great Men, Men in high places, in all Ages, have not been Ignorant of the Fatal Consequence of this Monster Sin, yet few of them can say with that Good Man Samuel, Here I am, Witness against me before the Lord, and before the King: whose Ox have I taken? Or whose Ass have I taken? Or whom have I Defrauded? Whom have I Oppressed? Or of whose Hand have I received any Bribe to blind mine Eyes therewith, and I will restore it But this good Prophet had no sooner made his Sons Judges in Israel, But they walked not in his ways, but turned aside after Lucre, and took Bribes, and perverted judgement. This Sin of Bribery was Rife in the Days of David, and therefore he preys to God, Not to gather his Soul with Sinners, nor his Life with Bloody Men: In whose Hands were Mischief: And their Right Hand was full of Bribes. And the Prophet Amos tells the House of Israel, in his ●ime, That God knew their manifold Transgressions, and their mighty Sins, how they Afflict the Just, take a Bribe, and turn aside the Poor from their Right. It is to be feared that our Nation has been, and still is, as Guilty of this Sin of Bribery, even in the Reigns of the best of our Kings, as ever the House of Israel was. In the Days of that good Prince Edward the Sixth, Bribery was a Reigning 'vice even at the Court itself, Witness that Famous Court-preacher, and afterwards Martyr, Father Latimer, in his Sermons before that young Prince, and his Nobles; in one of which he tells this Story, inveighing against Bribery, My Lords, saith he, I will tell your Lordships a Story, There was one of your Lordships had a Living lately fallen in his Gift, a Countrey-Parson who had a mind to the said Living, comes to his Lordships House, and desires to speak with his Honour, but his Lordship sends the person word, he was busy, he must come another time. The person desires the Messenger to present his Service to his Lordship and to give his Lordship a Basket of Pippins, which he had brought him for a Present, desiring him to give him the Living, which was in his Gift; his Lordship sent the person his Basket of Pippins again, and also sent word, that the Living was not a Pippin matter, and that he had as good Pippins growing in his own Orchard. Well, the person,( upon giving the Servant a Pippin,) prevails with him to carry the Basket of Pippins a Second time to his Lordship, with this Request, that his Lordship would Cut one of the Pippins, for he did not believe his Lordship had so good Pippins growing in his Orchard. Upon this, his Lordship Cuts one of the Pippins, and finds it to be a Golden Pippin; then he presently causes his Servant to call in the person, and bids him very welcome, and tells him, he accepted of the Basket of Pippins, and the Living was his, and withal  told him, if all the Trees in his Orchard bore such Pippins, they would do him more good than all St. Paul's Learning. This Sin of Bribery doth not only Reign in King's Palaces, but, like the leprosy, spreads itself in all the Courts of Equity and Justice, even to the meanest in Office. When I was a Boy I heard this following Story of that Great and Learned Man, the Lord Bacon, who was Lord Chancellor in King James the First Reign, I would speak tenderly of him, because he was one of the Learnedest Men of his Age; I will tell the Natural Story, and leave the Reader to his own thoughts, Much at the time he was p●t out of the Chancellorship, he happened to come into his Hall where his Gentlemen were at Dinner. As soon as they see my Lord, they all rose up, but his Lordship calls to them to sit still, For, saith he, your Rise has been my Fall. But the Story I aim at, is this, About the Year 1655, some Gentlemen meeting in my Master's Shop,( a Bookseller,) and talking of Learning, and Learned Men, they mentioned my Lord Bacon to be one of the Learnedest Men of the World, in the Age he lived in, but one of the Gentlemen, who by his Gray-head could not be less than Seventy Years of Age, replied, He did agree with them in their Opinion of my Lord Bacon, but my Lord had a Fault, whatever it was he could not tell, but, saith he, I myself having some Business with his Lordship, I went to him to his covetous, which was near St. Albons, Twenty Miles from London, where I was Admitted into his Study, where was no person but his Lordship and myself, and whilst I was talking with him about my Business, his Lordship had occasion to Ease Nature, and withdrew out of his Study, and left me there alone; whilst his Lordship was gone, there came into the Study, one of his Lordships Gentlemen, and opens my Lord's Chest of Drawers wherein his Money was, and takes it out in Handfuls and fills both his Pockets, and goes away without saying one word to me; he was no sooner gone, but comes a Second Gentleman, opens the same Drawers, fills both his Pockets with Money, and goes away as the former did, without speaking one word to me; at which I was surprised, and much concerned, and was resolved to Acquaint my Lord with it. As soon as my Lord return'd into his Study, I  told him, my Lord, here was a very odd passage happened, since your Lordship went to Ease yourself; upon which he asked me what it was, I  told the passage as here related. He shook his Head, and all that he said was, Sir, I cannot help myself. Reader, give me leave to divert thee with a Story or Two more on this Subject of Bribery, About the Year 1642, when that unhappy Difference between King Charles the First, and his Parliament, made,( as on all Occasions is usually done,) such great Alterations in the Government, by turning out and putting in Men into Places and Offices; Among other Officers, the Two Secondaries of the Counter-Prisons in London were turned out, upon which the then Shiriffs of London sent for one of the Secondaries Clerks, whose Name was Mr. Richard Smith,( a person well known to most of the Eminent Citizens of London, who himself  told me this Sttory,) and asked him. Whether he would Accept of the Secondary's Office? He  told them he would, if he might have his Choice of the Counters, the which they easily granted him, and he waved the Counter he was brought up a Clerk in, and made Choice of the other. As soon as he was fixed in, one comes to him and tells him, Sir, you must present the Sheriff with a Bag of Gold, for it is expected from you. No Sir, said he, not I, I will not give him one Farthing. Then Sir, saith that person, you must present him with a Cubbard of Plate. No Sir, said Mr. Smith, not I. Then Sir, said he, you must give the Sheriff a Coach and Horses, otherwise you will be turned out of your Office of Secondary. He Answered him again, Sir, I Value not that, I will not give the Sheriff one Farthing, neither directly, nor indirectly, for if I do, its against the Law, and I shall thereby forfeit my place; and I would at any time choose to be turned out of my place, then forfeit it by doing an Act contrary to Law. So he kept it many Years, till he grew very Old, and then partend with it. This place is now Sold, if I am truly informed, for 1500 l. if not Two Thousand Pounds. And I am  told by one that was an intimate Acquaintance of Sir Robert Viner, who had been Lord Mayor of London, that when he took his Oath, he was Sworn not to sell any Place, or Places. But this the great Citizens of London know best: I only tell my Reader what I am informed, and that I have good Authority for what I say; but this I do Aver for a Truth, That if any Man Buys, or Sells, any Place, or Office, for which he is not empowered by Law to do, its plain Bribery. If it be a Prison-Keepers-Place, the Crime is the greater, because the Buyer is under a strong Temptation of Oppression and Extortion, and be thinks himself put upon a Necessity of Grinding the Face of the poor, to get up his Principal Moneys again. And then again, Reader. it's a usual saying amongst Men, such and such places are very good places, and they are worth so many Hundred or Thousand Pounds per Annum Salery, besides the Perquisites, which may be worth as much more: Now I must tell thee, Reader, we say in Trade, That the Mystery of a Trade is generally taken for the Knavish part of the Trade; so Perquisites in Places and Offi●es, are the Bribes given and taken by the parties concerned. As for Example, what should move a Merchant to give a Custom-House-Man five or ten Guineas more than he knows is his just due, but that he might Cheat Their Majesties of Their Customs, which he knows is ●s much Their Majesties Due by the Law, as his Merchandise is to him; and dost thou not think this very Merchant would not be very angry with the very Custom-House-Man, unto whom he had given five or ten Guineas, that he might have the opportunity of Cheating the King; If the said Custom-House-Man should take five or ten Guineas of a Thief, that he might have the opportunity of Stealing the Merchants Goods off the Custom-House-Key. And then, Reader, it's a common Opinion amongst most Men, That if a Gift( for I will now give a Bribe that easy Term, and will afterwards prove to thee, that a Bribe and a Gift is the same, in case of this Nature I am speaking of) be given after a Mans Business be done, that is no Bribe: As to give an Instance, in Jury-men, the common Opinion i●, that if I give a Jury-man Moneys before my Cause comes on to trial, that all people allow to be a Bribe, but after my Cause is heard before the Judge and the Jury has given it for me, then for me to carr●… the Jury-men to a Tavern, and give them a Treo●… and to lay two or three Guineas under each of thei●… Plates, though I know well there is but one Shilling a piece due to them; this is said to be a Gift 〈◇〉 them, or a Grateful acknowledgement of their doing me Justice or Right; but I will make it out t●… thee, that these Jury-men are as guilty of Bribe●… and Perjury, as if they had taken the Treat an●… the Guineas before the trial; for consider; ther●… are some Attorneys that know how to manage 〈…〉 Jury, and they do really call it managing a Jury and when a bad Cause goes on that Attorneys side, then he beasts of himself, and saith, Did not I manage that Jury well? Like at a Horse-courser in Smithfield manageth his Horse for Sale, gets him to all his Paces whilst in his hands, but when the Horse falls into other hands, he will only go his own place; so those constant Jury-men that make a Trade of it, they know their Attorneys that ride them, and what place they are to go, and so accordingly they make their Steps, and know according to usual practise, they shall have a Gift, or a Grateful Acknowledgement, and they cry up the Attorney to be a Generous Man. I can prove that after a trial has been over, the Attorney has invited not only all the Jury-men to a Treat at Tavern, but also all that were on the panel of the Jury; and did Feast them very Nobly; how many Guineas those that Served on the Jury had, I know not; but those that were on the panel, and did not Serve, had two Guineas a Man laid under their Plates: This I had out of some of their own Mouths. Now, Reader, what dost thou think, was not this Bribery? ●… ell, thou shalt have it to be but a Gift. But, Reader, observe what Moses, or rather God Com●… ands thee, Thou shalt not wrest judgement, thou ●… how shalt not respect persons, neither take a Gift, ●… or that doth blind the Eyes of the Wise, and per●… erts the words of the Righteous. That which is altogether Just shalt thou follow. And Solomon ●… ells thee, A wicked man taketh a Gift out of the Bosom to pervert the ways of judgement. And he tells thee, Whoso boasteth himself of a false Gift,( or a Gift of falsehood) is like Clouds and Wind without Rain. And he further tells thee, Oppression maketh a Wise-man mad, and a Gift destroyeth the heart, he that is greedy of Gain, troubleth his own House. And now, Reader, I hope that thou art satisfied, that a Bribe and a Gift in this Sense, is one and the same thing; and there is but one word in the Hebrew for them both, if thou wilt believe the Learned in that Language; therefore, Reader, whoever thou art, if thou hast taken a Gift, and thereby perverted the way of judgement, go to God and Repent, go to Man whom thou hast wronged, and make Restitution lest thou die; and for the future hate Gifts, and thou shalt live.  
But now, Reader, thou-mayst think that thou hast just Cause to blame me for publishing this little Book to the World, wherein so many hundred Crimes and villainies are laid to the Charge of persons now living in Reputation and splendour in the World. To Answer thee, I Appeal to thyself, who is most blame-worthy? they who have committed these iniquities, which ought to be punished by the Judges, or I that here publish them to the World? For if they had never acted them, I had never published them; which I have here done with Sincerity and Truth, with a real design to inform our King, Queen; and Parliament, that They may take Cognizance of the Blasphemies, murders, swoonings, Starvings, Briberies, Perjuries, Oppressions, and Extortions committed in Prisons; that so by some wholesome Laws they may be for the future prevented, and the Oppressed Relieved. I, but it may be thou wilt say to me, that my Life is in danger to be taken from me by the Sons of Beli●●, As for that, I am not concerned, for I hope, I so live, that Death shall never be a surprise to me; my Enemies have already, by Bribary, Perjury, &c. taken away my Estate and my Liberty, and not being satisfied with that, are now thirsting after my Blood, and the Blood of my Wife and only Son; but I am still under the protection of that God that Nathan the Prophet was, when he came to King David, and  told him, That he had killed Uriah the Hittite with the Sword, even slain him with the Sword of the Children of Ammon; and that he had taken Uriahs Wife to be his Wife, and that he did it Secretly. Reader, my design in publishing this little Book, is, that those here mentioned, who have committed these Iniquities, may with David cry out and say, We have sinned against the Lord, and that the Lord in his great mercy would put away all their sins, that so they may live and not die; and that our governor seeing the mischief attends our Commonwealth by Imprisoning Mens persons for Debt, may think of other ways and means to make the Debtor Just to his Honest Creditors. And now, Reader, if thou art Rich and Honourable, and wants nothing that thy heart can wish or desire, yet consider, Riches has Wings, Honour is a Bubble. As Rich and as Honourable as thou, has fallen into the misfortune of a Prison, and there perished; therefore do thou Improve thy Honour and thy Riches whilst thou hast opportunity and means, for the good of the Poor, the Oppressed, and the Imprisoned. If thou art poor under Oppression and in Prison, consider, that God that seeds the young Ravens that cry unto him, will take care of thee, if thou criest to him; take care thou be not corrupted with the Vices of a Prison, but keep to thy Devotions, and preserve thine Intetegrity, and the Great God may raise thee from Poverty to Riches, and may deliver thee out of Prison, and cut off the hands of Oppressors, and raise thee to great Honour, as he has done to several which have been brought out of Dungeons, and made Governours and Judges in the Land. The Race is not to the Swift, nor the battle to the Strong, neither yet Bread to the Wise; nor yet Riches to men of Understanding, nor yet Favour to men of Skill, but Time and Chance happeneth to all, man knoweth not his time.  
Subjects are very apt to complain of the Tyranny and Oppression of Kings and Princes, not considering how violently they tyramnize over, and Oppress each other by any the basest and vilest ways, as by Perjury, Bribary, &c. I myself being one day Discoursing with that Great and Learned Man Sir William Trumball, late Envoy Extraordinary from the Crown of England to the French King, and Lord ambassador to the Great Turk, with whom I had the Honour of a Familiar Conversation; Telling him, I had no less than Forty Persons who had forsworn themselves against me, and that I had given some of them Caution, but they persisted in their Perjuries. He himself  told me, That he had made it his Observation in his practise in Doctors-Commons, he being L. L. D. That never any one that was Witness to a forged Will, would ever part from their Evidence. And that Learned Sir George Makenzey tells us, It is in vain to Expect Justice, if Judges weigh Money against Arguments; or if Witnesses and Jury-Men value Gain more than an Oath; nor is Religion itself secure at the Altar, if its Priests can be bribed. And thus I conclude my Preface.  
Moses pit.   

THE Cry of the Oppressed.  
THE relics of Good Nature remaining in Man since the Fall, have taught Heathens to know and practise many Noble virtues: Among the rest, some of them have abounded in a most Affectionate Love to their Country, the Welfare and Happiness of which they have preferred before their own Lives: Many Sayings have they wrote to this purpose, especially Cicero, in his Book of Scipio's Dream, where he brings in a Dead Father,( now in Heaven) encouraging his Son to do his Country Service, wherein himself had given him a Noble Example, with this Sentence, There is a most sure and certain place in Heaven for every Man that shall procure the Weal of his Country, either by freeing it from Oppression, or any way increasing its Happiness. That for which I quote this Sentence out of Cicero is, To show how Reason doth tell us Christians, how careful we should be of our Countreys Welfare, to preserve it from Oppressions, and to Augment the Flourishing Estate thereof. Those that stand in Places of Honour and Eminency may perform many Noble and heroic Services for the Good and Prosperity of their country, but we that are poor Shrubs, that sit in Shades below, in Prisons, nay in Dungeons, can do nothing but Pray for the Prosperity and Welfare of our Jerusalem; and also not only Lament for the Oppressions and Extortions that we the poor Miserable of the Creation Groan under, but also discover to the World those Wicked Oppressors, and the Ways and Means they use to Oppress even we the Oppressed; which Ways are so dark, and have been so long hidden from the Eyes of the great Men of the World, that live in Ease, Prosperity and splendour, that it's a very hard matter to make them believe those Tragedies that are Acted in Prisons, on we the poor Imprisoned Debtors, and if they should be persuaded of the truth of them, yet they themselves being free from them, and think they are in no danger of falling into them, are like Gains, That Care not for any of these Matters. The great increase of Swarms of Wicked Men, and their Oppressions, do assure us, that there is a Righteous judge in Heaven, who from thence beholds all the Oppressions of the Sons of Men, and will not long forbear to Scourge the Oppressors. There was never any Nation under Heaven that has had more Deliverances from Popish Tyranny and Oppression, than we, and shall we notwithstanding enter into a Contention with the Almighty, whether He shall be more Merciful, or we more Unmerciful 
A Debtor Catching mice for his Sustenance  What do you keep me from my Husband  Two Panels. Top Panel: man in a room reaching into a cage. Bottom Panel: Women in a room feeding an infant and saying "what do you keep me from my Husband." and Oppressive? Or whether He shall be more constant in doing us Good, or we more obstinate in Oppressing our poor distressed Brethren? The Oppressors of the World may flatter themselves, as it's usual for them to do, and promise to themselves as much good as their Hearts can wish, but it's sure, God's threatenings against Oppressors shall be fulfilled in his good time; and as the Sin of Oppression is Great and Crying, so shall the Punishment of it be Answerable. The great God deliver this Nation, and every Member of it, from this great Sin of Oppression, and Oppressors, and that we, nor our Posterity, may never more hear of such Cruelties and Barbarities Acted among us in this Generation, or the Generations to come, which are here in this little Book, as with great Grief, so with all Sincerity and Truth Related.  

From the Gaol of Liverpoole in Lancashire.  
SIR,  
THomas Morgan, of Liverpoole, chirurgeon, having a Wife and Five Children, falling Lame, for which reason he was not able to follow his practise, his Wife also at the same time falling Sick of a Fever, and his Children Visited with the Small-Pox, fell to d●… cay, and were cast into the Prison of Live●… pool for about Eleven Pounds Debt; the sai●… Prison being about Sixteen Foot in length, an●… Twelve Foot in breadth, in which was Tw●… Houses of Office, it being but one Room, as no Yard to walk in. In which Prison the sai●… Mr. Morgan was Locked up a Year and Quarter, in all which time, neither he, nor any 〈…〉 the other Prisoners, had any Bedding, or Straw to lodge on, nor any Allowance of Meat o●… Drink, so that the said Mr. Morgan was Necessitated to Catch Mice, with a Trap, to Ea●… for to keep himself from Starving; and also Felons and highway-men were put into the same Prison with the Debtors; of which hard and barbarous Usage of the said M●… Morgan, his Wife making Complaint, and seeking Redress, she also was sent to Prison, and shut up close Prisoner in another Room, and not suffered to come to her Husband, she having at the same time a Child of Three Months Old, Sucking at her Breast, without any Allowance for her Maintenance, but what she had out of Charity from her Neighbors: Of all which Barbarities the said Mr. Morgan Complaining of, instead of Redress, the jailer, Thomas Row, Beat the said Mr. Morgan, and put him in Irons. This Relation was given me under the Hand of the said Mr. Thomas Morgan, Novemb. 7th, 1690, at which time he proffered to give me his Affidavit before a Master in Chancery of the Truth of it, as Witness, Robert Meldrum, Gent. John Edkins, Gent. and divers other Gentlemen, to the said Mr. Morgan's Signing of the Original Paper.   

From the Castle at the City of Lincoln.  
SIR,  
WHat I do is merely out of kindness to my Fellow-Prisoners, thinking myself obliged, as I am a Clergy-Man, to endeavour their Enlargement, as it is one of the highest Acts of Charity. I have here drawn up their Grievances, which you may be pleased to peruse, and do with as you think convenient. If you Print these our Grievances, we shall sand for some Copies to give the Gentlemen of the County that are Trustees for the Gaol, that so, if possible, we may have all these Abuses Rectified. I have here by way of Petition to both Houses of Parliament underwritten the Aggrievances, viz. To the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons Assembled in Parliament, The Humble Petition of the poor Distressed Debtors in the Castle of Lincoln, Humbly sheweth,  
Whereas many of us, being Thirty or Forty in Number, having lain here in sad Affliction, under a strict Confinement, above the space of Six or Seven Years, being kept in strict Custody by the Unmerciful Cruelty of our Creditors; and now by Languishing, in Expectation their Sacred Majesties, with the Right Honourable the Two Houses of Parliament, will in due time, in Commiseration of our Deplorable Condition, Issue out Their Merciful Act of Grace, whereby we may be at large, not only to do Their Majesties Service, but also be Capacitated some way or other in some honest Employ to pay our Just Debts, and also to provide for ourselves and Families, that are now in some measure, or altogether burdensome to their respective Parishes, till which happy Act be Enacted, we at present Humbly Petition the Two Honourable Houses of Parliament, will be pleased, as their great Wisdoms thinks convenient, to Issue forth some Order, for the Regulating of Gaols, particularly this Gaol of Lincoln-Castle, wherein we the Distressed Prisoners, by the Tyranny of our jailer, are grievously Oppressed, he using all manner of Rigour, and more than Turkish Behaviour against us; Supersiliously Domineering and Oppressing us, as we are upon Oath able to depose, and as hereafter is subscribed, viz.  
Imprimis, We in all Humility Complain, That our Inhuman jailer, William Smith, did suffer his Servant violently to take from one William Follet, a poor Prisoner in this Gaol for the full space of Six Years, a certain Purse with the sum of Six Pounds, Two Shillings, 
P. 7.  
A Debtor dragged in a Hurdl●… called the gaolers Coach.  which he the said William Follet had committed to the trust of a certain Prisoner of honest Repute, to be kept for him as a Stock to Buy some Leather, to Employ himself in his Trade, whereby to get himself Maintenance during his sad Confinement, which Purse of Money the said Smith never restored, nor so much as accounted for; and when the said William Follet demanded an Account, the jailer Inhumanly ordered his Ruffians to drag the said Follet,( as they call it,) in his Coach, viz. to be dragged by the Heels, and suffering his Head to bear upon the hard Stones; by which ill Usage the said Follet is become not altogether so well in his Intellects as formerly, besides many other Unchristian Actions towards the said Follet, too large herein to be related.  
Secondly, We Humbly Complain, That the said jailer does keep Correspondence with Felons, and suffered one Robert Slinger, a Notorious Convicted fellow, to be his Bully, and to revenge his Quarrel against one Stephen Turrington, a poor Debtor, and to Wound the said Turrington, and almost to knock out one of his Eyes, whereby the said Turrington was much abused; and when he complained to William Smith the jailer, he was entertained with nothing but Scoffs and Laughter.  
Thirdly, We Humbly Complain, That the said jailer suffers the Felons usually to go unfetterd, and after Conviction to frequent the Town upon any occasion; and by giving so much liberty, suffers many to escape, and to abuse the liberty granted them, to the great prejudice of the poor Debtors; as particularly, by granting the like liberty to one Robert Keale a Notorious fellow, being Three times Convicted; he the said Keale robbed the Chest, or Box, of one Ruth Bollan, a poor Debtor, and pilfred from her the sum of Forty Shillings, which she the said Ruth had by her Industry collected, during her Six Years Imprisonment, intending, after her enlargement, that the said sum should part of it defray her Charges, and the remainder Buy her a little stock of Wool wherewith to employ her self for a poor Livelihood; which Loss, when she the said Ruth complained of, threatening an Indictment against the said Keale the next Assizes, the said Keale was suffered to escape, and the said Ruth forced to rest content with loss of her Money, the jailer only telling her, she should have looked to it better.  
Fourthly, We Humbly Complain, That the said William Smith will not suffer us the Distressed Prisoners to sand for any Ale, or Beer, out of Prison, whereas he the said Smith does not allow half Measure that others give, as also what he does vend, is so Base, Muddy, and Unwholesome, that it rather Infects than Nourishes; his Tapster,( a Fellow formerly of the Iron-Regiment,) making the Floatings of the sediment of Dregs with his Beer for poor Prisoners; besides, if any poor Prisoner calls to Claxtons, at the Castle-Gates, for a Pennyworth of what is wholesome and refreshing, the said Smith Storms and Frowns, threatening to break their Vessels, and as he calls it, to come even with those that go not to his Spunging Cellar.  
Fifthly, We Humbly Complain, That whereas the said Smith has allowed him from the several Wapentakes of the County, the sum of Sixty, or Seventy Pounds per Annum, which is paid him by the Chief-Constabels at every Quarter Sessions, for the Support and Relief of poor Prisoners for Allowance of Bread, and if that sum will not satisfy, may, upon Complaint, have more; yet he the said Smith converts the said Moneys to his own proper use, and the poor Debtors have no Allowance as was ordered for them, under the Hands of the Justices of the Peace; and he the said Smith gives Churlish Answers when it is demanded, so that the Prisoners are Injured, and so far suppressed from Craving it, that several have Perished for want of Food and Order; when as this very Allowance, as may be supposed, would as yet have preserved them alive, and with what they would have wrought for, have Relieved them, and restored them to Health, whereas some lately Died merely with Hunger, and want of Order.  
Sixthly, We Humbly Complain, That whereas here be several of us of good Credit, and have been formerly of Repute in the World, and are still,( excepting what the Necessities of our Confinement brings upon us,) and have lived in Plenty, having good Order, and all other Conveniencies; yet now that we are in Gaol we find ourselves by the unworthy Actions of our jailer horridly abused, he exacting of us for Chamber-Rent and Bedding, threatening, that if we comply not with his Demands, to turn us down into a stinking Cave; not fitting for Persons whose Extraction is Laudable, and Education is Ingenious; whereas we the said Prisoners are willing to allow what is according to the Statute in that case provided; as also that we may have our own linen and Bedding, and not be confined to the Gaoler's Furniture, which is more fit Litter for hogs, than Bedding for Men, the Chambers not securing us from Wind and Weather.  
We Humbly Complain, That whereas many, or most of us, are miserable Poor, wanting all manner of Necessaries, having not the conveniency of Craving Charity, by reason of the remoteness of our Prison from the Town; and whereas we craved leave of our jailer for Two whom we could trust to go into the Town with a Petition, to pray some Assistance from good People, whereby we might either procure our Enlargement, or if not that, yet at least our present Support; and whereas for one part of a Day our jailer did admit of our Request, yet immediately, out of a Morose and Peevish Humour, he refused, so that many of us are totally destitute of succour, being treated worse than galley-slaves, and much more Indigent than the poorest Mendicant.  
We Humbly Complain, That whereas it has been the Custom of this Gaol, that those that lay in the upper Chambers, in the Coldness of the Winter-Season, have had the liberty of Access to the Kitchin-Fire till Nine of the Clock at Night, whereby they were greatly enlivened and cherished; yet now the jailer takes that privilege from them, and neither will suffer them to come there, nor allow any public place in the Prison for the conveniency of the Prisoner, nor admit them to have liberty after Locking up, to bring any Victuals when warm, nor liberty to ease Nature, whereby the Prisoners do oftentimes become Offensive to each other. These, with many other things of the like Nature, will be Justified upon occasion; so, that if this be made public, we desire that no Name be made use of till it comes to the Test. This from your humble Servant,  
J. B.   

From the Gaol at Appleby in Westmerland.  
Worthy Sir,  
BY Saturday's Post we sent some Lines in hast, to show our Thankfulness to you for your Care in the Bill for the Release of all poor Debtors in England; we understand you sand to all Gaols. We have received several great Abuses by the jailer, Under-Sheriffs, and some Attorneys,( as you will see,) by Unjust Fees, and otherwise; one Philip Warcup was holden Prisoner from the last of August, to the Fourteenth of October, without any Warrant at all; John Watson, Aged above Seventy Years, hath for several Weeks together nothing but Bread and Water, hath been in close Goal for above Two Years, and hath for two Assizes together had the Judges Order, viz. Lord Dolbin, and Lord powel, for a Supersedeas, and Roguishly put off by the Attorney, yet the reason is much in the jailer, for want of a Certificate to his Warrant; William Raisbeck a trespasser for Words, upon Execution,( was cleared by their Majesties Pardon,) and paid the Execution-Money to the Under-Sheriff, and notwithstanding by Combination between the Under-Sheriff and jailer, the jailer owned an Escape, and the Prisoner was not suffered to appear at the Assizes to pled his Pardon, but was, and is detained in close Prison falsely above this Two Years. Certainly no Prisoners Abuses are like ours, our Gaol is but Eight Yards long, and Four and a half in breadth, without any Chimney, or place of Ease; several poor Prisoners have been Starved and Poisoned in it, and several poor Prisoners for whole Years cannot have the benefit of the Air, nor Fires Refreshments. This is the Gaoler's Cruelty, and the poor Prisoners are in 
Pa. 12  
Debtors Lying dead, And some starved, others Poysone  great want for the County Allowance, and Moneys, in the Goaler's Hands. Our Sheriff is Deputy to— and practices as a Corroner, an Attorney, and a Bailiff, and doth very ill things; we can give an Account of all Prisoners Discharges upon all Accounts this Twelve Months, none upon Execution but have paid Two Shillings and Four Pence more than usual Fees; and if any be in Gaol on any Writ, if it be upon common Appearance, yet they are forced by the jailer to pay in Fees Thirteen Shillings and Four Pence; shameful things as ever was Acted, if all Abuses should be mentioned, we should be tedious, therefore we have given you these few, which if you approve, we shall in the next amplify; in the Interim, all of us in close Gaol do conclude, your obliged Servants, and poor Debtors, William Raisbeck, John Watson, &c.  
October the 30th, 1690.   

From the Gaol at Chesterfield.  
SIR,  
WE hope there is not such another Prison again in England as ours, for the Court, the Prison is held under, it hath destroyed all the poorer sort of People in Scarsdale; if a Stranger come into the Town, let him come from where he will, if he owe any thing to any Man, streight-way a Capias is laid on him, and there he must pay before he go, or procure such Security as can hardly be got; and if he come out of any other County, or Shire, as Nottingham, York-shire, &c. into close Prison he must be clapped, and if he have no Money wherewith to help himself withal, he may starve for want of Sustenance, for no Relief at all will be afforded him, neither by the Town, nor by the jailer; and if the Prisoners make any Complaint, all that is said in excuse is, if any Allowance should be afforded them, they would never pay their Debts, and so the poor Prisoners may starve for Want. If we Complain of this hard Usage to the Steward, or jailer, they say, they pay such a great Rent for their Places, that they cannot afford the Prisoners any thing; so Relief they have none, not so much as fair Water, but what they pay for, and many times, for the bestowing of a Penny, must give a Half-penny; so good Sir, if you can remedy our poor Condition, whereby we may have some small Allowance to the Prison, it will be the greatest Comfort in the World, both to us, and those that come after us. Hoping to hear from you some Comfortable News of our Releasement, we remain poor Prisoners in Chesterfield-Goal, John Hay, George Wright, &c. Novem. 25. 90.   

From the County-Goal of Salop.  
SIR,  
WE have here annexed sent you a short Breviate of our Grievances, which if through God's Blessing on your Industry, in some Measure, be redressed, it will not only be a present help, but for the future, the Prayers of the poor Distressed People in our County may procure Access to the Almighty, whereby a future Blessing may redound upon your good Endeavours, which is the earnest Prayers of myself, and Brother-Sufferers, Robert Husbands, William Blantorn, &c.  
Imprimis, That several Persons, now in Custody, brought in by false pretended Actions, and nothing of reality in the least, when once in Custody, the Under-Sheriff and Attorneys combining together, refusing to take Five or Six Hundred Pounds Bail, whilst the Attorney and his Confederates carry away the Issues and Profits of their Lands, and they lye starving miserable in Gaol, to the utter Ruin of them, their Wives and Families.  
Secondly, Several Persons now in Custody, Attached upon the first Writ for a small Debt under Twenty Shillings, by the baseness of the Attorneys and Bailiffs, in extorting Fees, shall not be set at liberty without paying Thirty Shillings and upwards to them, besides Seven Shillings Six Pence to the Under-Sheriff, Eight Shillings Six Pence to the jailer, and Six Pence to the linsey-woolsey; setting at nought the Act of Parliament of the 23 of H. 6. Chap. 10. to the utter Impoverishing of several Families.  
Thirdly, That every Prisoner, when once in Custody, before their Releasement, must pay Four Pence a Night during their Consinement, without abatement, so that the jailer receiving Four Shillings and Eight Pence per Week, for Bedding of small Value, and those of the Common-Chambers having nothing but the bare Floor, Fourteen Pence the Week, and for nonpayment of the least Mite, kept in durance until starved to Death, notwithstanding several demands of a Table of Fees, according to the Statute, and several Petitions preferred to the Justices in that behalf.  
Fourthly, That all Prisoners for Debt, or under pretence thereof, strictly Confined to their close Chambers, never swept or cleansed, without their own pains and labour, under Lock from Five of the Clock in the Evening until Nine in the Morning, without Relief, and then for every Pint and half of sorry Ale, Three Pence, and not under, all adding to our Misery.  
Fifthly, That several or most of the Petty-Fog Attorneys in the County, brought up from the dunghill; by Extortion and Exaction, have purchased Four, Five, or Six Hundred Pounds a Year, and brought their Clyants to utter beggary; besides a Crew of common Bailiffs by the like trade living upon the Commonalty, refusing to Labour, or follow any lawful Employment to get a Livelihood.  
Lastly, That Prisoners of all sorts, as Murderers, Felons, and Cutpurses, have not only been daily kept, but also continually Lodged, among Debtors, without redress, although several Complaints have been made of those Insolent and Intolerable Abuses. Neither hath our Gaol been at all Return'd since the Reign of King Charles the Second, according to Law.  
Sir, The Grievances with the Names of the Attorneys, upon your Notice, shall be sent more at large. This Account is subscribed by Twenty Three Witnesses.  
Salop, ss. Ad Generalem Sessionem pacis Com' pred' tent' apud Salop, die Martis in Septemana prox' post Festum St. Mich' Sexto die Octobris, anno R. Regis Jacobi Secundi, nuno Angl' &c. Primo Annoque Dom' 1685.  
The Court upon hearing the Petition of Mr. Wicherley, and several other Prisoners for Debt, Ordered, That the present jailer, Mr. Cowper, do, before the next Sessions, cause a Table of Fees to be engrossed, and produced to the Court, and upon their Allowance, it to be hung up in public in the Gaol, to the end the Prisoners may the better know what they are to pay, and how to behave themselves, Per Cur' Teste Ric' Jenkins Cler'pacis Com' pred'.  
Sir, Since we sent up our Grievances, we found this Order of Court, in which there hath no progress been made in order to it, but several threatenings used to affright us for seeking after Justice, therefore desire your Assistance to prefer this with the rest, if you find it convenient, and to be so kind as to let us hear as soon, and as often as any thing of moment is done; had we known our Grievances would any thing availed, we might have enlarged very much. Your Servants, Robert Husbands, &c.  
October the 25th, 1690.   

From Rothwell-Gaol in Yorkshire.  
SIR,  
WIlliam Hall being a Prisoner in the low Goal, with above Twenty more poor Prisoners, in the Year 1688; Samuel Brogden the jailer locked up the said poor Prisoners, all in a close Hole, and nothing to lodge on but Straw, and not suffered to Ease themselves at the convenient place appointed, but when the said jailer pleaseth, nor any Water for the poor Prisoners to Drink, but when the gaoler pleaseth, there being no other Allowance to the said Prison; nor will the jailer suffer the Window-Shuts to be set open, that the Air might refresh the poor Prisoners, who were in the Summer-time swelter'd with Heat, being so locked up in Ten Yards square; and that the jailer doth Beat and Bruise the poor Prisoners in a most Cruel and Bloody manner, and especially the said William Hall, and did deny Three several Habeas Corpus, to the great damage of the said William Hall, and at last did force the said Hall to pay him Three Pounds, pretending for his Fees for the low Gaol, where no Fees are due; also poor Prisoners are forced to pay Four Pence for a Pint and half of Ale. Charles Thompson a Prisoner informed William Hall, that Samuel Brogden the jailer charged him with Forty Five Pounds for Meat, Drink, and Lodging, in Eighteen Weeks time; and William Hall saw the said jailer, and his Man, Beat the said Charles Thompson, and forced him to put his Hand to a dead of Sale of his Estate to the said jailer, for the said Forty Five Pounds, and gave him the said Charles Eight Weeks time to redeem it; but before Five Weeks was expired, the jailer sold the said Estate to Mr. Boynton for near a Hundred Pounds, and the jailer will not allow the said Charles any of the Money, nor will not come to any Account with him for the same. All which I am ready to depose, Witness William Hall, Thomas Richmond, Thomas Clemance, Anthony stag, &c.  
Novemb. the 18th, 1690.   

From Debtor's-Hall in the Toll-Booth in Cambridg.  
SIR,  
WE the poor Prisoners for Debt, are so Impoverished by long Imprisonment, that we have not Bread to Eat, and are sometimes forced to Drink Water, for Six of us that are in Debtor's-Hall, some have been here almost Seven Years, and some Five, others Three, and therefore we are extreme poor, and have not wherewith to subsist; we have only a Basket twice a Week, and that is all, a little broken Meat, and a few Crusts of Bread. As for the Debtors in the House, there are Seven of them, Four Men, and Three Women, and they are all very poor, and indeed it is a very poor Prison: Therefore we do all give you many thanks for your Care and Pains in the promoting and putting forward an Act for our Redemption: And the Great God of Heaven and Earth Bless you in your proceedings. And this is all we poor Debtors can say, or do, only pray for You and Yours, whose Names are underwritten, in the behalf of the rest, ruby Guter, Samuel wells, &c.  
October the 4th, 1690.   

From Southgate-Prison in Exeter, Devon.  
SIR,  
YOur Care and Diligence is greatly to be commended, in carrying on this Charitable Act, for the Release of poor Imprisoned Debtors. Our Grievances are great, our Confinement is very close, we have not any Yard to walk in, here are Seven of us that have not walked this Six or Seven Years in any place to take the Air, for it's not allowed us; here is a large Room in our Prison which is common for all Prisoners to walk there, but it's at the Keeper's pleasure; us he Confines in a Room which is not above Eighteen Foot and some Inches Square, in which we are close confined Day and Night, also here is a House of Office in it, which Ten or Twelve Men do Ease themselves in, so we that are close confined do such the ill Air that doth proceed from their Excrements, and the Nastiness of the House of Office, so that we are suffocated with ill Air, which makes us very Sick, and are broken out with Boils, Carbunckles, and Botches; we are kept without any Water for Weeks together. Those of us that can get Moneys to spend, or cause others to spend, may walk in the common Room, but still by Night are locked up Ten, Twelve, sometimes Fourteen, in the said Room of Eighteen Foot and some Inches, in which is but one Light, which is not above two Foot Square, which looks out into the common Goal where Criminals are kept, sometimes Ten, or Twelve of them all in a Room of the same dimensions of ours, which with the Air that doth proceed from their Room and House of Office, and our House of Office, doth quiter take away our Breath. Our Friends that comes to see us must come under Three Locks, and they often ●e●rain to come to us, by reason of the ill Scents, for fear of Infection, for when they have came to us they have complained, that it has almost taken away their Breath. We can have as much, and as good Beer, or Ale, out of the Prison for Five Farthings, as we give in the Prison Two Pence. Sir, We are your Servants, Aaron Bourne, Richard Lodden, &c.  
Novemb. the 8th, 1690.   

From the Gaol at DURHAM. s  
SIR,  
WE are much abused by our jailer, we are many times Eight or Nine Prisoners, for Debt, in a Room of Three Yards compass Square; he the jailer debars us of our House of Office, that we are almost poisoned with our own Dung; we will assure you, we have given him no cause to deal so hardly with us; here are Felons with us, and the jailer suffers their Wives to come and lodge with them many times, and they bring them Instruments to break open Locks, and they have broken up Five Locks, and ever since the jailer has abused us, which the like has not been done in Durham-Goal; and if you do not by your Interest give us ease, we shall all be destroyed, therefore we desire you to assist us if you can. No more, but we pray that the Lord will be pleased to give a Blessing to your Endeavours. We are your Servants, William Med●alfe, &c.  
Novemb. the 21st, 1690.   

From the Gaol at Leicester, Novemb. the 13th, 1690.  
SIR,  
HAving notice by a Letter from you, that the Parliament had taken it into Consideration, to do something in the poor Prisoners behalf, against the Abuses of the Gaolers done ●o them, we had drawn up some particulars to that purpose, but the jailer intercepted them, and broken open the Letter, and keeps it, and hath way-laid me in all places, that I should not sand to you. He is a very Tyrant, and is not fit to have such a Charge under his Hands, and now the time is that there will be a new Sheriff, if things be looked into, he may be thrown out, or some other way taken, that we may not be quiter Ruined and Destroyed by him; there must be some course taken with him, or he will destroy us all. These are the Grievances following. He denies us to have any place to set up our Beds in, if we refuse to lodge in his, but in a low moist Dungeon, where Felons should lodge; and if we will not pay him Four Shillings and Eight Pence a Week for a Bed, which Bed is not worth Five Shillings in all, and if any poor 
Debtors brook out with boils Carbuncles and Botches  Man complain, and say, He is not able to pay so much, some he hath broken their Heads, and some he hath broken open their Chamber-Door, and dragged out of their Beds at Ten of the Clock at Night, and thrown them into the Dungeon, threatening to knock them in the Head if he saw them in the Yard. He and his Tapster keeps our Friends out, and will not let them come to us to bring us any Necessaries, as Beer, or Ale, &c. or take out our Letters to the Post, or bring us any Letters, by which means we are many of us almost lost; we can have as much Drink, and as good, for Two Pence, as we can have of them for Six Pence; sometimes they take away our things and give them the Felons; as also an unjust thing, they call a Garnish, Five Shillings and Six Pence, which they impose on all Prisoners to pay before they will let them go, and where they let the Prisoners Drink 5 s. of it, they keep Twenty Shillings for themselves, and give no Account of. The jailer, being the Bailiff of a Hundred, with his Agents, hurries Men to the Gaol, when Appearance might have served, for small Debts; some for Twenty Shillings, or Thirty Shillings, hath Cost them Five or Six Pounds; he brought in one for Eight Pence, and would not let the Man agree, but made it Cost him Thirty Shillings before he went out. Also the Felons are laid with the Debtors, which is a great disturbance to the poor Debtors, and the Felons lodge in the Gaoler's Beds, where the Debtors should set up their Beds. The Town-Gaol is kept with the County. Gaol, which is many ways prejudicial to the country Debtors, which did not use to be so, when a countryman hath ended all his Troubles, and going out, they will clap an Escape, and stay him till he pays them what they please to exact. The jailer has taken greater Fees than are due, and suffers his Turnkey to do the same. We are Seven of us lodge Nine Foot deep in a Dungeon already, and he wisheth God may Damn his Soul, if he do not cause a Pit 12 Foot deeper to be digged to put Men in; he is a dangerous Fellow, and so Mischievous, that if some course be not taken with him, he will do it. I am forced to sand this Twelve Miles to put it into the Post-Office, for fear of its falling into the Gaoler's Hands, hoping you will excuse my boldness in Writing you so large an Epistle, I subscribe your Servant, Jer. Heggs, &c.   

From the Gaol at Hereford, Novemb. the 7th, 1690.  
SIR,  
THE Keeper of this Gaol, William Huck, is a common Lewd Person, a Swearer, Curser, liar, Drunkard, which has not been 
Debtors in a Dungion 9 foo● under Ground  
A gaoler knocking a Woman in the Head with his Keys  at Church but once in Seven Years, a Friend to help to save Jesuits and Priests, which came in to be jailer in the time of the late King James, he is a Fighter, disturbing, beating and wounding of his Prisoners, as will be proved; he is a common hunter of Whore-Houses, and such persons as will spend their Moneys Lewdly in his Company, he will take abroad with him, and at Midnight he will come home, and then they being all Mad-Drunk, he will set upon the poor, quiet, sober Prisoners which lodge in the Wards, which have not, or will not spend their Moneys upon him, he will Threaten to Beat, Wound, or Kill, charging his Pistols, and drawing his Sword against them, and run at them with a long and dangerous Javelin, to Kill them; he hath endangered the Lives of several Prisoners, as will be proved; he not only Wounded but murdered one Mary Barard, a Prisoner, that was under his Custody,( as Witness Nicholas Kerwood, and Thomas Gumman, Gent. &c.) On the Morrow Morning after the Death of the said Mary Barard, one of his Sons declared, that his Father had Killed her, by knocking her on the Head with the Gaol-Keys; and the said Mary laid her Death wholly upon him; this was done in the Year 1688,( Witness William Munhouse, and Charles Clibbry, &c.) He threatened to Beat, Wound, or Spoil, the Body of Anthony Meek, for no cause but going into the Chambers to see his Fellow-Prisoners; this was in December 1689. He Wounded the Body of Robert Miles, and with his Pocket Pistol, ready charged with Powder and Bullet, struck Fire, with full intention to Kill him; this was in the Year 1689. He the said jailer drew his Sword at one Mr. John Bartram, then his Prisoner, using his Wicked Endeavours to Kill, Wound, or Spoil him, and did then break his Arm, in the Year 1689. He that jailer hinders and keeps his Prisoners from going to the House of Office, and one John Badham easing his Body, Huck the jailer ran at him with a great Club to Wound, Spoil, or Kill him; this was in the Year 1689. Also one Thomas Dayes a Gentleman of the Age of Seventy Two Years, going up stairs to speak with some of his Fellow-Prisoners, he the said Huck ran up after him, and would have thrown him down the stairs to break his Neck; he also drew a Naked Knife, and took a pair of Taylor's Shears to Kill him the said Dayes; and further, took his own Sword out of the Scabbard, and gave another Sword to his Son, charged his Pocket-Pistol a full Shafnel with Powder and Bullet, rapping out many Damning Oaths and Curses, That he would Kill or murder the said Thomas Dayes; this he did about the Month of June, 1690. He the said Huck is a Companion and Protector of Thieves and Cutpurses, for after they are discharged out of the Gaol, they go to Fairs and there Cut Purses, and Rob honest People, and after that come and shelter themselves in the Gaol, and Rant and Spend their Money they stolen, upon and in the Company of the said jailer. Further, There is a Garden bought for the Prisoners to take the Air, and Walk in; all other Gaolers before him kept a Lad to see to the Prisoners whilst they walked there, which was done with safety to the jailer, and Comfort and Health to the Prisoner; but now the present jailer suffers no Prisoner but whom he pleases, and when he pleases, and only such as will spend their Moneys on him to make him Drunk; and also when any Prisoners are discharged, he the said jailer keeps and detains them for most strange, unmerciful, exacting Fees, and by that forceth many poor Debtors to pawn, sell, or leave behind them, their Cloths from off their Backs, contrary to the Statutes and Laws of this Land. Also if any Gift come to the poor Debtors from any Charitable well disposed People; if it be Victuals, then he Orders the best of it for his own Family, and for the rest he causes to be given to those that lodge in his own Chambers, and spend what they have with, and on him, he having thereby endangered the Starving of several Prisoners. The said jailer keeps his Swine, goose, Ducks, and Hens, stinking, and breeding Diseases among the Prisoners; and many more such Cruelties he the said jailer is guilty of, and is always committing more against the poor Prisoners for Debt, which will be proved upon him upon Oath, pray therefore let it be put in Print, for there is no Wickedness acted against poor Prisoners, but this Huck is guilty of. We have here sent you the Witnesses Names, to prove every one of these Wicked villainous Actions on him. This at present from your Humble Servants, John tailor, John seaborn, &c.   

From the Gaol at DERBY, Septemb. the 22d, 1690.  
SIR,  
WE the Prisoners for Debt in the Gaol of Derby, have received several Letters and Printed Papers from you concerning the Act of Grace for the Relief of poor Imprisoned Debtors, for which we thank you; we have here enclosed sent you our Grievances,( and desire that you would Print them with what speed may be,) which are as followeth.  
Our County of Derby hath been at the Charge of Building a new Gaol, for the separating of Debtors from Felons, according to the Act of Parliament; and also that Debtors should not be constrained to lodge in the Gaoler's House, which is Eight Shillings a Week Charges for Diet. Notwithstanding William Wragg, the Keeper of the Gaol, hath with-held several of the Rooms in the aforesaid Gaol from the Debtora several Years together, which said Rooms Debtors have formerly enjoyed, but Persons that have been Condemned for High-Treason, have been permitted by the said jailer, for some extraordinary benefit to himself, to have the use of those Rooms, which said Persons by the Act of Parliament ought not to come among Debtors; and the want of these Rooms hath been very prejudicial to the poor Debtors, in respect of their Health, and hereby also they are in great danger of Diseases to breed among them by the Noisome smell that is occasioned by the crowd; and when the Weather is could, half of the poor Debtors cannot come to the Fire to get their Meat dressed, and are almost starved. And the Keeper doth say, That if Three Hundred Prisoners come, they shall have no more Room. The Debtors do humbly conceive, That it will be judged very reasonable, that such Persons, who, by the Act of Parliament, ought not to come amongst Debtors, should have the use of those Rooms, and that the Debtors, for whom they were built, and who have also contributed towards the building of them, should not enjoy them. And for want of these Rooms many have been forced to lodge in the Gaoler's House, which is above Twenty Pound a Year Charge for Diet, besides other expenses which cannot be avoided; which hath been in a great measure to the Ruin of many persons, and hath made them uncapable of paying their Debts, which otherwise might be prevented. Several other Abuses the Debtors have received from their Keeper, and his linsey-woolsey Joseph Sherwin, as upon a Complaint made, by us poor Debtors, to John Barrow Esq; and— Finney Esq; in both their Years of High-Sheriff, hoping to be relieved by them under these Abuses; our Keeper William Wragg hearing of it was very Angry with us the poor Debtors, and caused us to be locked up in our Rooms for several Nights together, which was not done before; so that when we had occasion to go to the House of Office to Ease ourselves we could not, neither could we have any thing brought us to Comfort ourselves when we were not well. And also he threatened one John Finney, who wrote the Complaints to the said High Sheriffs, who was then, and is now, a Prisoner, that he would make him swallow his Knife. Also when the poor Debtors have no Money, and cannot be Trusted by the Keeper for a little Ale when they are not well, he hath refused to let them have it where they might be Trusted, and also have more for their Money. And further, When People come to bring any of us Work, whereby we may get an honest Penny towards our Relief, and also when any come to bring us Victuals, the linsey-woolsey will not suffer them to stay to pay or receive Money for what they bring; and if they be not just ready to come when he calls, he nurseth them, and calls them Whores, and Salt Bitches, so that they are unwilling to bring us either Meat, Drink, or Work. As whereas we the poor Debtors do usually Petition the County, for the Charity of all well disposed People, for something towards our Relief against the good time commonly called Christmas; and tho' we are at the Charge of sending Persons to Collect the same, yet notwithstanding our Keeper will suffer none to go to Collect it, but some particular persons, who have been Five or Six Years in his Custody, and to whom he hath shewed Kindness above others, by granting them Liberty to be at home almost all the time of their Confinement; and for this Kindness shewed to them, they are afraid to displease their Keeper in answering his Desires, which is to give the Money they have Collected into his, or his Wifes Hands, which they have usually done; and hereby we have been Defrauded of a great part of our Money which hath been given. At Christmas was Two Years there was gathered by the Collectors confession, between Eight and Nine Pounds, and we the poor Debtors had not above Four Pounds of it, neither would our Keeper ever since give us an Account of the rest, altho' we have several times demanded it, and have also charged him openly with Cheating of us. Likewise, about Two Years since, The Right Honourable the Earl of Devonshire gave us the poor Debtors Five Pounds, which would have been to every one of us Five or Six Shillings, had it been honestly disposed of, but we had but Two Shillings and Half a Crown a piece. Several other Gentlemen have given to us poor Debtors, and we have been abused in the like manner. Likewise our Keeper has a Prejudice against some of us the poor Debtors, for declaring these his Abuses to his Face, for which reason he hath caused the Countrey-Allowance to be taken from some of us, but upon our Complaint to our Justices it was allowed to us again. Also Elizabeth Hardey, a Prisoner, received her Allowance of Bread, which was a Four Penny Loaf, and that Day the Bread was delivered, after she had Eaten some of it, was discharged from her Actions, the Turnkey came immediately and took the remaining part of the Loaf from her. Winefrid Buxton Widow, Aged Seventy, a Prisoner almost Four Years, the same Day she had her discharge from her Creditor, the Keeper took her Allowance of Bread from her, and she continued a Prisoner above a Fortnight after, because she could not have her discharge from the Sheriff, and so lost her Bread for that time; and this the Keeper did, because she refused to pay those unjust Fees which he demanded. Several others have been abused by paying undue Fees. Likewise we the poor Prisoners have been abused by our Keepers putting his Swine amongst us, Four or Six at a time, for several Days and Nights together, when the Water has come into his Yard, and thereby we have been almost choked, and could not open our Doors ●●●o our Lodging Rooms, but the Swine ●an in upon us; in like manner, he hath Abused us, by putting Felons among us, when he might as well have kept them separate from us. Many other Grievances we might allege.  
But we Humbly Pray, That the Parliament, or at least the Judges, will be moved with Pity and Compassion to look upon our Miserable Condition. And as the County, together with ourselves,( tho' now in a low Condition,) have been at the Charge to build a new Gaol for poor Debtors, and on which,( under God,) our Health, whilst in durance, doth much depend, so likewise we may enjoy the Privileges we have paid for; and that an end may be put to the Gaoler's Arbitrary Government, hoping that our Confinement will be thought to be sufficient punishment for that which was not, nor is not, in our power to help, without this Cruelty and Oppression added to it. And that there may be a Table of Fees, and of the Gifts that Benefactors have or shall bestow upon, and to the said Gaol, for the release of poor Prisoners, and that it may be set up in the said County-Gaol, where all Prisoners may see their Charge, and that the Chamber-Rent may be settled according to the Statute made in the Twenty Second, and Twenty Third Years of Charles the Second of Blessed Memory, so that we may Enjoy so much of the Liberty as is there set forth, and we the poor Prisoners for Debt, shall ever Bless God, and them for it. We are yours, Mich. Laughtenhouse, &c.   

From Carmarthen-Castle in Wales.  
SIR,  
OUR very good Friend, your kind Letters about the Act for the Release of poor Imprisoned Debtors, we have received, at which we rejoice; Sir, we are in a low poor distressed Condition, by reason of our long Confinement, which is above Five Years, and having but a small Allowance from the County, for which we were forced to Petition, in regard we were not able to find ourselves Bread to Eat, of which sad and deplorable Condition of ours, our Justices of the Peace in their Quarter-Sessions were,( and still are,) satisfied of. For we will assure you, that we have not where-with to pay our Just Debts if we were to suffer Death for Non-payment of them. And therefore we beseech all good Christian-People to Condole our poor distressed miserable Imprisoned Condition, and take into their serious Consideration our long Confinement, and that undoubtedly, we shall remain in Prison as long as we live, unless God will put it into the Hearts of Their Gracious Majesties, and the Parliament, to p●ss that Act for Release of Us the most Miserable, which you so Industriously solicit. No more at present, but commit you to the Protection of the Almighty God, and we shall ever pray, John David, William Morgan, &c.  
I Richard Lloyd jailer do hereby certify this to be Truth.  
Novemb. the 21st, 1690.   

From— Castle, to— Octob. the 30th, 1690.  
SIR,  
It's very strange you should suffer any poor Man, his Wife, Children, and Relations, to be Ruined, by suffering the jailer to hold a Prisoner in Gaol, when your Deputy-Sheriff disowned holding him, as he did me, at the Castle the 20th instant, my Bonds-Men have paid the Moneys upon the Escape, so that I have been holden since the 12th of August, 1688, upon false Imprisonment. Sir, I am in several other Debts, and several poor Men are like to be Ruined by my Unjust detainment in Prison. All the Thatch is blown off my House, my Wife and Children are almost starved, my Trade is clearly laid aside, my Crop rotten, my Goods lost, so that if, Sir, you do not let me have my Liberty, and what I am Damnified, truly my poor Wife and Children must be forced to beg for Relief; and, Sir, poor Prisoners are very much Abused by your Officers by Extortion of Fees, and several other Cruelties, of which I have often wrote to you, but no notice taken, but I hope now you will take Order in it, and hear Truth on all sides, and what Satisfaction you please Sir to Order, shall content your Humble and Obedient Servant, R. R.   

From Hallifax Gaol in Yorkshire.  
SIR,  
WE have sent you our Grievances, and hope you have received them ere this, and truly it was a mistake in us in not signing them, but we have under-wrote our Names, and will justify the said Grievances to be true, and are ready and willing to depose the same on Oath, your Fellow-Sufferers, Samuel King, John Hey, &c. This Letter is subscribed by Twenty Seven Prisoners all their own Hand Writing.  
A Petition that the poor distressed Prisoners for Debt, in the Gaol of Hallifax, in the County of York, presented to the Justices of the Peace of the West-Riding of the said County, at their General Quarter-Sessions at Hallifax, about Two Years ago.  

To the Right Worshipful Their Majesties Justices of the Peace, &c. The Petition of the poor distressed Prisoners for Debt, in the Gaol of Hallifax, in all Humility sheweth,  
THAT your Petitioners, being Twenty Four in Number, close Confined in the said Gaol, and all the Liberty your Petitioners hath to walk in, is a small Yard about Eleven Yards in length, and Three Yards in breadth, most of which is taken up with a Stare-Case, and a House of Office, and a Tub in which is kept stinking Beasts Inmeats, with which they feed their Dogs in the Yard, and also hangs up Carrion in the said Yard; the Noisome Smell of which, together with a Dung-hill adjoining to the Gaol, where the Butchers empty their Beast's Bags, in a manner stifles your Petitioners, that some of them have fallen in a swoon, as if they had been Dead; your Petitioners having but Two little dark Holes to lye in, there being Two Chambers above, in which the jailer keeps Sheeps-Feet for his Dogs, they having been full of Mawks, that they have dropped down by Scores on your Petitioners Meat as they have been Eating. The Fees of the said Gaol are very unreasonable, contrary to either Law or Justice, they Extorting whatever they please upon poor Prisoners; and the linsey-woolsey thereof so Abusive, that he hath Beaten your Petitioners very severely, threatening to Iron them, they using your Petitioners at their own pleasure.  
Your poor Petitioners therefore most humbly pray your Worships to take your Petitioners Grievances into Consideration, and that you would be pleased to Redress them as to your Worships shall seem most meet, and your Petitioners shall ever pray, &c.   
Sir, We are about Thirty Prisoners in this Gaol of Hallifax, and all the Liberty we have, is to walk in a Yard of Eleven Yards in length, and about Three or Four Yards in breadth, a great part of it being taken up with a Stare-Case, a large Dog-Kennel for the Hounds they keep, and a House of Office, not much more than a Yard off one of our Beds we lodge in; we are so thronged, having Nine Beds in one Room, which Room is but Eight Yards square, that we are Necessitated to lodge so near the House of Office; then also there are Two Slaughter-Houses built, one at the end of our Room, and the other at the side, out of which is a Window open towards us, nailed up with some few Laths, out of which comes 
Debtors and hogs together the hogs feeding on Beasts 〈◇〉  such a Nasty Smell, that it often strikes us poor Prisoners with Sickness; and many times, we cannot get our Necessary Provisions into us any other way, but through the Windows out of those Slaughter-Houses; and at the other end of our Yard, near the Gaol Door, are kept a great number of Swine, which are Fed with the Offels of the Beasts that are Slain in the Slaughter-Houses, and brought into our Yard for both Hogs and Dogs to Feed on, so what with the Smell of the Offels, or Kett, the Slaughter-Houses, the Hogs, and the Dogs, together, it is very much that we are not all struck with Sickness, or even with Death itself, but that God is more Merciful to Preserve us, than Unmerciful Men can be Industrious to Destroy us; for there are Ten Beasts usually killed in a Week, and all the Kett, or Offels, that comes from them, are laid in our Yard constantly to be devoured by those Dogs and Hogs. And there are unreasonable Fees taken by our jailer, Jonathan Wilson, of us the poor Prisoners; one James Stephenson paid for his Fees Fifty Shillings for foam Three Weeks time upon a Writ, and after his Adversary had discharged him, he the said Wilson kept him Two or Three Days till he made him pay the said sum. Also one Isaac Ingham, for a bare Writ, and Three Days Imprisonment, the jailer made him pay Forty Five Shillings. And one James Haye Arrested on a Proprium for Ten Shillings Debt, and he was in Prison but Two Days, the jailer took Thirty Shillings Fees of him; besides, they took his Horse from him, and road up and down on him, and when he got out of Prison, he was forced to seek his Horse where he could find him. And also one Richard Capon was Arrested for Fourteen Pence Debr, he was held to Bail for Ten Pounds in the Writ, paid the jailer for his Fees Thirty Shillings, besides Four of his Children at two times were brought to Prison, and holden to Bail, being some of them but Thirteen, or Fourteen Years of Age, one of them was for Words, another of them for a Debt of Ten Shillings. Also one Jonas Smith was Arrested in Execution for a Debt of Twelve Pounds, and he paid into the Gaoler's Hands Thirty Two Pounds, which was paid into the Gaoler's Hands of the same Man's Moneys, by order of Law, and another svit, and he ordered the jailer to pay the Twelve Pounds he lay for, and he was Released, and the jailer turned him out of Prison. Afterwards the said Smith goes to the jailer, and demands the rest of his Moneys, and to come to Account with him the said Smith, upon which the said jailer takes up the said Jonas Smith with the same Execution, and puts him in the low Gaol, and there he the said Jonas Smith remains to this Day; and the said Smith's Money is still in the said Gaoler's Hands, and the said jailer refuseth to give the said Smith any Account of it. The Keeper has taken Thirty Garnishes, Two Shillings and Eight Pence each Garnish, and keeps the Money, and will not give the poor Prisoners the Drink due to them for that Money, besides he keeps other Moneys which is given to the Prisoners, and thereby wrongs them, besides many other Abuses he puts on us the poor Prisoners. It's a Prison not fit to be kept, except it be to Clam, that is to starve poor Men to Death, for there is no Maintenance at all belonging to it. There is an Attorney in Hallifax,— who brings most of these unlawful Writs that throws poor Men into this Prison, where they are like to be starved to Death, and binds Men that he brings the Writs for, that they shall not agree without his Consent. And likewise one JOHN GREGSON, an Attorney, hath Five poor Prisoners in this Gaol, under pretence of Debt, and they owe him nothing; some have been Eleven, some Five, others Four Years Prisoners at his svit; he hath been a great destroyer of many Families. Besides all these Abuses, there is to mention one given by Joshua Wilson the linsey-woolsey, to David Claton, upon the Eleventh of June, 1690, who did Wilfully and Violently Beat-the said Claton, a Prisoner, whom he hurried to the Chamber Door, and threw him down a pair of Stone-stairs of Ten Steps backward, and afterwards he caused one Thomas Milner to throw him over the Threshold of the Door into the lower Gaol; and afterwards the said Milner, by Order of the linsey-woolsey, did throw him down on the Prison-floor, so that by Beating and bruising him the said Claton, he was not able to stand, nor do any thing towards his Livelihood, but hath been in great danger of losing his Life ever since by that Abuse. All which Grievances we can prove on Oath.  
Novemb. the 23d, 1690.   

From Stock-Gaol in the County of Devon.  
SIR,  
THE Gaol in the County of Devon is kept at Stock, above Three Miles from any Town, in a small Village; The House is very small for such a Number of Men and Women as are there; the jailer puts Three or Four Beds in a Chamber, and Three Persons in every narrow Bed, that they have not room to turn themselves; every particular Person pays Two Shillings Six Pence per Week, so that their Chambers are Twice as dear as any in the Kings-Bench, or Fleet. Besides the Misery of being so thronged, there is not nigh as much room in the Chambers as the Beds take up. The Prisoners have been denied their Victuals to be brought into the House, and their laundresses was kept out for a Month, that the Prisoners were forced to put all things out of the Window. There is no other Drink allowed but Ale, of Six, Eight, and Ten Days old; the jailer sells it to the Tapster for Forty Three Shillings per Hogshead, and the Tapster will-sell little more than a Pint for Two Pence, which we can have stronger from abroad for One Penny, but the Prisoners dare not sand for it if the Keeper be in the way, nor have it brought in at the Door, but put into them at the Windows in small quantities. Several have Perished for want; one Fursden was starved to Death, according to the Return the Jury was to give to the Coronor, one Mr. Wills, who did not make a due Return of the said Fursden, as of others. And also David Hart, and John Soaper, were put in Irons for no other reason, but because they put their Names as Witnesses to an Indictment against Alexander Symons the Keeper, for murdering of a Prisoner in November, 1688, that he kept the said Hart so long in Irons, that it had like to have cost him his Life; the said Keeper is a Butcher by Trade, and keeps Twenty or Thirty Hogs in a Court, within Twenty Foot of the Kitchin-Door. The Keeper frequently intercepts the Prisoners Letters, and either burns them, or throws them into the River, that they are forced to sand all their Letters of Concernment by private Hands, which costs the Prisoners above Ten Pounds per Annum; that they have but one House of Office for nigh Seventy People, and that is uncovered, and is very Noisome, as is the House and Yard, being low and level; so that strangers complain when they come, it almost takes away their Breath. To all these particulars I am ready to make Oath.  
Witness my Hand this 18th of November, 1690. John Whitburrough.   

From Ipswich-Gaol in SUFFOLK.  
To the Right Honourable the House of Commons now Assembled in Parliament.  
Most Humbly Sheweth,  
THAT we your Petitioners being Committed for Debt to the County-Gaol of Suffolk, of which James King is Keeper, are most intolerably oppressed in this Prison, the said King refuseth to let us have any Victuals, or Beer, out of Doors; he orders his linsey-woolsey to break our Bottles; he refuseth to let us have any Converse with our Friends, and do order the Gates to be Locked up, and will not permit any of us to sand any Letters to our Friends, or Relations, whereby we might procure our Liberty. Besides, the said King threatens to Iron us, as he hath done before, and saith, he will do the like to those that do Complain. And the said King doth demand Six Shillings, and Seven Shillings, a Week of Prisoners Lodging on Flock-Beds, and doth refuse to give us any Table of Fees, or let us see what they are, according to the Statute, but doth Rule us by an Arbitrary Power. The Tapster saith, he cannot afford more than Three Pints of middle Beer for Six Pence, which he sells us for best Beer, because he pays the Keeper Thirty Five Shillings a Barrel, and sometimes the Keeper refuseth to let us come to the Pump for Water. He keeps back out of every Shillings-worth of Shire-Bread which the County allows us, Two Pence in the Shilling. He makes us pay Two Shillings for the Copy of every Warrant we are Imprisoned upon. He makes us pay Ten or Fifteen Shillings for the Garnish of every Man that is Committed to his Prison, and Six Shillings and Eight Pence the Commitment-Fee upon every Action upon every Person. Last Night we sent for a poor Man to carry out some Letters to the Post-House, for London, and other places, and he was kept Prisoner all Night, to our great damage. In tender Consideration, we do most humbly beseech you, to take our Deplorable Condition into your most serious Consideration, and Order us speedy Relief, and we shall be for ever bound, as in Duty, to Pray. William Shermon, Robert Rose, John Cullum, &c.   

From the Castle-Prison at Oxford.  
SIR,  
I am constrained to inform you of some intolerable Abuses put upon the poor Imprisoned Debtors here in this Cursed Prison, especially on myself. Last Saturday Night, when we were going to be locked up in the Tower, where we have neither Beds nor Straw to lodge on, its a place worse than the Dungeon, we are but Seven Hours of the Twenty Four out of it; I had sent a Woman, who is a Messenger to the Prison, for Provision my Friends had sent me, she not bringing of it me so soon as she might have done, and I almost starved, was forced to speak, and speaking to some other Prisoners as stood just by, I said to them, What an old Bitch she was, she could not bring it before I were locked up in the Tower. As soon as I spoken, she knocked at the Gate, then Answer was made me by the Nurse,( a devilish Woman, who has always been malicious to me,) That the old Bitch was come, then presently Mistress Thorp, the Prison-Keeper, came to me, and caused me to have Irons, and a great piece of Wood, as big as any Mans 
P. 48  
A Debtor Irond to a wooden dog.  Thigh, to be locked about my Leg. She thought it then convenient to pay her malice all at once. This is all the Affront was given, I have several Prisoners to justify it; but the greatest reason was, as I believe, my having received Letters from you, giving us an Account of the proceedings of the Parliament, as to the Act for Release of poor Imprisoned Debtors, for the other matter was not cause enough to Iron and Clog me. She knows, and is sensible, that I have no Friend to stand by me, and that makes her the bolder. A Man had better be subject to Slavery, than to this Woman, for she is a Devil. Pray in your next satisfy me what I can do in it, I have sent to the Under-Sheriff, and can have no Redress, had I best Petition the Parliament. Sir, I beg of you give me the best directions you can in it. I have not lain in a Bed since the Third of April last, and she forces others to pay a Groat a Night for Lodging in a Lowfie Flock-Bed. Expecting to hear from you, I subscribe your deplorable Irond Friend and Servant, Thomas Hill.  
Novemb. the 6th, 1690.   

A Second Letter from the Castle at oxford.  
SIR,  
THE Letter we received last Thursday Morning from you, had inevitably like to have been seized on to be red by Mrs. Thorp, Mistress of the Prison. So soon as I heard the Post-Man was come, I hastened to him, and  told him, that if so be he delivered the Letter to any but me, I would acquaint the Post-Master-General with it; but the Mistress of the Gaol replied, that she was afraid there might be Treason in it; that excuse she made only, because she had Iron'd me, and therefore she pretended to stretch her power further out,( thinking, that as Souls in Hell could have no Redemption, so she thinks 'tis the same with me, being here a long time, and no Friend,) then she gave Orders to the Post-Man to carry the Letter back, because I  told him I had not to pay for it, that was my excuse, that she should not see in; then she gave Orders, that when-ever I sent for it, she would see it, and if there was not Treason in the Letter, she would take off my Iron and Wood, but she knew from whence it came, and had a mind to see the News, but I very privately got the Letter unknown to her, but upon my promising her that she shall see the Letter, she has taken off the Irons and Wooden-Clog; 'tis supposed the Sheriff checked her. Sir, Here are some other Prisoners that are in a preposterous manner hindered from the conveniency of sending for small Drink out of Prison; the place they use to sand for it is locked up, and they cannot have a Messenger for their Moneys to do any thing for them, they are forced to drink Water when they cannot find Two Pence to pay for a flagon of Drink, and in the next place are forced to lodge on a Flock-Bed, and to pay Half a Crown a Week; this is the Condition of one John Staytt, who is in a very poor Condition, and was forced to Tick in the cellar at his first coming; they have run him up Six Pounds, and he will take his Oath, he never owed them Five,( I never knew any Prisoner that ever ticked but paid Four Pence for a flagon of Drink,) he now remains Prisoner for Three Pounds due to the cellar, and has been so Six Months; this John Staytt desired to lye in the Tower, or Dungeon, that so he might be Rent-free, but the Mistress of the Prison replied thus, No Man should go there, and pretended she was to keep him safe, and so forces him to that vast expense of a Bed, that so poor Man he may continue a Prisoner all his Life time, for the Rent of his Lodging, and Celler-Score, if not forgiven by this most gracious Act we are in expectation of. Here is also one William Surgeant, a Man that has been here a considerable while, that has also been Damnified by the People of the Prison; he  told Mrs. Thorp, when I was thrust out of my Lodging, that he desired Free Quarters; she knowing him to have an Estate,  told him, He should tarry where he was put, or ordered. Then he Resolving not to be at that vast expense, sent for a Bed, and other Necessaries, of his own; when she saw them brought into the Castle,( which she could not deny,) she ordered him to lye in a place called Smithfield, and denied him Free Quarters. And some time after this myself, and some others, being ordered to be put in the Tower, he desiring also to go with us with his Bed,( in Charity somewhat towards us,) he was by Mistress Thorp denied, and was forced there to remain, although he demanded several times to lye in Free Quarters on his own Bed, telling of her, He would pay nothing for his Lodging; and Mistress Thorp knowing he intended the beginning of this Term to Supersede his Actions, and he having the Copeys of his Warrants, she  told him, That if so be he would not pay her Eighteen Pence a Week for the time he had lain out of her Bed, she would sand to his Creditors, and cause his Superseding to be stopped. Upon which he was forced to give a Note under his Hand for the payment of so much Moneys as she demanded, that so he might have his Liberty at the end of the Term. Here is also one Richard Inon, a Man of good Repute, has been a considerable while in Custody, he has also ticked in the cellar, he is likewise Defrauded, or Misreckoned, of Twenty Shillings in his Accouns, and was about a Month since turned out of his Bed into the Tower to me, and stayed there a Fortnight, and was then wheedled to his Bed again, but still she Duns him for Moneys for his Lodging at Seven Groats a Week. He  told her, It was not reasonable to pay Four Pence a Night for a Bed of Flocks, and that he would pay her Two Pence a Night, which was sufficient, and he would give her no more; giving her Son,( who is an Attorney,) Orders to receive so much Moneys of a Friend of his. She  told him, He should not only pay Four Pence a Night for his Bed, but also Six Pence a Week for his Lodging in the Tower on the Boards, for she will not suffer us to bring into the Tower either Beds, or Straw. This Mr. Inon has been very serviceable to Mistress Thorp, in Working several Days a Quilting for her, finding her Materials also; all which she expects he should do for her for nothing. The second Night he was put into the Tower with me, he was intolerably abused by the linsey-woolsey, and his Boy; he was knocked down, they giving him Black Eyes, and a mauled Face, which was insufferable to the Spectators, but no one durst resist. This is our sad Condition, and rather worse, but we want Words to express our Misery in this our Imprisonment, we are your Servants. Tho. Hill, Will. Surgeans, J. Staytt, Rich. Inon, &c. Nov. 13. 1690.   

From Stafford-Prison. March the 30th, 1691.  
SIR,  
OUR jailer hath Abused several of us his Prisoners, he hath taken some of us by the Throats, and thrown up our Heels, and said, He would break our Necks down Stairs; and some of us he hath taken our Beds from under us in the Frost and Snow, and made us lye on the Bricks all Night, and next Morning turned us into the Court, and Locked us from our Dier. We desire to know which way this jailer ought to be Punished, we have forbore him till now. We could acquaint you with his other ill Measures towards us, He is as Proud as a Peacock, and as Wicked as a Serpent. Sir, In favouring us in these our Requests, you will oblige us with our best Services to you unknown,  
Henry Readell, &c.   

A Second Letter from Stafford-Prison.  
SIR,  
THis is our Second Letter, wherein we desire to know what a Prisoner can do to a jailer for striking him on the Breast, and throwing him on the Floor, and saying, He would break his Neck down Stairs, and taking their Beds from under them, and makes them lye Four Nights on a Boarded-Floor. We would desire your Opinion how we may deal with this Insulting jailer, for he is very Unkind and Cruel to us all, therefore good Sir be so kind as to Assist us, and give us your Answer by the next Post. Your Servants unknown, Henry Readell, &c.  
April the 13th, 1691.   

The First Letter from the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  
SIR,  
I Received yours of the Twenty First, which was broken up by one James Hunt, who is a Debtor, and the Keeper's Tapster, so that we had like to have missed of the same; and many that are in the Keeper's Debt, are by the Receipt of that Letter in a panic Fear of being Committed to the Wards. You writ, that if we have any Abuses from our jailer, to let you have a true Account of the same. Now to speak of all the Abuses I and others have met withal, the Keeper's Cruelty is so great, I cannot declare the same at present, without Tears in my Eyes, which Mrs. pain, now a Prisoner in the Fleet, was an Eye-Witness to a great part thereof. I was Committed to the Prison the 30th of September, 1689, and held to Bail for an Action of Trespass upon a Lease that I took of a piece of ground. I made Oath, That I did not owe the Plaintiff Five Pound upon Bill, Bond, or any Account. Then the Plaintiff Replied, I owed the said Plaintiff Ten Pound; and so I restend till the Twenty Second of February, then I sent to my Attorney for a Seupersedeas, with direction, that the Keeper should give me the Copy of my Warrant, with a Certificate, that there was no other Warrants against me: But the said Keeper denied the same: And then I demanded the same of the Steward of the Liberty of Bury St. Edmond, he gave me a lame Answer, That his Writs were then gone to London. So that here I must lye for ever, If Relief come not some other way, as Mordeca said to easter: For the Cruelty of the Keeper is so great an Oppression, that we can have as much good and wholesome Beer from the Bushel-End for Six Pence, as is Sold in the Gaol for Fourteen Pence. And to prevent the taking in of Beer at the Windows, the said Keeper caused new Bars to be set up thicker, that now we cannot take in any thing but at the Door, which is opened but when they please. Then I  told the Keeper, or Under-Keeper, that in the 22d, and 23d, of Charles the Second, there passed an Act for the Liberty of the Prisoners of England, That Prisoners might sand for Beer, and all manner of Necessaries, when and where they would. Upon this they put me into the Inward Prison, or Ward, Five Foot within the ground, on the 25th of December last, wherein I saw no Sun for the space of Eight Weeks. Then I Petitioned the judge at the Lent Assize, but when my Petition was red, the judge Commanded the jailer, or Under-Keeper, to bring me down to Depose the same; but I was wheedled off by the linsey-woolsey till the judge was out of Town, and then when they had almost Foundered me with Lodging in a little Straw, and well near Poisoned me with Noisome Scents, that I broken out with Boils, and Lameness. I then had some Rest, and walked in the Yard, till about June, and then hearing that my Adversary was Dead, demanded my Liberty; then I was shut up again, and there lay in the famed Ward in Straw, and have had no Provision, or other Necessaries, sometimes, but what is delivered in at the grace by these Cruel and Unmerciful Men. And this is not only to me, but to several others; and some Debtors Ironed, and put into the same Ward, next door to the House of Office, where we have a Yard not Three Rod of ground, for Twenty Men, most Criminals, to walk in, with a Sink in the middle. I am a Man of above Sixty Three Years of Age; and Charles the First, and Charles the Second, of Blessed Memory, I served them in their Wars, and have had a Commission for above Thirty Years. Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the Dead our Lord Jesus Christ, will deliver us from the Hands of those Keepers, whose Mercies are Cruelties. And thus if Their Majesties will be pleased to grant to me a poor Prisoner, after my Discharge, Their Commission, I will venture both Life, Limbs, Liberty, Estate, and Fortune, to Serve Their Majesties in their Wars, to make them still Victors. I rest, and shall for ever express myself to be your Servant, John Suckerman.  
I thank God my Natural Strength does not as yet fail. I likewise in the Wars was with the chirurgeon of the Army, wherein I took a Note of his Receipts; and since have practised with good success, That on the 15th Day of March, 1687, I Ript the Body of Simon Hixs, that I saw his Heart, and took an Impostom from his Miseron, wherein was a Quart of Matter, and healed up the Orifices in a Month time, that he could go about his Work, and so continues praised be God.  

To the Honourable House of COMMONS.  
The Humble Petition of Samuel Margrey, John Grigges, James Creet, Gabriel Smith, John Suckerman, and others, now Prisoners in the Custody of William Patrick, or his Deputy, Keeper of the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  
Sheweth,  
THat whereas we the aforesaid Prisoners for Debt, being there Committed to the aforesaid Keeper, or his Deputy, and thro' their Cruelty were thrust into the Ward, or Inward Prison, where now we there lodge in Straw, Eight of us in one Room, Five Foot within the ground, and where some of us have no other places then the same noisome Cell to Air ourselves in, and a piece of ground, not Four Rod, where in the middle thereof is a Sink for the Drain of the Houses, wherein is conveyed all manner of Washings, and all other Filthiness; and wherein that they empty their Sigg and Close-stools when they please; and on the other part there lieth a dunghill, whereon the Brewers that belong to the Houses throw out their drained Hops, with all the Dregs of the Brew-Houses, and all other Filth whatsoever they please; and on the other side of the aforesaid Yard, or piece of ground, slandeth a House of Office that is so noisome with putting in of stinking Carrion, wherein it remains, and being so full of Man's Ordure, that we cannot sit down upon the Seat without defiling ourselves; we desired the linsey-woolsey to speak with Mr. Patrick, that it might be emptied, but could not be heard; and so it hath continued ever since about the 14th of April last past, which at that time we were let into the Long Yard, as they call it, to Air ourselves there, and so we might go to that House of Office there, but they to fill themselves with Laughter at our Misery, strew Cow-Itch upon the Seat; and in May William Patrick the Keeper had gathered a Rabble, of above Twenty Men, and came into the Ward-Yard to Banter and Laugh at some of us, as they pleased. This is not enough, but some of those that lodge in the Houses, or Fore-Chambers, as they call them, are let into this our Ward-Yard, in the Night Season, when we are Barred up in our Room, and there some of them do Spew and Shit to Ease themselves; and some of us the aforesaid Prisoners, the next Day are Locked up in the said Yard, and are denied to come to the Pump for Water, and have none but what is fetched to us at their leisure; and will not suffer some of us to come to the Street, or grace, to Buy our own Victuals, or other Necessaries, such is their Cruelty, that it may and will breed all manner of Diseases, if it cost not some of us our Lives.  And now we Humbly Pray, That with all speed your Honours will be moved with Pity and Compassion, to look upon our Miserable Condition, and put an end to their Arbitrary Government; and that there may be a Table of Fees, and of the Gifts that Benefactors have bestowed upon, and to the said GAOL, for the Relief of poor Prisoners, in the Common-Hall, or some other open place, set up, where all Prisoners may see their Charge; and that the Chamber-Rent may be settled according to the Statute made in the 22d, and 23d, of Charles the Second, of Blossed Memory, so that we may Enjoy so much of the Liberty as is there set forth. 
And we shall ever Pray, &c.    

The Second Letter from the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  
SIR,  
WE received yours of the 13th instant, wherein you say you have not sent up all our Grievances. As to myself, I was Lodged with Three Condemned-Men in the Hall-Chamber, in the Gaol of Bury St. Edmond, from the 1st of October, to the 25th of December, 1689, at Two Shillings Seven Pence per Week. One John burgess was Lodged with a Criminal and a fellow all in one Bed; and Samuel Margery was Lodged in a Chamber with Two Felons. We desiring Mary the Wife of William Patrick the Keeper, that we might be Lodged more private, and not with Criminals. She Answered, She would lodge us where, and with whom she pleased; which is directly against the Statute of King Charles the Second, Anno 1662, 1663. And likewise the linsey-woolsey took away my Beer I sent for into the Town, and gave it the Criminals. And James King the Under-Keeper, broken the Goatch,( that is, a Pitcher,) of Beer, that we sent for into the Town to Relieve ourselves withal. And truly, the Cruelty of the Keeper and Under-Keeper 
Debtors and condemned Criminals Log'd to gather.  
Debtors wives and Daughters attempted to be Raveshed by Goal●…  is such, that most of us cannot have any Beer, Water, or other Necessaries, but what we have from the Hands of these Morose People; some one of them did bring into the Prison Oxvometa, and did Poison a Prisoner's Dog, which Dog lay Dead among us for a considerable time; whereupon we  told them, That it was very dangerous to use Oxvometa in the Prison. The Answer was made, That if we gave it to Richard Cliff,( who is a poor silly Man, and a Debtor,) it would do him no harm. I hear there will be more Mischief done, for the Keeper himself has threatened to Beat out the Brains of some of the Prisoners, and to Fetter and Chain me to a Post. The Government of the House is so Rude, and debauched, that few Nights in the Week, the Under-Keeper, or Keeper, go to Bed before Two of the Clock in the Morning, after they have committed Drunkenness, and all other manner of Debauchery, that several Women have been forced to shriek out to preserve their Chastity; so that several Women that brought us Provision, durst not come to bring us any more. And we are so Locked up, that our Friends cannot come to us but when the Keepers please. We are Seven of us Locked up in one Room, for the most part Thirteen Hours in a Day and Night, and if any of us do but Knock, or Call, to come out to Ease Nature, we are threatened to be Locked up, and never to come over the Threshold more, such is their Cruelty. There are some other Prisoners that will writ to you what Abuses they have received. Thus with our Loves and Service to you, hoping you will be always ready to do us Kindnesses, yours, John Suckerman, &c.  
Novemb. the 17th, 1690.   

A Third Letter from the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  
SIR,  
WE received yours of the 29th of Novemb. with our Thanks for your Care and Pains in going before the Committee of the House of Commons, and also Petitioning the Parliament, and therein setting forth our Grievances. And whereas you say, you red my Letter to King the jailer of Ipswich; he the said James King was Keeper, or Under-Keeper, of Bury St. Edmond, and was the Man that broken our Goarch, and spilled our Beer; and also when I Petitioned the judge of the Lenten Assizes, the said James King did Assert to the judge, That we were Drinking King Jame's Health. Thus to shelter his Cruelty with a gloss of pretended Zeal, it was a plain lye from a Quaker that pretends the Light, but his Ways are Darkness. He the said King is sent up to London, by William Patrick his, Son in Law, to prie and Wheadle into your Transactions, and to dull the edge of your proceedings, if possible he can. William Patrick, the pretended Keeper, is a very disorderly House-Keeper, for there is very few Nights in the Week, that the Under-Keepers, if he himself be not at the Gaol, go to Bed before Two of the Clock in the Morning, and so with Exceffive Drinking make large Scores. About the 2●th of October, 1689, Seven of us Prisoners sent out into the Town a Leather-Bottle for as much Beer as came to Seven Pence, for to refresh ourselves in the Morning, we having more Beer out in the Town for Seven Pence, than the Keeper will sell us for Fourteen Pence, but the linsey-woolsey, James Collisun, took our Bottle away, and gave the Beer to the Criminals; of which we made our Complaint to William Patrick, the pretended Keeper, who keeps a Tavern in the Town of Bury St. Edmond; for Answer he  told us, He would sand for Charles Bullard to be our linsey-woolsey, and he should break all our Bottles, if we sent for any Beer out of Doors. Which Bullard, when linsey-woolsey, did take away many of our Bottles. Instead of Cherishing Virtue, this Patrick the Keeper is the great promoter of all Vices that can be performed by Rude and Morose Servants, which are the only Men he employs; he encourages them most that can find out new ways to Insult over us, so that we are now in great fear of being Chained, or that which is worse. And now to quash all the Grievances we have, or can make, the said Patrick, or Mary his Wife, the 24th of November last, brought, or caused to be brought, into the Gaol one John Gurling a known Papist, who by his instigation, has persuaded a great many of the new comers into the Prison to set their Hands to a Paper-Writing of the Gaoler's good Usage, which if it come to your Hands sand it down to us. Thus hoping our Representatives now Assembled in Parliament will Correct the Arbitrary Government of Cruel and Morose Gaolers, or otherwise those poor Prisoners, both Men and Women, that are Committed into their Custody, had as good be cast into a Den of Lions, or a Nest of Wolves; from all which Torments, Good Lord Deliver us. Yours, John Suckerman, &c.  
Decemb. the 2d, 1690.   

A Fourth Letter from the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  

To the Right Honourable the Judges of Assize for the County of Suffolk, or either of them.  
The Humble Petition of Susanna, the Wife of Samuel tailor, of Brandon in the said County of Suffolk, Yeoman, and now a Prisoner in the Common Gaol of Bury Sr. Edmond, in the same County.  
In all Humility Sheweth,  
THAT in November last your poor Petitioner,( altho' then, and yet, the Wife of the said Samuel tailor, who then was, and yet is, Living, and joined with her in the same Action,) was singly Arrested and Committed to the said Gaol, by and at the svit of one Christopher Smith of Buddesdale in the said County, an Attorney at Law, for Moneys, falsely pretended by the said Smith, to be owing to him by your Petitioner several Years since, when she was Sole, whereas in Truth, your Petitioner neither then did, nor yet doth, owe him any thing. But the said Smith was Indebted to your Petitioner, as she hath already Sworn upon an Affidavit by her made before a Master in the Court of Common-Pleas, soon after the first of her Imprisonment, and hopes she is able to prove, could she by your Honours Aid be put in a Defensive Course.  
And your Petitioner,( the better to enable her self to make defence against the said tortuous and Unjust Action, and legally to obtain her Liberty,) in Easter-Term last, and divers times since, demanded a Copy of the Warrant( upon which she was so Arrested and Committed,) of William Patrick the Elder, then and yet Keeper of the said Gaol, being always ready and willing to satisfy and pay him reasonably for the same.  
But so it is, may it please your Honours, that the said Patrick,( as your Petitioner verily believes, by Combination and Confederacy with the said Smith, without any reasonable or just cause, to Oppress and Ruin your poor Petitioner, and cause her to perish in Prison in a deplorable manner,) hath constantly refused to let your Petitioner to have any Copy of the said Warrant. And your Petitioner ever since her first Commitment hitherto, hath been continued in Prison on the sole account of the said Action, and for many Weeks past has been more strictly confined, and severely Treated.  
And your Petitioner,( being a poor Feme-Covert, destitute of Money and Friends, and under the over-ruling power of a Husband, and by him totally neglected and disregarded in this her distressed Condition,) must consequently suffer perpetual Imprisonment, and finally sink under her Afflictions, and inevitably expire and perish in Prison in a deplorable manner, under an inhuman and Arbitrary Cruelty,( without being heard,) unless preserved by your Lordships immediate Power and Justice.  
And your Petitioner further sheweth unto your Honours, that some time after her Commitment, she entrusted the said Smith's Bills and Letters, with her beforementioned Affidavit, and other Papers,( which would now before your Honours detect the Extravagancy and Injustice of the said Smith's Action and proceedings against her,) in the hands and custody of William Patrick the younger, an Attorney at Law,( and the Gaoler's Son,) who now refuses to deliver the same unto your Petitioner.  
And forasmuch as your Petitioner humbly conceives, that all the said proceedings and practices are manifestly contrary to the Laws of this Realm, and Examinable and Relievable before your Honours, by virtue of your Commission.  
She therefore most humbly beseeches your Honours,( or one of you,) in Justice towards her, to take the same into your Judicious Consideration and Examination, and to that intent and purpose, to command your Petitioner to be brought before your Lordships, or one of you, to Aver this her Petition. And likewise to cause the said Smith, and Patrick the jailer, and Patrick the Attorney, at the same time to be Convened before your Honours, or one of you, respectively to Answer the premises. And lastly, To give your Petitioner such Relief and Redress therein, as to your Honour's Wisdom shall seem most mere.  
And your Petitioner, as in Duty bound, shall daily Pray for your Lordships greatest Felicity. Susanna tailor. Septemb. the 18th, 1690.   

Instructions for Counsel to manage the Petition, On the part and behalf of Susanna tailor, the Wife of Samuel tailor; which said Susanna is now a Prisoner in Bury-Gaol at the svit Christopher Smith an Attorney of the Court of Common-Pleas.  
The CASE,  
SEveral Years since the Plaintiff Smith became indebted to the Defendant, while she was Sole,( being then a Widow,) before her Marriage with the said tailor. And, to run out part of the Money, she employed Smith as her Attorney in some business. And in the Year 1684, desiring to reckon with him, she sent for his Bills, which he sent her in a Letter, and in that Letter excuses himself for not coming to her, and writ to effect, as if he had not Money to spare, intimating as much, as if he could not pay the remainder which was coming to her over and above his Bills.  
Notwithstanding all this, Four Years after, and after her Marriage with the above said Samuel tailor, viz. in November, 1689, Smith Arrested the said Susanna, and sent her to Bury-Gaol, where she has ever since remained.  
And at the same time she was Arrested, her Husband tailor was in the same Warrant,( as indeed the Law requires,) and joined with her in the Action, and very easy to be taken, and to have been Arrested as well as she; but( whether by connivance, or contrivance,) he was waved and never yet meddled withal, but she only lies in Prison, under close Confinement, being held to special Bail, because at the svit of an Attorney. Smith refusing to come to any manner of end, or to accept of a Reference, altho' offered on her part. And she is altogether slighted and neglected by her Husband, and being a poor Married Woman, wanting both Money and Friends, may perish in Prison, except some course be taken to prevent it, for which end she now Petitions the Judges of Assize.  
And it is Observable, that William Patrick the Younger,( the Gaoler's Son,) a young Attorney, offered to undertake her business against Smith, pretending to move the Court against his extravagant Bills, and undue manner of proceedings, and in pursuance thereof got Smith's Bills and Letters into his hands, and neither did any thing for her Relief, or Remedy, or for her Enlargement out of Prison, nor will restore her Papers. For which she Petitions the Judges for remedy, and that he may be Ordered to show cause why he restores not her Papers.  
And she likewise in Easter-Term last, and several times since, demanded a Copy of the Warrant,( upon which she was Arrested and Committed,) of William Patrick the jailer,( being willing to pay him reasonably for the same,) to the intent to enable her self to make defence against Smith, and procure her Liberty by Supersedeas, or otherwise. But the said jailer constantly refuses to let her have any Copy, for which she likewise Petitions the Judges.  
She hath likewise in her Petition prayed a Remedy against all the said Parties for the Tort and Injury.  
And the purport hereof is to instruct her Counsel to manage her Petition before the Judges, against all the said persons upon the whole matter, and to effect her Liberty, if it be possible, or otherwise to provide a convenient Remedy as the Law shall direct.  
If she had Smith's Bills and Letters out of young Patrick's hands, she should show them to the Judges, and sufficiently Evince Smith's Irregular proceedings, and the injustice of his Cause.  
The Gaoler's refusal to let her have a Copy of the Warrant, is expressly against a particular Branch of the Habeas Corpus Act, and altogether looks like a Combination between Smith and Patrick the jailer, and Patrick the Attorney, and the Womans Husband, to keep her in Prison.  
And because the Defendant Susanna tailor, preferred this Petition to the Judges, and moved upon it,( altho' without effect, for they shamed off the matter with the judge in the Defendant Susan's absence,( she not being brought down in person as she desired,) so nothing was done,) Patrick the jailer immediately turned her out of her Lodging into a Nasty, could, and Loathsome Room over the Dungeon, without any manner of thing to lye upon, save only a small parcel of Straw, as if it had been for a Dog, and without any thing to cover her from the could, and kept her almost continually Locked up therein, and so despitefully and hardly used her, that thereby she got a Sickness which might have cost her her Life, if God had not been the more Merciful to her.  
And as for young Patrick the Attorney, he thereupon gave her an extravagant Bill, by which he charges her with Four Pound Seven Shillings and upwards, whereas in truth nothing was done by him for the same, to the Prisoners benefit, or advantage; but she remains in the same Condition she was in before he pretended to undertake her business, which was in Hillary-Term, 1689.  
As for the Prisoners Husband, Samuel tailor,( he being at liberty himself without any mollestation,) has made Sale of all her Goods which she had when she Married him, and has converted the Money to his own use, and he hath also got into his hands all the Rents of certain Lands and Tenements which the Prisoner had in Trust from her former Husband, for the bringing up of the Children she had by him; and the said tailor has likewise converted the same wholly to his own use. And with much Inhumanity and Cruelty absolutely refuses to let the Prisoner have any part thereof, or any manner of sustentation to preserve her from perishing in Prison, she living now wholly upon the Charity of Friends, which in short time will be at a period, and being her self growing into considerable Years, and manifestly declining in her Natural Functions and Abilities, to sustain and undergo so great a Rigour and Inhuman Usage and Severity.  
And by Protestation doth Assert, That she believes that this great Barbarity is imposed upon her, in premeditated Cruelty, to cause her to perish in Prison in a deplorable manner, without any manner of Reason, or Just Cause.    

A Fifth Letter from the Gaol in Bury St. Edmond.  
SIR,  
WHEN I. last Writ to you, I sent you a Copy of my Petition to the Judges the last Assizes at Bury against one Christopher Smith an Attorney at Law, and against William Patrick the jailer of Bury, and William Patrick( his Son,) an Attorney likewise, for their respective misdemeanours,( as you may see the Papers import,) I was then in hopes that I should by this time have heard of an Act of this present Parliament, for the Relief of myself, and Thousands more in this Nation, that Sigh and Groan under the Tyranny and Cruelty of the Common Gaolers, and other Oppressors of these times, which is such, that it makes our Lives no less than Quotidian Deaths, attended with most exquisite Torments,( all our Miseries and Calamities being considered together as one entire Mass,) and that to such an extreme degree, that Death itself,( could we but Die at once,) would be to us a Divine Favour and Happiness.  
This Unhappy Condition, I think,( as my Circumstances are,) doth concern me more largely than any other Mortal I can meet with,( as you may in part perceive by those Papers already sent you, which I shall not need to repeat,) for as I am a Married-Wife, I am so strictly bound up, that,( being a poor Prisoner, and wholly deserted by my Cruel Husband,) I can no way help myself.  
In short, Sir, I am so Tyrannically and Barbarously treated by William Patrick our jailer, ever since I wrote to you, that I am compelled to let you know some more of my present occurring Grievances. Which are, That now all persons living are wholly kept from me by one Matthew Rogers( the present linsey-woolsey,) by the Gaoler's express Order and Command, and none permitted to come into the Gaol to me on any occasion whatsoever, so that I want all things to sustain my Life, and have no person whatsoever permitted to assist or help me in this my sad and deplorable Condition, with any Relief, or otherwise.  
On which Account I verily and unfeignedly do fear, I shall perish, and daily expect to lose my Life, and be made away by the Gaoler's Cruelty and Revenge in some manner or other.  
This manner of Savage Cruelty of our jailer, is not only expressly against the Law and late Statute made and provided against Gaolers, but is no where practised in any Gaol in England, but only in this of Bury. And therefore being in this Mortal Fear and Apprehension, and transported with such Horror and Dread, I have thought of Petitioning the Parliament. But being only a single person, I thought it convenient first to beg your Advice and Counsel, whether you think it will be to any purpose for any single Prisoner to do it alone, and to direct my course therein.  
And that you may see and know what cause of Complaint I have against the Gaoler's Son,( who is a young Attorney, and thrusts himself into my business, under the specious pretences of Infallibly procuring my Liberty and Remedy against the first Aggressor Smith, by whom, and at whose svit, I am unjustly made a Prisoner, as my Papers have already shewed you,) I have herewith sent you a Copy of his Bill, for what he pretends to have done for me, altho' in truth there was nothing done; for altho' he charges me,( as you may see,) with Forty Five Shillings for Moving the Court against Smith, and Forty Two Shillings Four Pence more for Filing a Bill against him for the Money he owed me the same time I was Imprisoned, in all Four Pound Seven Shillings Four Pence; yet there was never any thing effected upon the Motion,( if any such was made,) nor my Liberty gained thereby, nor any more proceedings against him for my Money, than only to forejudg him, and take out a Writ against him, which was never Sued or Executed,( altho' the person was and is easy to be taken,) and so both these Concerns were totally neglected, and desisted in that very Juncture, which should, and would have given me a Remedy in either. So that here is much pretended to be done, but to no other purpose, than only,( as if it had been premeditated,) to render me in a worse condition than I was at the first of my Imprisonment, by throwing away so much Money without any effect,( if it were really due,) and by irritating and provoking the Spirits of all them with whom I had to do. And yet himself at the same time detains all my Papers and Proceedings from me, and thereby hinders all others from Acting or Proceeding for me therein.  
And it is plainly apparent, that one main end of the Gaoler's Cruelty towards me, is to squeeze this pretended Money for his Son( the Darling of the jailer) out of my very Blood and Vitals, having nothing else wherewith to pay him, for his doing nothing for me, but rendering me more effectually Miserable than he found me.  
And its a very remarkable instance of Impudence and Injustice, in that young Patrick, in the very last of his Bill charges me Three Shillings Four Pence for attending the Judges the last Assizes, at which time,( forasmuch as I then Petitioned against him,) he then stood in the Quality and Capacity of a Criminal, and not of an Advocate for me, and was there to Answer his own misdemeanours, and not to Act for me.  
Finally, Sir, I beg your Charitable Advice and Counsel to a poor distressed Woman under so great Affliction, from a Concatenated villainy of Wicked Men, against whom I can yet find no Remedy, either from judge, or Justice,( such is the Cruelty of my Unhappy Fate,) and the favour of a Letter from you by the next Post in Answer hereto, for according to your Directions I will steer my course. Hoping by that time you will be Enabled to sand us the Joyful News of an Act of Parliament,( obtained by your indefatigable and unparallelled Industry, and Herculean Toil and Labour,) for the Relief of poor distressed Prisoners, of which Number is  
Your most Indigent and Afflicted, but Faithful and Obliged, Friend and Servant, unknown, Susanna tailor Novemb. the 26th, 1690.   

POSTSCRIPT.  
And as to our jailer, I could inform the Parliament of many horrid things done by him, although not all of them proved by my own proper self, but by several others who have been Prisoners, and are gone, and by some now in Prison that dare not speak for fear of worse Usage, and others that are Asses of burden, who will bear all things before they will help themselves. But I conceive all this ought to be by way of Articles of misdemeanour, and breach of Law, to be drawn up against the jailer; wherein how far my single Operations and endeavours may avail, I desire to be informed by you; wishing with all my Heart you could make it a general thing all England over, for, Vis unita fortior, and the Complaints of many will prevail, where that of a few cannot.    



A Debtor Thumscrud and Iron Pothook's about his neck   
MR. Jackson, a Wool-Comer in St. Edmonds-Bury, Suffolk, Aged about Thirty Years, for sending out of the Prison for Drink, was Thumbscru'd, and a pair of Pot-Hooks( as they termed it) of Iron put about his Neck, and chained to a Mantle-Tree of a Chimney, that he was forced to stand a Tiptoe, and in this posture he stood for an Hour, if not two, till some that were in the Prison went and acquainted one Mr. Martyn Spensley an Alderman of the said Town, who sent to the Keeper of the Prison to desist from that Cruelty, upon which he was let loose from his said Thumbscrew, and Pot-Hooks, and from his being chained to the Mantle-Tree of the said Chimney.   

A further Account of the Cruelties Committed in Hallifax-Gaol in Yorkshire.  
MIchael Smith, Carrier from Hallifax to York, who lay in Hallifax-Gaol several Years, and Died in the said Gaol about Christmas last, declared a little before his Death, that he was put into the said Gaol for a Debt which in truth was not more than Three Shillings and Four Pence; and said, that John Grigson, who pretends himself an Attorney at Law, was the Person at whose svit he was Imprisoned; the said Smith was about Forty Years old; Likewise John Normerton, and Robert Farburne, were put into the said Gaol by the said Grigson,( who were discharged out of the said Gaol by Their Majesties most Gracious Act,) who have often declared, they never owed the said Grigson one Farthing. And that further, there has been Committed to this said Gaol several Children, both Boys and Girls, for Debt, some of which have been not above Fourteen Years of Age, and some of them under the said Age, and there kept till they have been ready to starve; and both the Attorneys and jailer have said, that they could not take their own Bail, because they were under Age; and by these ways and means did oblige these poor Children to work for their said Creditors, till they had paid their said Creditors the said Debts they had imposed upon them. And likewise several Old Men and Women of Seventy or Eighty Years Old, and upwards,( many of which went a Begging several Years before,) were thrown into this Prison for small Debts, and several of them there Died for want of Relief, for there is no Allowance of Victuals, or Money, from the Town, or County; nor no Basket, or Begging-place; and the Attorneys that throws most of these poor people into this said Gaol, are this said John Grigson, and Jer. Briggs.  
Witness my Hand to the Truth of this Narrative, this Sixth of June, 1691. James Stevenson. Witness, Samuel Holmes.   

A Relation of some of the Barbarities of Richard Manlove Esq; the present Warden of the Fleet, which has lately been found Guilty of Oppression and Extortion by a Jury of Twelve Men.  
THE said Warden locked up,( till opened by the Worthy Mr. Justice Lutwyche,) Threescore Gentlemen and others, in a Loathsome Place, called the Wards, for non-payment of Excessive Chamber-Rent, where was a noisome House of Office near their Lodgings, not allowing the King's Beds, but forcing them to procure Beds, or lye on the Ground; and keeping Men Dead amongst them, for his pretended deuce, till they Infected others.  
Richard Brockas Esq; was carried down thither, for not paying Excessive Chamber-Rent, and his Wife and Servants denied to bring him Victuals, or physic; and when he Died, the Jury Summoned, could not but find his Death occasioned by Cruelty, and they were dismissed by contrivance with the Coroner; and when he was butted, a new Jury Summoned, he taken up again, and an Inquisition returned contrary to Law. Witness, James Mott then a Stranger, and of the Jury. Mrs. Elizabeth Brockas his Widow.  
Sir John Pettus of Suffolk, Baronet, for not paying Extorting deuce, was forced from his Chamber; his Books, Cloths, and moneys seized, and he turned into a little Room,( now the Warden's Coach-man's Lodging,) who being a Learned Studious Person, for want of those Necessaries, he melancholy Died, and was kept many Days above Ground; his Friends being denied his Body, till they paid the Warden's pretended deuce. Witness, Mr. John Warren. Mr. Briggs, Clerk of the Fleet, now Marshall of the Kings-Bench.  
Sir William Ducy, Baronet, was kept by the Warden in his Coach-House, till he was drawn out with Ropes, being so Offensive, that none could come near him. Witness, Mrs. Anne Facey, Chamberlain.  
simon Edolph Esq; Seventy Eight Years of Age, the Son of Sir Thomas Edolph, of Kent, for not paying Forty Two Pounds, demanded of him, when he proffered Thirty Pounds, which was for a little Room about Twelve Foot square, after the rate of Six Shillings per Week, besides payment of the Chamberlain, was dragged down to the Wards, in the hard Weather, and there not allowed a Bed, but must have lain on the ground, had he not( at his own Charge) procured one, and is now in the Wards. Witness, Richard Hare, William Higginson Waiters, Mr. John Machen, Mr. John Pemberton, Mr. Manning, Mr. Warren.  
Walter Cowdrey, jailer of Winchester, for about 2 or 3 Months Chamber-Rent, kept above ground till it caused a Sickness in the next Room, and his Friends denied to take his Body without paying Extorting Fees.   

By which, may be perceived, the Inhumanity of this jailer, not only to Gentlemen, but one of his own Trade and Calling.  
Sir George Putsay Serj. at Law, Dying of a dropsy: and being a very great Fat Man, was kept,( for Extorting Fees,) till a Judges Warrant was procured for his delivery.  
Moses pit of London Bookseller, being Committed Prisoner to the Fleet, April the 20th, 1689, lodged on the Gentlemen's side in a Chamber which the Warden valves at Eight Shillings per Week, tho' of Right it's but Two Shillings and Four Pence, the rest being Exaction,( and the said Moses pit, at the time of Writing of this, has Two Chambers within the Rules of the King's-Bench for One Shilling Three Pence per Week, twice as good as the said Chamber,) he the said pit continued in the said Chamber from the said 20th of April, 1689, to the 26th of August, 1690, which was Seventy Weeks, and Three Days, in which time the said pit had paid the Warden his Commitment-Fee, Two Pounds Four Shillings and Six Pence, whereas there is but Four Pence due; pit also paid him Fourteen Shillings for Two Day-Writs, and was to pay him Eight Shillings Four Pence at the going out of the Gate,( every Prisoner there in Execution pays Eleven Shillings and Two Pence a Day when he goes abroad about his Business,) but the said Warden kept his said Fourteen Shillings, and would not let him go out of the Gates of the Prison, by which the said pit lost his trials, which was many Thousand Pounds damage to him. The said pit also paid the said Warden for Chamber-Rent Fifteen Pounds, and the said Warden had of Mr. Stephen Upman, Fellow of Eaton-College, and Brother to Pitt's Wife,( who was Committed Prisoner upon a False Oath Sworn in the open Court of the Common-Pleas, by two of Pitt's Adversaries, on November the 15th, 1689, an Account of which is at large related in PITT's CASE herewith Printed,) and of John pit Son of the said Moses pit, and of Mr. Lock, and Mr. Bland, the said Pitt's Friends, Seventeen Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence, for one Nights Lodging. Notwithstanding the said Warden of the Fleet had received of the said pit, and his Friends,( which was all upon Pitt's account,) Thirty Five Pounds Five Shillings and Two Pence, when there was due to him, and the person of the Fleet, besides the one Nights Lodging for the said Pitt's Four Friends, but Nine Pounds Eight Shillings and Four Pence, from the said 20th of April, 1689, to the 26th of August, 1690, upon which Day he threw down the said pit into the Wards, or Dungeon, of the said Prison, and there locked him up within the Door of the said Wards for Five Days, without allowing him any Bed, or any thing else to lodge on; and altho' the said Pitt's Wife came to see her Husband in this Miserable place, he the said Warden would not permit the said pit to come up into the Yard of the Prison to speak with his Wife, upon which the said Pitt's Wife was forced to sand him a Bed to lodge on, and there the said pit continued and lodged in a Room with Twenty Seven more Prisoners, most of which lived on the Basket, and begged at the grace; one of which said Mendicant Prisoners, after he had, in order to take the Benefit of the Act, Sworn himself not worth more than Ten Pounds, Died at the said Pitt's Bed Head,( he was a Man full of Vermin, of a Corrupt Body, and Bursten,) at Twelve of the Clock at Night. And one Day the said pit being at Prayers in the chapel of the said Prison, was taken with a Delirium, or apoplectic Fit, and getting into this Noisome Cell, threw himself on his Bed, and so lay some Hours, upon which one of his Friends goes to the Warden and acquaints him in what Condition the said pit lay, and desired him, That the said pit might have a Chamber till he was well, paying him for it. But the said Warden denied the said Friend of Pitt's that Request. In this same dismal place did the said pit continue, from the 26th of August, 1690, to the 16th of May, 1691, in all which time he was not able to keep himself clean from Vermin, being forced to Louse himself most commonly Twice a Day, either in the open Yard, or in the House of Office; for at any time if the said pit had the use of any of the Gentlemen's Chambers for his Devotions, Study, and Lowsing himself, if the said Warden came to hear of it, both he and his Wife would be very Angry with the said Gentlemen, and would hunt him thence as a partridge upon the Mountains. And that the Reader may be satisfied, that it was impossible for the said pity to keep himself clean from Vermin, whilst he continued in the said Wards of the Fleet Prison, he doth Assure his Reader, that many of his Chamber-Fellows were so lousy, that as they either walked, or sat down, you might have picked Lice off from their outward Garments; but enough of this, least my Reader Scrubs and Scratches at the Reading of it. The said pit was removed from the Fleet Prison to the King's-Bench on the 16th of May, 1691, and the said pit is informed by Mr. Walcot Hobson Clerk to the Warden of the Fleet, that the said Warden has sent over an Action against the said pit for Fourteen Pounds odd Shillings for Chamber-Rent due to him. Now the said pit doth Aver,( not to reckon the Seventeen Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence he had for one Nights Lodging for Pitt's Four Friends,) he has over-paid the Warden for Chamber-Rent, &c. Eight Pounds Ten Shillings and Two Pence, to the 26th of August, 1690, but however he the said pit is very willing to come to a Quantum Merit with the said Warden, both for his Chamber-Rent from April the 20th, 1689, to August the 26th, 1690, and from August the 26th, 1690, to May the 16th, 1691,( which was the time the said pit lay in the Wards of the said Prison) and will refer it to a Jury of Twelve Honest Men, and stand by their Award.  
pit has Two things more to Charge on the said Warden, the First is concerning a Prisoner that is Dead, which was one Mr. Yardley who was an Attorney of Clifford's-Inn, put into the Prison of the Fleet by his own Brother who belong to the Queen Dotoager. This Mr. Yardly the Warden threatened him to put him into the Wards of the Prison for non-payment of Chamber-Rent. Mr. Yardly  told him, Sir, If you put me into the Wards of the Prison, I shall Die, for I am a Sickly Man. The Warden replied, Better you Dio, than I lose my Chamber-Rent, and did turn him into the Wards, where he fell Sick, but was afterwards taken into a Chamber, and soon after Died, and had neither person, Physician, Apothecary, nor Nurse, to Attend him.  
The other is of Mrs. Pain a● Bury St. Edmonds Woman, in Suffolk, she is now in the Wards of the Fleet Prison, The Warden sent for her one Day to pay her Chamber-Rent, she asked him how much she must pay a Week? He tells her, Six Shillings a Week; she  told him it was too much, she could not pay it; The Warden Answered, It was the Rate the Judges had set on that Chamber, and if they had not set a Rate, he would have Sixteen Shillings a Week for that Chamber, for he would make what he pleased of his own.  
But it would be too tedious to mention the many villainies by this jailer committed, we being ready, when required, to make out much more, than is fit to be herein inserted.   

Reasons offered to Creditors, against the Imprisoning the Bodies of their DEBTORS.  
FIRST, If the Debtor be an Honest Man, he will give up into the hands of his Creditor all his Estate he shall be seized or possessed of,( except for necessary Living,) which is as much as was originally given at the Common Law.  
Secondly, It puts the Debtor in a better condition to serve the Crown, the Common-Wealth, to provide for himself and Family, to be Just to his Creditors: Whenas, his Imprisonment is an Obstruction to All. As for instance,  
A Debtor owes to Six several Persons 100 l. and is by Profession a Divine, without a bnfice; a Lawyer; or, by Trade a Clothier, Printer, Book-binder, Carpenter, or the like; and hath a Wife and Two Children, and is worth but 100 l. in all the World; upon a modest Calculation, it shall cost the Creditor and Debtor this 100 l. in a Years time. And( giving Allowance for greater and smaller Debts, higher and lower Charges) it becomes the Case of every Honest Debtor; so as ●lie Debt is at last totally lost.  
As, if it be presumed, the Debtor is first Arrested for 20 l. it costs the Plaintiff and Defendant immediately ready moneys, and before either of them can procure a Habeas Corpus to a higher Prison,( in case the Action comes from a Superior Court, as is most common); Or, in case not, if a Debtor that hath but 100 l. cannot,( without danger of his Life,) abide in a Common, Close, Noisome County, or Corporation Gaol, it costs,( upon an ordinary Computation,) for the Arrest, paid by the Plaintiff and Defendant, and staying till a Habeas Corpus can be brought,— 4 o— 0  
For his Removal by Habeas Corpus to the Fleet,( in case that be the proper Superior Gaol,) for bringing the Writ, Judges Fees, if upon six Actions, and Commitment-Fee, in case he will lye better than in the Gaol from whence he came,— 8— 5— 2  
For a Habeas Corpus to the Bar( for he cannot otherwise be charged,) if but upon one of his Actions for Goods sold, the Pleadings, attendance of Witnesses, Counsel, and other expenses, on both sides, before judgement, and after judgement, on Trial, charging the Prisoner in Execution, at the least,— 23— 0— 0  
Then supposing the Debtor to lye in Prison but one Year,( which some do all their Livestime,) for Chamber-Rent,( at an Indifferent Computation,) at 8 s. a Week;( some paying triple as much; others two or three less,) So as it is taken to be, one Prisoner with another, for bare Camber-Rent, per Annum,— 20 16— 0  
The Chamber-Rent of right is but 2 s. 4 d. in the Fleet, the rest is Exacted.  
To the Chamberlain, at 1 s. 6 d. per Week, 3— 18— 0  
To the person, at 4 d. per Week, 0— 17— 4  
Note, There are some who lye on the Common-Side, or Wards, without Beds allowed to them, who pay but 1 s. 2 d. per Week, and 34 s. 4 d. Commitment-Fee, and 2 d. per Week to the person; but that place in the Fleet is Dark, unwholesome, and is a kerb upon the rest to pay those Great Rates the jailer Exacts; he unmercifully threatening all for Non-Payment, with Dungeons and Irons, not distinguishing between a Criminal and Debtor, the Fault and the irresistible Misfortune of a Commoner of England. Then if it be allowed to the Debtor,  
For Victuals and Necessaries for himself, in Prison, per Annum,— 20— 0— 0  
For his House-Rent, or Lodgings out of Prison, and Necessaries for a Wife and but two Children, per Annum,— 20— 0— 0  
So in One Years time is spent in Prison, and thereby occasioned,— 100— 16— 06  
Note, That in case all the Creditors, supposing Five more, proceed against the Debtor; the Law-proceedings from the first Habeas Corpus to the Charge in Execution, will be Five times more.  
So that the Creditor gains only for his Satisfaction the Ruin of his Debtor, in Twelve Months time.  
Besides, That Years time the Debtor might have gotten his Living, preserved this 100 l. and provided for his Family; which, by his Imprisonment, was lost, and his Creditor's 100 l. swallowed up, with Gain only to the jailer, and Confinement to the Debtor.  
When, if at Liberty, the Divine might be a Curato; the Lawyer a Clerk or solicitor; the Tradesman get Money by his Hands or Cunning; and the Gentleman himself live comfortably with some Noble-Man, generous Friend, or Relation; and the Gaoler's Fees employed for convenient Preservation.  
Thirdly, It hath been found by Experience, an Honest Debtor hath paid all his Creditors, after a public or private Discharge; for,( according to the true Penitent,) He grows Wiser by Affliction; and, the best Instruction is the effect of Experience. He then will dread to come again into the Hands of an Arbitrary and Extorting jailer, and not live so inclinable,( as formerly,) to support a vain Reputation at the hazard of his Liberty.    

THE CASE OF Moses pit, Bookseller.   

To Sir J. A.  
Honoured Sir,  
YOUR great Kindness to me a poor Oppressed Prisoner, now in the Wards, or inward Prison of the Fleet, has been so great,( you being a stranger to me,) by your Charitable Visits, that I want Words to express my Gratitude; all that I can do to make you a Retaliation, is, by Obeyiny your Command, by giving the World a true and faithful Account of my CASE, which of late has taken up so much time in Their Majesties Courts, both of Law and Equity, wherein I shall Observe your Directions in Publishing of it, without Reflections on Persons concerned, and that I Relate the whole, as well that which makes against me, as for me, that so the Naked Truth may appear: which said Honest Directions I shall punctually Observe, being also informed by Livey in his Roman History, That he that Publishes a lye to the World for a Truth, is the greatest of Perjured Persons, for he puts a Cheat upon the Generations to come. Therefore I shall take this Method in what I Relate, as purely of my own knowledge, to do it with that Sincerity and Truth, as becomes a good Christian, knowing that I must stand or fall by it at the last Day, before the great judge of Heaven and Earth; and what I Relate as from others, I will Name my Witnesses, and the place of their Abode, as near as I can, that if any has the Curiosity to inform themselves of the Truth of what I Repeat, they may apply themselves to them for their satisfaction. Truth and Integrity are my Jewels, tho' my Enemies have taken from me my Estate and Liberty, yet from these I will not part till I Die.   

Moses pit his CASE.  
CAptain Richard Mill being in Possession of the Tenant-Right of an Estate, known by the Name of the Blew Boar's-Head, in King-street Westminster, held by him from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, at 20 l. per Annum Ground-Rent, Died Childless in 1678, leaving a Widow, unto whom he gave 50 l. per Annum, and a House to live in during her Natural Life, besides other great Legacies to be paid out of the said Estate to several of his, and his Wives Relations, and made the said Moses pit his sole Executor. When the said pit took possession of the said Estate, he found it very Old, and so much out of Repair, that it wanted Re-building, and very much encumbered,( for besides the Ground-Rent of 20 l. per Annum to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and his Annuities granted out of it to his Widow, and his, and her Relations, which were very large,) the Executrix of one Lady Baskerfield had above 200 l. per Annum, for several Years, paid her out of it: and one Thomas Mason having Lent the said Captain Mill 900 l. he the said Mill had by Lease and Release granted the said Mason a Rent-Charge of 100 l. per Annum, for Twenty One Years, and had the Grand Lease made over to him for Security, but there was at the same time a private Contract between them, That if in their Life-time my Testator Mill gave the said Mason 1000 l. for his 900 l. and allowed Interest, then the said Mason was to give up the said 100 l. per Annum; finding a Copy of this Note, I demanded of the said Mason what I should give him for the remaining Years, which was Nine Years and Three Quarters; for which he would not take of me less than 800 l. upon which I preferred a Bill in Equity, and set forth the Contents of this private Contract, and that I had paid him 1125 l. Upon his Answer he confessed the Contract, and that he had the Original, but Swore, That the Scrivener that made the Writings,( which was Mr. Jo. Sibley,) was an utter Stranger to him. Which said Scrivener being Dead, I proved not only by his Will, but also by Mrs. Groves who was his Daughter, that this Mason and her Father were so great Friends, that they called Jack and Tom, and that for many Years before, her Father put out this Mason's Money to Interest, and that when her Father Died he made the said Mason one of his Trustees in his Will for his Wife and Children. Upon which my Lord Keeper North Decreed, He should come to an Account, and that I should pay his Cost. So that for what he demanded 800 l. I paid him 283 l.( besides my own Cost,) and this was done in Two Terms.  
Whilst I was a Building in Duke-Street Westminster, there was one Francis clerk that had just Built next me, I would have agreed with him for a Party-Wall, so far as I used his Wall, but unless I would pay him for all his Wall out and out,( a great part of which I had no occasion for,) he Swore, I should not use his Wall at all, whereupon my Carpenter and Builder Mr. Joseph Avis, so contrived his Timber, that I did not use his Wall. As soon as I had finished my Building, he the said clerk Sues me in the King's-Bench,( Sir Edward Herbert being then Lord Chief Justice,) and the said clerk in his Declaration sets forth, That I had made Fifty Holes in his Wall, and fixed therein Fifty pieces of Timber. Upon this we went to trial, clerk Swears his Bricklayer, one Eastman, and another Workman; my Lord Chief Justice asked them. If the Defendant had made any Holes, or fixed any Timber in the Plaintiff's Wall? They  told my Lord Chief Justice, that the Defendant had not made any Holes, nor fixed any Timber in the Plaintiff's Wall; the same thing Swore Mr. Joseph Avis on the behalf of the Defendant. Whereon my Lord would not have any more Witnesses Sworn, saying, The Plaintiff's own Witnesses had Testified against him, but gave Direction to the Jury to find for the Defendant; but there being one John Anger a Carpenter, an old Jury-Man, standing behind the said Jury, who had  told my Bricklayer, Thomas Yeomans, before the trial, that tho' my Witnesses should Swear through an Iron-Door, yet the Cause should g●… against me,( this said Anger's Son was thi●… Clerkes Carpenter, and Built for him,) th●… Jury being at the Bar divided, went out, and i●… a little time came back to the Bar, and gav●… their Verdict for the Plaintiff. Upon whic●… my Lord Chief Justice asked them, If the●… were Mad? Upon which I paid the Cost an●… Damages Awarded; but my Attorney desir'●… my Coun●●ol, Sir John Holt,( now Lord Chie●… Justice,) to move the next Term for a new trial, which the said Sir John said he would and that with Indignation: the which he did, but my Lord Chief Justice said, the Cause was out of his Head, he had some Idea of it, but he would not grant a new trial. Not long after, I was telling this Story over a Glass of Wine to Nicholas Donning, an Attorney of the Common-Pleas, living in St. Panl's Church Yard, whereon he  told me the following Story of himself, That when he came into Guild-Hall in the Days of Sitting of Courts, there was a standing Jury-Man that would come to him the said Donning, and Ask him, If he had any trials that Day? which he the said Donning telling him he had, the said Jury-Man would ask them what they were, and whether he was for Plaintiff, or Defendant? Of which the said Donning said, he gave him an Account; and the said Jury-Man took Notes of 3. and as the trials were over, he the said Jury-Man would come to the said Donning for Moneys. I asked the said Donning, If he did then give the ●… id Jury-Man Moneys? He the said Donning ●… ld me did. But sometimes, the said Donning ●… id, that he  told the said Jury-Man, that his ●… ause was a good Cause, and he ought not to ●… i've him Moneys. Upon which the said Jury-●… an, as Donning  told me, answered, That as ●… ood a Cause as it was, if he had not stood his ●… riend, it would have gone against him the said ●… onning. Upon which I asked the said Donning, ●… f he then gave him Money? He are said Don●… king  told me, he did.  
Among several Houses I built both in King-street, and Duke-street, Westminster, I built a great House in Duke-street, just against the Bird-Cages in St. Jame's-Park, which just as I was a finishing I let to the Lord Chancello● ●efferies, with Stables and Coach-Houses to it, for 300 l. per Annum. After which, when he the said Chancellor came to see the House,( Alderman Duncomb the great Banker being with him,) and looking about him, saw between the House and St. Jame's-Park an idle piece of Ground, he  told me, he would have a Cause-Room built on it. I  told him, that the Ground was the Kings. He  told me, that he knew it was, but he would Beg the Ground of the King, and give it me; he also bid me make my own Demands, and give it him in Writing, the which I did, and unto which he did agree, and commanded me immediately to pull down the Park-Wall, and to build as fast as I could, for he much wanted the said Cause-Room. My Agreement with him was, That he should Beg of King James all the Ground without the Park-W●il●… between webs and Storeys inclusive; whit●… said Ground is Twenty Five Foot in breadth, an●… near Seven Hundred Foot in length,( to the best of my Memory,) for Ninety Nine Year●… at a Pepper-Corn per Annum, which he the sai●… Lord Chancellor was to make over the said King's Grant to me for the said Number of Years, without any Alterations, with liberty to pull down, or Build on the King's Wall, and to make a Way and Lights into the King's Park, according as I pleased. In Consideration of my Building on the said Ground of the Kings, and the said Lord Charcellor's Enjoyment of it, during his Occupation of the said House. All which the Lord Chancellor Agreed to. For that purpose sent for Sir Christopher Wren, Their Majesties Surv●●yor, and myself, and Ordered Sir Christopher to take care to have the said Ground Measured, and a plate form taken of it, and that Writings and Deeds be prepared for to pass the Great Seal. Sir Christopher asked the said Lord Chancellor, in whose Name the Grant was to pass, whether in his Lordships, or Mr. pit? The Chancellor replied, That the King had Granted him the Ground for Ninety Nine Years, at a Pepper-Corn per Annum, and that he was to make over the said Grant to his Landlord pit for the same Term of Years, without any Alteration, in consideration of his said Landlord pit Building him a Cause-Room, &c. and his the said Lord Chancellor's Enjoying the same, during his living in the said Pitt's House; and withal urged him the said pit immediately to take down the King's Park-Wall, and to Build with all Expedition, for he much wanted the Cause-Room, and that I should not doubt him, for he would certainly be as good as his Agreement with me. My Witnesses are Sir Christopher Wren Their Majesties Surveyor, Mr. Fisher deceased, who belonged to Sir C. harboured, Their Majesties ●and-Surveyor, Mr. Joseph Avis my Builder, Mr. Thomas Bludworth, Mr. John Arnold, both Gentlemen belonging to the said Lord Chancellor, and several others; upon which I had a Warrant from Mr. Cook, out of the Secretary of State's Office, in the Lord Chancellor's Name, with King James Hand and Seal, to pluck down the King's Wall, and make a Door and Steps, Lights &c. into the Park, at discretion; which said Warrant Cost me 6 l. 5 s. Upon which, in about Three or Four Months time I Built the Two Wings of that Great House which is opposite to the Bird-Cages, with the Stairs, and Tarrass, &c. which said Building Cost me about Four Thousand Pounds, with all the inside-work; my Work-Men being employed by the said Lord Chancellor to fit up the said House, and also Offices, and Cause-Room, for his Use; for all which he never paid me one Farthing.  
When I had sinished the said Building, I demanded of him several times my Grant of the said Ground from the King; he often promised me, that I should certainly have it; but I being very uneasy for want of my said Grant, I wrote several times to him, and often waite●… to speak with him, to have it done; but at la●… I found I could have no Access to him, and tha●… I spent much time in waiting to speak wit●… him, altho' I lived just against his Door; an●… also I considered, that he could not be lon●… Lord Chancellor of England, King William being just come, I got into the Parlour where h●… was, many tradesman being with him that h●… had sent for, I  told him, that I did not so earnestly demand my Rent of him, which wa●… near half a Year due, but I demanded of hi●… my Grant from King James of the Ground w●… had agreed for, in consideration of my Building. He  told me, That he would leave m●… House, and that he should not carry away th●… Ground and Building with him; which was a●… the Answer I could have from him. And th●… very next Day he went into White-hall, and ha●… the Jesuit Petre's Lodging, where he lay t●… that Tuesday Morning King James first Abd●… cated, and went away with Sir Edward Hale●… the said Lord Chancellor should have gone wit●… them, but they dropped him, so that Mornin●… finding them to be gone, he was fain to shi●… for himself, and to fly with a Servant, or a●… most Two, with him, and soon after taken a●… sent to the Tower, where he since Died.  
But when I first began their to Build, 〈…〉 ●ound that idle piece of Ground in the posses●… on of Mr. John web his Majesties Fowl-Keeper, and he  told me, he had a Grant of it fro●… King Charles the Second during his Life; wher●… ●… 'pon I took a great part of that Ground of ●… im, and paid him my Agreement,( till Sir Ed●… ard Hales got it of the King, and refused payment,) with an intention, that it should be Gar●… en-Ground, not only to my House, but to the Houses adjoining, and I did let it to the several Houses accordingly; to the Right Honourable the Countess Dowager of Plymouth the Ground that joind to the back part of her House for Ten Pounds, per Annum,( witness ●… er Steward Mr. Bladen,) which she paid me ●… stly, till I was cast into Prison by Adiel Mill. The Right Honourable the Earl of Scarsdale, would not come into his House, till I had my Rent of his Landlord, one Mr. Banks a Carpenter, for the Garden-Ground adjoining to his house, for which the said Banks paid me to the time his Honour came into the said House at the Rate of Ten Pounds per Annum. I also Agreed with his Honour for Ten Pounds per Annum; my Witnesses are John Hales Esq; of the Temple, the said Banks, and his Lordships Attorney, whose Name I have forgot; his Lordship has had quiet possession, but he never paid me Rent, for what reason his Honour best knows. Unto the said Sir Edward Hales that went away with King James, I let the Ground that joined to the back part of his House for Ten Pounds per Annum; Witness Obediah Walker, then Master of University-College, Oxon, and Adiel Mill,( of whom I shall have cause anon to speak,) the said Sir Edward Hales paid me one half Years Rent, and would pay me no more, tho' they all took the Ground of me for the full time that they lived in their Houses, provided they had no disturbance, the which they had not.  
This Sir Edward Hales hearing that the Chancellor had a promise from King James of this Ground, and that he was to Grant it me, he Acquaints King James, that the Chancellor begged that Ground of him, not for himself, but his Landlord, and that it would be an Injury to the said Hales his House, being on the said rearing of Buildings, prevailed with the King, he being a greater Favourite than the Chancellor, to break his Promise with the Chancellor, and to give him the said Sir Edward Hales the Ground, not only on the back fide of his House, but the next House also; which the King did. Upon which he fell a Building up against his Neighbours House, and in part spoiled that, to the great prejudice of his Neighbour. The Chancellor by this broken his Agreement with me, and although upon my taking of the said Ground of the said web aforesaid, and had divided the said Garden-Ground, by Building Brick-walls, to each House, they do so Enjoy it, yet the said Sir Edward Hales, and some others, never paid me one Farthing for it; I do confess, the Countess Dowager of Plymouth Built her own Wall; I also Built that new Wall adjoining to Storey's House, on the back side of Princes-Court, and also took care to fill up all low Grounds in that part of St. James's-Park, between the Bird-Cages and that Range of Buildings in Duke street, whose Back-Front is towards the said Park, where the Water in Moist-weather Stagnated, and was the cause of Fogs and Mists, with Garden-Mould, and Sowd it with Hay-Seed, so that thereby that part of the Park is as clear from Fogs, and as Healthy, as any other part of the said Park, for all which I was not paid one Farthing. I also at my own Cost cleansed a great part of the Common-Shoars, not only about the said Park, but Westminster also, and raised low Grounds, and Laid out about Twelve Thousand Pounds in Buildings, whereby I have made Westminster as Healthy a place, as any other parts about London, and as Commodious for Gentry to Live in, which has brought a Considerable Trade to that part of the Town. Among other Buildings, I Built Stables for about Three Hundred Horses, and Coach-Houses, the best about Town; and although Prince George's Pads, &c. were on the Ground, yet when His Majesty King William came first to London, which was in December, 1688, all his Coaches and Horses were brought into my Stables and Coach-Houses, and His Grooms and their Wives and Children had Lodgings, and other Conveniences, till King James Horses and Coaches were removed from the Muse, which was about April following; about which time I let that great House, in which the late Lord Chancellor Jefferies lived, to the Three Dutch ambassadors which came out of Holland to Congratulate Their Majesties Happy Accession to the Crown, after the Rate of Seven Hundred and Twenty Pound per Annum. The Agreement I made, was with one Mr. John Arnold, a Dutch-Man, their Secretary. Witness to the said Agreement were Mr. Ridgley,( in whose House in the Pall-Mall the said ambassadors Lay Incognito;) and into whose hands, after our Signing and Sealing, we entrusted the said Contract to be kept on the behalf of us both; as it can be Testified by one Mr. Johnson a Coach-Man in Hedg-Lane near the Muse, who was the other Witness to it. But this said Ridgley, after my being thrown into Prison by Adiel Mill, did break his Trust, and deliver up into the Hands of my Adversary Mill this my Contract, to the Ruin me and my Family. What the said Ridgley, and Arnold, had of my Adversary Mill for this Breach of Trust, besides Fish-Dinners, they best know, I leave the World to judge. I am satisfied in my Conscience that Mills gave them Guineas, a considerable quantity, besides a Present of Dr. Vossius Letters, Printed by him, to.... I am informed, that the Embassador's Porter had Ten Guineas, besides Bottles of Wine, and Neats Tongues, for his good will in delivering the Keys of the said House to the said Mill, whilst the said ambassadors were in the said House, and the said Mill kept the said Keys one Night, and sent them to the said Porter next Day, with some more Bottles of Wine, that so he might have Friendship with the said Porter, who was Angry with the said Mill for carrying away the Keys. The Porter and Mill's Man,( whom he had left in the House that Night, expecting the ambassadors would have been gone the next Morning, which they did not,) had Fought a severe Battle. Now as to this part of my Narrative of Mill's being concerned with me, I shall now faithfully Relate.  
Having undertaken the Printing of an ATLAS, or Description of the whole World, which will be about Twelve volumes in Folio, Maps and Description of Imperial Paper, and being much encouraged by Dr. Fell then Bishop of Oxon, I took of him the Printing-House at Oxford, called the Theatre, where I have finished Four of the volumes; containing the Description of the Northern Countries of Greenland, &c. as also Sweden, Denmark, Muscovey, Poland, the Seventeen Provinces of the Low-Countries, and all the Empire of Germany, and have Two volumes more almost finished, viz. The East-Indies, and all the Turkish-Empire; and did also Purchase of the Bishop a great quantity of Books to the Value of many Thousands of Pounds. And did in the latter end of King Charles's time. Print great quantities of Bibles, Testaments, Common-Prayers, &c. in all volumes, whereby I brought down the Price of Bibles, &c. more than half, which did great good at that time,( Popery then being likely to over-flow us.) In the Year 1683, I went into Ireland, where staying some considerable time, having Two Partners in the Bible-Trade, they pretended to me, when I came back, that I owed them some Hundreds of Pounds, and they locked up my Oxford-Ware-House, I mortgage my Estate to my Lady Jones for 3800, with which Moneys I intended to pay my Debts, and what remained, to lay out in Building on the said Blew-Boars-Head Estate, and for that purpose I was resolved to part with all my Stock of Books,( except my ATLAS,) and also to call in what Debts were due to me. At that time I owed the said Adiel Mill for Paper 62 l. 12 s. 6 d. which Moneys I paid him in full of all Accounts, I having then no other Dealings with him; and soon after went to my Bible-Partners to pay them 500 l. and to that purpose gave them a Bill on Mr. Richard Hawkins, which Moneys they sent for, but in the interim Mill coming to Parker and Guy where I then was, would have persuaded me not to pay them the said 500 l. telling me before their Faces, that they would Cheat me of the said Moneys, and would not let me have my Books; and said, they were a Couple of Knaves. Upon which Mill, without my consent, for I would have paid the Moneys, sent a Porter with a Note to forbid Hawkins paying the 500 l. Upon the receipt of which Note Hawkins refused the payment of the Moneys, although the Brother of Guy had  told out a great part of it. Upon which Parker and Guy entered an Action in the Counter against me for the 500 l. and Parker came to my Shop with a Sarjeant of the Counter to Arrest me, but by the Advice of Mill I Avoided my Shop, and went into the the County of Middlesex till Bail was given to their Action, and then I had a trial with them at Guild-Hall before the then Lord Chief Justice Jefferies, who gave Verdict against me for the 500 l. In the Interim Mill had out of Mr. Hawkin's Hands about 1000 l. of my Moneys. Notwithstanding that, he makes me give him a Statute-Staple for 5000 l. which said Statute-Staple I entred into to him June the First, 1684, he then having about 1000 l. of my Moneys in his Hands, as will appear by his own Accounts, and his Answer to my Bill in Chaneery. Notwithstanding this, he has Sworn to a Bill in Chancery sometime after preferred by my Tenants against him and myself, that they might, paying their Rent, Enjoy quiet Possession, That Bona Fide I owed him 5000 l. when I gave him the said Statute-Staple. The Truth is, I was so far from owing him the said Mill 5000 l. at that time, that he really owed me 700 l. as will appear by his own Accounts, and also I is Answer to my Bill in Chancery. After which I put into Mill's Hands all, or very near all, my Stock of Books, both Bound and in Quires, ATLASSES, ATLAS-Paper, Coper-Plates, Pictures, Printing-Press, Letters, &c. which came to several Thousand Pounds, which Moneys he received. All in Trust to raise Moneys for to pay the Charges of my Building as aforesaid. And I did also put into his Hands all my Book-Debts, Bills, and Bonds, which also came to some Thousands of Pounds. I also raised on my Estate 4500 l. more, which was paid into Mill's Hands, besides other great sums of Moneys which I borrowed on my own Bond, as of Mr John Hearne 400 l. Mr. Stephen Upman 100 l. all which were paid into Mill's Hands. And further, when I let my House in St. Paul's Church-Yard, to Mr. Joseph Watts, and Sold him a Considerable Quantity of Books, and household-stuff, with what Bonds he gave me for payment, came also into the Hands of Mill. And further, Upon the Instigation of Mill, and his Vows,( even that of the Sacrament,) and his Protestations to me, That he hated a Trick, and that he had no Design to Deceive me of One Farthing, nor to get One Farthing by me, but purely out of Kindness,( we being Brother and Sister's Children,) and that I should not Suspect him, but that he would be Just to me, He caused me to give him first 100 l. per Annum out of my Estate of the Blew-Boars-Head; and a short time after that, being not satisfied, he caused me to give him 200 l. per Annum out of the said Estate, pretending to me, That by his Managery of this great Concern, he would Raise me an Estate,( besides this 200 l. per Annum,) of 1000 l. per Annum. After I had done this, he being not satisfied, he urged me to make over to him all my said Estate of the Blew-Boars Head, and Antulope-Alley, for 11300 l. which Cost me 1200 l. Building, besides, I could have had for the said Estate, before I Built on it, about 7000 l. so that I Reckon the Estate Cost me near 19000 l. which he caused me,( under the Notion of Kindness and Friendship, and that he would be Just and Faithful to me, and that he had no Design in the least to Wrong nor Oppress me, but to Preserve me and my Estate,) to make over to him; and that he would, within a Fortnights time after my Signing and Sealing of the said Deeds, give me a dead of Redemption under his Hand and Seal; and the Reason he gave me, why he would not have a Redemption in the Deeds, was, That I owing some Moneys on the Account of my Buildings, was that my Creditors might fall on me, and take out a Statute of Bankrupt against me, and so take the Estate out of his, and, so of Consequence, out of my Hands; still protesting the greatest Sincerity and Honesty in the World, and what he did in this was for my Good, without any Advantage to himself. And under the same Spetious Pretences, Mill prevailed with me to make him Deeds and Conveyances of all my Wife's Estate, the Income of which was 100 l. per Annum. And also a Free-hold Estate in Portsmouth of 9 l. 10 s. per Annum. And also of a Free-hold Estate in Westminster of 68 l. per Annum. He also got Deeds of me for all the Real and Personal Estate I have in this World, even my Bedding and household-goods. After I had made him all these Deeds and Conveyances aforesaid, I then demanded of him, That he should perform with me, and give me a Redemption under his Hand and Seal, according to his Promise. He puts me off from time to time, and promiseth he would do it this time, and that time, I being in possession of all my Estate Real and Personal, and received my Rents in my own Name, and he and his Uncle Brent received my Rents, what they received, in my Name; for according to our Agreement, he was never to do otherwise, but all Rents were to be received in my Name, and he was to be at all times Accountable to me for them, and I never to be disturbed in my Possession; and when I had paid all my Debts that I owed, he then was to give up to me all my Deeds and Conveyances I had given him. After this he promised me, that if I would Sign his Accounts, which he and his Servants always kept, Errors excepted; and also he promised me Copeys of them, and if I found any Errors or Mistakes in them, although it were Seven Years after, he would rectify it, and Account and Discount for any such Error or Mistake in Charging or Discharging; and that he would submit at all times his Accounts to any Two or Three Men I should choose, either Lawyers, Merchants, or any other good tradesman, or Accountants, and what did truly, and Bona Fide, appear due to him, he would give me Two Years time to pay him his Moneys, and then Resign up to me all my Deeds and Writings, and give me back my Estate. I believing these fair Promises of the said Mill, did pass the said Accounts; he also promising me the dead of Redemption aforesaid. Soon after I had done this, I was at him for my Redemption. He for a considerable time put me off, saying, He hated a Trick, and what would not I trust him, a Man of his Integrity, Honesty, and Credit. And thus he wheedled me off for a long time, at last I  told him, Cousin, I do not doubt your Integrity, Honesty, and Credit, but you are a Mortal-man, and you may Die; if I owe you Moneys, you see I am willing to secure you your Moneys, and to pay you it; and I also owe Moneys to several other Persons, which in Justice and Good Conscience I ought likewise to pay, and will God willing pay them; and I have a Wife and Child which I ought in Duty to provide for, I having had a considerable Fortune with her, and therefore pray let me have my Redemption according to our Agreement. For I  told him further, That I did not doubt, but with the Selling what Stock of Books I had Unsold, and gathering in what Debts were due to me, which were some Thousand Pounds, Selling of my Wife's Estate, and some straggling Estate of my own, and Printing on my ATLAS, which One Hundred and Fifty Pounds would Finish the Fifth volume, containing the Description of the East-Indies, which, when Finished, would bring me Fifteen Hundred Pounds; and also the Sixth volume, which contains the Description of the Turkish-Empire, is in a great part Printed; I should in a very few Years pay all my Debts, and reserve to myself, Wife, and Son, that Estate of mine of the Blew-Boars-Head, and Antulope-Alley, which then I had let at about 1200 l. per Annum, with the House I had lately Purchased of Mr. Robert Lord, adjoining to the said Estate. Upon which he fell out with me, and said, He would give me no Redemption. I then  told him, I had not given him Possession, nor never would, for it was but a Trust. After this I met with Sir Edmond Wiseman in White-hall, and I asked him, If he had Lent Mill any Moneys, and upon what Security? He  told me, That he had Lent Mill 2000 l. on my Estate. He asked me, Whether his Moneys was secure? I  told him, No, for that he the said Wiseman knew, that what Deeds I had made to Mill, were but in Trust for me till I had paid my Debts. He the said Wiseman pretended Ignorance, and called Mill Knave, and desired me, that I would in two Days time come into St. Paul's Church-Yard, and talk with himself, and Nicholas Donning, about it. I promised him I would. Accordingly two Days after, I went to Donnings, and he carries me to the Queen's-Head-Tavern in Pater-Noster-Row, Wiseman coming up Pater-Noster-Row at the same time, went into the Tavern with us; we had not long been there but Mill came to us,( being I suppose sent for by them,) and after some little time Discoursing of the Affair, Mill said, He had taken the Sacrament that Day,( for it was the Lord's Day,) for to be at Friendship with me, and that he would lay open all his Accounts, and come to a fare Account, and leave it to any Two. Men to judge what was due to him, and would give me Two Years to pay him; and upon the payment of what should appear due to him, be would wave his Purchase, and give up all the Deeds and Writings of my Estate to me, and give me back the Possession of my said Estate, and for that purpose he would in a few Days give me a Redemption under his Hand and Seal, and that Donning should draw it up. And Donning did promise to make and prepare the Redemption, accordingly. Upon which I did, upon his Request, promise to give him a Note on my Tenants to pay him my Rents, and then we partend Friends. A Day or Two after Mill meets me at the Gretian-Coffee-House in Devoroux-Court, and there Wheadles me, how kind he would be to me, If I would Sign the Notes he had drawn up on my Tenants to pay him their Rent, and that the Redemption was drawing by Donning, and that he would Sign and Seal it, for he Hated a Trick; and what mighty things he would do for me, with all the Promises of Kindness and Friendship in the World. Upon which, trusting to his Promises, I did Sign the Notes he had drawn up for my Tenants to pay him my Rents. After this I often went to him and demanded my Accounts and Redemption, according to our Agreement, and still he put me off for a Month time; at the Month end I met with Mill at the Gretian-Coffee-House in Devoroux-Court, in Company with his Wifes Uncle George Brent, who was employed to gather my Rents; and there I again demanded my Redemption, upon which he calls me Knave and Rogue, and  told me, He would not give me a Redemption. Upon which I  told him, I would go immediately to Wiseman, who lives in Pater-Noster-Row, a Mercer, and to Donning in St. Paul's Church-Yard, he is part Attorney, and part Scrivener, to Acquaint them with his villainy in not performing that Agremeent on his part, which we made before Wiseman and Donning, I having performed mine, in Signing the Notes he drew up for my Tenants to pay their Rents to him. Upon which I left him with a design of going to Wiseman and Donning, but meeting with Mr. Joseph Avis, I went into the Temple-Coffee-House, and there I  told him how Knavishly Mill dealt with me, but whilst we were Talking, Mill and his Uncle Brent comes into the Coffee-House to us, and persuades Mr. Avis to go to the Al●-house over the way, and to take me with him, and there he would Talk with me about the matter; we all went to the Alehouse, and there Mills and I came to this Agreement again, That all his Accounts which I had signed should be laid open by him, and that he should come to a fare Account, and that his Account should be Adjusted by any Two Merchants, or any other Trades-men, or by any Two Lawyers, which I should choose; and what should appear to be Justly due to him by them, he the said Mill was to give me Two Years to pay him the Moneys; and upon my payment of the Moneys to him, he the said Mill to give me up my Estate, and all my Deeds and Writings of it that I had made, and to this purpose he was to give me a Redemption under his Hand and Seal. And on the other part, I was to go with his uncle Brent to my Tenants, to Order them to pay his uncle Brent their Rent, which was due to me. I  told Mr. Avis, I did not dare to Trust him any more, because he had so often broken all his Agreements with me. Mr. Avis replied, That he would engage to me, that now he should perform this his Agreement with me. And he the said Mill did Solemnly Vow and Protest, he would perform this Agreement with me, for he desired not to get One Farthing by me, with many other kind Expressions. And we all Three shook hands, and Agreed as above-said, and again partend Friends. And I within Two Days went with the said Brent to my Tenants, and Ordered them to pay their Rent due to me to Brent. When I had thus performed my part, I then applied myself to Mill to perform his part; but I found him still the same Man, putting me off from time to time, pretending business, sometimes one business, sometimes another, which when finished, he would come to Account for all Dealings between us, and give me the Redemption, according to Agreement; but never did it, although often urged to it both by Mr. Avis and myself.  
All these. Transactions was in the Reign of King James the Second, and now King William coming into London, which was in December, 1688, the Muse being filled with the Coaches and Horses of King James, King Williams Coaches and Horses came into my Coach-houses and Stables, and I furnished the Grooms and Coachmen, with their Wives and Children, with Lodgings, where they continued till the King's Muse was empty, and fitted for them, which was the April following. I also let my great House, in which the chancellor Jefferies lived, Unfurnished, unto the Three Dutch ambassadors which came out of Holland to Congratulate Their Majesties Happy Accession to the Crown, at the Rate of 720 l. per Annum, so that I had let this Estate of the Blow-Boars-Head, and Antulope-Alley, for 1500 l. per Annum, Mill, Donning, and Wiseman, considering what great Improvements of my Estate I had made, by my laying out 12000 l. I had raised my Estate from less than 300 l. per Annum, to 1500 l. per Annum,( the Devil entering into them,) they Coveted my Estate, for Wiseman had before expressed to Mr. Joseph Avis, That I had a very fine Estate, the finest in England upon so small a spor of Ground, and he wished he had it. And Mill has often expressed himself in the like Words. On the 18th of April, 1689, Donning meets me in Westminster-Hall, and tells me, Mill would speak with me at Wisdomes-Coffee-House in Kings-street,( which is one of my Tenants,) and there he would make us Friends. I  told him, I would walk in the Hall and wait for him, but he not coming, I went to the said Coffee-House, but Mill and Donning were gone, I then went home to my House at Dinner, just as I had dined comes in one Broad a Bailiff, formerly a Bricklayer,( the Bricklayers can give an Account of him,) and Four Bailiffs more with him, he Arrests my Person, seizeth on all my Goods, upon this Statute-Staple for 5000 l. which he and Donning had drawn me into, without any Defesance, when Mill owed me Seven Hundred Pounds, and carried me to a Sponging-house, and keeps me there two Nights, and forces from me and my Wife by Extortion Moneys, contrary to the Acts of Parliament made in that behalf. And on the 20th of the said April I removed myself to the Fleet-Prison. Within few Days after Mill had thrown me into Prison, and Sea●al on all I had, he to scandalise me, that so none of my Friends might stand by me. Reported, That I was Arrested by one Mrs. Tobin, for Fifty Pounds, and that I brought a Man for Bail that Personated the said Adiel Mill, and that I forged his the said Adiel Mill's Hand, Soon after this Report, comes to me the afore-mentioned Nicholas Donning, and one Robert Clavel a Bookseller in St. Paul's Church-Yard,( which said Cirvel and myself had taken up at Interest, by the procurement of the said Donning, One Hundred Pounds, which we divided between us,) the said Persons telling me, That if I would give them a Bill for the said Fifty Pounds on Adiel Mill, they would take it for payment. I  told them, It was Truth, I did Owe that Fifty Pounds, but I also  told Clavel, He owed me Eight Pounds, but as for drawing a Bill on Mill, I should not do it, nor I would never draw a Bill on him for One Groat, but if I were not Chented by Mill, I should pay the said Fifty Pounds. Upon which Donning  told me, that Mill  told him, That I was Arrested by the said Tobin, as above Related, and that it was Death by the Law to Personate another Mans Person, and Forge his Hand. I  told him, Mill might do his pleasure, for I never had Two Pence of the said Mrs. Tobin's Moneys, nor never dealt with her, nor never was Arrested by her. Upon this I Sued the said Mill in an Action of Scandal, and had Verdict against him for 30 l. but Mill being not satisfied with this Verdict, moved for another trial, which was granted him, and at the Second trial, I proved the Words by several other Witnesses that were not Examined on the First trial, upon which Verdict was again given against him for 30 l. Above a Twelve Months after, having Conversation with one of the Jury-men, I asked him the Reason, Why they gave me so little Damage for so great a Scandal. He  told me, Because I was a Prisoner, but if this Slander had been raised on and at that time when h● knew me living in St. Vaussls Church-Yard, they should not have given me less than 500 l. I  told him, I was a Prisoner to none but him that rais d●be Slander of me, and that he did it purposely, that he might have his Ends of me, and Cheat me of Ten Thousand Rounds. At the same time this Mill raised this Slander of me, he also Petitioned the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal for a Statute of Bankrupt against me,( among those he Nominates for Commissioners in the said Statute, he Names his Trusty Friend Nicholas Donning,) purposely to prove me a Bankrupt from the 18th of April, 1689,( that being the Day he Arrested me,) and to Cover my Estate, and to Cheat me and all my Creditors. But my other Creditors perceiving his Design, they also Petitioned the Lords Commissioners, that they might Name the Commissioners in the said Statute, but my Lord Commissioner Keck would not suffer either Party to Name the Commissioners, but Nominated Commissioners himself. For which I ought to mention him with Honour and Respect. And now Mill,( who is now a Bankrupt himself, and his Friend Donning in the Commission,) and Sir Edward Wiseman,( who has promised to stand by Mill as long as he is worth a Groat, and has also promised, that Mill shall be his Executor in Trust for his Wife and Children, when he Dies, for he is a great Admirer of Mill's Projects, believing him the best Projector in England, as Mill related to me himself,) on the one side, and Mr. vpman, Mr. Hearne, Mr. not, on the other side; are now Contending for my Real and Personal Estate, and I a Prisoner, not having any Allowance from them out of my Estate to Buy Bread for myself, Wife, or Son,( a Minor,) by reason of which, I am forced into the Wards of the Prison, where I lodge among those that Beg at the grace, and Live on the Basket,( that is on Charity). Soon after I was brought into this Prison, which was April the 20th. 1689, I preferred my Bill in Equity against Mill,( and also made Wiseman a Partey,) Mill Answered not my Bill till June the 25th, 1689. In my Bill I charged him, That all the Deeds and Writings I made him were in Trust. I also charged him, That I did Agree with him, that he should wave his pretended Purchase he made of me, and come to an Account from the very beginning of all our Accounts, altho' I had put my Hand and Seal to them, and if any Mistakes, to be Rectified, and what did appear Justly due to Mill, he the said Mill was to give me Two Years time to pay him the Moneys, and upon my payment of him the Moneys, be the said Mill was to give me up all my Deeds and Writings, and to deliver back to me the Possession of all my Estate that he the said Mill had pretended he had Purchased of me. Mill in his Answer Denies, That he ever offered to wave his Purchase, and come to an Account; and deliver back the Possession of such part of my Estate as Mill hath so, as afore-said, Purchased. To prove that Mill has Forsworn himself in this,( which was the very Heart of my Bill,) I have Donning and Wiseman, who were at the first Agreement, as it's before related, but I dare not Examine either of these, not only because they are Mill's Friends, but also because Donning, as he himself  told me, I know no more of it, if he  told me a lye, it's his fault, has not only bribed a standing Jury-man at Guild-Hall, but because he has Forsworn himself the 15th of November, 1689, in the Common-Pleas-Court in Westminster-Hall, the Court then Sitting, the Story of which I will relate Anon. Nor Wiseman, because I am informed, he has Lent Mill since about 10000 l. and has an Order to Receive my Rents. At the Second Agreement was George Brent, who is Mill's Wifes Uncle,( and for that Reason I dare not Examine him,) and Mr. Joseph Avis. And at the Third Agreement was Mr. Stephen Upman, at the Blew-Posts in Devoorux-Court, and other Witnesses, That Mill offered to wave his pretended Purchase, and come to an Account, and deliver back the Possession of such part of my Estate as Mill hath so, as aforesaid, Purchased; and that after the 18th of April, 1689, which was the Day he Arrested me, and before the 25th of June, 1689, which was the Day he Swore his Answer to my Bill in Chancery, are Mr. Jo. Hearne, Mr. Andrew hat, Mr. Francis blithe, Mr. Ambros Lock and his Wife, and several others. Upon this Perjury of Mill I indicted him in Westminster-Hall before my Lord Chief Justice Holt, in— 1690, but my Clerk in the Crown-Office drew the Indictment by Bill and Answer, before he Examined the Record, but when we came to Examine the Record,( Mill, or his Agent Donning, having Examined it before us,) we found in my Record the Word certify instead of rectify, upon which Mill's Counsel stuck, though my Lord Chief Justice would have had them waved it, and come to the Merits of the Cause; but they would not, upon which I was Non-Suted. And being Mill's Prisoner, and all the Incomes of my Estate being stopped, I have not at present Moneys to Revive this Perjury again, and so this matter stands. Further, in my Bill I Charge him, That I was Bound for him to several Persons in great sums of Moneys. In his said Answer he Swears, That I never was Obliged, or Bound, for him the said Mill for more than 400 l. Now to prove that Mill has Forsworn himself in this Paragraph of his Answer, I have in my Custody a Bond wherein I was Bound to Mrs. Susannah Leigh, as Executrix to her late Husband John Leigh, late Treasurer for the Company of Stationers, in 1300 l. for the payment of 650 l. principal Money, which he had Borrowed of the said John Leigh, the Bond is Dated the Eighth of March, 1686, and Witnessed by John lily an Attorney of Cliffords-Inn,( who made the Bond in the presence of the said Mill,) and Thomas Weller the said John Lilly's Clerk. Upon the back of the Bond are Three several Indorsements written with Mill's own Hand, wherein Mrs. Susanna Leigh doth acknowledge to have Received of Mill 500 l. as Witness her own Hand. Now the said Mrs. Leigh  told me, That the last Moneys that Mill paid her upon the said Bond was in May, 1689, And he Swore his Answer to my Bill in June following. A Third P— of Mill's is in his Answer to a Bill preferred by my Tenants in Chancery, against myself and him for quiet possession. In his Answer to which he Swears, that in or about the first Day of June, 1685,( which was the Day I entred into the Statute of 5000 l. to him,) That I did, Bonn Fide, owe him the said Mill 5000 l. Now to prove that Mill has Forsworn himself in this Paragraph, I appeal to his own Accounts Sworn to by himself in his Answer to my Bill in Chancery,( a Copy of the Accounts stated the 24th of December following, I have by me,) by which Account it appears he was my Deb●or 700 l. that first of June, 1685, that I entred into that Statute. And that when we came to an Account December the 24th following, in which time he had Received of my Moneys 2467 l. 5 s. and he had paid 2508 l. 15 s. I was upon the balance of that Account Indebted to him 41 l. 10 s. which he himself has Sworn in these words, ( viz.) That upon the 24th of Detember, 1685, all Accounts balanced between pit and Mill for all Moneys, wears, and things whatsoever, and for all matters and things then and before that time had and Transacted between them, ●hen there remained only due to the Defendant Mill 41 l. 10 s. And further, In my Bill where ●… Charge him of Receiving Bribes of my Workmen, in Work done for him by, them in ●… is House in Amen-Corner, and he never paying ●… hem for it, although they gave him Receipts ●… full for the Work done for him. He denies ●… ll, and gives me an Evasive Answer, and saith, ●… had nothing to do to Ask him such Questions. What in Joinery Work, William Perria a Joiner ●… Westminstor, who earned of my Money up●… ard of 2200 l. which was honestly paid him; ●… any other of my Work-men, gave him in ●… ork, I know not, except Charles Woodfield a ●… ainter, who had 500 l. of my Moneys for ●… ainting-Work, who acknowledged to me, That ●… gave Mill Thirty Pounds in Painting-Work in his ●… id House. Of the Truth of this, he proffered ●… e his Oath. By this I guess he had proportionanable of all the rest of my Work-men. Further in my Bill I Charge Mill, That the House next door to that Honse where the late Lord Chancellor Jefferies lived, was no other than a Mortgage, although the dead was Absolute. Mill in his Answer doth acknowledge, That one Davi● a Builder bad a Lease of the said House, under the Rent of 20 l. per Annum,( the Freehold being my own, as Witness Dr. Nicholas Barebones, and Mr. John Stanbrook, of whom I bought it,) and that he had mortgage the same Lease to one Robert Lord. Mill saith, For and on his own proper Account Treated for the said Davis and Lords Interest in the said House, and came to an Agreement for the Purchase of it. As to this Oath of Mill's, I appeal to the said Davis and Lord, whether either of them did ever deal with Mill for Two Pence, or made any such Agreement with him? But on the contrary, I Agreed and bought the said House of the said Mr. Lord, and I had Possession of it from him( and I made great Alterations in the House, which Cost me near 100 l. to make it Light for it was darkened by Building the Room that the Chancellor heard Causes in.) And further when we met to Seal the Deeds, Mill did the●… declare. He was only a Volunteer, and what 〈…〉 did was out of kindness to me, Witness th●… said Mr. Robert Lord, and Mr. Sam. Corbett hi●… Scrivener. In my Bill I Charge Mill. Wit●… throwing some Writings into the Fire, that ●e●… made by Christopher Constantine his own Co●… sel, relating to this House I bought of Lord. Mi●… in his Answer, Denieth that he threw any such Writings into the Fire. But I will appeal to the said Mr. Constantine, Whether Mill did not throw the said Writings into the Fire, and after I had snatched them out of the Fire the first time, he did not throw them into the Fire a second time, and if I had not snatch them out a second time, whether they had not been Burnt? And whether Mill did not give me Base and Scandalous Words, without any provocation on my side, and whether he himself was not Angry with the said Mill for so doing, and whether the Answer of Mill to this Paragraph of my Bill be not Evasive and False? All that I shall say more, as to Mill's Answer, is, That to any thing that was material in my Bill, wherein it was not his Interest to Answer the Truth, as a good man ought to have done, he has Answered Evasively, falsely, and Corruptly, so that his Answer is altogether Vitiated and Corrupted. I now leave his Answer to my Bill, which is 140 Sheets of Paper, and come to other Transactions of his. The 13th of November, 1689, The Three Dutch ambassadors left my House the late Lord Chancellor Jefferies formerly lived in, my Wife, and Son, and some other of my Friends, being in the said House, Mill, and some of his Gang, came Violently into the said House, and laid hold of Mr. Ambros Lock's Wife, struck her, and tore off her Head-Cloths; upon which she Grying out murder, her Husband and some other Friends, being in the House, came to her assistance, and turned the said Mill and his complices out of the House; upon which the said Mill and his complices did on the 14th and 15th of the said November, before the Lord Chief Justice Pollexfen, and Mr. Justice Rokeby, one of the Judges of the Common-Pleas, Swore a riot against my said Wife and Son, Mr. Lock and his Wife, and one Mr. Bland, and Mr. Upman. All the Affidavits are too long to be here inserted, and therefore I will only give you a short account of the Affidavit-men, and set down at large the Affidavits of Benjamin Walford, and Giles Denney, desiring the Reader he would Seriously Observe the Harmony and Agreement of them. And also that part of Adiel Mill's Oath which concerned Mr. Stephen Upman. As to Adiel Mill, you have his Character, in part, in this Narrative; what I shall say further of him, is, that he  told me with his own Mouth, That one Day he went in search of his Wifes Father, and that if he could have met with him, he was resolved to Kill him. I answered, I hope not so Cousin, for if you had done that, you would have been hanged, and your Wife and Children would have been Ruined. He Answered me, He had not troubled himself for that, for his Father-in-Law was a Rogue and a Villain, and deserved to Die. And he did Really and Actually Indict Mrs. castle, his Wifes Sister, for Perjury, and did Try the Perjury before my Lord Chief Justice Herbert, But she got off Clear; and he the said Mill would at the same time have tried his Wifes Father and Mother for Perjury, and to that purpose used his urmost endeavour to prevail with Sir Robert Sawyer then Attorney-General, to give him leave so to do, both by getting several of his Friends that had Interest with Sir Robert, and also Counsel to pled before him in this matter,( one of his Counsel was his Friend Christopher Constantine,) but Sir Robert was positive, that what they, his Wifes Father, Mother, and Sister, had Sworn, was not Perjury; but at last Sir Robert was prevailed with to give him leave to Indict One of the Three, and no more Whereupon he pitched upon this Mrs. Castle, his Wifes Sister, then a Widow, and she was tried, as aforesaid. Of this I was an Eye and Ear Witness. And further, I appeal, as to the Truth of it, to Sir Robert Sawyer and Christopher Constantine Esq; both of the Temple; Robert Scot, and, as I remember, Thomas Dring was there, but I am sure John Leigh was there,( besides several others of his Friends,) who is since Dead, unto whose Relict, ( Susanna Leigh,) I was afterwards ●ound in a Bond of 1300 l. for the payment of 650 l. principal Moneys, which said Moneys the said Adiel Mill borrowed of her Husband in his Life time, for his own proper use, without my knowledge, the Story of which you have before Related. This Mrs. Susanna Leigh came one Day to the Fleet to see me, in the Company of an Ancient Gentlewoman, whom I knew not, after we had talked of this Business of the 650 l. she tells me this passage, That her Husband being Treasurer for the Company of Stationers, had usually by him great sums of Moneys, and Adiel Mill being his near Neighbour, and familiar Friend, would often upon occasion borrow Moneys of him, and that a Week before he Died, he being so well as to be up and down in his House, and she her self not being well, was in her Bed, her Husband coming into their Bed-Chamber, opens the Chest where the Money lay, and taking out One Hundred Pound Bag, she asked him, What Husband, are you going to pay away Moneys? He answered, No, but Mr. Mill wanted 100 l. and he was carrying it down to Lend him. A Week after this her Husband Dies, upon which Mill was very Officious in the Burying her Husband,( he being butted in the Country,) and after that was very Officious to her in Ajusting her Accounts with the Company of Stationers, and being necessitated to leave her House to him that was next Chosen Treasurer, which was Mr. Benjamin Took, the said Mill let her a House of his near him. After which, Mill having Cast me into Prison, she then suspecting her Moneys to he safe, called it in. Upon which Mill fell into a Passion, and  told her, She knew not when her Moneys was safe, and gave her ill Language, and bid her get her gone out of his House. Upon which she  told him, She would leave his House, and therefore also desired him to pay her the 100 l. he Borrowed of her Husband a Week before he Died. Upon which, He called her Ungrateful Woman, and other ill Words he gave her, and  told her, He thought he deserved 100 l. from her, for the Pains and Care he took in Burying her Husband, and Ajusting her Accounts with the Company of Stationer●●; and also withal  told her, That he never Borrowed that 100 l. of her Husband. Upon this she  told him, Her Husband had done him many good Offices, and that she being on her Bed Sick, she had no Witness, nor Note to Prove it, but she would ●urge him in Chancery. Upon which she drew a small Bill in Chancery, but he the said Mill Forswore it, and so she lost it. For she assured me, That that very 100 l. was wanting in the Trunk after her Husband was Dead. And she her self is lately Dead, but I doubt not, but there are several Persons now alive that know this Story particularly,( besides her own Children,) Mr. John lily her Attorney, &c. The next Affidavit-man, is William Dowse, a great Croney of Adiel Mill's; and as I am informed, belongs to the chequer; I know the Man by sight, having seen him lately with Mill in the Fleet-Prison. The Character I have of him by one that knows him well, That he is a very fit Person for Nicholas Donning's purpose, and may be had at an easy Rate, whenever he has occasion for him. The Third Affidavit-man, is, John Desborew, Adiel Mill's Porter, this is he, who with the help of Rowland William's( a Horse-Courser in the Blew-Boars-Head-Yard) Wife, hugged Marge●y Penwarden into the Tavern to the Company of Adiel Mill, where he spent 12 s. and 6 d. upon her, and sent her to the Temple to Donning to draw her Affidavit to Swear in Chancery, which Affidavit, Donning Commanded his Man to red to her, giving this Reason for his not Reading it to he● himself, L●st he should be ●all'd to an Account for it. But this Man's Character I leave to the Po●ters in St. Paul● Church-Yard, and Little-Britain,( whom I have had Experience, are very Hoaest Men,) to give of him. The Fourth Assidavit-man, is John Croxton, sometime since a cobbler, in Gardeners-Lane, Westminster, but now a Soldier, unto this Man, besides Treats, Mill gave Two Guineas; this the said Croxton confessed to Mr. William Peasley who keeps the Cock-Alehouse in Duke-street, unto whom Mill owes Seven Pounds for Pots of Ale, and Brandy, which he and his Men had of him whilst he kept House after the ambassadors went out of it, till the Lords of the Admiralty took possession of it. In which time Mill coached out of the City his Wife, Children, and Friends, where they had their Hampers of Wine, and all sorts of Fish, and Fowls, and lived as Great, as if he had been a Peer of the Realm, but now a Prisoner in the Fl●●t. I presume Mill Reckons this Two Guineas to this cobbler, and his Extravagances in Treating his Wife, Children, and Friends, in this great House, to be part of his Three Thousand Pounds Law expenses; and if he gave this cobbler Two Guineas, what may be imagined, he gave the rest of his Assidavit-men. Now I come to the Fifth Affidavit-man, and according to my ●romise, I give you his Oath, as it was sent me from the Record.  

BEenjamin Walford of London, Bookseller, maketh Oath, That, on the 13th or this instant November, being in Company of Ariel Mill of London, Stationer, at Westmin●er, he the said Adiel Mill being in Pestession of his House at Westminster, wherein the late Lord Chancellor sefferies lived, upon the departure of the late Dutch ambassadors, the last Tenants in Possession thereof, who Ordered him the Keys and Rent of the said House in this Deponants presence and hearing, but a short time before, He the said Adiel Mill, with one Mr. Denney an Vph●ls●erer,( who furnished the said ambassadors with Goods for the said Pmbassador's Use,) were in a peaceable manner at the Door of the House, and at the famed time Mrs. pit, Wife of Moses pit, John pit her Son, who pretends to h● an Officer, or Soldier, and Mrs. Look, W●●e of Ambros Lock, and Grandaughter of the Leasor of the Plaintiff, pres●ed into the said House a●●er the said Adiel Mill, and the said Mrs. Look laid hold on the said Mill, and he endeavouring to get from her and go us ●●aits, she the sai● Mrs. Lock 〈◇〉 our murder, without any Violence 〈◇〉 ●●wards her, and thereupon s●veral other Persons in the Garh of Sold●●. S. with ●●●ores and 〈◇〉, ●a●●e into the said ●●use, ●●ome with their Swords drawn, and ●●●ow him out of Pessession, and this Depomant only standing by to se● the Eyent, received several Blows, without making any Resistance.  
Ben. Walford. Novemb. the 15th, 1689. Jur' coram me H. Pollexfen.   
Now I here give you the vpholsterer's Oath, and have Printed the Discord in the two Oaths, in a different Character, for the Ease of the Reader, and leave it wholly to him to judge, Whether Ben. Walford, or Giles Denney, be Forsworn.  

GIles Denney, Vpholsteter, maketh Oath. That, on the 13th Day of this instant November, he having furnished the House wherein the Dutch ambassadors Lodged in Duke-Street, did see one Mrs. pit within the said House, and another Gentlewoman, and did Observe one Mill, as they called him, Rush into the House, with some other Persons, and Mill Assaulting the Gentlewoman, a Scuffle did arise between them, and the Gentlewoman Crying out murder, some Persons within the said House came down and turned the said Mill and his Assistance out of the Door of the said House, Mrs. pit and the other Gentlewoman, and some other Persons with them, continuing in the Possession thereof.  
Giles Denney. Novemb. the 15th, 1689. Jur' coram me H. Pollexfen.   
As for Mr. Denney, he was altogether a stranger to me, till he Treated with Mr. Arnold the Embassador's Secretary for the furnishing of my said House he took of me for their Use. The said Denney never so much as got a Cup of Drink by me, nor I by him, but Mill has Treated the said Denny at Fish-Dinners at Taverns, at the same time when he Treated, &c. the Embassador's Secretary, and Mr. Ridgley, and got the Contract I made with the Secretary for the Rent of the House. I cannot yet learn what Mill gave for that Contract, but I have reason to believe it is a large Item of the 3000 l. Mill has spent in Law. As for Walford, he was Mr. Robert Scott's apprentice, and when the said Mr. Scott sold his Stock of Books to Mill for 10000 l. Walford became Mill's Man, and has all along Sold the said Books in Ave-Mary-Lane by way of Auction. Now Walford was to Swear for the Benefit of both his Masters, for Mill, that he might get out of me 10000 l. that so he might be thereby Enabled to pay Mr. Scott 8000 l. which he owed him. I have reason to believe, that Nicholas Donning, being Mill's Attorney, and an excellent Affidavit-drawer, drew this Affidavit of Walford's, so that you have here like to like. One Story more for the Honour of Benj. Walford, and then I have done with him, Walford being lately in the Fleet, in Company of his Master Scott, to see Mill who was then Scott's Prisoner for 8000 l.( as Mr. Scott himself confessed to me,) just as they were going out of the Fleet, I met with them and discoursed them; among other Discourse, I A●k'd Walford, if he were not privy to the Story I should tell him, which was this, After Mill and Donning had Sworn, 〈◇〉 Mr. Upman was in the Common-Pleas-Court in W●s●minster. Hall the 4th of November, 1689, and finding that their Perjury would be detected, they hearing that Mr. vpman had Married a Couple that Day at his own Parish-Church at Stanford-Rivers, within Two Miles of Unger, in Essex, which was Twenty Miles from Westminster-Hall, at that very time they Swore him in Westminster-Hall, it being a very remarke●● Day,( King William's Birth-●ay.) whether Mill and Donning did not 〈…〉 Robert ●●ephens,( a Journey-man-Printer,( whom his Brother Printers call, in Derision, Robin Hog.) who is Messenger of the Press, unto whom Mill stands Indebted 100 l.) to Stanford-Rivers, to find out the Man& his Wife that 〈…〉 man that Day had Married, and to use Art and Means to persuade them, that they were mistaken in the Day of their Marriage, but was not able to persuade the Hou●● poor People to pled Ignorance, nor 〈…〉 I asked him, If he knew 〈…〉 Truth? He  told me, He did. 〈…〉 him, If he did not believe, that 〈…〉 were Forsworn in that 〈…〉 the Common-Pleas-Court the 〈…〉 November, that Mr. Upman 〈…〉 4th of the said Month? He  told me 〈…〉 did believe they were both Forsworn. I asked him then, Whether he did not believe himself to be a Wicked Varlet, to come into the Court of Kings-Bench after that at the trial of Mill for Perjury, and give his Testimony of Mill, as he did, That he did not believe that Mill was Forsworn; and that he himself should that Day tell Mills, he saw Mr. Upman in Westminster-Hall, pretending he did not well know Mr. Upman, he having not seen him, as he said, above three or four times. I Answered him, That he knew Mr. Upman long before that time, as well as he knew his Master Scott with whom he was apprentice, and then stood talking with us. Upon which they were so nettled, that they partend from me, and got out of the Fleet-gate. One Question I Ask this Walford, and I desire he would Resolve me, Who that Person was that came at that same time of the trial of Mill's Perjury, that Evidenced, That Mr. Upman, at the time of the pretended riot, should carry Broom-sticks, and Map-sticks, from my own Dwelling-house, to the said Great House, to be used in the riot,( for I can prove by one Mrs. Smith, and others, that Mr. Upman was not in the pretended riot,) and after he had done his Evidence, asked a slander by, Which was Mr. Upman, for he never saw him in his Life? The Party being Mills Friend, to 〈◇〉 him, He had done very well in his Evidence, but withal bid him be gone, and Ask no such Question. I would willingly know his Name, that if this little Book comes to a Second Impression, I may mention him, for he may be a very useful Man to Mr. Donning upon occasion. I will now give you that part of Mill's Oath, which concerns Mr. Upman,( viz.) Immediately after the forcible gaining of the said Possession, be the said Upman came into the said Possession thereof, and as this Deponant believes, did abet and Encourage the whole Action. Upon these Affidavits, my Lord Chief Justice sent my Son, Mr. Lock, and Mr. Bland, who then were in Court, to the Fleet. At the same time there arose a Dispute about a Rule of that Court, made the 4th Day of the said Month of November The occasion of making that Rule was this, Mrs. Martha Mill Widow, having an Annuity of 50 l. per Annum, and a House to live in during her Life; and she not being paid her Annuity, obtained judgement in Ejectment, and entred on the whole Estate, upon which there was a Rule on Court, That matter should be Examined and Reported by a Prothonatory of that Court. Mill and Donning averred in Court, That Mr. Upman was in Court when that Rule was made, and that he had broken that Rule of Court. Mr. Upman plea●ed that he was not in Town, but that he was in the country at his House, which is about Twenty Miles from Westminster-Hall. Upon which Mill and Donning said they would Swear, That Mr. Upman was in Court when that Rule was made. Upon which my Lord Chief Justice calls for the Book to Swear them. Upman tells my Lord, and them, If they Swore it, they would be Perjured, for he was in the country at his House that Day, and not in Westminster Hall. Notwithstanding this Caution of Mr. Upman, the said Mill and Donning Swore, That Mr. Upman was in the Common-Pleas-Court in Westminster-Hall, the Fourth Day of November, when that Rule of Court was made. Upon which Oath, my Lord Chief Justice sent Mr. Upman to the Fleet-Prison,( and also at the same time Ordered Mill the Possession of my Estate,) so my Son, a Lad under Age, but a Commission Officer in the King's Army, Mr. Upman, and my other Two Friends, Lay one Night in the Fleet, which nights Lodging Cost them Twenty Pounds. And after this, Mill Arrested my Wife, and Mrs. Lock's Wife, for the pretended riot, which came to nothing. Upon this False Oath of Mill and Donning, Mr. Upman Indicts Mill singly for Perjury, and takes him up with a Constable, and carries him before my Lord Chief Justice Holt, that so Bail might be given by him to Answer his Perjury; but he the said Mill, and his Counsel Sir Bartholomew Shores, Averring to my Lord, that Mill was worth 20000 l. whereupon my Lord would not hold him to Bail. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Upman goes on with his Indictment, and Trys Mill for his Perjury in Midsummer Term following, before the Lord Chief Justice Holt; where Mr. Upman proved that Mill Swore, That he the said Mr. Upman was in the Common-Pleas-Court in Westminster-Hall, the Fourth of November, when that Rule of Court was made; and that Mill Swore this Oath in the Common-Pleas-Court the 15th Day of the same Month; he also proved his Imprisonment on the said Oath; he also proved that he was all that Day at Stanford-Rivers in Essex, by not only his own Servants, but by a Couple that he Married that Day at his own Church at Eleven of the Clock, and that he went from thence to his Neighbour Petree Esq; where he that Day dined, and stayed there till Night; so that matter of Fact was fully proved; and he also proved that Mill on the 4th of November,  told William Horwood, That he would certainly sand that Black-Coat-Rogue Upman to Gaol. Mill on the other side, brings out of London a great Number of Citizens to testify for his Ceedit and Reputation, but who were these Citizens, but Persons that Mill owed great sums of Money to, as Sir Edmond Wiseman, unto whom Mill Owes Ten Thousand Pounds. Robert Scott, unto whom Mill Owes Eight Thousand Pounds. Mr. Carbonel a Paper-merchant, unto whom Mill Owes Twelve Hundred Pound; this Man protested on his Soul, That he did believe Mill would not Forswear himself for the World. And Sir William Turner, unto whom Mill Owes Fifteen Hundred Pounds, sent his Man, as I am informed by one that was of the Jury, to Acquaint them, Mill was a very Honest Man, and that he dealt with him for many a Hundred Pound. And to most, if not all, the rest of those that appeared for his Credit, he the said Mill was their Debtor, and that for Considerable sums, as has appeared on his Failing in the World, which was soon after this trial. But by the Management of the Jury by the Under-Sheriff, who was one of Douning's Breeding, he having been his Clerk, and since Dead, they brought in Mill not Guilty, to the Admiration of the Spectators. But you may imagine they were well paid for this Verdict; indeed I was  told, they had Six Guineas a Man, but I will not Aver this, but this I will Aver, that one of the Jury-men  told me, They had a Guinea a Man, besides being Treated at the Tavern. One Kindness I would Request of Sir Edmond Wiseman, and Nicholas Donning, which is, That they would Assist Adiel Mill to give a True Account, unto whom, and upon what Account, he has paid the Three Thousand Pounds, he tells Mr. Robers Scott, he has spent in Law. Pray let it be exactly done, as to sums, and the Persons Names, and Places, who received the same, and upon what Account they had it. It may be very useful in time of Parliament, for their Information, it would Oblige them, to see in what Channels so great a sum is run into. Some few Days before this trial of Mill for Perjury, Mill gets into the Conversation of one Margery Penwarden, a very poor Servant-maid, that some time lived with me, Whom I clothed when she was even Naked, and Fed when she was Hungry. This poor silly Maid he carries to the Tavern, spends 12 s. 6 d. of her, made her Drink off her Glasses of several sorts of Wine, &c. and then sends her to Donning's Chamber, where Donning draws up an Affidavit for her to Swear to before a Master in Chancery; Donning after he had drawn this Affidavit, Commands one of his Clerks to red it to her, and see her put her Hand to it, giving this Reason why he would not do it, Because he might be called to an Account for it. As soon as she had made her Affidavit, she was sent home to her Master's House, a Black-Smith in the Hay-Market, where she immediately fell Sick, and Vomited a perk, as she her self confessed to me the next Day, and that she was never so Sick in all her Life time, crying to me, and telling me, She had Swore something about a Door I made in my own Dwelling-House before my Imprisonment, and some other things, which she did not know what it was, she having Drunk so much. This she declared before several in the Fleet-Prison. But afterwards I found she was sent to me by Mill for to trepan me, for at the trial of his Perjury, Mill Supena's her, and carries her again to the Tavern that Day, and she being called as a Witness, who knew no-nothing of the matter, she Swore, That myself and Mr. Upman would have had her Forswear her self, by Swearing she was Drunk, But there was no such thing intended, although she her self did confess she was Drunk, and that she spewed a perk. After this, June the 4th, 1690, she came again to me in the Fleet, and then I suspected that Mill had sent her, and therefore I called to me one Christopher Chapman, and and Facey, and we talking with the said Margery about her being a Witness in Mill's Perjury, the said Margery did say, That she did Swear what they would have her to Swear, and that if she should not stand to what she had Sworn; the said Mill did Threaten the said Margery to put her in the Pillory. This Margery is not the only Person that Mill has sent to trepan me in my Discourse, for at another time he sent one Mr. Grace to me to discourse me about some Affairs, Mill brought him from Westminster to blackfriars by Water, sent him into the Fleet to me, and Mill went to the Castle-Tavern in Fleet-street, and stayed there till Mr. Grace came to him. Mr. Grace when he came into the Fleet Door, it came into his Heart, he was about an ill Work, for to trepan his Landlord, an Honest Man, in his Discourse, he was resolved not to do it, and therefore he talked with me about other matters, and so he went to Mill to the Castle, where Donning was in Company, and there they examined Mr. Grace, what the Discourse was between him and me; which when he had  told them, Donning  told Mill, That would not do. And so they sent away Mr. Grace. This Account I had from Mr. Grace's own Mouth. And Mill was so very Angry with this Mr. Grace, that he would not let him be in quiet Possession of his House. This Mr. Grace is a Man of about 200 l. per Annum. When my Neighbours in St. Paul's Church-Yard heard of this my Barbarous and Inhuman Usage, they  told Mill and Wiseman. That it was Base and Unchristian-like, to take away all my Estate, and keep my Person in Prison. Upon which Mill promised several of the Neighbourhood, That he would no longer keep my Person in Prison. Acknowledging withall, That he got nothing by putting me in Prison, nor by keeping me there; nor should suffer any Damage by letting me out of Prison. Upon this one Day comes my Brother Upman to me, and tells me, I might come out of Prison, if I pleased. I  told him, I should be very well pleased to come out of Prison, if I could tell which way. He  told me, That he had Agreed with Mill the Night before, in the presence of Thomas Dring, and Mr. Carbonel the Younger, that I should be released out of Prison. I asked him, If Mill had sent any Note to the Warden of the Fleet to Release me. He answered, No, but I must move the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, and he would have a Counsel by to consent to my Release. I  told him, The Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal did not Commit me to Prison. And if I should move for Releasement, his Counsel would be propounding some Terms upon which I should be Released, which might prove further to my prejudice. If he would sand a Note to the Warden to Release me, the Warden could not keep me. And I  told him, I knew no other way. Upon which my Brother Upman grew Angry. I  told him, Brother, Mill has so often deceived me with Breach of Promises, Oaths, and Sacrament, that I cannot, nor will not, believe whatever Promises he makes; for I know, if it be not his Advantage to keep them, he never will keep them. And further, Brother, you that have so often blamed me for trusting to his Promises, will you yourself be now Cheated by his Fallacious Promises. Upon this Mill Reports, That he did not keep me in Prison, and that I might come out of Prison if I would. And the said Mill meeting with Mrs. and Facey the Chamberlain of the Fleet,  told her the same words, as she was coming from the Market home into the Fleet. As soon as she came into the Fleet, meeting with me,  told me, What Mr. pit, do you lye here a Prisoner of your own Choice, for, saith she, I met just now with your Adversary Mill, and he tells me so, and that he doth not keep you in Prison, you may go out for him. Upon which I asked her, If the Warden of the Fleet would let me go? She said, No, not without a Note under Mill's Hand and Seal. That said I, He refuseth to give me. Then, said she, he is a Lying Rogue. Upon this, one Mr. Robert Meldrum, a Solicitor in Chancery, then a Prisoner in the Fleet, who had the Liberty of the Rules, said to me, Mr. pit, Be not Obstinate, being he has raised this Report, That he doth not keep you in Prison, but that you lye in Prison of Choice, put him to it, and see if he will give you your Liberty, it will satisfy your Friends, and take away the Scandal from you, of Lying in Prison of Choice. I  told him, Mr. Meldrum, I shall not do it, but if you will undertake it, I shall be thankful to you for it, for I would be very glad to have my Liberty, though I am still of the Opinion, nothing will come of it. However, Mr. Meldrum was willing to undertake it, and did thereupon writ to Mill, and  told him, That he was a Prisoner, and could not come to him; and withal  told him, That if he had any thing to say about Mr. Pitt's Liberty, if he pleased to call at any time on him at his House in Fleet-Lane, he had Orders from Mr. pit to Treat with him. It was above a Fortnight after this Letter was wrote, before Mill came to him, Thomas Dring being with Mill; Mill desired Mr. Meldrum to come into the Fleet to know of me, If I would permit him to come to drink a Bottle of Wine with me. I  told him, No, I would have no Conversation with him till I had my Liberty. Upon this they Three went to the Three Tuns-Tavern on Ludgate-Hill, and there it was Agreed, that Mr. Meldrum should draw up a Note for Mill to Sign, the purport of the Note to be this, That I shouuld Move the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, that I should have my Liberty, and that Mill should consent to it; and that my Liberty should not be any Advantage, or Disadvantage, to either of us in any of our Hearings, or trials, in any of our matters now pending in Their Majesties Courts in Law, or Equity. Some few Days after Thomas Dring calls on Mr. Meldrum for this Note, and red it, and said, It was a very Honest Note, and he would carry it to Mill, and he should Sign it, and he would prevail on him to grant me my Liberty. It was about a Fortnight before I could hear any more of this matter, whereupon Mr. Meldrum sent a Letter to Thomas Dring to know the reason why he did not hear from Mill about my Liberty. Thomas Dring sent Mr. Meldrum word, that Mill was within two or three Days to go to Winchester, where he had a Son, and that as soon as he came home he would grant me my Liberty. Whether he went to Winchester, or not, I cannot tell, but I found afterwards, that he, with his Trusty Servant Benj. Walford, and Samuel Smith a Bookseller in St. Paul's Church-Yard, who served an apprenticeship with me, went to Portsmouth to take Possession of two Houses of mine, &c. which are Free-hold, that I had let for 9 l. 10 s. per Annum. Soon after he came home from Portsmouth, within very few Weeks, Mill breaks for between 30000 l. and 40000 l.( as I am informed,) and takes Sanctuary in some Privilege-place belonging to Grays-Inn, and there lay for some time, and then was Arrested by Mr. Robert Scott for about 8000 l. and was in the Bailiffs Hands till the last Day of the Return of the Writ, and then was brought a Prisoner into the Fleet, the 28th of Novemb. 1690, where he now is a Prisoner, as well as myself. And now being in the Fleet, he Treats the Warden, and several of the Gentlemen that are Prisoners, and then shows them the Accounts between himself and me, and tells the Warden, That he doth not keep me Prisoner, but he would let me at Liberty. The Warden telling this to Mr. Meldrum, he the said Mr. Meldrum Acquaints the Warden what steps he had made in it, and the effects of it, as before related. Further, Mill Acquaints Henry Heyman Esq; and John Hebdon Esq; That if I would come to his Chamber to see him, he would give me my Liberty, for he pitied my Condition, and knew that I had not a Groat to help myself, and that I was in a starving Condition, and that it was in his power to let me out of Prison, and that it would be no Prejudice to him, and that he would do it with a Christian Temper; and further, that he would get me a Place, whereby I should live Comfortably, and such Canting Expressions. Mr. Heyman upon this promiseth to bring me to his Chamber; and he did, with some Arguments he used, prevailed with me to go to his Chamber to him, tho' I  told him, it would be to no purpose, where I found Mr. Hebdon with him. And after some short Discourse, he called me Rascal, and I  told him, he was a False Forsworn Varlet, and so we partend. Not long after this, Mr. Heyman prevailed with me again to go with him to Mill his Chamber, telling, Mill had promised him to be Sedate, and give me a kind Reception, and give me my Liberty. Well, I did go with Mr. Heyman to Mill's Chamber, and then he was Sedate, and promised to give me my Liberty in a Fortnights time; upon this we partend. Some few Mornings after this, I was a Walking and Reading in the little Garden in the Fleet, he seeing of me, comes to me, as I thought in a good Temper, but we had not talked much more then a quarter of an Hour, but he fell a quarreling with me, and calling me Rogue and Rascal, and  told me, I did not behave myself towards him, as I ought to do, and that now he would not grant me my Liberty. I  told him, I never did believe he intended it, for I had found him to be a Breaker of his Promises, and also a Forsworn Rogue, and so we partend. As soon as I saw Mr. Heyman, I Acquainted him with this passage. About a Fortnight after this, Mr. Heyman comes to me, and tells me, I must once more go with him to Mill, for he was now alone, and in a very good Humour; and he had agreed with him, that he should grant me my Liberty; and that now he would even Pawn his Life, he would do it. Upon this I went again with Mr. Heyman into his Company, and I found him in a good Humour, and then tells me, That he would wave talking of all former passages, and that he would grant me my Liberty, and that within a Week, or Ten Days, and that he would help me to a Place, that I should live like a Man, and that I might Assure myself that he was in Earnest, he would pay me Five Shillings a Week whilst I was in Prison. I  told him, I had often Drunk Water for my Refreshment, and I hoped I should not want Bread, so I would be Contented without his Charity. What, says he, Cousin, you will not deny my Kindness? Then, says he, I will give Mr. Heyman Five Shillings a Week, and he shall pay it you. I  told him, He might do that as he pleased. Upon that he gave Mr. Heyman Five Shillings, and he gave it me; and he gave Mr. Heyman and me his Hand, and promised me my Liberty within a Week, or Ten Days, at farthest; and thus that Evening we partend. Next Morning meeting with Mr. Heyman, I  told him, Sir, you think this Man is in Earnest, and that he will grant me my Liberty. He  told me, Yes, he did, and that he should wonder at me if I doubted it, for he saw no Reason I should; and that no Man in the World could break such serious Promises; and besides, he said, it was no Advantage to him to keep me Prisoner, nor no Disadvantage to him to give me my Liberty, and that if he did not do it, he should believe him as great a Rogue as lives. Upon this I  told him, That he had deceived me with as serious Promises as these, which he hath broken, tho' he has made them with Oaths, even the Sacrament itself; and that I was satisfied in my breast, that he would not give me my Liberty; and what I now said, I desired the said Mr. Heyman to take notice of it, and remember. Well, when the Week was up, Mr. Heyman goes to Mill to challenge his Promise, That he should grant me my Liberty. Mill tells him, He would not do it then, but he would certainly do it. Then, says Mr. Heyman, give me the 5 s. you promised, for the Week is up; but he could but get 2 s. 6 d. of him, and that with much ado. When the next Week came, the said Mr Heyman was at Mill again, to urge him to be as good as his Promise, and give me my Liberty. He then promised him again, He would give me my Liberty, but not yet. Then, says Mr. Heyman, pray give me the Moneys you promised him for to Buy Bread, that he may not starve. Upon that he gave Mr. Heyman one Half Crown, and would not give him more, tho' very much urged by him. Another Week came, and Mr. Heyman was with him again, and  told him, That the time was long since past, that he solemnly Promised both him, and me, to grant me my Liberty. Upon which he Equivocated, and said, He would give me my Liberty at his own time. Then he urged him to give him the Moneys he promised for my subsistence; the which he also denied, and would not, nor never since did, give him one Farthing. Then the said Mr. Heyman  told him, That he did believe what the World reported of him, that he was a Rascal; and so they partend. And the said Mr. Heyman would never more have any Conversation with him. But he has given out in Words, That I did not behave myself to him as I ought to do, and that now he had resigned all his Effects into the Hands of his Creditors, and for that reason he could not give me my Liberty. Now Reader thou mayst perceive by this Narrative, who they are that have not only taken away my Estate and Liberty, but are pursuing after, not only my Life, but the Life of my Wife, and Son, well knowing, that whilst we Live, the Possession of my Estate, which they have got by Fraud, Bribery, Breach of Trust, and Perjury, can never be well fixed on them and their Posterity. But I would have Mill, Wiseman, and Donning, know, that if I Die in Prison, my Wife with Grief and Want, my Son,( a Minor,) in the Wars, That our Blood will be required at their Hands. And further, That those of Mill's Creditors, that encourage and Assist Mill, Wiseman, and Donning, to destroy me and my Family, some of our Blood will sprinkle on them, and then Generations, which they will never be able to wipe off, and will be like a Moth in a Garment; and the very Bricks, mortar, and Timber, will Cry for Vengeance, because not paid for, and the Great God will hear The Cry of the Oppressed, as he has already in part done; for since Mill Arrested me, and threw me into Prison, he has butted out of his Family his Mother that Bore him, and two of his Children,( as I am informed,) and he never before butted one out of his Family, though he always had a very large one; and he himself broken, and a Prisoner in the Fleet, and a Statute of Bankrupt taken out against him. And since Wiseman has an Order of Chancery for to receive my Rents, which is since Mill broken, A Stack of attorneys, which either Wiseman, or those that are concerned in taking that Great House of mine, in which the Lords of the Admiralty keep their Office, next St. James's-Park, built on the top of the Kitchin-Chimney, was by a Great Wind Blown down, and broken flown the South-wing of the said House next St. James's-Park, and a great part of the Taras-Court, to the damage of about 500 l. I will tell but Two Stories more of Mill, and One of Wiseman, and then I will make an end, Some Booksellers, &c. being in Company, a proposal was made to raise some Moneys among themselves for my support, that I might not starve in Prison, Mill coming into their Company, and perceiving what they were doing, falls into a Passion, and asked them, Why they did Concern themselves about the support of such a Knave and Rogue as I was? One in the Company Answers, They never found me but a fare Dealer, and an Honest Man, and wished that he the said Mill did prove himself an Honest Man. Well, says Mill, within a Fortnight you will see who is the Honest Man, pit, or Mill. And within that Fortnight Mill broken,( I desire the Reader to be the judge) for the Truth of this Story, I appeal to Mr. Thomas Sawbridge, although I had not the Story from him. The other Story is, Mill Borrows 100 l. of Captain Simmons the Vintner,( who then lived at the Wondern-Tavern within Ludgate,) for some few Days; Mill not bringing the said Money to the Captain according to his Promise, the Captain having sent often to him for it. One Day Mill being at the said Tavern, the Captain's Wife asked Mill, why he did not pay the 100 l. to her Husband he Borrowed of him; Mill Promised, That he would Faithfully pay him the 100 l. the next Friday; She urged him to be sure to keep his Word. He  told her, He wished, he might not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, if he did not pay her Husband the said 100 l. before Friday; but before the Friday came Mill broken. This I was  told by Captain Simmons Wife. Now for Wiseman, on the 26th Day of March, 1691, comes with his Attorney Baileys, &c. to the House of one Mr. Bath in Duke-street, one of my Tenants,( where he knew my Wife lodged, being the next door to my own Dwelling-House, out of which Mill and Wiseman had thrown her, notwithstanding an Order in Chancery, That she should quietly Enjoy the Possession of my said House till the ending of the Cause,) and then threatened to seize on all the Goods in my Wifes Possession,( for indeed I cannot call them mine, nor hers, for when Mill Arrested me, and seas'd all my Goods, my Wifes Brother Mr. Upman bought them of the Sheriff, and so let her have the use of them,) for Rent, that Mr. Bath owed, but Mr. Bath's Wife getting up 20 l. paid him, and by that means preserved the Goods; but at the same time Wiseman would have Mrs. Bath immediately turn my Wife out of Doors, saying, She was a Turbulans Woman, and many other ill Expressions spoken of her. And further said, He wondered that any should be so Impudent, as to entertain her, and he would have her gone off the ground, Mrs. Bath Answered him, That my Wife Owed her no Moneys, and that she could not turn her away before Quarter-Day. Upon that he Commands her to turn her away at Midsummer-Quarter-Day. And thus we are in that Condition of our Dear Lord and Saviour, that we have not a House wherein to lay our Heads. Thus the Reader may see the malice of these Unreasonable Men, they would not suffer if it were in their power, myself, Wife, or Son, to have Bread to Eat, or any place to lodge in, but would( if the Law did not Protect us,) serve us worse than Ahab and Jesabel did Naboth, Not only take away our Viniard, which we have Planted and Improved with the Sweat of our Brows,( which they have already done,) but are doing their utmost Endeavours to take away our Lives also, by Imprisoning all our Persons, and taking away all our Substance, and thereby leaving us in a Starving Condition, which is the worst of Deaths. And therefore I Conclude this Tragical Narrative with that Prayer of David, in the 2 Sam. 24.14. Let us now fall into the Hand of the Lord,( for bis Mercies are great,) and let me not fall into the Hand of Man. For, as the Prophet Jeremiah saith,( who knew it by Experience,) Chap. 6. v. 23. They are Cruel and have no Mercy. Again he saith it. Chap. 50. v. 41. They are Cruel, and will not show Mercy.  

This following Passage being left out in its proper place, I Incert it here.  
ADiel Mill Charges me, in his Account Sworn by him in Chancery, Debtor 300 l. paid by him to his Eldest Brother John Mill. The Truth is, Captain Richard Mill, my Testator, gave a Legacy to the said John of 100 l. to be paid him Nine Years after his Decease, but upon the Request of Adiel I paid his Brother John that 100 l. before it was due to him. Soon after that Adiel Mill came to me, and  told me, that his Brother wanted Moneys very much,( he then being in Law with his Sister Castle about an Estate on the New Exchange,) prayed me to give his Brother John 100 l. which if I would do, he should be for ever Obliged to me, and would study to serve me in my Affairs Ten times more then that came to, with abundance of kind Expressions, of what Mighty Wonders he would do for me. The which I granted, but instead of Charging 200 l. he has Charged me with 300 l. which Charge is False and Erroneous. And further, His Brother John being Dead, his Widow has confessed to me, that her Husband never had any of the said 300 l. And more she has  told me, That her Fortune to her Husband was 2000 l. which Moneys came into the Hands of Adiel Mill, and that she her self was now in great Want.  
FINIS.    

ADVERTISEMENT.  
ADiel Mill, on May the Ninth, 1691, comes into the Porter's-Lodg of the Fleet, and Observing Machavel's Rule, That he that will Act the Greatest villainies, must profess the height of Honesty, was there Braging what a Just and Honest Man he was, and that he never wronged any Man, Woman, or Child, and he defi'd any Man that should say, He was not Just. Upon the hearing of which, Mrs. Facey, the Chamberlain of the Fleet, Replys to him, Mr. Mill, It will be well with you if it be so, and that you do by others, as you would have them do by you. Upon which Mill called her Bitch, and Whore, and would prove her a Whore, and that He defied God Almighty, if he should say, he was not Just, and that he would tell God to his Face that he Lied, and would Spit in his Face; with many other Blasphemous Expressions, as God Damn him, and that there was neither God nor devil, and threatened the said Facey to Knock her down with his Stick,( this I have wrote with a trembling Heart and Hand) At which the Company cried, Let us get away, for fear the House should fall on our Heads at this Horrid Blasphemy. The Witnesses are, Henry Facey and his Wife, William Barns, Richard Hare, and Twedey Crowder. If Adiel Mill has a mind to prove himself a Just and Honest Man, let him as occasion offers, Quote this little Treatise, and let him also produce, not only his Wifes Sister, Mrs. Castle,( whom he once Indicted for Perjury,) but also Sir W. Turner, Mr. Carbonel, Mr. R. Scott, and the rest of his Creditors, that so Vigorously appeared for him when he was Twice Indicted for Perjury; and if they will give their Testimony under their Hands, it may be the World will believe it. For Really Plato, a Heathen Philosopher, has  told us, as related by Plutarch in his Morals, in that Chapter, How to know a Flatter from a Friend, That 'tis the height of Injustice to appear Just, and be really a Knave. And now Reader, you may think, you have Reason to blame me for Publishing to the World such Wickednesses Committed by Men now living. I Answer, I am by villainies reduced from an Estate,( at present,) of about 1500 l. per Annum, to an imprisoned Condition, and if it were not for the Charity of my Friends, I should want Bread to Eat, and therefore I hope you will give Losers leave to speak the Truth, and tell their sad Stories, that others may be forewarned, and so forearmed. Further, Being abroad upon my Rules, I have been with Sir W. Turner, Carbonel, and Scott, who now they have received great Losses by Mill, do say, He is a Knave, and far worse Words. I  told Sir W. T. I had most Reason to be Angry with him, for he could not lose more than 1500 l. by him, but I had lost at present my Estate of 1500 l. per Annum, besides my Stock and Debts, which by my Improvement would have been worth me above 10000 l. more, which was my all. And Scott's Wife asked me, Why I had not all this while proved him perjured? I  told her, Because her Husband, and the rest of his Creditors, appeared so Vigorously in Westminster-Hall to save him from the Pillory. And Mr. Carr, one of Mill's Creditors, who also appeared Vigorously for him,  told me, that he has  told Mill, That if he had lived in any Country but England, he had been hanged for the villainies he is Guilty of. And so I Con●lude this NARRATIVE.