The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-08-05
Quakers and Puritans.
Some More New England Tragedies. y

chnsetts was an order of the General
Court of 1866, appointing a "public day
of humiliation to seek the face of God-ln
behalf of our native country, with the
reference to the Astounding Of errors, es-
pecially those of the Rantefs and Qua
kers." Hardly was the day passed when
vessel from the Barbados arrived IN
the Road before Boston," with two Qua
ker women on board-Ann Austin and
Mary Fisher Officers visited the vessel
and found about hundred Quaker DOCKS:
Thereupon the Council ordered that ali
such corrupt books should be burnt IN the
market place by the common executloner,
that the two women should be kept IN
close prison until they could be transferred
out of the country, and that the master OF
Che ship that brought them shonld trans
port them back to Barbados. This or
der was carried out to the letter. The
maiden, Mary Fisher, after beng carried
to Barbados, continued her travels and
had some very romantic experiences. Be-
ing "moved by the Lord to delive' a
message to the Sultan of Turkey, she en-
tered upon a journey to the Sublime Porte.
She toiled along by land from the coast
of Morea to the city of Adrainople. This
part of her journey, about six hundred
miles, she made alone, /" without abuse or
injury" At Adrainople she found the
Grand Vizer encamped with all his army.
She discovered means of announcing her
arrival, which was done in these words
can English woman hath message
from the great God to the great Turk. "
She was soon invited to his tent, and
with the aid of three Interpreters utter
ed her mind" He listened "with much
gravity and soberness," and offered her a
guard for her futher progress. She de
clined it, and departed for Constantinople,
" whetherto she came without the least
hurt or scott" The Orientials regard lu-
natics as inspired, and accordingly over
whelmed the Quaker visitor with prodig
ious quantities ofgenuf and salaams
and bowed her out of the country, never
to be troubled by her like again. The
New England Puritans were not so phil
osophicial as the Turks. No sooner had
Ann and Mary taken their departure than
another vessel, sailing from London,
brought eight more Quakers to Boston
Their treatment was similar to that of
the first party After eleven weeks of
suffering in the Jail, they embarked again
for England 1t is noticeable that thus
far, action against the Qualzers had con-
fined itself to Punishment. But laws of
much gteater rigor were now passed, and
these were not destined to remain dead
letter.
In the following year, 1867, Mary Clark
left her husband and six children, in
London, and sailed across the Atlantic,
&C that she might warn those prosecutors
to disist from their iniqu1ty" She deliv-
cred her message, was scourged, commit
ted to prison for twelve weeks, and then
sent away Thenceforward offenders were
not to be so lightly dealt with for, on
the goth of October of the same year, it
was decreed that thereafter persons con
victed by special jury of belonging to
the pernicious sect of Quakers should be
sentencedto Punishment on pain of death. y
But desperate souls " says Mr. Allen,
were abroad, who looked upon this men
ace as a sort of an invitation, and sprang
myrtyrdom." Marmaduke Stevenson,
young man then in Barbados, heard OF
the (" bloody law" and took passage
Immediately for New England. He reach
ed Rhode Island, and there found his
friend, William Robinson, to whom, in
the language of letter from the cell in
which he lay condemned to die " the
word of the Lord had come expressly, and
commanded me to pass to the town of
Boston, my life to lay down" CATER a
little time" as similar letter asserted
" the word of the Lord came to Marina
duke, saying, go to Boston with thy
brother, william ROBINSON The two
accordingly went. Mary Dyer, "a come
", grave woman, the mother of several
children" likewise was "moved of the
Lord to come from Rhode Island to make
them visit" Nicholas Davis also was
one of the party. The four were arrested
and straightway banished on pain ofdeath
Nicholas and Mary " found freedom to
depart, but the ether two ''were constrain-
ed in the love and power of the Lord to
try your bloody law unto death" They
lowered about Salem a few weeks, and
In the midst of quite troop of friends
then, marched into Boston with unfalter-
ing steps, Alice Cowland, who had come
with them, brought some linen,"< as she
showed the Governor, wherein to wrap
the dead bodies of them who were to suf
fer" Mary Dyer reconsidered her duty
and was also " soon espied " in Boston.
Being brought before the Magistrates,
Robinson and Stevenson and Mary Dyer
were condemned to be hanged, and on
the 9th of October, 1861 dark day in
the calender of New England-the three,
walking hand in hand, Mary being the
middlemost," took up their solumn march
to the gallows, which stood on Boston
Common. "The two men, one after the
other, climbed the ladder and were hang
ed. They died with exalted hearts. !"
The last words of Robinson were, suf
fer for Christ for whom I live and In