THE INTRODUCTION. HE short, but remarkable career of James Parnell has always had a great interest for members of the Society of Friends, both in England and America; and the Quarterly Meeting of the Society for Essex and Suffolk, in view of the circumstance that the 250th anniversary of his tragic death in Colchester Castle occurs in 1906, have encouraged the preparation of this volume, giving a fresh account of his life's work and early martyrdom. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church," and truly, in this case, the seed fell on ground well prepared to bring forth an abundant harvest. In 1656 Colchester had already passed through many vicissitudes in its long history; and its people had learned to love religious freedom and to succour the persecuted ones. The town had had experience of Roman Catholic supremacy, and in the Lollards' struggle for an open Bible, its inhabitants had a noble share. They had seen William Chieveling, a tailor of the town, condemned for heresy on Wednesday, in the vigil of the feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude" (28th October, 1428), and committed to the Moot Hall until a writ from King Henry VI. was received by the bailiffs, "firmly enjoining" them to cause his body to be burned in flame of fire, in some public and open place within the liberty of the town, for a manifest example to other Christians." And this was done to "maintain and defend Holy Church and its rights and liberties." It is more than likely that those who watched the poor tailor burn in the Castle Bailey on that "Thursday following the feast of All Saints," saw clearly that this was no way to "root out heresies" from the minds of Englishmen. When the great Benedictine Abbey of St. John, the Augustinian Priory of St. Botolph, with the houses of the Grey Friars and the Crossed Friars, of Colchester, were suppressed by Henry VIII., the people welcomed the Reformation and hoped for new liberties. Under the reaction during Queen Mary's reign, twenty-five men and women belonging to the town were burned to death or expired in prisons. The struggle for religious freedom in France and the Netherlands resulted in large numbers of refugees settling in Colchester, who became so important and useful to the community that the authorities granted to the Flemings All Saints Church, wherein to worship God in their own language, and made the like privilege of St. Giles's Church to the French Huguenots. In 1648, the town suffered all the horrors of siege and famine, during the struggle between the Royalists and the army of the Parliament. So that, in 1655, with the memory of these terrible events and their own sufferings fresh in their hearts, the Quaker doctrines of peace, goodwill and gospel freedom were readily received by the people, especially by the refugees, whose sympathies were stimulated by the death of Parnell, as well as by the condition of the many prisoners languishing for conscience sake, both in the Castle dungeons and the cells of the old Moot Hall. One of the first converts to the preaching of James Parnell was Steven Crisp, who soon became the organiser of the new community in Colchester, and afterwards the missionary to, and |