Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, or, Mr. Richard Baxters narrative of the most memorable passages of his…

When I was at Kidderminster the Parliament made an Order for all the People to take a Protestation to defend the King's Person, Honour and Authority, the Power and Privileges of Parliaments, the Liberties of the Subject, and the Protestant Religion, against the common Enemy] meaning the Papists; the Irish Massacre and Threatenings occasioning this Protestation. I obeyed them in joining with the Magistrate in offering the People this Protestation; which caused some to be offended with me.

When I was at Kidderminster the Parliament made an Order for all the People to take a Protestation to defend the King's Person, Honour and Authority, the Power and Priviledges of Parliaments, the Liberties of the Subject, and the Protestant Religion, against the common Enemy] meaning the Papists; the Irish Massacre and Threatnings occasioning this Protestation. I obeyed them in joyning with the Magistrate in offering the People this Protestation; which caused some to be offended with me.

About that time the Parliament sent down an Order, for the demolishing of all Statues and Images of any of the three Persons in the blessed Trinity, or of the Virgin Mary, which should be found in Churches, or on the Crosses in Church-yards. My Judgment was for the obeying of this Order, thinking it came from just Authority; but I meddled not in it, but left the Churchwarden to do what he thought good. The Churchwarden (an honest, sober, quiet Man) seeing a Crucifix upon the Cross in the Church-yard, set up a Ladder to have reached it, but it proved too short: whilst he was gone to seek another, a Crew of the drunken riotous Party of the Town (poor Journey-men and Servants) took the Alarm, and run altogether with Weapons to defend the Crucifix, and the Church Images (of which there were divers left since the time of Popery): They Report was among them, that I was the Actor, and it was me they sought; but I was walking almost a mile out of Town, or else I suppose I had there ended my days: when they mist me and the Churchwarden both, they went raving about the Streets to seek us. Two Neighbours that dwelt in other Parishes, hearing that they sought my Life, ran in among them to see whether I were there, and they knocked them both down in the Streets, and both of them are since dead, and I think never perfectly recovered that hurt. When they had foamed about half an hour, and met with none of us, and were newly housed, I came in from my walk, and hearing the People Cursing at me in their Doors, I wondered what the matter was, but quickly found how fairly I had scaped. The next Lord's Day I dealt plainly with them, and laid open to them the quality of that Action, and told them, Seeing they so required me as to seek my Blood, I was willing to leave them, and save them from that Guilt. But the poor Sots were so amazed and ashamed, that they took on sorrily, and were loth to part with me.