North; how the Quaker had
refused to work, and had been given over to the boatswain's mate to be
flogged; how the boatswain's mate had fallen upon him and had beaten
him furiously, but now refused to lay a finger upon him, saying that
he would no longer beat a Quaker or any other man for conscience'
sake.

'Send that boatswain's mate to me that he may answer for himself,'
said the Admiral. 'Why would you not beat the Quaker?' he demanded in
a terrible voice, when the boatswain's mate was brought before him. 'I
have beat him very sore,' the mate answered, 'I seized his arms to the
capstan bars, and forced them to heave him about, and beat him, and
then sat down; and in three or four times of the capstan's going
about, the lashings were loosed, and he came and sat down by me; then
I called the men from the capstan, and took them sworn, but they all
denied that they had loosed him, or knew how he was loosed; neither
could the lashings ever be found; therefore I did and do believe that
it was an invisible power which set him at liberty, and I did promise
before God and the company, that I would never beat a Quaker again,
nor any man else for conscience' sake.' The Admiral told the mate that
he must lose both his cane of office and his place. He willingly
yielded them both. He was also threatened with the loss of his right
hand. He held it out and said, 'Take it from me if you please.' His
cane was taken from him and he was displaced; but mercifully his right
hand was not cut off: that was only a threat.

The Commander had now to find some one else to beat Richard Sellar. So
he gave orders to seven strong sailors (called yeomen) to beat Richard
whenever they met him, and to make him work. Beat him they did, till
they were tired; but they could not make him work or go against his
conscience, which forbade him in any way to help in fighting. Then an
eighth yeoman was called, the strongest of all. The same order was
given to him: 'Beat that Quaker as much as you like whenever you meet
him, only see that you make him work.' The eighth yeoman promised
gladly in his turn, and said, 'I'll make him!' He too beat Richard for
a whole day and a night, till he too grew weary and asked to be
excused. Then another wonderful thing happened, stranger even than the
disappearance of the lashings. After all these cruel beatings the
Commander ordered Richard's clothes to be taken off that he might see
the marks of the blows on his body. 'He c