And still the indomitable Quakers kept coming. Among the most
determined to bear witness was William Leddra. Again and again, Leddra
had visited Massachusetts, had been whipped, starved, and driven out,
only to return. Now Leddra was being dragged into court in his shackles,
having been chained to a log of wood all winter. He was charged with
sympathizing with the executed Quakers, with using "thee" and "thou,"
with refusing to remove his hat — in sum, with being a Quaker. Promised
his life if he recanted his faith, Leddra answered: "What, act so that
every
man
who meets me would say, 'this is the man that has forsaken the God of
his salvation!'" When a magistrate asked Leddra if he would agree to go
to England if released, the prisoner coolly replied, "I have no business
there." "Then you shall be hanged," retorted the magistrate. Leddra
appealed to the laws of England, but the court held — as might be
expected — that England had no
jurisdiction in the case, and pronounced the sentence of death.
Still chained to the log, Leddra calmly wrote shortly before his execution:
