1675 JAMES PARNELL. The "Boy Martyr" Converted Under George Fox. Martyred at 20 Years Old!

Rather scarce in the trade, a nice, rather freshly rebound collection of the writings of the "boy martyr of the Quakers, James Parnell [1636-1656].  When but 15 years of age, and finding no relief for his soul among the priests, history records that young Parnell walked 150 miles to visit George Fox while he was imprisoned in Carlisle. At last finding the grace of Jesus made real to his soul, he joined the Quakers and early on determined to preach among them. His willingness to tell anyone who would listen his story [which often included interrupting ongoing church services to sort out the preaching], his intense earnestness, and his success in gathering converts straight out of the Anglican church put him on the wrong side of the establishment. As a result, he was arrested on July 4, 1655 for disrupting a church service in Coggeshall. He was charged with blasphemy and other offences and taken to the county jail in Colchester Castle. Though acquitted of all charges by the jury, the mag