The English authorities, however, did not pause to ask
questions. Nayler and his friends were immediately arrested.
Nayler was charged with blasphemy, a serious offense in those
days. After much debate, the Parliament sentenced Nayler to
severe punishments. Beyond further imprisonment, these included
being whipped through the streets and pilloried, receiving three
hundred and eleven lashes, having his tongue bored through with
a hot poker, and being stigmatized - that is, branded - on the
forehead with the letter "B" ("blasphemer"). As Nayler was being
led away after hearing this sentence pronounced, he was heard to
pray, "Lord, lay this not to their charge." I suspect that there
was a political agenda involved in the Parliament's decision;
many people wondered at the time why this apparently deluded
Quaker was worth so much time and trouble. Many were shocked,
too, at the severity of the sentence, and its being decided upon
before petitions submitted on Nayler's behalf were permitted to
be read. Some leading